Obama's Impact on Marketing
1.26.2009
Some thoughts on the Obama strategy - from a campaign to a presidency and how it contributes to marketing and brand management:
On marketing basics ---
- A Branding exercise: taking advantage of a simplified message and singular purpose!McCain's mixed messages and multiple 'product features'
vs Obama's singular offer: Change - Placement (Segmentation and the proper distribution channels)
- Promotion (Key presence in important segment touch points, managed exposure), Positioning (Change, Owning it first!),
- 'Price' (Just One Vote! Creating a value proposition that is only available 'right now'.)
- Projection and Results-planning for a product mix (Targeted expense and strategy to key states, cities), etc.
As a case study ---
- Excellent example of effective online, viral strategies and PR Management
- Power play. He now controls a huge database of voters - key power item for years to comeand grassroots reach that can be used to pressure Congress and influence public opinion
- 13 Million 'influencers' or started seed for a viral campaign
- Positioning yourself for success - setting expectations properly,
pwned the Clintons without alienating them - Effective fund-raising --- who says marketing is only an expense center???
On Management ---
- Exercise in leadership, seizing the moment, and timely action
(re: clinton and mccain attacks) - Good case for people management and a handling power struggles (re: party politics)
Any books written yet about this? Publishers will capitalize on these for sure!
Labels: Brand Management, Strategy, US Politics
posted by Jdavies @ 1/26/2009,
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Why the Philippines is getting Poorer?
4.14.2008
About a month ago, I received an email asking "Why the Philippines is getting Poorer?"
The email highlights the perks, the budget & the expenditures released by the Commission on Audit as the key measure of the apparent failures political system in the Philippines.
Here is where my expertise comes in. I don't think the politics in the Philippines is failing. Like managing any brand, you do not kill it and stop selling immediately after it registers a downtrend. You look at statistics that tell you why the situation is getting worse.
The system as it is, the political institution, is not problematic. It is however suffering from structural deficiencies that managers are supposed to have.
From the brand management & marketing perspective - here are the problems I see with the political system in the Philippiens:
- No strict financial control measures to determine success rate and return on investment per congressman (We need an indexable measure or rating!)
- No accountability because there is no efficient public monitoring system to track
their expenditures --- if any of our congressmen who mismanage funds work in a private company they'll get sacked precisely for that - No parity or cohesiveness between budget allotment and overall target or priority of the country (I don't want to touch on the amount, since surely there are administrative costs considerations) We should all be directionally correct at least in what we want to achieve as a country. As it seems to me, we do not share a common direction yet.
Unity in direction is foremost. And you have to create organizational & social structures & programs that take everyone in the same mindset. We can disagree with everything in politics, but at least we should be targeting the same path which should be a quantifiable target. - In fact collorary to above is whether the Philippines actually has a coherent marketing & business plan --- branding should be top down --- the President's vision should trickle to all priorities of all sectors (swarm or hive concept)
- Perks are fine - marketing people receive perks but for perks to work without damaging the financial integrity of the system, BUT they should come from outside of the financial system
- That is, infusion moneys, lobbying or special interests are financially acceptable since they do not cripple the internal budget. --- By not coming from within the system they do not put pressure on the budget. ---- Please note that I do not support permissive corruption or lobbying with direct cash contribution - you don't take from main cookie jar - you take cookies outside the jar.
- Lobbying through active private sector sponsorship of Government programs instead of direct cash contributions should be encouraged. That way, the savings on programs is realized by not spending on planned programs. In marketing speak, this is Ex-Deal. Barter. Zero expense, or co-branding.
- Last point - who watches the watchers? Meritocracy will not happen unless the system is observable thru pre-set and quantifiable performance. Whether these measures are set is beyond me. (Maybe? If they are set, then maybe it's just an image problem. I for one know many of our government managers in career positions have these measures, specially those in GOCCs)
In layman's terms, this means there should be an independent body able to track performance. The Commission on Audit (?) But what punishment do we give for bad performance? We need actual measures that are beyond words.
Numbers don't lie & data will need to be respected - that should be the mantra. Unfortunately, most Filipinos are not familiar with the concept of measurement of performance metrics. It will take a generation to institue familiarity with the discipline of asking for actual accomplishments in numerical terms.
Until the country is prepared to see through the veil of promises and realistically elect officials on the basis of measurable accomplishments and not campaign rhetoric, we will just be dreaming for a vague Philippines, and we won't even know we got there even if we did. - Main Point: We don't need politicians.
What we need are managers.
(Img via PCIJ)
Labels: Brand Management, Image, Philippines, Politics
posted by Jdavies @ 4/14/2008,
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RSS for Marketers
3.23.2008
This site is now optimized to display nicely using iPhone's smartRSS newsreader. Here's a direct link to my newsfeed:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/WhatsEatingJdavies
Most websites with voluminous content need an RSS newsfeed to effectively give subscribers a quick snapshot or digest of the latest headlines or topics. RSS is not a new technology, but is recently gaining popularity among geekier users, top companies & organizations. From a marketing standpoint, the use of RSS is more a technological move than a branding strategy. Unless the brand is tech-centric and positioned to tap the online, tech-savvy market, I would presume most marketers will not mark it urgent to implement.
