Marketing Ninja

Oranges and Apples

2005-09-01T07:48:00.000-07:00

"Our equivalent of the Asian tsunami, in terms of the damage and the numbers of people that can be killed."
-Ivor van Heerden, director of the Louisiana State University Public Health Research Center in Baton Rouge

By now you've probably all heard about the devastation of New Orleans. Over 80% of the city is underwater and perhaps thousands are dead. Yes, I believe this is a tragedy, but for people (journalists and politicians alike) to compare this to Hiroshima or the tsunami that hit Asia is not only inappropriate but not comparable at all. How typical of American journalism to try and build hype and hysteria to their stories to make them sell.

Just speaking death toll-wise,
Hiroshima: 80,000+
Tsunami: 110,000+
Katrina: 1000+
1 American death does not equal 100 foreigner deaths.

This is not to say that I don't feel sorry for the people that had their homes, jobs, and possessions completely destroyed, but you've got to admit that many of the deaths were from sheer arrogance and pride. The governor of Lousiana had issued evacuation orders, and yet some people thought, "Hey, I'm smarter than the man!". How ridiculous is it when you have so many preventable deaths? Hiroshima and the tsunami weren't exactly predictable. I don't think anyone could have anticipated the amount of damage and loss of life those events have caused. On the other hand, Katrina had formed weeks ago and warnings were issued. It's strange how some people would gamble with their lives without cause.

What's my problem? Journalism seems to be leading a bit to sensationalism by trying to draw parallels to history defining events without thinking through all the facts. Katrina is NOT the bombing of Hiroshima, or the Tsunami of Sri Lanka.

Don't sell fiction and pass it off for news. Don't try to create ridiculous and outrageous fanfare just so that people notice you because it ends up coming off as a cheap attempt at publicity.

On a side note: With all the devestation, you'd think the human spirit would rise to the occasion to help others. Instead, you hear of chaos, anarchy, fighting, looting, and rape in New Orleans. A reflection of the American spirit without control? I hope not...

Speaking for Others

2005-08-23T21:45:00.000-07:00

Controversy stirs the masses. It gets people talking, thinking, and debating about the issue. So one person can create a movement, but what happens when this movement can massively persuade others to do evil?

If you haven't heard already, Pat Robertson decided to endorse an assassination of Hugo Chavez. Yes, I think Chavez is not exactly someone we want doddling around with oil, guns, money, and terrorists, but where does Pat Robertson get the idea that he can issue his own 'fatwa'? I didn't think Christians even made edicts like that, but it sounds like someone's getting a little to extreme for me. I certainly hope it's not some new religious cult called Extreme Christianity or something (I think it's already called Islamic Extremism?). Fighting the enemy shouldn't include becoming the enemy.

I'll say one thing though, you got everyone across the globe listening to you. Not sure it's the most effective way in getting people to tune in to your show. That's about as unethical as you can get for marketing your show and your religion.

Just to clarify, Christianity does NOT endorse assassinations, killing, nuking, Pepsi, or Coca-Cola for that matter.

Products, Tie-In's, and Crossovers, Oh My!

2005-08-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

I'm a comic book geek. Yes, I still get laughed at, but isn't being a geek a bit more mainstream now? I can only hope.

One of the things in the comic book world that have either made the community groan or rub their hands in excitement is the crossover or huge saga tie-in. Currently, the two big comic book companies (namely DC Comics and Marvel Comics) are having their huge title tie-ins respectively named "Infinite Crisis" and "House of M".

Essentially what they do is have a plot line that includes their best-selling titles and characters and even a few of the smaller ones. Obviously, the point of this is to increase sales by giving readers an inticing reason to buy not only their main titles but the lesser known or limited series titles as well. The stories and titles are intertwined in such a way that in order to follow the plot properly, you'd have to purchase titles that you perhaps may not regularly buy.

Of course this probably isn't as as easy for regular consumer products, but there are some simple concepts you can get out of this example.

Give a reason for people to try the other smaller products (either new or underperforming ones).
Give benefits of buying both the main and spin-off product.
Get people excited about the tie-in of multiple products together.

Let's just use an example here

Lets say Coca-cola is launching a new Coke product (say Coke Kick - A heavily caffinated cola). They hold an online contest where they register online with code numbers from Coke product labels (such as their iCoke.ca campaign). However, instead of having each code number being able to win, you split them into two types. One for Coke general products and one for Coke Kick. In order to win anything, you must get a registration number from both a Coke product and Coke Kick. It can be a drawback that people are required to make 2 purchases to enter, but at the same time, it forces people to at least try Coke Kick and build an awareness of the product.

