Hi,
Radio personality Alan Jones wields immense political power. He has the ear of premiers and prime ministers because they think he can influence voters. But who can he influence? asked the Australia Institute in a web paper in June 2006. Jones listeners are far older than average, more likely to be pensioners, and more likely to be religious than the average listener, according to Roy Morgan figures. By a big margin. They are more likely to think fundamental Australian values are under threat and they also feel personally more under threat, ie. they feel crime is growing, contrary to the real trends. They are twice as likely to vote conservative than average. The study concludes that Alan Jones’s audience is small – about the same as a low rating TV show – and politically rusted-on to the conservatives. Therefore his influence is not based on his ability to shift votes, but fear of on air criticism. Marketers are aware of his power – not many major brands spend any money with his program. Could it be that there’s no one there worth talking to?
Cheers!
Michael
Friday, October 20, 2006
Thursday, October 19, 2006
I don't know you...
Hi,
There's a famous ad for McGraw-Hill Magazines from the 1960's.
A severe-looking purchasing officer looks directly at the reader and says:
"I don't know who you are.
"I don't know your company.
"I don't know your company's product.
"I don't know what your company stands for.
"I don't know your company's customers.
"I don't know your company's record.
"I don't know your company's reputation.
"Now - what was it you wanted to sell me?"
This was an ad for advertising. Corporate advertising. In those days everyone read magazines and newspapers and watched Television. Media was mass. We've still got to do this awareness and reassurance job, because human nature hasn't changed (and it never will). But we can't rely on ads. Instead, corporates must rely on "brand actions" to get their message across. "Brand actions" are behaviours that define the personality of the corporation - such as sponsorships, community initiatives (eg. Virgin's Richard Branson pledging US$3bn for climate change action), customer service philosophy, customer experience, and other actions which speak louder than words. The communications channels used are publicity via media reports, word of mouth networks, and signage at events - in other words, channels that have in the past been considered incidental. They are risky because you have less control. But get it right and you generate authenticity.
Cheers!
Michael
There's a famous ad for McGraw-Hill Magazines from the 1960's.
A severe-looking purchasing officer looks directly at the reader and says:
"I don't know who you are.
"I don't know your company.
"I don't know your company's product.
"I don't know what your company stands for.
"I don't know your company's customers.
"I don't know your company's record.
"I don't know your company's reputation.
"Now - what was it you wanted to sell me?"
This was an ad for advertising. Corporate advertising. In those days everyone read magazines and newspapers and watched Television. Media was mass. We've still got to do this awareness and reassurance job, because human nature hasn't changed (and it never will). But we can't rely on ads. Instead, corporates must rely on "brand actions" to get their message across. "Brand actions" are behaviours that define the personality of the corporation - such as sponsorships, community initiatives (eg. Virgin's Richard Branson pledging US$3bn for climate change action), customer service philosophy, customer experience, and other actions which speak louder than words. The communications channels used are publicity via media reports, word of mouth networks, and signage at events - in other words, channels that have in the past been considered incidental. They are risky because you have less control. But get it right and you generate authenticity.
Cheers!
Michael
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Fear Bad. Fear of Loss Good.
Hi,
Have you ever wondered why therearen't any insurance salesmen any more? It's because they used to try to
sell insurance by scaring people. "What would happen to your wife and the
children if you died in an accident, Mr Jones?" (Mr Jones thinks: I hate
you. Get away from me.) Fear is not good for sales. Fear of loss, however,
is good. "We might look at making some arrangements to protect your wealth
base no matter what happens, Mr Jones." (Mr Jones thinks: Damn right. Let's
do it right now.)
Cheers!
Michael
Have you ever wondered why therearen't any insurance salesmen any more? It's because they used to try to
sell insurance by scaring people. "What would happen to your wife and the
children if you died in an accident, Mr Jones?" (Mr Jones thinks: I hate
you. Get away from me.) Fear is not good for sales. Fear of loss, however,
is good. "We might look at making some arrangements to protect your wealth
base no matter what happens, Mr Jones." (Mr Jones thinks: Damn right. Let's
do it right now.)
Cheers!
Michael
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Opportunity knocks
Hi,
I just spent 3 weeks with some of the top scientists dealing with climate change in the USA and here's a fact they all agree on: no matter what we do about global warming, we can't stop it. We can only hope to reduce the speed of its increase and the maximum temperature it eventually hits. It won't be long before the real 'crisis' of Climate Change sets into the public mind. Inevitably we will have a fearful consumer. Lacking confidence in the future, they will be less inclined to spend. They will spend on entertainments (the Great Depression coincided with the rise of Hollywood's dream machine) and protection (survivalist products for coping in extreme weather events). Some areas will boom naturally. Some will be caught like rabbits in a spotlight. But the brands that have engaged their customers in the Climate Change story and shown they understand the issue, these brands will endure and contribute to the important work of maintaining morale. (See "Carbon Credited Opportunity" below.) As Franklin Delano Roosevelt told Americans deep in the Great Depression in 1933, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Cheers!
Michael
I just spent 3 weeks with some of the top scientists dealing with climate change in the USA and here's a fact they all agree on: no matter what we do about global warming, we can't stop it. We can only hope to reduce the speed of its increase and the maximum temperature it eventually hits. It won't be long before the real 'crisis' of Climate Change sets into the public mind. Inevitably we will have a fearful consumer. Lacking confidence in the future, they will be less inclined to spend. They will spend on entertainments (the Great Depression coincided with the rise of Hollywood's dream machine) and protection (survivalist products for coping in extreme weather events). Some areas will boom naturally. Some will be caught like rabbits in a spotlight. But the brands that have engaged their customers in the Climate Change story and shown they understand the issue, these brands will endure and contribute to the important work of maintaining morale. (See "Carbon Credited Opportunity" below.) As Franklin Delano Roosevelt told Americans deep in the Great Depression in 1933, "We have nothing to fear but fear itself."
Cheers!
Michael
What have you been making?
