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Thanks to Fantastic Bright Blogger Zac Martin for granting use of his image. You can read Zac's blog Pigs Don't Fly here.
Stop Press to yesterday's post re Vegemite's misbranding: A Different Branding Experience: The New Vegemite
Kraft has reportedly announced that they will be withdrawing the name and have elected that Australia will choose another name. They insist it was not a publicity stunt.
Just some of the news items follow:
The Punch (another of Zac's blogs)
Marketing strategists Al and Laura Ries say the 'birth of a brand is achieved with publicity, not advertising' . The media that has ensued has certainly answered that objective.
It remains to be seen whether the name will remain or indeed is part of some publicity activity of a larger plan. Indeed, doubt still exists as to whether Coke's 1985 introduction and subsequent withdrawl of New Coke, was a publicity stunt.
For any business, the brand name decision is key. It seeks to be memorable, own the category and authentically represent the product's values. ‘i Snack 2.0’ doesn’t seem right . Here are some reasons:
Feels like they're trying to cash in on all things ‘ i ’ to win instant cool. But having an ‘i ’ in front of a product doesn’t make it cool. The product itself has to fulfill that promise. The reason iphones, imacs and ipods are cool, are because they are innovative and functional products which live up to their brand promise.
Is ‘i ’ relevant .. ? The ' i ' doesn't seem relevant here. Apple has ownership of the ‘i ’ categories .. and if they introduced a snack to eat while you are on your Iphone or working on your imac ..it would seem a more natural extension.
The name is a mouthful (sorry - bad pun). From twitter: ‘ Seriously? iSnack 2.0 name 4 new Vegemite.' Do you want jam,Vegemite or iSnack 2.0 on your toast? ;-)..’RT @sammutimer: RT @bonniebullock
An ‘ i’ in front of the product doesn’t necessarily give instant access to a younger audience. Younger audiences are known to be more discerning and wary of marketing messages. Any suspected manipulation or exploitation may in fact turn them away.
And just as it is that not only young people use all things ‘i ’, older people might be interested in this new Vegemite product .. after all we’ve lived and experienced the previous one for a long time!
Ries and Ries propose their 21st law of Immutable Branding as the 'Law of Mortality': ‘No brand will live forever. Euthanasia is often the best solution’.
Wonder if this will be the fate of i Snack 2.0?
What do you think?
Further to our post of how social media is being used by non profits using <12for12K example, the following has just been published in Fast Company. Great article. 12for12K mentioned.
"Tweet, Tweet, Ka-Ching: Twitter is Changing the Way Nonprofits Make the Ask
by Lydia DishmanWed Sep 23, 2009 at 6:31 PM
Can non-profits raise awareness, increase membership, and--most critically--“make the ask” successfully on Twitter? Can a 140-character message deliver the visceral wallop of, say, heart-wrenching footage of starving children covered in flies or the sad eyes of a neglected and abused animal? The answer is yes" ...
Social media non profit specialist Beth Kanter is mentioned. Her recent presentation follows (from Beth's blog)
Social media is the new weapon in an organisation’s marketing communication arsenal. Increasingly social media is being harnessed to engage communities, increase awareness and in the case of not for profits, attract funds, affecting change and ultimately making a difference.
The 12for12K Challenge is a great example.
The 12for12k Challenge represents Hope - Change - Belief and uses social media to raise awareness and funds to change the lives of millions worldwide. The 12for12K Challenge supports a different charity each month: 12 charities, 12 months, aiming to raise $12,000 per charity. Charities with administration costs of 10% or less and openly available financial records, are chosen by collective vote from supporters.
Danny explains: “We look at all the suggestions and see which fit our criteria first - operating costs, long term change etc,” he says. “Then we see which can help the most people or needs the most support from us. Our goal is to be the voice of the voiceless, some need us more than others in that respect.” he says.
All work for 12for12K is undertaken voluntarily – with no money being taken for administration. Donations are made by PayPal or credit card online directly to that month’s charity, eliminating third parties.
A large and growing membership
The 12for12K support base has grown significantly since its inception. In less than 12 months, almost 2,500 people have subscribed to the blog, more than 600 joined the 12for12K Facebook page and 500 the email list, in addition to countless Twitter supporters and hashtag users. 30 official blog partnerships have also been established.
The support base is truly international with US, Canada, UK, Australia Japan France, German, South America, Sweden, Italy and New Zealand just a few of the countries represented.
Charities Assisted
To date the organization has raised more than $50,000 US and supported more than eight charities.
“While this is short of our goal, its still a terrific amount for us” says Danny “and I’m incredibly proud and humbled by our supporters.’ He says.
