What's Your Customer's DNA?

This may seem rudimentary, but too often marketers look at demographic targets without looking at the big picture. Along with this narrow focus comes an ask: Buy something from us, sign up, take action, do something - and this is done without an exchange value.

In today's economic climate, consumers are ever more fickle as to where they spend their hard-earned dollars. On top of this, they're bombarded with a flurry of marketing messages across the spectrum - in myriad ways across multiple daily experiences.

So, how do marketers break through the clutter? How do they grab that fleeting attention of an over-saturated media world that's evermore competitive with every passing hour?

It starts with knowing the customer's DNA. Going beyond demographics, psychographics, and even values and lifestyles, it's finding out both the pain points and sweet spots that brings your product or service into relevancy.

Connecting with audiences and customers is BEING one...it's an empathetic approach to knowing the very fabric of what makes the target tick and how your offer fits into their lives and makes it both relevant and utterly irresistible.

This messaging can't happen in a media vacuum either. It needs to transcend any one medium and be consistent throughout the customer experience and the world they live in. The media mix is a misnomer really - media shouldn't be mixed but carefully constructed, with common 'ingredients' and both an ask and a value proposition that is part of the very DNA of the customer you're trying to reach. A good example of a common error in the often misunderstood world of Facebook is the ever-present ask to LIKE us on Facebook. Rarely do I ever see a reason 'why'. What's in it for me? And how does this click fit with my life and the world I experience?

It's time for marketers to think beyond sales goals and market share. We need to dig deep about how our brand can become part of the consumer's DNA and concurrently devise a strategy to stay relevant, irresistible and valuable over time, across all consumer touch points and experiences.

Extending the TV Experience - Wetpaint

Web publisher, Wetpaint, looks to add come color to the TV Show fan scene with it’s collection of destination web sites that focus on some of TV’s hottest shows.

With a razor-sharp focus on the 18-34yo female demographic, a state-of-the-art publishing system and daily content pouring forth from a team of seasoned editors, this scrappy Seattle startup looks to fill a void where TV leaves off and the network sites and gossip sites don’t completely cover.

Wetpaint’s foray into the web space started with it’s 1.0 platform, which allows anyone to easily create a web site using their back end publishing system and hosting services. After a couple years live, this system grew to hundreds of thousands of independent web sites and close to 10 million UU per month.

Analytics of the data showed that come of the most consistently popular sites in that system were fan sites devoted to popular TV shows like Dancing with the Stars and The Bachelor. With advertisers shying away from UGC content, the executive team led my Ben Elowitz put 2 and 2 together and forged this new strategy around these marquee entertainment titles.



I was fortunate enough to work with Ben on the development of the company’s media kit and sponsorship strategy, where the flexible publishing system and rich palette of content and promotional opportunities, creates what could be a magnet for entertainment, beauty and fashion advertisers and a host of other consumer verticals looking to reach this elusive and fragmented demographic.



Shown here are a couple examples of slides from the media kit, where I develop graphics, layout, copy and sponsorship hooks around this promising new media property.




To read more about Wetpaint, check out this article:

http://www.techflash.com/seattle/2010/09/wetpaint_reinvents_itself_as_an_entertainment_news_hub.html

Coors Light Cold Activation Program - Cool Program for Ice Cold Beer!

Over the years I was fortunate to work with the Miller Coors team at Avenue A on the Coors Light brand. Beginning with a sponsorship of distinct independent music performances that we taped in studio, and then brought online, the Coors team expanded their scope in support of music year after year. Obviously, it works.

This year the crackerjack account team of George Carney and Staci Parlari parlayed their solid relationship with the Coors team into a season-long series of music initiatives and impactful media programs. Starting back before Memorial Day weekend, this year’s program included a live event with full content capture in Los Angeles, featuring notable jam band, OAR headlining at the Wiltern. This event coincided with the launch of Coors Light new packaging initiative, the ‘Cold Activated Window’, allowing consumers to ‘see’ if their beloved beer is at optimal consuming temperature.

The stellar project management team, led by music maven Gina Perino organized content capture at the event, where select tracks from the band’s performance were brought online and housed on a Rhapsody.com Hub. Check out the content here:

http://www.rhapsodyextras.com/coorslight/

At the event, Coors Light flowed on tap, while LA music fans enjoyed a free music experience from our friends at Miller Coors - experiential marketing consisted of Coors street team, signage and a distinct branded presence that made it all seem seamless.

Media included site takeovers on key Coors Light dates, including, Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, with a focus on music and entertainment lifestyle properties, including Film.com [shown here].

This was a great example or thinking beyond digital and into the minds and hearts of consumers in environments that best suit the brand and what it’s about.

Now, if you're reading this and it's after 5:00pm isn’t it time to enjoy some Cold Activated freshness yourself?

Smart Mobile Marketing Gone Very Wrong

Since Tuesday August 31, the Michele Bachmann for Congress campaign has been targeting ads in mobile apps to people visiting the Minnesota State Fair. As reported on Clickz, September 2, 2010, these hyper-targeted attack ads with their uber-relevant creative, tell fair-goers that a vote for the Democratic challenger, Tarryl Clark is a vote for taxing fair-goers beloved corn dogs, deep fried bacon and [GASP] beer.

Of course our Republican brothers know how to dig right into the deepest fears of middle America and are sure to pull the 'a vote for Tarryl Clark is a vote for Satan' card soon.

According to stats 61% of the ads served were to iPhone and Android devices. No surprise really, as these devices deliver optimal mobile creative to an arguably higher percentage of influencers - ie peeps with enough disposable cash or ego to have the latest and greatest handsets.

The ad's creative features an announcer, Jim the Election Guy challenging the fair fiends. "So if you see Tarryl Clark while you're at the fair just ask her what's up with voting to tax my beer?" The ad refers to a vote Clark made to raise sales taxes, which would apply to food items bought in restaurants or from food vendors - including those greasy goodies available at the state fair.

"Once we saw the ad we thought, this would be great to market it to mobile phones at the fair," said Eric Frenchman, chief Internet strategist at Republican consulting firm Connell Donatelli, which is working with its associate digital firm Campaign Solutions on the Bachmann campaign.

In addition to pre-roll video ads and YouTube promoted video ads, the campaign also involves display ads in Google’s content network targeted to the 6th district, which is near the fair.

This is a really brilliant tactic. You have to hand it to those Republicans...they sure know how to throw the dirt...and the corndogs.

The campaign is set to run until the end of the fair on September 6.