Posts Tagged ‘marketing’

The Brands That Own Me

Posted: May 9, 2013 by Dave B. in Customer Service, Life
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amazonapple hiltonstarbucks

I don’t like or trust corporations but I love capitalism. I relentlessly fight against marketing but I ‘believe’ in some brands. Why? The reasons are listed below but the bigger reason is that they have maintained a decent standard of quality while ensuring personalized customer service.

Apple: Their stuff just works and better yet, it all works together. I’m a family man and the fact that our phones, laptop, tablet and TV device all work together and work every time makes me a believer. Call them if you have a problem, they give a shit.

Starbucks: I think the environment inside a Starbucks is nauseating and artificial It’s garbage and I’m almost 100% sure I don’t agree with the founders or workers politically or morally. All that being said, a freshly brewed Pikes Place is the best cup of coffee I can get. I travel so I try local coffee as much as I can. Most every other cup of coffee I have had sucks compared to a Pikes Place. They’re consistent and that’s why large chains dominate. They actually train their employees too, nice touch.

Hilton: First off, the Embassy Suites is smart enough to offer the government rate in every city I go to. Second, they have a free, real breakfast (I’m not talking about those fucking Belgium waffles) and free boos every night; can you beat that? Yes you can. Third, they have a great rewards plan. I earn free stays and status quickly. You got me Conrad Hilton, nicely done.

Amazon: Dear Amazon, you have made it too easy for me to buy exactly what I need anytime. I am a Prime Member; you sold me ‘free’ shipping and other nice benefits. You have reduced my trips to Walmart and department stores by 87%. Thank you. I even own kindles and borrow books for free. On a few occasions I have had to call or chat with you; Hamza, you are now on my Christmas card list.

Maker’s Folly

Posted: February 11, 2013 by Dave B. in Uncategorized
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I try not to comment on trendy topics but this really got my attention.

Maker’s Mark bourbon can’t meet customer demand this year.  What a great deal for the PR guy.  He can do anything with this.  This situation calls for his creative skills to protect the brand and potentially gain some good press about it.

Add water?  Ummm, that’s not exactly what I was thinking.

What a terrible move.  Instead of enjoying customer demand and the press that was generated by the lack of  inventory, Maker’s Mark decided the best course of action was to add water and charge customers the same price for watered down bourbon.

Knob Creek sent T-Shirts to customers during their drought.  Maker’s Mark added water.

Weak.  Probably (I hope) a case of the boss not listening to his PR guy.  Fail.

Read More:

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/11/171732213/less-potent-makers-mark-not-going-down-smooth-in-kentucky

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/02/11/makers-mark-bourbon/1910773/

 

 

Just Stop Talking

Posted: December 4, 2012 by Dave B. in Public Affairs
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Remember the other day’s post about listening? You can listen while you talk too, in fact, I recommend it.

Watch the audience or the person you’re talking to. Listen to their body language and comment.

It should be clear if they are getting it or not. If it’s not clear, ask.

If there not getting it, start again, reframe your point and see if they catch on.

If they still don’t get it or just don’t care about what you’re saying, stop. Please, just stop.

Your prudence now will pay dividends later. People will see you and say, “See that guy? He doesn’t have diarrhea mouth.”

They might not say that but they might be more receptive to listening to you later.

You think I’m listening because I care?

Posted: December 4, 2012 by Dave B. in Public Affairs
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The truth is I do care.  But, I’m also listening for selfish reasons.

I’m looking for a bridge that I need to use to get you to where I need you to be.

While at work, much of the time I have an agenda.  I need to get things done, I need a resource, support or a decision.  My talking points are always in my back pocket.

When I’m listening to you I’m getting to know you more.  I appreciate you and your deal, whatever that is.  At some point during your talking you will present an opportunity for me.  An opportunity to bridge to my agenda.

I will use what you are talking about to insert some of my talking points.  You will see that I was listening (because I referenced what you just said) and feel heard.  You’ll be happy.  You might even listen to me.

I care about what you are saying.  I also care about what I need to say.

Thanks for listening.