Is it feasible? Will it work? Maybe not, but hey, it's an idea.

Consumer Misconceptions

2005-07-25T06:45:00.000-07:00

It wasn't until I watched Car/Business on CTV, that I realized how important it is to find out the myths surrounding a product. Of course it's always important to dispel the myths or misconceptions, but being able to discern what these misunderstandings are can be a harder task.

The segment on Car/Business was talking about the engine behind the Toyota Prius Hybrid and how they were partnering with competitors to improve hybrid car technology and advance the industry as a whole, and dispel some myths. I'm not a car junkie, but the last I heard about hybrid electric motor cars, you have to plug them in. Run out of juice and your car runs like a regular car. Correct? Apparently not so. Surprised as I was, I realized that most new technologies live under whatever stereotypes established by their initial introduction.

When marketing new technology it's always important to understand and administer:

Advantages - What does this mean for the industry or your technology in particular?
Disadvantages - What are the direct disadvantages of your technology?
Customer Reservations - What's preventing them from buying your technology?
Dispelling the Myths - What have you done to change the disadvantages and does the consumer KNOW about these changes?

What a Wicked Web We Weave

2005-07-22T09:59:00.000-07:00

Oh poor misguided Rockstar... You tried to squeeze it by and lie about it, and now you've got a crap load of problems to deal with. If you haven't already heard, Rockstar Games, maker of the popular title Grand Theft Auto series, is being investigated for having a hidden sex game in their software (unlocked by an extra download). They've had their ESRB rating booted to Adult, and now have to work with developing a new version that's as clean as GTA can be.

Fallout from this is going to affect their sales, their publisher, and most likely the gaming industry as a whole.

1. Don't push the envelope. The Grand Theft Auto series was always on the borderline of being "Adult-only" but despite that, did very well in sales. Last thing you need is to push the product overboard to the point where retailers won't even sell it. I'm sure development teams were all aware of the "Hot Coffee" mod, because it's not a complete re-coding of the software, it's just a simple unlocking feature to an Easter Egg program already residing in the software.

2. More lies, less credibility. It's nice to try and cover your tracks with excuses that are semi-plausible, but the fallout disaster only increases with the more lies that are uncovered.

Let's be honest people, if you know the youth are your target and parents still tell them when to go to bed, they'll still watch what they're doing. They might overlook good ol' violence, but I don't think the masses are ready for simulated sex yet... They have enough trouble dealing with it in real-life.

Gay Marriage Must Mean Dogs Are Cats

2005-07-21T10:01:00.001-07:00

I know this doesn't have anything to do with marketing, but I felt compelled to write something on this.

First of all, I'm a Christian. I don't believe that being gay is morally right. I don't agree with the lifestyle. This is not something up for debate, but I do regard them as people and people have rights, and I'm all for equal rights for everyone. However, I'm disppointed in the government's position in not listening to the majority democracy in even finding some way to amend the law, and I'm only going to be talking about the definition portion of this controversial topic and not all the juicy stuff like incest, splintered church groups, or gay rights.

Every person has the right to love and choose someone to be with BUT, the definition of marriage has always been "the legal union of a man and a woman".

Canada has decided to change that definition to be the legal union of a man and a woman, man and a man, or a woman and a woman. Take your pick. I would have rather called same-sex marriage to be a same-sex union or something else at least and have the same rights.

Let's say someone suddenly comes up to you and says "The Canadian government has decided to change that fact that all dogs are now cats legally under the law". Dogs have always been known as dogs, and cats have always been cats, but now the definition has changed and now we're calling dogs, cats. Messed up?

Regardless of the Canadian goverment's supposed stand on not imposing on relgious institutions, they've basically set the precedent in saying "Your definition of marriage must be revised. You don't have to like it and you don't have to take part in actually doing ceremonies, but that's what it is. Tough bananas." The goverment can now interfere with religious institutions, and I expect it will only increase. If a gay person attending some religious institution decides that he/she wants to be a cleric, priest, etc. and is denied, can they then file a human rights claim? Is the government going to interfere and say, your definition of a religious figure is wrong and you must let this person through?

At the very least, this definition will most likely get me into awkward conversations at cocktail parties.

Me: Are you married?
Man: Yes, I am.
Me: Oh that's great to hear. How's your wife?
Man: Oh, you must mean my husband.
Me: Err... I think I need another drink...

