Z102.9 and KGYM Advertising Animals: Getting the Word Out

Z102.9 and KGYM Advertising Animals: Getting the Word Out: By Glen Gardner /marketing consultant Back in the day there was limited choice when it came to putting your message in front of a potenti...

For Pete’s Sake, Stop With the Phone Numbers Already

If you are making great use of a phone number as a “call to action” in your marketing, you should probably rethink that. We just don’t use and remember phone numbers the way we used to. Fact of the matter is our phones, which are smart, do it for us.

I was driving by an electronic billboard today and what I saw really made me laugh and then I thought about all the money this business was wasting and it almost made me cry. On this electronic billboard was a huge picture of a rather average looking man with a long phone number under it. Perhaps the name of the business was on the previous panel, but I was only exposed to the pixelated picture and the 800 number, which of course I can’t remember.

As a matter of fact, I can’t even remember my wife’s phone number anymore. The only phone number I can remember is the one we had when I was a kid. Technology has made “remembering” phone numbers irrelevant. All I have to do now is say “Lauren” and the phone connects me to my wife via voice or text. Putting a phone number on a billboard, in a radio commercial or on TV is becoming a very difficult ask. Not only do we not remember a number, we don’t even remember how to memorize it. Asking someone to remember a phone number is akin to outfitting them with a bear skin and a stone knife in the year 2013AD.

I have become so impatient that the mere act of having to “dial” a phone number feels like Hannibal’s trek across the Alps. I get past the area code and start forgetting where I need to go next. Can’t I just click on something or tell the phone to do something? What a drag.

Even in print phone numbers are a tough sell. That’s why you see more layouts that feature elements that can simply be scanned with a smart phone or tablet. The smart marketers know that phone numbers as a recall item are nearly cooked. The world has moved on, get over it.

In the electronic media and billboards a much better call to action is an easy-to-remember URL. A good case in point would be the board with the average looking guy. Instead of 1-800-xxx-xxxx, it should have be www.averagelookingguy.com, I would remember that and out of morbid curiosity I probably would have checked it out.

Marketing Lesson of the Election: You Can’t Polish a Turd

Billions of dollars were spent on marketing various candidates over the past several months aimed at trying to convince voters. Now that the dust has settled, the question of how effective those billions of dollars were looms large. More than $1.5-billion was spent by outside groups on both sides trying to influence the outcome of the vote. That doesn’t count the billions spent by the campaigns. Most of that money was spent on television advertising.

So, what did all that spending accomplish? Before the election the Democrats held the White House and Senate. Republicans held the House of Representatives. Billions later the Democrats still hold the White House and Senate. Republicans control the House. I think you get the message. Sometimes we get so involved in polls, demographics, psychographics and the like, that we forget to look at the end result. Nothing really changed!

Much of the money spent on television ads was wasted because some of the basic rules of marketing were violated and some assumptions were made that just aren’t true.

Bad assumption: If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it. In this campaign many lies were repeated very often on all sides. So often and so obvious that virtually no one believed them by the time they voted. This bad assumption is proven wrong every day when you look at your email. Have you contacted that poor soul in Nigeria that just needs a couple of thousand to access a million that you can have half of? Have you given the Euro Lotto your Social Security number because you’re the grand prize winner? Those lies are repeated all the time, but they just aren’t believable like many of the ads you’ve been subjected to. You just hit the delete button in your head.

Just as is the case with the email scams, these political marketers believe they can steal votes by repeating lies. Just show the opponent in black-and-white and have them moving in slow motion while an ominous voice tells you that person is responsible for everything from an early winter to the NFL ref lockout. DELETE!

Broken marketing rule: Make sure the product is solid before you spend money. Herein lays a very basic marketing principle that played big in the failure of all those billions of dollars. In the case of this election, the product is the candidate. If your product isn’t ready for prime-time, you can save the money. If you look at many of the candidates who lost on both sides, the common thread is they were flawed. Spend all the money you want, but the majority of people won’t buy a flawed product.

