I am thinking of using these features of wordpress. Here is what I found interesting yesterday at Dilawar’s Blog.

We live our lives with with our knowledge of things. Sometimes we know things for fact and other times, well, we think we know things for the fact. 

What you think of these wild cats? Are they killers or your friendly household pets? Can some of them be turned into killers or tamed as Johnny’s pets?  We cant judge, but we cant discard years of learning (genetic, nature, nurture).

On a daily basis in my life and lives around me, I have seen assumptions and I dare say, very wrong, assumptions. I have seen hours of agony, misery and pain caused by things that never existed.

Is it something that only hurts our personal lives? No, it affects our  business lives as well. Assumptions about clients, projects, expectations, results, KPIs, performance, ……. you name it.

My younger brother has learned this from his martial arts training: Assumptions are killers.

Tags: Assumptions Assumptions are Killers Success Business Martial Arts

With the Google’s search getting sophisticated and intelligent users are depending more on its recommendations. Some of these recommendations are influencing the brands as well. Computer programs (e.g. search engines) influence a consumer when she searches solutions for a need, looks for a particular brand, researches on a particular brand category. In all of these circumstances what is presented to the consumer by search engine might have brand preferences built in.

John Mayo-Smith of R/GA has written an interesting article Courting the Mind of a Different Kind in Advertising Age. He is talking about a new service by Google, Google Sets that returns lists of terms with things in common. If you type in “red,” Google Sets returns “red, blue, green, black, yellow and white.” (Note the difference between Sets and Search, which returns links to websites). Google Sets is still in beta, but it can be used as a kind of aided awareness test to illustrate how Google “thinks” about brands.

What happens if you type a brand name. Here is what John found when he typed Hyundai and Toyota:

…..here’s what Google associated with Subaru: Toyota, Volkswagen, Saab, Suzuki, Volvo, Nissan, Rover, Triumph, Rolls, Porsche, Mitsubishi, Mazda, Pontiac, Honda.

Here’s what Google associated with Toyota: Subaru, Volkswagen, Nissan, Volvo, Saab, WILLYS, Suzuki, Honda, Mitsubishi, Mazda.
In this experiment, Subaru is associated with a wide range of 14 brands, while Toyota is associated with a narrower range of 10 brands. These results suggest Google “thinks” of Subaru differently than it does Toyota. ……………………………….. Whatever the reason [for this distinction], the fact that Google can tell brands apart may influence search results, which could, in turn, affect sales.

Here is my search results for “freedom” and this what Google Sets (search: Freedom) suggested – Freedom, Equality, Money, Control, to combat boredom, parties and fun.

Aha, now I need to find out how to get more money so I clicked on “Money” and viola!, first link is CNN/Money, second is MSN Money and so on.

You should not be surprised if in a second version of Google Sets it remembers my other searches, geo-location, gmail (emails) and comes back with a more specific (to me) result.

Here are Google Sets thoughts on my search for ”cruises“.

Tags: Brand Sense, Branding, Search, Google, Marketing, Semantic Web, 2.0, , Trend

Tags: Advertising Age, Adage.com

I have once discussed about Paris Hilton being a marketing platform. [here..]. I see a lot of you interested in marketing skills of Paris and how is she a platform player.  So here goes a little more details on marketing as a platform. But here are few words ooops pictures form our sponsors. 

Just like YouTube and MySpace.com Paris Hilton is a marketing platform. Any product associated with her gets benefits and to protect their interest they encourage her success.

Remember diet Coke and Mentos vide on YouTube. A user made this video, uploaded on youtube [platform] and started a viral phenomenon of alike. Now someone sitting in Coke’s marketing office is smiling and collecting additional orders from thirsty youtubers. 

Here is what the guys who wrote the book Marketing Playbook: Taking the mystery out of marketing have to say about platform play:

In  Marketing Play you generally choose to ignore the competition, or even coopt them. Instead you win by becoming a Platform from which a whole industry can win too. You win by making it easy and profitable for others to ally with you and painful for them to let you loose.

Coming back to Paris Hilton, now when Paris Hilton talks about a product in her “Paris style” outbreaks, she is acting as a platform. The product gets free publicity and I am sure this favor never gets unnoticed.

So here  is benefit of being a platform, minis.

Tags: Marketing, Celebrities, Paris Hilton, Platform, Minis, Mercedes, Branding, Play

I have this friend who is a voracious reader, an A student, and very articulate in quoting great works. But when it comes to coming up with some new ideas when there is no help available, he just gets stuck. Manuals, books, guides, or some adviser has to be there.

He is just a great searcher. In the words of my grandfather he is a Parrot – knows words but does not know what they mean.

I think then knowledge has two parts, first I will call know and second apply.

Learning to swim is an example where learning involves both knowing & applying that knowledge.

Applying what you know to a situation where it has not been applied before will expand (discomfort in start) your brain’s apply side and experience from that will add to your know side.

