Content Is King, But Context Is The King Maker.

I have a simple belief.  The context of what you have to say is often more important than what you say.  The power of words is often overlooked or misused when it comes to communicating...be that in an ad, meeting or even a tweet.  
Words carry emotion. Words carry pictures. Words carry a whole world of symbols and universal meanings that engage an audience's heart and mind.  Words do not just communicate - they can also cast spells.  
Mothers often tell their children, when the wee ones are over eager and not thinking clearly  - "Use your words!".  Sometimes I think the marketing world needs to be reminded to "use your words" as well.  
I believe marketing copy in Social, Digital and all places needs to be powerfully thoughtful, simple and most of all - designed to create engaging context for what we are trying to say.
Ironically, the following link to a video says this so much better than my own words can.  
The Power of words.
People say content is king.  True.  But, context is the king maker.

The Most Important Marketing Skill: "Getting it".

Last week I was in Chicago, between meetings and in need of free WiFi but not in need of a double espresso.  A perplexing problem.  So in the middle of a Wednesday afternoon I did something I haven't done in over 10 years - I walked into the downtown public library. I found an empty table, opened my laptop, hooked into the WiFi network and made a valiant attempt at being productive.  It didn't last that long because I was quickly distracted by the world around me.  I was fascinated by the group of disenfranchised people within the building.  I was saddened and inspired by what I saw.  I wanted to write about the experience, but my blog is about marketing - not a sermon about humanity.  Later in the day I walked among the crowds of shoppers on Michigan Ave.  It wasn't quite so inspiring.  Determined to find a way to fit my library experience into my blog I went and had a drink and pondered.  Two drinks later I crafted an idea...

The Marketing Message:
I may not be doing much "marketing" at the moment, but I am a marketer...and will always be a marketer.  That afternoon in a downtown Chicago public library I was doing what every marketer should do - I was looking at society around me and trying to understand what was going on.  I wasn't engrossed in my own importance. (To be clear, I'm am as engrossed in my own importance as anyone - but I set that aside for ever so brief of a moment.)  I wasn't projecting my view onto the crowd or attempting to change the crowd. (Two of the biggest and most common mistakes in marketing.)  Instead I was captivated in the lives around me and what did or did not motivate them.  I was fascinated to see how they interacted with each other and what, if any, rules and norms they followed.
It is my belief that if you work in marketing - this desire to understand what is going on in the world around you should be your number one driver.  It should come ahead of wanting to be creative, having a VP job title or anything else we have come to believe as being important.  We marketers should be constantly looking around ourselves and asking "What's going on?"  It's so vital that we "get" what is shaping the behaviors of society around us.  Without a fanatical desire to "get it", we fail as marketers because there is one thing I know for sure - society does not need to "get" your brand and certainly does not need to "get" you.

The Inspiration Message:
So, what did I see in the Chicago library?  All around me was an abundance of people with time on their hands who were trying.  Some were old.  Some were in their early 20's.  Many were black.  But, unlike the disenfranchised that we see on the streets - these people had not given up on life despite the fact that stores, streets and social patterns outside that building had no real place for them.  Almost every computer available was being used.  Older people trying to learn yet another new bit of technology that will allow them to stay connected to an ever distant world. Younger people using the computers to find jobs.  I watched people struggle their way through newspapers in search of some form of hope.  And, I watched a young black man teach an old white woman how to google.  Everyone was busy trying to do something.  Trying to improve.  Thank god the city gave them a place to try.
There is a T.S. Elliot quote on the wall of Chicago library that sums up what I witnessed and felt:

"The very existence of libraries affords the best evidence that we may yet have hope for the future of man."

I was inspired by what I saw.  I was inspired by witnessing the act of trying - not the act of succeeding.  Trying, as I am learning, is far more relevant to our lives than success.  And, by trying to understand the patterns of the room around me I also honed my most important marketing skill - the act of "getting it".

An update to the Article: "Social" vs Socializing

In a recent post "Social" vs. Socializing I put out a few thoughts on how Social Marketing is at it's core - humans doing what humans do and that is both its strength and weakness.  The following article from CNN adds to this theory.  Enjoy.    The Fundamentals of Tribes

Stadium Branding. Really?

In this day and age of metric driven marketing, "ROI"'s, matrixes, quadrants and share of voice or mind pie charts, I am amazed that stadium and arena naming is still a sought after form of marketing. Is there really any value for the consumer in this type of activity?  Or does it simply come across as bragging, forcing the public to roll their eyes at your brand's hubris?   Is your brand providing value or providing noise?
Okay, I know that along with naming rights comes special hospitality features and perhaps guarantees that your soft drink will be the only one sold in the building.  But beyond that, does inflicting a brand name on a building really change the hearts of consumers and is it worth millions of marketing dollars?

Exhibit A:
Not to pick on anyone, but recently I was in Cleveland and came across the arena where the Cleveland Cavaliers play.

