India's Powerhouse Economy

India now has the 5th largest economy in the world having surpassed Britain.  If you're not focused on the India marketplace, you might want to see what this unique country has to offer.

It's the Little Things That Matter — My Experience in Dry Cleaning

It's the Little Things…My Experience in Dry Cleaning Hell

My wife and I are high users of dry cleaning.  Having two professional jobs you tend to need your clothing cleaned on a frequent basis.  And given that, we probably have a higher than normal customer lifetime value.

And we’ll pay for service.  Unfortunately, we’re also very forgiving of mistakes and give people more chances to correct situations than we should.  Which leads me to my latest experience AND solution blog post.

We’ve had the same dry cleaner for probably 5 years or more.  We’ve suffered through damaged clothing, lost shirts, not having the dry cleaning picked up and delivered for 6+ weeks.  The last straw was an incorrect billing of $700.  This incorrect billing forced me to reconcile 6 months of billing — a 4 hour job.  End result, we owed them $100 for the last couple weeks of cleaning.  Having to actually “manage” my relationship with a dry cleaner is completely unacceptable

Enter the solution - Men’s Warehouse Cleaning Services (www.mwcleaners.com). .  I was amazed at how the dry cleaning service has changed for the better.  And although some of you might already be experiencing such service it was completely new to my wife and I.  Here’s what I found:

1. Drive through lanes (3 wide) where an attendant will greet you and take your dry cleaning from your car and deliver it back to your car when you return.
2. Professional attendants — who are courtesy, helpful and attentive.
3. Frequent purchase programs — I can get a free shirt for every 20 cleanings of a shirt.  A great cross sell to get customers into Men’s Warehouse stores.
4. Free plastic collar inserts — holy crap!  I loose those things all the time, so having these is fantastic.
5. On-time pick up and drop off of dry cleaning.
6. Quick service — 1 day max for anything.  In fact, the attendant asked me if I needed something even faster as they would get it done immediately.
7. A summary of the billing and a quick review by the attendant of the invoice —ensuring it’s correct and that the number of items I brought in were what I was leaving with.
8. The assurance that if anything was not perfect, I need to contact them and they’ll make it right.
9. Altering service — yes you pay for this, but the attendant always mentions they’ll check for any buttons, etc. and alter those if required.  That saves me time and keeps me from having frustrations when I slip on a shirt.
10. A clean retail environment.
11. And higher prices.  Yes it costs more.  But, the price of the above services is worth it.  Service continues to matter folks.  And I continue to believe that the key differentiators with business is service and authenticity.  
12. Online Account — holy crap I can actually get access to the status of my laundry, etc.  

Men’s Warehouse get’s it.  Provide great service, keep customers happy and do an above normal job of the core offering leads to a higher household lifetime value.

Scott

@MWCleaners

The Death of a True Pioneer

The serious part of this post — We should recognize public service personnel (police, fire, etc.) and our armed forces who give the ultimate sacrifice.  These are the unsung heroes.  So please take time to think of them this holiday season.

Now for the humor part of this post — 2016 saw the death of many celebs.  And those deaths should be mourned as their talents and contributions will be missed.

However, all of us need to pay homage to a man, no… I mean a pioneer of invention.  Yes, I’m talking about the inventor of the Red Solo Cup — Robert Hulseman.  Mr. Hulseman passed away last week at the age of 84.  And his contributions to the world are incredible:

• The ability to personalize or write your name on a Red Solo Cup
• Always looking for the Red Solo Cup over any other color available… by the way, who invented the Blue Solo Cup?  The Yellow Solo Cup?
• A container which could be used to carry water, ice tea, milk, mixed drink or my personal favorite beer from an icy cold keg.
• Exactly the right size — just enough liquid to keep you from having to make multiple trips back to the drink line.
• And durable - you had to make a real effort to get those bad boys to crack.
• Fit perfectly in a car cup holder.

And I know there are many more, but I’m getting a tear in my eye so I’ll stop here.  For those of us who are true lovers of the Red Solo Cup I invite you to listen to the tribute song and video made popular by country artist Toby Keith.  I’ll never be able to listen to that song again without a tear in my eye and a cup in my hand.