Hi,
The death of Alfred Nobel was mistakenly reported in a newspaper before he had died. He was the inventor of dynamite and a major armaments manufacturer. "The merchant of death is dead," read the premature obituary. Given this premonition of how his reputation would be treated in death, he changed his will and left US$4.25m in the 1890's to establish the Nobel Prize Foundation. This year's Nobel Peace Prize was given to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank. Yunus - a Bangladeshi businessman - invented microbanking, which means making small loans to poor people, mainly women, to start businesses so they can rise out of poverty. It has been a stunning success, making a profit and making a difference in the lives of thousands of Bangladeshis. Someone once said, "It's easy to make a buck; it's harder to make a difference." Both Yunus and Nobel made a buck. But they also made a difference. Someone else once said, "Some people spend their lives making a name for themselves; others make a difference." I guess Bill Gates, having given his fortune away to his philanthropic foundation, could prove that you can make a buck, and make a name for yourself, and make a difference. What are you making? Try the obituary test.
Cheers!
Michael
The death of Alfred Nobel was mistakenly reported in a newspaper before he had died. He was the inventor of dynamite and a major armaments manufacturer. "The merchant of death is dead," read the premature obituary. Given this premonition of how his reputation would be treated in death, he changed his will and left US$4.25m in the 1890's to establish the Nobel Prize Foundation. This year's Nobel Peace Prize was given to Muhammad Yunus and Grameen Bank. Yunus - a Bangladeshi businessman - invented microbanking, which means making small loans to poor people, mainly women, to start businesses so they can rise out of poverty. It has been a stunning success, making a profit and making a difference in the lives of thousands of Bangladeshis. Someone once said, "It's easy to make a buck; it's harder to make a difference." Both Yunus and Nobel made a buck. But they also made a difference. Someone else once said, "Some people spend their lives making a name for themselves; others make a difference." I guess Bill Gates, having given his fortune away to his philanthropic foundation, could prove that you can make a buck, and make a name for yourself, and make a difference. What are you making? Try the obituary test.
Cheers!
Michael
Friday, October 13, 2006
Carbon footprints to where?
Hi,
There are immediate marketing opportunities for companies wanting to leverage the NEXT BIG THING in consumer consciousness. Global Warming and Climate Change are real because more people believe in them, despite what the Government says. Every brand should be thinking of its response to their customers' question: "What are you doing to save the world?" News Ltd, Ford, Dupont, and Virgin are among the leaders in this issue. They are going 'carbon neutral' - reducing their emissions or paying others to 'sequester' or lock up carbon dioxide in amounts equivalent to their emissions. BP, Westpac, Origin Energy, and IAG are taking a leadership role. The front-foot approach involves the following: 1. Engage your CEO and Board. (McKinsey says: "The way a company manages its carbon exposure could create or destroy shareholder value." Goldman Sachs says, "Climate change is a topic that should be on the agenda of every Board of Directors.") 2. Audit your emissions. 3. Assess your potential for reductions by operational changes. 4. Estimate the offsets you will need to purchase to bring your "carbon footprint" down. 5. Engage your stakeholders - staff, suppliers, customers, shareholders - in the process. There are pitfalls to avoid: 1. As with any new market, there are many opportunists and snakeoil salespersons. 2. Some 'abatement offsets' being sold are 'junk', ie, not fit for the purpose for which they are offered for sale. 3. Companies that indulge in "greenwashing" (making a token effort, hoping to spin it out into an acceptable image of action) will be unmasked, and their deception will do them damage.
Cheers!
Michael
PS. I am available to advise your company on carbon-related issues.
There are immediate marketing opportunities for companies wanting to leverage the NEXT BIG THING in consumer consciousness. Global Warming and Climate Change are real because more people believe in them, despite what the Government says. Every brand should be thinking of its response to their customers' question: "What are you doing to save the world?" News Ltd, Ford, Dupont, and Virgin are among the leaders in this issue. They are going 'carbon neutral' - reducing their emissions or paying others to 'sequester' or lock up carbon dioxide in amounts equivalent to their emissions. BP, Westpac, Origin Energy, and IAG are taking a leadership role. The front-foot approach involves the following: 1. Engage your CEO and Board. (McKinsey says: "The way a company manages its carbon exposure could create or destroy shareholder value." Goldman Sachs says, "Climate change is a topic that should be on the agenda of every Board of Directors.") 2. Audit your emissions. 3. Assess your potential for reductions by operational changes. 4. Estimate the offsets you will need to purchase to bring your "carbon footprint" down. 5. Engage your stakeholders - staff, suppliers, customers, shareholders - in the process. There are pitfalls to avoid: 1. As with any new market, there are many opportunists and snakeoil salespersons. 2. Some 'abatement offsets' being sold are 'junk', ie, not fit for the purpose for which they are offered for sale. 3. Companies that indulge in "greenwashing" (making a token effort, hoping to spin it out into an acceptable image of action) will be unmasked, and their deception will do them damage.
Cheers!
Michael
PS. I am available to advise your company on carbon-related issues.
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Hey Al Gore – Less Is More
Hi,
Did you see An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's movie about Al Gore and Climate
Change? An important message, the bit about climate change. The bits about
Al, his "green" credentials, his "almost the President of the USA" status,
and his family history were not necessary. In fact it gets in the way for
half his audience - his natural political enemies. I guess Al's speaking to
his supporter base, using this issue to reposition himself as relevant, as a
leader. But how much more powerful would it have been without the
biographical advertorial? David Attenborough has achieved almost Saintly
status without self-promotion. He just stands and delivers. Lesson: Don't
state the obvious. Let your audience draw the conclusion.
Cheers!
Michael
Did you see An Inconvenient Truth, Al Gore's movie about Al Gore and Climate
Change? An important message, the bit about climate change. The bits about
Al, his "green" credentials, his "almost the President of the USA" status,
and his family history were not necessary. In fact it gets in the way for
half his audience - his natural political enemies. I guess Al's speaking to
his supporter base, using this issue to reposition himself as relevant, as a
leader. But how much more powerful would it have been without the
biographical advertorial? David Attenborough has achieved almost Saintly
status without self-promotion. He just stands and delivers. Lesson: Don't
state the obvious. Let your audience draw the conclusion.
