Not every company is doing poorly in this economy. In yesterday's MediaPost Marketing Daily, GameStop reports record sales due to its "value-adding marketing strategies." A main component of these strategies is its game trade-in model. Wednesday's Baltimore Sun also reported strong sales at sports equipment resale retailers such as Play It Again Sports.
Of course, not all perceived bargains need to be in the form of used games and equipment. Perceived value should be at the core of any marketing strategy, whether the country is in the middle of a recession or not. Marketers often spend most of their time on one of the four P's of marketing--Promotion. However, the other three are as important if not more--Product, Price and Place (Distribution Channels).
As GameStop sites in their press release, their financial performance is being driven by, "delivering to consumers what they want: stores in a wide range of locations, knowledgeable associates and most importantly, options that provide value."
At a time when many retailers are suffering, they could learn a thing from GameStop's approach. It makes me think of Circuit City closing operations earlier this year. Yes, they had plenty of locations and competitive prices, but do you know anyone who ever came out of that store thinking they got a truly remarkable value? After several bad experiences in their stores, I vowed never to return--no matter how close their locations or competitive their prices were. Yes, many retailers are blaming their woes on the recession, and that can be partly to blame. However, I feel that these market shifts will bring the focus back on the consumer and their overall experience. As marketers, we must find ways to offer desirable products at fair prices, in a convenient way, and with a compelling message in the marketplace.
Friday, March 27, 2009
Friday, March 20, 2009
Do Advertisers See Social Media as Experimental?
An article published earlier this week in BrandWeek reports that advertisers spend little on social media marketing, despite all of the buzz about sites such as Facebook and Twitter. The article focuses on a new report by Forrester Research that states that marketing on social media has yet to enter the mainstream, with 75% of marketers budgeting less than $100,000 for social media efforts.
I don't think that it is a matter of marketers seeing the value of social media as a way of reaching their target audiences. It is more a result of not knowing what to do. I have had clients come to me and say, "I want to use social media, but I'm not sure how." The problem is that social media is such a departure from traditional media outlets such as tv, print and radio that it is difficult to come up with an integrated strategy that works. Plus the nature of social media is meant to be organic and unfiltered--leading to an anti-establishment, "uncommercial" atmosphere.
The state of social media marketing reminds me of the world of online banner advertising 10 years ago. I remember being at a Direct Marketing Association when everyone was trying to figure out how to add online marketing into their marketing efforts (and this was before Search was even talked about). The element that helped banner advertising was that it could be described in terms of magazine or newspaper advertising. Marketers could place an ad on a site of their choosing with relevant content, and they could pay on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis. It was only later that people said, hey this medium is all about accountability--leading to cost per click (CPC) and cost per action (CPA) ad models.
I have found two relevant ways that Social Media seems to work in a traditional marketing framework. The first is an online brand presence. Marketers can develop their own fan site, post compelling videos that can be shared, and use social media as a permission-based way to communicate with target markets. Barack Obama's campaign did this very well during the 2008 campaign and they continue the efforts with emails to their online constituency.
The second compelling way of advertising through social media is relevant advertising. Frankly, I don't need to see any more ads for "How to Look Younger" on my Facebook page--even though I am probably part of their target demographic. However, I loved seeing a recent ad for a Dane Cook comedy concert that is coming up at the Hippodrome (relevant--I love seeing comedy shows, geographically targeted--showing in Baltimore, and appropriate--when I'm on Facebook, it's more of a social entertainment site for me). The problem is that I didn't actually click on the ad to purchase tickets. However, I think it is definitely a step in the right direction.
I don't think that it is a matter of marketers seeing the value of social media as a way of reaching their target audiences. It is more a result of not knowing what to do. I have had clients come to me and say, "I want to use social media, but I'm not sure how." The problem is that social media is such a departure from traditional media outlets such as tv, print and radio that it is difficult to come up with an integrated strategy that works. Plus the nature of social media is meant to be organic and unfiltered--leading to an anti-establishment, "uncommercial" atmosphere.
The state of social media marketing reminds me of the world of online banner advertising 10 years ago. I remember being at a Direct Marketing Association when everyone was trying to figure out how to add online marketing into their marketing efforts (and this was before Search was even talked about). The element that helped banner advertising was that it could be described in terms of magazine or newspaper advertising. Marketers could place an ad on a site of their choosing with relevant content, and they could pay on a CPM (cost per thousand impressions) basis. It was only later that people said, hey this medium is all about accountability--leading to cost per click (CPC) and cost per action (CPA) ad models.
I have found two relevant ways that Social Media seems to work in a traditional marketing framework. The first is an online brand presence. Marketers can develop their own fan site, post compelling videos that can be shared, and use social media as a permission-based way to communicate with target markets. Barack Obama's campaign did this very well during the 2008 campaign and they continue the efforts with emails to their online constituency.
The second compelling way of advertising through social media is relevant advertising. Frankly, I don't need to see any more ads for "How to Look Younger" on my Facebook page--even though I am probably part of their target demographic. However, I loved seeing a recent ad for a Dane Cook comedy concert that is coming up at the Hippodrome (relevant--I love seeing comedy shows, geographically targeted--showing in Baltimore, and appropriate--when I'm on Facebook, it's more of a social entertainment site for me). The problem is that I didn't actually click on the ad to purchase tickets. However, I think it is definitely a step in the right direction.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Marketing Identity
Identity. In trying to come up with a Blog theme, I began with the theme of identity. As a marketer for the past 15 years, I have spent a lot of time thinking about the identities of companies and their products and services. Call it an identity or call it a brand--it's all about people's perceptions.
Now the idea of online identity has come to the forefront. I attended a conference today sponsored by PR Newswire. It had to do with using social marketing and other emerging media to better position the messages that you want to push out to the world. Newer mediums have changed the old ideas about Push and Pull marketing. Instead of simply pushing a marketing message out to the masses and developing relationships where your target markets will pull the information from you, there is now another step (or 2 or 3). After the push and pull, hopefully those people who are searching, sharing and blogging will continue to push your message out to their networks. Not only do you gain added exposure for a greater period of time, you gain a legitimacy by transferring your message from delivery by a corporation to delivery by a peer--a much more trusted source (in most cases). The downside is that you lose any control over the message. It's like a virtual game of old-school telephone where the people passing the message are all over the world, and you can only hope the message resembles what it was originally meant to convey.
Now the idea of online identity has come to the forefront. I attended a conference today sponsored by PR Newswire. It had to do with using social marketing and other emerging media to better position the messages that you want to push out to the world. Newer mediums have changed the old ideas about Push and Pull marketing. Instead of simply pushing a marketing message out to the masses and developing relationships where your target markets will pull the information from you, there is now another step (or 2 or 3). After the push and pull, hopefully those people who are searching, sharing and blogging will continue to push your message out to their networks. Not only do you gain added exposure for a greater period of time, you gain a legitimacy by transferring your message from delivery by a corporation to delivery by a peer--a much more trusted source (in most cases). The downside is that you lose any control over the message. It's like a virtual game of old-school telephone where the people passing the message are all over the world, and you can only hope the message resembles what it was originally meant to convey.
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