The Homosexual Cow – A Chick Update

Posted: August 2, 2012 by Dave B. in Government, Life
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People lined up outside our local Chick fil A, hopefully for the right reasons.

As many of you have seen, popular political pundits called for a Chick fil A day yesterday.  And so it was.

I don’t intend to jump on the political commentary bandwagon.  There are a few important things I need to address since my last post on the subject linked here.

1.  The PR dude died.  I don’t know or care about the cause but I am sympathetic.  You see, good PR guys care very deeply about the organization they represent.  Often their bosses and organization members do things to tarnish the reputation of the brand, despite our [PR guys] advice or tireless preparation.  We take the organization’s reputation personally because it’s our job to and we believe in it.  If PR guys don’t care and believe in their brand, they should leave- good PR is real.

2.  My family attended CFA day. Not because we are opposed to same sex marriage, because we are in favor of non-government agencies being able to represent their own values.  I don’t want to live in a country where values that are in opposition to the accepted norm are forced into silence by the government or anyone else.  Yeah, I got the thousands of comparisons in retort… bottom line, if you are personally opposed to the beliefs of a product or company, just don’t buy it.

Unfortunately, if I was their PR guy, I would have advised the President not to make that statement.  I would have coached him to dance around the issue; my best bosses never listened to that advice.

Anyway, I hope the people that waited in the lines today explained to their kids that it’s a lot less about disliking gays than it is about everyone being allowed to have a belief and practice that within the law and their rights- without the fear of government intervention.

…and it’s a little bit about the shakes too.

Another good Wiki read here, outline the issue and some local government’s illegal response.

Gay Haters? Homophobs? Staunch Conservatives? Maybe they’re just people who believe in the right to believe.  Maybe they just like the shakes.

Subway’s Olympic Green

Posted: August 1, 2012 by Dave B. in Customer Service, Health and Fitness
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News Flash: The Avocado in this picture doesn’t look like what they actually squirt onto your sandwich

After several friends independently advised me NOT to go to Subway and get their new Avocado topping, I had to go and see for myself.

Sure enough, they were right.

It’s some sort of paste; taco bell like, liquid stuff. It’s a green compound with consistency similar to tooth paste. Not slices, not bits. It doesn’t seem like avocado simply put through a blender, there is a synthetic aura about this stuff.

They used to squeeze it right from the bag that it comes in. The subway lady told me that recently they put it in the bins because it presents a lot better that way. One customer, she said, called it ‘do, do.’

Curious now, I investigated a bit further. Turns out that the nutrition contents listed on Subway’s website is similar to, but not exactly matching the nutritional information on this Avocado Website. Could be just a difference in breed (or however you differentiate between Avocado families.)

Still not convinced that this space age fluid is, in fact, nature’s super food, I e-mailed Subway to ask if what they slopped on my sandwich was truly the fruit of Mother Earth’s loins.

They responded:

“In response to your question, the avocado used is 100 percent avocado.”

I don’t know how it’s done but Subway somehow converted the fruit originally known to the Aztec as ‘testicle,’ into this thick ooze, easily slimed, onto thousands of sandwiches daily by your local Subway worker.

Well done Jared. Well done.

Chick-fil-A and the Homosexual Social Media Dilemma

Posted: July 25, 2012 by Dave B. in Government, Life
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This sandwich is sexual orientation neutral according to Chik fil A’s Facebook.

My kids like Chick fil A, they like the food and the ice cream that often follows.  I like it too (not in excess, see the More or Less Diet).  The restaurant being closed on Sundays is a little bit of a pain in the ass, but whatever works.

So, their opposition to gays aside; take a look at this disastrous social media venture:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/07/25/chick-fil-a-has-completely-lost-control-of-its-facebook-page/

Basically, they made an official statement trying to show that they are not discriminatory and they just want to go back to making good food; well, they got 28,856 comments back (at the time that I checked).

That’s tough.

I’ve been in a similar social media situation.  We posted something supportive of one of our organizational and national initiatives and received mixed feedback, some of it very critical.  Some of the PR guys at our higher headquarters, asked us to delete the critical remarks.

