One of the many things I love about working at Go East is that I have lots of colleagues who enjoy reading and learning as much as I do. So when I heard Carla and Ric talking about Malcolm Gladwell’s book, Outliers, I knew I had to read it.

It was fabulous. For those that haven’t,  I highly recommend reading it. It’s a new way of thinking about what defines success.

In the beginning of the book, I wasn’t sure where Mr. Gladwell was going with his theory on how to be successful. For instance, one of the examples he used is that an overwhelming majority of “successful” hockey players are born in either January, February or March. Something as arbitrary as this makes a person feel helpless in paving their own success path. But as the book progressed, he dug deeper and revealed that there are ways to influence success in our lives.

Translating the core of the book’s message to the marketing communications world, the question becomes: Why do some brands succeed, while so many more never reach their potential? Gladwell would say that successful brands don’t rise out of nowhere. Instead, “they are invariably the beneficiaries of hidden advantages and extraordinary opportunities and cultural legacies that allow them to learn and work hard and make sense of the world in ways others cannot.”

Putting the theories outlined in this book in the context of marketing communications, it totally shifts the way I think about planning for my clients. The tried and true is not so relevant. In fact, it’s sure to lead to mediocrity. How can we make our brands true outliers?

1. Practice. To truly stand apart from the crowd it takes 10,000 hours of practice, according to Mr. Gladwell. What does that mean for a brand? First and foremost it means that marketing can’t be viewed as an expense. It needs to be an investment. A serious investment with experienced professionals leading the way.
2. Seek opportunities. Not only that: Take advantage of them. This is almost a subcategory of practicing. Get out there. Listen to what your customers are saying. Maximize those opportunities. Had Bill Gates not snuck out of his house every night between 3 and 6  a.m. to get in extra time on the computer at the nearby university, he would not be the man he is today. Breaking the rules to take advantage of opportunities is what will truly set your brand apart.
3. Surround yourself with like-minded team members. Both internal and external partners. Those that support your desire to drive the brand towards true marketplace dominance. People who not only say “good job” but also work with you to meet that goal. An “I’ll do whatever you tell me,” partner is not going to make your job easier. Seek true thought leaders.

Thinking of Gladwell’s book in the context of marketing communications is super exciting. There is so much potential for so many brands and the formula for success is clearly spelled out.

Who is your favorite risk taker?

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Have you ever said something that was completely misunderstood or taken out of context? At Go East and at home I’ve been known to make the occasional slip up and say something that received an unintended reaction from time to time. It happens to the best of us, and while it can leave us red faced and embarrassed, we’re not alone in our self-inflicted humiliation.

Marketers are not immune to unintended messages either. I came across a list of  “Top 13 Worst Marketing Slogan Translations Ever” and thought I would share a few.  I’ve narrowed it down to my top four. You can see the entire list here.

1. An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market that promoted the Pope’s visit. Instead of “I saw the Pope” (el Papa), the shirts read “I saw the Potato” (la papa).
2. Scandinavian vacuum manufacturer Electrolux used the following tagline in an American campaign: “Nothing sucks like an Electrolux.”
3. Pepsi’s “Come alive with the Pepsi Generation” translated into “Pepsi brings your ancestors back from the grave” in Chinese.
4. When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather seats in first class to the Mexican market, it used “Fly in leather,” which means “Fly naked” (Vuela en cuero) in Spanish.

Like these? You might also enjoy the “Top 10 Worst Marketing Gaffes, Flops and Disasters.”

These are good reminders that we need to consider all of our audiences and what we’re saying when it comes to our integrated marketing efforts.

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It’s been said that I am a dork — most often by me. (Don’t worry, my colleagues at Go East and I embrace my dorkiness.) My latest proof point to dorkdom is my passion for writing marketing communications plans. I love it. I love it because it’s a tactical manifestation of my organization skills, it’s strategic, it’s creative and frankly, I love the written word.

To be clear, a marketing communications plan is the alignment of specific tactics to marketing strategies. Very often, communications plans are incorporated into marketing plans — but they each serve a different function and likely are formulated and referenced by people in different roles.

At a bare minimum, a stand-alone marketing communications plan should include a calendar that outlines tactics that are in alignment with business objectives and audiences.

Obviously that is not as simple as it sounds. The tactics could and should include everything that a brand is involved in from a marketing standpoint: trade shows, speaking engagements, FSIs, print advertising, product launches, etc. It should also include the seemingly smaller touch points: website maintenance, coupons, sales meetings, etc. These are all events or activities that are going to require attention from a marketing standpoint. It should also include social media strategy.

A 12-month marketing communications plan is the most common. Yet planning a year in advance can seem completely overwhelming. Take a deep breath, though. It can be done! When I develop marketing communications plans for my clients at Go East, I find it very helpful to start by literally mapping out on a calendar big things such as industry trade events or a known website redesign initiative. After that, the little things tend to fall into place. For example, if there is a large industry trade event in November, I know that there will be a need for pre-event activities in September and October. And I know that product enhancements or new products are often introduced at trade events, so I include efforts in May or June related to key message development, etc.

