Showing posts with label sales leads. Show all posts
Showing posts with label sales leads. Show all posts
Friday, November 21, 2014
Friday, November 14, 2014
Getting Millennials To Buy CPGs: Bring On The BOGOs
Getting Millennials To Buy CPGs: Bring On The BOGOs
by Larissa Faw, Thursday, November 13, 2014 5:45 PM
Millennials are projected to spend $65 billion on consumer packaged goods (CPG) over the next decade, yet there are many misconceptions and challenges in reaching these shoppers, according to a white paper by WPP's Geometry Global.
There are “many traps CPG marketers can unknowingly fall into if they make decisions by only referencing generalized information or trends about Millennials," says Eric Pakurar, Chief Strategy Officer, Geometry Global North America. "When we took a close look at Millennials’ shopping behavior in CPG categories, we found that very few widely-believed assumptions about Millennials held up. For instance, when they’re going out to buy paper towels, shampoo or make-up, they don’t travel in packs, they don’t research products online and they’re not using their mobile phone as an in-store or list-making tool. This research showed us how critical it is to examine the life stage and shopping goal— such as the categories they’re shopping for— to understand or predict their shopping behavior."
One important insight uncovered by the research is that digital and mobile play a very limited role — if any — with Millennial CPG shoppers. Retailer apps are competing with every other app on a Millennial’s phone, which means that no marketer should assume that just because Millennials are "mobile," they will seek out a retailer or a brand app. Most Millennials actually weren’t aware of these apps at all.
Millennial-age shoppers rarely look online before shopping — and even then, the main resource they seek is customer reviews. They avoid manufacturer Web sites, viewing them as biased.
Instead, once in stores, Millennials are task-oriented shoppers. They like to get in and out of stores quickly and they are on the lookout for shortcuts and cues to help guide shopping or alert them to special offers. The like to use aisle endcaps, for example, as navigational tools and are more likely to go down the aisle to “get the best deal.” They want to make the comparison at shelf based on all of the choices they have.
And a recurring theme is that most Millennials tend to purchase products only when they run out. Indeed, these young shoppers do not typically plan their shopping trips or make shopping lists. Only one in five shoppers will set a budget for their trip, and the majority have only a semi-defined, total-trip estimate that they didn’t plan to stick to “strictly.”
In addition to their procrastination, Millennials are loners. Many of these shoppers prefer to shop alone while grocery shopping, a sharp contrast to apparel shopping. And, with a few exceptions, they don’t ask for input from their (Facebook) friends.
Meanwhile, Millennials are typically less driven by defined possessions, and that extends to communal ownership of many household products — although there are still some personal items that are off-limits. Those with roommates were not likely to have set schedules or rules about how purchases for the home were split or consumed. Often, when something runs out, the next roommate to visit the store makes the purchase.
The research also found that although Millennials are very aware of climate change and opt for environmentally friendly products in most categories, few “green” products actually make it into their carts due to confusion about the actual benefit and the fact that most of their purchasing decisions are dictated by price.
"While they didn’t always buy cause products, many were very aware of bringing in their own bags to shop," says Pakurar. "Bringing your own bag is a more visible sign of being socially-conscious — rather than buying environmentally-friendly toilet paper — and it’s easy to connect using your own bag to a direct environmental impact. They reality is Millennials do tend to rally around causes, but brands need to do a better job of communicating the impact and give Millennials a reason to care."
Ultimately, brand loyalty among Millennials may seem like an oxymoron, yet Geometry Global's research shows that these young consumers do respond to promotions and retailer loyalty programs that offer the specific kinds of rewards they seek — namely, something tangible (besides points), such as gas benefits, free products, or a percentage discount off a purchase. "Coupons, discounts and loyalty programs are often viewed as being for an older crowd, but Millennials love them too," says Pakurar. "What they don’t love, however, is the old-fashioned execution of deals. Many don’t have printers—so forget about digital coupons, they don’t like clipping and the key-chain loyalty cards are outdated. They love [buy-one, get one] BOGOs. They love getting 15% more product. Those are tangible things and you can point to what you're getting. There is a big opportunity to rethink how we use coupons and promotions to get Millennials to try something new."