Answer:  No.

The deal with social media is that it has got to police itself.  We edit and delete inflammatory, abusive or offensive remarks but not simply remarks in opposition.  Let the crowds sort it out.  If the host gets into censorship then it’s no longer social media, it’s just advertising and people don’t go on your Facebook page just to look at advertising, they go to join the conversation; however useless it is.

So, my hats off to the Chick fil A PR guy for not locking down his page, although I’m sure many non-PR people suggested that he do so.  If someone did pose as teenage girl, Abby Farle; bad move!  Like I said, social media will police itself, and it did!

Nice move on the Peach Shakes though.

Fried dough with sugar; who does it better? The hedgehog does.

Posted: June 26, 2012 by Dave B. in Customer Service, Leadership
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I grew up on Long Island.   We had Dunkin’ Donuts.  I have fond memories of my Mom bringing home a dozen donuts or stopping by for a quick Boston Creme before we got on the train.  It was good.

Dunkin Donuts makes the best donuts and coffee on the planet.

Dunkin Donuts makes the best donuts and coffee on the planet.

DUNKIN DONUTS MAKES THE BEST COFFEE AND DONUTS ON THE PLANET!

Dunkin Donuts makes sandwiches.  Shitty ones.  Dunkin Donuts makes…well, they have ice cream stores attached to them now.  They make all kinds of garbage.  Check out the front page of their website:  www.dunkindonuts.com

They lost their brand.

What if, for the last several years, they just refined and built on to the fact that they make the best coffee and donuts on the planet?  Whether or not its true doesn’t matter; it can be true.

What if for the past several years they concentrated on just coffee and donuts, that perfect combo and left the rest to fast food joints or other, lesser establishments?

The Dunkin Donuts brand would be a lot better off.  Maybe they would make less money in the short term, but in the long term, they could forever seal their fate as the best coffee and donuts on the planet.

I walk into Starbucks and ask the bubbly chick what she does and she says she is a barrista.  She makes coffee, oh yeah, they have some other stuff too.

When I walk into Dunkin Donuts the dude isn’t sure what he does, he makes ice cream sundaes, terrible sandwiches, some  ice cream cakes, breakfast burritos and oh yeah, donuts too.

It’s sad really.

It all goes back to the hedgehog concept.  To be truly successful, you should:

1.  Determine where your passion is.

2.  Determine what you CAN be the best at.

3.  Determine what drives your profit engine.

Jim Collins, author of the Good to Great series describes it in video here:

The Hedgehog Concept

You can apply this anywhere.  Apply it to your life.  Apply it to your office.  There is something that you are passionate about, something that you can be the best at, and maybe it will even pay the bills…if not, maybe it should.  Whatever you choose should not be breakfast burritos, though.

Marketing I-95; A mystery to me

Posted: June 11, 2012 by Dave B. in Public Affairs
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I will drive 3 hours in each direction on I-95 every weekend this summer. During the long drive on Sunday night I wonder:

Do billboards work: Pedro seems to be the man, so does JR. I want to visit these places because, according to the billboards, they are really cool. I probably never will.

Another thing on billboards: PR people at local municipalities use them, sometimes a lot. Is it an effective use of money to say to the weary travelers that your town has a lot of hotels? What about the museum? I guess it might work. I’m pretty sure the full size billboard requesting that I don’t litter doesn’t work. In fact, I’m sure it doesn’t.

There is something I don’t know about gas: The gas price differs by $0.20 per gallon from one exit to the next. Why the huge difference? Better yet, if you are the high cost gas station, why advertise? Was that Bill, the clerks, error?

The green lady: Having Starbucks at your exit must bring a ton of traffic. If I were a gas station or fast food place owner, I would lobby for, maybe even subsidize the building of a Starbucks.

Exit Pride: Some exits have their own website. Some are dirty and not inviting. Perhaps local owners should get together and adopt the highway or something. Perhaps they live in India; who knows.

Then again, who knows what factors draw business? Sounds like a good graduate research project.