Once a Day Marketing: July 2012

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

The Elastic Enterprise: Strategy for Flexibility (Strategic Tuesday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re continuing our discussion related to The Elastic Enterprise and ensuring your business is flexible to deal with change and to grow during any kind of economic environment.

After looking at Apple, Amazon, Google, GE, Caterpillar, Deere and many other companies Nick Vitalari and Hayden Shaughnessy determined numerous concepts that identify an elastic enterprise. I’m not going to go into detail; however, I thought you’d like to hear what some of them are called. There was radical adjacency, mass differentiation, the new scale economics, sapient leadership, which I mentioned yesterday and active strategy.

Then they determined five dynamics of the elastic enterprise. The point I am making is that all of these elements together create an elastic enterprise and it is really all about being receptive to change and being flexible to accommodate that change throughout your organization.

After reviewing the book The Elastic Enterprise there are many things for you to consider strategically to assess if you are able to take the elastic journey towards being a flexible enterprise. One, are you and management receptive to change? If not, that is something to work on. Second, are the people within your organization receptive to change? Third, can you scale up and down as needed based on what is happening with respect to the economy, the world, your competition, etc. Four, are you using technologies, and there are lots of them out there which we’ve talked a lot about on Digital Friday’s. Lastly, are you creating partnerships both with people within your industry and also your customers? Those are things to consider strategically as you take this journey.

We all want to be a Google or an Apple or an Amazon. The book The Elastic Enterprise looks at what they are doing and why they are the kinds of companies they are today. I recommend that you seek out the book and take evaluate if you are able to implement any of the points in your business and move toward being more flexible or more elastic.

That concludes Strategic Tuesday. Join us tomorrow for Action Wednesday. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Monday, July 30, 2012

The Elastic Journey: Winning Through Flexibility (Smart Monday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Smart Monday, and I am going to introduce you to a concept called The Elastic Enterprise. It’s based on a new book and is all about winning through flexibility.

Before I talk about being flexible in a business environment, let’s talk about the human body for a moment. To be physically fit a body needs a strong heart, strong muscles and also flexibility. Even if you have a strong heart and strong muscles if you aren’t flexible your body is going to break down.

The same thing is true with a business. You may have a great team and operations which relates to the strong heart. You may have a wonderful product or service which relates to the strong body. But if you aren’t flexible and have the ability to be scalable and adaptable, your body, or your business, is going to break down.

The book I want you to seek out, The Elastic Enterprise, has been written by Nick Vitalari who is a former college professor that taught me at University of California, Irvine and Hayden Shaughnessy who is a contributing writer to Forbes.

They looked at companies like Apple, Amazon, Google, General Electric, Caterpillar and Deere and wondered why these companies were succeeding, and in fact growing, in down economies. What they determined is the basis for The Elastic Enterprise.

The commonality among these companies is that they were able to be successfully in bad times and they were also transformative, meaning that they were not only doing business but they were changing how business was being done.

In summary, an elastic enterprise is truly flexible, aggressively seeks out change and is driven by what the book call Sapient Leadership. That leadership is able to leverage the people around them, even partners and their customers, to bring about this change.

Tomorrow we are going to talk about what that means for your business and what you can do to have that elastic journey.

That concludes Smart Monday. Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday when we will continue our conversation about The Elastic Enterprise. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Friday, July 27, 2012

Gaining Competitive Advantage Through Mobile Payments (Digital Friday/People)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Digital Friday and we are going to talk about using new digital technology to get a jump on the competition.

The story is often shared about Wayne Gretzky, perhaps one of the greatest players in the history of the National Hockey League, being asked why he was so good. He said the answer is simple; he always skated where the puck was going, not where it was. We are going to talk about how leveraging e-wallet or mobile payments may enable you to get ahead of the competition and skate where the puck is going.

A trend that is emerging very quickly is the use of mobile devices, new apps and smart phones to handle transactions between you and your customer. This is becoming more widely available and organizations such as Google, eBay, Apple, Amazon and Starbucks are creating electronic payment environments.

Electronic payments are very easy for your customers because when they enter your establishment they are able to complete a transaction without using a physical credit card, debit card or cash. In some cases they may not even have to take their phone out of their pocket.

