Burger King has stooped to the "Whoppervirgin" campaign. They hunt down individuals in backwater countries who have never tasted either Whoppers or Big Macs and then run a taste test (I don't know where they get the burgers -- are they reheated from stores in a civilized country?).
To no one's surprise, the Whopper wins, hands down (it is their commercial after all). Nevermind these folks have no idea what a hamburger is (and in some cases what a cow is) and therefore have no baseline of "good" burger and "bad" burger. The whopper may taste more like the locusts they're used to eating and therefore get the thumbs up. Who knows?
Ultimately, it doesn't matter. The Taste Test is the last resort of an inferior brand--note I'm not saying inferior product, just inferior brand. If Micky D's and the Burger Sovereign were to build stores in the third-world country, Ronald would take the cake regardless of which tastes better.
McDonalds, like Coca-Cola, crafted a bulletproof brand. The experience was what Ray Kroc sold, not hamburgers. Ronald, the Hamburgler, Grimace, the Golden Arches and primary colors have greater family appeal. Burger King perfected their charbroiled burger and gave their brand second banana. When they tried to change it and brought on the creepy king, they were stuck with a brand that doesn't resonate. McDonald's is about "us" and Burger King is about "them."
Catch the distinction.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Hey, Everybody! Let's Sink the Ship Faster!
The economy is slowing down, the housing market almost to a stand-still.
Some people blame the government, but like the selling frenzy that comes upon a falling stock market, the fault really lays with the same people who can reverse it.
Here's the way it works: Sales begin to fall and companies (especially small companies) react like a dieter on the Atkins diet: the start trimming muscle before they trim fat.
"Muscle" for a company is marketing. Imagine a healthy body from the bones out... a company begins with an idea (bone marrow) and develops a business plan/infrastructure (skeleton). They only way to put flesh on the bones is to advertise and promote the business (muscle). They run lean and mean until the customers start buying. Through poor management, this is when a company begins to lay on the fat. Procedures aren't refined and toned, people are hired who aren't up to the job, unprofitable product lines consume resources...
...and when sales drop the first thing - THE FIRST THING - cut is MARKETING. Not the fat. Efficiency should be picked up, jobs refined - and if necessary, terminated - and emphasis on high profit items should be targeted.
Certainly marketing should be looked at and like so many things, boundary may fuel innovation (I have a client who produced beautiful brochures, but sales were dropping so he switched to cheap fliers stuffed in a plastic bag with a rock to weigh it down, which he threw into people's driveway. While it annoys some people, his guerrilla campaign WORKS). Get creative, but don't stop.
Take a clue from the big boys who increase their direct mailing when sales are down. They offer incentives because a slightly less profitable sale on a high profit item is better than no sale.
Drop fat, not muscle, or you'll sink faster.
Some people blame the government, but like the selling frenzy that comes upon a falling stock market, the fault really lays with the same people who can reverse it.
Here's the way it works: Sales begin to fall and companies (especially small companies) react like a dieter on the Atkins diet: the start trimming muscle before they trim fat.
"Muscle" for a company is marketing. Imagine a healthy body from the bones out... a company begins with an idea (bone marrow) and develops a business plan/infrastructure (skeleton). They only way to put flesh on the bones is to advertise and promote the business (muscle). They run lean and mean until the customers start buying. Through poor management, this is when a company begins to lay on the fat. Procedures aren't refined and toned, people are hired who aren't up to the job, unprofitable product lines consume resources...
...and when sales drop the first thing - THE FIRST THING - cut is MARKETING. Not the fat. Efficiency should be picked up, jobs refined - and if necessary, terminated - and emphasis on high profit items should be targeted.
Certainly marketing should be looked at and like so many things, boundary may fuel innovation (I have a client who produced beautiful brochures, but sales were dropping so he switched to cheap fliers stuffed in a plastic bag with a rock to weigh it down, which he threw into people's driveway. While it annoys some people, his guerrilla campaign WORKS). Get creative, but don't stop.
Take a clue from the big boys who increase their direct mailing when sales are down. They offer incentives because a slightly less profitable sale on a high profit item is better than no sale.
Drop fat, not muscle, or you'll sink faster.
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The Best Marketing is Good Service
Checking out at Staples this afternoon, I saw a woman gazing at the stand of TaxCut software. Lickety-split I hustled over to let her know that TurboTax rocks and TaxCut is the pits.
Five years ago...FIVE YEARS AGO... I got Taxcut because it was cheaper. I did my taxes and was going to get 2200 bucks back. I hit e-file and it simply refused to do it. A week later it still wouldn't work so I popped for TurboTax and it told me I'd get $3400 back. I ran it again, same thing. Ran TaxCut again and still got the $2200. I am GRATEFUL that the e-file wouldn't work and HORRIFIED that it would have cost me $1200 to use TaxCut.
From that moment on, I will tell anyone that TurboTax is the way to go. I got Taxcut for free in the mail and I threw it away. That is the power of one bad experience.
One strike and you're out.
A quick list of things that will strike out a company in my eyes.
1. A bad experience with the product or service.
2. Poor phone etiquette when I call. "Hello?" doesn't cut if for a business greeting. I need a thank you, a cheery voice, a name, and solicitation for how they can help me.
3. Putting me through transfer hell. One transfer, max.
4. Lack of eye contact when I'm there in person and I want a similar greeting that I want on the phone.
I write marketing material for companies, and while I charge a reasonable rate, if I get a poor reception on the phone or in person, I'll offer corrective advice for free. It is rarely taken. Maybe it would be taken if I charged for it...
Five years ago...FIVE YEARS AGO... I got Taxcut because it was cheaper. I did my taxes and was going to get 2200 bucks back. I hit e-file and it simply refused to do it. A week later it still wouldn't work so I popped for TurboTax and it told me I'd get $3400 back. I ran it again, same thing. Ran TaxCut again and still got the $2200. I am GRATEFUL that the e-file wouldn't work and HORRIFIED that it would have cost me $1200 to use TaxCut.
From that moment on, I will tell anyone that TurboTax is the way to go. I got Taxcut for free in the mail and I threw it away. That is the power of one bad experience.
One strike and you're out.
A quick list of things that will strike out a company in my eyes.
1. A bad experience with the product or service.
2. Poor phone etiquette when I call. "Hello?" doesn't cut if for a business greeting. I need a thank you, a cheery voice, a name, and solicitation for how they can help me.
3. Putting me through transfer hell. One transfer, max.
4. Lack of eye contact when I'm there in person and I want a similar greeting that I want on the phone.
I write marketing material for companies, and while I charge a reasonable rate, if I get a poor reception on the phone or in person, I'll offer corrective advice for free. It is rarely taken. Maybe it would be taken if I charged for it...
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