Design for Success

2005-07-19T08:36:00.000-07:00

I'm always amazed at the designs people come up with for standard products. Apple has always done that with their products, but here's an interesting design for a keyboard that a friend sent me. It's a customizable keyboard but still looks very clean. It'll probably give me Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, but at least it'll look nice... in my room... that nobody ever goes into...

Sweeeeet! Prepare to be fragged while I'm pasting my head onto Brad Pitt's body in Photoshop.

Stay Strong In The UK

2005-07-08T09:19:00.000-07:00

My condolences and best wishes to all those affected by the bombings in London.

Like Watching an Accidents?

2005-07-06T14:46:00.000-07:00

Hope everyone in Canada had a great Canada Day! I was on vacation in Vancouver, which has great scenery and even better food. The traffic system there always bothers me, but I guess there's only so much you can do. Traffic is bottlenecked at bridges and gridlock is bound to happen with rush-hour and car accidents. But what about clogged traffic from none of the above?

While trying to make my way to Port Coquitlam (where I was staying), we had to travel on the highway from Vancouver headed east. It was around 4:00 and traffic was backed up assumingly because of the conditions mentioned above. As we kept moving, we noticed an accident scene (no one was hurt luckily) on the other side of the median. It wasn't blocking traffic since the mangled auto shop courtesy car had been pulled into the median barrier, but right after we passed that accident, everything started moving swiftly again. It turns out that the flow of cars was slowed because everyone was gawking at the accident! About 5 minutes from where we were, everything slowed to a crawl again. Hoping that this time, it'd be a credible reason for this catepillar movement, we were proved wrong once again. Traffic only started to flow normally once we passed a scene where police had pulled over two young hooligans driving a Corvette. Ridiculous! How can some event that doesn't physically impede traffic, actually impede traffic? Don't people care how their momentary inaction affected everyone else?

Sounds a bit angry doesn't it? But looking at it from a marketing perspective, that's phenomenal! 3 lanes of traffic in opposite directions during rush-hour were all looking at these scenes to the point where it slows everyone else down (which essentially makes them look). It's human nature to look, hence the old train wreck cliché. My co-worker has told me of an effective use in the past where a MADD (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) campaign placed two wrecked vehicles in drunk driving accidents by the side of the road with the message "Don't Drink and Drive". If only we could harness this better than the traditional billboard.

There's Gold In Them Hills!

2005-06-22T07:20:00.000-07:00

How does an industry/company/product get themselves to create such a buzz about them in the marketplace?

I think one of the best examples I can think of is poker (or more specifically Texas Hold-em Poker). Poker has been around for ages, and was always just a past-time game played in the casinos or being played between friends. But never has it reached the height of popularity that it has now. Clay chips are actually afforable now, TSN (the Canadian Sports Network) broadcasts old tournament footage regularly, demand for poker tables has increased dramatically, and even Wal-Mart has a whole aisle dedicated to the game.

How does this old card game suddenly jump into mainstream popularity? Here's my theory:

Timing is Everything - With the rise of reality television, you can expect the unexpected. You get the feeling of anticipation and tension where anything could happen. With the audience yearning for this type of entertainment, televising poker was perfect. Had this probably been broadcast before Survivor, I'm almost sure it would have bombed.

Watch the market to see if conditions are at least favourable to your product.

Have an Interest Grab for the Consumer - The poker tournaments don't just have a rotation of nobody's on all the time like a game show. Instead, they've got their colourful characters whose personalities could match some WWE Superstar. There's also the celebrity tournaments where you can watch them try to add another measly million to their wallet.

Give the consumer something to be interested in and follow along with constantly (blogs, news, promotions, etc.)

Empower and Relate to the Consumer - Commentary on the poker games give some strategy tips as well as trying give an understanding of the players' mindset (since poker is essentially a psychological game). Unlike sports events where the skills and techniques are physically and mentally demanding, the strategies given can be used by anyone who wants to play poker, essentially empowering them.

Give something of value to the consumer along with the product (Value added services, gifts, discounts, information, knowledge, etc.)

All in all, these concepts shouldn't be anything new, but at least it's a living breathing example of these concepts in action. Now maybe they can broadcast some foosball tournaments on TV to replace hockey. Hopefully that will drive the price of foosball tables down...

Hot Gossip

2005-06-21T08:46:00.000-07:00

It's interesting to see how the rumor-mill can quickly influence the market. No official announcements, just gossip and rumors. Leaking news and juicy tidbits from a company is almost comparable to the celebrity tabloids.

