Powerpoints. For years, I’ve advocated against teleprompter filled coma-inducing slides that neither engage nor inform. Powerpoints can often be designed for the benefit of the presenter not the audience and not for behavioral change. Many are the presentations that depict an endless amount of numbers, charts and bulleted paragraphs interlaid with small images that have no purpose but to fill white space.  As a former consultant for nonprofits and a current director for a large comprehensive social service agency, advocating on often sensitive issues means engaging the heart as much as the brain. Powerpoints can be used as an effective bonus medium if used correctly. Fast forward to PechaKucha … a new term I recently discovered that has given me ammunition in my quest to realign my colleague’s presentations to the agency’s brand and goal.

The art of PechaKucha is simple. It is a powerpoint presentation format with 20 images, each 20 seconds in length. The images advance automatically so the presenter isn’t talking to the screen but allowing it to follow the presenter’s story and better engage with the audience. In a world where we expect instant gratification, this format gives life to a six-minute 40-second presentation. It forces a presenter to be efficient and purposeful with words – eliminating ongoing rhetoric and off-track thoughts.

For my current work, my communication objective is to create purposeful relationships so as to advance the agency’s goal. Our audience can include policy makers, community, clients, and funders. With more than 400 on staff spread throughout San Diego County and with staff often presenting throughout the country, our presentations are a key element to our advocacy, marketing, and fundraising. It is just as important that the audience engages in the presentation as much as it for them to engage in our brand.

“PechaKucha” is a fun word that has helped to create buy-in from old-school professionals set in their way. The method is also allowing for a more interactive conversation and has increased Q & As. For our clients, it has created a more welcoming environment where the presenter is talking with the community rather than at them. Trust is an important part of our work and PechaKucha method has helped create a friendlier environment on topics that can be hard to discuss.  For our staff, the method has allowed them to be real and relaxed and they have noticed a change in how their audience reacts.

“Death by powerpoint” – no more. We PechaKucha.

Gross, T. S. (2010, December 19). Pecha kucha … Amazing cure for ‘Death by PowerPoint’. Forbes.com. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/prospernow/2010/12/19/pecha-kucha-amazing-cure-for-death-by-powerpoint/#77e116e85566

Burken, S. (2010, January 14). The end of boring presentations. Forbes.com. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/2010/01/14/presentations-pecha-kucha-technology-breakthroughs-oreilly.html#5e928feb86e7

Gone are the days when B2B marketing is just trade shows, price sheets, and a company brochure. Content marketing has become common practice in the B2B space, but now B2B marketers face a new challenge: audiences are getting harder to reach. So, what’s the answer? Some B2B marketers think that producing more content will help them cut through the noise and reach their audience, but a recent post by Demand Gen offers a different solution.

The Deman Gen article argues that more content won’t reach audiences any better unless the content experience improves. In the B2B space, consumers are more likely to want to read as much content as they can at one time when they are searching for a new solution. Even Google recognizes the growing trend among searchers looking for a depth of content, not necessarily a breadth of shallow pieces.

So how can B2B marketers improve their content marketing to better reach their audience? I asked this question of a few B2B marketers on LinkedIn and the answer I came up with is to make the content more personalized for the audience. B2B marketers need to segment their email lists based on interest and distribute content that is relevant for where the specific customer is in their buyer’s journey AND to their interests. Is that enough? I would argue that it is not.

B2B marketers need to provide a streamless content experience where consumers can move organically from one piece of content to the next. Demand Gen made the point that drip campaigns are no longer enough, but it fell short on providing actionable strategies for content distribution. Where Demand Gen left off, the concept of “topic clusters” picks up. Google has started to value long pages of content that link out to other relevant articles.  Topic clusters are made up of one long “pillar page” and several other supporting blog posts. This HubSpot post gives an excellent overview of topic clusters and also functions as an example of a pillar page.

If B2B marketers want to improve the content experience and provide answers on demand, topic clusters provide one excellent path forward. Pillar pages can be created for key frequently asked questions or market segments to make consuming content seamless for the audience. This way, the audience will be able to move from one article to the next in a natural progression and get all of their questions answered at once.

