Marketing on Tap

Facebook is in the news again, for all the wrong reasons. An article on The Verge shares the story of one of Facebook's content moderation sites, and how having to watch horrific videos all day is taking its toll on the mental health of the contractors working there. This article comes out the same week as Facebook announcing their new cryptocurrency platform. So will this impact what is undoubtedly an important addition to the platform, or can Facebook ride the bad PR around the network once again? In this week's show, we discuss the damage The Verge article could do, and whether businesses should be rethinking their relationship with Facebook while news articles like this exist. We also talk about Facebook's new cryptocurrency and the partners they're working with to bring it to market, and how that changes our use of the network, and what it could mean for the future of e-commerce. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Mentioned on this week's show: Paddle On Session Ale from Lake of Bays Brewing Bodies in Seats - The Verge The Trauma Floor - The Verge The Friendship Bench Mental health and social media - the stats Facebook's new cryptocurrency platform Liverpool FC Champion's League victory Toronto Raptors NBA Champions Dark social Facebook encrypted one-to-one messaging Contact us: sam@senseimarketing.com dannyb@senseimarketing.com Support Marketing on Tap: Listen for free or leave a review on iTunes Listen for free on Google Podcasts Listen for free on Spotify Listen on your favourite podcast app or via desktop

With the news that CrossFit are deleting their accounts on Facebook and Instagram, the multi-national brand is just the latest in a growing number of brands pulling, or deleting, their social media accounts. British restaurant chain Wetherspoons, cosmetics firm Lush, and now CrossFit - are these brands leaving social media just a one-off, or is this the start of a growing trend? In this week's show, we look at what this chain of events means for social media, and Facebook in particular, and what marketers need to be doing now to both monitor this trend, and stay ahead of it. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Mentioned on this week's show: Annapolis Brewing Big Shot Black IPA Lush leaving social media Wetherspoons leaving social media CrossFit leaving Facebook and Instagram Brexit Nancy Pelosi doctored video on Facebook Is Facebook bad for your mental health? Dark Social: The Marketing Trend for 2019? Encrypted Messaging: Facebook No More? BONDAI Contact us: sam@senseimarketing.com dannyb@senseimarketing.com Support Marketing on Tap: Listen or leave a review on iTunes Listen on Google Podcasts Listen on Spotify Listen on your favourite podcast app or via desktop

When it comes to the customer lifecycle, a lot of marketers and businesses are still only thinking in the linear - find an audience, look to attract them, sell a product/service, and done. But this misses a far bigger picture in the journey. While getting leads and conversions is important, it's just one facet of the complete journey from interest, research, intent, etc. By remaining linear in their thinking, marketers are losing out not only on customers, but potential advocates and ambassadors as well. In this week's show, we look at why you need to bend the customer lifecycle journey, and how you can use advances in technology and AI when it comes to determining what steps you need to take in the early part of the customer lifecycle, as well as the latter part once converted. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Support Marketing on Tap: Listen or leave a review on iTunes Listen or leave a review on Google Podcasts Listen on Spotify

When it comes to loyalty and/or affinity programs, many businesses and brands are still missing the mark. Too many go for short-term thinking, and offer discount after discount to get customers into their stores, and this can hurt them in the long term. With new programs from Canadian coffee chain Tim Hortons, updated programs from Starbucks, and new lifestyle programs from Barneys in the U.S. all offering different takes, should businesses be concentrating on affinity or loyalty? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at the different approaches various brands are taking, and share what your business should be looking to do when it comes to understanding your customer base, and what type of program you should offer, loyalty or affinity. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript of this week's show Support Marketing on Tap: Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes Subscribe or leave a review on Google Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify

Social influencers, and influencer marketing in general, are once again under the microscope as media publications share articles that are split into two trains of thought. The first is that social influence is the worst thing to happen to marketing, while the second states that influence marketing is a key business strategy in 2019. So which viewpoint is correct? Is there still a place for social influencers after the debacle that was Fyre Fest, or was that just an example of a poorly-executed program, and not reflective of a true influence marketing strategy and campaign? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at the different opinions around influence marketing, and some of the things your business needs to be aware of with social influencers when it comes to your own marketing strategy. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript for this week's show Support Marketing on Tap Subscribe or leave a review on iTunes Subscribe or leave a review on Google Podcasts Subscribe on Spotify

In a stunning about turn, Mark Zuckerberg published a privacy manifesto that essentially changes Facebook as we know it. By moving to end-to-end encrypted messaging, the public newsfeed that everyone has been using for the last 10+ years has basically been side-stepped. While Zuckerberg states that "public Facebook" will continue in some form, he sees private, one-to-one or one-to-few conversations as the new standard. If this is the case, the implications for all users of Facebook - individuals, brands, advertisers, and more - could be huge. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at why Zuckerberg may be initiating this pivot, what it means for the future of the platform, and how businesses can get ahead of the curve before the chance is gone. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