The lesson for anyone selling anything is; don’t lie and don’t spend a cent until your product is right.

As an old marketing professor of mine once said, “You can’t polish a turd. It’s still a turd.”

The Prime Directives of Marketing Apply to All

Many times when I’m engaged by a company, it’s to help figure out why a campaign isn't working. In many cases it’s because a company or organization broke a basic marketing rule. One of those basic rules is never over-promise and under-deliver. It’s always far better to under-promise and over-deliver.

This rule has played out in a big way for Apple over the past several weeks, and it proves that even a marketing and engineering dynamo like Apple can pay a huge price when they stumble. The Guardian estimates the latest debacles involving Apple mapping technology and problems with Siri voice recognition have cost the company $30 billion in stock valuation.

Prior to the release of the iPhone 5, the Guardian reported Apple set the bar very high with the words they used to promote the new technology. “Designed by Apple from the ground up, maps gives you turn-by-turn spoken directions, interactive 3D views, and the stunning flyover feature. All of which may just make this app the most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.”

The experience of many Apple customers has been far from the “most beautiful, powerful mapping service ever.” There have been widespread reports of glitches and mistakes that have frustrated Apple users accustomed to the buttoned-down service from Google that used to be part of the Apple offerings for iPhone.

Apple executives were quick to acknowledge the mistakes and apologize, but much of the damage had already been done and they could offer no real immediate fix. They suggested using the phone’s web browser to access Google Maps, but that doesn’t offer turn-by-turn voice nav.

The lesson to be learned is never over-promise and under-deliver. Remember, even a company as big as Apple feels the bite when they ignore the marketing basics. It could be a fatal mistake for smaller companies with fewer resources.

Are They Ready for the Tools of Democracy?

Watching the coverage of what's going on in places like Libya and Egypt got me thinking today about an appropriate response. This latest "crisis" was spurred by the release of a so-called film by a Coptic Christian extremist in California who has some kind of an ax to grind with the prophet Muhammad. I've made more professional looking films with my cell phone and a laptop.

 This YouTube "film" has been featured in newscasts across the Middle East and has lead to demonstrations, violence and death. Some leaders in the region have demanded that the United States arrest and "punish" the person responsible.

Much of the Arab Spring, and incidents like the murder of our diplomats in Libya, have been mobilized using technology like YouTube, Facebook and cell phones. I believe all of those technologies are dangerous in the hands of those who have no real respect or understanding of democracy. It's like giving a loaded machine gun to a two-year-old.

These technologies are really designed to further extend the freedoms enjoyed by those in democratic societies. It's true that these technologies can also foster democracy in autocratic societies, but in many cases those throwing off the yoke of a dictatorial regime aspire to replace it with an equally anti-democratic theocracy.

The litmus-test for the introduction of these technologies should at least be an aspiration to freedom of speech and religion. If not, they should not be allowed to develop these American technologies. Perhaps an appropriate response would be to "turn-off" their access to Internet, cell and other technologies that are weapons in the wrong hands. Remember what we did to Iran's nuclear program by unleashing a sophisticated virus?

At least the leadership in Libya has condemned the attack, but in other places where leaders either remained silent or praised it, perhaps we should not share these tools that are designed for free democratic societies. Reminds me of the old "Prime Directive" in Star Trek. Do not share advanced technology with societies that are not ready.

Cutting Off One's Nose

Madison, WI - There are times as a business consultant that I come across something so outrageous, that I almost have to pinch myself to ensure that I am lucid. Such was the case at the annual Brat Fest today.

Every year I usually do a 30 or 40 mile bicycle ride down to Willow Island, park my Trek and reward myself with some tasty dinner at the festival. This year I pulled into the access road and followed the signs to the bike parking, as I have in past years. But, this year was different. There was a guy with a "security" shirt on who flagged me to stop. I complied with a puzzled look on my face. He strolled over to me and said, "If you want to come in, you'll have to pour out the contents of that water bottle on your bike." Wanting to make sure my 55-year-old ears were hearing right I said, "What?"