What do you think? Are topic clusters the answer, or should B2B marketers look at more sophisticated marketing automation solutions to improve the customer experience?

It is universally understood that social media has reshaped the way brands interact with their consumers (Johansson, 2016). As marketers are now understanding how social media can be best utilized to establish rapport with their consumers and build brand sentiment, a new voice has been added to the mix (Prabhu, 2018). Since its introduction in 2014, Amazon’s Alexa and Amazon Echo have created a ripple effect in voice recognition technology (Mutchler, 2017) as Google and Apple try to keep up with their own technologies such as Google Home and Homepod (Williams, 2017). According to AdWeek (2018), 25% of shoppers utilized voice assistants during the 2017 holiday shopping season. So, what does this mean for brands and their marketing efforts?

According to AdAge (2018), 70 percent of voice searches include keywords that are different than keywords used during an online search. In addition, 60 percent of those searches are not particular to a brand, such as saying “Alexa, order me some chocolate” (Prahbu, 2018). When the search does not include a brand, these smart speakers present options based on an algorithm of past searches and purchases (Prahbu, 2018). While marketers should focus or making it to the top of that list of suggestions by listening to the slew of new words consumers are using to make their voice searches, brands should also be considering the voice they want to have when communicating through smart speaker technology (Olenski, 2018). This does, however, open up an opportunity for brands to connect with their consumers in a more natural way as voice comes more naturally to people and feels more conversational than social media (Olenski, 2018). As technology advances, brands have the opportunity to build their voice to communicate through artificial intelligence, although it seems as though brands who have already created the AI (Amazon’s Alexa) to communicate will be the literal voice of many brands looking to invest in this kind of marketing.

Many brands have already partnered with Amazon’s Alexa such as Johnnie Walker, however, the experience the brand is creating by pairing it with this technology goes beyond showing up in a search. This platform provides a new way for brands to interact with their consumers in the way that Johnnie Walker not only sells the product but provides a guided tasting as Alexa acts as an expert in not only the product but the brand itself (Williams, 2017). In order to stay competitive will brands have to partner with one of the three giants of smart speakers? Will it be enough in the future to have a small range of voice functions such as Domino’s voice-activated pizza ordering app (Williams, 2017)? How much power will Google, Apple, and Amazon yield as this becomes the new form of communication with consumers? Also, where is all this consumer data going and how is it being used? How as marketers, can we be sure to take advantage of this new pool of consumer data? While Google Home provides certain restrictions to maintain privacy, there is a substantial amount of new more authentic search data being provided to these three large companies monopolizing the smart home device market (Olenski, 2018). By selling this data to brands willing to invest in gaining insights about their consumers, organizations like Amazon may have tapped into a research goldmine (Treseder, 2018). To remain competitive, it is essential for marketers to stay informed and in tune with the new technologies and the opportunities they provide for brands to interact with their consumers more authentically (Treseder, 2018). As these technologies continue to be further integrated into our lives, market research to truly understand artificial intelligence’s influence on consumer purchasing behavior would be very insightful.

References

Johansson, A. (2016). How social media has changed the way that we engage consumers. Huffington Post. Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/anna-johansson/how-social-media-has-changed-the-way-that-we-engage-consumers_b_9874242.html

Mutchler, A. (2017). Voice assistant timeline: A short history of the voice revolution. Voicebot.ai. Retrieved from https://voicebot.ai/2017/07/14/timeline-voice-assistants-short-history-voice-revolution/

Olenski, S. (2018). Is voice set to be the next big thing in marketing? Forbes. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/steveolenski/2018/05/31/is-voice-set-to-be-the-next-big-thing-in-marketing/#7ffad0c37d5f

Prabhu, A. (2018). Top of mind to tip of tongue. Ad Age. Retrieved from https://adage.com/article/digital/top-mind-tip-tongue/315490/

Treseder, D. (2018). How marketing through voice technology will put savvy brands ahead of the curve. Ad Week. Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/digital/how-marketing-through-voice-technology-will-put-savvy-brands-ahead-of-the-curve/

Williams, A. (2017). 8 brand using voice activation to boost brand engagement. CMO from IDG Communications. Retrieved from https://www.cmo.com.au/article/628066/8-brands-using-voice-activation-boost-brand-engagement/

Do you hear what I hear?
 

