Hello From 2011,
It’s a New Day. And I borrow from President Obama and Newt Gingrich and say WTF! (win the future!). With the new day comes new ways.
I was struck this past week how closely Brand realities and politics are aligned. Messages can be delivered globally in seconds, 24 hours a day. And consumers respond just as quickly. Brands such as Larry King, Regis Philbin, and Oprah will leave their monolithic thrones and make room for new voices and new Icons. Brands like Sarah Palin will use tweeting, Facebooking, and reality shows to build their pipelines and sell their ideology. Weather channel anchors will tweet, Facebook, and send SMS messages in real-time so you will not have to wait for the next snow update in your area. American Idol and Dancing with the Stars will produce Brands that will drive Retail SKUs for years to come. Mobile APPS are the new Google; Facebook has replaced word of mouth; and the 24 hour global news cycle has proven that political upheaval in Tunisia can promote pro-change demonstrations in Egypt and even turning off the Internet and cell phones in Egypt could not stem the tidal wave of popular response once the communication began. Finally, Brands like J.C. Penney have acknowledged that direct mail catalog no longer holds a value in their multi-channel world. Yes, it’s a New Day and getting your game on is the President’s call to action.
Every Brand needs to be thinking about how to Win the Future. Brands have been paralyzed and powerless. It is time to turn the corner and take back Marketing from the IT department, from the green eyeshades, and give it to Marketers who are primed to win the future. Savvy Marketers understand the complex and sophisticated marketing cycle. They know that you can’t throw out the baby with the bath water. You need to understand your customers. And you need to understand that their paths to purchase are no longer straight. Nonetheless, you need to communicate and measure every step of the way; even as you are charting new trails. Catalogers should be into DRTV; retailers need direct mail; online needs radio and outdoor; and everyone should be exploring how mobile helps grow incremental sales. These new paths are only the beginning.
Consumers are poised to rise from their fiscally imposed time-outs. Will your Brand be ready to read, report, and respond to the data driven realities of a marketplace that has to win. Today’s consumer is at sea in a content driven and untethered society that is absorbing technology at a rate faster than the tech-heads can bring it to market. Grab that energy; let your customers know that you are with them. Digital is not a channel, it is an experience. Direct mail is not stagnant; it is inspirational and aspirational. DRTV is not yell and sell; it is a focused, repetitious, and educational value stream that is highly targeted and very efficient. Mobile is a multichannel communication opportunity.
Talent is essential in this new day. It takes exceptional talent to weave fractionalized and disparate transactional, performance, and demographic data together to tell the story of what and who and how for every customer persona. It takes expert analytical talent to identify the cross channel efficiencies that come with multichannel touchpoints. It takes creative and imaginative talent to mold the complex and integrated multichannel contact strategy that will result in new revenues and sustained customer loyalty. It takes a marketsmith to home in on what is important and how resources can be most effectively deployed to the greatest benefit of the Brand.
Call me, our EVP Susan Pizzano or Sr. VP Todd Russell to take our “10 Point Optimization and Growth Challenge”, a complimentary review of best next steps for your Brand, with no obligation to our services.
Have a most prosperous New Day.
M-