As both Nike and Gillette have shown in recent months, cause marketing is becoming an increasingly core part of a brand's marketing strategy. From societal and political issues and more, businesses aren't afraid to take a definitive stand when it comes to potentially controversial topics. But does this have an impact on the brand's perception with consumers and, more importantly, sales and revenue? Does cause marketing attract consumers, or turn them off? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how brands are adapting to the new consumer behaviours when it comes to causes they believe in, and whether they're genuinely altruistic or simply riding a trend. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

With Disney's streaming service about to launch, and other platforms either already in the streaming game or about to enter it, how much of a threat is this to Netflix, and what does it means for users of online streaming services? Will the likes of the video game crash of the 80's, and the music wars that saw Napster disappear under the onslaught of Apple, Spotify, and more be repeated with online video streaming? Or is there enough room for everyone at the table? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how online streaming is adapting, and ask can it continue the way it is, or is there a "winner takes all" scenario looming? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Fast food chain Wendy's is facing major backlash on social media at the moment, due to their refusal to join the Fair Food Program, that offers human rights and protection from abuse for farm workers in the fast food supply chain. As the calls for Wendy's to join the program grow, and marches are organized around the U.S. to add extra pressure, Wendy's seems to be digging in instead of acknowledging the increasingly bad press. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at Wendy's reaction, and ask if "the marketing of boycotting" is now a thing that brands use to both diversify their customers and identify the ones that will buy their product regardless. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Mentioned in today's show: Why are farmworkers embarking on the "4 for Fair Food" tour? Even female corporate mascots are subjected to "fake geek girl" gatekeeping Why are people boycotting Wendy's? Read the transcript

As research continues to show, social media addiction is a growing problem, and one that's causing serious problems when it comes to our mental and physical health. But whose responsibility is it to find a solution to this growing issue - the networks and users of them, or do marketers have a responsibility on how they use tactics like gamification of products to instil further desire? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we start the conversation around the long-term effects of social media addiction, and ask how we can turn the tide back before it's too late. Look out for more discussions on this in future episodes. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Unless you live on the moon, you can't have missed the new Gillette ad and the brand's accompanying campaign to rethink their "best a man can get" slogan. Picking up on the #MeToo movement, Gillette wants men to think on how they represent themselves in the world, and what it actually takes to be a "good man". The ad invoked a swift reaction, with many praising it and the message it was trying to achieve. However, there was also hugely negative commentary, with other men heaping vitriol on Gillette, saying they'd never buy their products again. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at brands that take a stand when it comes to societal issues, if there can be any middle ground, and what it means for businesses (and their customers) when a definitive stance is taken. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

With the release of the Edelman 2018 Trust Barometer, it's clear to see a trend of dark social being utilized by social media users. With people's trust in social media dropping to only 41% globally, perhaps the increase in dark social should come as no surprise. With 2018 being a bad year all round for social networks, with the rise of fake news stories, influencer bots, and more, are we seeing the decline in public social media, and more private, controlled use? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how dark social is on the rise, what this means for brand marketers in 2019, and how your business can adapt to this new marketing trend. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In today's mobile first world, you might think outdoor ads and billboards are yesterday's news. But someone forgot to tell DOOH, or digital out of home advertising. With the news that Netflix paid $150 million for a DOOH ad to attract new talent, and four of the 10 largest spenders on billboards being Apple, Google, Amazon, and Netflix, perhaps mobile first isn't completely the way to go. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how digital out of home advertising continues to drive impressive revenue, and what that means for brand advertisers and marketers. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When Lululemon announced they had launched a loyalty program, they became the latest brand to shift focus from their core business to take a new direction. As the likes of Staples and Apple have shown, this services-over-product approach can be key to moving forward and adapting to the new behaviours of today's consumers. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how brands are pivoting away from what first made them successful, and whether this model can be used in other industries. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When Dolce and Gabbana released a racist Chinese ad, it was just the latest in a long line of marketing gone wrong when it comes to the fashion world. From LuluLemon saying their customers were too big for their products, to Topman describing their customers as football hooligans and criminals, it seems the fashion world is a leader in poor marketing. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how brands can completely miss the message when it comes to their buyers, and how they often make it worse when coming out with an apology. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When it comes to disrupting an industry with innovative products and marketing, the ice cream industry may not be high up on your list of usual suspects. Yet that's exactly what's happened as giants like Häagen-Dazs found out when small, agile newcomers started eating into their profits with lifestyle-themed ice cream. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how the little ice cream guys took on the giants at their own game, forcing the bigger corporations to start thinking like disruptor startups. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In a recent Facebook discussion between marketers, the question was asked if social media influencers are just the equivalent of traditional media buying. The point being made was, with all the paid influencer programs being used to shill product, has the role of the influencer been reduced to a simple ad platform? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how paid influence programs are impacting both influencers and brands that use them, and what your business should do to get real and tangible results from your influence marketing campaigns. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

