Marketing Musings | Johnny Molson

Sounds right...but you're wrong. Your brain is doing stuff when you don't even realize it's doing stuff.

Remember when you predicted 5G would change all of humanity?You were wrong. Maybe we should get out of the "predicting" business.

Always remember: Marketing ≠ Advertising.There are certainly those who specialize in graphic design, video, or digital.But we're talking Marketing. The strategy before the tactics.If you're just thinking "advertising," you're in trouble.

A little bit of fertilizer is ok. Doing some sales promotions is ok.Too much fertilizer and you'll fry your lawn.Too many promotions, and you'll fry your brand.Les Binet's comments on price promotionshttps://www.marketingweek.com/les-binet-price-promotions-recession/Consumer behavior information from Michelle Klotzhttps://insidebe.com/articles/the-dangers-of-discounting/

Sometimes success isn't what it seems.Read the Nielsen article on the importance of awareness:https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2021/when-it-comes-to-brand-building-awareness-is-critical/

I have a funny feeling Google Bots and spam filters are diverting articles about a certain Marine Corps base in North Carolina. Hence "Kamp Lah June" is written as Camp LeJ---e. Thanks.Sign up to attend The One Year Marketing Plan here: https://wizardacademy.org/product/2023-september-the-one-year-marketing-plan/

Source material from:Marketing Week | Mark Ritson on What Does and Doesn't Matter in MarketingMark Ritson | On The Contrary | APG Strategy Conference 2018

If somebody tells you "everything" will change this year... they're probably wrong.Wait... they're most certainly wrongLinksForbes 2018 Marketing Predictions https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2017/11/01/2018-marketing-predictions-from-the-c-suite/?sh=493cd46f4c91Research on generational groups from BBH Labshttps://www.bbh-labs.com/puncturing-the-paradox-group-cohesion-and-the-generational-mythGen X has way more money than Z https://www.ncr.com/blogs/generational-marketing-to-four-consumer-generationsNBCNews prediction for 2018https://www.forbes.com/sites/kimberlywhitler/2017/11/01/2018-marketing-predictions-from-the-c-suite/?sh=493cd46f4c91Smart Speakers aren't making moneyhttps://www.popsci.com/technology/amazon-alexa-lose-money/US Census data on retail purchases:https://www.census.gov/retail/mrts/www/data/pdf/ec_current.pdf

A list of facts about your business is a dull documentaryLearn why fables are your secret weaponReferenced in this podcast, Jonathon Gotchall's article:https://www.fastcompany.com/1680581/why-storytelling-is-the-ultimate-weapon

Most people don't need what you are selling right now. So, why are you ignoring them?LinkedIn research can be found here: https://business.linkedin.com/marketing-solutions/b2b-institute/how-b2b-brands-grow

Resources from this episode:Read Prof. Koenigsberg's article at HBR: https://hbr.org/2022/01/3-strategic-o...Meet Jamie Adamchuck from UE Coaching: https://uecoaching.com/And frankly, they don't build 'em any better than Steve Rae: https://wizardofads.org/partner/steve...SHOW LESS

...it's the thing IN the thing that makes it work.The media does not make the message work. The message makes the media work.

Research from Les Binet and Peter Field:https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/ipa-blog/the-greatest-hits-of-binet-field/Their book, The Long and the Short of it:https://ipa.co.uk/knowledge/publications-reports/the-long-and-the-short-of-it-balancing-short-and-long-term-marketing-strategies/Mark Ritson article on price promotions:https://www.marketingweek.com/ritson-era-price-promotions-over/

See the full article at:molsonpartners.com

tl/dl: Probably never

Strategy must come before tactics, but people rarely do that. Why is it such a controversial idea?

Generations, defined as like-minded groups that share a birth range, don't exist.This important information has been uncovered by research from BBH-Labs:https://www.bbh-labs.com/puncturing-the-paradox-group-cohesion-and-the-generational-mythIf you believe "Millennials" act as a predictable group with the same values and habits, you'll be surprised to learn your belief may be flawed.

You have numerous things you want people to "know" about your business. But what matters is what's remembered.

Andy Warhol predicted that everybody would have a "Marketing Funnel" one day.It's today.www.molsonpartners.colm

When "the best" isn't an option...that'll do will do

Columbia University says you know 600 people: https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/19/science/the-average-american-knows-how-many-people.html#:~:text=The%20average%20American%20knows%20about%20600%20people....about 150 of them you'd call a casual acquaintance: https://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/social-media-affect-math-dunbar-number-friendshipsThe definition of a "Representative Sample:" https://www.investopedia.com/terms/r/representative-sample.asp#:~:text=A%20representative%20sample%20is%20a,three%20males%20and%20three%20females.The average person watches 5 hours 21 minutes of video daily: https://www.thinkbox.tv/research/nickable-charts/ultimate-nickables/tv-advertisings-ultimate-nickable-charts/eMarketer says 41 minutes is spent watching YouTube: https://www.emarketer.com/content/us-youtube-advertising-2020Neilsen reports you watch 3 hours 27 minutes of live TV: https://abcnews.go.com/Lifestyle/wireStory/study-shows-explosive-growth-time-spent-streaming-tv-68940265And they say 69% of the population reads the newspaper: https://letter.ly/us-newspaper-circulation/You spend over an hour each day listening to the radio: https://www.statista.com/statistics/761889/daily-time-spent-radio/...including while you're listening to stuff online: https://www.edisonresearch.com/edison-researchs-top-ten-findings-from-2019-so-far/Personally, I find this interesting. But remember, I'm media agnostic: https://molsonpartners.com/media-agnosticism/

Here are some ways to have a really good sale - - - if you're into that kind of thingwww.molsonpartners.com

Are you using a charity to goose your sales? That's weird.www.molsonpartners.com

I haven't met you, but I already know you have an "awareness" problem.

