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al berrios IMKTG REPORT
10.29.02: KFC; MSN; eBay; more
THIS WEEK'S CONTENTS ARE:
[1] JUST SAY IT: My Updates
[2] BRANDSTRATEGY: Viral Chicken and Computers
[3] CONSUMERFOCUS: Perception Changes Everything
[4] MEDIA: Stimulating Consumers to Interact
[5] MANAGEMENT: Consumers Do Police Themselves
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[1] JUST SAY IT: My Updates
>> "The future ain't what it used to be" --Yogi Berra
Good morning execs,
If you're reading this, you already know what the internet can do for your business.
As a result, this publication, as well as my firm, has been evolving to guide
your communications investment decisions based on consumer input.
October marks our 2nd year anniversary. To celebrate this milestone (we're actually
in the black, folks, no kidding), we will be undergoing major changes designed
to re-position our company to a specialized consulting firm that leverages real-time
discussions with consumers to help you manage your communications efforts (the
first of it's kind, as far as I know.) Watch out for our new look this November.
I want to extend many thanks to everyone who has helped us make it this far:
Loiett, Simone H., Michael P., Clariza E., Sarah J.S., Shane M., Wendy K., T.Quan,
Tme, Bonnie S., David F., Felicia and Steven, Adam, Randolph, and Bill, Mahesh,
Julio P., Amber B., Jose and Jorge G., Jorge C-M. and Joe B, Joel R., Richard
A., Cherine A., Gary S., and well, I've met over 1000 people in these two years,
and I'm sure you don't want me to go through my list... but thanks to all. Enjoy
the rest.
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[2] BRANDSTRATEGY: Viral Chicken and Computers
What does a fast-food joint need the internet for? Well, in a remarkable campaign,
KFC is utilizing the internet's most important
function to drive consumers to partake of a four-day promotion. Aside from noticing
an ad on AOL instant messenger, a friend of mine actually IM'd me to tell me
to check out the site. How viral is that!? The other fast fooders (QSRs) use
their sites as part of their off-line campaigns (except for McDonalds.com,
which looks like something out of 1995, even though they claim they generated
over 200% awareness for their Chicken Flat Bread using a 12% internet budget
increase for the internet), which is great. KFCs strategy focuses on discounting
its product to attract consumers. But aside from its brilliant effort to diffuse
its promotion to consumers, will this hurt its brand?
BOTTOM LINE: No, it's fast food. Thanks to the dollar menus, eaters have been
programmed to only want discounted fast food. It's not like computers, where
one can set you back several hundred bucks. With this in mind, Gateway is offering
us $50 for referring to them new customers that actually buy something from
them. Both campaigns are viral in nature, however, can computers be sold with
the same viral diffusion as lunch? No. Remember, the cost of a computer means
that their decision process is longer. They need to research and compare. Chicken
won't cost you a paycheck, so it's virally speaking, it makes sense. And since
McDs has found that 27% of the 18-to 49-year-old target market doesn't watch
TV but spends over an hour online daily, you now know why and how to use the
internet if you're in the fast-food business.
READ MORE:
Net
Ad Industry Pushes For Bigger Slice of Media Pie
http://www.burgerking.com
http://www.tacobell.com
http://www.wendys.com
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[3] CONSUMERFOCUS: Perception Changes Everything
Turns out consumers don't want the web on their phones. A new study says no
value is perceived. LOL. MSN put out a study saying that subscribers prefer
the usability of their new 8 version over AOL. LOL, it must be true, coming
from such a trusted source as Microsoft. (Scott Adams, creator of "Dilbert"
recently polled his readers and discovered that Microsoft is perceived to be
the "weaseliest" company around.) Radio jumped in again last week
with new research that breaks down women radio listeners and why they listen
(and don't listen) to the radio. As expected, the top reasons women tune out
radio is ads, bad content, and no time. (Ain't those the reasons Clear Channel
is so big?) Companies continue to ignore customer emails yet force spam on them
when they register, according to another research titled the "2002 Online
Customer Respect Study of Fortune 100 Companies". LOL. And finally, and
what I personally find very interesting, consumers perceive doctors, scientists,
teachers, and military officers to be prestigious jobs while clergy, lawyers,
accountants, and bankers to have much much less prestige.
BOTTOM LINE: How does consumer perception change? Current events that affect
more than one person, personal lifestyle changes resulting from income level,
and of course, what young people perceive to be "cool" because let's
face it, when they get put in charge, their decisions will be based on what
happened to them when they were young. How can you leverage this insight? Market
to them while they're young, adjust business practices to current events, and
of course, position yourself as a necessary brand, because when the sh!t hits
the fan, even if consumers had no money, they still need what's necessary.
READ MORE:
The
Yankee Group's 2002 Mobile User Survey
Study
Shows That MSN 8 Preferred 3 to 1 Over AOL 8
What
Women Want: Factors Driving Tune-In and Tune-Out (pdf)
Scientists,
Doctors, Teachers and Military Officers Top the List of Most Prestigious Occupations
top
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[4] MEDIA: Stimulating Consumers to Interact
With $300 million to spend, it's pretty easy to do something stupid. MSN had
half of NYC stickered with its butterfly logo. Chances are, their ad agency,
McCann, hired a guerrilla firm with a team of "street marketers",
to place stickers everywhere. And they did such a great job, the city fined
MSN for littering. An apologetic MSN has agreed to clean up the mess, but my
question is, does seeing a sticker really stimulate a consumer to interact with
your brand? I'm in the brand camp that says reach and frequency via multiple
media will ultimately work, however, what do you do if you don't have $300 million
to spend? Forget stickers.
Turns out kids in Europe are so hooked on texting that all kinda interactivity
occurs between them and TV. "Figures show that 20% of teenagers in France,
11% in Britain and 9% in Germany have sent messages in response to TV shows.
This has much to do with the boom in 'reality TV' shows, such as 'Big Brother',
in which viewers' votes decide the outcome."
BOTTOM LINE: Everywhere you look, brands want your opinion. From TV polls, to
voting via cell phones, brands are increasingly utilizing interactive means
to get consumers to respond to their efforts. It's amazing how they've figured
this out and yet continue to advertise in the most annoying ways.
READ MORE:
Microsoft
decals don't stick in NYC
MSN
Ads Anger NYC
Texting
the television
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[5] MANAGEMENT: Consumers Do Police Themselves
This proves my point: eBay users have begun policing themselves in an effort
to prevent fraud in the eBay community. It didn't cost eBay anything and it's
a great indication of the commitment and future profitability of the eBay community.
Why is this so important for your business?
BOTTOM LINE: Is it so hard to believe that consumers can guide your business
decisions? It's no longer about the bottom line, but the consumer's opinion.
If you can harness that and ultimately adjust your business to it, then you
will always make your numbers. But aren't I in the business of controlling consumer
opinions? I would say no. I am in the business of altering consumer perception
to something more preferable. If done right, that consumer will ultimately become
your customer and it's up to you to manage that perception. At no point does
anyone like to be controlled. So why are you not doing what I'm telling you
already? You should hire me.
READ MORE:
Hell
Hath No Fury Like an eBay User Scorned
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