Cheers!
Michael
The Price of Everything
Hi,
Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?
Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill... Well, I suppose... we would have to discuss terms, of course...
Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds?
Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!
Churchill: Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.
Two things happened to me in the last 2 days: 1. I was interviewed on ABC702 this morning about ambush marketing re Allan Border's resignation as an Australian test cricket selector yesterday (because he is fronting a beach cricket promotion for XXXX this season and VB "own" the test team). 2. On the flight back from the USA, I saw the movie Forty Legends starring comedian Ahn Do (and some of the turtles from our farm - Ahn's co-writer and wife Suzy is a friend of my daughter Jessica). In the movie Ahn's team of losers look like coming out on top when the sleazy coach of their biggest rival tries to poach the unemployed Ahn with an offer of a full time job (which would put an end to Child Welfare's attempt to take his little sister from his care - heart-breaking stuff). Of course, Ahn sticks with his mates and they win the day. Lesson for the kiddies: true loyalty can't be bought. But is that only in the movies? Has marketing put a price on everything?
Michael
Churchill: Madam, would you sleep with me for five million pounds?
Socialite: My goodness, Mr. Churchill... Well, I suppose... we would have to discuss terms, of course...
Churchill: Would you sleep with me for five pounds?
Socialite: Mr. Churchill, what kind of woman do you think I am?!
Churchill: Madam, we've already established that. Now we are haggling about the price.
Two things happened to me in the last 2 days: 1. I was interviewed on ABC702 this morning about ambush marketing re Allan Border's resignation as an Australian test cricket selector yesterday (because he is fronting a beach cricket promotion for XXXX this season and VB "own" the test team). 2. On the flight back from the USA, I saw the movie Forty Legends starring comedian Ahn Do (and some of the turtles from our farm - Ahn's co-writer and wife Suzy is a friend of my daughter Jessica). In the movie Ahn's team of losers look like coming out on top when the sleazy coach of their biggest rival tries to poach the unemployed Ahn with an offer of a full time job (which would put an end to Child Welfare's attempt to take his little sister from his care - heart-breaking stuff). Of course, Ahn sticks with his mates and they win the day. Lesson for the kiddies: true loyalty can't be bought. But is that only in the movies? Has marketing put a price on everything?
Michael
Attack Advertising
Hi,
The world's greatest democracy is in election mode right now and the TV screens are beaming out nasty ads trashing the reputations of everyone in the race for governor, judge, congressman, senator, sherrif, bus monitor, etc. They say dispicable things about their competitors because, apparently, it works.... The current President's dad used it to great effect against Michael Dukarkis. Well, it may work, but any fool can see that these ads are damaging the category. If everyone running is proved to be a liar, cheat, fraud, crook, etc. then it's no wonder Americans don't turn out to vote and it's not surprising that people have lost respect for public institutions. It's no wonder crime rates go up and young people take drugs. Their leaders are a bunch of crooks. According to their leaders.
Cheers!
Michael
………….
The world's greatest democracy is in election mode right now and the TV screens are beaming out nasty ads trashing the reputations of everyone in the race for governor, judge, congressman, senator, sherrif, bus monitor, etc. They say dispicable things about their competitors because, apparently, it works.... The current President's dad used it to great effect against Michael Dukarkis. Well, it may work, but any fool can see that these ads are damaging the category. If everyone running is proved to be a liar, cheat, fraud, crook, etc. then it's no wonder Americans don't turn out to vote and it's not surprising that people have lost respect for public institutions. It's no wonder crime rates go up and young people take drugs. Their leaders are a bunch of crooks. According to their leaders.
Cheers!
Michael
………….
You choose
Hi,
Spin doctoring may be an ethical wasteland and all its practitioners damned to Hell and karmic suffering for all eternity. But it's fun to watch. President Bush: "When we say war, we really mean peace." LOL. The movie "Thank You For Smoking" has some of the best spinning I have ever witnessed, defending the right of tobacco companies to poison children. It convinced me. His motivation: "I've got a mortgage to pay. Besides I'm good at it." Ethical? Ethics is about the right and wrong thing to do. But often the wrong thing can be masked in language of the right thing - to enable us to act unethically. Our spin doctor claimed he was interested in the rights of the individual. He fought for the individual's right to choose to smoke rather than their right to know of the dangers of smoking. Do we have a duty of care for the people who we sell to? As fellow human beings? Or are they simply units of consumption who have the duty to look out for themselves? Who decides this question? We do. We have the right to choose.
Michael
Spin doctoring may be an ethical wasteland and all its practitioners damned to Hell and karmic suffering for all eternity. But it's fun to watch. President Bush: "When we say war, we really mean peace." LOL. The movie "Thank You For Smoking" has some of the best spinning I have ever witnessed, defending the right of tobacco companies to poison children. It convinced me. His motivation: "I've got a mortgage to pay. Besides I'm good at it." Ethical? Ethics is about the right and wrong thing to do. But often the wrong thing can be masked in language of the right thing - to enable us to act unethically. Our spin doctor claimed he was interested in the rights of the individual. He fought for the individual's right to choose to smoke rather than their right to know of the dangers of smoking. Do we have a duty of care for the people who we sell to? As fellow human beings? Or are they simply units of consumption who have the duty to look out for themselves? Who decides this question? We do. We have the right to choose.
Michael
The Pursuit of Happiness
.
Hi,
The Declaration of Independence starts with these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The United States of America was the first nation to be founded on the principle of happiness. How has the experiment gone? Well, there have been multiple slayings at three schools in six days over here this week. The bookshops are full of books about depression which is epidemic. The newspapers are full of reports of official corruption and sleaze. Judges routinely take political contributions from parties to cases they are judging, then find in their favour. Members of Congress are expected to pay large amounts to their parties in order to 'purchase' the chairmanship of Congressional Committees. There is a section in one newspaper called "This Week At War" which lists the soldiers killed in a war that looks and smells more like Viet Nam every day. This is Happiness? I sense that ordinary people want to be able to believe in something again, something pure and good and bigger than themselves. They want to believe in each other, in their community, in their public institutions. They are sick of being lied to; they've heard so much spin that they are all spun out. They are ready to rebuild if someone points the way. I believe this applies in the USA and its dependencies (including Australia). Corporations have in many ways inherited the role of public institutions, as embodying values and showing leadership. Can you make the world a happier place?
Cheers!
Michael
…………..
Hi,
The Declaration of Independence starts with these words: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." The United States of America was the first nation to be founded on the principle of happiness. How has the experiment gone? Well, there have been multiple slayings at three schools in six days over here this week. The bookshops are full of books about depression which is epidemic. The newspapers are full of reports of official corruption and sleaze. Judges routinely take political contributions from parties to cases they are judging, then find in their favour. Members of Congress are expected to pay large amounts to their parties in order to 'purchase' the chairmanship of Congressional Committees. There is a section in one newspaper called "This Week At War" which lists the soldiers killed in a war that looks and smells more like Viet Nam every day. This is Happiness? I sense that ordinary people want to be able to believe in something again, something pure and good and bigger than themselves. They want to believe in each other, in their community, in their public institutions. They are sick of being lied to; they've heard so much spin that they are all spun out. They are ready to rebuild if someone points the way. I believe this applies in the USA and its dependencies (including Australia). Corporations have in many ways inherited the role of public institutions, as embodying values and showing leadership. Can you make the world a happier place?
Cheers!
Michael
…………..
Can do, can’t teach
Hi,
When I was a student, it was snidely remarked by other students, referring to one or other of our teachers, 'Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach.' Having spent a few days visiting academics in the USA, I was reminded of this saying. Academics worship at the altars of precedent and procedure. They engage in more critical rather than speculative thinking. They know the formulae and can apply them to standard situations. But my experience with academics (I wuz one) has taught me that they live in another dimension to me. I live in a zone where anything's possible. They live in a zone where nothing exists unless it has been proven in several double blind tests, under clincial conditions, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and replicated by several other researchers. They think they 'know' what's real. But they live in a world of models and theories - imaginary structures that approximate reality. The practitioners know what's real. It smacks them in the face every day. If your company hires an academic to guide strategy, you'd better hope that they have more than models and theories to offer. You'd better hope they have spent enough time in the 'real world' to know what's what. For every real thinker bearing the title "Professor" - a Porter or a Drucker - there is an army of "professors" professing to know what professionals do, but don't.
Cheers!
Michael
When I was a student, it was snidely remarked by other students, referring to one or other of our teachers, 'Those that can, do. Those that can't, teach.' Having spent a few days visiting academics in the USA, I was reminded of this saying. Academics worship at the altars of precedent and procedure. They engage in more critical rather than speculative thinking. They know the formulae and can apply them to standard situations. But my experience with academics (I wuz one) has taught me that they live in another dimension to me. I live in a zone where anything's possible. They live in a zone where nothing exists unless it has been proven in several double blind tests, under clincial conditions, published in a peer-reviewed journal, and replicated by several other researchers. They think they 'know' what's real. But they live in a world of models and theories - imaginary structures that approximate reality. The practitioners know what's real. It smacks them in the face every day. If your company hires an academic to guide strategy, you'd better hope that they have more than models and theories to offer. You'd better hope they have spent enough time in the 'real world' to know what's what. For every real thinker bearing the title "Professor" - a Porter or a Drucker - there is an army of "professors" professing to know what professionals do, but don't.
Cheers!
Michael
Outreach
Hi,
Today's sermon is about "Outreach". I am at Montana State University for a meeting of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, an alliance of US Government agencies, scientists rom seven western states' universities and private companies and non-profits, preparing to tackle Global Warming by developing technologies for sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere and storing it in soils, in trees, in old oil wells, in coal seams, and under rock beds beneath the oceans. There's a lot of weird science involved and the public have got to be comfortable with the proposals when they are released, or 10 years of work and millions will have been spent for no outcome. For this reason, the Partnership has a full time "Outreach" officer. Now Pamela Tomski is actually the group's marketing director and public relations manager and in-house lobbyist. But she wears the label "Outreach" which is a useful term for marketers. "Outreach" is what religious bodies do - the seek to reach the great unwashed and bring them the good news of salvation. And convert them into true believers, taking them from a state of ignorance and initquity to a state of knowledge and belief. How does Pamela do "Outreach"? She spreads the word through every channel possible... including public meetings and education in schools. She doesn't sell anything. She brings good news. "Outreach" is marketing, but marketing with a difference - with passion for a cause, with advocacy, with urgency. If you ever find yourself a little jaded, trapped in a marketing job just 'flogging stuff to mugs', either you can try to find the good news for salvation in your product offering. Or, if there is none, go out to the highways and byways and find one that has. Outreach means going to work with a passion and a purpose everyday.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Today's sermon is about "Outreach". I am at Montana State University for a meeting of the Big Sky Carbon Sequestration Partnership, an alliance of US Government agencies, scientists rom seven western states' universities and private companies and non-profits, preparing to tackle Global Warming by developing technologies for sucking CO2 out of the atmosphere and storing it in soils, in trees, in old oil wells, in coal seams, and under rock beds beneath the oceans. There's a lot of weird science involved and the public have got to be comfortable with the proposals when they are released, or 10 years of work and millions will have been spent for no outcome. For this reason, the Partnership has a full time "Outreach" officer. Now Pamela Tomski is actually the group's marketing director and public relations manager and in-house lobbyist. But she wears the label "Outreach" which is a useful term for marketers. "Outreach" is what religious bodies do - the seek to reach the great unwashed and bring them the good news of salvation. And convert them into true believers, taking them from a state of ignorance and initquity to a state of knowledge and belief. How does Pamela do "Outreach"? She spreads the word through every channel possible... including public meetings and education in schools. She doesn't sell anything. She brings good news. "Outreach" is marketing, but marketing with a difference - with passion for a cause, with advocacy, with urgency. If you ever find yourself a little jaded, trapped in a marketing job just 'flogging stuff to mugs', either you can try to find the good news for salvation in your product offering. Or, if there is none, go out to the highways and byways and find one that has. Outreach means going to work with a passion and a purpose everyday.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Greetings From Washington
Hi,
My apologies for missing yesterday. I lost a day (and my mind) over the
Pacific flying to the USA for a study tour of the carbon credits market, a
special interest of mine. As I am paying my own way, we flew cattle class
which inspired today's "marketing thought".
To:
Managing Director
Qantas Airways
Dear Sir,
Have you flown your own airline economy class to an overseas destination
laytely? I can’t believe you have. No sane person would knowingly subject
fellow human beings to such discomfort. Only the rich and the footsoldiers
of the rich can afford comfortable air travel today. Forget the toxic food
and queues for the toilets. I can live with that. It’s space I need. As I
sit here on QF129 to LA (13 hours) I cant open my laptop far enough to see
the screen and type.
I know who decides how much space I have. You. Because you set the revenue
targets and they determine how many rows of seats you put in each aircraft
and therefore how little space is available to the passenger in each seat. I
can see those little rubber strips on the floor covering the train tracks
you slide the seats along. How do you determine how much space to allow
between seats? Measure out how much a normal human being would require for a
comfortable experience, and then shove it back far enough to guarantee no
sitting position is painless? If the aim is to cause sufficient pain that
you force us into business class for a fat margin, I can help you there.
Why not hire some really hard bastards with big sticks to whack economy
class passengers on the head until we agree to pay for an upgrade? This is
only slightly more ridiculous than what you do to us already.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
My apologies for missing yesterday. I lost a day (and my mind) over the
Pacific flying to the USA for a study tour of the carbon credits market, a
special interest of mine. As I am paying my own way, we flew cattle class
which inspired today's "marketing thought".
To:
Managing Director
Qantas Airways
Dear Sir,
Have you flown your own airline economy class to an overseas destination
laytely? I can’t believe you have. No sane person would knowingly subject
fellow human beings to such discomfort. Only the rich and the footsoldiers
of the rich can afford comfortable air travel today. Forget the toxic food
and queues for the toilets. I can live with that. It’s space I need. As I
sit here on QF129 to LA (13 hours) I cant open my laptop far enough to see
the screen and type.
I know who decides how much space I have. You. Because you set the revenue
targets and they determine how many rows of seats you put in each aircraft
and therefore how little space is available to the passenger in each seat. I
can see those little rubber strips on the floor covering the train tracks
you slide the seats along. How do you determine how much space to allow
between seats? Measure out how much a normal human being would require for a
comfortable experience, and then shove it back far enough to guarantee no
sitting position is painless? If the aim is to cause sufficient pain that
you force us into business class for a fat margin, I can help you there.
Why not hire some really hard bastards with big sticks to whack economy
class passengers on the head until we agree to pay for an upgrade? This is
only slightly more ridiculous than what you do to us already.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
How high is high involvement?
Michael,
I love your column, thanks for the daily lesson. I've got a question though and I'd love to get your thoughts.
I work in telecoms and thrash around with the conundrum of whether buying a mobile phone with a particular operator (Telstra for example) is a high involvement or low involvement purchase? I think that my colleagues and I fall into the trap of thinking it is a high involvement but I look at people int he street and think that it could be low involvement. Then again, younger people tend to spend a bucket of money and effort finding the coolest offer when older people don't.
As for the decision to choose which company for one's home phone, I think that different segments of the market probably differ as well.
You'd agree that this would change massively the type of marketing approach one would depending on the involvement level?
Perhaps this could be a subject of a future column - differing levels of involvement for the same product across age groups…
Cheers
Sean
Hi Sean,
Attitudes to a decision about a phone range from plugging in to a utility (land line connection for most people, except perhaps rural users for whom the phone is a life-or-death facility) to a life-changing milestone (a child getting their first mobile) and everything in between. The decision about the carrier is probably low involvement in cases where consumers don’t see a meaningful difference between you and your competitors. What differentiates carriers? Level of irritation, customer service ethic, cost, brand imagery, drop outs/coverage??? What determines the level of involvement of a brand choice? Risk? (Fear) Self esteem? (Craving approval) The level of emotion evoked in the consideration process would appear to be a key indicator of involvement. The context of the decision would appear to determine the level of emotion. You could segment consumers by how important brand is to them in your category. The importance of brand indicates level of involvement.
You could use my Quality Of A Sale Index (QOS) to reveal the level of brand involvement of your customer base vs competitors and consequently the long term stability of your market share. The QOS Index reveals the difference between sales that look the same on paper. A Low Quality Sale is driven by promotions, is churned from another brand, is likely to be followed by flight to yet another brand chasing yet another deal, generates no word of mouth, and does not represent an investment in the future of the brand. A High Quality Sale is not driven by a deal, is based on a brand choice, is a repeat sale to a customer, is likely to be followed by another repeat sale, generates advocacy and represents an investment in the future value of the brand. High concentrations of High Quality Sales indicates that a customer base is an appreciating asset. The reverse is the case with high concentrations of Low Quality Sales. Levels of involvement are also likely to be indicated as correlated with QOS. (I predicted the demise of Mitsubishi in Australia 6 years ago based on the QOS Index, as well as the decline of GMH and the rise of Toyota. QOS is a reliable measure of brand health.)
Cheers!
Michael
I love your column, thanks for the daily lesson. I've got a question though and I'd love to get your thoughts.
I work in telecoms and thrash around with the conundrum of whether buying a mobile phone with a particular operator (Telstra for example) is a high involvement or low involvement purchase? I think that my colleagues and I fall into the trap of thinking it is a high involvement but I look at people int he street and think that it could be low involvement. Then again, younger people tend to spend a bucket of money and effort finding the coolest offer when older people don't.
As for the decision to choose which company for one's home phone, I think that different segments of the market probably differ as well.
You'd agree that this would change massively the type of marketing approach one would depending on the involvement level?
Perhaps this could be a subject of a future column - differing levels of involvement for the same product across age groups…
Cheers
Sean
Hi Sean,
Attitudes to a decision about a phone range from plugging in to a utility (land line connection for most people, except perhaps rural users for whom the phone is a life-or-death facility) to a life-changing milestone (a child getting their first mobile) and everything in between. The decision about the carrier is probably low involvement in cases where consumers don’t see a meaningful difference between you and your competitors. What differentiates carriers? Level of irritation, customer service ethic, cost, brand imagery, drop outs/coverage??? What determines the level of involvement of a brand choice? Risk? (Fear) Self esteem? (Craving approval) The level of emotion evoked in the consideration process would appear to be a key indicator of involvement. The context of the decision would appear to determine the level of emotion. You could segment consumers by how important brand is to them in your category. The importance of brand indicates level of involvement.
You could use my Quality Of A Sale Index (QOS) to reveal the level of brand involvement of your customer base vs competitors and consequently the long term stability of your market share. The QOS Index reveals the difference between sales that look the same on paper. A Low Quality Sale is driven by promotions, is churned from another brand, is likely to be followed by flight to yet another brand chasing yet another deal, generates no word of mouth, and does not represent an investment in the future of the brand. A High Quality Sale is not driven by a deal, is based on a brand choice, is a repeat sale to a customer, is likely to be followed by another repeat sale, generates advocacy and represents an investment in the future value of the brand. High concentrations of High Quality Sales indicates that a customer base is an appreciating asset. The reverse is the case with high concentrations of Low Quality Sales. Levels of involvement are also likely to be indicated as correlated with QOS. (I predicted the demise of Mitsubishi in Australia 6 years ago based on the QOS Index, as well as the decline of GMH and the rise of Toyota. QOS is a reliable measure of brand health.)
Cheers!
Michael
Fakes, snakes and flakes
Hi,
On October 30, 1938, mass panic broke out across America and people hid in their cellars or jammed the roads leading out of towns and cities, trying the escape an attack from Martians. The stampede was set off by a radio play staged by Orson Welles. The production took the form of simulated news broadcasts with sound effects. Nearly 70 years later Lonelygirl15 is posting video on YouTube, slices of her life as a 16 year old which have shot her to the second most popular channel on the video blogsite, with 2.3 million viewings and 24,000 subscribers. Investigative journalists and online snoops smelled a rat and uncovered a Hollywood scam by a group of filmmakers who now claim to have invented “a new art form… [that will] usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between 'fan' and 'star' has been removed". Fakes. The online world is full of them. It is a viral marketing technique to spread your message far and wide by creating what purports to be reality footage of something amazing that will be passed on by the unsuspecting. Eventually, like the Blair Witch Project, all is revealed, and the marketers congratulate themselves on another successful scam. “Fooled you again,” they say. I have friends in the digital marketing industry who produce neatly packaged fakes for big brands. Can a brand afford to lie like that? How many times can a medium reveal itself to be a snakepit of simulated truth (aka lies) and not infect its image indelibly with the image of the snakeoil salesman and the porn site spammer. No, you can’t trust anything you see or hear on the Net.
PS. Americans are especially susceptible. 15% of them believe the Apollo moon landing took place in a Hollywood film set. And 20% of them believed The X Files was a documentary. And nearly a majority of them voted for an actor for President. (That’s right. George W. is really B-Grade actor Tolson Holmes from Jacksonville, Missouri, playing the President in a worldwide production called The End of Civilisation As We Know It.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Morning Michael
Your emails are tops.
I'm currently working as a speech writer in the public sector, but hail from a fairly traditional marketing/advertising background...so your 'thought for the day' is a good way for me to stay plugged in to what's happening out on the street, in a way that my job often doesn't provide me the scope or time to do.
Marketing commentary, social commentary, WHATEVER - your words are looked forward to and enjoyed!
Cheers
Caitlin
On October 30, 1938, mass panic broke out across America and people hid in their cellars or jammed the roads leading out of towns and cities, trying the escape an attack from Martians. The stampede was set off by a radio play staged by Orson Welles. The production took the form of simulated news broadcasts with sound effects. Nearly 70 years later Lonelygirl15 is posting video on YouTube, slices of her life as a 16 year old which have shot her to the second most popular channel on the video blogsite, with 2.3 million viewings and 24,000 subscribers. Investigative journalists and online snoops smelled a rat and uncovered a Hollywood scam by a group of filmmakers who now claim to have invented “a new art form… [that will] usher in an era of interactive storytelling where the line between 'fan' and 'star' has been removed". Fakes. The online world is full of them. It is a viral marketing technique to spread your message far and wide by creating what purports to be reality footage of something amazing that will be passed on by the unsuspecting. Eventually, like the Blair Witch Project, all is revealed, and the marketers congratulate themselves on another successful scam. “Fooled you again,” they say. I have friends in the digital marketing industry who produce neatly packaged fakes for big brands. Can a brand afford to lie like that? How many times can a medium reveal itself to be a snakepit of simulated truth (aka lies) and not infect its image indelibly with the image of the snakeoil salesman and the porn site spammer. No, you can’t trust anything you see or hear on the Net.
PS. Americans are especially susceptible. 15% of them believe the Apollo moon landing took place in a Hollywood film set. And 20% of them believed The X Files was a documentary. And nearly a majority of them voted for an actor for President. (That’s right. George W. is really B-Grade actor Tolson Holmes from Jacksonville, Missouri, playing the President in a worldwide production called The End of Civilisation As We Know It.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
Morning Michael
Your emails are tops.
