clemans on marketing: confessions and misdemeanors

Candygram

Vat19.com introduced the world's largest gummy worm, charging $27.95 each. The video is disgusting, the product itself is "so wrong on so many levels", according to Gizmodo, and I do agree. But visit Vat19's online store and the bugger is sold out in every flavor. Gotta love the hype. If it's back before the holidays, think stocking stuffer. 

2010 Natural Products Expo West

I admit it.  I nibbled my way through the Natural Products Expo this year. "Testing" every stripe of acai berry granola bar, dark chocolate "wellness" snack, power, energy, and super fruit beverage. Downing even the vegie shots in the funny tubes. All, in the name of research. 

I was also there to scope out the exhibiters and see the trade show booth designs. Only a few caught and held my attention. 

The ones that stood out: 

1. Put product benefits front and center
2. Projected branding Wow Factor
3. Displayed design excellence and integration
4. Made the product the hero
5. Elevated and enlivened the category
6. Provided messaging clarity 
7. Oh yes, and had products that delivered as promised. Yummy too! 

 
 
  
  

 
 

Pitchpeople.

There's something really funny and memorable about William Shatner on Boston Legal and as pitchman for Priceline.com. Put a face on your business and you have a brand that walks, talks and gets personal. Think Donald Trump and, rest their shuck and jive souls, Orville Redenbacher, Frank Perdue and Colonel Harland Sanders. Jonathan Schwartz, Arianna Huffington, Jack Welch, Bono, Carly Fiorina, Richard Gere, Michael J. Fox, etc. know the power of "personality" when it comes to the media, government, business, shareholders, partners, fans, contributors and customers.

Whether saving Tibet or Africa, packaging chicken or raising money for a Parkinson's cure, pushing cheap airline tickets, promoting a tell-all book or marketing your life coach business, get your mug out there and sell, sell, sell! Please leave the bullhorn and tap dance shoes at home.

White Space. Breath.

Important yet often forgotten principle of good graphic design:

Comprehension increases when "White Space", the portion of a page left unmarked, bereft of elements and unfettered by content, is integral to the design.

Most websites gobble up White Space. Wikipedia is one of the worst offenders. While Crate & Barrel and Tiffany understand White Space and make room.

Sell more ideas, products and services when people have space to think.

Ahhhhh, that's better.

Think different. Then Act.

Love my sleek new Pumas. The laces tie up at an angle. The distinctive logo is intrinsic to the design. The colors, oh so sophisticated ochre suede, white and tan leather, copper and gold embroidery. Yah!

Lots of working out foot support. Design. Innovation. Function. Visit Puma's Mongolian BBQ to build your own shoe.

Puma's making tracks in the snow.

Different can be so refreshing.

I'm feeling a New Year's Resolution coming on.

Think different and then do something about it.

If a Museum Can Do It...

Art lovers, daredevils and the purely curious gladly lose all dignity, shrieking like mad as they slip, slide and rumble down Tate Modern's newest sculptural acquisition: 5 wild and wiggly 80 foot high steel slides by German artist Carsten Höller. Höller calls his work of art "a playground for the body and the brain."

Brilliant.

Lines are out the door. Attendance is way up for non-museum goers and regulars alike. The media is prattling on and on, "Is it art or is it not?"

Take a page from the Tate. Write with your left hand, make wacky bird calls, dress up like a sushi (just an idea) – anything to roust yourself out of the same old same old and start putting some fresh tracks in the snow.

Make 'em Drool.

A colleague of mine is a business writer not a creative writer, her words. She's writing copy for a travel site and having trouble moving past "what when where". I suggested that she write like she's describing a delicious meal. Get into the ingredients, the flavors, the scents, the visuals, the colors, the experience. Go for the senses and you've got 'em.

Innovation Overload.

I have too many choices. And I like it that way.

In my town, there used to be 31 Flavors. Today, I can head over to Cold Stone Creamery for ice cream blended with candy "mix ins" on sub-zero granite, Gelateria Naia for Italian-style gelatos in over 50 luscious exquisitely-styled flavors including Cardamom and Merlot, Maggie Moo's for scoops of Banana Pudding or Cocoa Amooretto in giant waffle cones, Olde San Francisco Creamery when entertaining 20 or so sticky-faced 8-year olds, during the weekly shop–Whole Foods or Andronico's for a carton of the latest artisan ice cream like green tea and white chocolate. I am sure I can even have the stuff flown in for the right price.

Brainstorming Means Getting Naked.

Structured brainstorming sessions force people out of their ruts and into that grand space where everything is possible, thought processes are liberated, new ideas are born and problems solved. "Your ideas," an old ad man once told me, "need a safe place to run around naked." Brainstorms can help define and hopefully answer specific questions: What opportunities face us this year? What kind of product lines haven't we explored? What factors are constraining the performance of Department L? What kind of email blast will catch the attention of jaded IT guys? How do we have a prayer against Microsoft?

Basic Rules for Brainstorming:
1. Get agreement on the central theme or question.
2. Postpone judgment until the completion of the session.
3. Encourage wild ideas.
4. Quantity counts. Paper the walls.
5. Build on the ideas that emerge in the room.
6. Every idea and every person in the room is worthwhile.
7. Don't stop until ideas become sparse.
8. Allow for surprises.
9. Keep things moving.

Everybody's talking at us. Now we're choosing who to hear.

I like the unconventional markting blog Beyond Branding. Their mission is to "...present their ideas for how branding can move beyond its current limitations, so that it truly meets the needs of society."

Marketing channels are changing rapidly and we need to stay in touch to stay on top.

Beyond Branding Excerpts:

How an English Bank is using New Technology to Connect with Customers.
Beyond Branding author Chris Lawer writes about a London bank, First Direct, that podcasts to keep customers informed.

Brilliant "Un" Advertising.
Johnnie Moore blogs about what happens when Mentos are dropped into diet coke (check out the action).

Search Engine Glitches.
Ton Zijlsta serves up Technorati's sketchy search results.

Traditional news sources no longer dominate. Individual voices, self-selected information and diverse opinions are easily accessed by one and all.