Thanksgiving is 14 days away! Christmas is 47 days!

With the holidays quickly approaching and our final group projects due under 38 days, what better way than to share how we can approach our presentation using the holiday season. The focus is to turn the panelists in our course to select one of our presentations.

The following is 8 ideas that will help your company’s sales:

1. Deck the Digital Halls
   Create new designs that celebrate the holiday and the company brand. A great example of a company creating designs for the holiday season is Coco-Cola
   
2. Use Hashtags
   A hashtag can play a vital role in brand awareness, especially if you come up with a unique and creative campaign. Coco-Cola created a hashtag that included a truck tour sites. #HolidaysAreComing
   

3. Email Campaigns
   Emails are another great marketing tool to capture customer engagement and increase of sales. Companies use emails as an opportunity to provide discounted deals, certificates, special offers, holiday hours, and free shipping.
4. Focus on Emotional Reactions
   Commercials that can make people feel something is a successful campaign. Customers tend to rely on emotion when purchasing items which can help boost sales.
   
   
5. Target Multiple Holidays
   With a calendar full of holidays, don’t focus only on one try to expand to others
   • Thanksgiving
   • Christmas
   • Kwanzaa
   • Hanukkah
   • New Years
6. Target Multiple Events
   Think outside the box to increase sales. Use events to offer a one in a lifetime experience for customers, this method can help boost company sales.
   • Black Friday
   • Cyber Monday
   • 12 days of Christmas

7. Use Data from Last Year
   Retrieve data from previous holiday years to help support your holiday marketing plans. Analyze customers purchasing and behavior to obtain valuable insights for marketing campaign development.
   
   
   
8. Show Some Creativity
   Creativity is the heart and soul for holiday marketing. Be open to using the company’s personality to share how amazing they are especially during key holidays.
   • Be one of kind
   • Use humor
   • Personal stories
   • Outside the box characters

Now that you have read all 8-holiday marketing ideas, which idea do you believe can help make your marketing commercial be a top winner for the course-wide competition?

Reference

Holiday Marketing Ideas Boost Sales – https://www.envision-creative.com/holiday-marketing-ideas-boost-sales/

Coca-Cola to “bow” your mind with Christmas-limited design www.marketing-interactive.com/coca-cola-japan-to-bow-your-mind-with-christmas-limited-design/

#HolidaysAreComing to Twitter as Coca-Cola launches festive emoji of the iconic Christmas truck https://www.coca-cola.co.uk/stories/holidaysarecoming-to-twitter-with-festive-coca-cola-truck-emoji

By Jennifer Castro

The day after an election might almost feel as good as waking up on Christmas -it’s peaceful yet exciting knowing that you will no longer be exposed to political television, social media, and mailer marketing ads – for a while. In Alaska where I live, the campaigns were fiercely competitive with the state of the state having a challenging economy, soaring crime rates, and a lot of unknowns about what to do next, determining who can help lead us out of this mess.

As I was enjoying my morning coffee and few moments of post-election silence, I opened my Facebook feed. My “silence” was interrupted with a suggested notification from Facebook saying, “you have newly elected representatives, find out who represents your district.” I was curious to know if Facebook had received and updated my state’s election information already, so I clicked on the notification link. It brought me to “Town Hall,” a Facebook tool that shows me who my current elected officials are and allows me to directly follow their feeds. It was super convenient and just a few clicks – the approach was not politically aggressive by any means. I had never seen this feature on Facebook before so I wanted to investigate and learn a little bit more about it.

The Town Hall tool shows me my government representatives in my area.

According to Facebook’s website, the Town Hall tool is meant to help people find, follow and contact their government officials. By creating this accessibility, the big picture goal of Facebook Town Hall is to improve civic engagement and to give users a voice in their local, state, and federal government. Some of the limitations of this tool is if a government leader or agency does not have a Facebook feed, or hasn’t officially started in office yet. Town Hall was actually launched in March of 2017, but with hundreds of local, state, and congressional primaries occurring yesterday, I’m sure this tool and Facebook’s push of it will help it gain more ground this week.