Yup, the Quicken Loans Arena.  Seriously?  That's just not a good name.  That's just not providing a good brand experience for anyone.  And most of all, it isn't even practical. To make it a name people could use it had to be shortened to "The Q".  Look at the top of the sign...the name on the name.  I rest my case.  This stadium/arena naming thing is out of control.  If you want more examples you can go to Silly Names to see more.
Did I say I rest my case?  Sorry, I'm not done.
Next door to the Quicken Loans Arena is the home of the Cleveland Indians baseball club.  The stadium use to have a great name.  Jacob's Field.  "The Jake".  I didn't know who Jacob was I didn't care.  It just felt right and it felt good to say I've been to The Jake.  You smile when you say it.  But I have since learned that it is now Progressive Field in honor of Progressive Insurance's marketing budget.  I don't know what role they play in the park experience but now everyone gets to say...with a sigh...I've been to Progressive Field.  And I don't think people smile when they say that. I don't know about you but I go to stadiums for fun.  Thanks Progressive for taking some of the fun away.
But that's not the end of it.  Every square inch of a stadium is for sale these days and somehow they find marketers willing to pay to slap a their brand name on to a board or post.

Exhibit B:

OMG!  Seriously?  How do you even tell what the score of the game is? Maybe there is an app for that.  Actually there is. Okay, I'm having a little fun here, but I'm also not making any of this stuff up.  Sometimes we marketers do some very silly things with our budgets.

Real Market Research: Love Thy Competition As Thyself

For the last 10 yrs I helped create and manage a major brand.  Now that I no longer have that responsibility I have been conducting a rather interesting market research experiment.  I've allowed myself to do what no self respecting corporate guy would ever do - devote myself to using the competitor's products.  (Well, no longer the competitor now, but old habits...etc.) 

I didn't run out and buy the "dark side's" products because I secretly lusted for them all these years and I wasn't being a s**t disturber even though that is core to my nature.  I wasn't just curious about where the buttons were and how much faster, slower or lighter the product was compared to what I helped market.

I wanted to get into the context of the brand and really understand what the product did for my life and what was core to the passion of the brand's followers.  

It only took me about two weeks for me to learn more about the competition than I learned in 10 yrs of following the rules.  I came to appreciate the context and nuance of brand, product and culture.  There were and are times when I love the product.  I now have full empathy for customers I once competed to acquire and as a result I know I could walk into my old company and help them compete so much more effectively because I understand the context of the competitor's experience.  It has nothing to do with the number of bolts, wires, colors or gigawhatevers.  It has to do with knowing what it feels like to love what the competitor does.  

I swear - in my future roles I will jump at the chance to send some people away to use the competitor's products.  I won't ask them to come back and tell me what's wrong with the product or simply what it does.  I will ask them to come back when they are in love the product and I will ask them to go into lush detail about their love affair.   

And that's when I'll learn how to compete and beat the competition.  

Disruptive Marketing With A Smile

Disruptive marketing usually comes from the fringe.  The odd time it comes from the market leader, but usually the leader is invested in maintaining the rules of the status quo.  In the auto industry, the status quo was once Detroit - then Japan.  The fringe seems to be Korea.
30 years ago, Hyundai  arrived in North America with the "Pony".  It was super cheap....and crap.  But the incredibly low cost was just disruptive enough to gain a place in the consumers' mind.   And, over the years they grew at the bottom end of the car market by adding the Kia brand
Recently Hyundai added the Genesis sedan which is beautiful, full of quality and about $20,000 cheaper than its BMW and Mercedes competitors.
 
Disruption!

Kia hired the designer of the Audi TT to head their design team.

Disruption!

All of a sudden you can have cool cars, stylish cars at a very reasonable cost

Big disruption!

The best part is all of this disruption is captured with a joyful wink and smile in the Kia Soul commercial "The Arrival".  It carries one clear message - something disruptive this way comes, so put on your seat belts and enjoy the ride!

The 2 Golden Rules Of Marketing To Humans

Edward Tufte, the graphic designer/statistician who made art out of charts and graphs once said that PowerPoint is used to guide and reassure the presenter rather than to enlighten the audience.  That comment stopped me dead in my tracks. It is such a perfect example of the many mistakes we all make when we try to communicate.  It is so easy to get caught up in our ideas and our own need to hear ourselves that we forget to think about, and listen, to our audience.  Ask yourself:

• How often do I catch myself not listening to someone who is talking to because I am too busy thinking about what I am planning on saying?  
• How often have I been pre occupied with what I just said and forgot to listen to the response?
• How often do I focus on listening for responses that support my ideas rather than all the responses being communicated?

Marketing and marketers can easily fall into the same traps. After all, marketing at its core is the act of communicating ideas.  I think two of the golden rules of marketing should be:  

1. Always remember, communicating with humans is hard and messy.  They filter what they see and hear based on hidden agendas...some of which they hide from themselves.
2. Always remember, you are a human too!

Here is an example, and I've seen it happen numerous times:

We read a report that says when people see our ads, FaceBook page, etc., they have increased purchase interest in our product.  That's what we want to hear so we stop digging and asking questions.  Customers seem to like what we have to say and gosh....so do we!  

However, messy human thinking doesn't fit into a chart very well.  Just because purchase interest increased in your product because of your marketing doesn't prevent people from also being interested in other products...and being influenced at a greater degree by your competition's marketing.
Good communicating begins and finishes with good listening. So, if you really want to know if you are changing purchase interest you need to ask more out of your market research and listen more too. Ask to look at the attributes that influence purchase interest.  Do you own them or does your competition?  That's what really matters.  That's a more meaningful measure.  That's the customer talking to you.  And if you listen you can craft a message that will become a true dialogue and not a boardroom lecture.