Blink:

Last year I contributed a guest post to the SMRA (Social Media Research Association) titled Influence Marketing – 2019 Awards. I awarded Sephora Influence Marketer of the Year. Consequently, I further decided to conduct an experiment and follow two fashionista/beauty influencers.

Read On:

The two influencers are female, appear to be in their twenties, one macro from Phoenix, AZ and one micro from Nice, France. Key learning:

• Both are Instagram Masters, posting on a regular basis complete with an overabundance of hashtags, plus broadcasting their new posts on stories. Consequently, they have respectable vanity metrics – likes and engagement if you count emojis as engagement.
• Not sure how they are compensated, but they both endorse a strong portfolio of products. Travel must be part of their deal given all the different places they visit.
• Outside of the occasional car ad, my Instagram feed of sponsored advertising for skin creams, the latest shoe fashions, distressed jeans, sunglasses, etc., is significantly off the charts. No surprise given Sephora spokespeople indicated their influence marketing movement led to a gold mine of consumer data. Remember, I am conducting an experiment with Instagram owned by Facebook, data to generate marketing revenue is the engine that drives their platform.

Now for the spine of my post. Is influence marketing a sound brand strategy long-term? Recently, I read a great point, counter point article in Ad Age between two marketing C-suite executives detailing the pros and cons of influence marketing. Both articulated their thoughts clearly. What resonated for me? The quote below by the individual who believes influence marketing is dishonest and wasteful:

“I think the art and science of marketing has been lost in recent years. I worry that there is a new generation of marketers who think that running a Facebook campaign or partnering with a lifestyle influencer makes them a marketing pro.”

I apologize for being candid – old school thinking. The art and science of marketing has not been lost; it has been morphing. Regardless of their level of experience, marketing professionals continue to realize they have to utilize a combination of tools to reach their target audience. Younger generations feel comfortable receiving their information via social media. Therefore, it is important for smart marketers to familiarize themselves with platforms like Instagram, TikTok, etc.                  

In closing, I will continue analyzing the benefits of influence marketing, thus continue my first 2020 marketing experiment. However, since I believe it is important to utilize a combination of tools (a.k.a. omnichannel marketing), in my subsequent post I will be addressing what I envision the next big movement in marketing, Personalization.

Blink:

Remember in science class testing the solubility of sugar in water until reaching the limit when grains appeared at the bottom of the glass? In today’s digital world, I have learned that I reach a saturation point where I am no longer retaining information because I am experiencing AIS.

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I typically allocate 90 minutes to two hours for my daily online digital run knowing I will reach a saturation point I interpret as AIS (Aggregating Information Syndrome), the point I am no longer retaining information. No mas, no mas! Time to get off line. This past Friday, I experienced AIS in less than one hour. A new record!

I started with my daily Twitter review. All the people I am following are organized into lists by topics of interest. I decided to check out the most recent tweets on seaweed, a future food category I am bullish about. Found some interesting seaweed content posted by Doctor Seaweed, leader of a company out of Scotland I just started following this year. Great articles on the health benefits of kelp, specifically iodine. Liked and retweeted (a.k.a. Twitter engagement) both articles to seaweed connections. Next, thanks to a non-profit out of Maine funding startups, I learned Sweetgreens collaborated with celebrity chef David Chang and launched a new kelp salad LTO Thursday the 13^th. Gold! Just what I have been advocating – innovative product application executed by a national chain will raise the awareness of sea vegetables in the U.S. Shared the news with members of my Tribe and then checked out Sweetgreens. Extensive time consumption! Exited Twitter to check my inbox and review the latest information feeds (e.g., culinary, technology, retail, etc.). I will not bore you with details, but before I made significant progress, in less than one hour, my brain communicated with me that I had the beginnings of AIS.

Are you experiencing AIS?

Blink:

Twitter’s competition awarding the brands that get people tweeting and driving conversation/engagement on game day is back for the third year – #BrandBowl54.

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Last year’s big winners: Planters was the MVP, Game of Thrones co-branded spot with Bud Light garnered the highest Twitter velocity and Marvel Studio’s “Avengers: Endgame” movie trailer was the Retweet champion.

