Who's Winning the Marketing Olympics?

I've been to the events and been watching the ads. Who do I think comes out on top? Coca Cola by a landslide. From their numerous interactive booths at the O-zones in Surrey and Richmond, to the wildly popular tent in Yaletown and even the unexpected trading pin booth in the CTV at Robson, Coca Cola is everywhere. People are loving the free samples of Far Coast coffee not realizing that it launched 7 years ago. They are talking about the tin cans. They are loving the Olympic torch relay swag and excitement. This team has put in a ton of money but down a fantastic job. Well done to the team at Coca Cola.

Brands that I am disapointed in
- Visa: People feel forced not honoured to use their Visa everywhere. Plus where is the motivation for me to choose Visa if I'm not on site. The "Maple Syrup" ads leave me thinking it's a Purolator commercial

- Petro Canada: Nice ads that leave me remembering glasses and not where to buy them. How about offering free Petro Canada flags for people to use in their cars? Vancouverites would have chomped on that in a heartbeat. It's nice to sponsor the Olympics and to pay for people's airfare (betcha didn't know that they did that for the atheltes families) but one also needs a ROI.


Ones that have done well:

Mc Donalds: As much as I cringe to think that Olympians are portrayed to find sustenance in Mc D's, the ads ads and OOH billboards do a good job of being memorable and driving sales.
Rona: The ads aren't bad. At least I know that Rona has built the games. They have no on site precence anywhere though.
Excel: Jason, this one's for you. I did see some samplers out there downtown. I didn't see anyother precence though.
Ocean Spray: Daniela, this one's for you. I was really taken back by the great targeted sampling of Ocean Spray bottles and 100 cal packs by the Richmond Oval. The location by the Sky Train was smart. This is how to piggyback off the Olympics without being a sponsor. I hope this was done elsewhere too

Seize the Sale

Here is the Carpe Salesem philosophy:

1. Seize every opportunity. Not just the sales opportunity, but opportunities to serve others in memorable ways that lead to relationships.
2. Enjoy the sales process. Don’t just seize the sale; enjoy it. Make use of your passion and your customers will love you for it.
3. Help your customers. Offer valuable insight and solutions. Become known as a resource—someone who is helpful, rather than someone who is just looking for a commission.
4. Be prepared. Plan your day the night before and come in to the office (or better yet, to a customer appointment) with your sales guns blazing. Understand the importance of Monday morning and Friday afternoon. You can put in eight productive hours (four on Monday, four on Friday) while your competition is either hung-over or leaving early for happy hour.
5. Be responsive. I have a rule that I ALWAYS follow—ALWAYS, ALWAYS, ALWAYS respond to EVERY customer contact (whether it be a voicemail, email, instant message, text message, or smoke signal) before you go to sleep. Even if it’s 3a.m. and the only thing you have the energy to write is, “Hey Mr. Customer, thanks for the email. I wanted to let you know that I received it and that I am working on a great solution for you. I’ll be in touch tomorrow with an idea and answer to every question you’ve asked.” My rule does not result in perfect service, but it works. It puts the customer at ease and it shows them you care.
6. Be friendly. A smile costs nothing, but it’s worth millions. Being friendly sets the tone for a great relationship. And a great relationship sets the stage for big sales. I landed the best account of my life by befriending the biggest jerk in my industry. Turns out, he wasn’t that bad of a guy. He just didn’t know how to smile.
7. Be memorable. Differentiate yourself from your competition with creative ways to serve your customer.
8. Be studious. I’m not an expert at sales. I’m a student of sales. I’ve been that way since I started selling 20 years ago, and I’ll stay that way until I die. Staying a student means I learn something new every day.
9. Be inquisitive. Instead of telling your customer everything about YOU, ASK your customer about their needs—and don’t stop until you know everything there is to know about them. Your competition will be reciting features and benefits, marketing drivel, and lines from Cheap Sales Tricks 101 while you’re finding out how to actually get your customer to buy. It’s up to you: Don’t ask…don’t sell.
10. Be persistent. Nothing says Carpe Salesem more than persistence. And the key to mastering the elements above is being persistent in everything you do. Don’t quit until you know in your heart it’s over. If you have to ask yourself if it’s over, it ain’t over. It’s only over when you sincerely believe that you can no longer be of service to your customer.

Best Superbowl Commercials

Super Bowl commercials! Although I love the actual game and the half time show, I’m always eager to see what companies have decided to dish out millions of dollars to reach the Super Bowl audience.

With over 93 million viewers in the U.S. alone in 2009, advertising during Super Bowl is seen by some as one of the best ways to introduce a new product or company to the masses. Or re-introduce an old product to those who may have forgotten.

According to MSNBC, the majority of the 62 ad slots available this year have already been sold. Although, the rates have dropped, Super Bowl advertising is still the most expensive ad buy of the year.

Considering there will be over 1,860 seconds of advertising during the game on February 7, I’m very excited for some entertaining material. Allow me to share with you some of the Super Bowl commercials that I’ve enjoyed in the past.

