INTERVIEW WITH ROCK-AND-ROLL HALL OF FAMER (and Creative Director), DAVID MINER
615 words - approximately a 3 minute read

Recently, I sat down with David Miner, Creative Director for Marketing Symphony, to discuss the creative process within the context of a marketing firm. David is an accomplished graphic artist, videographer, record producer and Minnesota Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame bass player, and is one of the most creative people I know. This is part one of our conversation.

AS: Good morning, David. Thanks for joining me.

DM: Good morning.

AS: I wanted to sit down with you today to shed a little light on the creative process within the marketing industry. It’s quite different from creativity for creativity’s sake. In your opinion, what is the biggest difference in the two?

DM: There are obviously several differences, but in my opinion, the biggest — and most crucial — difference is communication. In order to facilitate the best use of resources, time, and talents, I need to put more time and effort into communicating than almost any other part. To satisfy the client, being creative with the end product starts by being creative with communication.

AS: “Being creative with communication”? So it’s more that just the amount of communication.

DM: Oh, yeah. Even in the best of collaborative relationships you can veer off course with each other due to nothing more than an unintended miscommunication.

A lot of creative or artistic elements are abstractions — they’re just ideas. Taking abstraction and putting them into words that objectively communicate your idea can be a very hit-and-miss proposition. You’ll go back to your notes later, and your own words don’t make sense even to you.

AS: How do you keep this from happening, or even know it’s happening? I mean, if both people at the table think they’ve communicated, but they each have a different idea in their head, there’s going to be big impact on the deadline, on the budget, and whether or not the client’s happy with the product.

DM: That’s so true. You can believe that the words you're using to describe an artistic idea make perfect sense, and clearly convey what you want to communicate. And, to make things worse, the person hearing can believe the same thing — that it is all very clear, and makes perfect sense. But they each may have a completely different picture in their heads. The result can be that the person carrying out the creative assignment is creating something not even close to what the client thought they described.

AS: So what do you do to prevent that?

DM: First of all, you can’t depend on words. Descriptive words like WARM or INVITING — even universal words such as: CONTEMPORARY, BOLD and COLORFUL — can mean such different things to different people. Without some printed examples of what you're trying to describe to accompany your presentation, you can really waste a lot of time.

Of course, bridges of communication will develop quite naturally once people have acquired some working history together. But even then, you can't just take it for granted. You always need to pay attention.

The second thing you need to do is commit to invest the time at the beginning. To keep things on track in terms of timeline, budget & accomplishing the intended goal or message of a creative piece, you’ve got to pay attention to whether or not the methods of communication are working. Time for the mis-reads and for establishing a workable vocabulary have to be figured into the timeline as part of the process. You can’t rush those.
~

So that’s part one of our interview. Next time, David will give us specifics on how to get over the communication breakdowns, plus tell us some pretty interesting stories from his music and soundtrack producing and playing days.

SUPER BOWL ADS
955 words - a little over 4 minutes to read

How do you measure the success of Super Bowl Ads? Some measure by a laugh-o-meter. Others go for big graphics. I would put forth that success is based not on cheap laughs or expensive art, but what the viewers remembered about the brand itself days after viewing the commercial. Last week, I dissected the Super Bowl ads with students from Dallas Christian College, where I was a guest lecturer. Here are the 10 top ads we chose, and why.

Best Storytelling
Human minds zero in on stories. We love them, remember them, internalize them. And, if the story is truly connected to the brand, the feelings produced by the story are transferred to that brand for years to come. Here are our picks for best storytelling:

1. Taco Bell – Date
Taco Bell presented an entertaining story, as we watched a hyper-drive man move with supersonic speed from meeting a woman at a party to introducing her to his parents.

2. Bud Light – Meeting
We’ve all been there: the budget meeting, brainstorming session on how to reduce big corporate costs, the young guy in the corner who comes up with an idea. In this case, however, the idea (stop providing Bud Light at every meeting) gets him ejected — literally. Companies may need to cut back, but cutting Bud Light is unthinkable. The best part? The last line from the injured golden boy: “I was just kidding”. Even a green kid like him knows better than to touch the Bud Light budget.