Is this the eventual death of cash or is it a chicken and egg moment? By that i mean there may not be enough users in the marketplace able to complete an e-wallet transaction to justify the cost of the technology right now. Investigate the technology and determine if it makes sense for your business and create a competitive advantage over your competition. New technology makes it easy for customers to complete transactions and you don’t want your competition to be ahead of you as e-wallet gains acceptance as becomes the preferred method of payment.

That concludes Digital Friday. Join us next week for Smart Monday. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Thursday, July 26, 2012

Slogans That Capture the Imagination (Recon Thursday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy with Once a Day Marketing. Today I was standing on the border between New Mexico and Colorado in the southwestern United States. The Welcome to New Mexico sign says “New Mexico Land of Enchantment”. We are going to be talking about slogans and their importance to your business.

What is a slogan? A slogan is a brief phrase that captures the essence of your brand and also triggers recall in the minds of your customers. At Once a Day Marketing our slogan is “Inspiring Ideas Inside”. That relates to the fact that when you come to our site we share good ideas, but we are also inspiring the ideas inside of you.

Here are some examples of slogans that I noted on my trip through New Mexico, Colorado, Utah and Idaho this past week:

- Coffee Shop car window decals - Powered by Durango Joe’s

- Mexican food store – Taco ‘bout Good

- Diner – Chat & Chew

- Hair Salon – Twisted Scissors

- State of Utah – Life Elevated

- Ski Utah – Greatest Snow on Earth

A clever or unique slogan will be more memorable for your customers. Some of the slogan above are a play on words and originate with a famous slogan or name that may be totally unrelated to the product or service.

Take a look at your slogan and determine if it has that certain something that will spark recall of your brand for your customers. If you don’t have a slogan, create one that will excite your customers and that will cause them to remember the essence of your brand.

That concludes Recon Thursday. Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Digital Friday. To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Logos: More Important Than Ever (Strategic Tuesday/Physical Evidence)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and today is Strategic Tuesday. I am on location today in the Snake River Canyon outside of Twin Falls, Idaho and we’re going to talk about logos and the importance of visual cues.

Think about all the logos you’re familiar with. They are a visual cue and part of the physical evidence of a company that creates a link in the customers mind which, when they see it, triggers memory of the company or product. Consider Apple, Nike, Visa and MasterCard. When you see those logos, no matter where in the world you are, you instantly know that it is aligned with that particular brand.

In today’s environment it’s very important to have a visual logo that is memorable, distinctive and visually appealing. We know the world is going mobile and there are numerous applications for mobile devices and the home page generally contains many small icons. What are those icons? They are the logos representing a company or brand and they want you to push that button for their application.

In a global market, which is typical now a days, customers may not even see words, they just need that visual cue, that piece of physical evidence, to drive them to push on your logo button. In the social media app world logos are becoming increasingly more important.

For Strategic Tuesday I want you to evaluate your logo from the perspective of the visual cue/physical evidence. Imagine someone on the far side of the globe viewing your logo. Would it be distinctive? Would they remember it? Would it entice them to sign into your application?

If not, consider revamping your logo in the near future to meet those goals.

Monday, July 23, 2012

Making Memories and Emotional Branding (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Smart Monday and we’re going to talk about emotional branding and in particular, creating memorable experiences for your customers.

You probably can’t help notice the red rock structures behind me, I am standing in Arches National Park in Utah. For me, one of the most memorable experiences associated with a brand bar none are the national parks of America. When I was 10 years old I went to Yellowstone. I will never forget that experience seeing the grizzly bears and Old Faithful. What we are going to talk about now is creating similar experiences for your customers.

Throughout my life I have had great, memorable experiences in the national parks of America. I mentioned Yellowstone; however I also had the opportunity to work at Crater Lake National Park in Oregon during all the summers I was in college and to lead hikes at the Grand Canyon and Yosemite. Visiting National Parks always sparks something in me. I feel great about it, I want to share it with family and friends, I want to keep returning. That is what you want to do when you create an emotional bond between your brand and your customers.

There is a branding rule I like to share and it reads as follow: If you capture the mind, you gain behavior, but if you capture the heart, you gain commitment. When your customers are emotionally tied to your brand they are going to keep returning and having a favorable experience with your brand. You want them to feel good every time they think about and use our brand.

