Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame celebrates his 81^st birthday today.  Happy birthday Mr. Spock, you’ve lived to see the day when the “PADD” moves from science fiction to real world fact.  “PADD” is an acronym for “Personal Access Display Device”, a hand-held computer that Star Trek officers used for a variety of functions including logging manifests, compiling duty rosters or diagnostic reports, entering personal data, and/or accessing library computer systems.  The new Apple iPad tablet actually far surpasses the functionality envisioned by iconic Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry.  But to avoid any confusion, please don’t call it the “iPad 3”!  It’s the “iPad “or the “Next Generation iPad” thank you very much.  When the new iPad landed in retail stores March 16^th, I just had to stop by the Apple Store to check it out… here’s a quick summary of what I found:

iPad is Indeed Transformational.  From a marketing perspective, the iPad is definitely a Killer Platform to share ideas, broaden existing experiences, organize and engage in consumer conversations, and influence buying decisions and sell a lot of stuff.  In short, it’s a marketers’ dream device. The constant challenge though is how to harness the tablet effectively to create impactful, relevant and consumer-actionable campaigns.  According to Mobex Director Chris Bourke, “Tablets will grow faster than any public prediction. Brands will wake up and realize that linear, interruptive tablet advertising – the kind that mimics magazine advertising can be so much more.”  The iPad currently rules the tablet category by a wide margin with close to 70% market share and those figures should make marketers sit up and take notice- the days when mass-media channels (TV, radio, print) were the go-to medium for reaching consumers with messages about products, brands or services are now over or at least now those messages must be integrated with your mobile devices.

Meeting Our Insatiable Cravings. Consumers want more speed, more flexibility, more portability, more efficiency, more smarts in our devices… along with all the aesthetic qualities that thrill and delight.  Does the new iPad deliver? Not surprisingly, it does.  At first glance, it’s impossible not to notice the stunning photos, vibrant colors, and crisper text but as I probe a bit deeper it’s the subtle differences that delight, such as an updated camera to make my photo portfolio shine, there’s also a reading light- that’s something my Kindle can’t deliver.   With 4G LTE connectivity, the beautiful HD retina display and a longer-life battery, the Next Generation iPad will keep us satiated (at least for now).

Brand Communicates Value Not Price. Emerging from the recession, we consumers are more frugal than ever with our disposable income.  That said, when it comes to the Apple brand, all rationale and penny-pinching goes out the window!  At a starting price of $499, the cost of the new iPad is still too dear for a lot of people to just run out and buy (let alone stand in line for).  Nonetheless, they’re flying off the shelves again at a record pace – why is the Apple brand so irresistible? Well, they’ve certainly packed a lot of value into the small package, but let’s face it: Apple’s marketing wizardry has made just made it irresistible.  We consumers have fallen in love with this Killer Platform and it’s ability to fulfill our personal productivity wants, entertainment needs and water-cooler bragging rights!  Or maybe, we’re all just victims of a “Vulcan Mind-Meld”!

Recently Kellogg’s acquired the stackable potato chip brand for a whopping $2.7 billion from Procter and Gamble.   This acquisition got me thinking… will sweeping changes to the iconic Pringles brand follow suit?  Pringles is a world-recognized brand with a loyal following – Should Kellogg’s even make any changes?  I say changes could do the potato chip some good and here are some recommendations:

1.  Prune:  Kellogg’s should start by eliminating underperforming products, packaging variations, and unpopular flavors.   The Pringles brand has numerous product lines,  dozens of flavors, but are flavors such as seaweed and salmon as profitable as sour cream and onion? This pruning of age-old line extensions will allow an opportunity to clear some of the consumer clutter and confusion about the brand and reveal the core essence of the brand.  By creating a clearing for a new consumer conversation, pruning gives Kellogg’s a unique opportunity to re-engage the consumer on what the brand really stands for.  Pruning a legacy brand like Pringle’s takes bold and decisive action. However, once completed, the brand team is liberated to reengage the consumer while simultaneously creating new space for growth and product innovations aligned directly to the brand’s core values and beliefs.