3. GE – Wind Energy
A young boy tries to catch wind in a jar somewhere in Europe. He runs to a quaint cottage to join a birthday party of his grandfather. Warm tones, music from the old country, European farm life warm viewers’ hearts. Grandpa can’t blow out all his candles, so the boy has adorably tried to help. He opens the jar and woosh — gale force winds escape. Capturing the wind is suddenly a powerful thing. Well done, GE.

Top Pick for Ongoing Marketing
Jack in the Box – Hit by a Bus
The witty, good natured Jack is talking with a staff member when suddenly, out of nowhere, pow! Hit by a bus. Overly dramatic clichés mock TV dramas. The key, though is the ongoing campaign at www.hangintherejack.com. Visitors can watch “home videos” from inside the bus that hit Jack, leave a message wishing Jack well and see “In lieu of sending flowers, please order anything on the menu, anytime of day. Jack would want it that way.” Now that’s ongoing marketing.

Top Pick for Citizen Marketing
Doritos – Crystal Ball
An office worker brings in a “crystal ball” — really a snow globe — that tells him the future. Of course, this is a DIY destiny, so “I see free Doritos” is followed by the guy throwing the globe through the vending machine glass. Sadly, his co-worker’s attempt fairs less well. This ad was a great piece done by an amateur filmmaker and some of his friends, and deserves the buzz it produced. However, the real payoff for Doritos is the attention it gets for the contest. Over the past 3 years, thousands of amateur producers have tried to create winning Super Bowl commercials. Well, these friends did just that and were awarded $1 million for their efforts.

Top Pick for Putting a New Product on-the-Map
Hulu.com – Alec Baldwin
Whether a Super Bowl ad is worth the money is debatable in many cases. However, one of the best uses of a Super Bowl spot is to introduce a new or previously unknown company. Hulu introduced itself to over 151 million viewers at once and put itself on the map. Overnight, Hulu became the place to go to watch your TV favorite shows on your computer. Traffic on the website has skyrocketed. Web information company Alexa says Hulu’s 3-month visit percentage is up 32.1%.

Top Pick for Best Offer
Denny’s Thugs – Free Grand Slam
Denny’s “serious breakfast” ads weren’t superior, but their offer was. During America’s most watched television event, Denny’s announced that it would give a free breakfast to every person in the country. They made a big gamble, and the following Tuesday, America showed up. I waited for 25 minutes, while some in California waited for 2 hours.

Top Pick for Best Commercial
(that wasn’t entirely dependent on humor)
Audi – The Chase
While most of the ads depended heavily on humor, Audi stood out with an action sequence. Jason Statham, star of the Transporter movies, is being chased. He moves from car to car, disappointed each time, until he finds an Audi. He zooms off, finally in a car that performs as needed.

Top Pick for Most Memorable
Career Builder.com – Tips
There’s a reason kids’ songs that repeat and build every verse are popular: they’re really easy to remember. Career Builder did it’s version for viewers unhappy in their jobs and few people have forgotten it. The punchy visuals and emotion that you can relate to if you’ve ever been in a really horrid job. Career Builder had us anticipating the next verse and trying to remember each repetition. Kudos for getting the audience involved, and kudos for getting us to remember.

Top Pick for Continued Greats
E*trade – Talking Golf Baby
This ad was another good one for the guys at E*trade. The talking and trading baby, who debuted at Super Bowl XLII and continued to be a hit all year, joined us again for XLIII. This time he was joined by a friend. He was also joined by the great audio-visual synching, writing and punch lines that made this campaign famous.

All of these advertisers saw increased web traffic and/or business almost immediately. They created buzz both offline and on. They were memorable, well-done and will generate positive return on investment. Super Bowl Ad money well spent.

LEVERAGING THE BASICS
409 words - a little over 2 minutes to read

Recently, I blogged about the Marketing Mix. Now let’s talk about the first category in the mix: The Basics. Remember that this category includes those attributes so fundamental that people often forget that they really are marketing ingredients: your company’s name, business cards, stationery, payment methods you accept and more. Chefs will tell you that the “boring” steps of the recipe are often the most important: choosing the best cut of beef is more important to the meal than the fancy tomato rose that adorns the plate. Chefs spend time combining butter and flour and cooking it just enough to create a smooth base called the “roux” (pronounced “roo”) before adding ingredients to make a gravy or sauce. Creating a smooth roux isn’t exciting, but if you get it wrong, there’s nothing you can do to fix your gravy later. In the same way, the “marketing basics” aren’t as glamorous as a 3D ad or a slick brochure, but they’re the most crucial.