Negative instances recently include Apple's unhappiness with some bloggers releasing details of the Mac mini and iPod shuffle. However, at the same time, Google has always thrived on these rumors with the announcement of an "online wallet". What the heck does that include? I have no idea, but eBay stock prices have slumped just at the slight mention that Google might be moving into their territory.

What I find interesting is how Google just feasts on rumors to expand. I'm not sure if it's considered "viral" marketing per say, but they certainly know how to get consumers and investors interested in their actions. With the first release of gMail, people were ecstatic at the possibility of having a free 1GB online e-mail box. Then came their IPO, where the investors were left salivating for their share of Google, and thus began the next age of Technology. Let's just hope this bubble doesn't burst.

Pure Dynamite

2005-05-31T06:48:00.000-07:00

As soon as I saw the trailer for Napoleon Dynamite, I was enraptured by its simplistic humor and its calling to my inner (and outer) geek. I attended the free showings of the movie. Three times actually. It was very interesting to see how they started to draw a cult following which eventually grew into mainstream recognition.

Here's how they set up their grand design.

On the official website they announced when and where they were having free showings of the movies. These would only list the showings about two weeks in advance so essentially only one showing is listed for selected cities. In order to watch the free showing, you have to register ahead of time. People love free stuff, so why not watch a movie for free, right?

Once you get to the theatre, you meet the Napoleon Dynamite promotion crew where they make sure you're registered. Once they verify your e-mail address, they give you a free t-shirt and a stamp card. SURPRISE! You get more free stuff! The t-shirts are designed with movie-related references, but here's the interesting part. The card has 3 stamp slots on them. If you fill up all 3 stamp slots, you can mail it in and get a prize, but you only get a stamp if you show up at the next free showing WITH a Napoleon Dynamite t-shirt on. Even more interesting is that at every movie, they handed out different t-shirts which bascially gave you more incentive to come back. Can we say viral marketing? Woot!

What I learned:

Give people free stuff. They love it even more if they unexpectedly get more free stuff on top of what they already have received.
Give more than one incentive to do business. Not every incentive will appeal to every single person. Take a multi-pronged approach to attact customers.
Have multiple chances for the customer to take the opportunity. Some prospects may miss the offer, but by having an unexpected reoccurance of a promotion or offer it will leave the customer anticipating. This also makes the potential customer repeatedly come back to your website.
Recognize and use the power of customers and their word of mouth. I know it's a pretty elementary concept, but find ways that will make people WANT to spread news or promotions.
Chicks love guys with skills...

Kung Fu Marketing

2005-05-25T13:38:00.000-07:00

Use your opponent's strength against them - learn to turn a competitor's advantage into a disadvantage.
Every attack is a defense. Every defense is an attack - All your campaigns should be able to promote without fear of reprisal because your bases are covered.
Use all parts of the body as a defense or an attack - Sometimes you forget that by simply bending and using certain parts of the corporate body, it can be used to attack a competitor or defend yourself. Use all the resources available to you.
Be like the nature of water - Be adaptable. Go with the flow when you need to, but harden when required.
It may be advantageous to move into your opponent if contact is inevitable - Human instinct may be to move away from the competitor's attack, but by moving forward to confront the situation, you can counter attack faster and it will hurt a great deal less.
Watch the entire body movement and not just the eyes - Every company has their goals. Essentially, the goal is always the same. You just have to look for the 'tell' signs that an attack is coming.

Free Prize! Huzzah!

2005-05-09T14:56:00.000-07:00

Today marks the DVD release of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. I'll admit that I'm not purchasing the DVD exclusively for the movie, but also because of the free touque promotion. If it weren't for this release day special, I'd probably just end up renting the movie. The touque probably isn't something spectacular or special, but Wes Anderson has always stirred up a bit of buzz with his incorporation of fashion into his movies. Some examples include the specially made red jumpsuits in The Royal Tenenbaums or the cult-following that's developed from the Zissou shoes. Free stuff is good... especially if it's something people want.

TD Bank recently had a promotion where people switching to their chequing account service would receive a free iPod Shuffle. I have no idea how well that campaign did, but I'm almost certain that a large number of the young demographic took advantage of this promotion (ooo...fancy marketing words).

Now if only I can get a Boba Fett helmet when I buy the prequel Star Wars set...

XBOX: The Next Generation

2005-05-09T14:21:00.000-07:00

HYPE HYPE HYPE! New products are all about the hype and buzz to build momentum for the initial release. I don't think I've ever something like the XBOX campaign being run right now. Even CANADIAN television is showing this TV special to mark the launch of the new Xbox (The Next Generation of Xbox Revealed, on May 13 at 12:30 AM). I almost expected something like this from PlayStation with their launch of their little PSP wonder.