Learning from one area and applying in other. Sort of using analogies. Sort of using metaphors. Sort of improv. Sort of …..driving without a destination (and then discovering a theme in your escapades.)

If a marketing and branding expert finds a magic lamp. Do you know what will be first question he will ask the genie?

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keep thinking.

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Here is a cheat sheet. Look at the items that bother them the most. Look at the most important item on their agendas. Go ahead, try again.

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If you guessed market demand, product suitability, competition etc then you are close but … here is what most of the marketer will love to ask the genie.

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 “What the customers want?”

…

 Sad that we don’t have the magic lamp or the genie. All we have our wonderful products and, if we are lucky, scattered customers.

..

But we still need the answer to this question.

What the customers want?

Now lets try to answer the same question but this time without a genie. Here are few ideas we can look into.

• Talking to our existing customers. Asking them why are they with us and what would keep them with us. Asking them what interest them in the market other than our product.
• Observing what customers buy, getting actual numbers on what they buy and details about the transaction. Where they buy?
• Watching trends. Seeing what is changing in our customer’s world. Are they adopting some new technology? Are they following a certain ideology? Is there some newer issues on their plate?
• Study competitors. Keep an eye on them, may be they met the genie. May be they got the answer.
• Meditate. Yes, its right: meditate. Sit still and relax, breath in and breath out. Sometimes the best way to connect is to first disconnect.

You know she is the one. You know its right time.  Then go ahead my man, propose her.

But you want to make it memorable; you want her to be “swept away”; you want to make it big.

You are standing in the middle of Time Square in New York, with your girlfriend. 

You guys see huge electronic board with interesting messages. “Rock is here”, “Vote for Pedro”.

You pretend as if you are checking time on your cellphone. You type a text message, ”Madonna, Will you marry me? – Jason”, and press send. 

You waite. You keep on looking on this huge electronic board, with interesting messages. Your girlfriend is reading and enjoying those funny messages.

And then it shows up.

Madonna, Will you marry me? – Jason

She read it out loud, without really thinking.

Then.

She turns into red, pink, beautiful thing she is. Hopefully you turn into some sort of red shade too (hint: you must).

And then …..then the moment you have been waiting for.

“Yes, Jason I will marry you.” she says. 

Ah, the love is in the air. ….

Made possible by a big board in Time Square and your wireless provider. You SMS the big board and it will be displayed in next 30 seconds. Cost per message, lets say 20 dollar per message. She agreed to marry YOU, priceless.  

Google and YouTube is the talk of the town.

Everyone is thinking, why, why so much, and what’s next?

Here is another take of Google and YouTube deal.

What do you think?

Smirnoff Tea Partay.

Target Audience : New England’s white community, educated, affluent, and hip.

Style : Using a rap and hip-hop style is interesting and satirical.

Synergy : The accompanying website www.teapartay.com introduces the Tea (product), which is the reason for Tea Partay. I liked the language (copy) of the website, it continues the hip-hop experiences. There you can send this video to “your chum”, if you want to. You can also download it too, just in case if you would like to upload it on another video sharing service.

Great viral marketing in action. Enjoy.

Technorati tags: Brandchannel, Branding, Marketing

Imagine you are a brand manager for a tummy-relief (constipation) medicine. What is the best place to remind your target audience about your product?

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keep thinking.

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Here is what you might have come up with.

• A health related magazine
• Daily Newspaper
• A trade promotion material at a pharmacy or doctor’s office

You are close, if you thought any of the above or similar. You rationale is simple.

• Treatment: Where do people go for treatment when they have constipation? Doctors office or pharmacy, so putting a display ad there will help.
• Place: What people do when they are in bathroom? Spend a lot of time; they read newspaper and hence your ad in there.

All these methods work but not very effective. Here is what works the best.

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Put an ad in the bathroom.

Tell the customer about your product when he is in “shit’.

Put the ad on that toilet paper dispenser. 

Put an ad on the toilet paper.

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You think its too smelly, not clean, not going to work. Think again.

It works.

It works.

 ….

Companies in Italy have done that many years ago. They placed their ads on the back of the bathroom door. What a place? What a dedicated communion with the customer. One to one talk. They are not distracted and have nothing else to do but to read your ad. Even the legal disclaimers.

…….

Can you think any other product that can be advertised there?

Let me help.

Think bathrooms in hotels, restaurants, clubs, and highway rest stops. Think big churches, big stadiums, train stations, and airports. 

What you can advertise there?

Think about the place.

Bathrooms ads are so unique. You don’t need to worry about the gender of your reader? You know it.

Bathrooms ads are so unique. You know where your ads will be seen. So if your ad is at airport you know what your audience is doing there -traveling. So tell them about duty free shop, the amazing places to visit in town or may be international calling cards.

…..

Interesting. Isn’t it?

So bathroom is not that stinky place after all. 

I love T-Mobile. Now go away, let me type my email while I am relaxing here.

Technorati tags: Brandchannel, Branding, Marketing, Bathroom