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Customize Your Banana Label

Are you looking for hours of banana-fun? Look no further than Chiquita Bananas' brilliant EatAChiquita.com.You can design your own Chiquita sticker face in classic blue and yellow and post it on the wall of the website. It's a fun way to kill an hour, but it's a great way to market the most famous bananas in the world!

But will this make you eat more bananas? Aren't these a commodity in the store. Is this money well spent? I like the differentiation but they need to have meaningful competition to make this pay out.

Your thoughts?

Who Does Wrangler Think They Are....Dolce and Gabbana?

Wrangler Jeans recently revealed its new look for the 2010 Spring/Summer season. And it's red hot!

The campaign is titled "Red" and it builds on the "We Are Animals" concept that Wrangler Jeans introduced back in 2008.

The new ads feature scantily clad men and women covered in red dirt, who look like they’ve been shipwrecked on a deserted island.

It’s sexy, it's animalistic and it has me wondering...what is Wrangler thinking?

Knowing your target market and identifying their needs is the key to every business' success. Trying not to alienate your loyal customers is another. Companies who try to be too many thing to too many people, tend to give off the impression that they don't really know what business they're in.

The way I see it, this is exactly what Wrangler Jeans has done with "We Are Animals". They've completely gone against everything that the Wrangler Jeans name was built on. Wrangler is about comfort and value not image and sex appeal. Their jeans are meant for cowboys and All-American football players. Not models and indie singers!

Although this campaign is only running in the more fashion-forward Europe, I still believe that Wrangler Jeans should stick to their roots by focusing on durability, comfort, and value.

by Casey O'Brien

What's your opinion?

Mental Strength Needed For Sales

Reach beyond the clouds to sales summits you thought were unattainable. As a beginner you have to trust your instincts, and you have to “BE.”

• Be willing to risk.
• Be a constant student.
• Be a consistent performer, even in a losing cause.
• Be a value provider.
• Be friendly and likeable.
• Be passionate about your product or service.
• Be willing to dedicate the time it takes to become great.

And you must BELIEVE you can do it. Your mental strength is more important than your skill and your product knowledge. Mental strength stems from your attitude, your enthusiasm, and your willingness to work hard. It’s a struggle, what’s your point? Struggle is part of greatness. So is hard work. TV is not.

There are guidelines to consider:

• The first is dedication. To yourself, to your excellence, and to your desire to become the best at whatever you do.
• Become a product of the product.
• Live your outcome and results.
• Study the history of your product.
• Visit customers often. Work at their place of business for a day, for free.

How to Single Task Your Way to Success

Do you read email while talking on the phone? Talk on the phone while emptying the dishwasher? Read while watching TV?

Sure. Doesn’t everyone? That way you accomplish twice as much. Or so the theory goes.
If only it were so. In reality, when you multitask things take up to four times longer to accomplish, along with a higher error rate. “Multitasking is a trap, declares the acclaimed science writer Dr. Stefan Klein.

Where did the idea of multi-tasking come from? So-called productivity experts pushed the concept of multitasking based on how computers work. Picture yourself sitting at your computer writing a report. At the same time, you’re downloading music. In computer-speak, you’re using Microsoft Word in the foreground, while the download is occurring in the background. Two things are happening at the same time, enhancing your productivity.

Except your computer is actually doing only ONE thing at a time, just so fast it appears as if it’s doing both tasks simultaneously. Your computer switches back and forth between tasks several thousand times per second. So fast that no information nor time is lost.

How is your brain different from a computer? Our brains can problem-solve in ways that computers cannot, yet our brains don’t have the capacity to switch back and forth between activities without losing the information currently in working memory.

If you interrupt a task you’re engaged in, even for a minute by picking up your ringing telephone, whatever you were focused on before you picked up the phone is lost to your working memory. As you check to see who’s calling, the data currently in the forefront of your mind disappears. If you want to pick up the thread again, you have to reconstitute it retrieve it from long-term memory — or look for clues in your environment, such as checking the notes you made about what you were working on.

What’s so bad about multitasking? Studies conducted at both Harvard and the University of Michigan suggest that multitasking does a lot more harm than good. People who spend time stopping and starting tasks take 2 to 4 times longer to complete them and make significantly more errors. Further, brain scans showed juggling tasks reduces the brain power available for each activity. Worse yet, multitasking causes stress: making your brain juggle activities and retrieve lost information causes you to feel harried and anxious. Over time, stress hormones from multitasking can damage memory centers in the brain.

What steps can you take?
- Resolve to do only one thing at a time.
- Make a list of your key priorities.
- Break each priority into manageable chunks that you can accomplish in short periods of time (less than 20 minutes).
- Set the alarm on your cell phone for 17 minutes and focus on one small part of the project.
- Congratulate yourself when you complete that chunk.
- Get up and take a short breather. Stretch and look out the window. And drink a glass of water, because drinking water reduces stress.
- Then recommit yourself to completing another chunk or decide to do something completely different. Consciously choose how you spend your time.
- By choosing to focus on only one activity at a time, you’ll get a lot more done and feel happier, too.

By Doreen Stern aka The Life Docktor