Friday, December 26, 2008

The Tipping Point Of 2008...Come Journey Into 2009!

From an ethnographic perspective, 2008 was a golden year!

From our perspective, here are the top eight drivers of 2008…

1. The rise of the Millennium Generation and its impact on a presidential election
2. The truth of the alchemy driving the financial industry
3. The 11th hour awakening of the US automotive industry
4. The replacement of unlimited spending with responsible saving
5. The collapse of the conventional news media
6. The explosion of Apps and transportable technology
7. The saturation of the conventional brands – Starbucks and Macy’s vs. MINIs
8. The behavioral impact of the cost of a gallon of gas

The impact of these eight drivers is similar to that of a platectonic shift with seismic reads that cause upheaval to conventional states of stability.

Many brands and businesses are reeling.

Reading the end of the year edition of Advertising Age was like reading the obituaries.

However, amidst the entire dirge, there was one great column titled “Ways to Bounce Back Stronger From Tough Times.”

The author is the president of the Association of National Advertisers.

Here is who he represents as the group communicates on its website…”ANA is the only trade organization exclusively for client-side marketers providing indispensable business insights, extensive collaboration opportunities and strong industry advocacy.”

If you are a client that is reading this…embrace it…it’s a voice crying out on your side of the tracks!

While we may differ on some terminology (Integrated Marketing Communications is a 90s fall-back), the column is so good, that I have cut it out and taped it up above my desk.

Here are Bob Liodice’s Top Ways To Bounce Back and our BrandVenture reinforcement beliefs…

1. Passion And Leadership Are Imperative…visible leadership that oozes belief …passion that cascades throughout the organization…marry the brand mission, vision and values with what drives the consumer's left and right sides of the brain!

2. Invest In The Brand And Be Courageous…defy conventional wisdom… increased marketing investment during a recession increases market share…don’t abide by the dogma of the category in the marketing of a product, but instead market your brand experience!

3. Let Creativity Fly…innovation through consumer insight…produce breakthrough ideas…challenge the conventional and embrace the heretical!

4. Develop Trust And Connectivity…give consumers what they need to be true brand believers…fuel your brand's emotional ignition point (EIP) that compels consumers to seek you out beyond reason and rationale thought!

5. Integrate All Communications….reach audience groups through multiple avenues…deliver the same message across all platforms…deliver brand consistency across every touch-point of the brand experience!

6. Be Accountable…a culture of accountability…partner finance, research and analytics…a cross functional marketing and finance team…fuel the insights that drive the returns!

7. Invest in People…ensure that they embrace the company culture and philosophy…people who make up your marketplace and define your product experience deliverable that your company embraces to define its culture!

8. Strengthen The Marketing Supply Chain…pursue efficiencies and productivity…build relationships (stop the RFPs every 6-12 months) and ensure reinforcements (pay the bills on time!)

9. Trust Your Agencies…strategy, breakthrough creative and expanding media platforms…and also trust your consumers…get out beyond the four walls of your office and get into dialogue with them on the street, in the stores and online!

10. Be Socially Responsible…go beyond cause-marketing and ideals-based branding…have an inspirational reason for your brand…do what we advocate at BrandVenture…dig below the surface and unravel the submerged!

I am excited about 2009!

What we do here at BrandVenture is a cost affordable, smart way of embracing Change and charting into the future waters of the marketplace.

We generate INSIGHTS OF RELEVANCY to bring to life THE EMOTIONAL INTANGIBLES of the BRAND EXPERIENCE that generate DIALOGUE through CHANNELS OF ENGAGEMENT and CULUTRE BONDING that DRIVES SALES.

Don’t let budget cutbacks and lay-offs constrain you!

For the average cost of one conventional focus group -- $6,500 - $8,000, we can…
• Conduct two, more revealing, Coffee House Chats or Pub Chats
• Complete 50-60 Person-On-The –Street Surveys
• Take an Ethnographic journey through online communities and video postings among your consumers and provide you with a snapshot of their iconic culture and brand relationships
• Dig deeper beyond the demographics into who really makes up opportunity target groups for your brand…where they live, where they work, how they think and how they connect through channels of communications and entertainment

And tune in right after the New Year for more information about a cool journey we are going to be taking in January and how you can be part of it!

Come…Let’s Journey!

No comments: