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Seven Things on My Radar for 2013

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in Advertising, business, JWT, market research, mobile, public relations, retail, shopping, social media, target marketing, technology, trends Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , January 4th, 2013 @ 8:00 am

Question: 2013 will be the year of what?

That is the question that many people are currently asking themselves.

In November, iMedia Communications published a blog post that featured 16 business leaders making predictions as to what they think 2013 will be best known for.

In the post, Mark Cuban, an American business magnate and owner of the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks, predicted that 2013 will be the year of entrepreneurship. Ian Wolfman, CMO at MEplusYou, predicted that 2013 will be the year of purpose (i.e., brands will do more meaningful things in the world and more advertising dollars will be spent for social good in an effort to earn the trust of consumers.) Furthermore, Alfredo Gangotena, CMO at MasterCard, focused on the changing economic conditions around the world, including new opportunities for business growth in Africa in 2013.

Other experts predicted that we will finally get mobile right in 2013, video will explode, we will be able to achieve better targeting for in-marketing consumers, and that there will be more consolidation and easier technology, among other things.

If that list wasn’t enough to inspire your imagination, I’d suggest checking out the “100 Things to Watch in 2013” list published by JWT Intelligence. This yearly list has some amazing predictions for 2013.

Some of the Things That I Will Be Watching in 2013

I don’t have access to the same information that the business leaders that I mentioned earlier in this post have. Therefore, I am not going to make a prediction as to what I think 2013 will be best known for.

While I can’t say what 2013 will be best known for, I can provide a list of some of the things that I plan to study and monitor in the next 12 months. That list includes:

1) Rapid Advancements in Technology

We all know how fast technology has changed the world that we live in, in just the past decade. Think about what the world will be like next year, then think about the remarkable changes in technology that we will witness in the next 10, 20, or 30 years. In order to stay ahead of the curve, I think that it is important for businesses to pay attention to what futurists like Raymond Kurzweil predict the world will be like, and make sure that they have the products and services that will meet consumers’ demands when the time comes.

Therefore, it is not surprising that Google recently hired Kurzweil to be the Director of Engineering. Sure, the real reason for the hire is because Kurzweil has decades of machine learning experience, but there are other reasons for having a brilliant futurist on staff (i.e., making sure the competition doesn’t have the same level of access to all the knowledge that he has in that head of his.)

There are other reasons to be thinking about the future of technology from a business standpoint. For further insight, look at number 11, 20, 27, 43, 52, 65, and 70 on the JWT Intelligence “100 Things to Watch in 2013” list.

2) Mobile (User Experience and Marketing)

According to comScore, “123.3 million people in the U.S. owned smartphones (53 percent mobile market penetration) during the three months ending in November 2012, up 6 percent since August.” (This doesn’t include the increase that we will most likely see after the numbers are in after the holiday gift-giving season. Also, keep in mind, this number doesn’t include tablet computer usage.)

Therefore, it is not surprising that many experts predict that mobile will play an increasing role in consumers’ purchase decisions in the future. Therefore, it would be extremely ignorant to ignore this important technology.

From a business standpoint, it will not only be important to monitor how consumers are using their mobile devices in their day-to-day lives, but it will also be important that consumers can easily find the brand’s products or services wherever they are looking, including when they are using their smartphones or tablet computers. And, when they do find the brand’s products or services online, it will be equally important that the information that they find is user friendly and optimized for the mobile device that they are using.

3) Mobile Payments

Mobile devices will not only change the way that consumers find and do research on products or services, they will also play an increasing role in how consumers actually purchase these products and services. In fact, according to a post on the Intuit GoPayment Blog, a recent Jupiter Research study estimated that, by 2017, one out of every 25 retail transactions worldwide will be completed with a mobile device.

Therefore, it is important that businesses start getting comfortable with this technology now, while the technology is still new and they have the luxury of time to experiment and make adjustments, as necessary. If businesses wait until a majority of their customers become comfortable with the technology, they might end up losing sales to competitors that have taken the time to experiment and perfect the transaction process.

4) Mobile-Influenced Merchandising

As an increasing number of people use mobile devices to gather information as they shop in brick-and-mortar stores, it is inevitably going to change the way that consumers interact with products in the real world. Retailers are going to want to do everything that they can to prevent what some experts call “showrooming.” Finding ways to get consumers to buy from the current store that they are in is going to become a top priority. Among other things, this might lead to more price-match guarantees to increase sales. There is also a possibility that consumers’ shopping behaviors will be altered in ways that we haven’t even thought of as a result of consumers having a mobile device in their hand while they shop. It is for this reason that I will be watching merchandising trends in 2013.

5) Privacy Issues

Changes in all sorts of technology, from Facebook to facial recognition technology, will have consumers worrying whether or not their personally identifiable information (PII) is getting into the wrong hands. In this environment, even the perception of a privacy issue can have a huge impact on whether or not consumers trust the brand, which can ultimately have an effect on the bottom line.

6) The Evolution of Marketing and Public Relations

It is important that businesses monitor changes in the marketing and public relations world. Each new technology that is introduced brings with it new challenges. Therefore, it is important to understand what is working for other companies and adapt that into your marketing plan, if possible. It is also important to try new things, test, and make changes when necessary. However, as Mark Schaefer points out in a recent blog post, one of the best ways to cope with the changes that marketers are facing today is to view technological change through the lens of marketing fundamentals. That way you can more easily weed out the stuff that most likely won’t work. In other words, a solid understanding of the fundamentals of marketing and public relations will still be the foundation for success.

7) Emerging Markets

Alfredo Gangotena’s comment in the post that I mentioned earlier really got me thinking about the possibilities that are available in emerging markets. Therefore, I plan to add this to my to-do list of topics to study in 2013.

Conclusion

These are just some of the things that I will be watching in 2013.

It is important to note that a change in technology could have a huge impact on all the other things mentioned on my list.

So now that you have my list, my question to you is: what is on your radar in 2013?

Photo credit: Official U.S. Navy Imagery on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Why Marketers and Public Relations Professionals Should Be Concerned About Internet Security

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in public relations, technology, trends Tagged with , , October 11th, 2012 @ 8:00 am

We’ve all seen films where the main character needs to get access to another person’s computer files, so he or she asks a computer whiz for help.

In the movies, said computer whiz often resorts to brute-force cracking (i.e., systematically checking all the possible passwords or cryptographic keys until the correct one is found that allows them to gain access to the information.)

Even if the computer system did not lock them out or require other security measures, this method would still take a considerable amount of time to gain access, particularly if the user who they were trying to obtain the information from chose a long enough password.

However, in the real world, most hackers aren’t trying to get into one person’s account—instead they want access to any account that can get their hands on. Money is money and it doesn’t matter who they steal from. Therefore, they can use other methods of gaining access to a customer’s account that exploit weaknesses in information technology security systems and take far less time.

So why should marketers and public relations professionals be concerned about this? This is a job for the Information Technology department, right?

It is true that most marketers and public relations professionals (me included) don’t completely understand the technical details regarding these issues. However, that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be thinking about them. After all, our customers care about the security of their data, therefore marketers and public relations professionals should care, too.

Moore’s Law

According to Wikipedia, “Moore’s law is the observation that over the history of computing hardware, the number of transistors on integrated circuits doubles approximately every two years. The period often quoted as “18 months” is due to Intel executive David House, who predicted that period for a doubling in chip performance (being a combination of the effect of more transistors and their being faster).”

The end result is that we gain access to much faster computer processing speeds and increased memory capacity in a relatively short amount of time.

This is great for most areas of business, but could be a huge challenge for information technology security experts.

It’s Not Too Early to Be Thinking About 2018

As computer processing speeds increase, it is going to take less time for hackers to do a lot of malicious things to a computer system, including gaining access to a user’s personally identifiable information (PII), financial accounts or spreading nasty computer viruses and malware.

In an article posted on Technology Review, titled “Faster Computation Will Damage the Internet’s Integrity,” Glenn Fleishman explains that the end is near for a cryptographic routine that is used to protect the integrity of secure Web transactions, stored passwords, and hundreds of other purposes because computer processing speeds are increasing at rates predicted by Moore’s law.

Fleishman points out, “By 2018, writes Intel’s Jesse Walker on a mailing list devoted to this form of cryptographic protection, a criminal organization could easily afford the cost of, in essence, forging the signature on critical security documents using commodity computing hardware. By 2021, he says, an academic group could afford to own or rent the necessary processing time.”

The article points out the technical details of the problem, many of which are beyond my area of expertise.

However, from a business standpoint, what is clear is that businesses need to act on this to protect themselves from future threats, both from an information technology and a marketing and public relations standpoint.

From an information technology standpoint, businesses need to address this problem to make sure that their customers’ data is secure. If their customers’ data is not secure, it can be a nightmare not only for the information technology department, but also for the legal and public relations departments, as well.

However, even if the problem is addressed before it’s too late, the marketing and public relations departments will still need to make sure that their customers are aware that all of the online transactions that they perform with the company are secure.

You see, if people are already talking about this issue now, there is a good chance that more major news sources will pick up on the story later on, when it really becomes an issue.

Conclusion

The issue that Glenn Fleishman pointed out in his article is important for businesses to be aware of so that they can monitor, plan and take corrective actions from an information technology standpoint.

And, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

As the computational power of computers increases, there are going to be many more issues like this.

It’s also important to remember that this is not just a concern for the information technology department.

It is also important that the marketing and public relations teams stay on top of these issues, because the mainstream media is most likely going to be talking about it, particularly when it really becomes an issue that has an immediate effect on the public.

By having a plan in place ahead of time, the marketing and public relations teams will know how to respond to customers’ concerns before they arise.

If the business is more prepared than the competition, it can help them gain a valuable competitive advantage that might lead to additional business opportunities, and maybe more important, prevent the loss of current customers.

Photo credit: quinn.anya on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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They Only Cost a Tweet! #tweetshop

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in Advertising, case study, mobile, Product, public relations, retail, shopping, social media, technology, Twitter, word of mouth advertising, word-of-mouth marketing Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , October 2nd, 2012 @ 8:00 am

The Kellogg Company Introduces Special K Crisps to the UK

In his book, “Why We Buy: The Science of Shopping—Updated and Revised for the Internet, the Global Consumer, and Beyond,” (affiliate link) Paco Underhill points out that, “Close to 90 percent of all new grocery products fail, but it isn’t because people didn’t like them—it’s because people never tried them. In my opinion, a new product introduction that doesn’t include a well-funded, fully supported (with marketing) effort to give shoppers samples is not a serious attempt.”

Therefore, it’s not surprising that when introducing its new Special K Cracker Crisps to the UK at the end of last month, the Kellogg Company created a unique marketing campaign that not only gave customers a chance to try the product, but they also incorporated social media into the effort in a way that guaranteed that customers would spread the word about how awesome Special K Cracker Crisps are to their friends online.

Kellogg’s Tweet Shop

The idea was simple: They created a trendy pop-up shop in London’s Soho district that invited customers to get packages of Special K Cracker Crisps in exchange for a tweet that included the hashtag #tweetshop.

As an Ad Age article points out, this is not the first time that a brand has offered free products in exchange for a post on a social networking site. However, the article points out that it might be the first example of real-life interaction using a pay-with-a-tweet-concept.

In the Ad Age article, Dan Glover, creative director of Mischief PR, the agency behind the campaign, is quoted as saying, “We believe that physical and social are one and the same. When we had the idea it felt very simple, and we did a lot of checking to be sure it was a world first. We jumped on that and made it happen – it was eight weeks from idea to execution.”

Not only was this a creative way to get customers to sample a new product, but it also created a lot of buzz in the media, as well.

And, the pay-with-a-tweet concept ensured that people would be spreading the word online.

As Sarah Case, brand manager for Special K, explains, “The value of positive endorsements on social-media sites is beyond compare, so we’re excited to be the first company to literally use social currency instead of financial currency to launch this new product in our bespoke Special K shop.”

Word of Mouth—What Customers Were Tweeting

On Friday, September 28th, I searched for the hashtag #tweetshop. (This, by the way, was the last day that pop-up store was in operation.)

As would be expected, many of the tweets included photos that were posted on other social networking sites.

Some of the tweets included the hashtag #spons.

According to theEword, a search marketing agency located in Manchester, England, “Within the Kellogg’s pop up store, people are given a menu of Tweets to try out, all including #tweetshop #spons. While #tweetshop allows Kellogg’s to monitor the success of its social media campaign, the #spons hashtag ensures that it adheres to regulations put in place by the Advertising Standards Agency, which requires sponsored tweets to be clearly indicated.”

Here are some of examples of the tweets. (Thanks to the Twitter Blackbird Pie WordPress plugin, you can actually click on the links in the tweets to see the photos that customers tweeted.)

So cool! I'm at the first tweet shop in the world! #tweetshop #london
September 27, 2012 8:59 am via Twitter for Windows PhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@pamche
Pamela Chehade
Kellogg's #TweetShop #popupshop on Meard Street. Actually pretty good crisps. (@ the tweet shop) [pic]: http://t.co/TjF7GYMJ
September 28, 2012 5:51 am via foursquareReplyRetweetFavorite
@Thesegoto11
Steven Ray
I've just had new Special K crisps and they're delicious! #tweetshop #spons
September 28, 2012 6:12 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@AndyJoeyTaylor
Andrew Joseph Taylor
Just having cracker crisps in the special K tweet shop! It is rather good! #tweetshop
September 28, 2012 7:27 am via Twitter for iPhoneReplyRetweetFavorite
@Heph
Simon Hepher

Increasing Brand Engagement

The official UK Press Office for the Kellogg Company (@KelloggsUK) also asked Twitterers who were not at the Tweet Shop to tweet using the hashtag #tweetshop for a chance to win some free Special K Cracker Crisps.

By engaging the audience in this way, the Kellogg Company helped increase the awareness of the new product and hopefully got some additional people to purchase them.

Who wants to win3 new flavours of Special K Cracker Crisps? Please tweet #tweetshop with a message why you should win! http://t.co/5BC0AxsL
September 28, 2012 3:36 am via webReplyRetweetFavorite
@KelloggsUK
Kellogg's UK

Conclusion

As Paco Underhill pointed out in his book, getting people to try a new product is of the utmost importance.

Getting consumers to sample a product and creating a buzz at the same time is a big win.

That’s exactly what the Kellogg Company did when they introduced their Special K Cracker Crisps to the UK in September.

By using a trendy pop-up store in London’s Soho district, the Kellogg Company found a way to get the product into consumers’ hands and, at the same time, get them excited about it.

From the consumers’ perspective, they got some tasty snacks—and it only cost them a tweet.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Only Half the Story: Instagram Now Has More Daily Active Users on Mobile Than Twitter

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in Advertising, app, apps, BLSG, Inbound marketing, Instagram, mobile, public relations, social media, technology, trends, Twitter Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , September 30th, 2012 @ 7:00 pm

You may have read the Mashable article that reported that Instagram now has more daily active users on mobile than Twitter.

Yes, it’s true, according to comScore Instagram had 7.3 million daily mobile users in August, compared to 6.9 million for Twitter.

However, Twitter enthusiasts need not worry at all. After all, the numbers that were reported by comScore are only based on mobile users and many of Twitter’s users access the site via its website on their PC.

In fact, according to eBizMBA Inc., as of September 2012, Twitter is the 9th most popular website.

Furthermore, I think it’s misleading to compare Twitter and Instagram, because they are two very different types of social networking sites. In fact, even though Facebook now owns Instagram, Instagram and Twitter currently have a very symbiotic relationship. That is, many Instagram users use Twitter to share their photos with other people in their network—particularly those who aren’t using Instagram. This benefits both Twitter, as its users can share additional content, and Instagram, as its users can have their photos reach a larger audience.

Therefore, the fact that Instagram has more daily active users on mobile than Twitter is only half the story.

In fact, I don’t think that it’s a story at all.

In the end, Twitter is still a great place to for advertisers to focus when trying to generate buzz about their products or services. As I plan to point out in the next post, this is particularly true when used in conjunction with some other event or as a part of a larger marketing or public relations campaign.

Photo credit: eldh on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Social Media Marketing Is About Business… And, That’s No B.S.

2 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in book review, customer service, Facebook, public relations, social media, technology, Twitter Tagged with , , , , , , July 22nd, 2012 @ 1:00 pm

By now, you have probably heard someone say that your business should be using social media to help market your products or services.

There is no doubt that the other decision-makers in your company have heard that, also.

There is a chance that they have decided to take a wait and see attitude or maybe they even rolled their eyes and decided that they didn’t believe the hype.

On the other hand, they may have decided to take the chance to see what they could accomplish by using social media as a marketing tool. In my opinion, that’s the smart decision.

No Bullshit Social Media

In their book “No Bullshit Social Media: The All-Business, No-Hype Guide to Social Media Marketing,” (affiliate link) Jason Falls and Erik Deckers explain that when used correctly, social media can be used to enhance branding and awareness, protect brand reputation, enhance public relations, build community, enhance customer service, facilitate research and development, and drive leads and sales. All of which will have an effect on your bottom line.

As they say, “When you add the word marketing to social media, it’s about business.”

Social Media Marketing Is Not Free

A lot of people think that social media marketing is free. This is not true.

Sure, it might be free to set up a Twitter account for your business and create a Facebook page, but you still have to pay someone to handle your social media marketing efforts, not to mention any other overhead costs that will be incurred (e.g., the costs of computers, electricity, etc.)

In fact, if your business uses social media to enhance customer service, your costs might actually increase.

This is not because it costs more to reach customers using social media. In fact, the opposite is usually true.

However, when you use social media to handle customer complaints, you might actually be able to reach unsatisfied customers who might not have made the effort to call or email your business to complain.

As Falls and Deckers suggest in their book, “Measure the total number of issues your customer service department handles as a whole. That includes phone and online issues. Has the number gone up because of the use of social media? Then that means a lot of those customer complaints were already out there, but you were able to identify them and solve the problem. It might mean you’re handling more issues on the whole, but it also means you’re increasing customer satisfaction.”

Final Thoughts

In my opinion, businesses that are taking a wait and see attitude or dismissing social media marketing altogether are definitely leaving money on the table.

As Jason Falls and Erik Deckers point out in their book, social media marketing can be used to help your business achieve many of its business goals. That is, if your business uses social media correctly.

If you are looking for suggestions on how to use social media for marketing purposes, I’d suggest picking up a copy of the book and giving it a read. It is filled with useful information and valuable case studies that reveal what has and hasn’t worked for other businesses in the past.

And, that’s no bullshit.

Photo credit: Tomas Fano on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Lessons Learned From the Telephone Game

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in brand advocacy, public relations, social media, technology, word of mouth advertising Tagged with , , , , June 9th, 2012 @ 8:00 pm

Some of the most important lessons that we learn in life are taught to us early on.

For example, I’m sure that most of you can remember playing the game Chinese whispers, or as it is commonly called in the United States, the “Telephone” game.

In the game, a message is given to the first person in a line of people and then they are instructed to pass the message on by whispering it in the ear of the next person in line. The message goes from person to person until it reaches the end of the line, and that person announces the message to the group. In most cases, the message that is announced to the group is significantly different from the message that was originally given to the first person in the line.

While the game is amusing, it also teaches us an important lesson that people often forget.

The lesson, as you probably have already figured out, is that information that you receive via word of mouth is not always accurate. In fact, if you don’t receive information directly from the source, there is a good chance that at least part of the message is incorrect.

Telephone Game 2.0

The Telephone game illustrates how quickly a message can be altered even when passed from person to person in a relatively short line.

In the real world word, the Telephone game often goes by a different name: Gossip.

As people relay a message from one person to another, the message often gets distorted, sometimes so much so that the intent of the original message is completely lost. What is left is an inaccurate statement that could actually do harm to the reputation of the person or business that is being talked about.

The tools that are available to people today (e.g., cell phones, text messages, social networking sites, email, etc.) only complicate the issue. These tools make it even easier for a rumor to spread at an alarming rate, particularly if the person who is being talked about is a celebrity.

Personal Responsibility

Deep down, we all know that the information that we hear about via word of mouth, whether it be online or offline, often contains misinformation. And, yet, people still choose to share it. In fact, for some people, gossiping is their primary form of entertainment.

What we all need to remember is that what we say can have a negative impact on the person who we are talking about.

Business Implications

People aren’t the only victims of gossip. In fact, businesses are often the subject of conversations on the Internet. If the rumors take a turn for the worse, it can have a very negative impact on the business’s reputation.

For that reason, businesses need to monitor what people are saying about their products or services online. This will allow them to highlight the positive things and address and correct the potentially damaging negative information that is being spread online.

If you are looking for specific examples of how businesses have handled these types of situations, you might want to take the time to watch Paula Berg’s (@paulaberg) presentation in the HubSpot Inbound Marketing Certification Program. In her presentation, Ms. Berg gives examples of how Southwest Airlines used the Internet to their advantage when potentially damaging rumors about the company started to spread, both online and offline.

Final Thoughts

It’s important to remember the lessons that we learned from the Telephone game early on in life.

For example, the Telephone game reminds us just how quickly a message can be changed into something completely different when it is passed between even a few people.

It is therefore important to remember that the things that we learn about via the rumor mill can, and often do, include incorrect information.

On a personal level, we need to be mindful of what information we spread, given the fact that what we say can have a negative impact on the individual or business that we are talking about.

From a business standpoint, it is necessary for businesses to monitor what is being said about their products and services online, if for no other reason than to correct the misinformation that is being spread.

As I have mentioned in other posts, words have power. In some cases, what is being said about a business can have a negative effect on the business’s reputation and ultimately, its bottom line.

Photo credit: Hans_van_Rijnberk on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Why Is Cause-Related Marketing So Important? For Many Brands, the Answer Is Y

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in brand, branding, cause-related marketing, Gen Y, public relations, retail, word of mouth advertising Tagged with , , , , , , January 31st, 2012 @ 3:00 pm

BusinessDictionary.com defines cause-related marketing as, “Joint funding and promotional strategy in which a firm’s sales are linked (and a percentage of the sales revenue is donated) to a charity or other public cause. However, unlike philanthropy, money spent in cause-related marketing is considered an expense and is expected to show a return.”

A recent AdAge article pointed out some statistics from two studies that highlight the importance of cause-related marketing.

The first study mentioned was the 2012 Sponsorship Report by IEG Consulting. According to that report, cause-related marketing in North America is projected to grow 3.1% this year to $1.7 billion.

The second study mentioned in the AdAge article was the 2010 Cone Cause Evolution Study. That study pointed out that in 2010, 83% of Americans over the age of 18 wished that more of the products, services and retailers that they use would support causes.

The last figure alone should help brands understand the importance of cause-related marketing.

For brands that sell products and services that are targeted to Gen Y consumers, cause-related marketing might be even more important.

Cause-Related Marketing and Gen Y

Generation Y (Gen Y), also known as the Millennial Generation (or Millennials), are particularly interested in supporting brands that support the causes that they care about.

In a blog post on blog.barkleyus.com, Jeff Fromm, SVP of Sales, Marketing & Innovation at Barkley, points out that, “This generation’s purchase decisions are heavily influenced by their opinions of a company’s cause marketing initiatives. They also value charitable contributions via cause marketing because of the ease of participation and the scope of impact that a corporate-based charitable program can have in comparison to an individual donation.”

Fromm goes on to mention that showing Gen Yers that the brand cares is critical for brands that are searching for ways to engage and tap into this generation of consumers.

Kit Yarrow, Ph.D., and Jayne O’Donnell also emphasize that cause-related marketing is important to Gen Y consumers.

In their book, “Gen Buy: How Tweens, Teens, and Twenty-Somethings Are Revolutionizing Retail,” (affiliate link) they state that, “Indeed, one of the more popular means of getting close to Gen Yers is through their interests and their favorite causes. Gen Yers, in part by virtue of their age but also because of our more superficial society, are yearning for purpose and want to belong to something bigger than themselves. They are often genuinely attuned to and passionate about causes, but there are other reasons why this technique has worked so well. Causes also add purpose and meaning to shopping—and sometimes just enough added benefit to rationalize a purchase. Being seen by others as being passionate about a cause is en vogue—and it unites people together.”

Yarrow and O’Donnell also point out that, “Businesses that support causes also appear to be more compassionate and socially responsible than those that don’t, which is reassuring and a stamp of quality to Gen Yers. Many Gen Yers make it their business to support the brands and retailers that they perceive to be good to their employees, good for the environment, or doing something good for the world.”

Final Thoughts

Cause-related marketing can potentially be a win-win-win for the cause, the brand, and the consumer.

The cause/nonprofit organization that the brand partners with gets support in the form of money or other resources.

The brand will hopefully get an image lift with consumers by being associated with the cause, which should translate into increased sales. (Note:  Cause-related marketing could potentially backfire if the brand comes off as insincere or hypocritical. As the AdAge article points out, brands also might not receive the desired results if the cause is not aligned with the target market.)

Finally, if the cause-related marketing campaign is properly executed, consumers benefit by being able to feel like they have made a difference as a result of making a purchase. In the process, they get a positive feeling about themselves and the brand.

As shown, Gen Y consumers are extremely receptive to cause-related marketing campaigns for many reasons.

Gen Yers are also very comfortable with technology and social media, in particular.

Therefore, if a cause-related marketing campaign resonates with them, there is a good chance that they will let others know about it online. In other words, cause-related marketing could potentially generate positive word-of-mouth mentions.

This is why brands that are trying to reach Gen Y consumers should consider adding cause-related marketing to their marketing mix.

Photo credit: becomeunreal on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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Guinness World Records for Marketing Purposes

0 comments By Chad Thiele Filed in case study, Guinness World Records, public relations, social media, technology, word of mouth advertising Tagged with , , , , , August 22nd, 2011 @ 3:00 pm

Photo credit: Smart Destination on Flickr.The Guinness World Records (formerly known as the Guinness Book of Records) is a very popular publication. In fact, it is so popular that according to Wikipedia, it holds the world record for the best-selling copyrighted book series of all time.

Given its popularity, it’s not surprising that brands have invested the time and effort to earn the bragging rights associated with being a Guinness World Records record-holder.

Here are a few recent examples.

Oreo and the 24-Hour Record

According to its website, Guinness World Records recognizes five records for Facebook use.

Among those five records is the record for most “likes” on a Facebook post in 24 hours.

This record was briefly held by Oreo.

As a press release on prnewswire.com, titled “Oreo Is First to Set Guinness World Records® Mark for Most ‘Likes’ on a Facebook Post in 24 Hours,” points out, “The record attempt began on Tuesday, February 15 at 9 a.m. EST, when the Oreo Facebook community of 16 million fans from around the world was invited to “like” the following post: “‘Like’ this post to join other Oreo fans around the world in setting a Guinness World Record for most ‘likes’ to a post in 24 hours. Oreo is the world’s favorite cookie, and with your help, it will be the most ‘liked.’” The feat rallied fans from around the globe and instantly inspired others to attempt to set similar Facebook records.”

By 9 a.m. the next day, Guinness World Records confirmed the record, as 114,619 fans from around the globe had “liked” the post.

Unfortunately, Oreo’s record for most “likes” on a Facebook post in 24 hours didn’t even last 24 hours; five hours later it was broken by rapper Lil Wayne.

Click here for a complete list of Facebook records that are tracked by Guinness World Records.

Mitsubishi and the Five Guinness World Records in 24 Hours

Mitsubishi likes setting Guinness World Records.

In fact, they like setting them so much that they attempted to establish five Guinness World Records for driving in winter conditions in less than 24 hours.

A post on mashable.com, titled “Mitsubishi Breaks 5 Guinness World Records in 24 Hours [VIDEO],” mentions, “Mitsubishi, along with its agency, 180 Los Angeles, and Guinness World Records, traveled to Ghost Lake in Alberta, Canada, with the goal “to do something that’s never been done before, set as many world records as possible in 24 hours.” The Outlander and Outlander Sport are now the most awarded family of all-wheel drive vehicles, having done just that.”

According to the post on mashable.com, the records broken on Ghost Lake that day included:

“Greatest distance driven by a vehicle in reverse on snow in 30 seconds (300 meters).”

“Shortest braking distance by a vehicle on ice (56.2 meters).”

“Most vehicle figure eights on ice in two minutes (3 laps).”

“Fastest vehicle slalom relay on ice (1 minute, 11 seconds).”

“Fastest driven square lap (19 seconds).”