2.  Focus: Kellogg’s leadership should laser-focus brand management’s attention on the highest performing products and those innovative products demonstrating potential to assume high performance market positions.  Don’t take the “cash cow” products for granted, gauge delivery, and continuously ask yourself, how can I make this brand even better? Innovation is critical. I suggest Kellogg’s continue to focus on the ever –evolving, convenience benefit customers crave today and transfer the marketing successes of the ubiquitous cereal line to the snack line.

3.  Socialize:  Kellogg’s should accelerate Pringle’s social media exposure and begin to engage customers in new types of conversations.  There is much to work with here… Pringles consumers have generated 18 million Facebook “likes” in the United States alone.  Building on this love for the brand, Kellogg’s should be able to collaborate directly with consumers on new innovations such as packaging designs, advertising and new products.  For example, you can run a contest and title it, what to do with all those unused Pringles cans? Participants can upload ideas to You Tube with the most ingenious ideas featured as a national TV spot, while winners receive hefty stashes of cash or a lifetime supply of the potato chip.

Wherever Pringles heads next, keep in mind, Pringles is a “fun chip”, carefree, enjoyable and sociable!

If you are not already familiar with Pinterest, you soon will be. The bulletin board site- which allows users to create online scrapbooks, share images of products and projects has skyrocketed in the last six months. In fact, Pinterest is so interesting the site generated more than 11 million visitors last month, that’s an increase from almost 5 million visitors last November, according to Comscore.  So, is Pinterest just the flavor-of-the-month in a bevy of online social sites?  Or, does Pinterest have a viable business model to create staying power?  I say it has staying power and here’s why:

Referrals never looked so good. Pinterest takes the art of the referral and places it in a lovely online space.  It’s different. Users share and re-share pins and images, create chats around products, exchange ideas and ultimately influence buying decisions. It’s a unique community. Users have a greater say in how they interact with brands.  Opportunistic retailers, like Nordstrom, Gap, and Chobani have been quick to leverage Pinterest’s popularity, themed pin boards, catalogues, and new recipes fill the space. The retailers generate thousands of followers, with hopes of boosting sales.

Pinterest is exclusive. You’re invited to join the site, what better way to differentiate and boost user status? And though Pinterest might be unprofitable now, it will eventually generate revenues, whether it monetizes through product links or takes a more invasive route of advertising with its user base or any other approach.

Pinterest’s business model might be a case where the sum is greater than the parts. But for the millions of visitors who have already made the site a part of their lifestyle, it just might be enough.

If you really think about it, a brand is nothing more than a container for the promises and benefits that your company makes and delivers to your target audience. Therefore, branding is really about managing your company’s reputation. If you make a promise, you better deliver on it. Break a promise and your reputation will suffer. Just like a personal reputation, a brand reputation is formed based on the behaviors and actions of the company (or a person within the company) and how those behaviors and actions are perceived by the target audience. Since most people understand what a personal reputation is, it makes it easier to understand what “branding” is all about.

In today’s socially-networked world, it is imperative for brand owners to actively monitor Social Media channels like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, as well as track blogs, forums and online communities where conversations about the brand may occur. Whether the conversation is positive, negative, humorous, or just sarcastic, you must track the sources of such content and gauge the sentiment and underlying emotions in order to protect and enhance reputation.

The key to making the transition from brand to reputation management lies in the examination of the company through a set of filters designed to gauge how you are shifting from a reliance on the traditional art of persuasion to the adoption of the disciplines of authenticity.

Download our latest white paper to learn more about the shift from brand management to reputation management by practicing a discipline of authenticity – and if you’re a B2B marketer there are a few additional recommendations just for you.

