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Hitch helps companies shift from traditional marketing to interactive, by finding the best resources to carry out their project(s).  We can also collaboratively develop marketing strategy and project manage the teams as needed.

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Recently the AAAA published a bulletin Management Matters | Surviving in this Challenging Economy in which the Association offered “guidance on steps to take in this challenging economic environment.”

Specifically, business development is covered by Steve Boehler of Mercer Island Group, Tim Williams of Ignition Consulting Group and Dave Beals of Jones Lundin Beals. And it’s worth the read. If your shop implemented half of the good advice present in on those few pages, you’d go a long way toward insuring a better year for your agency and your clients.

But I think these guys stopped short, so with apologies to Dave, Tim and Steve, I’d like to add to their wiki of ad agency new business knowledge.

They write about developing a differentiated product (Tim’s brilliant) and putting as much thought into your RFPs as you do your campaigns, and articulating value. (Dave wrote the book, literally, on agency compensation). Theatrics over real selling, and shoring up your existing client relationships (Steve’s been preaching this a long time)! But I never read where any of theses gentlemen talked about the agency business as a relationship business.

I’ll say it again. This is a relationship business. And let’s face it, if you’re not face to face with your clients you’re missing a lot! “We regularly check in via teleconference and Skype”, you say. “I send my AE, she’s great”, you say. Fine, but Mrs. or Mr. Agency CEO, that’s your job. It’s what you promised your client when you were first dating. Remember?

Yes, we can work across the country and technology has changed what’s possible in the business world. But there are some things, like taking the pulse of a relationship, instincts, gut feeling and handshakes that technology will never change or replace. What about all the unspoken? How do you read body language over the phone? Being in your client’s space is valuable information you can’t afford not to know. Walk in their shoes. What’s a day like for them? What barriers come between them and their agency that they’ve got no control over? It’s so easy for us to think that the work we’re doing on our clients’ behalf is THE most important thing they have to do every day. It’s not.

Think of other relationships you’re aware of outside of business. Sure there are stories of Internet dates, people meeting once, falling in love and being together 50 years. But they’re rare! Would you have agreed to a date with your S.O if all your communication had been over the phone and through Fed Ex? OK then. The same goes for prospects and suspects.

Remember the relationship. This year as your putting your strategic plans in place, plan on more face time with your clients; if you don’t someone else will. And there are a lot of hungry shops out there eager to show your favorite client just how short sighted your agency has been with their account.

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Intel Shifts Image Advertising to a Smaller Agency:  Intel is shifting an important advertising assignment — to create brand and corporate image campaigns — to a smaller, independent agency from a Madison Avenue giant….  How much proof do you need?

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Philippe Petit is a master of the positioning statement.  He does USP (unique selling proposition) like no one I’ve ever seen.  In the film Man on Wire, Philippe shuns the traditional definition of what he does (tightrope walker) and creates a space in your mind that is utterly unique.   (I’m not going to be a spoiler by stating it here, rent the DVD and see for yourself.) 

Yes, Philippe is an artist but he’s more than that.  And his view of himself and what he does is sharply focused and narrow yet incredibly expansive.  It fires the imagination.  And the people who witness him in action are moved to the same conclusions about him that he has of himself.  That’s positioning.  

In The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing Al Ries and jack Trout state “If you can’t be first in a category, set up a new category you can be first in”.  Philippe Petit does that brilliantly and so can you if you look beyond the products you represent.

Philippe defies categorization.  He occupies a completely distinct place in his audiences’ perception.  He challenges anyone who labels him as a circus performer or mere high wire act.  And in so doing, occupies this ethereal space that is completely his.  It’s brilliant.  And a lesson we can all apply to our businesses in 2009.

To begin with, Philippe is careful to use a common understanding (or misunderstanding) of what he does to help you get your head around who he is.  “Tightrope walkers had their start in the circus and side shows around the world.  They are acrobats and contortionists, daredevils and entertainers”.  He helps you get to his space by using your initial cultural understanding of what he does.  Then he quickly expands that notion and demonstrates how he’s the only one who does what he does.  And his position is not only believable; it’s proven in the movie.

Philippe’s view of himself is a philosophy we can adopt when defining ourselves and our businesses.  How unique to be able to say, I’m the only one who does what I do.  Work on creating a space in the minds of your customers—one that only you can occupy.  Talk about a positioning statement.  Sure it’s harder to give that 10 second elevator answer.  But a yawp when balanced on a tightrope 1000 feet up just may be more intriguing.  Think about it.