So your task for today is to determine how to provide a better emotional experience for your customers. If you do, they will be perennial customers for a very long time.

That concludes Smart Monday. Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Wednesday, July 18, 2012

Creating Customer Usage Cycles (Recon Thursday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Recon Thursday and I am going to talk about something I call customer usage cycles and whether or not you are maximizing that concept at your company.

Customer usage cycles are the recurring intervals when customers purchase your product. I am going to site a few examples. I recently saw a TV commercial for Mattress Firm that started me thinking about this subject. In the commercial Mattress Firm deliverymen are in someone’s home telling the customer that she needs to buy a new mattress every eight years. That is the customer cycle Mattress firm is creating.

Then think about Jiffy Lube. They promote having your oil changed every 3,000 miles. Dentists establish cycles as well by telling patients to come in every six months for a cleaning. I even create a customer cycle at Once a Day Marketing by encouraging you to think about Once a Day Marketing every single day. Those are all examples of customer usage cycles.

The benefit of establishing recurring customer cycles is that your customers will think about buying your product or service on a regular, habitual basis such as every 3,000 miles or every eight years for a mattress or once a day for a video blog.

Consider how you can create a recurring cycle for your product. Look at examples in the marketplace and explore how other businesses are promoting regular purchases. Also review what your competition is doing. Are they creating customer usage cycles? Then develop a marketing campaign around cycles that will encourage your customers to think about you on a regular basis.

Expert at Work: Marketing Your Core Competency (Action Wednesday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Action Wednesday and we are going to expand on yesterday’s discussion around core competency and focus on how you can market yourself as an expert.

In yesterday’s blog we discussed the components of core competency and how it really comes down to the element you do best. Ensure you are marketing the fact that you are an expert in your particular field so potential customers will know about you and keep your business top of mind.

There are numerous ways to promote the fact that you are an expert. Traditional avenues may include print, TV and radio advertisement emphasizing your expertise.

Leverage social media and inbound marketing to create a blog that highlights your credentials. You may also be able to share your knowledge by responding to questions posed by members of a LinkedIn or similar group. Check the groups to determine if there is one that is a good fit for you.

Consider lecturing, check with local organizations that would be appropriate and get out there and lecture. Offering seminars is another option to promote yourself as are webinars. These can be free or fee based, the main point is you are sharing your knowledge and building a following.

Lastly, newspapers are always seeking experts for quotes related to story content. You can be that expert. Let the local TV station, newspapers and radio know that you are willing to share your knowledge and answer questions in your area of expertise.

For Action Wednesday give some serious thought to the best avenues to promote your core competency. Identify opportunities and start promoting. Through consistent effort, over time you will see that your brand centered around your expertise will rise above the competition, you will start getting more lead flow and new business.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday. To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Understanding Your Core Competency (Strategic Tuesday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re going to discuss leveraging your business’s core competency to really differentiate yourself in the marketplace.

Let’s start by defining what core competency is. It’s the skills or production techniques to deliver value to your customers and is central component of your company’s culture.

There are three aspects of core competency. First, your core competency should be such that your competition can’t readily imitate you. Second, it should be applied to all products and markets that you enter and lastly it should contribute positively to the customer’s experience.

As an example, let’s look at what I have identified as the core competencies of my brand, Once a Day Marketing.

We are competing in an arena where there are a numerous companies positioning themselves as branding and marketing experts. Through my Once a Day Marketing video blogs, the approach is to create a very strong personal brand for myself so people know who I am and will identify with me.

The next key component is sharing my branding and marketing expertise over and over again with small businesses, my customers. That is why I am doing a daily blog, which I found most of my competition isn’t doing.

Lastly what is unique to us, the core competency, is that I inspire companies to market every day. That is my mantra; you’ve heard me say it over and over again, to be more successful you have to be working on marketing every day. That, combined with the daily blog further differentiates Once a Day Marketing and the product I provide to my customers.

Your assignment for Strategic Tuesday is to analyze your company’s strengths and identify your core competency. Then develop strategies to strengthen it and, even better, use it in the marketplace to differentiate yourself from your competition.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Brand Mystique: Historic Route 66 (Smart Monday - Positioning)

Jim Glover: Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and today we are in Tucumcari, New Mexico and we are going to talk about the mystique of brands and in particular Historic Route 66. When you think about brands, think about the Beatles, Marilyn Monroe, Paris, France and Disneyland. There’s a mystique about all of those brands and now after decades and decades there’s still a mystique about Route 66 and it has generated a major following.