Monday Morning Water Cooler Chit-Chat Trophy

Well, it’s that time of year again… advertisers are ponying up for a chance to win over the hearts and minds of the 100-million-plus football fans who will be tuning-in for this year’s Super Bowl featuring the New York Giants and the New England Patriots. The price of admission?… A cool $3.5 million for 30 seconds of airtime. As in year’s past, I’m shocked that this level of spending continues to go unchecked.

During the last 45 Super Bowls, Budweiser has been the most visible and memorable advertiser – routinely winning the “Monday Morning Water Cooler Chit-Chat Trophy”. From the halftime Bud Bowls, to the iconic Clydesdales, to the True “Wuzzup” guys… the Budweiser brand has left an indelible mark on the Super Bowl and the advertising world.

However, a recent poll of 1,500 likely Super Bowl watchers predicts that the King of Beers will finish dead last in terms of its ability to receive a solid return on its investment for this year’s game. Which may explain why Budweiser’s sales continue to drop every year despite the annual ad spree they devote to the Super Bowl. As the category leader, you would think that Bud would benefit from all of the demand they must be generating from these multi-million dollar ad buys! No such luck.

This year, my friend Jim Lenskold put together a neat measurement tool for evaluating the potential ROI of Super Bowl ads for a couple of different product categories including automotive, consumer goods and internet domain providers. After adjusting the inputs to the tool for a few minutes, it will become painfully obvious to you just how ridiculously hard it is to setup a scenario where you can generate a positive ROI from a Super Bowl ad…

So, if you feel like playing “Monday-morning Quarterback”, please shoot me a message with the top-3 Super Bowl ads you think will show a positive ROI this year.

As consultants and former CMOs for some of the largest B2B companies in the world, TopRight has come to the realization that fragmentation and lack of cohesiveness in marketing is more the norm than the exception. It is also clear that when this inherent weakness is fixed, it can unleash marketing power never before imagined.

Fragmentation is a serious structural issue that if left unaddressed can become an insurmountable barrier to achieving high performance. It leads to duplication of resources, continuous re-inventing of the wheel, inconsistent and incorrect branding and messaging, disjointed processes and lack of connection to the corporate mission. The messaging inconsistencies alone can hinder a company’s ability to drive one compelling, powerful voice that is critical to stand out in a crowded marketplace.

The severity of fragmentation varies widely from company to company and is typically the result of three key factors – the type of products and services and how localized they are; the extent of autonomy that CEOs give their business unit leaders; and complacency or apprehension by corporate marketing to rock the boat.

Is your marketing organization fragmented? I’d encourage you to start right away with assessing your organization and download the white paper that outlines a 10-step cure.   Good chance you’ve only satisfactory completed less than half of the 10 steps.  Whatever stage you’re at, move with speed and purpose to address the gaps and begin down the path of building a high performance marketing team that is a catalyst for profitable growth.  It’s amazing what a marketing function can do when you harness the power of consistency across the organization.

The fast-paced, complicated reality of our daily lives is enough to deal with for most of us… so why would you want to “augment it”!  Well, with a highly mobile and connected customer base, marketers are stretching their product imaginations even further.   Next generation smart phones and mobile technologies are enabling marketers to relevantly connect customers with brands in truly unprecedented ways.  The emergence of Augmented Reality and it’s neighboring platform, Sixth Sense Technology, are literally opening up a multi-dimensional window into how customers and brands will interact in the future with regard to:

1. Customized content
2. Personalized experiences
3. Emotional connections

All enabled through the convergence of hand & voice control, sound, video, graphics and GPS technologies.

Whether you are presenting your Business Card or buying Heinz Ketchup the Augmented version of reality delivers an enhanced multi-sensory experience.  For strategic, creative thinkers in Marketing, this opportunity opens up a whole new world for Spatial Design, allowing us to flow in and out of brand vignettes and making reality a little more fun.  Let us know what you think: how will augmented reality be applied to the art and science of marketing??….