I'm currently working as a speech writer in the public sector, but hail from a fairly traditional marketing/advertising background...so your 'thought for the day' is a good way for me to stay plugged in to what's happening out on the street, in a way that my job often doesn't provide me the scope or time to do.
Marketing commentary, social commentary, WHATEVER - your words are looked forward to and enjoyed!
Cheers
Caitlin
No news is good news
Hi,
If ever you despair of the world, try my failproof remedy. Say to yourself: "There was a time before [here name what is bugging you] and there will be a time after it is gone." You can insert anything you like: feminism, John Howard, Alan Jones, George Bush, the ALP... It will make you feel better.
I choose to insert the word "newspapers". Last weekend I did something out of the ordinary: I bought a newspaper. A big fat newspaper. When I had skimmed it and read 2 or 3 items, I was finished with it and had the problem of what to do with it. Half a tonne of paper to go into the waste stream. I used to read 4 newspapers before breakfast each day. Now I get my news on radio, on websites or delivered in special interest newsletters online. And I'm no trend setter in media usage. Little wonder then that The Economist has predicted the death of the newspaper. It has shrunk 50% in 10 years. (Bloody boring rag, really. Bleak world view - money money money.) The Australian wrote an editorial (who reads editorials?) saying news content is king and that Rupert's favourite populist platform in Australia would survive. But news content isn't king anymore. More people every day are switching off the news - which makes them feel frightened and powerless - and amusing themselves with cookery, gardening, collecting, gossiping - live and in the studio (either doing it themselves or watching it on TV). They say that bad news is good news for newspapers. But I believe it's choking them to death. The flight to lifestyle chat is a desperate plea for media culture to be put out of its misery - anything that can make a star of "Kochy" has got to be bad for you. No, the newspaper will go the way of the Town Crier. (Noisy git in a bad costume.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
I think you're right, the average newspaper readers will wither away.
Information is too easily available these days.. Particularly for free..
But the mega publishing companies won't lay down without a fight.. Their
livelihood is at stake.. So I'm betting page 3 girls will start
appearing in the Herald-sun/Daily Telegraph within a couple of years..
To help prevent the rot
There will still be the die hard purist who would still buy a newspaper
and devour every inch of it (I'd like to think I'm probably one of them,
information junkie). There won't be many of these kinds, but they'll
keep making newspapers for us... However I'll look forward to being
charged $10 a copy. And what of train reading??.. An institution the world over for daily travellers.. However I guess with the introduction of digital novels and readers.. This will evolve to digital newspaper readers one day..
But ultimately the demise of newspapers will inconvenience millions..
What will children use on their paper mache's?.. How will serial killers
send their taunting letters to police with the words comprising of
letters cut from newspaper headlines?.. How are we going to move houses
without our cups and plates not smashing because they aren't stuffed
with newspapers anymore??
Oh the humanity!!!! Damn you evolution of media technology!!!
Luan
................
I am the biggest fan of this.
When I listen to the radio I change the channel when the news is on. I
also don't read newspapers because its all lies. And I also don't go to
news websites unless something has crashed into the world trade centre
or Steve Irwin has just died.
Give me targeted relevant content from gurus as opposed to junkie 3 day
researched reporters!
Fred
..........
Hope all is well. Just wanted to say I enjoy your daily "news"
broadcasts. Cheers, Michelle
If ever you despair of the world, try my failproof remedy. Say to yourself: "There was a time before [here name what is bugging you] and there will be a time after it is gone." You can insert anything you like: feminism, John Howard, Alan Jones, George Bush, the ALP... It will make you feel better.
I choose to insert the word "newspapers". Last weekend I did something out of the ordinary: I bought a newspaper. A big fat newspaper. When I had skimmed it and read 2 or 3 items, I was finished with it and had the problem of what to do with it. Half a tonne of paper to go into the waste stream. I used to read 4 newspapers before breakfast each day. Now I get my news on radio, on websites or delivered in special interest newsletters online. And I'm no trend setter in media usage. Little wonder then that The Economist has predicted the death of the newspaper. It has shrunk 50% in 10 years. (Bloody boring rag, really. Bleak world view - money money money.) The Australian wrote an editorial (who reads editorials?) saying news content is king and that Rupert's favourite populist platform in Australia would survive. But news content isn't king anymore. More people every day are switching off the news - which makes them feel frightened and powerless - and amusing themselves with cookery, gardening, collecting, gossiping - live and in the studio (either doing it themselves or watching it on TV). They say that bad news is good news for newspapers. But I believe it's choking them to death. The flight to lifestyle chat is a desperate plea for media culture to be put out of its misery - anything that can make a star of "Kochy" has got to be bad for you. No, the newspaper will go the way of the Town Crier. (Noisy git in a bad costume.)
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Email responses:
I think you're right, the average newspaper readers will wither away.
Information is too easily available these days.. Particularly for free..
But the mega publishing companies won't lay down without a fight.. Their
livelihood is at stake.. So I'm betting page 3 girls will start
appearing in the Herald-sun/Daily Telegraph within a couple of years..
To help prevent the rot
There will still be the die hard purist who would still buy a newspaper
and devour every inch of it (I'd like to think I'm probably one of them,
information junkie). There won't be many of these kinds, but they'll
keep making newspapers for us... However I'll look forward to being
charged $10 a copy. And what of train reading??.. An institution the world over for daily travellers.. However I guess with the introduction of digital novels and readers.. This will evolve to digital newspaper readers one day..
But ultimately the demise of newspapers will inconvenience millions..
What will children use on their paper mache's?.. How will serial killers
send their taunting letters to police with the words comprising of
letters cut from newspaper headlines?.. How are we going to move houses
without our cups and plates not smashing because they aren't stuffed
with newspapers anymore??
Oh the humanity!!!! Damn you evolution of media technology!!!
Luan
................
I am the biggest fan of this.
When I listen to the radio I change the channel when the news is on. I
also don't read newspapers because its all lies. And I also don't go to
news websites unless something has crashed into the world trade centre
or Steve Irwin has just died.
