NOVEMBER 5, 2008

I really like JetBlue. Not just because of the comfortable seats, in-flight DirectTV, or even because of the cool events the company sponsors (although I was lucky enough to have one hosted near me recently). I like them because of this:

Subject:  Our Apologies…

Earlier this afternoon, I had received a JetBlue promotional email - a fairly regular occurrence as part of my membership in the company’s frequent flier program, TruBlue. I thought the subject line was great and suited JetBlue’s typical, laid-back style. But, when I was opened it, I was disappointed to see who it was addressed to:

Subject: It’s been awhile… we miss you.

I initially wondered if the company was making some bizarre attempt to be cute & random by addressing to me as ”Soandso”. (Some marketing can be a little out there.) But, the “Mr.” confirmed that there was no way this email was meant for me. I’m not particularly sensitive, but this lack of personalization bothered me - and evidently it bothered a few other people as well. I immediately shared the email with my co-workers, looked up the email address of a friend who works with the company, and contemplated sending him an note about it. 

That is until I checked my email again and found the apology.

Maybe it’s because I’m still coming out the election day haze - a time when we all were bombarded with messages revealing alleged secrets and half-truths - but I find this prompt apology incredibly refreshing.  Received just about an hour and half after the Mr. Soandso message, email #2 was simple and refreshingly straightforward: We screwed up and we’re sorry for it.

I don’t always expect companies to be perfect, but sadly, I do expect that most companies would try to cover tracks and bury mistakes. That is why acts of honesty and transparency stand out. You’re having a hard time? Tell us. You messed up? Admit it.

Because in most cases, we’ll like you even more.

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OCTOBER 31, 2008

Besides the friends I’ve met at church, I can only think of a handful of people my age that regularly go to church.  This isn’t surprising: the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life recently found that 44% of Americans have left the religions of their childhoods.   The New York Times also reports that, “Among those born after 1984, about 33 percent attend church on a typical weekend” while 49% of Baby Boomers attend church regularly.  Churches are obviously having a tough time “[e]nticing young people to become regular members of a Christian congregation.”

So what are churches seeking younger members doing about it?  They are plugging into social media and other multi-media outlets to reach their flock.  In addition to having rock music instead of hymns and adding video clips to sermons, churches have begun joining Facebook, MySpace, and MyChurch.org among other sites.  Churches have begun blogging, texting pastors during services, podcasting, and set up message boards.

Most churches I know are all about growing community.  I think it’s interesting that now, community doesn’t have to stay local.  Some churches now show their sermons live online so you can check them out before ever darkening the doorway.  Out-of-towners and troops overseas can feel a part of the community while talking in a forum during service.

I can stay connected to my old church by watching clips posted to YouTube (yes, that’s my pastor and church staff doing the New Kids on the Block… I’d also recommend their Dirty Jobs clip!).  Churches have found a way for prospective members to preview what they can expect, figure out if it’s a community they want to be involved in, and decide if it’s worth their time to even show up.

In what ways has your place of worship updated its methods to keep up with the times and younger members?

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OCTOBER 23, 2008

When I was 12 years old, the walls in my room were completely covered with New Kids on the Block paraphernalia. I memorized every word to every song on their albums, learned their dance routines, bought books about them, and here’s the most embarrassing one – I used to have a 6-foot-long, door poster of them and, sometimes, I’d sit dreamy-eyed in front of it and sketch their pictures on blank sheets of paper (I am laughing at myself right now; I don’t think I’ve ever admitted that to anyone). Plain and simple: I was obsessed with them. I had no shame then, and, apparently, I still don’t…

In early April of 2008, there were rumblings that the New Kids were reuniting after a 15-year break. Could it be?! After hours of scouring blogs and online news outlets, it was confirmed and, even better, they were doing it on The Today Show in New York City the following day. I had no idea that at 30 years old my feelings for the New Kids were still so strong, but “giddy” doesn’t even come close to describing what I felt. Surprising even myself, that night I jumped on the first train up to NYC, met up with my friend Lisa (a fellow TMGer), woke up before dawn to stand in the freezing cold rain outside the NBC studios, and waited for the New Kids to announce their big news. After 3 hours of misery and anticipation, they stepped outside onto the The Today Show plaza and announced that not only would they be reuniting, that their new CD would be out in September, and that they would be going back on tour. (If you look closely, there’s a shot of me and Lisa in the crowd.) Not only were we there to see them that day, we even got to meet them.