This year, Cars.Com spent about $3 – $4 million on their Superbowl ad. The commercial, in the style of The Royal Tennenbaums, was full of wit and focused on the message.



Now imagine that millions of car buyers go to the site in the week after the game. Imagine that the site is sloppy, unhelpful or even frozen. What if it contained biased opinions or information that was just wrong? Imagine if some prospects tried to contact the company and didn’t hear back from them for several days, or weeks, or not at all. Like the smell of a steak grilling, great ads draw prospects to you. Once they’re there, The Basics – the quality of the steak – are what keep them.

Before you blow your budget on a slick campaign, ask yourself if you’ve covered The Basics. What do your people wear at work? Do their clothes underscore or fight your company’s message? At networking meetings, do your elevator pitches result in referrals? What do clients hear when they’re put on hold? Are you annoying them with bland music or using that time to upsell, introduce new offers or entertain them? Is every piece of communication (printed, digital, visual or audio) professional, on-message and proactive?

This week, spend some time looking at your company the way a prospect or client sees it. Remember, roux may not be anyone’s favorite food, but it’s the foundation for some of the best culinary experiences out there. Go do your roux!

THE WORST 8 OF ‘08
1002 words - less than 5 minutes to read

Last time we looked at the Top 8 of ’08: the best marketing campaigns of the year. As promised, today we’ll survey the biggest marketing blunders of 2008.

#8. Walmart: Facebook Page
So, just to review: cool social networking requires three things: cool, social, and yes, networking. We thought everyone understood this, until we watched Wal-Mart’s infamous Facebook fiasco. The retail giant lumbered onto Facebook with a humorless, decidedly uncool fan page with little content and no benefits. There’s no real community and fans get no “social capital” by associating themselves with the company. Lastly, after suffering through some insults on their discussion board, Wal-Mart ditched their discussion boards. The network (I use that term loosely) has been downgraded to occasional wall posts that the Orwellian behemoth censors. The worst part is the lost potential. The number one Facebook page associated with Wal-Mart is “30 Things to Do at Wal-Mart”. Others include “I love pointless trips to Wal-Mart” and “I’m bored, let’s go to Wal-Mart.” These groups have wittier, more loyal and positive posts. The official page could have widgets. For example: the “Money saved since January 1, 2009” counter from its corporate website, Facebook-only coupons, or specials that are only good for the next 2 hours. Wal-Mart’s mascot is the happy face “Rollback Man”, which could star in an infinite number of badges. Sadly, Wal-Mart missed the boat completely because it doesn’t understand the medium.

#7. The Big 3 Automakers: unintended bailout campaign
OK, so this wasn’t technically a marketing campaign. However, when the eyes of America were watching (and were already bailout-bitter), the Big 3 CEOs came to Washington to beg for billions. The worst marketing blunder, though? GM CEO Richard Wagoner, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli, and Ford CEO Alan Mulally flew in their private jets to our nation’s capital. If I’d been their marketing advisor, they would have humbly driven down in their hybrid cars. Doing so would have: resulted in tons of free press for the cars, sent a message of humility, cost effectiveness, and environmental awareness and sent the message that “our hybrids are so great, even our CEOs love to drive them.” Big blunder.

#6. Coors: “Code Blue” MySpace campaign
Here again, a major marketer blunders in the social networking medium. Coors has done many good things in the viral/social media campaigning. However, it’s Code Blue campaign allowed MySpacers to send unlimited text messages saying “Code Blue” to anyone they wanted. The result? Cell phone users were overwhelmed with both the cost and the annoyance of text messages from Coors. The viral aspects went out of control, and the backlash of public anger sank the campaign.

#5. Sales Genie: Superbowl Ad
The service is a solid idea: provide leads to companies and salespeople. However, in 2008, Sales Genie blew their marketing budget on an ad that was able to turn off 97.5 million viewers in 30 seconds. The ad, featuring panda bears running an unsuccessful bamboo furniture store, would have been forgotten as a poorly written, uninteresting waste of an advertising budget, except that it was filled with racist innuendos. Sales Genie only wishes that the ad could be forgotten.