We’re in the midst of a remarkable marketing evolution at this moment in time. The multitude and complexity of communication mediums and technologies that are being used to speak to the market is revolutionizing how the work of marketing is performed. The days of campaign-oriented thinking – the traditional approach of “start-stop-measure-tweak-repeat” – are over. Today, marketers wanting to effectively build brands and drive revenue growth must facilitate a continuous, meaningful conversation with their target audience or they risk becoming irrelevant.

Download our latest white paper to learn more about the distinctions between campaigns and conversations and how you may need to change your perspectives on direct marketing – and if you’re a B2B marketer there are a few additional recommendations just for you.

Research in Motion (RIM) had it all:  they were the leading suppliers of cell phones to American businesses and had the lion’s share of the Smartphone market. But that was not enough for RIM, they wanted a slice of the consumer market too and developed the Blackberry PlayBook tablet to join in the competition with Apple and a plethora of Android-based competitors. But delusions of grandeur and targeting the wrong market have led RIM to land on our Marketing FAIL page.

Since its launch in 2003, the BlackBerry Smartphone led the way in business communication with its QWERTY keyboard and ability to give users access to their corporate email. The BlackBerry had RIM riding high by 2009 as Fortune Magazine named RIM “the fastest growing company in the world with a growth of 84% in profits over three years despite the recession.” By September 2010, RIM announced that the BlackBerry PlayBook tablet computer would be launched the following spring despite the fact that Apple had already taken the lead by successfully launching the iPad in April 2010.  Trying to “one-up” Apple,  RIM claimed to be a superior tablet thanks to its support for Flash technology for streaming video content. RIM’s Co-Chief Executive Officer, Jim Balsillie, said, “The PlayBook is compelling because it works with the BlackBerry, allowing those hooked on the RIM Smartphone to continue using their preferred communications device.” But RIM has struggled mightily to market the product effectively… notably marred by the departure of Chief Marketing Officer, Keith Pardy,  just a month before the launch.  However, there are far more serious problems with the PlayBook: an unfamiliar operating system (QNX); a screen that users claimed was too small and a price that was too high.  These issues combined with the fact that a BlackBerry phone must be tethered to the Playbook in order to access email services may have put success out of RIM’s reach.  With lackluster sales, the company recently undertook a price-slashing initiative by cutting $50 – $150 off the Playbook – a “fire-sale” move that just underscores their irrelevance with consumers.  The company’s stock value has taken a plunge and the future looks bleak as many consumers seem hooked on the Apple iPad and various Android-based tablets.

Check out Dave Sutton’s live interview on TrendPOV to get more details on how RIM could have avoided this failure – and also how they may be able to yet recover.

While many retail professionals may be tired of the hype surrounding social media, there is no denying that the retail industry is facing a game-changer. This is not to say that social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and YouTube have turned retail businesses completely upside down, but such sites are changing the customer engagement game enough where retailers who ignore social channels place their brand and customer loyalty at significant risk.

Furthermore, it’s very clear that social media is not just a passing fad.   A recent survey by Nielsen showed that social networks and blogs are now the fourth most popular online activity, even more popular than personal email. And users are not just “tweeting” and blogging about their everyday lives; they are sharing details on their personal shopping and product experiences – often unfavorable ones – with the world.

Social media implications for most retailers today are dramatic.  And, if you happen to be a small, specialty retailer it can be downright overwhelming… Where do you start?  Which social channels are most important? What conversations really matter for your business and what’s just chatter?  And even if you’ve already started, how do you know you’re getting optimal value from your investments in social media?

Want to learn more?   Check out Dave Sutton at the Atlanta Fall Gift & Home Furnishings Market & The Atlanta Gourmet Market on October 14, 2011 at America’s Mart where he will be presenting new social media strategies for changing retail dynamics.  Get a copy of his latest social media white paper for free by clicking here.