For the next six months leading up to their concert, I visited their new website several times a week for updates (and even signed up to receive news first). I TiVoed every interview of them on TV. The day their new CD was released I drove to several different stores to buy it when I could’ve just downloaded it on iTunes, and I even took off from work the day of the concert to prepare for my big night; a night I’d been waiting for, for over 20 years. The concert was everything I hoped it would be and more; they did not disappoint. I sang and danced like no one was watching, so much so that I lost my voice for an entire week! When I look back over the time and money I invested into these guys over the past six months, I’m amazed at the emotions they can stir up in me, and the loyalty that still remains.

At TMG, we believe we’re in the business of loyalty: helping businesses understand what it is that attracts and maintains loyalty with consumers. Some argue that loyalty no longer exists, that what appears to be loyalty is just convenience, familiarity, and/or coercion. And yet, there are some of us that still believe true-blue commitment to a brand, a business, and, yes, even to a boy-band from their childhood, still exists. I am living proof.

What do you think? Is loyalty a thing of the past or does it still exist?

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OCTOBER 17, 2008

Google, a brand among brands, I dare say can do no wrong.  Its delightfully simple homepage (in use and design), its logo’s cheerful colors, its name’s soothing double “Os”, not to mention its leadership in its industry - these are all reasons why I mark Google an “it” brand.  A brand that, when it innovates or introduces new products like Chrome, its new Web browser, has the potential to see instant and prolonged success based solely on a reputation for quality and reliability.  We all know these “it” brands, like Apple, Toyota, Starbucks, Target, and IKEA.

Now I’m reading about the first mobile phone from T-Mobile to use the Android software from Google.  In a time when technology is constantly being updated and companies are competing aggressively to launch the next big thing, critics might question whether this phone, even with Google’s brand reputation behind it, will break through.  But, come on, it’s Google.  If nothing else, I’m at least intrigued enough to see what it looks like, how the interface works, and what kind of neat features it might offer.  Of course, in true Google fashion, I’m expecting that I will like it, that it will be easy to use, and that it will work well.  Stellar customer expectations and a powerful first impression, indeed.  Lucky dog, that Google brand.

What’s equally interesting is the path this brand has traveled.  It found success as a search engine, created a personal email program I love, launched a Web browser whose name alone invokes coolness, and is now embarking into the phone-tech world, a world dominated by the likes of iPhones and Blackberries (nicknamed “Crackberries,” to illustrate their addictive qualities). In my mind, Google can seemingly do-no-evil - and I can’t wait to see what’s up next.

What other brands do you think have the Midas touch?

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AUGUST 29, 2008

High gas prices and a global recession looming have changed our buying behaviors… or have they? I know I’ve been more conscientious lately by cutting out a few habits, but it appears that many others have not. The little things that brighten up our days - coffee in the morning, eating out for lunch, online shopping  - can all add up pretty quickly. But the Londoners in this article say, “Eat, drink, smoke, and be merry,” and apparently that’s exactly what we’re doing.

Despite the economic downturn, companies like Hershey Co., Anheuser-Busch, and Philip Morris have all been profitable this year. I guess candy, beer, and tobacco are items we just won’t quit. The luxury items of yesterday have become the bare necessities of today. When the Desert Sun asked Coachella Valley residents what they would not give up during an economic recession their answers included: pets, cars, fitness, dining out, coffee, and chocolate.

During a recession, what are some of your must-have items and which one are first on your chopping block?

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AUGUST 7, 2008

Blame it on my Italian-American upbringing where family wine is made to our liking in my grandfather’s garage and using Prego is like using a four-letter curse word, but if there’s one thing I take seriously, it’s food.  I realized this on a deeper level when it came to food shopping and making decisions on buying generic versus brand name products.  No matter the cost (to an extent) I rarely compromise when it comes to food products.  For example, lunch meats and cheese always come from the deli counter, never prepackaged, and I’ll only buy the Skippy brand of peanut butter.

For most consumer products, I never considered myself loyal to any particular brand.  I can’t tell you what kind of toothpaste I use other than it starts with a “c,” I buy clothes from stores with sales and the right fit, and I purchase gas usually from the most convenient station.

But food, food makes a difference.  For me, food more than serves a nutritional purpose.  Preparing it can be an art and eating it (especially around the holidays) can bring much joy to your life.  And when it’s unsatisfactory the experience of food and the activities surrounding it are spoiled as well.  Any food marketer who knows this and reaches me on this level may have a chance of selling me their product.  The key here is the ability to know these small individual details about a consumer’s buying preferences.  Sure, Google can track my searches and Facebook can record my applications and border my email and profile pages with related ads, but identifying what I’m interested in is only half the battle.  Why I’m interested is the more important question to answer.  This requires what we at TMG Strategies call Deep Listening. 