And as you celebrate New Years, lift your cup and toast Mr. Hulseman.

Scott

CMO's Take Back Marketing?

I’m catching up on my reading this holiday week… unfortunately, I’ve let it pile up, shame on me!

The October 31 issue of Advertising Age has an interesting article in the Opinion Column summarizing a recent speech given by Bob Liodice, President-CEO of the Association of National Advertising.  With an article titled “ANA Chief Calls on CMO’s to Take Back Marketing, but Do They Really Want to?” got my attention.

A top line on the article:

1.  Company sales performance is growing at 2% annually

2.  9 of 10 big brands are losing share

3.  Overworked and under trained marketers

4. CMO’s need to lead – drive business results, etc.

5.  Brand building is waning

6.  Competing financial decisions

A few thoughts…

1.  Big brands might be losing share – competition from overseas competitors, outsourcing to lower costs and lack of innovation are surely some of the specific reasons.  Building the brand is critical but there are other factors which are probably impacting growth.

2.  Medium and smaller brand growth – looking at the big boys is great, however I wonder if the same sales performance issues are impacting those further down the size scale.

3.  Training – yes it’s a huge issue.  Everyone talks about it, but it seems no one actually does it.  It’s not just sending people to courses.  It’s giving them projects beyond their skill sets and mentoring/teaching them to do it.  It’s allowing for failure.

4.  Skill Sets – what use to be the norm is for Marketers to be skilled in all aspects of the marketing trade – PR, brand, media, direct, social, mobile, search, web, advertising, production, creative, strategy, planning, database, writing, etc.  However, today there is so much specialization most Marketers don’t know how the pieces fit together.

5.  Financial Management – this isn’t anything new, so I wonder why it’s all of sudden considered a big issue.  Where to spend or invest marketing dollars varies by each business… but where most get it wrong is that they invest in areas which don’t drive sales, pay for things which really aren’t true marketing expenses and a whole bunch of other areas which I won’t go further into.

6.  Never Outsource Strategy – if you’re not smart enough to develop the foundation of your company’s marketing strategy,  then you shouldn’t have the job.  I’m not saying you shouldn’t work with others to develop the strategy, but outsourcing it to a 3^rd party isn’t wise in any situation.  

7.  If leadership is showing where we need to go then management is about actually getting it done.  And some Marketers don’t have a great track record of late on not only leadership but management as well.  The media rebate scandal, allowing procurement to own agency selection/management, outsourcing strategy to agencies – these are all symptoms of not focusing on block and tackling marketing. 

The ANA’s call for CMO’s to take back marketing?  CMO’s should have never let it go in the first place.

Scott

2017 Marketing Predictions

It's that time of year to begin predicting what's ahead for the Marketing industry in the new year. Here's my attempt....

1.  More scandals regarding the way agencies, suppliers and clients work together will continue – see Department of Justice investigation of agencies.

2.  Marketing and media budgets will increase based on business friendly optimism of a Republican controlled White House and Congress.

3.  More clients will hire media audit companies with many finding they are due rebates.

4.  There will be an increase year over year in agency reviews – the media audit scandal, the public discussions on agency executive compensation, etc. will add more gas to the ever raging fire.

5.  Media rates will fall.  The 2016 scarcity of television and digital from the Olympics and election cycle will put more inventory in the 2017 market.  But the Super Bowl will still be over priced.

6.  TV talk shows, political news programming and comedy shows will see rating increases based on a Trump White House – lots of humorous material, questions and concerns will draw viewers.

7.  Yahoo! will go into fire sale mode.

8.  Content will become interactive – helping to keep consumers engaged.

9.   More live streaming of events, conferences, presentations, etc.

10.  Marketing automation will continue to grow across all sectors.

11.  Social will transform with a higher focus on direct ecommerce purchases.

12.  B2B marketing will start to take the lead on best practices. 

Scott

The rumble in the jungle -- ANA vs. 4A’s

“In this corner… the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) a heavy-weight known for its pummeling attack.  And in the opposite corner the American Association of Advertising Agencies (4A’s) known for quick moves and ability to dodge an opponents attack.”

