As I downloaded the latest Radiohead song I was reminded how the Music industry fell asleep then fell apart. Then I thought of Television, who seems to have woken up just in time to make peace with advertisers and the Internet. Change is afoot and yet we seem to be dragging ours!
The times they are a changing
You see how our little new technology division has become the beacon of hope for the company? How even as we watch the numbers climb, slowly to be sure, elation evades us because those numbers are migrating from our own market share in other categories? You see how it has all come down to survival and still you won’t grant me a marketing budget?
How can you expect sales to increase by doing nothing?
While you were out
The story goes: globalization = decreased cost of producing goods = knockoff city = competition 3.0. And I don’t need to tell you that the recession hasn’t helped. Our thinking is outmoded – all half measures and reaction. To survive in this jungle, business-to-business models like ours must differentiate from the competition. We need ROI-focused programs that create impact and actually help sales! We need to show value and service and, above all, we need a message. A brand position is the only thing that cannot be duplicated!
Branding is about communicating faster
I just had to add this because the B word has been thrown around so much I fear we’re losing touch with its meaning – which isn’t the look of our logo or website. My point here means to speak to the value of a plan. A plan to position our brand (create attention), develop a message (create interest), engage our market (leverage decisions) and yield results (action). Of course we’ll need to measure our success! You’ll be excited when I tell you how technology makes results analysis all very easy and affordable.
Monetizing coolness and other creative strategies
When Radiohead released In Rainbows for pay-what-you-can download in 2007 they weren’t the first band to dabble with the evil doing Internet. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails reasoned that – with recordable CDs – even store bought discs couldn’t prevent piracy. But what did fans really want? Cool things. So NIN creatively leaked song previews and other goodies through a hide-and-seek campaign. They planned and pioneered. Fans were happy, record labels not so much. But today the last standing label giants have become lighter on their feet and most receptive to change.
Dear Upper Management, I hope you will one day forgive me for so boldly stepping out. But marketing is warfare and we need a fearless general to lead us into the future. For even as I write to mobilize us the enemies are surrounding.