Wednesday, November 12, 2014
11 Marketing Trends To Watch For In 2015
The fundamentals of marketing are always going to be the same, but with the landscape changing at the speed of technology, what matters most now is how one activates the fundamentals. Smart marketers know that they need to get ahead of the trends and anticipate the next big things, or else be devoured by their competitors. Here is what I believe could be some of the most interesting developments next year:
Transparency will become the most important tool of marketing. Consumers are going to continue to exert power and influence. The idea of radical transparency is something that few brands are taking advantage of now, and most brands fight it. Next year the best brands won’t be those with the best stories, or sort of made up fictional stories, but those that will give an accurate and real time picture of what they are doing in the interest of the consumer, at any given time.
CMOs will become Chief Simplifier Officers.Most companies create complexity, especially even as the landscape itself is turning more complex. They’ve arranged themselves in endless new vertical silos, by geography, product, or function that hamper them when it comes to working more closely and with the free flow of ideas. To optimize consumer and customer engagements, CMOs will begin to put silo busting on top of their agenda and begin to think holistically about the company’s overall value proposition, integrating messages and insights across business units, geographies, and functional groups.
We will witness the emergence of the marketing technologists. Too many companies think in terms of digital marketing. Instead, they should be thinking in terms of marketing in a digital world. The best marketer in a digital world would be the marketing technologists, people with heavy digital DNA and technology acumen. They will be integrated seamlessly with the marketing groups and will play an important role in how marketing strategies are developed and applied.
The winners will be adept at agility marketing. Social media produced a different, more elusive consumer with short-term thinking. Marketers are now chasing their daily meanderings in “likes”, “shares”, “tweets”, click-through rates, and ever more immediate but pointless metrics. The best marketers will have ever more consumer data, capable of faster adaption, shorter lead times, and always-on, real-time marketing. Instead of the next month or next quarter the focal point for the winners becomes the next hour.
Media agencies will step up and lead. Media agencies have been built to give strictly narrow media recommendations. But today creativity is the currency of an effective media placement. Media agencies will be moving from being media-facing to consumer facing. Uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and the consumer, they will become their clients’ key strategic partner, even more so than creative agencies, as big data and technology make “Math Men” the most important asset of marketers.
Hispanic agencies will go mainstream. Hispanics are 17% of the U.S. population, and are 56% of total U.S. population growth since the last decade. U.S. Hispanic purchasing power exceeds $1 trillion and is expected to grow by 2017 80% faster than non-Hispanic. Marketers will finally pay attention next year and stop marginalizing Hispanic ad agencies. Those agencies are capable of engaging consumers well beyond this demographic. Hispanic agencies will reach the mainstream in 2015.
Marketing will shift from globalization to personalization. The world is more connected because of technology these days, but marketing is becoming more regionalized, and more localized, even more individualized, as consumers resist homogenization. Personalization is not a trend. It is a marketing tsunami, here to stay, which will transform how we think about and how we manage global brands. Companies will decentralizing their structure and increase regional and local influence.
Procurement will become more powerful. Companies will continue to maintain a cautious financial stance, and marketing procurement will continue to carry a lot of clout, driving for greater accountability and transparency. Procurement will partner more closely with the CMO, CIO, CTO and CFO to remove internal roadblock and it will become more focused on agency operations and improving efficiencies there, not just fee negotiations.
There will be a growing focus on Internal Communications.Companies will be focused on internal communications as a marketing asset. They will look at it as a key challenge and opportunity to create brand ambassadors and make sure that employees and vendors understand and live “the brand,” as well as the vision and strategy of the company.
Holding companies will start divesting assets. The legacy agencies, those that still adhere to the obsolete TV model, having become mature businesses. The ad giants have been frantically gobbling up digital agencies, but the labor intensive digital model is less lucrative than the TV-focused business model. With growing pressure on their bottom line and with fewer opportunities to grow via M&A activity there will be pressure to divest non-essential assets.
The economics of marketing in a digital world will challenge marketers. Because smart content creation should be native to the digital channel that reaches the audience, the single biggest challenge that marketers will need to solve is how to scale content in an economic way.
