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Sugar cubes started it all. The product was the same, but the packaging changed to something easier to handle. And it was something that you did not have to be rich to be able to afford. Sugar cubes were the first example of average consumers buying a product based on a desire to show off, to have an early social status symbol, to have something only the elite had previously. That made it an act of social rebellion.
Traditional media is based on buying exposure – how many people will see this newspaper ad, this TV spot, this outdoor board, this trade show booth. As a result, buyers of traditional media calculate what it will cost to “rent” those eyeballs just long enough to get a message across, then pray for a 1% response in order to pay for the media, and (hopefully) make a profit.
Contrary to popular opinion, social media may not be the best way to reach young people. Consider these stats that have been published recently:
Twitter evolving into entertainment focus.
According to Nielsen, Twitter has grown 1,928% in a year, with 21 million unique visitors each month. Even though Twitter started with a tech-oriented focus, as it has become more mainstream it has followed the interests of its broadening audience, and according to Mashable.com, become more focused on entertainment. Don’t believe it? Take a look at Twitterholic, where celebrities make up the vast majority of top Twitter users & followers.
In case you haven’t heard, Kentucky Fried Chicken is filling potholes in exchange for stamping its logo overtop the freshly poured pavement.
The chicken monger has given new meaning to guerrilla marketing. For a mere $3,000, KFC can help a troubled locality with a true public service by filling 350 potholes, while simultaneously promoting its business through a unique impression by chalk stencil.  Brilliant!
Marketers have to pay attention to shifts in people’s preferences and behavior in order to put their efforts and limited budgets to best use. (After all, is anyone still wasting money on Yellow Page ads?) Here are a few notable trends:
From last week’s survey, we know that the majority of you watch the Super Bowl because of the ads. (That’s great news for those of us in the advertising business.) But did you even consider buying a spot for your credit union?
We all know that iPods have become such a category king that its name has become generic for all digital music players. But did you know that Apple’s Macs are being brought into large corporations by Mac-enthusiast employees?
For decades the only way to reach the people most likely to want what you were offering was through traditional media — TV, radio, newspapers and direct mail — and your buy had to focus on reach and frequency. Your strategy was based on interruption marketing; blasting your message to as many people as possible as often as you can. You had to spend more than your competition, because those with the most money bought the most reach and frequency.
Every CU Marketer uses multiple channels to reach your target audience throughout the day, right? Well, if you do your own media buying, or even use an agency to handle that for you, it’s time to review whether the media you are buying actually fits the market you are going after, and if recent events have changed anything.
When times are good, people buy things because “they feel like it” or “they deserve it.” When times are not so good, people buy because “they need it” or sometimes because “it will never be this cheap again.” Same result, perhaps, but the reasons change along with people’s concerns. Therefore, when times change, your marketing strategy should change as well.
Nobody likes “junk mail,” but what if it was your mailings that were considered by some to be “junk”? Would you feel the same way about a move to create a Do Not Mail list similar to the Do Not Call lists? Is there a Do Not Email list movement ahead? Is this the direction that all your public and member communications are headed in the future? If so, how will you ever reach members and especially non-members?
Some random notes from the CUNA Marketing and Business Development Council Conference in Nashville:
* Media buyers should use the shape of the economy to renegotiate now, just like when book ratings change.
* Watch for certain words that shut down responses — “member” works well in SEGs but not for general public and puts one more layer of uncertainty as to what you are.
* People are looking for socially responsible companies and CUs have a history for investing in their members and community. Use that as a “green” concept so your branding becomes more “sustainable.”
* People need to share the same language in order to share experiences. To change the culture you need to change the language so everyone can understand.
* Marketing to 17-25 year olds? They don’t trust traditional media as much as social networks. Check out youngfreealberta.com and see if you could turn over your brand to a 19 yr old for a year. Commonwealth CU in Canada is francising their program — one per state if interested.
* Outdoor is for branding. Pay more for location than quantity, and plan at least 3 months. No more than 7 words MAX.
What’s better? Sending an email or direct mail piece? Depends on who you ask. But the short answer is: why not do both?
We all know that multiple media delivery of the same promotion can make a significant difference in results. And when direct mail can take weeks to produce, send, and get a response, email can accomplish these steps in days – giving you a more immediate impact, multiplying your market exposure and increasing the life span of your promotion.
Some newsworthy events:
Yahoo setting up stakes in LA, forming a media group to house entertainment properties and court Hollywood. – ZDNet
Google has $11 billion in cash. Clues suggest Google is building its own Internet. – Business2.0
Google’s buying more fiber, and new Wifi software. – engadget.com
Each year in the U.S., the average person has more than 200,000 advertising messages pushed at them. Traditional broadcast media outlets have splintered into satellite and cable. Newspapers and magazines are losing readership. No-Call Lists are obsoleting phone marketing. Outdoor has competition from transit, environmental, stadium, even urinal advertising. Yellow pages are proliferating and going online. Online media is driven by search engine traffic and user groups. And direct mail postage keeps going up and up. With all of these options, how do you develop a media strategy that reaches your intended audience, without breaking your budget, and without diluting its effectiveness?