"Buy the Way…" Insights on Integrated Marketing Communication

Have you taken a social media break lately?  If so, you are part of a growing segment of the population.  According to Pew Research Center, 42% of Facebook users have admitted to taking a break from checking in on the site, in the last year. And, 26% of those have gone so far as to delete the app from their phone completely (Perrin, 2018). One reason that users feel the need to step away for a while is due to increased concern over online privacy and how social media platforms are protecting personal data.  Most Facebook users, 74% of adults over 18, are unaware that the app collects and distributes their data to advertisers and is also unaware of privacy settings currently available to minimize this (Gramlich, 2019).  

The overall feeling amongst many American’s is that they no longer have the ability to protect their personal information from being collected.  In another Pew Research study conducted in 2014, 64% of social media users said the government needed to step in and provide more protective regulations (Rainie, 2018).  Unfortunately, to date, little has been done to protect them, and the conversation continues to drag on in Congress.  Bi-partisan movement is being made, albeit at a slow pace, to pass legislation to address the constant data breaches and misinformation campaigns. Fingers crossed that they can work to pass the Data Care Act of 2018 that would “ require companies to reasonably secure identifying information and vow not to use it in harmful ways.” (Lapowsky, 2018)

The need for this legislation is immediate and becoming more necessary every day as those affected by the lack of protection is broad.  There is, however, one particular socio-economic group that is often not considered when considering the victims of this targeted advertising approach, low-income communities.  The advertisers that apps like Facebook share their info with vary in intent and product. They are given a long list of demographic and economic data from which they develop their target audience.  With the personal data collected advertisers can dissect and focus on a very finite group of social media users.  The ads that focus on this particular group are those for pay-day loans, high-interest mortgages, and for-profit colleges, which can have devasting financial consequences to the less educated. Social media user’s information regarding gender, race, zip code, and age are currently protected as a result of previous lawsuits between user’s and Facebook.  However, poverty is not a protected category according to current laws or the Constitution.  That means it is open season on those who can least afford or are not educated about privacy protection on social media sites.  These predatory advertisers can have long term effects on one’s ability to secure a loan, get a job, or a lease approval for that new apartment (Fox, 2019).

Proponents of data privacy legislation have looked to Europe for examples as they recently implemented the General Data Protection Regulation, which has rights explicitly created to address the needs of lower-income social media users.  The law has several beneficial provisions that afford low-income users the ability to protect their data, such as “the right to be forgotten.” This provision requires that personal data be scrubbed when it is no longer needed for a specific purpose or when asked for by the person whose information is in question. The benefit of this provision is that as one’s financial picture improves, they can request to have old data removed and would not be weighed down by their past adverse financial history (Fox, 2019).  This new legislation has received positive adoption by both consumer groups and businesses and should make an immediate impact due to strict enforcement laws.

The data privacy wars are heating up, and with a divided Congress, it is still up for debate if anything will soon be passed to protect U.S. users.

References

Ehlers, R. (2018). Data Care Act of 2018. Retrieved on June 15, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.natlawreview.com/article/data-care-act-2018

Fox, B. (2019).  Data Insecurity Leads to Economic Injustive – and Hit the Pockets of the Poor Most. Retreived on June 14, 2019. Retrieved from  https://amrank.info/2019/04/30/data-insecurity-leads-to-economic-injustice-and-hits-the-pocketbooks-of-the-poor-most/

Gramlich, J. (2019). Pew Research Center. 10 Facts About Americans and Facebook. Retrieved on June 14, 2109.  Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/05/16/facts-about-americans-and-facebook/

Intersoft Consulting. (N.D.)  GDPR Right to be Forgotten. Retrieved on June 14, 2019. Retrieved from https://gdpr-info.eu/issues/right-to-be-forgotten/

Lapowsky, I. (2018) Wired. Get Ready for a Privacy Law Showdown in 2019.https://www.wired.com/story/privacy-law-showdown-congress-2019/

Perrin, A. (2018). Pew Research Center. Americans are Changing Their Relationship with Facebook. Retrieved on June 15, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/05/americans-are-changing-their-relationship-with-facebook/

Perrin, A. and Anderson, M. (2019). Pew Research Center. Share of U.S. Adults Using Social Media, Including Facebook, is Mostly Unchanged Since 2018.  Retrieved on June 12, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/04/10/share-of-u-s-adults-using-social-media-including-facebook-is-mostly-unchanged-since-2018/

