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Should Marketers Use Celebrity Endorsements?

This topic comes up at home every time a celebrity does something incredibly stupid (shoots someone, falls down drunk, crashes a car, gets involved with dog fighting, etc.).  Reporters then question marketers on their decision to use said celebrity as endorser of their product/service/business.  Will they continue to support the celebrity?  Will they drop him/her?  Will they look for someone new?  Will there be fallout for the marketer in way of decreased sales?  These are all things that marketers must thing about BEFORE signing up a well-known celebrity 'cause ya just never know what they might do in the real world.

That's why I was intrigued by some stats on this very topic that came out earlier in the week.  Turns out business leaders rank higher than athletes, tv/movie stars, singers or former political figures in being "most persuasive."  See below:

 
This bit of research begs the question "does persuasiveness translate to sales."  Regardless it's just another thing marketers should think about when determining who the best person is to endorse their company.

Ad Age Marketer Of The Year Is...HYUNDAI

Really?  Hyundai?  That little auto maker from Korea that makes those inexpensive cars?  Yes, THAT Hyundai.  And they won "handily" according to Ad Age beating Walmart, Mickey D's, Lego, and Amazon by getting 40% of the reader vote. 

A big reason was Hyundai's Super Bowl campaign which went right to the heart of the American economic problem: if you buy a Hyundai and lose your job/income you can return the car with no impact on your credit.  That was one bold claim and it got a lot of folks who were going through tough times to take a first, second, or even third look at Hyundai.  Clearly the campaign worked:

- Hyundai market share surged from 3.1% in '08 to 4.3% in '09 (first 10 months)

- In September Hyundai increased new car sales by 27% (the industry average was a drop of 22%)

Best quote from the article in Ad Age came from Scott Fink, chairman of Hyundai's national dealer council. "These same people that never would have been caught dead in a Hyundai...now they are very comfortable because the brand has been elevated.  We used to be a price player, but now we're a mainstream player."

I've got to admit...that new Genesis is a good looking car (dare I say it looks a lot like a Mercedes Benz?) and if I was in the market for a new vehicle I wouldn't certainly take a test drive.

Congrats Hyundai.

  

Can Marketers Really Learn From Pro Wrestling?

Let me start by saying I'm not a pro wrestling fan, have never been to a match nor watched a full one on TV.  Hulk Hogan is the only wrestler that comes to mind and his pro career hit its peak in the late '80s.  But pro wrestling still packs 'em in and has enjoyed consistent success for more than 30 years.  So I was intrigued when I read an article in Fast Company earlier in the week entitled "10 Things Corporations Can Learn From Pro Wrestling" and thought I'd share that list here:

1. An appropriate level of spectacle is crucial

2. Humor and charisma always make a connection

3. Create a serialized connection with your audience

4. Shiny new objects don't last

5. Your audience uses you as an excuse to build community

6. Your audience is always performing

7. Take every opportunity to listen to your focus groups

8. Your audience will tell you what they think

9. Don't ignore surplus audiences

10. Listening could lead to new business models

Some good ideas/concepts to take to your next executive team meeting from a business that has enjoyed tremendous staying power.

 

Marketers like to KISS

We've heard it before.  Keep It Simple, Stupid.  It's one of my favorite expressions in the working world especially when trying to determine a company's value proposition, how our product/service differentiates with others in the space, when putting together a sales presentation, and even running a meeting.  Yet people and companies still complicate matters and create too much complexity along the way...and that leads to confusion, frustration, and declining sales.

So I was happy to read an article on USAToday.com earlier in the day talking about companies who are, in fact, keeping it simple.  Companies like Haagen Dazs, Starbucks, Kraft, and Campbell's are simplifying by reducing the number of ingredients they are putting into their products.  Some examples:

Haagen Dazs: new ice cream line is called "Five" because it only contains five ingredients (the Vanilla Swiss Almond in my freezer contains 11)

Starbucks: their banana bread went from containing 15 ingredients to 10 (my favorite quote in the article mentioned how they are not using banana flavor anymore: "we can just put more bananas in and do the same job.")

Kraft: Triscuit crackers now contain just 3 ingredients - wheat, salt, and oil (the Ritz in my cupboard contains 15)

Campbell's: Their newer Select Harvest contains fewer ingredients and actually describes what each one is, which is helpful as some are rather confusing such as maltodextrin (it's a carb from potatoes or corn starch)

I like this trend and hope it continues.  Now I need to run out and try that new Five ice cream.

  
 

 

Overhyped Products?

Minyanville published an intriguing article yesterday about the most overhyped products in the land.  They extend from CPG products (New Coke) to sports arenas (New Yankee Stadium) to vehicles (Segway) to emirates (Dubai).  I trust there was great debate around the Top 10 in the halls of Minyanville in NYC. Great fodder for cocktail party conversation, too.