And, this was not the first time that Mitsubishi was recognized by Guinness World Records. Mitsubishi’s Outlander Sport also earned the Guinness World Record for the longest distance driven by a vehicle operated online.

The Loudest Scream Sponsored by PrimeCredit

Hong Kong’s 2009 economic crisis created a high demand for personal loans. At the same time, banks were being accused of making the loan process too difficult and offering inflexible payment plans.

In an effort to set itself apart from other banks, PrimeCredit, a subsidiary of Standard Charter Bank, repositioned itself as the ideal financial institution that is “willing to help at all times.”

In an effort to reinforce its “Always Here to Back You Up” positioning and encourage greater brand affinity, PrimeCredit decided to gather Hong Kong citizens to break the Guinness World Record for the world’s loudest scream by a crowd (indoors.)

A word-of-mouth campaign was initiated and a “PrimeCredit — Always Here to Back You Up” event was held with popular local singers to help pique the interest of the media. The team recruited to ensure the record would be broken underwent “mega-vocalization” training from a drama tutor and Taekwondo master, which led to additional coverage from the media. Finally, celebrities and relevant media were invited to the event in an effort to create even more buzz.

The words shouted to break the record itself were: “Back you up.”

And, break the record they did.

The PR campaign was so successful that it was awarded a silver at the 2010 Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival for the most effective use of public relations.

As the description of the campaign on the ame.asia website mentions, “The gap between Prime Credit and second-ranked competitor Promise in the ‘most preferred’ brand category widened by two and a half times, according to Synovate. PrimeCredit stood at 27 per cent compared with Promises’s 22 per cent. The brand also ranked highest in the ‘willing to help at all times’ category’. The record attempt was successful, and attracted 1,000 participants in total. 40 journalists attended the event and 67 articles in news media followed, amounting to nearly US$ 2 million of PR exposure for PrimeCredit.”

A Record-Breaking Group Shower Sponsored by Lynx

As mentioned in a recent blog post, titled “The Importance of Pinpointing Your Target Market,” Unilever’s Axe line of male grooming products is targeted to men aged 18 to 24. Therefore, it is not surprising that Axe, or Lynx as it is known is some markets, would sponsor an event that featured beautiful women in bikinis gathered under a single showerhead in an effort to break a Guinness World Record.

According to a post on guinnessworldrecords.com, titled “VIDEO: GROUP SHOWER WORLD RECORD BROKEN ON UK BEACH,” despite the chilly conditions, 152 young men and women gathered on Bournemouth Beach on August 13, 2011, to break the record for most people to shower simultaneously at a single venue. (Note: The previous record of 145 people was set in Chicago, Illinois, in 2009.)

A six meter high shower was built for the record-breaking attempt sponsored by Lynx.

Want to have another look at the record-breaking shower? Check out this YouTube video, titled “Official World Record – Lynx Giant Shower – over 150 people.”

Conclusion

Whether it is an effort to increase brand engagement and participation via social media, for use in television commercials or other marketing campaigns, to generate some good PR for your brand or just for some good clean fun that will create some buzz about your brand, the use of Guinness World Records is an interesting marketing tactic.

And, as shown, it can be a very effective one at that.

It is not without its risks, though.

As a post on mashable.com, titled “Oreo Tries To Set Guinness Record for Facebook Likes,” points out, “For Oreo, the stunt is a clever use of social media that is not without its risks; falling short of the goal could be embarrassing.”

However, if your brand does break a record, it earns the well-deserved bragging rights that are associated with being a Guinness World Records record-holder.

This has the potential to increase the connection that your customers have with your brand.

Even better, when you involve your customers in the record-breaking effort, you give them the ability to say that they helped set a Guinness World Record.

That’s pretty cool.

With approximately 40,000 records currently being tracked, and new categories being added daily, more than likely there is a Guinness World Record that is appropriate for your brand.

So, what are you waiting for?

Photo credit: Smart Destination on Flickr.

Chad Thiele

Marketing analyst and strategist, freelance writer, content curator, applied sociologist, and a proud UW-Madison alumnus. My goal is to help businesses achieve their marketing objectives and business goals while gaining additional experience in the exciting world of digital marketing. I'm currently looking for my next career challenge. Please feel free to contact me anytime at: chadjthiele@gmail.com.

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