Rainie, L. (2018). Pew Research Center. Americans’ Complicated Feelings About Social Media in an Era of Privacy Concerns. Retrieved on June 15, 2019. Retrieved from

Waddell, K. (2019). Axios. A New Attack on Social Media’s Immunity.Retrieved on June 13, 2019. Retrieved from https://www.axios.com/social-media-immunity-section-230-f15ac071-32e9-4e33-81e6-4c7ebadaea5e.html

The other day, as I scrolled through my Facebook feed as I usually do once a day, I came across this article from KTLA 5 News: “Reynolds Wrap Seeks Someone to Eat Ribs and Travel Around the U.S. – for $5,000 a Week.” As soon as I read the headline, I knew this would be the subject for my blog post – especially because I remembered seeing a similar article months back, but for a different ‘dream job’. 

The Reynolds Wrap website describes the “job” position as a “Chief Grilling Officer” whose purpose is to find the best BBQ ribs in the U.S.A. In two weeks, this person will visit various BBQ places and is required to have an online presence throughout the process by sharing photos, tips, etc., both on the Reynolds Wrap website and on their own social media accounts. In addition, as the news headline stated, there is a $10K stipend ($5K/week) and not only that, but pre-paid travel and lodging for the person AND a friend. Only a 200-word essay required to enter.

In a similar move, and only a few months before the Reynolds Wrap dream job, CableTV.com announced their “Marvel Movie Marathon Dream Job” opening. Similarly to the Reynolds Wrap job, this chosen person (who also had to write a 200-word essay) got paid ($1K + additional rewards such as Blu-Ray copies of the movies) for binge-watching 20 Marvel movies, and live tweeting and tagging CableTV.com while watching each movie. CableTV.com launched this right before Avengers: Endgame was due to come out in theaters.

Reading about both of these situations makes me wonder if this is the new tactic to attract young people who are clearly more invested in social media and their online presence. If you think about it, both of these companies are probably getting more than they are paying out, in free advertising. What are your thoughts on this tactic? Has anyone else seen any other company do something similar to this?

References:

Frost, B. (2019). The Marvel marathon dream job. Retrieved from https://www.cabletv.com/blog/marvel-movie-marathon-dream-job

KTLA 5. (2019). Reynolds Wrap seeks someone to eat ribs and travel around the U.S. – for $5,000 a week. Retrieved from https://ktla.com/2019/06/17/reynolds-wrap-seeks-someone-to-eat-ribs-and-travel-the-country-for-5000-a-week/

Reynolds Kitchens. (2019). 2019 Chief Grilling Officer. Retreived from https://www.reynoldskitchens.com/2019-chief-grilling-officer/

In today’s world, social media marketing has taken on an entirely new form as result of sponsored content and influencers. Just five years ago, digital marketing and social media marketing was creating a business Facebook or Instagram page. Today, it is less about being present on those platforms but rather how many consumers, viewers, and users you can reach. Sponsored content is what maximizes this– by having Kendall Jenner post a picture holding your product, a photo that you can share with your followers as well, you’re now reaching both your consumer base and her fans and followers.

As much as sponsored content can broaden the scope of reach for a company’s marketing communications, it can negatively impact both the individual making the endorsement and the company itself. For example, Khloe Kardashian has been continuously bashed for promoting products that may not be healthy for consumers, with fans also lashing out saying that there is no way she uses the products she endorses. This is problematic for her brand because it diminishes her sense of authenticity, and is negative for the company because it brings about negative press and commentary. How far is too far? Is it worth the potential backlash that may come about a sponsored content post, or controversial partnership/endorsement with a celebrity in order to further a brand? And lastly, without sponsored content, how does one tackle the new wave of online, digital marketing communications?

There’s other ways that sponsored content has backfired and further complicated marketing communications for businesses. The Atlantic reported in an article from December of 2018 that influencers are now faking sponsored content to further their brand, forcing company’s to speak out and distance themselves in instances where they have not paid the individual to promote their products or services (Lorenz, 2018). So now, not only is there the possibility of the company’s brand and image being damaged by poorly integrated sponsored content, but business owners have to also be aware of any faked sponsor content posts. Another influencer who recently watched her “speaking-tour” meets “workshop” project unravel into a scam said that a brand sponsored the event and provided beverages; to the company’s surprise, they quickly corrected her assertion to distance themselves from the increased scrutiny and negative commentary. Sponsored content can diminish company brand’s and their reputation to be seen as disingenuous, again, posing the question of how to grapple with creating modern, engaging, and far-reaching digital marketing content to supplement a brands marketing communications.