Today we are going to talk with Kevin Mueller from the Blue Swallow Motel, one of the most iconic motels in all of Route 66, and he’s going to tell us why he thinks the Route 66 brand lives on.

Kevin Mueller: Route 66 was established as a national roadway in November of 1926. Because it traveled across the Southwest, all the way from Chicago to Los Angeles, it was a major route for people to travel whether it was for vacation or relocations. It became legendary in Steinbeck’s book “The Grapes of Wrath” as the “mother road.” So many people traveled because of the route that people became really became connected with it.

It’s all the legend around it that enables the brand to live on. The fact that so much of it still exists even though it’s not a national highway anymore. So many bits of it have been preserved. People can step back in time and experience that vacation that they took with their parents in the family station wagon back in the ‘40s and ‘50s and still stay in some of the same places that they stayed at with their mom and dad. People want to share that with their families. People want to experience those bits of their youth, something different from the normal chains that they are used to seeing around their homes. It’s a chance to relive a bit of history. It’s still here and they can live it on their own Route 66 adventure.

People in New Mexico are working together to bring more tourists to our stretch of Route 66. By promoting it more travelers along this stretch of route are good for everybody. Whether it’s Tucumcari or Santa Rosa or Albuquerque, Santa Fe, out to Gallup, Grants, any town along Route 66 benefits. Each town in New Mexico has unique features to share with the motoring public and encouraging people to get off I-40 with billboards, with historic markers marking the route of Route 66 across the state. The New Mexico Route 66 Association helps promote travel on New Mexico’s stretches of Route 66. But New Mexico is rather unique in having a lot of the old road and can still be driven through all of the towns and even through the countryside. It is a special place for people to visit plus New Mexico has the beautiful that a lot of states aren’t lucky to have.

Jim Glover: The big question is “Are you creating mystique around your brand?” Something to think about. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Friday, July 13, 2012

Sensing Facebook Fatigue (Digitasl Friday/People)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and today is Digital Friday. As a consultant, part of the value proposition I offer to clients is my ability to spot trends on the horizon and today I am going to talk a little bit about a trend I’m starting to sense with Facebook.

Facebook is an amazing company, it’s growing by leaps and bounds, it just went public and I’m sure it will continue to grow. However, I am starting to wonder just how sustainable that model is and whether or not it is the right place for all businesses.

Without a doubt Facebook can create a lot of exposure. There are large companies using it with huge numbers of followers. Another great reason to leverage Facebook is that it enhances search engine optimization. On the downside, recently I’ve noticed the expression “Been There, Done That” seems to apply to Facebook.

People have experienced it and are starting to move on. I know that I am spending less time on my personal site. My business site for Once a Day Marketing on LinkedIn has grown substantially more than our Facebook audience. I think the tide is starting to turn ever so slowly.

I’m sure Facebook will prove me wrong, but if they don’t remember you heard it here first. I’m going to continue using Facebook, it is still an integral part of my social media marketing campaign but I will also be putting more emphasis into some of the other tools.

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Being Smart With Coupons (Recon Thursday/Price)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Recon Thursday and I am going to share my thoughts on trends in coupons, which seem to be everywhere these days.

Numerous types of coupons are available in newspapers, online, directly from merchants, etc. There are also daily deal websites such as Groupon offering discounted gift certificates for local and national companies. I received two e-mails just today of Groupon offers. Groupon enables businesses to market discounts to broad audience. The question is, should they?

There seems to be a coupon battle going on, but more importantly there seems to be a coupon culture being created. This is a pitfall for small businesses when they rely on coupons as a means to drive traffic. However, there is a right place for coupons in your strategy.

Part of what we do at Once a Day Marketing is encourage you to think about your brand and market what makes your product unique in the minds of your customers. A coupon is a pricing strategy under the 7Ps of marketing. Through extensive use of coupons, you may create an expectation with your customers for a discounted price. You are then moving your product on price rather than the value proposition that you offer, which is the reason you are in business.