If you focus, what will you sacrifice?https://molsonpartners.com/alsofocuson/

Maybe instead of starting your ad with the negative stuff a customer is experiencing...future-fy your ad. I'll show you how.

Links mentioned in this episode:See the full article here Visit "A Page That Doesn't Do Anything" on FacebookWall Street Journal article about P&G pressure for online advertising to be more transparent about visitors and bots.Think With Google PDF acknowledges 50% of ads are not seen. Forbes article on companies dropping digital and seeing no decrease in revenueWizard Of Ads site to search for a digital expert

Sign up for Martinis and Marketing:https://www.wizardacademy.org/product/martinisandmarketingjanuary2021/Information about Dr. Gerald Zaltman's research from Harvardhttps://hbswk.hbs.edu/archive/how-customers-think-the-subconscious-mind-of-the-consumer-and-how-to-reach-itThe McDonald's "carrots" taste-test study:https://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/14/health/nutrition/14nugg.html

Links from this episode:E. St. Elmo Lewis on WikipediaHow Brands Grow by Byron Sharp

Skip the Millennials and Gen-Z-ers. The generation you need to concern yourself with is Generation Gem.

"Everybody just wants the lowest price!!"Is that true? Or do people want a good "value." That's a tough concept, but let's muse about it...shall we?

It's all gotten a little gross, yeah?

Some helpful links:The Wall Street Journal reports that applications for Employer Identification Numbers are UP almost 19% over this time last year (last year the year without the pandemic, in case you've lost track). There hasn't been a surge in potential new businesses like this since 2007.82.76% of customers say they prefer a local business over a large corporation. 8 in 10 say they would happily pay more for something, if it means supporting a local biz, according to Red Egg Marketing.The Ehrenberg-Bass Institute for Marketing Science

If you're advertising your business and you decide where to advertise before you build a strategy... you're doing it backward. See what we believe here:  https://youtu.be/2TLitkaNI8M

If you sell a commodity that's named the same thing everyplace else, give yours a better name.

For more information on Binet & Field and their pivotal book The Long and the Short of It, click the link.

From the article:https://molsonpartners.com/what-is-your-price-tag-advertising/

Watch this vid and enjoy some lovely complaintshttps://youtu.be/vJDmKFduhto

molsonpartners.com

Read the full article hereExamples of mistakes making things better in this videoRoy Williams' 12 Most Common Mistakes in Advertising

If there were a formula for marketing...you'd already be using it.

If you think getting in front of the most people is the most important thing...perhaps it's time to rethink.

 For the original article:  https://molsonpartners.com/this-never-works/Quick video explaining this whole thing:  https://youtu.be/P4QDURWg8NALearn more about Net Promoter Scores“Telling More Than We Can Know,” Nisbett and Wilson, University of Michigan, Psychological Review Vol 84. No 3.)

A little bit on the phenomenon of habituationSecret Formulas of The Wizard of AdsSend me your ad and I'll let you know if anything looks too much like the same same: johnny@molsonpartners.com

What if you made a list of the things that will be the SAME after COVID-19.  Will it be longer than the list of things that will change?I think yes.Here's an article from Inc Magazine where Jeff Bezos asks what will be the same in 10 years. 

Read the article here:https://molsonpartners.com/basically-the-basics/

This episode is all about what you should...and shouldn't say in your advertising right nowStill not sure how to do it?  Send me an email, johnny@molsonpartners.com, with the subject “Say This.”  Tell me what your business is and what you are doing differently right now that you think people need to know (or just send me your ad).  I'll write you a clean, one-line sentence that will get the job done.  If I think it doesn't need to be said, I'll simply tell you to keep doing what you're doing and remove all the ugly “coronavirus-plane-is-on-fire” stuff in your ad.

In today's podcast:Johnny's video with a deeper dive on the topic:  https://youtu.be/dBOYTccq0D0Roy Williams' letter to his partners: https://www.mondaymorningmemo.com/chicken-little/Sir Michael Caine reads Rudyard Kipling's "If--" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEFMVIfl2UYProfessor Mark Ritson's Marketing Week article:  https://www.marketingweek.com/mark-ritson-marketing-covid-19/

Links from today's episode: "Marketing is Dead" according to this assessment from Harvard. Remember when the internet was new?  25 years ago? It's no longer new, nor is it novel.The very first bannar ad was for AT&TThe most recent data I can find (2016) on click-through rates.As I've written about here, here, and here, marketing is the full composite of everything you do that touches your customers.

What made Dave say "Marketing is too important to be left to the marketers?"A dig at marketing?Or something else?

…and it's not a war either.  Mentioned in this podcast:International Institute for Management Development 2018 Serial Switchers reportHarvard's article "What the Hell is Market Oriented?"“Be Like Amazon: Even a Lemonade Stand Can Do It"“Mr. Jenkins Told Me… Forgotten Principles That Will Grow Any Business.” Every single employee, from the CEO to the receptionist, has to answer these questions:Am I making life better for our customer?Am I making this easier for our customer?When was the last time I talked to my customer about what they need from us?Do I even know what that is? Really?If I don't know, how can I find out?https://youtu.be/462jWF-P9Z8