A Twitter advocate, I have been following Brand Bowl from the outset. Who will be the big winners this year? Not sure, but my vote goes to the NFL. The league has been active on Twitter for 11 years. Super Bowl Sunday is one of the most-tweeted days of the year. This year they are collaborating with Twitter to print people’s messages on the confetti that drops on the field in Miami during the victory celebration. Smart marketing! Great memorabilia opportunity for Super Bowl fans who loyally stick around for the post-game celebration.

#BrandBowl54 Will Twitter surpass all existing records on Sunday?

Blink:

Bad news: The Australian brush fires rage on, while the country’s east coast has been ravaged by thunderstorms, flash flooding and hail. Good news: Week two of the AO; Roger Federer is in the hunt for another Grand Slam title. Regardless of what he does, this much I do know.

Read On:

Brand Federer, a topic I have previously addressed, keeps rolling on – ka ching, ka-ching, ka-ching!

• On – Roger’s latest brand endeavor. A Zurich, Switzerland based performance shoe company with a cult like following. Quietly, their shoe CloudTec is the second most-sold sneaker in Germany after Nike’s Air Max 270. America, thanks to celebrities, is their largest market. In addition to being a representative for the brand, Roger has invested in the company and is an advisory product designer.
• Credit Suisee – The Swiss bank came under attack that they were financing investments in coal-fired power plants. Consequently, climate activists questioned Roger for being a long-time brand advocate. Their Twitter movement #RogerWakeUpNow precipitated Roger to release before the Australian Open a well-crafted, politically correct response. Key learning for the “Maestro” and his team, brand transparency is top of mind now for global consumerism. They need to select their brand endorsements carefully.

Noteworthy, life after tennis, Roger Federer will unquestionably be the highest paid brand manager in the world.

Blink:

Everyday I am online aggregating information. I am continually amazed how many people (a.k.a. storytellers) throw out numbers/marketing data without a point of reference. Makes me think about the relevance of what I am reading. Relevance, a concept I learned from the Heath Brothers.

Read On:

Relevance (noun) – the quality or state of being closely connected or appropriate.

The Heath Brothers enlighten me regarding the concept of relevancy in their book titled: “Made to Stick.” The story I remember was the truth about movie popcorn. Art Silverman who worked for CSPI (Center for Science in the Public Interest) analyzed the nutritional value of movie popcorn. CSPI learned that the typical medium size bag contained 37 grams of saturated fat. He then realized few people really knew what that nutritional data point meant. Was 37 grams good or bad? To communicate Mr. Silverman’s findings and make them relevant, the CSPI created a visual: they laid out on a table demonstrating how one bag of popcorn was equivalent to the saturated fat from a bacon-and-eggs breakfast, a Big Mac and fries for lunch, a steak dinner with all the trimmings — combined! Relevance!

In 2019 I aggregated information about influence marketing that lead to some interesting engagement with members of my Tribe. One individual referenced an article touting the future growth of influence marketing, therefore projecting $8 billion was going to be spent on Instagram influence marketing in 2020. My Query: What percentage of total marketing dollars worldwide is $8 billion? Answer: 1.4 % of the $563 billion. Earlier this week an article I read indicated that by 2023 brands will be spending 20% of their marketing budgets on influence marketing. What is the relevancy of that number in comparison to the $8 billion dollars I read about in 2019? In addition, 20% is a quantum budgeting leap from 1.4%!

Maybe it is time to question the true relevancy of content published online.

Blink:

A multiplex is a movie theater with multiple screens within one venue. To me, too many movie choices. Consequently, I use multiplex fatigue as a phrase whenever I witness too many choices we are confronted with in our society.

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Multiplex fatigue:

• Streaming services.
• Cable channels, especially TV sports.
• Political debates and debaters.
• Lobbyists.
• e-Commerce.
• Beverage choices.
• Cars, thus carbon dioxide emissions.
• Social media platforms.
• Digital content, especially blogs.

Time to minimize multiplex fatigue.

Chicago, IL 1/6/20

Stories, history – FDR to Donald

A remarkable adventure Eleanor!

Blink:

I recently posted an article on LinkedIn titled The Creative Process. If you want to observe a spontaneous level of creativity, go to a playground and watch children play. Playgrounds are a blank canvas for their imaginations to flourish/grow. There are no boundaries in a playground environment.

