After taking a hit from the Tiger situation, the PGA is clearly on the rebound and is poised for a banner year in 2011.    Thanks to the “young guns” who have added a new dimension of talent, scrappiness, and fearlessness to the sport.  Dennis Johnson and Bubba Watson are booming drives 400+ yards, making golf seem more than ever like an action sport.   Then you have Rory McIlroy, an engaging 21 year old who exudes confidence like a 30 year veteran, and Rickie Fowler also 21 with his OSU “orange-wear” and aggressive shot making.

Add the new non-US talent –  Majors winners Martin Kaymer from Germany, and Louis Ooster-something from South Africa, Ryo Ishikawa from Japan who recently fired a 58 at age 18 (yes, that’s 18 years old…), and we have several exciting layers that draw viewership.   If Tiger regains form, and it looks like he will, the PGA will be buzzing in 2011.

Our take is…companies should be lining up for PGA sponsorship opportunities as a major component of their marketing mix.  With sponsorship costs “right sized”, this could be a great opportunity for a high return on investment.

For as long as I can remember, big sports have been associated with big advertising. Go to the World of Coke Museum and you’ll see an exhibit on Olympic pins and torches from the past 80 or so years. Sports stars dream of making it big and having endorsement deals that range from sports drinks to cars to clothing lines.

But in a tough economy, how can companies afford to keep up the spending? A recent Forbes blog talks about how many advertisers are cutting their dollars, not because they don’t result in increased sales, but because many companies can’t show that advertising dollars result in increased sales. As Patrick Rishe explains, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how beneficial sports sponsorship is, particularly because it is hard to link those advertisements directly to sales. When sales go down, it can be challenging to understand whether that is from poor sponsorship choices or just a bad economy.

Luckily for the sports fans and consumer industries alike, there is a solution to protecting those highly lucrative sports sponsorships while still ensuring a high ROI. Riche discusses the fact that there are various ways of measuring the return on sports sponsorships, but unless they are highly accurate, they can show results that are far from the truth.

As long as marketers can spend smarter, assessing which sponsorships exactly are the most valuable to their image and which markets they truly want to target, there is no reason why sports sponsorships can’t result in an increase in sales. Riche’s advice? “Look for agencies and consulting firms that specialize in analyzing the returns to sponsorships to profit from this new era of conservatism among corporate America as it relates to activating sports sponsorships.”

If you’re looking to KICK up your sales, DRIVE for better results and get your sponsorship on TRACK, consider TopRight Sponsorship. We have the playbook to help you meet your goals.

This week’s Bloomberg BusinessWeek has been dubbed “The Popularity Issue.” The issue describes a huge range of categories, from movies, to fish, to iPhone apps, identifying the most popular consumer choice in each category.

Unfortunately, the article fails to specifically identify what makes something popular. Why do choosy moms (and dads) choose Jif? Why are more cats kept as pets if more households have dogs? Why was Avatar the most popular movie of the year in every country listed? Why do the French prefer apples if Russians prefer bananas?

Charlie recently wrote about understanding and identifying relevant information. BusinessWeek must have missed the post. Do I care that Orbit is the most popular brand of gum, and that it “has differentiated itself with its crunchy coating, box packaging, and a higher-than-average price tag”? Yes. Do I care that labradors are the most popular dog breed? Not so much.

Some of these featured products are linked to great public marketing and advertising campaigns, but some most certainly are not. We all know that Orbit “gets dirty mouths clean“, but I can’t say I’ve ever seen a TV ad for the Atlanta airport. Despite the fact that the Marlboro man was introduced to the market 60 years ago, Marlboro is still dominating cigarette sales.

So why did BusinessWeek choose to fill the feature with lots of popularity contests, and not a lot of explanation? Maybe because consumer choices, much like high school popularity, are hard to explain. Actually, I’m pretty sure they made an entire science out of studying them… micro-something-something… What the article truly achieves is showing that there is always a story behind a story. Identifying your most popular competitor isn’t enough to show you how to win. A flashy ad campaign isn’t enough to make a product popular. And on top of all that, if you don’t have a product or service people want, you’re definitely never going to sell it. Like Charlie said, it is important to know when to take a fact and accept it for what it is. But don’t forget the value of digging deeper when you have information that could really take your marketing strategy and your company to the next level.

