Thursday, April 27, 2006
An idea to wake up to (or wake you up)
Several months ago I started sending a small number of people a daily email containing a single marketing idea. Moving out to live on the farm, I didn’t want to lose touch with people. This was one way to stay connected to the intelligent conversations I enjoy when I am in the City. (Sheep have limited social horizons.)
The ideas I send are not new. They are the collection of principles and truisms I have collected in 25 years of marketing. I am dusting off the entire collection and making it available via email. Many of them are “Hits & Memories”, but they spark new perceptions when they are unwrapped.
I get many return emails with questions and additions to the original idea. It’s all part of the fun. And, let’s face it, many people get by with no ideas. So with one idea a day, you’re that far ahead.
Below I list the first series of “ideas” for you. If you want to join the list for a daily “idea”, visit www.michaelkielymarketing.com.au and register.
………….
In the beginning... was the END. Start with the end in mind. Express your intended outcome as though it had already materialised.
Then act.
………………..
Visualise success.
If it is a new product concept, write the ad for it. If it is a launch, write the news report. If it is a presentation, picture shaking hands on the deal.
Then act...
………………
"Act boldly and mighty forces will come to your aid." I found this statement in Reader's Digest. Don't be put off by that. The statement is true. The difference between success and failure is not that you got beaten by someone else or circumstances. Most of the time we fail because we don't even get on the starting blocks. Woody Allen says 85% of success is simply turning up.
Look at the great brands. Not one of them has been built by meekness. Aggressive self-belief and dramatic action typifies success in marketing.
Zigging when the others zag. Risking ridicule. Almost inviting it.
……………….
FISH WHERE THE FISH ARE.
This sounds like the bleeding obvious, but you'd be amazed at how many companies spend money talking to people who can't or won't buy their products. How does a television advertiser know there is anyone watching their ad? They don't. They are fed crap by television stations called TARPS (Target Audience Ratings Points) that are measured by some witchdoctor's formula that says it can tell if the lounge chair in front of the tv set is empty during the breaks. Ratings, schmatings. It's amazing how much faith some marketers have - truly religious zealots - in TARPS. I say show me the money. If I'm gonna spend a fortune keeping some zillionaire’s kids in a manner to which they've become accustomed, I want proof that Channel X actually sells something. I'll believe it when a viewer calls a telephone number on the screen and goes on to buy my product... Either right there and then or soon. "Real Response TV" is a great new idea of mine - invite people to call or email or dial up a web site and interact with the brand. D'uh!
…………
Zag when they zig.
Imagine a room full of people shouting at a person standing on a stage, trying to get their attention. That's what it is like when you are trying to get your message across to a prospect in a market. The one who stops shouting and quietly peels off their clothes and stands naked (or does the equivalent) will stand out.
………………
"Trying to run a business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark."
Now, try using that in a presentation these days...
……………..
When you look at a group photo that you are in, whose face do you search for first?
Your own? Don't be so surprised. We are obsessed about ourselves, by nature. How much can we hear about ourselves? Endless amounts?
So who does a prospect want to hear you talking about in a sales letter?
Themselves? And how much of the letter should you devote to them and how much to your company?
I'll let you decide...
…………….
If you want to hide in a forest, look like a tree.
If your advertisement looks like a tree in a forest you have failed the first test. It will pass like a ship in the night. Clients without courage force their agencies to produce wallpaper.Clients who refuse to maximise return on media dollar invested are committing the crime of negligence against their shareholders. Looking around you can see that the majority of clients should be fired.
…………..
WAKE UP!
GOODMORNING!
I'M SHOUTING TO WAKE YOU UP TO AN OPPORTUNITY!
The babyboomers are inheriting. Right now. You can hear the assets being transferred all around you.
We are in the middle of the greatest transfer of wealth know to mankind. Trillions of dollars are sluicing around - all of it unearned and most of it not ear marked for anything.
IS your organisation getting a slice of the action?
……………
Is there a gap in the market?