The positive impact extends beyond the month of support. The increased awareness of chosen charities achieved from the 12for12K support encourages a continue flow of donations over the longer term.
“ We are simply a call to action for the charities.” Danny says. “ This is why all donations go directly to the charity itself as opposed through 12for12K accounts’
What’s Next?
In March next year, Danny hopes to chat about global consciousness at the South by South West Film & Interactive, a conference which attracts approximately 17,000 attendees. He is also aiming to bring a local focus to the global connections achieved via social media next year.
“One of our members Jon Aston coined the phrase Connect Globally:Think Locally," says Danny. "I have a ton of ideas about how to empower 12for12K locally so you can really make a difference where you live, no matter where in the world you are.'
Exciting times ahead – for sure – all enabled by the connection that our 21st century technology and social media provide.
For further information or to join click here: 12for12K Follow on Twitter
PS C’mon Aussies .. we’ll be rallying the troops in the months ahead and will be providing more information about local charities and causes for our support, providing information how such support can be linked to your corporate social responsibility activities.
My favourite Seth Godin blog post this week was a one in which he provided some book recommendations! Definitely worth a read. Original post follows together with the reading list.
Seth's blog post ' A Big Week for Books'
Others in my reading pile:
Connection Generation - Iggy Pintado
Free - Chris Anderson
The Power of Small - Why Little things make all the difference - Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval
..to name just a few.
Chris Brogan's book is now in there too.
Enjoy!
Last week we initiated our Twitter (FB) Theme Weeks – which provides thoughts and insights around a marketing theme.
2. No Coercion Required. When you have something worth sharing, people will share it - no coercion required.
4 Put Down Roots. Be involved in the online communities of people who actively share.
We concluded the week of tweetful insights with my favourite:
‘Focus on your buyer personas and how you can solve problems for them.’
Stand by for our next Theme Week!
Last week we blogged about the value of marketing auditing - Spring Clean Your Marketing. The concept of examining and assessing your marketing activities as part of the preliminary analysis before strategy formulation, follows in the tradition of financial auditing - a traditionally dry practice.
In his new book 'World Wide Rave', David Meerman Scott discusses the case of Approva, a provider of software products for internal auditors. Rather than provide the same 'jargon laden product messaging' akin to all the other players in this market, Approva decided to communicate more directly with their buyers using meaningful messages in a creative execution which cut through the market's similar, undifferentiated communication.
The 'I Love A Good Audit' theme was created - a fun way to communicate a rather staid topic. The theme extended into 'I Love a Good Audit ' buttons distributed at trade shows and a website which includes e cards and blog. See the website here. It's fun, innovative and refreshing.
This work continued with a video which has received more than 23,000 hits on You Tube, celebrating the fifth birthday of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX), a federal law regulating new or enhanced standards for all US public companies following corporate scandales of the 1990's. See the video here.
This post isn't about the valuable process of auditing but rather the effectiveness of clever,innovative communication which integrates problems solutions to target customers. Such communication can considerably enhance a brand's personality and ultimately its equity.
Welcome to Spring!
With the recent economic news indicating ‘green shoots’, a time of business growth and renewal is also upon us. In preparing well for such growth a marketing audit is valuable.
What is it? A marketing audit is a key component of a strategic marketing plan. Essentially a marketing audit is a thorough review of all marketing activities in light of prevailing market trends. Aspects considered are sales and profit patterns; positioning, target markets, promotional activities and results. An audit assesses the success of your marketing activity and identifies opportunities for strategy refinement.
When to audit? Measuring the results of all marketing activity and comparing against objectives should be undertaken after each campaign. Such measurement to some degree could be considered a ‘mini audit’. However, the more encompassing marketing audit should be undertaken at least once per year as part of the overall business and marketing planning cycles, coinciding with annual plans and budget preparation.
Value? Stopping to reflect and analyse activities not only helps shape more effective strategies, but is also cost effective, ensuring marketing investment is focused and targeted. In light of all marketing factors, reasons can be considered for any activities not producing desired outcomes. These activities can be subsequently refined or eliminated in the reformulated strategy.
Ensure you are working ‘on’ your business! It is always easy to continue working ‘in’ the business but stepping away to work ‘on’ the business in this way is vital. Evaluation and assessment of all business aspects including marketing provides a strong and solid foundation for future action.
If you haven’t stopped to audit your marketing activities in the last twelve months – why not give your marketing a Spring clean and do one this month? It will refresh your strategies and activities and set your business on a strong course for the months ahead.
If you require any assistance in undertaking your marketing audit or any marketing activity - please do not hesitate to contact us. We would love to be of assistance to grow your business.
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