Want to know what consumers really care about?  It’s going to take more than tracking their search histories.  There are personal, tangible, reasons why I purchase what and how I do and those reasons exist for every consumer – getting to the bottom of them, making the extra effort to truly listen to what consumers want and why they want it will ultimately sell the product.

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AUGUST 4, 2008

Earlier I wrote about the Facebook application that was sweeping swiffering the office: Scrabulous (I also wrote that I was going to beat Gayle in Scrabulous and I did.) I’m sad to write that the creators of Scrabulous, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, have taken down the game after they were hit with a lawsuit from Hasbro. An official version of Scrabble on Facebook is in beta test stage on Facebook.

As expected the Facebook community is reeling from the loss of everyone’s favorite time-waster. I particularly enjoyed reading Conde Nast Porfolio, which posted reactions they read from Facebook’s News Feed. However, I am happy to say that we do not have to be sad for long.

The Brothers Agarwalla are releasing a new game very similar to Scrabulous called Wordscraper. The game includes customizable rules and a different design- probably an effort to avoid future lawsuits. The customizable features of this new game can be used to create boards that resemble the familiar Scrabble/Scrabulous layout. Is this going to be enough to stop another lawsuit? Ethan Horwitz over at King and Spalding told the AP he doesn’t think so:

It’s going to come down to the little things like squares and circles and double, triple and so on…What they’ve done is taking a step in the right direction, but I don’t think it’s a big enough step.

As of this writing the game has 67,302 active users- nowhere near the half million that Scrabulous had, and less than the 85,237 that are using the new official version of Scrabble. I wonder if the game will be able to attract Scrabulous fans back into the fold. Besides the IP issues this case has brought about, I’m curious to see what Facebook users value more - being able to play Scrabble online no matter who makes it, or the innovative thinking of the Agarwalla brothers who thought of bringing Scrabble online first.
 

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JULY 29, 2008

How many different brands would you guess that you personally use in a typical day?  A few may jump to mind immediately- like that cup of Starbucks so many of us start the day with.

But when you stop and think about every single brand name product that you use, the results are startling. For me, before I even leave my house in the morning, I use over 20 different brands.  I think most of us would be surprised at how strongly brands are ingrained in our daily life.

Dearjanesample recently did a little experiment to track the different brand name products she used on a typical day in her life.  The results were fascinating: she used over 70 different brand named products in one day.  And that doesn’t even count the other products she was exposed to - either through advertising or observing other people use.

I think many people think they are immune to the impact that branding has on our decisions as consumers but in reality, when it comes to making decisions, a brand’s reputation definitely impacts whether or not we buy or use it.

One area in my life where this is very relevant is baby products and gear.  A few months ago, I knew next to nothing about baby gear and which brands are considered to be the best.  I have been doing a lot of research since then trying to decide what to buy for my upcoming arrival.   These are the factors that have most impacted my purchasing decisions:

1.   Safety.   If a brand has a reputation of having had recalls or posing dangers, then it’s eliminated.

2.  Quality.  Babies are expensive and I only want to buy products that will last as long as possible.  Brands that seem “cheap” won’t make my list.

3.  Design.  As much as I hate to admit it, design and looks do count.  The products need to be visually appealing while also maintaining functionality.

4.  Usability.  I don’t want to buy products that are difficult to use, require too much maintenance or don’t adequately serve the purpose for which they are intended.

5.  Overall Brand Reputation.  Certain brands are just known to be overall leaders in their industry.  In this case brands like Fisher-Price and Johnson & Johnson are known to be child-friendly and I feel like they won’t let me down.

All this leads to the question of which brands are replaceable, and which do we use because we actually admire the brand and/or the product?  BrandAutopsy has an entire series of postsasking if we’d miss certain brands if they were to disappear tomorrow.  I think for the most part, all of these  - Pizza Hut, CostPlus World Market, Wells Fargo - are replaceable.  They offer products that aren’t differentiated among their competitors.  As much as they may try to stand out, in the end, their products can be easily obtained elsewhere with little effort, for a similar price.

What do you think?  Is it surprising how many different brands we all use in a single day? Are there any brands you absolutely would miss if they were to disappear tomorrow?

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JULY 28, 2008

With over one million copies sold on a wimpy $300 marketing budget, this 256-page tale of human sorrow and divine redemption is undeniably a literary and religious phenomenon.  But how did this happen?

Just over a year after it was originally published in paperback, William P. Young’s The Shack debuted at No. 1 on the New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list, and hasn’t budged since June 8.  Currently it is No. 1 on the Borders Group’s trade paperback fiction list, and, until recently, it was No. 1 on the Barnes & Noble trade paperback list.  Motoko Rich at the The New York Times says it’s “the most compelling recent example of how a word-of-mouth phenomenon can explode into a blockbuster when the momentum hits chain bookstores, and the marketing and distribution power of a major commercial publisher is thrown behind it.”