As a consumer I thought this tool was easy to use, and I was grateful for the simple awareness it created. You can find the “Town Hall” tool in your profile menu tab bar. You can also adjust features in it such as your location, and adjust the voting reminder notifications for your area elections by turning them on or off.

Facebook users can adjust their Town Hall settings including the location and voting reminders.

Some follow up questions for you:

• Have you heard of the Town Hall Facebook tool prior to this blog?
• Do you think the tool is helpful for citizens to have more access to their government leaders and representatives?
• Are there other tools or examples that you know of that provide citizens with direct access to their government officials?
• Do you have any government officials in your area that are not on Facebook?

References:

Facebook (2018, November 7). Town Hall. Retrieved from: https://www.facebook.com/townhall

Feinn, L. (2017, March 15) How to Use the Facebook “Town Hall” Feature to Contact your Representatives. Retrieved from: https://www.bustle.com/p/how-to-use-the-facebook-town-hall-feature-to-call-your-representatives-44828

Nike’s “Dream Crazy” Campaign

Nike’s “Dream Crazy” Campaign Featuring Colin Kaepernick

I have to say, to this day Nike’s advertisement featuring Colin Kaepernick gives me goosebumps. It speaks to me. It inspires me. Not merely because of what Kaepernick represents and his journey, but the determination and celebration of the diverse set of uniquely challenged and accomplished athletes. The ad celebrates a girl from Compton and the greatest athlete ever; an Iron Man champion and cancer survivor; a refugee and a National Team soccer player, and many more. Athletes who dared to dream the “impossible” yet achieved the ultimate. The simple yet unforgettable tagline expresses what we all wish we could and should do – “Dream Crazy. ” No matter the cost.

All politics and personal views aside, the campaign is home run. I genuinely believe the campaign is a marketing and advertising industry envy. Nike was able to accomplish what diverse marketers at Fortune 500 companies can only dream of. Connect on a level that hits home with their target consumers. It was a risk, yet it paid off. Even Nike had its reservations after launch, yet soon was richly rewarded with the company’s stock reaching an all-time high. A successful Kaepernick partnership and soaring business profits continue to this day.

The ad created a social media frenzy among consumers across the United States, positive and negative. Even the U.S. President weighed in on the controversy. I understand how the ad was capable of evoking such strong emotion among so many. However, from a marketing communications lens, I immediately recognized its power and its target audience.

Many wondered why an iconic, global brand like Nike would risk isolating one set of consumers in favor of another. Also, what would motivate Nike to collaborate with such a polarizing figure? All creative and aspirational motivations aside, it turns out, it makes business sense. After Nike’s marketing research and strategy were leaked online, it’s evident the brand’s consumer sweet spot is with the diverse consumer. African Americans, Hispanics, and Asians represent a significant portion of their customer base. The segments are also ideologically aligned with Kaepernick’s message. For the diverse consumer like myself on the receiving end, it was clear. Nike wants my business and the brand knew exactly how to connect with me and my professional, social and family circles. We are their future diverse consumers.

The U.S. landscape is changing, and so is the marketplace. According to Nielsen, by the year 2030, multicultural Americans will represent more than half the population and hit 54% by the year 2060. Businesses must adjust their strategies to effectively target a wider set of consumers. Long-term business growth and returns for shareholders for large, leading U.S. brands depend on it. For Nike, it’s not an option, it’s a business imperative to engage the U.S. multicultural consumer.

Between running to carpools and boardroom meetings, women across social media have sparked a partnership between Dunkin’ and Dove. As PR Newswire shared this past month, Dry Shampoo and Dunkin’ Coffee have become the bare necessities of the female lifestyle.

Whether you’re a college woman functioning on low sleep and trying to stay on the go, or you’re striving to raise three toddlers, National Coffee Day was the trigger to this brand partnership. Not only has it resonated with women in New York for running on Dunkin’, but the dry shampoo phase is apparent, relevant and a lifestyle brand partnership that supports one another.

Recently pushing into a new direction from Dunkin’ Donuts, the brand, Dunkin’ has partnered with Dove to reach influencers within the past month. The partnership actually launched a landing page DovexDunkin.com and showcased the various ways to enter their contest. The winner receives a year supply of coffee and dry shampoo. The brands are striving to engage influencers and their audiences to enter the contest utilizing #dovepartners to enter the contest via #dovexdunkin.