Dig deeper to define yourself beyond conventional terms .  When positioning your company ask yourself: What can my brand represent to my clients, partners and peers that goes beyond just what we do or sell?  What emotion or intangible does our brand represent?  Defining your company beyond just your products and services is positioning.   Rolex, for example is not just a luxury watch, it’s a symbol of achievement.* 

As part of your strategic planning for your company in 2009, think about how your company defies categorization.  What space can you claim that is uniquely yours?  And own that space. 

*wikkipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Positioning_(marketing)

©  David Wiggs

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One of the most interesting marketing developments of this past decade has been watching Chris Anderson’s 2004 concept of the Long Tail play out across retail– specifically companies inviting fans to customize products.

• Recently the Wall Street Journal ran a story about Keds shoe company inviting customers to design their own shoes. Champion has also gotten into the act, but in a more limited way, by running design contests, then producing the winning design, while Nike has been in the customization business for nearly 10 years with NikeID.
• Next year Coca Cola will see a more widespread distribution of its Freestyle soda fountain that invites consumers to mix their own flavors, ultimately offering over a hundred different choices.
• Sweet-toothed consumers can even customize their own M&Ms.
• Here in the Pacific Northwest, the hipsters at Jones soda just launched an iPhone app inviting users to generate a photo for their very own customized Jones six-pack.

Customization of mass marketed goods isn’t new for brands; some would say it started with Burger King in the 70s:

Although this funky version is my favorite:

Four decades later the trend has continued with online businesses like Cafe Press, Zazzle and Threadless letting customers design and even market customized tee shirts, mugs, mouse pads and other tchotchkes.  But it’s not just packaged goods makers getting into the game. Global brand, Toyota, recognizes  that customization begets brand loyalty by offering customers the ability to customize a Scion; Ford offered tricked-out cars with the roll out of its new Fiesta at the 2009 Auto Show.

What does retail customization mean for marketing?

Many a brand manager wouldn’t dare undertake a marketing initiative that they couldn’t tie directly back to ROI, but where retail customization is concerned, they’d be missing the point.  Mattel fell victim to this thinking when they tried and later sunsetted a build your own Barbie website . One guess about this site’s demise was that people spent a lot of time designing the doll, but it didn’t translate to sales. It probably didn’t help that the Friend of Barbie was only available to fans over 18. But in the end this was a missed opportunity for Mattel.  After all, are sales really the point of customization?

Customization retail is really an engagement and customer service tool. It’s about brand loyalty and brand development; it should not necessarily be about sales. (Although, as Amazon could tell you, if they shared sales data, the long tail of retail becomes quite meaningful when as much revenue is derived from obscure single sales as all the best seller titles combined.)

Brands need to see customization for what it is: one more example of a marketing dialogue with customers.  Will an individual’s sneaker design drive sales for a global sneaker brand like Keds?  Unlikely, but customers taking ownership of a product at that level develops fierce loyalty, creates buzz and bolsters the overall impression of the brand—all of which typically lead to an uptick in sales—eventually.  But what if it doesn’t?  Is that a bad thing?

If you build it will sales come?

Engagement, not sales, should be the real metric of retail customization.  A great case study for brand engagement in the last few years comes from Office Max.  Elf Yourself, one of the most popular online viral marketing tactics ever developed, has translated to a 46% recall for the Office Max brand. By its second year online, people had spent nearly 2600 years (combined time) on the site as reported in James Othmer’s book, Adland.  Any brand would be giddy over that level of engagement.

Office Max has shown that generating buzz and having customers develop a relationship with and take ownership of your brand is marketing gold.  Sales were never the point.

Lose control of your brand.

As anyone familiar with the story of New Coke knows, loyal fans can bring a giant brand to a halt. When one of the most iconic brands in the world messed with its formula, Coke fans revolted. For a more recent example, watch social media circles every time Facebook announces an interface change that users don’t agree with. It’s practically chaos.

But revolt and chaos are not necessarily to be feared in brand marketing.  Handled well, a company’s reaction to unpopular decisions, demonstrates a level of care that can foster more brand loyalty than any broadcast marketing campaign.   Brands can’t buy loyalty, it has to be earned.  As with any other relationship it’s built on trust, respect, and an ongoing dialogue.

The word customer is derived from custom, meaning “habit;” a customer was someone who frequented a particular shop, made it a habit to purchase goods there rather than from its competitors and with whom the shopkeeper maintained a relationship to keep his or her “custom” or, expected purchases in the future.

As part of your 2010 marketing plan, consider retail customization to drive brand engagement with your customers.  It may not drive sales but if it helps your customers make your brand a habit and develops a relationship with an engaged clientele, what’s the downside?

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