Media transparency… the issue which has shaken the advertising/media industry this year continues to be a discussion vs. a solution.  But where to go from here?  Is it the 4A’s of ANA’s responsibility to solve the issue?  Or is it the client?  What about the agency?  And how about the media property?

Yes to all of the above.

-       Associations. 

o    The ANA and 4A’s should “attempt” to come up with guidelines for both associations members. 

o    However, I don’t believe it’s possible that they could ever come together with a single guideline document. 

o    Does this take the teeth out of each organization?  Not sure, but time will tell.

-       Clients.           

o    Need to clearly define any financial compensation that the agency receives. This needs to include, but limited to, any cash rebates, discounts, bonus inventory, barter rebate, agency fees, media fees, etc.  

o    Next, clients need to clearly state what happens with those rebates, fees, etc. 

o    Who has to approve all of these compensation opportunities? 

o    It needs to be put in contract language in the Master Services Agreement and applicable across any/all units within a holding company.

o    Get tighter control over tracking of media spend and fees in general.

o    Take a hard look at the compensation model you have setup with your agency – perhaps you need to call off the Procurement Dept. and actually put a bit more money in the agencies pockets. 

o    Consider putting specific contractual language with your main media partners describing your expectations in regards to media rebates, etc.

o    Continuosly audit the agency.

-       Agencies.   

o    Get over it.  You and the clients agreed that a 3^rd party audit was needed.  Now you didn’t agree to agree with the results, but come on, the results are pretty clear.  Just move forward and fix the issues.

o    Speak to your client about your compensation challenges… if the rebates were providing the revenue you needed to meet your financial targets then there’s a bigger issue.  Look most clients actually want you to make money.  But if a client’s procurement department has wacked away all your profit… it’s time to have a serious conversation with the client.

o    Don’t try to get squirm out of the issue with interpretive analysis of legal documents put forth by clients.

o    Be transparent – this is a chance to hit the “reset” button on your client relationships if you work it correctly.

-       Media Properties.  Ahhhh, I didn’t forget about you!  You’re part of the issue as well.

o    Stop playing the victim in these conversations… “I had to do it to get the business.”

o    You need to be transparent with clients on the full compensation picture – rebates, payments, discounts, etc.

o    Make your rate card and prices more transparent.  Break down the costs so clients can understand what they’re paying for. 

o    Stop playing both sides of the fence with the agency and clients.  Stop telling clients how the agency isn’t fair and stop telling the agency the client loved the idea.  You’re feeding the issue.

The Dalai Lama had it right when he said “A lack of transparency results in distrust and a deep sense of insecurity”

See my previous posts on this subject on my Linked page or on my blog.

Scott

Brexit – What Should Marketer’s Do Now

It’s been a few weeks since the British people voted on leaving the EU.  As we know the outcome of this stunning decision has had dramatic response in the economic, social and political realms.  And those repercussions are not just being felt by the UK but across the globe.  There have been some areas which I’ve been focusing on since the voting results were announced…here’s a few thoughts.

-          1.  Keep a close eye on your sales not just in the UK but ALL countries you’re doing business in.  If the UK or countries within the EU begin to flirt with recession your marketing or budgets will be impacted.  Get those metrics in place to show the positive results your investments are making.

-          2.  UK Media On Sale – as the pound has dropped, you can probably pick up your media for a 15% decrease against the dollar just on the currency drop.  And if other advertisers begin pulling media schedules, there could be an excess of inventory which could lead to additional price reductions.

-          If you’re a UK based company with sales in the Americas, the decreased in the pound actually makes every dollar in US sales that much more valuable.  A potential shift in media/marketing investment to the US might help drive those more valuable US greenbacks to the bottom line. 

-          3.  Contracts – depending upon how media and agency contracts have been drafted you might have to revise your contracts.  This would be the opportunity to drive more favorable terms with suppliers.   Get your procurement and legal teams reviewing opportunities.