There are good reasons to add a coupon program to your marketing plan. One is introduction of a new product that you want customers to try. Another is to clear out a product that is slow moving. Lastly, coupons can be leveraged to increase sales when business is slow.

I want to point out that you shouldn’t be using coupons all the time to drive traffic. You will create a perception in the minds of your customers that your product is a discounted commodity and you do not want that.

My recommend is to tread lightly when using coupons. Spend more time creating the perception in the minds of your customers of what really makes your product unique and number one and focus your resources on marketing that message.

If you feel there is a need to engage in a coupon campaign, then go ahead and do it. Be sure to track the results. Again, don’t do it a lot because you’ll create that expectation of a discounted price and you don’t want that happening in the minds of your customer.

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

Tried & True: Product Demonstration Works (Action Wednesday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Action Wednesday and we are going to look at an easy method to move more product, and that is the classic promotion of demonstration.

As a society in general, we are very visual and emotional people. We like to see and experience things hands on. I imagine the very first item ever sold back in the caveman days was demonstrated by once caveman to another.

Consider the infomercial. Infomercials may not normally hold your attention, however, if you happen upon one that is demonstrating a product to improve your golf swing, and you were out golfing that day, all of a sudden you’re paying attention and emotionally involved because you want to improve your game. Perhaps on impulse you buy the device sold through the infomercial.

I know firsthand that demonstrations work. I had the opportunity to collaborate with a toy maker who made wooden, hand-held puzzles and sold them at the Laguna Beach Sawdust Art Festival, which is a seasonal summer festival. He was making about $10,000 a summer.

When I looked at his booth all the puzzles were displayed but they weren’t doing anything. We created a way to put the puzzles in the hands of people walking by the booth. Before long we had crowds standing in front of the booth trying to solve the puzzles. By the end of the summer sales rose from $10,000 to $80,000 through allowing people to have a hands-on experience and see how these products worked.

In my opinion, demonstrations are an effective way to create interest in a product and drive sales. For a physical product, consider where you can hold a demonstration so people can actually see your product being used. For a service based product such as software, your sales people should be trained to focus on the features and capabilities of the software when they are demonstrating to potential customers.

A consultant, I show off what I do when I give lectures about marketing and branding. The audience learns about my ideas via a PowerPoint presentation that conveys my abilities in the marketing and branding areas. That is my way of demonstrating.

Additionally, social media / inbound marketing can be leveraged to provide demonstrations. When potential customers visit your website because they are interested in what you have to sell, provide a demonstration video so they can see how your product works. I’m amazed that more companies don’t have demonstration videos online. Demonstration is the most powerful way to sell a product.

Your Action Wednesday task is simple. Identify what you can demonstrate about your product and where you can demonstrate and then start demonstrating. Monitor sales as you are doing demonstrations to determine if in fact you are creating more interest and increased sales because of those demonstrations.

Monday, July 9, 2012

Describe Your Brand in 7 Words or Less (Strategic Tuesday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re going to look at describing the essence of our brand. It is relatively easy to think about but a little harder to do. Before we get started I want to thank you again for your comments, Likes and shares. When you have a moment, go to LinkedIn at look at the Once a Day Marketing Group, we’d love to have you join us.

Have you ever heard the phrase “elevator speech”? No? Imagine you are on an elevator and Warren Buffet gets on at next floor. He asks you to tell him about your business before he gets off in a few floors. You have to succinctly talk about your business in the short elevator ride.

Start thinking about your brand, your assignment will be to describe it in seven words or less.

I asked myself that same question. In a global overview of my company I would say we do video blogs, we are a social media and marketing company on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and LinkedIn. We provide online and face to face consulting to clients and also lecture about branding and marketing. That’s a lot to pare down to seven words. This is what I arrived at:

We Inspire Companies to Market Every Day.

That is my seven word overview of Once a Day Marketing. Your assignment is to create your seven words or less description of your brand. Give it some thought, work with team mates and distill your ideas until you determine your seven words. Then I want you to share it with me. Give me a shout, tell me about it on LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter and let me know what your seven word description is.

Brand Relevance and Resonance (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Smart Monday, and we are going to make sure that you are not caught in the brand awareness trap.