To summarize (but without revealing too much of the story): Early in the novel the young daughter of the protagonist, Mack, is abducted.  Four years later he visits the shack where evidence of the girl’s murder was discovered.  He spends a weekend there in a kind of spiritual therapy session with God, appearing as an African-American woman who calls herself “Papa;” Jesus, who shows up as a Jewish workman; and Sarayu, an indeterminately Asian woman who incarnates the Holy Spirit.

As intriguing is the storyline sounds, I’m not writing this post to encourage or even discourage you from reading The Shack – that’s entirely up to you.  But I’m curious as to why this book has become so popular so fast.  In other words, I want to know how we - the reading public - and even the author himself have turned this book into a best-seller.  I’ll offer five of my ideas:

1. It’s a quick read.  At 256 pages – a whopping 1055 pages fewer than the King James Bible – it’s no wonder that readers are drawn to a shorter rather than longer route to a cathartic encounter with the Christian God.

2. It’s cheap.  Foregoing the more expensive, hardcover version, Windblown Media originally published the book in paperback, making it approachable and affordable to everyone.

3. It’s bought in bulk.  In an effort to spread the word and share the love, many church leaders are asking bookstores for a dozen copies at a time – sometimes even a whole case – to distribute to colleagues, friends and family.  So, whether the book is digested in full or gathers dust on the bedside table, it counts as a sell.

4. It’s controversial.  Christian “feely-types” say it’s life-changing and will bring you closer to God.  Christian “thinking-types” warn that it’s subversive and will make you question the author’s intentions.  Sounds like it’s worth investigating for yourself, right?

5. It’s ambiguous universalism.  Beaner927 at the Closer to Free blog writes, “There were even parts of the book that almost seemed like they were meant JUST for me. . . . I got goosebumps!”  Inverse personalization?  Enough said.

Finally, I believe DHubka at the Thinking About Today blog has the most insightful rumination of all:

Why are so many people’s lives being changed by the book?  What can I take from the book and apply everyday?  I don’t know that there is anything. . .  I think it’s encouraging that this book isn’t life-changing for me, I think it means I’m already well on that path.

To be sure, with 40% of fickle - err, impressionable - American adults having changed their faith at least once since childhood, it’s no wonder The Shack is “changing lives.”  Today, it really doesn’t take much to become someone totally different than you were yesterday.

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JULY 8, 2008

As we all know, in today’s society there are very few products or brands that we are fiercely loyal to.  Quick, can you name a brand that you will go out of your way to buy?  I can’t.  For most things, I’ll buy whatever is on sale, whatever is convenient or whatever catches my eye on any given day.  There are a few stores that I really love- Amazon.com, Target, Costco, Trader Joe’s - but to say I am fiercely loyal to them is a stretch.  I rarely buy anything from any of the brick-and-mortar stores more than once a month, because they simply aren’t convenient. 

One brand that I have been semi-loyal to for many years now, though, is American Express, whose credit card allows me to earn frequent flyer miles on Delta.  I grew up in Atlanta, and my dad is a very frequent business traveler, so from as early as I can remember, Delta was the only airline to fly.  I got my own Delta AmEx card several years ago and use it for everything. 

I have cashed in my miles for several trips, but as Krissy mentioned in her post last week, flying is almost becoming more trouble than it’s worth these days.  And with a baby on the way, I think my days of frequent flying are in the past.

And now, the nail in the coffin: I received an email from Delta this week informing me that they will now charge me $25 to use miles for a domestic flight. Seriously? I thought the whole point of frequent flyer miles was that you got to fly for free.

Well, guess what?  Delta - and now AmEx - have lost my loyalty.  There are no benefits to me anymore to keep using my AmEx Delta card.  I have officially made the switch to an Amazon rewards credit card. My husband has had an Amazon card for years and loves that he gets Amazon gift certificates after spending a certain amount of money.  I love that I can buy virtually anything I need from Amazon, often for a reduced price with free shipping.

It was a tough decision and the first few times I used the new card (which happened to be at Target, and then at Amazon) I felt like I was cheating on Delta.  However, I doubt that Delta cares about me, so why should I care about them?  The bottom line, in my opinion, is that for basically any product or service, customers have the power.  There is always another option, another competitor, another place to spend my money, and I don’t have to stick with my past preferences and behaviors. 

So, I have now officially converted to my Amazon credit card.  Bye-bye Delta AmEx.  (except that I’ll have to hold on to my AmEx card for when I shop at Costco, which only accepts American Express.  What’s up with that?)  

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