Avi Dan is founder of Avidan Strategies, a leading agency search and compensation consultant
Friday, August 8, 2014
For Retailers, Being Social is Harder Than It Looks
For Retailers, Being Social is Harder Than It Looks
August 7, 2014 by
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Friday, July 25, 2014
I Am Brand, Hear Me Roar: 5 Tips to Help Your Company Find its Sound
I Am Brand, Hear Me Roar:
5 Tips to Help Your Company Find its Sound
1. CONGRUENCY
2. DISTINCTIVENESS
3. RECOGNIZABILITY
4. FLEXIBILITY
1. CONGRUENCY
2. DISTINCTIVENESS
3. RECOGNIZABILITY
4. FLEXIBILITY
5. LIKE-ABILITY
Your brand just hired 20 cubicles worth of writers to concoct snappy statuses and Twitter witticisms, and there’s no doubt your brand has a “voice” on the page.
But what does your brand actually sound like?
According to Fast Company, 83 percent of the branded content we’re exposed to daily is visual, leaving 17 percent for the other five senses. Instead of looking at this 17 percent as the black sheep of branding, brands should see it as an untapped opportunity to make a crucial impact on how consumers recall a product and maintain trust.
A branded sound isn’t necessarily a jingle or a hummable tune; it can be any kind of audible signal that you associate with your consumer experience. You are probably addicted to some of them without even realizing it—the Facebook chat chime, for example. Check out this YouTube playlist to hear what other sounds brands have you hooked on.
The best fictional example of sound branding just occurred to me after watching Spielberg’s Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Aliens brand this certain pentatonic melody by transmitting it to humans via some UFO intercom during their cardinal visit to Earth. The melody becomes a way for people to recognize and communicate with the extraterrestrials.
Down on earth, brands can have close encounters with their consumers by prioritizing audio marketing and integrating this into their visual strategy. This is because sound is a strong memory trigger. Hearing sound is closely associated with strong emotions because music activates the entire limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and in controlling memory.
I spoke with Steve Keller, CEO/Strategist at iV Audio Branding, and a maestro when it comes to amplifying companies’ muted marketing strategies. His company has worked with some big-name clients such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds, which have some of the most recognizable branded sounds out there. (Full Disclosure: Coca-Cola is a Contently client.)
In order for a consumer to recall your brand when a sound is played, Kelley outlines several factors that must be in effect:
Or how well the sound fits with corporate identity. Who your brand is trying to reach and what it’s trying to say will dictate whether you want to drop a fresh beat or sample a symphony.
Keller points out, “Everything has a ukulele and finger snaps, and it’s kind of developed this trend. The goal is to find something distinct enough that it rises in the category but also cuts through the clutter.”
“You want to recognize a brand when you hear a sound, that’s a matter of time… a classic conditioning,” Keller advises. “McDonalds and Intel have been really effective with that. T-Mobile and Coca-Cola as well.”
“How easily you can adapt the audio signature,” Keller explains. “That’s important because brands grow and evolve. As the brand expands you’ll need to do some cultural adaptations. No matter how it’s interpreted, no matter where you are in the world, you recognize that.”
[Kelley sings the six-tone tune: ba-da-bap-bap-bah] “It’s McDonalds.”
Is the sound’s overall awesomeness enough to make it memorable to a sizable demographic? Does it have that sonic X-factor? Kelly says this is hard to pinpoint but it’s the kind of thing that you know once you hear it.
Market research has already proven what proper sound identity can do to boost sales. According to independent research conducted by Dr. Adrian North and Dr. Hargreaves at Leicester University, “Brands with music that fit their identity are 96 percent more likely to be recalled than those with non-fit music or no music at all.” In this experiment, when North and Hargreaves played French music in a wine shop, French wine outsold German ones, whereas playing German music led to the opposite effect on sales of French wine. They ultimately calculated,“Respondents are 24 percent more likely to buy a product with music that they recall, like, and understand.”
Keller adds that the real ROI isn’t necessarily reaped from the short-term effects of spending more on sound in advertising: “It’s about creating assets that can generate true value. The ROI comes at a sweet spot when you’re engaging consumers that are nailing the brand identity, and are producing revenue through copyright or over time…that McDonalds jingle is worth millions now.”