A lot of companies today still feel that their product is for everyone and they should market to everyone. The reality is awareness isn’t the main element in increasing brand strength, it is how relevant your product is in the minds of your customers and how your brand resonates with them.

Relevance – let’s think about it. If you are seeking a Volkswagen and you see an ad for a Porsche that is not very relevant is it? It’s also not going to resonate with you or stick in your mind. You are focused on small cars and gas economy, not a high performance vehicle like a Porsche.

In today’s environment, we are moving toward an increase in niche marketing and customization to create top of mind. Let’s look at an example to zero in a little more on brand relevance and brand resonance.

In the category of shoes there are numerous brands and a constant stream of advertising. It doesn’t always mean something to the viewer because it isn’t the type of shoe they are looking for.

Take Converse, they have been around for a long time and are a very affordable, casual shoe. Converse is not a sports performance shoe like a Nike but many people wear them with jeans or other casual clothing.

Vans shoes are very similar in style to Converse. However, Vans has a different target market. Customers of Vans are kids on skateboards or doing action sports. If a customer hears the Vans ad and they aren’t seeking that type of skateboard shoe it would not be relevant or resonate with them.

Next we’ll look at Bally of Switzerland. I often use this example in my lectures and find that many people have never heard of Bally. They offer a high-end, expensive shoe. A pair of loafers may be priced at $400. Unless customers are seeking an expensive pair of loafers, chances are they don’t know that brand, it isn’t very relevant and it doesn’t resonate.

Lastly, Nike has the ability for customers to go online and actually customize a pair of running shoes. They are able to select color, style, and even have their name embroidered on the shoe. Nike is moving more toward customization and creating, in this case, a market of one.

The example of Nike demonstrates how true customization focuses on an individual customer. As a result, when that customer hears the message and it becomes very relevant to them; they feel special and preferred.

Increased customization is something you should strive for in your business. Is it possible for you to create niche or customized products that really zero in on a particular group, or even down to the level of a market of one? If you are able to achieve greater customization, when you advertise it’s going to be very relevant to your customers, it’s going to resonate and they are going to specifically seek you out for that product or service.

Friday, July 6, 2012

The Digital Age & US Olympic Track Trials (Digtal Friday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Digital Friday and we’re going to wrap up our series around the US Olympic Track and Field Trials with my observations about the impact of the digital age on the trials.

Volunteering at the trials was a great experience for me. I marvel at the use of digital technology everywhere at the trials. It didn’t matter if you were a volunteer, a fan, law enforcement or an athlete digital technology played a part in your activities. I’m going to share with you some of the uses of technology that I observed.

Probably the most important thing at the Olympic Trials was ensuring accurate results captured whether an athlete was racing, jumping or throwing. Electronic devices were able to measure race timing accurately within a thousandth of a second. It was very exciting to see results instantly displayed in the stadium because of digital technology.

In the media tent I was watching the photographers, and yes, they are still using big cameras with big lenses. However, now they are able to load digital files onto their computers and instantly sort through their photos, selecting what they wanted and then instantaneously sending them out to their newspapers and blog sites etc. all over the world. It was incredible to think how quickly that information was being disseminated to track fans everywhere.

As a volunteer, I was issued a pass which was scanned when I checked in for my shifts. I was like a product at a grocery store, they knew when I checked in and when I checked out and where I was, again using the digital technologies.

Event programs also benefited from digital technology. If you’ve been involved with the print media and know how long it can take to create a four color glossy program. What they were able to at the trials was leverage digital technology to take the results and the photographs from the prior day’s events and insert them into the current day’s programs. That is remarkable turnaround.

In the stadium, when there was a race, the large-screen monitor showed the race results and replay of the actual races instantly so fans could see again what just transpired on the track.

Social media was also widely used. I had the opportunity to work with the Nike social media team and Yahoo! Sports and again the ability to tell the story, upload and share it with people all over the world to me is absolutely incredible.

My point of course is that in the digital age there are many tools available that can be used in so many ways. Ask yourself if your business and your brand are taking advantage of digital technologies the way you should to enhance the experience for your customers, create awareness and drive more bottom line sales.

I hope you enjoyed my week of looking at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, a little bit of departure from my normal blog but I thought you’d be interested in it. To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Brand Immortality: Ledendary Runner Steve Prefontaine (Recon Thursday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today is Recon Thursday and I’m going to take a look at the brand immortality of legendary runner Steve Prefontaine.