He said, "There are no carry-ins allowed. I also need to ask you what's in that pack on the back of the bike."

I could feel my blood starting to boil as I said, "There are 10 pounds of contraband bratwurst in the saddlebag that I plan on smuggling in."

By the blank stare I assumed he didn't find the humor in my retort. Why is it when you give someone a shirt that says "security" on the back, it immediately brings out the "mall cop" in them?

It's something I noticed when I promoted concerts way back in the day. We would always warn the security folks that the audience was the customer, not someone to bully or manhandle. Even with that warning the cop-wannabes just can help themselves.

I turned on my heels, said "screw it," and rolled on to the "alternative Brat Fest" up on Capitol Square where I was greeted with open arms and not subject to search and seizure.

The reason there was an alternative in the first place was a group of folks didn't want to support Johnsville because they donated heavily to Scott Walker's campaign, as did some of the organizers of the event. Brat Fest does a lot of good by donating lots of money to scores of local groups, so it's a tough call on what to do on that level.

On a policy that makes people on bikes empty water bottles and have bike packs searched for fear of people smuggling in food, that I can't forgive.

I would have spent a fair amount of money there and drank my bike water later. They didn't get a penny from me and probably never will now. It's a case of them cutting off their nose, to spite their face.

Greetings from the Land that Gave You Joseph McCarthy

Madison, WI (YourNews) – Those who fail to learn the lessons that history teaches are doomed to repeat it. In Wisconsin this week it’s starting to feel like deja vu all over again.

Wisconsin, every once in a while, seems to execute the equivalent of a political fart that reverberates through the nation. Back in the 50s we gave the nation Republican Senator Joe McCarthy. He was the guy that thought there were communists hiding under every rock. He ruined lives and was a bully who was eventually exposed. He died a sad, discredited drunk at the age of 48.

Our latest gift to the nation in the Joe McCarthy tradition is Governor Scott Walker. He appears to believe that unions are the root of all evil. If we can destroy communists, oops, I mean unions, then all will be well with the world and the state’s budget problems will go away.

When will we ever learn? The state and nation’s budget problems weren’t caused by unions. They were caused by a downturn in the global economy precipitated by greedy banks and corporations that bent the rules and stole the equity from virtually every homeowner in the nation. They stole from me and from you, but these are the people that Scott Walker wants to give money to in the form of tax breaks to create more non-union jobs here.

I’m not a member of a labor union and never have been. But I realize that without them I probably would be a lot worse off. They won the 40 hour week for many workers, paid vacation, sick leave and retirement. I guess Walker and clan believes those same people that just got done robbing us blind would have given us all those things out of the goodness of their hearts.

I sure do hope they learn how to govern, which is very different than winning an election. One must keep in mind, the majority of people in this state didn’t vote for Scott Walker. He won by less than 10 percentage points and a slew of people didn’t vote at all. After you win an election you have to govern. That means doing things like talking to people to try to build consensus before you act.

President Obama could have done what Scott Walker did. He had the power on day one to get health care reform passed without one discussion with any opposition. He decided to govern. He talked with the opposition and built consensus. He knew somewhere down the road he would need the opposition. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he was able to broker a deal on taxes and START.

Scott Walker has lit a fuse that will come back to haunt him. He probably will succeed in jamming through his union-busting bill. But in the process he is creating the seeds of his own undoing. In this Facebook and Twitter era he has ignited a machine that is capable of turning out 70,000 people on a cold Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin. He has birthed a powerful opposition that is connected in the ether and will only grow stronger no matter what happens.

After the death of Joseph McCarthy, Democrat William Proxmire filled the seat. Proxmire called McCarthy "a disgrace to Wisconsin, to the Senate and to America." I wonder what the guy who takes over after Walker will say? History has a funny way of repeating itself.