Generally however, marketers who dismiss will cite that the total user base may not reach a significant tipping point where non-use would be detrimental to the brand. Most often than not, this view of late adaptation of certain technology makes the brand a reactionary product - something I support only if the brand from the very beginning is positioned as a profitable number 2 and not gunning for market leadership as a matter of strategy.
It is my view, being reactionary to technology and justifying it because it "doesn't immediately pose a significant gain" doesn't mean some things don't have to be done. Too much reviewing of past data is not always a good thing: We have to be forward-lookers sometimes.
Labels: Brand Management, Musings, Online Strategy
posted by Jdavies @ 3/23/2008,
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Fanboyism as a Marketing Model
8.21.2007
We've all heard of the the fanatical devotion of Star Wars fans to the original trilogy and the Jedi way of life. The same goes for obssesion of the Elvish-Speaking Tolkien fans and cosplaying fans of anime in toy conventions.Fanboyism is best defined by Wikipedia as an obsession typified by absolute loyalty to a single fannish object. Blindness to competing or dissenting opinion is often a symptom if I may add.
Somehow, to us non-cosplaying folks, who are a mere one sci-fi film removed from these consumerist cousins of ours will most likely be the first to say, "Ok, that I can't do", or in some cases, whisper silently, "Yay, weird".
From the branding point of view however, nothing can be more flattering than seeing a 30-year old man wearing your brand t-shirt or a business partner using your corporate giveaway card holder. There isn't much difference there - they wear our brands. So how come some people dismiss fanboyism as a negative thing?
What's intriguing is that fanboyism is a great tool of big brands like Apple, the Hollywood franchises, and the video game industry that it's hard to ignore fanboyism as a merely a modern sociological complex brought about by the triumph of the brand. In fact, I think no brand can be more successful than having to it's credit, a cult following. A community is built on it and it creates the momentum for endless stories being told to people, or in the most common extreme case of all: living the brand. It's free advertising, free retention programs.
If we create products that are so in-tune with the needs of our customers, we create loyalty. It's 101. Yet somehow, as experienced marketers, do we not, in our struggle to launch products on time, typically create inferior products and merely upgrade later, knowing full well that the built-in defects do not hold a significant problem to revenue? After all we can upgrade customers, right?Supposedly, and mathematically it seems, it's more profitable to create multiple versions and add value in time. That is, beyond just planned obsolescence, we unconsciously create planned defaults, undercutting value to the just-enough. Loyalty is a must for repeat revenue and fanboyism to me, should be the ultimate realization of any Loyalty campaign.
It's in this sense that I am making Fanboyism as a marketing model by using it as a measures of customer loyalty. I think this stems from the fact that personally believe that, "Loyalty" of customers is overrated. It is too arbitraty and needs to be defined. You see, we seem to define loyalty in terms of subscription period, or total purchases, or satisfaction alone; I think this is lacking teeth.
We have to define what is loyal and understand what is the exact level of "stickiness" or elasticity of our relationship with the customer.
I have seven levels of customers affected by three variables:
3 Variables Characterizing a "Loyal" Customer
- Dependency - How much the customer needs the product
- Satisfaction - How happy they are about the product performance
- Compulsion - How likely are they to talk about it
(both negative or positive opinion)
- Hostage - Has absolute dependency on a product. Not satisfied, not compelled to talk about the product, and without any real choice or substitute hence continues to buy without fanfare, and without enthusiasm.
- Adherent - Dependent & satisfied but not compelled to talk about the product. Ask him and he will talk positively but will not do so unless prompted.
- Advocate - Never reluctant to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of the product. May not be fully satisfied, in fact, advocates have temporary relationships because they are the hard-to-please, informed customer.
- Patron - What is regarded as 'loyal' is actually static. Repeats orders & has predictable purchase habits. Dependent & Satisfied but does not actively talk about the product, and will not have much to say. In other words, he is a happy camper who keeps to himself and merely buys.
- Defender - a customer who actively talks about the product positively because of high satisfaction. Not completely dependent on the product but sticks to the brand because of high satisfaction.
- (+-) Evangelist - a boon or bane. Will talk about the product regardless of dependency or satisfaction. Past customers, Paid product reviewers, would be in this list.
- Devotee or Fanboy - represents the culmination of three factors of maximum intensity. Blind to product flaws, absolutely loyal and evangelizing. Essentially, an adherent, a defender, and an advocate rolled in one.
Labels: Brand Management, Customer, Loyalty
posted by Jdavies @ 8/21/2007,
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The Author
J.Davies
Jdavies lives in Quezon City, Philippines and has been blogging since 2002. A brand manager in a leading technology company and a freelance new media/web strategy consultant, he has refocused his blogging from personal, political & sociological observations, to marketing-related efforts and Internet trends that are relevant to his career and branding advocacies.
About This Blog
This blog is a depot of thoughts and observations on marketing trends which remain personally relevant to the Author as far as his marketing career is concerned. Having evolved from the personal blog of Jdavies, much of the earlier work contained herein are laced with personal speculation, political views, and similar advocacies. These posts are being kept for posterity's sake and for no other reason. No effort is being made to claim that the author will not contradict himself from his previous positions or that such advocacies are absolute.
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