When you pour sour milk into a glass, it comes out in globs and chunks, not very consistently. When you dabble in one medium and then try a different tactic it is not very consistent, that does not help your brand. People notice consistency.
When your efforts are focused on a certain task over time, by default your competency increases and you create consistency. Your customers or clients have an expectation of your work and you must deliver on that expectation consistently. People notice consistency.
In a world where products and businesses can be developed over night, it can be difficult at times to differentiate the good ones from the bad. Whether you own a small business or are developing your next marketing campaign, keep in mind that consistency over a period of time speaks louder than any chunky one-off sour milk promotion. People don’t like sour milk, but love consistency.
Have you experienced this yet? A random number texts you “HUGE SALE ON (Insert product), BEST PRICE IN TOWN, LOOK NO FURTHER FOR YOUR (Insert product) NEEDS!”
It has happened a couple of times now and I don’t like it. Here’s why if you use text-message advertising we’re both losing.
1. I have not given you permission to interrupt me on my phone, doing so makes me strongly dislike whatever the message is you want me to read.
2. You seem lazy and disrespectful, I want to return the favor. I’ll call you back or MySask411 your number to see who you are and when I find out I’ll realize how elementary your understanding of marketing really is. I will not forget this.
3. The more niche focused your text-message deal is, the better your chance of it being completely unrelated to my purchasing patterns. EXAMPLE: Niche focus, “HUGE SALE ON GRANITE” Broad focus: “HALF OFF ICE CREAM AT COLD STONE” – The first one you lose all credibility, the second only works if the person receiving the text sees value in what you’re texting.
Moral of the story? Lay off the Spam sandwiches, you’re hurting your personal brand and wasting my time.
Cause marketing is utilizing a non-profit organization as a means of putting a for-profit brand or product in front of someone in return for fundraising and awareness. Anytime you partner with a charity for anything it is a win-win situation. The charity gains funding and exposure to a group of people it may not have been able to touch and the company gets to show people that they actually do care by helping out a charity.
Cause marketing is growing in part because some large players are getting involved such as Pepsi with it’s refresh project. Other companies have the charity aspect as a part of their day to day business like Toms Shoes, their fascinating business strategy is worth a read.
The example I love to tell people about is a local company. Coda Clothing & Shoes (@CodaClothing) throughout the year does not promote the store or sales via any mass media type other than the large billboard on the side of their building shown here:
Instead of telling everyone in Regina to come to Coda, they host Charity fashion shows where a large amount of money is donated to a specific charity and Coda gets to show off their new line of clothing. It’s difficult not to like companies like Coda that are active in the community, that care about your city, and that want to give back.
I love the concept behind cause marketing because in this ever-changing marketing world you can never be certain as to what is the best medium to be broadcasting your message on. Cause marketing works because it’s like putting a huge sign on your company’s building that says, “WE CARE”.
So when you’re thinking about the next big ad campaign to roll out with, why not pair up with a charity and try help them too, you’d be surprised at what you can do.
Pictures courtesy of Coda Clothing & Shoes
“Let’s give them something to talk about”
If you go about your marketing efforts keeping this philosophy in mind you can’t go wrong. Let me explain.
If your target audience sees your billboard and it doesn’t strike them with any emotion, you’ve lost. If someone hears your latest radio campaign and it doesn’t standout in their mind, again, you lose. If your marketing campaign can’t give someone something to talk about, what are you doing? Just making noise, that is all, and we are extremely good at ignoring advertising noise.
Get creative, be provocative, evoke emotion, pick a fight, disagree, challenge a norm, standup for something, show your passion, give me something to talk about.