In case you were wondering, I’m giving Stephanie Meyer, the author of the best-selling Twilight novels, my vote for most popular girl in America… the favorite girl and boy names this year were Isabella and Jacob, respectively. Oh, and if anyone has the answer to the French apple/Russian banana conundrum, please leave a comment.

Yesterday I got my Daily Stat e-mail from HBR, and the headline was a grabber: “Men Are Better At Parking Cars”. Now, a headline like that can be instantly polarizing – most men might think, “Well, yeah, of course we are”, while most women might think, “That’s ridiculous! Next you’re going to tell me men are better at using the tv remote control, right?” But regardless of one’s instinctive reactions to the message, the source of this information – a study by mixed-gender university researchers and related by Harvard Business Review – leads me to assume that the research has a chance of being statistically, if not politically, correct.

So, even if there is some validity to the findings, the next question this raises (after, Who the heck would have funded this study?) is, what on earth is a business to do with a consumer insight like this? Marketers are constantly mining consumer data for insights into behaviors, needs and preferences that can help them with product design, messaging, positioning, and other strategies to help them reach their target customers. Often data reveals actionable insights that smart marketers can use to their advantage. And occasionally… data is just a fun-fact. I’ve wracked my brain to think of how a company could use the insight around women’s parking abilities to shape their marketing strategy. Could car manufacturers with self-parking capabilities position this feature specifically to women as a benefit? Could a shopping mall or condominium tout its “extra-wide parking spaces” as a point of preference? Doubtful, particularly if your target consumer probably is not aware or convinced of her supposedly inferior parking capabilities in the first place. So this insight probably just sits on a shelf, next to with insights like that consumers prefer the taste of New Coke.

Sometimes, consumer research leads to valuable and actionable insights, and sometimes, it just leads to a lively topic for an animated discussion over beers. Smart marketers know the difference.

AMC’s critically acclaimed original series, Mad Men, is a classy period-piece set in the 1960s at the fictional Sterling Cooper advertising agency on Madison Avenue in New York City.  The show’s plot revolves around Don Draper, the creative director of the firm and the vices, trysts and drama that unfold in his life and in the lives of those around him.  The Emmy winning show has become a huge hit for AMC and it has also garnered a cult following amongst many of today’s marketers.

We never miss an episode of Mad Men at TopRight – not only because the show is extremely well written and engaging, but also because there are terrific marketing lessons to be learned from the golden age of advertising – both what to do and in many cases what NOT to do.  The truth is that marketing has come a long way from the 1960’s when the art of persuasion was the expertise that one had to develop to be successful in advertising.  In one episode, Don Draper delivers the classic line that “People want to be told what to do, so badly, that they’ll listen to anybody”.  Today’s marketer lives in a competitive world that is governed by the science of engagement.  It’s become incumbent upon marketers to step up the truthfulness and entertainment value of their messages as consumers have become increasingly sophisticated and connected to information.  But, there is still some truth in what Don Draper says.  People may still want to be told what to do, however, now they may be listening more to their peers, friends and colleagues via the various social media channels rather than listening to traditional advertisers.  And, that’s the intrinsic beauty of the show:  Mad Men depicts a place and time “where the truth lies”, to borrow from one of the show’s taglines.

To this point, I recently detailed five important ways that marketing has evolved since the Mad Men days at an American Marketing Association luncheon in Atlanta.  Take a look at the presentation: “Mad Men: Where the Truth Lies”, and learn how changes in culture & values, process, measurement, technology and organizational development have transformed marketing into a science as well as an art since the early 1960’s.  You’ll also learn about some great marketers from the past and from the present day who successfully drive purchase intent with their target audience using the art of persuasion AND the science of engagement.

p.s. Don’t miss the Mad Men Season 4 to kickoff on July 25^th on AMC!