I am not sure what the right way to approach this issue is; the influencer crowd is only growing, as are the names of products, brands, and services that are seen in Instagram posts and stories. What I do know is that both influencers, celebrities, and public figures, as well as companies and brands, need to find a more authentic middle ground to maximize the effectiveness of their collaborative advertisements.  

References:

Lorenz, Taylor. “Rising Instagram Stars Are Posting Fake Sponsored Content.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 18 Dec. 2018, www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2018/12/influencers-are-faking-brand-deals/578401/.

The Science of Color Branding

Yellow is known to be a dominant color in the food industry (Artitudes Design, 2018). Some of the popular fast food restaurant chains such as McDonald’s, Subway, and Denny’s use yellow in their brand marketing to stimulate the appetite. They even use yellow, red, and orange in their food packaging, their logos, etc. The question is, why? The colors used by marketers can potentially “influence” how people may think; the idea that certain colors excite the appetite while other colors suppress the appetite is supported by research (Breyer, 2015).  J.L. Morton, a color professor, points out that our early ancestors saw the colors black, purple, and blue as “color warning signs” when they were forging for food (Breyer, 2015).

By the way if you are trying to lose weight, the dark colors help with appetite suppression. Blue plates and placemats would cause people to eat slower and consume smaller amounts of food (Breyer, 2015).  Don’t be surprised when you walk into a supermarket if you are greeted by different colors like red, orange, and purple and very few dark colors like black and blue.  The food industry is very much aware of the science of color branding.

Note: Some logos that use different colors in their brand marketing

References:

Artitudes Design (2018). Yellow In Marketing- Color Psychology. Retrieved from http://www.artitudesdesign.com/yellow-color-psychology/

Breyer, M. (2015). How Color Affects Your Appetite. Care2.Retrieved from https://www.care2.com/greenliving/how-color-affects-your-appetite.html

I’m a sucker for a good advertisement and somehow while scrolling through Instagram “they” knew I needed a new lipstick for summer. The next day I purchased the color that was featured in the ad (alert MAC and Instagram ads, they got me) and went home to test it out.  It was actually perfect and the texture was something I’ve always wanted but didn’t find in the market.

Thankfully, I haven’t required medical treatment due to burns, liaisons, severe irritations or worse because I tested my new lipstick.

The same can’t be said for many of Jaclyn Hill’s customers who have found “lumpy” textures, hair-like particles, and severe reactions on their lips or test areas.

Jaclyn Hill, beauty expert, has collaborated with big names in the cosmetic industry, but some of those collaborations have been met with controversy due to poor quality. She manages to hold popular ratings with millions of followers on Instagram and YouTube. She recently launched a wide range of nude lipsticks and it SOLD OUT even with delayed deliveries of PR kits to beauty influencers. PR kits to influencers is a great way to get free coverage on social media and build hype around the product, but Hill’s name was strong enough!

As customers received their products, several users shared their complaints and pictures of the product. That’s when it all went downhill.

What comes next?

Now MCM students, what have we learned when an organization is the middle of a controversy?

• Blame the manufacturer and others for not doing their part? Probably shouldn’t put all emphasis on that tactic but unfortunately, she has already done this in a previous collaboration and again in this situation. Although it very well may be the source of the issue, don’t make assumptions just to get people off your back. Be proactive and revisit the process/procedures to find the source of the problem. Let your customers know what you’re doing and when you have a plan be transparent in the next steps.

• Go dark on social media? If social media is how you connect and will continue to be the main source, then use it effectively to control the story. Don’t let others tell the story for you (just look at all the reviews and other beauty experts speaking out). A lack of response is even more unsettling than providing a short follow up to the issue. In Hill’s response, she acknowledges her departure to understand the situation. Transparency is good, but this same state could have been made before going dark. She could have told everyone she was going offline to focus on the problem and would follow up in XX amount of days.