Give me targeted relevant content from gurus as opposed to junkie 3 day
researched reporters!
Fred
..........
Hope all is well. Just wanted to say I enjoy your daily "news"
broadcasts. Cheers, Michelle
Cherchez le creneau!!!
Hi,
The French have a marketing saying: "Cherchez le creneau" which means 'look for the hole'. Look for the hole and fill it, say Jack Trout and Al Ries. In positioning your brand, cherchez le creneau in the head (brand mind map) of the marketplace. Size can be a creneau. VW's "Think small" campaign successfully exploited size to differentiate and win share. Age, price, distribution... There are many dimensions along which creneaus can be found. Finding a creneau is the first step to toppling a market leader. A successful creneau can be used to reposition the competition. By taking a "Good For You" position, a brand is saying the others (especially the leader) are not good for you. By taking a hip youth position, a brand says the rest are old and irrelevant. Without referring to the competitors,a brand can point to the future and say "We're going there! Follow us."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The French have a marketing saying: "Cherchez le creneau" which means 'look for the hole'. Look for the hole and fill it, say Jack Trout and Al Ries. In positioning your brand, cherchez le creneau in the head (brand mind map) of the marketplace. Size can be a creneau. VW's "Think small" campaign successfully exploited size to differentiate and win share. Age, price, distribution... There are many dimensions along which creneaus can be found. Finding a creneau is the first step to toppling a market leader. A successful creneau can be used to reposition the competition. By taking a "Good For You" position, a brand is saying the others (especially the leader) are not good for you. By taking a hip youth position, a brand says the rest are old and irrelevant. Without referring to the competitors,a brand can point to the future and say "We're going there! Follow us."
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Create your own market
Hi,
The culmination of the last 3 or 4 emails dealing with marketing warfare concepts is this thought: the strategically smart way to defeat a market leader is to out-flank them by creating a new "market" that will grow in value to supercede the old order. Eg. computer hardware vs computer software. Where is the value today? Looking ahead and identifying the next big hill and capturing that hill rather than fighting for the old hill. You don't confront the Leader. You simply rob them of relevance to the future. Do it by defining a new market and aligning your offer to it. Simple.
......
The hysteria over Steve Irwin's death makes me wonder "why?" On the surface, he was a showman, a photogenic mug lair, using animals and reptiles as props for his sideshow. He spoke like Mick Dundee: "Crikey". He was packaged and promoted as a product. I loved the character he created. Sure, he had a message of conservation. But so do many others. Why is he being mourned so deeply? Because he was the genuine article. He was living his dharma. He used the word 'love' a lot and he meant it. In a world full of phonies, he was real. He wasn't putting it on. He was being himself. Being real is the best thing you can be, in marketing, in life. Don't be afraid to be real. There's a Steve Irwin in all of us.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The culmination of the last 3 or 4 emails dealing with marketing warfare concepts is this thought: the strategically smart way to defeat a market leader is to out-flank them by creating a new "market" that will grow in value to supercede the old order. Eg. computer hardware vs computer software. Where is the value today? Looking ahead and identifying the next big hill and capturing that hill rather than fighting for the old hill. You don't confront the Leader. You simply rob them of relevance to the future. Do it by defining a new market and aligning your offer to it. Simple.
......
The hysteria over Steve Irwin's death makes me wonder "why?" On the surface, he was a showman, a photogenic mug lair, using animals and reptiles as props for his sideshow. He spoke like Mick Dundee: "Crikey". He was packaged and promoted as a product. I loved the character he created. Sure, he had a message of conservation. But so do many others. Why is he being mourned so deeply? Because he was the genuine article. He was living his dharma. He used the word 'love' a lot and he meant it. In a world full of phonies, he was real. He wasn't putting it on. He was being himself. Being real is the best thing you can be, in marketing, in life. Don't be afraid to be real. There's a Steve Irwin in all of us.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
Niche warriors
Hi,
The minnows in any market can't play Leader or Challenger roles. Instead the small player can fight a guerilla war, with hit and run raids on market niches that offer margins until the Leader blocks by entering and using predatory pricing to drive the guerillas out. Leaders who don't see the threat can allow a guerilla to get a foothold, forming a base for an assault on the market proper. IBM was once offered DOS, the operating system for personal computers, but they turned it down. The offer came from a young Bill Gates who had a vision of a computer on every desk in an era when mainframe computing dominated. Software was a tiny niche which Microsoft was left to establish. Microsoft nearly fell foul of the same "Leader's Blindness" re the Internet, leaving Netscape to dominate the browser market until the software giant was forced to use its monopoly power to establish Explorer as market leader. (The US Federal Court eventually forced Microsoft to decouple the browser from Windows.) IBM also left Intel to run away with the memory chip market. IBM's strategy was built on a vision that its founder had of a total world market for computers of around 30! IBM has survived by strong corporate focus and by dominating the emerging IT services market.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
The minnows in any market can't play Leader or Challenger roles. Instead the small player can fight a guerilla war, with hit and run raids on market niches that offer margins until the Leader blocks by entering and using predatory pricing to drive the guerillas out. Leaders who don't see the threat can allow a guerilla to get a foothold, forming a base for an assault on the market proper. IBM was once offered DOS, the operating system for personal computers, but they turned it down. The offer came from a young Bill Gates who had a vision of a computer on every desk in an era when mainframe computing dominated. Software was a tiny niche which Microsoft was left to establish. Microsoft nearly fell foul of the same "Leader's Blindness" re the Internet, leaving Netscape to dominate the browser market until the software giant was forced to use its monopoly power to establish Explorer as market leader. (The US Federal Court eventually forced Microsoft to decouple the browser from Windows.) IBM also left Intel to run away with the memory chip market. IBM's strategy was built on a vision that its founder had of a total world market for computers of around 30! IBM has survived by strong corporate focus and by dominating the emerging IT services market.
Cheers!
Michael Kiely
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