Now do you hear that? It’s the winds of change rustling your content marketing strategy. Soon you’ll be carrying your own tune, perhaps whislin’ “Dixie.”
Contently arms brands with the tools and talent to become great content creators.Learn more.
http://contently.com/strategist/2014/07/24/i-am-brand-hear-me-roar-5-tips-to-help-your-company-find-its-sound/
Your brand just hired 20 cubicles worth of writers to concoct snappy statuses and Twitter witticisms, and there’s no doubt your brand has a “voice” on the page.
But what does your brand actually sound like?
According to Fast Company, 83 percent of the branded content we’re exposed to daily is visual, leaving 17 percent for the other five senses. Instead of looking at this 17 percent as the black sheep of branding, brands should see it as an untapped opportunity to make a crucial impact on how consumers recall a product and maintain trust.
A branded sound isn’t necessarily a jingle or a hummable tune; it can be any kind of audible signal that you associate with your consumer experience. You are probably addicted to some of them without even realizing it—the Facebook chat chime, for example. Check out this YouTube playlist to hear what other sounds brands have you hooked on.
The best fictional example of sound branding just occurred to me after watching Spielberg’s Close Encounters of The Third Kind. Aliens brand this certain pentatonic melody by transmitting it to humans via some UFO intercom during their cardinal visit to Earth. The melody becomes a way for people to recognize and communicate with the extraterrestrials.
Down on earth, brands can have close encounters with their consumers by prioritizing audio marketing and integrating this into their visual strategy. This is because sound is a strong memory trigger. Hearing sound is closely associated with strong emotions because music activates the entire limbic system, which is involved in processing emotions and in controlling memory.
I spoke with Steve Keller, CEO/Strategist at iV Audio Branding, and a maestro when it comes to amplifying companies’ muted marketing strategies. His company has worked with some big-name clients such as Coca-Cola and McDonalds, which have some of the most recognizable branded sounds out there. (Full Disclosure: Coca-Cola is a Contently client.)
In order for a consumer to recall your brand when a sound is played, Kelley outlines several factors that must be in effect:
Or how well the sound fits with corporate identity. Who your brand is trying to reach and what it’s trying to say will dictate whether you want to drop a fresh beat or sample a symphony.
Keller points out, “Everything has a ukulele and finger snaps, and it’s kind of developed this trend. The goal is to find something distinct enough that it rises in the category but also cuts through the clutter.”
“You want to recognize a brand when you hear a sound, that’s a matter of time… a classic conditioning,” Keller advises. “McDonalds and Intel have been really effective with that. T-Mobile and Coca-Cola as well.”
“How easily you can adapt the audio signature,” Keller explains. “That’s important because brands grow and evolve. As the brand expands you’ll need to do some cultural adaptations. No matter how it’s interpreted, no matter where you are in the world, you recognize that.”
[Kelley sings the six-tone tune: ba-da-bap-bap-bah] “It’s McDonalds.”
Is the sound’s overall awesomeness enough to make it memorable to a sizable demographic? Does it have that sonic X-factor? Kelly says this is hard to pinpoint but it’s the kind of thing that you know once you hear it.
Market research has already proven what proper sound identity can do to boost sales. According to independent research conducted by Dr. Adrian North and Dr. Hargreaves at Leicester University, “Brands with music that fit their identity are 96 percent more likely to be recalled than those with non-fit music or no music at all.” In this experiment, when North and Hargreaves played French music in a wine shop, French wine outsold German ones, whereas playing German music led to the opposite effect on sales of French wine. They ultimately calculated,“Respondents are 24 percent more likely to buy a product with music that they recall, like, and understand.”
Keller adds that the real ROI isn’t necessarily reaped from the short-term effects of spending more on sound in advertising: “It’s about creating assets that can generate true value. The ROI comes at a sweet spot when you’re engaging consumers that are nailing the brand identity, and are producing revenue through copyright or over time…that McDonalds jingle is worth millions now.”