In the process of conducting research for our new book on Marketing Excellence, we’ve been meeting with great leaders from Google, AT&T, Delta and many other well known brands.   On our quest to find the “untold stories”, we’ve also been meeting with many leaders from smaller companies and brands that are not necessarily household names.

One such leader is Randy Hain, Managing Partner of Bell Oaks.  Randy is a recognized thought leader in the area of talent acquisition and organizational development.  In addition to being a gracious, smart, funny, kind and genuine person… he’s also a darn good marketer!

During our meeting with Randy, we learned how Bell Oaks markets their services in a highly competitive executive search industry – an industry that many regard as moving towards a commodity.   So how does a firm like Bell Oaks create their point of difference?  First and foremost, we discovered that Bell Oaks practices what they preach and this resulted in the firm being recognized as one of the “Best Places to Work” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle. Moreover, Randy is a voracious user of Linkedin and has over 1900 personal connections.  Randy also invests a significant amount of his time in sharing his insights and perspectives with his clients and prospects, writing articles on trends and shaping the direction of his industry.

For example, Randy recently penned an interesting article on the forgotten art of social interaction challenging his audience not to become an “Unconnected Leader”.  Not only is it extremely well-written; the paper also provides very useful insights for executives.  Randy believes whole-heartedly in “paying it forward and you will find the golden rule rings true”.  In the fast-paced executive search business – as well as in all facets of life – connecting and networking are an important strategy and rewarding investment for anyone who aspires to be a leader. Moreover, the impact is cumulative…the relationships and contacts that you develop might turn into friendships you have for the rest of your life.

By the way, if you ever want to connect with Randy Hain, he is regularly found helping corporate executives and job seekers with their respective strategies over a cup of coffee at his favorite corner table at La Madeline on Perimeter Center West in Atlanta!

Domino’s is at it again! The recently launched “Show Us Your Pizza” crowdsourcing campaign gets customers to show the world what the pizza really looks like, straight out of the box. This effort comes shortly after the groundbreaking recipe change, where Domino’s openly discussed complaints and improvements as part of its marketing strategy. True, it’s hard to imagine that “our pizza tastes like cardboard” was ever considered part of anyone’s marketing strategy, but for Domino’s, it really paid off.  Let’s be real: Stephen Colbert talked about Domino’s on his show… does it get any better?

With “Show Us Your Pizza”, the assignment is simple: order a pizza, take a picture, and send it to Domino’s. The best pictures will win a cash prize and could be featured in an ad.

Yea, yea. So what? Chances are I’m not going to send Domino’s a picture of their pizza. I don’t even really like pizza. But if I did order a pizza, I would definitely get Domino’s. Why? Because I like feeling like I am at the center of their business model. I like being heard. And most importantly, I like honesty.

Remember the last time you were on the phone with your cell service provider trying to get them to fix your broken cell? “The speaker is broken.” “Ma’am, are you using the device right now?” “No, the speaker is broken.” “Did you try to use the speaker?” “Yes, it is broken.” “Did you turn the phone on before you tried to use the speaker?” “… Really?” “I’m sorry, but I absolutely, positively, definitively cannot give you a new phone. No ifs, ands, or buts. We appreciate your business.” 30 minutes later, after pulling half your hair out, your new phone is in the mail. The truth is, they absolutely, positively, definitively CAN give you a new phone, they just don’t tell you that up front.

Domino’s uploaded a great video to their YouTube channel showing what really goes on in food photo shoots. It’s called “Pulling the Cheese,” but I think a more apt title might be “How Corporate America knocks you over the head with a multi-sensory experience that leads you to believe they have a quality product without necessarily delivering on the promise.” Or something like that. “Show Us Your Pizza” cuts the baloney and skips straight to what actually matters.

I would love to see more companies embrace this kind of transparency. The model is simple: ask, listen, deliver. The best part is, it really works. I may not eat pizza, but I’m definitely drinking the Kool-Aid.