#4. Starbucks: Friends and Family Week
Ah, those good intentions… In 2008, Starbucks decided to spoil the friends and families of their Baristas with a week of free iced coffee. However, Starbucks cancelled the program after the first day when crowds of “friends” and “family” overwhelmed the stores. Annoying your best customers is definitely not a great move, but here’s the real kicker: Starbucks had done a similar promotion in 2006 and had similar results. You’d think they’d learn.

#3. Judd Apatow: Forgetting Sarah Marshall billboards
Apatow, director of many hit movies such as “40-Year Old Virgin (2006),” “Knocked Up (2007),” and “Superbad (2008),” wanted a quirky, viral-worthy marketing campaign for his new movie. The campaign consisted of “hand-written” signs ostensibly written by the jilted ex-boyfriend slamming a girl named Sarah Marshall. The problem? Apparently, “Sarah Marshall” is a pretty common name. Sarahs all over the country were surrounded by ego-boosters like “You do look fat in those jeans, Sarah Marshall” and “My mother always hated you, Sarah Marshall.” Ms. Marshalls across the nation protested (or at least would have, if they could’ve handled leaving the house). Some even responded with similar sayings to Judd Apatow himself. The result? The movie, and its creator, just looked mean.

#2. Microsoft: Seinfeld and Gates
After being beat up by Apple’s “I’m a Mac” campaign (see Top 8 of ’08) for almost two years, Microsoft finally decided to put up its dukes and fight. Microsoft’s campaign featured Jerry Seinfeld showing Gates the real world in an attempt to connect to regular people. The ads mocked both Bill Gates and his “regular guy” customers, but worse yet, they were neither funny nor well-branded. The ads were the antithesis of Apple’s campaign, and were cancelled so quickly that the third commercial, already filmed, was never aired.


#1. John McCain: Presidential Campaign
The 2008 presidential election was as much a race between marketing strategies as it was between candidates. Obama’s young, inclusive, techno-savvy campaign (see top 8 of ’08) helped raise money and win the election. McCain’s marketing, however, looked tired, indecisive and dispassionate. McCain misstep: a cluttered and fragmented message. Is experience important? Yes, until Sarah Palin came on board. Was he a maverick? Yes, except he couldn’t disentangle himself from President Bush. Was he the champion of lowered government spending? As long as you ignored the vote for a $700 Billion Bailout weeks before the election. Was he the inclusive candidate, reaching out to younger voters, women and minorities? Well, no on that one. These were communication and marketing strategy decisions. Many times, the campaign simply couldn’t get the word out on his position. They let the media and the opponent define McCain, and for that, they’re our biggest blunderer of ’08. Hey, at least he came in first this time!

Did I forget anyone? Don’t agree? Let me know!

MY PICKS FOR THE TOP 8 OF '08
938 words - about 4 minutes to read

Now that tumultuous 2008 is in the can, I’m revisiting the Top 8 of ’08: those marketing campaigns that left everybody else in the dust. These are the most appetizing appetizers and the most mouthwatering desserts. Here’s the countdown. As we say here at Marketing Chef HQ, Bon Appetit!

#8. Apple: I’m a Mac.
Witty, approachable and elegantly designed: Apple’s product philosophy entered its advertising with the I’m a Mac campaign. The ads let “Mac” be congenial and caring — the good guy, while “PC” made a buffoon of himself — awkward, a little paranoid, and often “buggy.” Worse yet for PCs everywhere, the ads went unanswered until just recently (and when they were, the Microsoft response flopped.)


#7. Nalley Lexus dealer: The Love Letter
Just before Valentine’s Day, thousands of men in the Atlanta area received a pink envelope containing a handwritten love letter. The first page is so doting, it almost makes you blush: “I can’t stop thinking about being yours…we belong together…life is too short to spend another day apart…” You get the picture. “I’ve left my picture and phone number.” The recipient turns to the second page and sees (you guessed it) the picture of a Lexus, “I was made for you” and, still handwritten, the dealership’s name, phone number and website. Steamy, deliciously funny and oh so satisfying!

