An article posted to BtoB Magazine’s web site a while back pointed out an interesting result from a recent Hearst survey: nearly 50% of all b-to-b marketing budgets are spent on online programs. That spend covers everything from web site development/enhancements to online advertising to SEO to webcasts to Social Media … you get the idea. The survey goes on to explain that trade shows account for 17% of marketing budgets, direct marketing (12%) and print (11%) account for most of the rest.
But like most media property-driven market research, it ignores a significant pool of resources that often go untapped by most b-to-b marketers and the media. I understand why. For a magazine or other media outlet to try and identify how much money and human resource is dedicated to internal communications, training and organizational behavior, they would have to step waaaaaay out of their comfort zone.
It’s kind of like asking an amateur astronomer to find Dark Matter in the universe using his existing, backyard telescope. They may have an idea where to point the telescope, but they can’t really see what they’re looking at.
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Posted by Mike Bawden under Brand Crafting
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An interesting piece surfaced today in USA Today about he value of playing up a brand’s history and longevity in today’s economically turbulant times.
The creative strategy seems simple enough – create confidence in the brand by emphasizing its historical roots and stability over past decades. As reported in USA Today:
Marketing experts say the trend is about image during an economic sea change. “It’s not going to have an effect on consumers making a purchase decision, but in these times, you want to put your best face forward as people look at companies that are going out of business,” says Walter Guarino, a marketing professor at Seton Hall University. “It’s image building. My guess is you will see more of it.”
But does the message slide from “stability and reliability” to “desperation”? That’s what one branding expert claims in the article:
But branding expert Robert Pasikoff, president of Brand Keys, says touting still being in business smacks of desperation. “(The) consumer has been brought up now in a fast-moving age. People are looking for things that are up to date. There’s no good way to say, ‘We’ve been doing this for 150 years.’ Heritage is fine, but people are not buying Coach because it is old.”
I put this question out to my friends in the Blogosphere and on Twitter to get their thoughts and ideas, and branding guru, Rob Frankel, stepped up with this very salient point:
“I believe reinforcing users’ brand loyalty – especially when it echoes proof of the brand’s strategy – can be very effective.”
Rob’s point is well taken. And it’s a fundamental belief I share in my take – a sort of “middle ground” on this whole debate, if you will.
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Is civility in our every-day communication dead? Judging by the amount of political advertising, lyrics on rap records, studies on the use of profanity by teenagers and dozens of other “bellweather indicators” – the answer appears to be “yes.”
Especially if you’re Steve Yastrow (writing for the Tom Peters blog) or Richard Rappaport (writing in Ad Age). Rappaport wrote this tome for Ad Age and decried the rise of “snide” advertising. Yastrow followed Rappaport’s article with this blog post declaring that “advertising is a sick business.” (more…)
