Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Wizard of Ads, Yellow Pages and Tape Recorders



I recieved this memo from the Wizard of Ads that I thought was quite interesting and reflects the sentiment of a growing number of my clients. Research shows that 80% of all Calgarians use the internet, regardless of age. Consumers are shopping online and more often, avoiding the Yellow Pages.

The chairman of the board looked at me and said, “You’ll be speaking to about 16 hundred members and delegates from the US, Canada, England and Australia. They’re looking for ways to boost attendance at their fairs.”

“Son,” he said as he stopped abruptly, “the average age of the people you’re about to address is 72 years old. Many of them are over 80. There’s no one in the house younger than 65. These just aren’t internet people.”

Then I raised my hand and said, “How many of you have used a search engine in the past 7 days to research a purchase you were considering?” Sixteen hundred hands went up simultaneously.

Pennie and I found a plastic bag at the end of our driveway last Tuesday. In it were 3 different Yellow Page books. This triggered a discussion between Pennie and me about icons of the past. We recalled the famous Yellow Pages ad of 1962, “Let Your Fingers Do The Walking.” We talked about all the different tape recorders we’d owned. I told her about the J.C. Penney Golden Pinto mini-bike I coveted in 1970. And then I dropped the bag of books into the garbage

Yes, money spent in the Yellow Pages (and their associated websites) is basically wasted.

Have you ever Googled a product or service and had the search engine direct you to the online Yellow Pages listing for a company? I’ve never once experienced it. Search engines elevate the most commonly clicked links. Think about what this implies. (Okay, I'll spell it out for you: if people were using the digital Yellow Pages, those online Yellow Page ads would rank higher on Google and the other search engines. The ads don't rank high on Google because most people never see those ads.)
During the past few years, a number of our service company clients (foundation repair specialists, plumbers, HVAC companies, etc.) have taken our advice and abandoned the yellow pages completely, moving virtually 100 percent of their ad budgets to the radio. They already have websites, of course. These businesses, without exception, are outdistancing their competitors in the area of new customer acquisition.

Friday, December 11, 2009

Learning from Canada's Top 10 Brands


Many of the conversations I've had lately with clients revolve around planning their 2010 marketing strategy and how to seperate themselves from their competition. I figured a good place to look for some information & insight on this topic is with Canada's "Best" brands.

“Branding is about having a unique personality, a point of view and a positioning.”
David Haigh
CEO, Brand Finance plc

http://www.brandfinance.com/Uploads/pdfs/BrandFinanceCanadaMostValuableBrands2009.pdf

companies have experienced a dramatic shift from tangible to intangible assets as the main source of value creation. Though roughly two-thirds of global market value was intangible as of 2007

Total enterprise value for the Top 50 brands has decreased by almost -32%

Brands generally create value by shifting both the demand and supply curves. On the demand side, they influence customer behaviour - leading to greater trial, improved frequency of use, increased loyalty, and a willingness to pay a price premium. On the supply side, strong brands can attract better employees, influence terms of trade, and even reduce the cost of capital.

conditions are already having a major impact on the global and Canadian brandscape, as brands with strong value-oriented positions (e.g. Wal-Mart, McDonald’s) are seen to be making headway in this ‘thrift as chic’ market.

given the anticipated prolonged economic weakness in the months to come, brand values can be expected to decline - at least in the near to intermediate term
This said, the effects will likely not be evenly distributed. As noted, among those to thrive (all other things equal) will be brands with strong value-based positionings

we can also expect large and stable brands with significant reach and share of voice (many of which are represented in this year’s ranking) to make exceptional market share (if not value gains) in 2009, as short-sighted competitors blindly cut brand support during these challenging yet opportunistic times.

On this note, perhaps the more relevant issue for brand owners is: what should they be doing to prepare for the inevitable upturn in the economy?

Now is the time to prepare and invest - identify areas of inefficiency - marketing and otherwise - to enable investment in the brand, or at
least to hold investment relatively flat.Do this properly and, as the market turns, you should be disproportionately rewarded.

More deeply understand the drivers of your brand’s value - Quantify your brand’s value, derive insight into the key drivers therein, and connect your organization’s current investments against each driver area

Sharpen your brand’s positioning and key point(s) of difference - A meaningful, differentiated positioning preserves profit margins and provides purposeful brand investment.

Ensure organizational alignment to support consistent brand delivery - Seize the opportunity to examine how your brand is delivered against all key touch-points and stakeholders, and spearhead initiatives (across the organization) to address opportunity areas in this regard.

“Survival in a recessionary era is about far more than simply cutting prices, reducing spending and hoping you can hold out long enough for the recovery to gain traction. Smart firms recognize these times as ushering in an era of restructuring: within firms that thrive, areas of inefficiency are identified and reformulated. These actions generate new “degrees of freedom” for marketing executives who now find they can self-finance programs directed at adding value for customers, clients and consumers. The research is unequivocal: those that do, win – those that don’t, lose.”
Ken Wong
Vice President, Knowledge Development, LEVEL5 Strategic Brand Advisors
Professor of Marketing, Queen’s School of Business

2009 Top 10 Canadian Brands
1. RBC
2. Blackberry
3. TD Canada Trust
4. Manulife Financial
5. Bell
6. Scotia Bank
7. Loblaws
8. Bombarier
9. BMO
10. CIBC
11. Rogers

2009 Top 10 "Iconic" Canadian Brands

1. Canada Post
2. Canadian Tire
3. Tim Hortons
4. CBC
5. Air Canada
6. Toronto Maple Leafs
7. Montreal Canadiens
8. Petro Canada
9. Via Rail
10. CN Tower