#6. E*TRADE: Baby
E*TRADE hit 2008 right out of the gate with a Superbowl ad touchdown. Now, normally these ads aren’t worth the cost, but E*TRADE’s Superbowl commercial practically paid for itself before kickoff of the Pro Bowl. You remember the campaign: cute baby sitting in front of a computer making trades. Sounds pretty innocuous, except for the eerily well done lip synching that makes it appear that the infant’s actually delivering the monologue. Add a clown, phone or an unexpected spit up and you’ve got an unforgettable campaign.


#5. Geico: Gecko, The Caveman, and the Celebrity impersonating a real person
In 2008, Geico did something that most other companies didn’t do; they ran three different marketing campaigns simultaneously. They ran all three campaigns throughout 2008. The humor ties them all together, while cycling the commercials prevented overexposure for any one of them (a real risk for the Cavemen after the failed sitcom attempt). Rather than suffering from burnout, Geico customers and prospects anticipate the next commercials. When your customers feel like your new commercial is a treat, you know you’ve done something right.






#4. BlendTec: Will It Blend?”
The Posterboy of viral marketing has to be Blendtec’s internal videos turned brilliant marketing campaign. It all began when retro-cheesy CEO Tom Dickson started throwing things into the powerful blenders to see what would happen. Luckily, they videotaped it and somebody threw it onto YouTube. iPhones, tiki torch, marbles and more — and the viewers keep coming back to see what they’ll try next. Millions of views later, sales are up an astonishing 800%. Not bad for an accidental ad campaign!


#3. OfficeMax: Elf Yourself
Nothing says Christmas like dressing up in elf costumes and bustin’ a move with the family. Of course, few of us will actually do this, so OfficeMax’s Elf Yourself is the next best thing. Upload pictures of your family members’ faces, and voila — well-produced video greeting card starring you (or at least dancing elves that look remarkably like you). Interactive, appealing to the eye, starring in your own “movie” — what’s not to like? The website has boasted a whopping 193 million page visits in 2008, making it one of the most successful viral campaigns ever.

#2. China: Summer Olympic Games
When China hosted the 2008 summer games, it took the opportunity to remake its image. China, once thought of primarily as closed, communist, totalitarian country was hoping that the whopping $44 billion it spent on the games would change the world’s opinion. In preparation for the Paralympics, Beijing and the surrounding areas became disability-friendly. Sponsorships were touted as examples of a more open economy, and the ceremonies displayed the nation’s art and prosperity. China highlighted its modernity through technology, architecture and infrastructure, and its soft-side through its sites and human interest stories. Though there were slips in the image-making, like the little lip-synching girl, and the gymnastics age dispute, China largely succeeded in its endeavor.

#1. Obama for America: Presidential Campaign
Every four years, the best and the brightest come out to show us what they’ve got, and 2008 was no exception. No, I’m not talking about the candidates. I’m talking about the marketers who are hired by the presidential campaigns. No matter what your politics, I think it’s inarguable that the marketing for the Obama for America campaign left primary and general election competitors in the dust. Some of the things they did right:

• An idealistic message appealing on a deep archetypal level;
• Serious use of social networking. The campaign didn’t just use social networking, it lived on it.
• Consistency throughout. The campaign (all about youth, hope, technology and inclusion) received a whopping 10% of its donations online, and almost all of those were under $100. Remember, everything you do and everything you don’t do sends a message;
• Viral Marketing. Okay, so this technically wasn’t the campaign itself, but it still helped. You may have seen the YouTube video, Obama Girl. If so, you were among 8 million others who viewed — and were influenced by — the video.
  

Of course, this is my opinion only, so I’d love to hear your feedback. Join the conversation and leave a comment! And, check in next time, when I’ll talk about the Worst 8 of ’08: the biggest marketing blunders of the year.

KNOW YOUR RIGHT MIX?
781 words - Less than 5 minutes to read

Most of you are familiar with the U.S. food pyramid — you know, that pyramid of recommended amounts of the different types of food: so many servings of fruit and veggies, so much meat, a certain amount of grains, a bit of fat. Today we’re going to talk about its business equivalent: the marketing mix.

The food pyramid tells us the variety and proportions we need to achieve to be healthy. A marketing mix tells us the same thing for our companies. There are thousands of types of food, but they all fit into the categories on the pyramid. While there are over 160 marketing instruments in use today, they too fit into categories. Just as there are different food groups (dairy, meat, fruit, etc.), there are different marketing groups, and each meet a different requirement that companies need to stay fit.