How do you turn social media haters into brand advocates? KFC did exactly that when they took a customer's negative tweet about their fries and turned it into a win for the brand nationally. It's a great example of brands that take social media haters at more than face value, and not only improve their services and products, but create brand advocates at the same time. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how KFC and others like them created this advocacy, and how you can take the lessons learned and apply to your business. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Recently in the UK, fish and chip shop chain Harry Ramsden's partnered with Uber Eats to run a promotion around the new Call of Duty: Black Ops video game. Customers who bought a fish and chips meal from one of three participating outlets would receive a free copy of the game. With Call of Duty: Black Ops being one of the most anticipated games of the year, this seemed like an offer too good to be true. And it was. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at gimmicky marketing, and how offers that seem great at the ideation stage turn out to be a marketing nightmare in execution. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In recent weeks, there's been a spate of YouTube influencers taking to their channels to say they're feeling burned out, and that their mental health is suffering. Much of the criticism from these influencers is that they're feeling the pressure to "always be on", regardless of how they feel and what's happening in their lives at the time. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we ask if the pressure to perform by these influencers is creating lasting damage, and what role brands play in the well-being of the influencers they use. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

This week saw the news that retail giant Sears had filed for bankruptcy protection, amongst falling sales and rising debt. Their Canadian division closed in January of this year, and it always felt the parent company wouldn't be far behind. Failure to adapt to the changing ways customers preferred to buy - online, mobile research, frictionless shopping - as well as the inability to attract a younger audience seems to have sounded the death knell for this once-unstoppable giant. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how Sears is just the latest in a long line of major retailers to fall to the online onslaught of Amazon and others, and ask what retailers need to do to stay relevant and profitable. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Week after week, it seems we're bombarded with poor customer experience examples when it comes to airline companies. From dragging passengers off planes to charging to change the flight of a family whose 3 year old son's appendix burst, the horror stories are endless. But do these stories make any difference? With flights cheaper than ever, and companies charging for everything under the sun, are we encouraging bad behaviour due to apathy when it comes to spending our money elsewhere? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how airline companies take various approaches to not only their customers, but employees, and ask if we've passed the point of no return for airlines and the customer experience. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When brands want to stand apart from the competition, they often turn to edgy advertising to push the boundaries. This can work well, and the benefits can outweigh the risks. But when the message behind the campaign is shared without context, no amount of marketing or brand explanations can overcome the negativity. In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how recent examples of edgy messaging gone astray cost the brands involved the goodwill of consumers, and highlighted the dangers of this risky type of marketing. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Customer experience and brand advocacy go hand in hand. Get the customer experience right, and your brand advocates will grow, both internally and externally. Yet as the ways brands interact with customers adapts and changes, and technology plays as big a part as the human interaction, how is customer experience evolving? Is it, or are brands living in the past? In this week's episode of Marketing on Tap, we look at how changing customer behaviour is driving the experience, and how brands can offer a human business face, even when automation is driving the interactions. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Long viewed as one of the most-loved stalwarts of the Canadian marketplace, coffee chain Tim Hortons has had a startling fall from grace when it comes to the trust they enjoy from consumers. Almost mirroring the fall that smartphone maker BlackBerry experienced, even the brand loyalty that Tim's almost exclusively enjoyed couldn't stop the drop in love for the chain. In this week's episode, we look at once-iconic brands and ask the question - is there even such a thing as a national brand anymore? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