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Children play to better learn about the world around them and how best to connect with other people (peers, family members). They have a strong desire to learn, thus use the playground as a transformative environment – create imaginative narratives, explore, test their physical skills, etc. I first introduced the subject of playgrounds back in May Playground 2.0. Detailed below are more things I have learned observing children play:

• Children’s drive to learn is the mainstay of everything they produce. Consequently, it is what makes them creators of innovative ideas, stories and physical constructions. Observe how they interact/engage with their peers (a.k.a. make belief).
• Spontaneity rules! Watch how they navigate and cavort the playground equipment. Blame it on their short attention spans, but they have no plans, they just want to explore.
• Exploration of multiple solutions is part of their DNA. The next time you are in a playground take note of the number of children that go down the slide the proper way and then try to go back up the improper way.

Lessons: Earlier in the month I posted Lessons from a Top Winemaker. Today Playground Lessons. Do you have any 2019 lessons you would like to share?

Bonne Année!

Blink:

Customer journey mapping, people-based marketing, influence marketing, content marketing, etc., etc., etc.  I am weary of the daily bombardment of digital gurus preaching about the future of marketing.  Candidly, I think they are over processing and would benefit from the wisdom of Koji Nakada, a top winemaker.

Read On:

I have posted in the past about one of my favorite TV shows, a series on Japanese TV titled The Professionals.  A recent episode featured Koji Nakada, a Japanese winemaker in the Burgundy wine region of France.  His wines are coveted around the world (22 countries) and served in acclaimed restaurants.  Detailed below are some of the lessons I learned watching his special that I believe marketers would benefit from as they adapt to the continual transformation of marketing:

• Don’t always follow trends; do what you think is right (integrity).
• Experimentation, experimentation, experimentation.
• Expect the unexpected. Cope with it, learn from it, move forward.
• You cannot change the past, so just think forward.
• Be passionate about what you do. Give it your ultimate energy.
• Always think positive. Find joy in every day.

Thank you, Mr. Nakada.  As I experience the transformation of marketing, you made me realize experience still matters in our technological driven world.  There is no substitution for experience.

Marketers, trust your instincts!

Blink:

In an age dominated by digital transparency, inflated online reviews for providers of goods and services, fake news, etc., the use of the word authenticity has grown in popularity. Candidly, as I have previously posted, authenticity has evolved into a repetitively, over used word.

Read On:

The definition of authenticity: (noun) – The quality of being authentic (of undisputed origin, genuine). Synonyms: Originality, legitimacy, validity, bona fide.

As a food-away-from-home channel marketing specialist, I recognize how food companies are facing more pressure/demand for supply chain related information. Consequently, the full disclosure of the sourcing/integrity of their ingredients is better known as biodiversity – sustainable farming and agricultural practices including regenerative ecosystem procedures, animal welfare, labor practices, etc. Last month at the UN Climate Action Summit, nineteen leading companies announced the formation of the OP2B (“One Plant Business for Biodiversity”) coalition to drive transformation in the food and agriculture systems for the benefit of people and our planet.

Authentic? Definitely, authenticity 2.0! However, I believe TMI. Some marketers are over subscribing and creating authenticity marketing ploys. Detailed below are two examples:

• Nestlé® Toll House® – Nestlé introduced the Nestlé® Toll House® Artisan Collection, a line of premium baking chips made with single-origin chocolate from Ghana. “Cocoa beans are the top agricultural export from Ghana; its rich soil is ideal for growing the intensely aromatic cocoa that is captured in these new premium baking chips,” says Ruth Braden, associate marketing manager for Nestlé® Toll House®. “Made with chocolate sourced from a single origin delivers a premium chocolate to the Nestlé® Toll House® portfolio.” Something you will think about the next time you dunk your cookie made with premium priced chocolate chips in a glass of cold milk.

• Starbucks – The brand juggernaut has always been dedicated to buying 100% ethically sourced coffee and was ahead of the transparent/authentic supply chain curve. But now, with 31,000 locations worldwide, their creative team has decided to publish their brand systems guidelines. Their iconic logo has been the same for years, but now we can learn about their regional in-store signage design elements complete with color codes and typographic weights, as well as the creative strategy behind their Instagram posts. Authentic? Definitely, but TMI. I am not convinced the average consumer that is purchasing a cup of joe cares about the design elements of their in-store signage/promotions.

Is TMI authenticity necessary or a new marketing ploy?