Lifestyle mom bloggers promote the two brands in a “real” self-post.

This is a creative connection to continue to build on empowering women exactly where they are in life. The Dove Real Beauty Campaign connects to this audience of over 909 posts on social media and resonates with the audiences they are influencing as see within the comments on Instagram. Furthermore, the #DovePartners represent over 4,500 posts on Instagram alone, reaching thousands within their personal audience base and driving authentic conversations around women, their lifestyle habits and a connection to what keeps them beautiful and energized.

Lifestyle bloggers promote the two brands in a city environment.

This campaign is an incredible connection between motherhood and the busy working woman’s lifestyle. Both women are busy and both appear to run on dry shampoo and coffee. This collaboration doesn’t discriminate and highlights the various lifestyles of a woman in 2018.

Comments on Instagram drive a relational connection to both brands.

The bloggers and Instagram users have not only engaged the brands, but they have also demonstrated a keen ability to activate their Instagram audience through authentic copywriting, sparking engaging comments and emojis. The audience wants to participate, whether the content includes a blogger’s children or it includes women on a typical day, going to work. Regardless, this campaign helps women to reimagine exactly who they are and the environment they are apart of on a day basis. It pokes fun at the humor behind dry shampoo but also elevates the promotion in a space that recognizes the benefits carried out, along with Dunkin’ coffee, showcasing enjoyable yet sustainable lifestyles. I absolutely loved this brand partnership and believe it’s a step in the right direction, relating to the recent readings in Week 07 in CMGT541.

Mother and children promoting Dove and Dunkin’.

Unfortunately, I did spot that the contest entry indicates a launch of September 27, 2019 through November 8, 2018. From a brand management perspective, this could spike interesting controversy with incorrect placement of contest entry details on the landing page. Nonetheless, the rules page, which I imagine was approved through both legal departments, stated the correct information. With that being said, it’s important for all brands to consider promotional periods and the implications it can have on brands in this type of environment for contest entries. Besides, who wouldn’t want to win a year supply of Dunkin’ and Dove’s Dry Shampoo?

Blogger with Dry Shampoo and Dunkin’ Coffee.

In the state of recent Dove readings on the Real Beauty Campaign, share your thoughts on this brand partnership. Do you feel that Dove and Dunkin’ hit the mark with this brand partnership or were they way off? Share your thoughts below.

Riding in a 480 horsepower 2019 Bullitt Mustang doing more than 130 mph around Las Vegas Motor Speedway might not seem like the way a new marketing campaign is introduced, but for the more than 3000 U.S. Ford dealers, it was the start of an introduction that will change the face of Ford Motor Company’s marketing for quite some time to come. I was privileged to be invited to participate in the bi-annual Ford Dealers meeting called “Inside the Oval” (referencing the Ford blue oval logo) in Las Vegas two weeks ago. In a flourish of pomp and circumstance from CEO Jim Hackett and his executive committee, Ford introduced its new direction for marketing: Built Ford Proud.

The campaign features a new direction and “attitude” for company ads centered around a new brand promise with two key components – Worry Free and Unstoppable. Mr. Hackett and his team explained that Ford was built on being a disruptive company, changing the way the world traveled. Henry Ford’s original vision for the Ford Motor Company was to “Open the highways to all mankind,” and the company succeeded by driving the automotive industry. As the leader in pickup truck sales for 42 years, Ford has expanded on a marketing platform of “Built Ford Tough” with the new campaign, under the creative direction of BBDO and Wieden + Kennedy New York. The new brand position, according to Ford director of U.S. marketing Matt VanDyke, is centered around the “swagger” of “building for the next century” the same way it built the last century. The campaign also will focus on humanizing the formerly machine-based advertisements with the help of actor Bryan Cranston. The message includes a throwback to the strength of Ford family roots.