You see that juicy big opportunity in the market? Quick! Let's move on it fast... Oh, no. Where did all our money go? Yes, there is a gap in the market. But is there a market in the gap? Why hasn't someone else seen it? Chances are they have. Proceed, but proceed with caution. ¶ 8:53 AM
The ideas I send are not new. They are the collection of principles and truisms I have collected in 25 years of marketing. I am dusting off the entire collection and making it available via email. Many of them are “Hits & Memories”, but they spark new perceptions when they are unwrapped.
I get many return emails with questions and additions to the original idea. It’s all part of the fun. And, let’s face it, many people get by with no ideas. So with one idea a day, you’re that far ahead.
Below I list the first series of “ideas” for you. If you want to join the list for a daily “idea”, visit www.michaelkielymarketing.com.au and register.
………….
In the beginning... was the END. Start with the end in mind. Express your intended outcome as though it had already materialised.
Then act.
………………..
Visualise success.
If it is a new product concept, write the ad for it. If it is a launch, write the news report. If it is a presentation, picture shaking hands on the deal.
Then act...
………………
"Act boldly and mighty forces will come to your aid." I found this statement in Reader's Digest. Don't be put off by that. The statement is true. The difference between success and failure is not that you got beaten by someone else or circumstances. Most of the time we fail because we don't even get on the starting blocks. Woody Allen says 85% of success is simply turning up.
Look at the great brands. Not one of them has been built by meekness. Aggressive self-belief and dramatic action typifies success in marketing.
Zigging when the others zag. Risking ridicule. Almost inviting it.
……………….
FISH WHERE THE FISH ARE.
This sounds like the bleeding obvious, but you'd be amazed at how many companies spend money talking to people who can't or won't buy their products. How does a television advertiser know there is anyone watching their ad? They don't. They are fed crap by television stations called TARPS (Target Audience Ratings Points) that are measured by some witchdoctor's formula that says it can tell if the lounge chair in front of the tv set is empty during the breaks. Ratings, schmatings. It's amazing how much faith some marketers have - truly religious zealots - in TARPS. I say show me the money. If I'm gonna spend a fortune keeping some zillionaire’s kids in a manner to which they've become accustomed, I want proof that Channel X actually sells something. I'll believe it when a viewer calls a telephone number on the screen and goes on to buy my product... Either right there and then or soon. "Real Response TV" is a great new idea of mine - invite people to call or email or dial up a web site and interact with the brand. D'uh!
…………
Zag when they zig.
Imagine a room full of people shouting at a person standing on a stage, trying to get their attention. That's what it is like when you are trying to get your message across to a prospect in a market. The one who stops shouting and quietly peels off their clothes and stands naked (or does the equivalent) will stand out.
………………
"Trying to run a business without advertising is like winking at a girl in the dark."
Now, try using that in a presentation these days...
……………..
When you look at a group photo that you are in, whose face do you search for first?
Your own? Don't be so surprised. We are obsessed about ourselves, by nature. How much can we hear about ourselves? Endless amounts?
So who does a prospect want to hear you talking about in a sales letter?
Themselves? And how much of the letter should you devote to them and how much to your company?
I'll let you decide...
…………….
If you want to hide in a forest, look like a tree.
If your advertisement looks like a tree in a forest you have failed the first test. It will pass like a ship in the night. Clients without courage force their agencies to produce wallpaper.Clients who refuse to maximise return on media dollar invested are committing the crime of negligence against their shareholders. Looking around you can see that the majority of clients should be fired.
…………..
WAKE UP!
GOODMORNING!
I'M SHOUTING TO WAKE YOU UP TO AN OPPORTUNITY!
The babyboomers are inheriting. Right now. You can hear the assets being transferred all around you.
We are in the middle of the greatest transfer of wealth know to mankind. Trillions of dollars are sluicing around - all of it unearned and most of it not ear marked for anything.
IS your organisation getting a slice of the action?
……………
Is there a gap in the market?
You see that juicy big opportunity in the market? Quick! Let's move on it fast... Oh, no. Where did all our money go? Yes, there is a gap in the market. But is there a market in the gap? Why hasn't someone else seen it? Chances are they have. Proceed, but proceed with caution. ¶ 8:53 AM