-          4.  Get aggressive – change creates opportunity.  Look to grab share now, while your competition is trying to figure out what to do next or if they’ve given up on the marketplace altogether,

-          5.  Pick up talent – look for outstanding talent who might be displaced in the potential economic crisis. 

-          6.  Keep Your Service Up – create further differentiation with your competition by driving your service level to a new high.   Being there to help your customers/prospects in times of turbulence will pay off.

-          7.  Don’t choose sides… this one is tough.   This is the time to remember not to discuss politics.  You’ve got the potential of pissing off 50% of the people.

-          8.  Don’t Tread Water – sitting around the water cooler discussing the vote isn’t going to help your marketing – stay focused.  You need to keep your marketers focused on the work not the vote.

-          9.  Start getting your plans prepared – work now and take a proactive step with your management to bring up thoughts, options and recommendations.  Don’t wait for someone in Finance to send you an email with the dreaded “budget cut” in the subject line. 

Remember, potential exists if you look hard enough.

Scott

The Media Rebate Scandal - The Results Are In

You might recall the article in the  October 20th issue of Advertising Age discussing the accusations of media rebates being received by media agencies.  The ANA announced they were hiring K2 to audit the situation and come back with a report.  

Well the report is back... you can download the report via the ANA.net site.  The bottom line on the interviews conducted... it's happening.  I'll leave the details behind the report to your late night reading.  

The findings in the report gets the problem out in the open from an independent third party investigation.  The AAAA's and ANA might differ on the end results and why's it's happening, but the question as to whether it is or isn't has been answered.

Below is a copy of the original post I made on this topic when it was announced in October.  The majority of the text is still accurate given the survey results.

Scott

..............................................................................................................

The below is a re-post of my October 22, 2015 blog post 

Basically, the situation(s) is this:

• Media agencies purchase media on behalf of multiple clients.
• Media companies have allegedly provided incentives to agencies for buying more inventory from       them.
• The agency then received a “rebate” for spending more money with one media-company.
• Rebates haven’t been passed back to clients but pocketed by the agency.
• Clients have been kept in the dark for the most part regarding this practice.

This isn’t anything new… it’s been going on for years.  Media audit companies have been pointing it out to clients for a number of years.  And savvy large advertisers have been able to claw those dollars back.

The rebate situation brings up:

1. Transparency – why haven’t clients been informed of these rebates by media companies and others?
2. Trust – if the “value” of a media agency is to strategize, plan, measure and frankly buy media at the lowest possible cost for clients… how do I know they’ve been purchasing the right media for my campaigns? 
3. Motivation – is the agency motivated to meet my needs or thinking about how they can make the rebate?  And, have those fees helped make up the delta for lower costs on media buying fees paid to the agency?
   

So what to do?

1. Ask the question of your agency – Are you receiving any rebates from any media partners, vendors etc. for the work you do on behalf of my company?
2. Hire a media audit company to look at the media and vendor purchases… audit the numbers and report back on rebates and other financial concerns.  Hopefully, a clause such as this is included in your agency contract.
3. If rebates are found, have the amount calculated by a 3rd party.
4. Ask for a rebate check, not media credits or agency fee credits.  A check makes this a clean transaction, getting media or fee credits will just make things more complicated.
5. Current agency fees – make sure you keep an eye on any additional fees which might start being applied to your bill.  This could be to make up for any media rebates which might be taken way.
6. Future Negotiations – when you look at negotiating for a new term (or with a new vendor/agency) make sure you understand if fees are going up because rebates might be taken away.
7. Quarterly Review – if you don’t already do it… start a review to keep this and other potential issues in the windshield vs the rear view mirror.
8. Provide very clear contractual language on rebates, etc. in your agency contract
9. Make it known to media companies your input on this situation.  It’s your money the media company gets… so they will listen.  As my Dad would say you need to have a “come to Jesus” conversation with them.
10. Follow the Money – this is a simple situation to follow who’s getting the cash and why.  Start investigating.  Don’t stop with the agencies … look at media companies as well.