• Respond to complaints with attitude? Please don’t. It’s not the customer’s fault the product didn’t perform as advertised. It’s understandable that you’re frustrated, but image your customers who helped your product sell out and now are injured from use. After the products are replaced and the dust settles, you should want them to remain a customer. Don’t make it harder to get them to come back.

Can she come back from this?

Even though she is a new CEO, she’s had her share of controversies and with recent issues in the beauty industry, there are plenty of examples of things NOT to do. Yet, companies like Jaclyn Cosmetics, are not effectively using communication tools. Social media may be the cause of why customers expect answers more rapidly, but it can be to get answers out quickly. A crisis can be frustrating, but remember all the hard work that was put into creating your brand and developing a customer base. And ethically, you owe it to your customer to make things right.

As much as I have come to appreciate Hill for being a self-made businesswoman, I’m not sure how many more “missteps” in product quality I can take. Even if the lipstick was $4, it still makes me question if it’s worth it and if you can ever trust the brand or person.

Are there any products/service that have been in a controversial situation but you remained loyal? Now that you’ve been in this program, do you see a crisis differently and have different expectations?

References

Bergman, S. (2019, June 16). How Jaclyn Hill’s lipstick scandal could transform the YouTube make-up industry forever. Independent. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/fashion/jaclyn-hill-youtube-lipstick-cosmetics-petition-fda-james-charles-tati-a8958641.html

Rearick, L. (2019, June 13). Jaclyn Hill released a YouTube video addressing reports of hair found in her lipstick. Teen Vogue. Retrieved from https://www.teenvogue.com/story/jaclyn-hill-youtube-video-lipstick

What makes a meal service successful? Is it easy to make dinners for working professionals? Parents who need assistance with grocery delivery and easy pre planned food options? Individuals who want to lose weight and think having a pre portioned meal service gives them the best opportunity to manage their food?

Blue Apron has found prosperity in an industry that is starting to be inundated with options. They use diverse marketing tactics that rely on traditional advertisements and online content marketing. The company saw a need for education regarding food being cooked at home and providing an easy to access option to menus, instructions and materials needed to make professional grade meals. Who does not want to come home and cook with their partner,friends, or family and make something they would pay a large amount for at a restaurant?

What makes Blue Apron marketing so successful?

1.They are able to represent their product in a desirable way with a strategic marketing plan.

This might sound like a simple task, but as people in the marketing and advertising industry know it is much more of an accomplishment to succeed. Senior marketing director for Blue Apron, Rani Yadav, says the company’s main goal is to create excitement around a particular meal before it is delivered to the consumer. They do this by talking extensively about the recipes. They sound out strategic messages about the recipe such as they are easy to do at home but have the quality of an expert chef. Blue Apron creates fun and fascinating content about the recipes on Facebook and other social media and marketing outlets to get people talking about them. These innovative marketing ploys often result to a large amount of sharing and consumer engagement online.

2. Blue Apron has consistent goals with their product and message that are based on fun, but also consumer loyalty.

If they equip consumers with knowledge and present it in a fun way then they will build brand loyalty.  A direct quote from Rani Yadav, “”Everything we do is in service of making cooking fun and easy for our home chefs,” she says. “By using that lens to develop content, product features, and recipes, we’re able to create an experience that our customers want to make part of their daily lives, and they stick with us. We constantly get love letters from customers saying we’ve saved their marriage, given them confidence in the kitchen, or helped them get their kids interested in cooking. That customer feedback motivates our team every day.”

Conclusion:

Once Blue Apron tried to cut their marketing expense to appease investors and the customer base dropped significantly. In an industry that is so important to people when it comes to health, activity, body image, bonding and so much more, marketing matters.  The result was that they had to put out a $100 million dollar marketing scheme to get their lost customer base back and generate additional growth. 

Using a diverse marketing approach does equal sales. That is the real reason Blue Apron is so successful. They went from a start up company to an industry leader, and large asset holding company, within a year. Blue Apron targets all of the suggested questionable groups in the first paragraph and many more across various marketing platforms. They do not try to target just one purpose for someone wanting to cook a meal at home. The company message is consistent and they utilize all of their channels to a mass target audience.

Here is where they put their marketing resources:

Digital:

Podcast Ads

YouTube Sponsorships

Display Ads

Sponsored Reviews via Native Ads

Offline:

TV Advertising

Radio Ads

Direct Mail

Result: Marketing to various channels works. I am a Top Chef, I have won Chopped, and I will Beat Bobby Flay because I use Blue Apron.