Ford announced earlier in 2018 that the company would no longer be building any sedans other than the Mustang – an announcement they admitted was handled poorly. The product lines were uncovered at the dealer meetings to include the new Ranger as well as a new family of SUV’s modeled after the original Bronco. The new Bronco has not been revealed, but an actual pre-production model of the un-named “baby Bronco” (think Bronco II) was driven onto the stage at the event amidst raucous cheers of delight and anticipation. Other new products were highlighted and discussed, with plans to revamp the entire lineup over the next four years. Finally, the executives explained the media mix that would include NCAA football, World Series advertising, and a variety of other high-profile prime time television programming. In addition, the mix will include a large social media and online component according to Ford Chief Marketing Officer Joy Falotico.

As an observer, the meetings and keynotes were exciting to witness, not only because of the excitement of what Ford is doing to re-invent itself but also the strategy it used to create the communications plan. As a student, it was fascinating to watch how the different pieces were presented to the crowd. To know the different strategies and theories involved in the words they used, such as “Brand promise,” “Market position,” “Media mix,” and “Tone of voice” was, to me, more interesting than the actual ads themselves. I guess that’s why I am studying for my Master of Communications Management degree – to be a part of crafting campaigns like the new Ford campaign and understanding the power of communications.

https://youtu.be/OwwW_vuz678

Reference:

Oster, E. (2018, October 19). With Bryan Cranston at the Wheel, W+K Debuts a New Brand Positioning for Ford: The automaker hangs its hat on being ‘Built Ford Proud’. Ad Week, Retrieved from https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/with-bryan-cranston-at-the-wheel-wk-debuts-a-new-brand-positioning-for-ford/

What is “organic”?

What is “organic”?

There’s an old joke out there that the only difference between raw and refined sugar is that refined sugar has had all the dirt taken out! All joking aside, I recently read an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal that claims, “The Organic Industry is Lying to You.”( Miller, 2018)

Basically, this article argues that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does a poor job of policing health and nutrition claims of the organic food industry. For example, the Whole Foods website states, “organic foods are grown without toxic or persistent pesticides.” The author points out that organic farmers rely on natural and synthetic pesticides like copper sulfate, substances which have been shown to be probably carcinogens in high enough amounts. Another practice is to claim that certain brands of food are “GMO-free” even though the generic version of that food is also “GMO-free.” (The FDA requires that claims of ‘absence’ – like “GMO-free” – can only be made when the standard is ‘present.’) The FDA does not enforce this absence requirement on the organic food industry.

This is a pressing issue for organic marketers, because the organic food industry is growing very quickly. One recent survey says that household usage of organic foodstuffs has grown 30% from 2010 to 2017. (Daniells, 2018) Another article states that organic food purchases now account for 5% of all food sales in the U.S. (Batcha, 2018).

FDA rules and regulations governing what foods can be labeled ‘certified organic’ have been in effect since 2000 and those regulation require any agricultural entity with sales of more than $5,000 annually to submit to a rigorous certification process. But nothing prevents food producers from claiming (marketing) their foods as ‘organic’ (although not “certified organic”) and this loose standard allows for a lot of deceptive marketing to take place.

Because the industry is growing so fast, some further regulatory efforts by the FDA (perhaps in a post-Trump world) will need to take place to police claims of ‘organic.’ Consumers want and deserve healthy and nutritious foods and they have a right to know that foods they buy – and maybe pay a premium for – conform to certain generally accepted standards.

What is “organic”?

References

Batcha, L. (n.d.). Consumer demand grows for organic products. Associated Press.

Retrieved from (https://www.agweb.com/article/consumer-demand-grows-for-organic-products-naa-associated-press/)

Daniells. S. (2018). Household usage of organic foods climbs to 30% in seven years: package- facts. Food Navigator-USA.

Retrieved from  (https://www.foodnavigator-usa.com/Article/2018/02/12/Household-usage-of-organic-foods-climbs-to-30-in-seven-years-Packaged-Facts)

(n.d.) Google images. Retrieved from https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=images%20of%20organic%EE%80%81%20farmers&qs=n&form=QBIR&sp=-1&pq=images%20of%20organic%EE%80%81%20farmers&sc=0-26&sk=&cvid=81F7AAEFC11349569C68C70FD7450914

Miller, I. H. (2018, August). The organic industry is lying to you. Wall Street Journal.

Retrieved from (https://peelbackthelabel.org/latest/articles/wall-street-journal-organic-industry-lying/)