If agencies aren’t transparent with clients… it will eventually come out.  It might take some time…you can run, but you can’t hide.  And if this investigation yields specific names as to company’s potentially involved in the rebate allegation… restoring trust of clients will be tough…and explaining this at pitches is going to be interesting to say the least.

Getting in front of the Marketing community with your cocker spaniel named “Checkers”, getting on TV and saying “I am not a crook” or getting rid of 18 minutes on tape… ain’t gonna work. 

Scott

Ali and the Brand

As the rest of the world, I mourn the death of Muhammad Ali.  The weekend was filled with tributes and accolades for his in and out of the ring talents.  Controversy surrounded him throughout his life but the “Ali Brand” will always be remembered with fondness.

All of this got me thinking about how Ali managed his “brand” or “reputation” etc.  I’ve come to the conclusion that he didn’t manage his brand.  Yep I just said it… you’re probably cursing me at this point, but let me explain.

Ali did what he wanted… he didn’t care about what others thought…he let his conscious, beliefs, life experiences and character steer his brand.  In other words, Ali was authentic long before being authentic was cool.  You took the good and the bad with Ali.  You always knew where he stood.  He didn’t mince words.  His ACTIONS defined him, albeit his mouth certainly had skill unto its own.  

Those actions defined his brand.

As companies strive to be authentic they can learn something from Ali.  Not all of your decisions are going to be received positively – but true authenticity requires you to go through the storm to get to the sunshine.  However, in the end doing the right things – helping your community, providing the best product/services, growing your staff, being honest and not trying to put lipstick on a pig when you make a mistake will all lead to long-term authenticity.

RIP Champ and thanks for the lessons.

Scott

P.S.  Check out the NYTs article on Ali… I think it is the best piece I’ve read.  http://nyti.ms/28fWBQH

You and Your Brand

You’re an asset.  Don’t forget that.  Your skills, the way you conduct yourself, your reputation and integrity define your personal “brand.”  And just as we develop brands for businesses, ensuring the message is correct, that the promise is delivered upon, etc., you must constantly be aware of your personal brand in your dealings.

If you’re in the beginning portion of your career, keep the following in mind:

1. Do what you say, say what you do — don’t promise something you can’t deliver.  
2. Don’t do anything you wouldn’t want your Mother, Priest, Spouse or the New York Times to know about.
3. It’s true, keep politics and religion out of your conversations.  In this political year, I’ve been negligent in expressing my thoughts… but I’m getting better at controlling myself.
4. Social media is easy — stay clean, don’t show the stuff which will embarrass you or your employer.  Look the separation of business and social media is tricky, my recommendation is to be conservative.  Because when you find out you were to liberal in your posts, etc., it’s usually to late to change it.
5. Golden Rule — do what your Mother told you… treat people with respect.  I pay very close attention to how people deal with others.  If you treat the waiter like crap, you show your true self.  It’s simple, but I’m surprised at how badly people treat others.
6. Which leads to Manners — do the simple things, thank you, please, your welcome.  It makes an impression.
7. Polish Your Shoes — two lessons here.  First, be wary of man who doesn’t shine his own shoes.  If you can’t do the dirty work, how can I trust you to get in the trenches when the real work starts? Second, when you walk into a room with a $1000 suit and shoes which look like combat boots, it shows your lack of detail and concern with your entire appearance.
8. Dumbest Guy in the Room — strive to be dumb.  What I mean is listen, listen, listen.  Get the thoughts of others before making a decision.
9. Remember, there is a difference between management and leadership.
10. Ebenezer Scrooge — I love the part in the story, when Ebenezer says he’ll keep Christmas in his heart all year long.  Try to do the same… it’s a 365 day year.  

This isn’t all of the list, but I hope you get the idea.  

Scott

Service Still Matters

In many cases companies advertise what they aren’t.  And when you must advertise your service level I usually find the service is terrible.  Service is best spread word-of-mouth.  It has authenticity when you hear it from another person, not an advertisement.

