Update or Innovate?

In a survey conducted by Grocery Manufacturers of America (GMA) and Accenture, only 36% of consumer package goods (CPG) companies believed they have a holistic, effective approach to new product development and introduction (from innovation to end of life). Yet these executives know the future of their companies will be tied to their ability to innovate to grow segments and steal share from competitors.  One frustration is lack of new product success even with a large investment in innovation.    

The Nielsen Company / BASES, a leader in tracking and predicting new product success concluded that there are 12 Key Factors that determine consumer adoption and success.  A low (or below average) score on any single factor will be the weak link that leads to market failure.     

Should You Hire a Marketing “Misfit”?

Here is the dilemma in our job-hunting economy.  Companies search to fill their employee needs with people who fit tightly defined job requisitions  -– in other words, duplicate copies of a job description plus an emphasis on all the soft skills the last guy didn’t have.  Fair enough.  Corporate HR computers go off to work word searching online, crawling resumes and on-line profiles.  See any issue here?  What will that output look like?  

After using the latest search technology, the result is…  out of the thousands of resumes reviewed, we cannot find the matching candidate. Hiring managers are left over-whelmed and complain that jobs must be left unfilled because there are NO candidates.   No one?  Really?

Using the Brand Pyramid To Increase Sales

The Brand Conversion Pyramid is a powerful tool that allows consumer marketers and B2B businesses to identify growth opportunities.   

The Brand Conversion Pyramid is a visual representation of the levels of conversion a business has attained among its entire target group of potential customers / consumers.  The pyramid steps up from awareness of a brand, to consideration through trial, repeat and loyalty (multiple repeat). 

Is the Yearly Marketing Plan Still Relevant?

Building the yearly Marketing Plan is a methodical, plodding process that is becoming out of step with the speed at which business planning is needed. The pace of change in digital communications and consumer conversations should be forcing marketers to question the current approach. This was even a topic at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference, Marketing's Shift from Waterfall to Agile, in Austin in March 2012.

Employees–Your Best Marketing Communication

A company’s most powerful marketing tool can be the  employee.  Whether it is a sales associate, a customer service representative, or an internal role, the hundreds of interactions employee make each day say more about the brand, company culture and customer focus than any piece of media  will.

Three Marketing Lessons From Dick Clark

As someone who grew up with American Bandstand, Dick Clark’s daily TV music dance party, I feel a loss at the passing of this great legend. Dick Clark turned a generation of teenagers on to the latest music and launched many musicians’ careers.

While it might seem that Dick Clark’s fame is linked largely to an era gone by (alongside our love of The Beatles, the Jackson 5 and Chubby Checker), there are some timeless marketing lessons that can be taught from Clark’s brilliant career.

1. Host the party. Dick Clark brought us the fun, rather than creating the music. Products, tastes and fashions will change, but the person or brand that brings you the enduring benefit (in this case fun and dancing) stands forever. Dick Clark naturally went on to produce the American Music Awards, host syndicated top 40 countdowns, TV shows and is still known today for hosting our biggest party of the year - Rockin’ New Years Eve.

Does Your Brand Have Personality?

All brands and businesses have a personality -- just like people. Consumers tend to gravitate towards brands that have personalities similar to their own, or at least their aspirational view of themselves. Personality is evident in the style and tone of all communication and interaction with the consumer – from the advertising, packaging, and social media to the sales person and customer service voice on the phone.

Brand Personality is defined as the application of human personality traits to a business or brand. There are said to be 5 main dimensions of brand personality (according to Investopedia  and based on work by JL AAker):

Excitement: carefree, spirited, youthful
Sincerity: genuine, kind, family-oriented, thoughtful
Ruggedness: rough, tough, outdoors, athletic
Competence: successful, accomplished, influential, a leader
Sophistication: elegant, prestigious, pretentious