Moshe Engelberg On Everything Marketing

To "prepare" us for the next Muppets feature film in 2011, Disney (who bought the Muppet franchise several years ago) has unleashed a brilliant and carefully orchestrated combination new and traditional media strategy that draws on Disney's many assets. A major communication channel is YouTube, and Muppet characters have been appeared in several ABC and ESPN programs. Check out the very cool Muppets version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, which to date, has been viewed by over 11.6 million viewers.

Soon we'll be seeing Muppets everywhere. The power of pop culture to influence our collective psyche!

Oral Roberts, the television preacher whose faith healing ministry had millions of followers, died last week. Here's a short video of him faith healing little Billy Ray, a boy with polio, so Billy can suddenly walk without crutches.

I remember as a kid watching Oral Roberts, and Jimmy Swaggart, the 700 Club, and other TV ministries with utter fascination. Even then I questioned what they said, but loved how they said it. They were experts at the art of persuasion! Their effectiveness had very little to do with facts, and everything to do with faith, and feeling. Which is, I believe, why the religious right is as powerful as they are. In public dialogue, they "own" feelings and emotion. As entertainers, they tap into our uniquely human ability to suspend disbelief and go along with the story. Those left of center are driven by logic and reason.

The promise of hope and despair of fear almost always trump rationale thinking, especially when it comes to the abstract values that guide our lives. What would happen if the pendulum shifted? Let's try it!

(P.S. When I start typing "Oral" into the Google search box, the first suggestion is "Oral Roberts" -- immediately followed by... "oral herpes." Be careful of the company you keep!).

What a marketer LuAnne is - making money from her blog! She recognized how to apply the law of supply and demand to transform her little brother's need for computer time into a revenue stream. Now kids all over the world can learn the economics of blogging from the Sunday comics... see, entertainment can educate!

Last week, I was at the mall with my wife and kids. Following along, I wasn't paying much attention to where we were going, though I did her someone say "Nordstrom" as we walked into the nearest department store. Passing the shoes, I noticed their selection was well below par. I was also amazed a the low prices and Kohl's-like display of men's pants. Then when I asked for help on two occasions, both salespeople simply pointed and said "over there." At this point, I knowingly said to my wife, "The service is really bad for Nordstrom's and some of the prices are so low!" She looked at me and said, "Moshe, this is Sears. You've been here for 20 minutes and you still thought it was Nordstrom??"

Rather than trying to convince her that I was doing such a good marketing experiment that I didn't even know I was doing it (inadvertently doubleblind, as it were), I simply said, "yes."

Looking back, I realize how well Nordstrom lives its brand promise of service and quality. And how Sears can win on price - sometimes. And lastly, how Nordstorm can transform clothes shopping (even for a non-shopper like yours truly) into an "experience." Now that's a brand!

My wife just told me about sticks - actually a chunk of a branch - that a pet store was selling for dogs to chew. Super Pet Branches are here!

Really?? Sure, dogs like to chew. And most dogs love to pick up a stick or branch and run with it, chew it, and if you throw it, chase after it. But do we really need to buy them? Last I looked, it wasn't too hard to find a branch around that would satisfy our so picky canines.

What's next -- buying perfectly sculpted stones in a store? Umm, oops.

In my Business Improvement Group today, I was reminded today about the power of one degree - the huge difference that a tiny difference can make. At 211 degrees water is hot. At 212 degrees water boils. Which makes steam. And steam can power a locomotive. Check it out on the video based on Sam Parker's book by the same name.

An Olympic victory comes down to milliseconds. A photo finish horse race where literally a nose can be the difference between winning and placing -- and 60% vs. 20% of the pot. As Vince Lombardi said: "Inches makes the champion."

The extra degree of effort really matters, in business and in life. 

This is an exceptionally well-crafted story that puts into practice several key marketing principles. Watch now and see if you spot 'em.

Here's a few:

1) The "walk" metaphor - It's part of the family name, the brand, the story, and is brought to life as the crux of the action in the rolling hills of Scotland. 

2) The brand execution - From the top hat to the tilted label to the square bottle, all the visual elements come together to create a unique position in people's minds and hearts.  

3) The values portrayed - Intelligence, ambition, family, fire in the belly, vision... all characteristics that deeply resonate with viewers and convert them into raving fans (even if they don't drink scotch!).

4) The power of story - The same information could have conveyed through a (boring) bullet point laden Powerpoint presentation, right? But human beings are wired for stories - it's just how we are. Need I say more?

So... what's your story?

Most of us assume customers want a lot of choices. Nobody likes being told what to do. Right? Maybe not.

In the book The Paradox Of Choice: Why More is Less, psychologist Barry Schwartz tells the story of going into the Gap to buy a pair of jeans. The salesperson asks him what kind of jeans- slim fit, easy fit, relaxed fit, or baggy? Stonewashed, acid-washed, or distressed? Button fly or zipper? On and on the choices grew. He replies - a bit confused - jeans, just regular jeans like he always buys. Then he started worrying, well maybe it matters and should he try on 14 different styles? The myriad of choices created an uncomfortable "need."

In our consulting work helping companies really understand what their customers want, need, and value, we invariably find that too many choices is just as bad as no choices. For example, when working with our federal Medicare agency (CMS) to investigate what choices seniors want in selecting health insurance plans, we found they tended to want two or three good choices. And they really valued a trusted resource that could present them with the best two or three options for their situation.

Therein lies the marketing opportunity. Sometimes people are overwhelmed by choices. They want to be told what to do, especially in a domain where they have little or no expertise, like say, evaluating healthcare systems. So step up and make it easier for your customers by reducing their number of choices. Call it "peace of mind" marketing.

P.S. This is where my marketing pseudonym "Les S. Moore" comes into play.

I was recently at an event honoring Norman Lear, the great TV and film producer, and political and social activist who brought us All in the Family,  Maude, The Jeffersons and many other culture changing shows.

He said two things in his acceptance speech that really struck me: 1) I believe waking up every morning to be a production. We have a day to produce. 2) Success is how much joy we get out of the moments of our lives as we live them.

Much meaning -- not just for marketing, but for living.

We've been consultants to AARP for many years. Whenever we talk to their (40 million) members, we hear the same thing again and again. People really trust AARP. They may not know exactly what AARP does or what policies AARP supports, but nonetheless they trust AARP to do whatever is in the best interest of older Americans. Which I see as AARP's essential value proposition.

This was confirmed in a poll that NPR reported on today. Several politicians are attacking AARP's stance on healthcare reform (which would be better framed as Health Security Reform), claiming that profit motives are driving AARP's policy agenda. Here's how the "under-voiced" public sees it:

"The poll by NPR and the Kaiser Family Foundation listed seven of the biggest players in the health care debate and asked which one would recommend "the right thing for the country." AARP easily led the list among Democrats and independents. Among Republicans, it tied for first with an option titled "health insurance companies." So it's hard to tarnish AARP, in part because it's not seen as serving an ideology or a narrow economic agenda."

AARP is not perfect, but they have earned the public's trust through years of hard work, and tuning into what their members want and need, then delivering on their promise. I believe trust is the ultimate prize in marketing. It cannot be bought, it must be earned.