I was reminded today of the continuing importance of service — in fact EXCEPTIONAL service.  It was time for my 30,000 mile service on my car.  So I set my appointment through the handy technology imbedded in the in-car computer.

Arriving at Northside Lexus of Houston, I was greeted by a friendly Advisor who checked in my car and walked me to his office (yes an actual office).  He patiently explained to me what was involved in the service - explaining each item, made sure I didn’t a loaner car, etc.  At this point, he walked me to seating area’s…  Leather chairs, couches, multiple big screen TV’s, WiFi (and strong signal WiFi to boot) — it was a designer perfect family room.  The second area was a more general area with chairs and tables.  The third, was a business room with all the amenities — a fax machine, printer, etc. etc.  And fountain drinks, juices, coffee, cappuccino were all available.  

Then, Northside Lexus went for the “service kill”… freshly baked cookies…right out of the oven.  It is impossible for any man on the face of the earth to not fall under the “spell” of a freshly baked chocolate chip cookie — it’s like a love potion.  All along the way, my Advisor checked in with me to give me an update on the multitude of items they were checking, changing, tightening, washing and vacuuming, etc.  I received text messages with the estimated time my car would be ready. 

Check out was so fast and the Advisor walked me to my car.  The car was on, with the A/C lightly cooling the car.  And all along the walk the staff said thank you, enjoy the weekend, etc.  And this was like 3-4 people along the walk.  Oh, did I say they used my name.

If I didn’t have things to do I would have asked to stay a few more hours.  Northside Lexus of Houston doesn’t advertise its exception service, it doesn’t need too…I just did.

Scott

Prince – Master Musician and Brand Master

As many, I was shocked with the passing of Prince yesterday.  A musical genius who had tremendous influence on multiple generations.  Personally, I had 3 cassettes of the Purple Rain soundtrack.  Why 3? I wore them out from listening to some of the greatest songs of my generation.  Thank God the modern CD was created.

Prince was more than a musician; he was the master of the “Prince” brand.  Now whether he was cognizant or had a plan can be debated. 

• -          Color – how many artists are recognizable by a color?  For Prince it was purple.  The evidence was his use of the color in his marketing materials, songs, etc.  Last night’s tributes to him had lighting of purple across the globe.
• 
  
• -          Symbol – “the artist formally known as Prince.”  Remember that?  At first it was considered a joke. However, the symbol became as iconic as the color purple.  From guitars, graphics, t-shirts, etc. the symbol was uniquely his brand logo.
• 
  
• -          Super Bowl Half Time Performance – when on the grand stage of performance, with 100 million plus people seeing you perform, he cemented his brand.  His 2007 performance in the rain is legendary.  Frankly, it was perfect… the rain provided the backdrop when he played his hit “Purple Rain.”  An Interesting tidbit.. His performance was named the best Super Bowl performance.
• 
  
• -          Privacy – Prince was a private individual.  Living in Minneapolis certainly helps you be private.  But he didn’t get caught up in the LA scene, where the paparazzi and tabloid press prey on and can distort images.  That’s not saying he didn’t make the front page of The Enquirer, but it seemed to be tempered.  He controlled his brand by staying out of controversy.
• 
  
• -          Letting “Lightning” Strike Once -- After the movie Purple Rain ran its course, I was sure there would be a sequel.  There wasn’t.   But I have to believe it was discussed.  It seems to me he probably knew the risk of trying to make another hit, thus, damaging his brand.
• 
  
• -          Have Others Advocate His Brand – just a few artists who he helped or who played work he penned include:  The Bangles, Sheila E., Vanity, Tom Jones, and Sheena Easton.  They carried his brand by making hits out of his songs… those artists broadened his brand through their association with Prince.
• 
  
• -          Ownership – Prince was a stickler for “ownership” of his performances and work.   Sheryl Crow and others have discussed his business acumen at ensuring he “owned” his brand.  Prince seemed to know what his brand was worth and controlled it to ensure the value remained high.  

I’ll miss the live performances, new music and trend setting Prince provided.  RIP O’Purple One.

Scott