We've all seen them, and probably have a few favourites - evergreen marketing campaigns that seem to last across generations. But do they? Or do they eventually run out of steam? What happens when a message that once stood as the poster child for great marketing suddenly becomes stale and out of date? Or, even worse, alienates the very audience they were so in touch with originally? In this week's episode, we look at once-great marketing messages that have done just that, and what it means for the brands behind them. Can they win back their audience, or are apologies not enough? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Unless you've been living under a rock for the last two years, Colin Kaepernick and his stand against racial injustice in the U.S. has been at the forefront of both political and sports news. Now, with global sports brand Nike choosing Kaepernick as the face of their 30th anniversary "Just Do It" campaign, both Kaepernick and Nike have been thrust into the spotlight, negatively and positively. In this week’s Marketing on Tap podcast, we discuss the outrage from a section of Nike consumers, what it means for Nike, and the rise of brands willing to draw definitive lines when it comes to divisive topics. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When you're a huge brand like Calvin Klein, you pretty much have your fingers on the pulse of your fans/customers. After all, you don't get to be an international success story by employing bad marketing ideas. However, a recent marketing campaign from Calvin Klein showed that even the biggest brands still get it wrong. When they used reality TV stars The Kardashians to promote their latest product, the pushback was swift and harsh. In this week’s Marketing on Tap podcast, we discuss the outcry from both Calvin Klein customers, and social media users, and what happens when your advertising/marketing targeting is completely off base. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

Sounds great, right? Pay just a buck a beer? After all, who wouldn’t want to enjoy a beer for less than it takes to buy a coffee? Well, that’s exactly what Ontario beer drinkers have been promised by the new Premier, Doug Ford, following a campaign promise he ran on. But is the offer as good as it seems? Not so fast. Following the announcement, craft brewers and craft beer drinkers alike swiftly pushed back on the notion, citing how much it costs to brew quality beer, along with employee costs, overheads, marketing, and more. In this week’s Marketing on Tap podcast, we discuss the buck a beer backlash, why it shows how key it is to build loyalty and brand advocacy, and why truth in marketing is so important in the long run when combating quick buck campaign ideas. Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In episode six of the Marketing on Tap podcast, we ask the question - have social media influencers wore out their welcome? With recent examples of luxury resorts throwing up their arms in frustration at would-be social influencers asking for free stays worth thousands of dollars, to a "retired influencer", Josh Ostrovsky, telling wannabe influencers to "get a real job", is the sun setting on this industry? And if social influence/influence marketing is seeing its power wane, what does this mean for the brands and businesses that currently utilize this medium? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

When a respected leader in the tech industry suggests maybe you should consider deleting your social media accounts - all of them - it's more than worth listening to. This is exactly what Jaron Lanier suggests in his new manifesto/book, "10 Arguments for Deleting Your Social Media Accounts Right Now", and is the topic of discussion in episode five of Marketing on Tap. Using the growth of social media, and its impact on the people who use it, Lanier paints an extremely negative picture of how social media is impacting mental health, fostering negativity, and how our natural responses to everyday issues are being skewed by algorithms set up to take us down a particular path. As users of the networks start to look at their own use, and more people take "digital vacations" where they switch off from social media for long periods of time, we discuss what this means for marketers and digital marketing, if the current desertion of social networks continues at its current pace. Read the transcript

In episode four of the Marketing on Tap podcast, we take a look at how the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica scandal has left an indelible mark on how social networks gather data about their users. While Facebook may say it's taken steps to ensure it's going to do a lot better when it comes to its users, recent events would suggest otherwise, with the confirmation there's already attempted meddling in this year's U.S. mid-terms on the platform, and chief security officer Alex Stamos stepping down. With this background, what does it mean for marketers who use data from social networks to identify specific audiences? And what knock-on effect does that have for other networks and data sets when it comes to consumer trust? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In episode three of the Marketing on Tap podcast, we take a look at how a giant of consumer packaged goods fell from grace when it left the Canadian market and became entangled in what would be known as “ketchup wars”. When Heinz moved its production of its famous ketchup from Canada to the U.S. in 2014, it became a PR and financial nightmare as Canadian consumers pushed back, and switched their allegiance to French’s Ketchup instead. Now, with the U.S. – Canadian trade wars seeing Heinz take an even bigger hit to its pocket, the company has started a campaign to win back Canadian consumers. But can marketing and PR win in a political and cultural war? Settle back and enjoy this week’s topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you’ve come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In this week's episode of the Marketing on Tap podcast, Sam Fiorella and Danny Brown take a look at how backlashes can start quickly when brands looking to be socially responsible get it wrong. Elon Musk, and his attempts to help - some would say hinder - the rescue efforts to free the kids trapped in a cave in Thailand, is a perfect example of a "good deed" gone wrong. Can brands ever be truly good with their intentions, or does PR and an opportunity to promote get in the way? Settle back and enjoy this week's topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you've come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript

In this first episode of the Marketing on Tap podcast, Sam Fiorella and Danny Brown take a look at how influence marketing has changed since their acclaimed book on the topic came out five years ago. Is influence marketing in a better place than it was? Are brands using it better to gain actual business results? And how has influence marketing software changed since the days of Klout and social scoring? Settle back and enjoy this week's topic, brought to you in the usual unscripted manner that you've come to expect when Sam and Danny take the mic. Read the transcript