Now, while the food pyramid shows the general guidelines, different people may have different needs. A pregnant woman will need to eat differently than an elderly heart patient. A child has different needs than a teenager; a weight lifter must eat differently than a marathoner. Likewise, different companies have different marketing needs.

Group 1: The Basics
The Basics are…well, you know. These things are foundational, they come almost as soon as you decide to open your doors and sell something to somebody. Examples of basic ingredients include a name, business card, logo, tagline, graphic identity, stationary, URL, etc. Every company should have these type of Basics as the foundational level of their company’s marketing mix. You can't do business without these prerequisites.

Group 2: The Interrupters
Most companies must fight for their target audience’s attention. Individuals receive more information, messages and images now than ever before in history. To be heard, marketing has to interrupt. You know you have a good interrupter if your prospect does a double take, clicks on your banner ad, or stops flipping through channels in order to watch your commercial. It doesn’t matter how good the rest of your marketing mix is if you never get their attention, so this should be a large portion of the pyramid for most companies. You say you’re fortunate enough to be completely unique or selling to a captive audience? Then bless your heart, you don’t have to worry about this one as much. But for the rest of us, Interrupters are critical.

Group 3: The Informatives
Some products need no explanation. What you see is what you get, there’s nothing mysterious or different about them. Most businesses have to work for it, though. They have to convey information about their product, service and/or company before people will buy. Informatives might be a big proposal, a video demonstration or a slick brochure. But it could just be the word “NEW!” on the packaging. Informative ingredients establish your credibility (think a radio interview or website), display your unique status (the only organically-grown wart-remover!), increase interest (wow, a widget can do that?) and move the conversation from your weakness to your strength (we may be more expensive, but only because we refuse to use sweatshops). If your product’s distinction isn’t immediately obvious, your pyramid needs enough Informatives to establish you as the clear choice.

Group 4: The Interactors
This could also be called the “Nordstrom” group. The Interactors are all about the customer experience. Obviously, it includes the level of customer service your employees show your clients, but it also includes how clean your store or office is, the on-hold message they have to listen to when they call (and how long they have to listen to it) and how easy and understandable your manuals, policies and website are. If you’ve ever walked away from a purchase, frustrated that you couldn’t find a cashier, or vowed never to return to a company that didn’t stand by its guarantee, you know the importance of the Interactors.

Group 5: The Closers
Every salesperson knows the importance of “The Close”. Your local bookstore probably has three shelves of books about how to present, negotiate and close the sale. Here’s where it all pays off — but it’s too crucial to coast now. Even businesses whose customers initiate and drive the close can build relationships, get contact information or up-sell during the close (“Would you like fries with that?”).

Trying to use all 160+ marketing ingredients would be as absurd as eating a single bite of every food at the grocery store. Instead, determine the marketing mix that best suits your business, then handpick the choicest selection of ingredients to ensure your company is strong and continues growing. Here’s to your marketing health!


Additional informaion about the different groups of ingredients can be found on the Strategy disk (disk one) of my recently released 5 CD set, Foundations to Irresistible Marketing.

THE MOST POWERFUL MARKETING ACTION YOU CAN TAKE: A STRATEGIC TRIP
983 words - Less than 5 minutes to read

Imagine for a moment that you’re planning your first trip to Greece. You call a friend, who says “Greece — wonderful! I just took a cruise there. All you need are a few swimsuits!” A business associate hears where you’re going and says, “I love Greece. Be sure to bring hiking boots.” The professor who lives next door warns you, “I went for an archeology conference. Take enough paper and several pens — I almost ran out.” You take all the good advice and pack your suitcase. When you arrive, you don your swimsuit and hiking boots, and grab your paper and pens — for your ski trip on the slopes of Parnassos.

I know, you’re thinking the whole scenario is absurd. Nobody would spend that much money, have that much time to plan, and have this once-in-a-lifetime trip, and blow it by making inappropriate choices based on other people’s trips. But people do it with their companies — where the stakes are a lot higher than a ruined vacation — all the time.