Now do you hear that? It’s the winds of change rustling your content marketing strategy. Soon you’ll be carrying your own tune, perhaps whislin’ “Dixie.”
Contently arms brands with the tools and talent to become great content creators.Learn more.
http://contently.com/strategist/2014/07/24/i-am-brand-hear-me-roar-5-tips-to-help-your-company-find-its-sound/
Monday, July 7, 2014
UI, UX: Who Does What? A Designer's Guide To The Tech Industry
UI, UX: Who Does What? A Designer's Guide To The Tech Industry
PLUS: HOW APPLE, FACEBOOK, GOOGLE, AND MORE TECH-WORLD HEAVYWEIGHTS DESCRIBE THEIR DESIGN JOBS.
Design is a rather broad and vague term. When someone says "I'm a designer," it is not immediately clear what they actually do day to day. There are a number of different responsibilities encompassed by the umbrella term designer.
Design-related roles exist in a range of areas from industrial design (cars, furniture) to print (magazines, other publications) to tech (websites, mobile apps). With the relatively recent influx of tech companies focused on creating interfaces for screens, many new design roles have emerged. Job titles like UX or UI designer are confusing to the uninitiated and unfamiliar even to designers who come from other industries.
Let's attempt to distill what each of these titles really mean within the context of the tech industry.
UX DESIGNER (USER EXPERIENCE DESIGNER)
UX designers are primarily concerned with how the product feels. A given design problem has no single right answer. UX designers explore many different approaches to solving a specific user problem. The broad responsibility of a UX designer is to ensure that the product logically flows from one step to the next. One way that a UX designer might do this is by conducting in-person user tests to observe one's behavior. By identifying verbal and non-verbal stumbling blocks, they refine and iterate to create the "best" user experience. An example project is creating a delightful onboarding flow for a new user.
"Define interaction models, user task flows, and UI specifications. Communicate scenarios, end-to-end experiences, interaction models, and screen designs to stakeholders. Work with our creative director and visual designers to incorporate the visual identity of Twitter into features. Develop and maintain design wireframes, mockups, and specifications as needed."
Deliverables: Wireframes of screens, Storyboards, Sitemap
Tools of the trade: Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator, Fireworks, InVision
You might hear them say this in the wild: "We should show users the 'Thank You' page once they have finished signing up."
You might hear them say this in the wild: "We should show users the 'Thank You' page once they have finished signing up."
UI DESIGNER (USER INTERFACE DESIGNER)
Unlike UX designers who are concerned with the overall feel of the product, user interface designers are particular about how the product is laid out. They are in charge of designing each screen or page with which a user interacts and ensuring that the UI visually communicates the path that a UX designer has laid out. For example, a UI designer creating an analytics dashboard might front load the most important content at the top, or decide whether a slider or a control knob makes the most intuitive sense to adjust a graph. UI designers are also typically responsible for creating a cohesive style guide and ensuring that a consistent design language is applied across the product. Maintaining consistency in visual elements and defining behavior such as how to display error or warning states fall under the purview of a UI designer.
-"Concept and implement the visual language of Airbnb.com. Create and advance site-wide style guides."
The boundary between UI and UX designers is fairly blurred and it is not uncommon for companies to opt to combine these roles.
Tools of the trade: Photoshop, Sketch, Illustrator, Fireworks
You might hear them say this in the wild: "The login and sign up links should be moved to the top right corner."
VISUAL DESIGNER (GRAPHIC DESIGNER)
A visual designer is the one who pushes pixels. If you ask a non-designer what a designer does, this is probably what comes to mind first. Visual designers are not concerned with how screens link to each other, nor how someone interacts with the product. Instead, their focus is on crafting beautiful icons, controls, and visual elements and making use of suitable typography. Visual designers sweat the small details that others overlook and frequently operate at the 4x to 8x zoom level in Photoshop.
"Produce high-quality visual designs — from concept to execution, including those for desktop, web, and mobile devices at a variety of resolutions (icons, graphics, and marketing materials). Create and iterate on assets that reflect a brand, enforce a language, and inject beauty and life into a product."
It is also fairly common for UI designers to pull double duty and create the final pixel perfect assets. Some companies choose not to have a separate visual designer role.