When you take the time to document a strategy, you have a road map to success. Of course, I am no stranger to reality. I know that the unexpected pops up. But that’s when the marketing communication plan is most effective! We can easily ascertain if the “hot need for a new sales tool” is in alignment with the marketing objectives or not. Either it doesn’t — and you’ve quickly ascertained that you can save time and money — or it does. If it does and you didn’t plan for it, just roll with it and make a note to include it in next year’s plan.  In the end, you save time and potentially money. What’s better than that?

So I’ll say it again, if having a passion for effective communication makes me a dork, then that’s what I am. What are your experiences with marketing communications plans? Please share the good, the bad and the ugly and join me in my kingdom of dorkdom!

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We often wonder what yellow means in India or red means in China and look for resources to help us understand the meaning of color in different cultures.

David McCandless produced this wonderful infographic for the book, Information is Beautiful outlining the meanings of colors in different cultures. What I love about this infographic is that it demonstrates the similarities and disparities of meanings across cultures. Color meaning is not a cut-and-dry formula that designers plug into a solution. Instead, it is deeply embedded in cultural meaning and designers need to understand a culture before we can speak to it either symbolically or directly. At a glance, McCandless’ poster lets us trace the color of cruelty in America and see it is similar to the color of beauty in the same culture. And that is why color has such rich symbolism.

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When approaching marketing communications on a tactic-by-tactic basis, the costs are substantially higher and there are few, if any, equities that can be carried over to other communication tactics. Or, worse, future communication tactics are forced into the same look and messages as the previous tactic, which is often not relevant or strategic.

Below is a list of best practices for approaching projects:

1. Prior to the onset of an individual tactic, an overall “identity” project would be a best practice. In an identity development project, organizations have the opportunity to develop marketing messages and visual identity elements that are appropriate for multiple communications tactics such as brochures, in-store displays, web, etc. Good concepts leverage existing equities, but do not necessarily literally mimic them.

2. Develop a creative brief for the project that outlines clear communication objectives, audience profiles, competitive information, key messages, etc.

3. Kick off the project in person with the agency and the marketers and provide the agency with the creative brief ahead of time to facilitate a productive meeting.

4. Allow the agency to present the initial concepts in person to the full team. Encourage healthy discussions!

5. Include the full team in the initial feedback meeting with the agency.

6. Communicate feedback in terms of a “problem” that needs to be solved vs. suggested “solutions” (i.e., “The hierarchy of information doesn’t seem clear, it should be xxx.” vs. “Move the copy up about 1/2″ and make it 3 point sizes larger.”)

When the above best practices are followed, the results are more successful:

• More ownership among both teams = an engaged and passionate team
• Fewer rounds of revisions = fewer feelings of frustration among both teams and less time needed
• Less time = less costs = opportunity to use budget dollars on other communication efforts
• Efficient projects =  stronger vendor relations

Following the above recommendations will result in lower-cost projects and stronger marketing communications. It’s just that simple.

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As baby boomers begin to retire and the next generation becomes the leaders of tomorrow, companies are recognizing that they must change to meet new consumers and influencers. This new, younger generation has been influenced by technology. Digital cameras, MP3 players, DVDs and mobile phones have all played a role in defining the latest color trends. Noticing this, companies have used these palettes — bright, vivid and futuristic pinks, silver and bright purple — to attract the new audience.

While Generation Y continues to age with Generation Z at their heels, don’t forget about the classic colors of black and white; they will always have a place in any communications piece or logo, no matter what the target audience.

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Social media marketing (SMM) can and should play a significant role in any product launch. Say you’ve created a Facebook page for your product but all you hear are crickets instead of cash registers. Well, SMM isn’t about selling, it’s about engaging your audience, getting them talking about you and your product and hoping sales will follow.

An excellent example of a company that successfully used SMM to boost sales is BlendTec, makers of commercial food blenders. They had a great product but few had heard of them. In 2006, they launched the “Will it blend?” viral video campaign, starring CEO Tom Dickson. Dressed in a white lab coat and safety glasses, Mr. Dickson asks the question, “Will it Blend?” and tosses various non-food items such as cell phones, toilet plungers and tiki torches in BlendTec blenders. (My favorite is the iPhone video.) The videos were intended to increase the company’s brand awareness by showcasing their product’s toughness. The content was so compelling it got consumers watching. Within five days of posting their videos on YouTube and on their own Web site, the videos had generated six million YouTube views. They even got their audience involved by asking them to submit their own “blending” ideas for future videos. Ultimately, BlendTec saw their sales jump by 700 percent.

BlendTec did everything right. Their campaign aligned their brand personality and key messages into an entertaining and engaging series of videos.

Now I’m thinking I need one of these blenders for my own entertainment purposes: summer slushy drinks!

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Those of us who work in the design industry often hear this phrase when we propose new marketing ideas to clients: “Yeah, that would be great — if we had the budget.” For some reason, marketing efforts are the first to go when budgets are tight (which is ironic, since marketing should generate sales). At Go East, our clients understand the importance of relevant marketing initiatives; but they face shrinking budgets, especially as 2009 comes to an end. They must choose between spending money on things that drive profits or are specifically requested by an account, and activities that are a bit riskier and generate less of a return on investment.

As 2009 comes to an end, here are a few tips to help stretch your marketing budgets: (more…)

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