Some Thoughts on Marketing's Role in Today's Depressed Economy

The economic news continues to be bleak with no upturn in sight. Layoffs are continuing. The stock market continues to decline. Every night, the network news is loaded with stories of corporate and human distress. The marketing fundamentals of our economy may be undergoing permanent change. How should your marketing team respond?

I'll start with a principle that needs to shape your marketing actions: Marketing can't make anyone do anything that they don't want to do.

So, in this economy, if most of your customers don't want to spend money right now to buy whatever it is you're selling, what should you be doing? The correct "marketing mindset" for your company should be "how can I help (not sell) my customers in the short term in order to gain even more of their business in the long term."

There are many companies that are responding to today's economic conditions with deep discounts and deals and special offers to try to get reluctant customers to buy NOW. No doubt, some customers will respond to this. But most will not. However, they will remember the special deal price and when the time comes that they are ready to buy, they will not be happy about the return of "regular" pricing. Discounting is generally a one-way street. When you set a new lower price, it usually very quickly becomes the price that your customers expect to pay from that point on. So discounting may generate a short term lift, but the long term impact on future revenue and profits will be significant. Beware!

Smarter companies are shifting their marketing tactics without resorting to cutting their prices. One interesting example is Hyundai. They are promoting a "Forgiveness" plan that promises that if you buy a new Hyundai and then find yourself in economic distress and unable to make your payments, that they will simply allow you to return the car, without all the ugliness that is normally associated with that type of situation. Hyundai could easily have been investing the same marketing resources into promotions and discounts in order to sell more Hyundais RIGHT NOW. This softer approach is much more compelling and. I bet, more effective for them.

Other companies are recognizing that their customers simply want to exercise more buying caution in these uncertain times. Caution means "slow down" and "learn more" and "be sure." So the tone and style of your marketing should reflect that. You should expect longer sales cycles and be creating marketing materials that will gently push your customers along, providing the information they need and providing it with more frequency than in the past. The information you're providing may need to be more detailed and the after-the-sale service may need to be more robust (and less expensive). You're financing options may need to be expanded, with more options offered. Your guarantees may need to be strengthened or promoted more aggressively. All of these tactics will reflect your customer's mindset and, as a result, be more effective.

Marketing is about understanding your customers and communicating with them in ways that demonstrate understanding and provide compelling information that motivates them to do business with you. If your marketing shows that you don't understand the economic realities facing your customers today, then you're not doing a smart job of marketing.

Marketing with Music - Not What It Should Be

There's rarely a TV commercial that gets produced today that doesn't use music in some way. Yet most marketers are getting far less brand impact from the music they use than they should be. Music can be so much more than an underlying soundtrack to the words and pictures of a TV ad. Music can be brand cement. It can be a marketing communication tool that enables you to plant a brand message in a viewer's head FOREVER.

Here are some great examples of branded music that many of us can probably not only remember, but most likely still sing along with.

Almond Joy/Mounds - "Sometimes You Feel Like a Nut"
Meow Mix - "Meow Meow Meow Meow"
Roto-Rooter - "Away Go Troubles Down the Drain"
US Army - "Be All You Can Be"
Alka Seltzer - "Plop Plop Fizz Fizz"
Chili's - "Baby Back Ribs"
Oscar Meyer - "I Wish I Was an Oscar Meyer Weiner"
Campbell's Soup - "M'm! M'm! Good!"
Hertz - "Let Hertz Put You in the Driver's Seat"

There's another really good way to use music and really BRAND it. That's to steal a song that's become a hit on its own and apply it to your brand in such a strong way for such a long time that it's impossible to hear the song any more without thinking of the brand it has now become associated with. Here are a couple great examples of that.

Chevy - "Like a Rock"
Heinz Ketchup - "Anticipation"
California Raisins - "I Heard It Through the Grapevine"

Another approach that also works is the short musical button that ends a spot and becomes an instantly recognizable element of the brand. Two examples of this are:

Mennen - "By Mennen"
Intel - "Intel Inside"

Today, music in marketing has essentially become a throw-away. Part of this is because so few marketers are now committing themselves to long-term campaigns, which is a requirement if you want to establish any branded music. It's a shame because music can and should be a powerful branding weapon.

Does it really make sense to pay for the rights to use the music of some hot recording artist only in one spot for only a limited period of time? Almost never! Unless you're Apple marketing the iPod, in which case using interesting new music is a big part of what the brand is all about. But exceptions like this are rare and only prove the rule. Don't invest big money in music UNLESS you're committed to making the music a big part of your brand identity for a substantial period of time - like FOREVER.

The Obligatory Super Bowl Advertising Review

It was a great game. Certainly one of the best Super Bowls ever.

One of the unique aspects of The Super Bowl is that the "day after" evaluation of the ads has become such a part of the game itself. It's one of the reasons why advertisers invest in those high-priced ads. They command the attention of everyone and the one exposure the advertiser pays for in the game itself is multiplied many times over with the "day after" exposure that each of the ads invariably receives.

By now, you'll have formed your own opinions about the ads, read what others think and probably debated the merits of the ads with relatives, friends and co-workers. Rather than bore you with just another opinion on all those ads, I'll take a slightly different approach. I'll take issue with some of the ads that most reviewers are praising and support one of the ads that most of the reviewers are criticizing.

Were These Ads Really Any Good?

1. Doritos "Office Ball": Isn't a guy getting nailed in his family jewels the oldest and stalest slapstick gag in the world? Aren't great ads supposed to be original?

2. Coke Zero "Polamalu": Ripping off the classic Mean Joe Greene ad was another example of failed creativity. The original ad generated powerful and sweet emotion. This one went for silly slapstick humor and just ended up cheapening the original.

3. Coke "Bugs": Wonderful animation, but what else was there in this spot? Using fabulous production technique does not mean that you don't still need a core selling idea. And bugs are not nearly as cute as polar bears.

4. Cash4Gold.com: Some reviewers actually liked this ad. Unbelievable! It was sad seeing winners who are now losers (Ed McMahon and MC Hammer) depicted in such chessy desperate fashion.

Was This Ad Really That Bad?

1. Heineken "Vanguard": John Turturro is a great actor and not just a pretty face. The copy was intelligent and Turturro's direct to camera reading was riveting. Was he too old and too pretentious? Maybe. But I paid attention and it was definitely distinctive from other beer ads.


I Agree That These Ads Were Terrific

1. Bridgestone "Potato Heads" and "Jump Around"
2. Budwesier "Clydesdale Plays Fetch"
3. E-trade "Babies"
4. Pepsi "Forever Young"
5. Monster.com "Moose"
6. CareerBuilder.com "It's Time"
7. Denny's "Wise Guys"

I Agree that These Ads Were Terrible

1. Bud Light "Skiier" (Drinkability MUST go!)
2. GoDaddy.com "Enhanced"
3. SoBe "Ballet"
4. Pepsi "MacGruber" (Beyond bad. Embarrassingly awful.)