Tools of the trade: Photoshop, Sketch
You might hear them say this in the wild: "The kerning is off and the button should be 1 pixel to the left!"
INTERACTION DESIGNER (MOTION DESIGNER)
Remember the subtle bouncing animation when you pull to refresh in the Mail app on your iPhone? That's the work of a motion designer. Unlike visual designers who usually deal with static assets, motion designers create animation inside an app. They deal with what the interface does after a user touches it. For example, they decide how a menu should slide in, what transition effects to use, and how a button should fan out. When done well, motion becomes an integral part of the interface by providing visual clues as to how to use the product.
"Proficiency in graphic design, motion graphics, digital art, a sensitivity to typography and color, a general awareness of materials/textures, and a practical grasp of animation. Knowledge of iOS, OS X, Photoshop and Illustrator as well as familiarity with Director (or equivalent), Quartz Composer (or equivalent), 3D computer modeling, motion graphics are required."
Tools of the trade: AfterEffects, Core Composer, Flash, Origami
You might hear them say this in the wild:"The menu should ease-in from the left in 800ms."
UX RESEARCHER (USER RESEARCHER)
A UX researcher is the champion of a user's needs. The goal of a researcher is to answer the twin questions of "Who are our users?" and "What do our users want?" Typically, this role entails interviewing users, researching market data, and gathering findings. Design is a process of constant iteration. Researchers may assist with this process by conducting A/B tests to tease out which design option best satisfies user needs. UX researchers are typically mainstays at large companies, where the access to a plethora of data gives them ample opportunity to draw statistically significant conclusions.
"Work closely with product teams to identify research topics. Design studies that address both user behavior and attitudes. Conduct research using a wide variety of qualitative methods and a subset of quantitative methods, such as surveys."
UX designers also occasionally carry out the role of UX researchers.
Deliverables: User personas, A/B test results, Investigative user studies & interviews
Tools of the trade: Mic, Paper, Docs
You might hear them say this in the wild: "From our research, a typical user..."
FRONT-END DEVELOPER (UI DEVELOPER)
Front-end developers are responsible for creating a functional implementation of a product's interface. Usually, a UI designer hands off a static mockup to the front-end developer who then translates it into a working, interactive experience. Front-end developers are also responsible for coding the visual interactions that the motion designer comes up with.
Tools of the trade: CSS, HTML, JavaScript
You might hear them say this in the wild: "I'm using a 960px 12 column grid system."
PRODUCT DESIGNER
Product designer is a catch-all term used to describe a designer who is generally involved in the creation of the look and feel of a product.
The role of a product designer isn't well-defined and differs from one company to the next. A product designer may do minimal front-end coding, conduct user research, design interfaces, or create visual assets. From start to finish, a product designer helps identify the initial problem, sets benchmarks to address it, and then designs, tests, and iterates on different solutions. Some companies that want more fluid collaboration within the various design roles opt to have this title to encourage the whole design team to collectively own the user experience, user research, and visual design elements.
Some companies use "UX designer" or simply "designer" as a catch-all term. Reading the job description is the best way to figure out how the company's design team divides the responsibilities.
"Own all facets of design: interaction, visual, product, prototyping. Create pixel-perfect mocks and code for new features across web and mobile."
"I AM LOOKING FOR A DESIGNER"
This is the single most common phase I hear from new startups. What they are usually looking for is someone who can do everything described above. They want someone who can make pretty icons, create A/B tested landing sites, logically arrange UI elements on screen, and maybe even do some front-end development. Due to the broad sweeping scope of this role, we usually hear smaller companies asking to hire a "designer" rather than being specific in their needs.
The boundaries between each of these various design roles are very fluid. Some UX designers are also expected to do interaction design, and often UI designers are expected to push pixels as well. The best way to look for the right person is to describe what you expect the designer to do within your company's process, and choose a title that best represents the primary task of that person.
A version of this article originally appeared here. It was republished with permission.
[Image: Abstract via Shutterstock, GIF: An interaction designer is responsible for deciding how the menu should fan out. Credit: iOS Menu Concept by Jeremey Fleischer on Dribbble.]
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