“Microsoft has decided to kill off the Kin”. The brief article states that the product launched in May, and sales have been underwhelming. Since the time of the launch, there has also been a price cut that seemed to indicate that the product wasn’t meeting expectations. Wait, what? This product launched in May.  Read: One month ago. Price cut? I’m about 99% sure I read an article about that a week ago. Information Week wrote an article about it… two days ago. So what’s the deal? Obviously, there’s this aspect: “XYZ Smartphone just came out. It isn’t a Blackberry or a Droid, nor does it possess the mythical awesome power of the iPhone. But you should buy it anyway.” I’d say the general response to these types of products is “Thanks, but no thanks.” At the end of the day, Microsoft was trying to sell a device that didn’t measure up. The many months-long pre-launch media campaign, on the other hand, was killer. So killer I think it may have been the nail on this phone’s coffin. If at any time in the past three months you have watched The Real Housewives, seen a bad chick flick at the movies, or checked out E! News, you’ve likely seen a commercial for KIN. If you haven’t seen it, check this one out. Notice anything strange about the ad? They seem to be pointing out how silly it is for people to be connected on social media, especially people who aren’t actually friends. The phone for your friends, friends, and friends: it connects you to that ex-boyfriend you don’t talk to anymore! The whole “meet your social network” experiment was a cool idea, but it highlights the ultimate uselessness of the phone. And judging by the level of success in the market, people aren’t buying in.

There’s a leveling of the playing field going on in the Marketing Management Software world. In past years, marketing platforms such as Aprimo were big dollar, big effort propositions for large organizations. Not anymore. Vendors are ramping up capabilities in an on-demand or SaaS-based model (Software as a Service). And service providers (like ourselves) are increasingly serving clients in a “MaaS” model (Marketing as a Service).

Speaking from our recent client work, we’re finding that marketing management platforms are no longer only for larger players. The dollar, time and resource commitment has been reduced to levels finally within reach of smaller marketing teams. In fact, clients are increasingly demanding it.

What do you think?

If you check out the business aisle at your favorite bookstore, you’ll find plenty of books filled with case studies about famous and successful marketers.  But how many of those really broke the mold?  How many really crushed the accepted principles of marketing?  Well, with TopRight being a firm that specializes in marketing strategy, we started to wonder ourselves.  Who are the real marketing revolutionaries?

We’re not talking about great marketers in the traditional sense.  We’re talking about those that wrote their own rules.  Irreverent.  Iconoclastic.  Profoundly innovative. Perhaps even a little barbarian.  Those that didn’t just add to the list of marketing tricks but rather obliterated the list and made their own.  Revolutionaries.

So we started looking into it and quickly concluded that such stories beg to be found and told.  The lessons we could glean from revolutionaries aren’t the same we get from great practitioners.  It’s a different angle and different mindset altogether, but universally applicable, especially to small business owners, entrepreneurs and anyone aspiring to make their own mark.

So here it is:  TopRight is writing a book.  A book about marketing revolutionaries.  Admittedly a big project, but too compelling to leave alone.

We’ve already come across a number of incredible stories.  For example, international marketers that exploit the cultural chasms across national borders to amazing results.  Or marketers of new inventions that manage to create demand out of thin air even when there’s no existing frame of reference.  We’ve met revolutionaries in commodity businesses that created huge differentiation where there seemingly was none.  We’ve also seen a few examples of entertainment movers and shakers that hyped their way to dizzying heights.  And of course, we know a few service providers (e.g. consultants) that don’t even have real products, yet market brilliantly as if they did.

The goal is not to write about the most successful or the best known.  We’re looking for revolutionaries, big or small, domestic or international.  Those that are shockingly different than what came before, counter-intuitive in style and approach, provocative, maybe even a little absurd at first glance.  But that still managed to revolutionize their markets and kill their competition.

Do you know of any?  We’d certainly like to talk to them.  The stories of real marketing revolutionaries will be an inspiration for everyone.  We’re determined to get these fascinating yet untold stories into the book.

Stay tuned.  Maybe you already heard about this new project on the radio last week.  You’ll certainly be hearing more from us in the coming months as the adventure unfolds…