I know I'll be watching that special on TV for both the XBOX and to see how the show is structured so that it doesn't look like a cheezy infomercial. Perhaps it might give me some insight for the development of our flash demos of our products.

"Buy now and you get this little juicer, valued at $6.99, for absolutely free!"

Work Smarter, Not Harder

2005-05-05T07:58:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how much time you waste with essentially trivial tasks. At my previous job, I had to spend at least an hour logging my hours and trying to figure out how much time I spent on each task. Essentially Web TimeSheets has solved this problem with a flexible yet easy-to-use software that lets you log your time easily. It's interesting to see more of these products emerge that aren't meant to blow your mind with new technology, but rather fill a small gap in business operations that save a lot more time and money in the end. Even something as simple as managing the e-mail inbox can be such a headache.

Speaking of which, a while back, our company held a webinar to address this sort of situation (Master your Inbox: Tips, Tricks and Best Practices for Managing Workplace E-mail).

Time to take some of my own advice... Only 126 more InBx e-mails to sort... The adventure continues.

DQ Something Different

2005-04-25T08:59:00.000-07:00

During a night of TV watching, I noticed that I can't help but laugh out loud every time I see Dairy Queen commercials. The creative agency of True Grey, a division of Grey Worldwide/NY, behind the hilarious commercials uses simple, yet exaggerated situations to advertise Dairy Queen's food products, and after thinking back about all their advertisements, I think I may have finally found the formula for almost any successful commercial:

Have adult males scream - Sure, women scream, but it's a heck of a lot more hilarious when you see grown men screaming like little schoolgirls.
Have parents get physically abused by their kids - Even after enduring all the physical pain (such as headbutts, groin kicking, basketballs to the face), the parents still love their kids. Heck, they even take them out for ice cream.
Use average people in situations going from normal to absurd - Man gets ice cream. Baby wants ice cream. Hilarious antics ensue.

Now I haven't been to Dairy Queen in a year, but I still remember their TV ads. Does that mean their ads were a success? Hmm...

I'm Going to Disneyland

2005-04-22T12:24:00.000-07:00

I remember going to Disneyland when I was only knee-high. All the exhilirating rides and seeing all the fabled Disney characters had my face beaming with a smile for weeks. Most of the theme park is about the same today, except that 3-D Michael Jackson film seems a bit scarier when his hand comes reaching out at you (I have no idea if that's still there). But you'll notice, that the Magic Kingdom isn't creating this magical kingdom because the water's drugged, but because the employees create the atmosphere.

It's amazing what you can do to improve customer relations just by choosing the right employees, having a positive attitude, and taking that extra initiative to be patient and understand the customer as a unique individual.

Disney has certainly gone out of it's way to make sure Disney Hong Kong employees are properly trained to convey "the magic" to all it's guests. I'm hoping I'll be one of those guests next year and personally experience "the magic" again. Wonder if Mickey speaks Chinese? Until then, I'll be accruing my vacation time.

Got the Flu?

2005-04-22T09:12:00.000-07:00

"Viral marketing describes any strategy that encourages individuals to pass on a marketing message to others, creating the potential for exponential growth in the message's exposure and influence."

-Dr. Ralph F. Wilson, E-Commerce Consultant

Flash games or short films? I've got to put my vote in for the short films rather than the online flash games, because:

If I like the game and want to forward it on to friends, I'll just copy and paste the link to the game, rather than fill out some form to forward the site on to friends.
Continuing episodes keep me coming backing and checking for new material. (Such as the successful BMW Films campaign with Clive Owen)
Viral marketing games tend to be variations of the same old games.
I've always wanted to make a film of some sort :P (My first attempt a few years back was quite terrible and ultimately never went anywhere).

Wonder if I can make a hybrid of the two? Throw in a contest too, and see what kind of monster pops out. RAWR.

Engineer in Disguise

2005-04-20T23:30:00.000-07:00

It's interesting what direction life leads you in sometimes. Despite being schooled and trained in the ancient deadly art of Computer Engineering, I'm on the marketing team of Replicon. So far, working for them has been a complete blast and I can only expect it to get better!

Our marketing clan is pretty well rounded:
PK - Zen master and team leader
DK - The smooth talking deal-maker and motivator
CB - Our level-headed team voice
GM - The data mining tank
TN - Young learning grasshopper
and of course me - the technology ninja.

With our powers combined, our success can only be ... unfathomable