Articles:

My first marketing job was with a healthcare system.  Shortly before the holiday season, I was called inside the Chief Medical Officer’s (CMO) office and was told we would be bringing on a new Pediatrician after the holidays and needed to develop a plan so we could “market the hell out of her.” 

The situation outlined above happens all the time across various industries.  Before diving further into what underlies situations like these, let’s reflect on how the conversation proceeded, as this outlines some of the fundamental issues.

The first question posed to the CMO was designed to frame the rest of the conversation: “when did we decide to hire her?”  We decided to hire her in June.  This conversation was now taking place in December.  Next question.  “What did you have in mind when you say ‘market the hell out of her?’” “Oh, I don’t know.  Get her on the radio, run some newspaper ads, hang up some flyers.  We just need to get her busy – she isn’t coming cheap.”

What I had suspected, and what has been confirmed through dozens of similar situations in different companies and roles, is marketing is often equated or used synonymously with advertising or promotions.  I can think of countless examples when someone from some department has stopped by my desk and said, “we need to market _____.”  What they are really saying is, “I would like to advertise…” whatever ____ was.  This is problematic in that the proper time and resources are not devoted to truly understanding what the objective and corresponding strategy should be in accomplishing business objectives.  Instead, it’s content sporadically thrown together.   

True, advertising and marketing are related, but advertising is but one component of marketing.  Brenner (2019) notes that on “a fundamental level, marketing is the process of understanding your customers, and building and maintaining relationships with them” (p. 1).  Most marketing departments are broken, because they are insulated from other departments within an organization (Brenner, 2019).  There is often little time or resources devoted towards developing the content or message in a way that has been researched and is going to demonstrate an understanding of the client’s needs. 

At the core, “great marketers are passionate teachers” (Brenner, 2019 p. 1).  The lessons in marketing need to be taught across the structures and designs of organizational systems.  Understanding the needs of clients and customers on a deeper level provides an opportunity for marketers to demonstrate the incredible impact they can have, in a way that brings marketing to the forefront as an invaluable service.

Reference

Brenner, M. (2019). What is marketing? Marketing Insider Group. Retrieved from
https://marketinginsidergroup.com/strategy/what-is-marketing/

Large sporting events such as the World Cup, U.S. Open, NBA Finals and the Super Bowl gather crowds of people and build a sense of community. There is unrivaled passion, commitment and enthusiasm towards sports – whether it towards a team, league, college, athlete or major sporting event.

It’s no wonder that brands want to get involved in sports from an exposure/sponsorship aspect. Historically, sports sponsorships have consisted of placing enormous signs in prominent, TV-visible areas such as the outfield wall or a scoreboard. However, with TV viewership continually declining, especially among younger audiences, it has caused teams and leagues to shift their media focus to social media for creation of and releasing content. Now, the most effective sponsorship assets are digitally powered, engaging and truly enhance the fan experience.

Since 2017, the five major U.S. sports leagues – Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer, National Football League, National Basketball Association, National Hockey League and NASCAR have posted on social platforms more than 6.3 million times, which have resulted in over 16 billion engagements. According to World Advertising Research Center (WARC), in 2018, companies spent over 65 billion dollars on sponsorships deals and is expected to rise 5% this year.

Social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter have transformed the way fans engage, interact and consume media and content by their favorite sports team and athletes. Statistics show that one in three Instagram users follow a sports account and an overwhelming 94% of users use Instagram to get an inside look at the personal side of athletes. Sponsors want to take advantage of this interaction and associate their brand/logo with that content. In the past two years, of those 6.3 million posts, 19% of them were branded and have resulted in $2.1 billion in attributed value for those brands sponsoring the content.

The main advantages of executing sponsorships through digital and social platforms are the unmatched data and insights. Sponsors are able to understand who exactly is interacting with their brand. It is an opportunity to truly capitalize on fan engagement and customize the relationship with the fan.

References

De, D. (2019). The New World of Sports Sponsorship. Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/sponsored/the-new-world-of-sports-sponsorships

Nelson, K. (2018). 2019 Will See a Change in How Sports Are Processed Over Social Media. Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/2019-will-see-a-change-in-how-sports-are-processed-over-social-media/