If you are not a runner, you may not recognize the name Steve Prefontaine, whose nickname was “Pre.” Steve Prefontaine was one of the greatest American long-distance runners in history. He attended the University of Oregon and established himself as a runner that led wire to wire. He had stamina beyond anyone else out on the track and was an NCAA champion. He ran in the 1972 Olympics where he fought Lasse Viren for first place in one of the greatest 5,000 meters runs in Olympic history and finished fourth. He died tragically in 1975 in Eugene, Oregon at the age of 24.

Bill Bowerman, track coach at the University of Oregon, created waffle soles for a new kind of running shoe and had Prefontaine run in these shoes to test them. That became the sole that was used in the shoes for a company that eventually became Nike.

Part of what makes Pre’s brand immortal and his running legendary is that many of his records still stand today. At the recent Olympic Trials, Galen Rupp beat his 1972 Olympic Trials record in the 5,000 meter race which stood for 40 years. Because of his ties with Bill Bowerman and the early days of Nike, Nike continues to promote Steve Prefontaine as one of its all time heroes.

The University of Oregon and Eugene/TrackTown USA still promote the great accomplishments he had at Hayward Field, which I have mentioned in earlier blogs, probably the premier track venue in all of the United States.

If you are a runner and you visit Eugene, Oregon I recommend you visit “Pre’s Rock”, a monument to him at the location of his fatal car accident. People seeking inspiration leave medals from races, their bib numbers, notes, sayings and running shoes in homage to this man and I have to admit of all the people out there he’s probably my hero too.

Be sure to join us tomorrow when we wrap up our series on the US Olympic Trials looking at the digital age and how social media impacted the ability to deliver results to interested people all over the world. To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Wednesday, July 4, 2012

US Olympic Track Trials & the 7Ps of Marketing (Action Wednesday/Process)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing. Today we are continuing our series on the US Olympic Track and Field Trials and how that event measured up to the 7Ps of Marketing.

If you regularly follow the Once a Day Marketing blog, you know why I am a big fan of the 7Ps of Marketing. I am going to look at each one of the 7Ps and rate how the track and field trials performed in each category.

Let’s start with Product. The product was exceptional and included world class track and field athletes all vying for a spot on Team USA. One of the “products”, Ashton Eaton, set the world record in the decathlon. There was a Fanfest area for visitors to enjoy, the track was open on days when there were no scheduled events and fans were able to run on the very track where the Olympic Trials were happening. All great products.

Second is Price. Ticket price was about $50, which is very reasonable for a world class athletic event.

Place was TrackTown USA or Eugene Oregon and historic Hayward Field. There have probably been more records in track and field set at this venue than any place else in the United States.

When you look at promotion, you see partners like Nike, Visa, BMW, Safeway and NBC Sports who did a great deal of marketing to create awareness for the event.

Regarding the people, there were fabulous organizers on the Trials Committee and for the volunteers. Almost 2,000 people came out from the community of Eugene to support this event and each one was ready to assist visitors however they could with a smile on their face.

As to Physical Evidence, Hayward Field looked immaculate. Way finding signage was excellent, everywhere you turned you were pointed in the right direction. Everything met customer needs, including the clothes that the volunteers wore to make them easy to identify.

As far as Process goes, solid internal processes ensured a seamless flow for the athletes, fans, volunteers and even for the residents of Eugene who were dealing with extra traffic as a result of all the visitors in town to attend the event.

And lastly we’ll talk about Positioning. When you say you are the number one track and field event in the United States you’ve got to deliver on the promise, and Eugene Oregon surely did. If a brand resides in the mind, Eugene and the events certainly enhanced their brand by creating memorable experiences over and over and over again.

In the final analysis, I would say that the US Olympic Track and Field Trials scored a home run. Every element of the 7Ps was hit perfectly and I know I am already thinking about the 2016 Olympic Trials.

Your assignment is to take a look at the 7Ps of your organization. Determine how your brand and your marketing efforts are stacking up with respect to the various elements of the 7Ps.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday. Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday when we will look at brand immortality and the legendry runner Steve Prefontaine. To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com. I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.