A business will see a “great deal” on a newspaper ad and feel like they can’t pass it up — even though the company’s prospects don’t read that paper. Somebody at a network lunch mentions they got great results using a late night infomercial, and four different CEOs call their marketing departments on the way to the office. A retailer gets on the blogging bandwagon, and the unplanned blather tears down the image they’ve cultivated for years.

What’s the cause for these missteps which, at best, are a waste of money and, at worst, do irreparable damage? The lack of a marketing strategy. A company’s strategy is foundational. If you don’t have one, go clear your calendar for the rest of the day and get one. It’s that important.

In order to determine your company’s marketing strategy, do our 2x5 analysis: two topics, five questions each. They seem simple, but dig deep. Call in people from your office — heck, call some of your clients or vendors if you need to. Do what you must to discover the answers to these questions.

Topic 1: Your Company
Ask yourself the following questions about the business:

1. Who are we? What is your brand personality? What’s your company’s identity? Look at your key people, your culture, projects where the company has excelled, the clients you attract and why. Craft a brand identity that is compelling to your ideal customer and that authentically fits who you are and what you do.
2. What are we selling? What are you offering? What are the products, services, benefits and emotions you provide?
3. Why are we in business? Go to your mission statement, vision, values and goals. Examine the unspoken values as well as the published ones. Compare the original vision to the ideal the company aims for today. How do these fit in your marketing plan?
4. Where is the competition positioned? What positions have been taken by competitors, and what haven’t? What characteristic are already “owned” by a major competitor? How do you differ from the competition, and how are you similar?
5. How do we differ? This is your Unique Selling Proposition — or better yet, your Extraordinary Value Proposition. What do you do that is credibly, sustainably, energetically your own?

Topic 2: Your Message
Ask yourself these questions about what you should communicate.

1. Who is our target audience? Do you know who your ideal client is? What does a qualified prospect look like? Do you know their demographics? If it’s an organization, what are its characteristics? Most importantly, what “pain” does your ideal client feel that you can help cure?
2. Why are we communicating? Why are you talking? What is it that you want to say? Develop your message and your core story. Everyone in your organization should be able to communicate your core story in 30 seconds and 5 minutes, with key players able to deliver it in a 15 minute conversation and a 45 minute presentation as well.
3. What are we going to invest? Time to put your money where your marketing is. How much are you willing to spend now, and how much on the long term?
4. How should we communicate? Given who you are and who your clients are, what marketing ingredients make sense? What media matches your message? What media conflicts with the image or message you’re trying to portray? Commit to a “hands-off” policy for whatever doesn’t fit — no matter who talks it up, no matter how good a deal you can get.
5. When will we use the methods? Figure out your priorities. What’s urgent, what should be done in the next 6 months, what needs to be done sometime in the future? I suggest creating a rolling 90-day marketing calendar to keep the momentum going.

A marketing strategy will save you money, because it prevents throwing money into ineffective marketing tactics. It will prevent public perception missteps, because it will give you and all your employees guidance on who the company is and who it’s not. It will help you uncover opportunities, spend wisely, communicate consistently and attract your ideal customer over and over again.

If you haven’t figured it out by now, I’ll tell you outright, strategy is my passion. Nothing excites me more than to see an organization transform through my proven strategic process. And the process generates results. Whether it’s opening up a whole new market for a credit union, taking a portable air conditioning company from 8 straight quarters of declining sales to a 42% increase in sales over 12 months or helping a technology company obtain 7 million in new business, it works. If you don’t have a comprehensive, authentic marketing strategy, or if yours needs to be updated, take care of it now. It’s the most important thing you’ll do.

Here’s another action step you can take: Start your year off right by getting MORE business! Watch your sales soar as you apply the ideas, concepts and practical action-steps from Andrew’s newly released “Foundations to Irresistible Marketing,” a 5 CD set and 180 page workbook. The secrets to Strategy, Publicity, Referrals, Networking and Sales are revealed to make your marketing irresistible. In addition, your purchase will provide 720 meals, enough to feed 24 orphans for 1 month at a designated Children’s Hope Chest Care Point facility in Swaziland, Africa; which has the highest AIDS rate in the world. So, when you invest in "Foundations to Irresistible Marketing," you will not only transform your business but you will transform the lives of starving orphans. Click here to learn more.