Lost in the Maze of Modern Marketing or “What Would Paladin Do?” « adtexadvertising.com Blog
http://adtexadvertising.com/blog/2009/07/08/lost-in-the-maze-of-modern-marketing-or-what-would-paladin-do/
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Lost in the Maze of Modern Marketing or “What Would Paladin Do?” Our little company is facing the mighty challenge of redirecting our own marketing efforts in these trying times. We don’t want to reinvent ourselves. For, I truly feel our “run-lean/hard-work/low-overhead/under-promise and over-deliver” business model is still relevant. But something’s gotta’ change. It seems the more I look at the latest trends and requisite buzzwords (ie; “interstitial”, “RFM”, “metrics”, “pay per click”, “SEO”, “social media”, “micro-blogging”, clickthrough, “branding”, et. al.), the more I long for simpler times. Is there a less-convoluted way to tell prospective clients about beneficial services at a reasonable cost? Gee, I long for some old-time simplicity. When all else fails, I can rely on my fictional business role model, Paladin. Quick story: In my former Advertising Manager position at the big manufacturer, we were always facing impossible deadlines and logistical challenges. One particular project found us at crunch time to deliver millions of printed inserts by a fast-approaching bindery cut-off date. Between fast-paced strategy sessions with our trusted designers, the printers and even the freight line, I had to take time speak with the concerned rep. at the 3rd –party bindery. He seemed skeptical of my promise of an on-time delivery. Later, he told my assistant (now our VP) “That D.J. dude has the demeanor of a gunfighter”. Yes, I have culled many of my best business practices from traits of the late, great Richard Boone’s character from the 50s TV western Have Gun—Will Travel. For those unfamiliar with the series, I’ll share what I recall and can gather from my Complete First Season DVD collection liner notes. Have Gun—Will Travel ran on CBS from 1957 to 1963. It was the lead-in show for the long-running Gunsmoke. The central character was a sometimes-enigmatic gunfighter for hire, who called himself Paladin (by definition, a paragon of chivalry and/or heroic champion). Actually, Paladin fancied himself more of a “troubleshooting consultant” than a mere gunfighter. Between “freelance gigs”, he was a nattily attired ladies man about town and noted resident of The Hotel Carlton in San Francisco. He kept his skills honed and did the dirty work to finance his high style of living, taste for fine cuisine, beverages and cigars. Paladin’s rate for services was $1000 a day, plus expenses. Boy, what we would do to be making that…here some 100 years later. When working, Paladin would shed his frilly city duds and ride out, dressed in ominous basic black. He was a lightning-fast draw with uncanny accuracy and a flair for words. He was just as adept in a bloody fistfight as he was quoting Shakespeare, Shelley or Socrates. He was chivalric and had a unique code of honor, even in a lawless environment. Simple Marketing Strategy and Branding to Boot Paladin had a straightforward plan for finding work. He would search for someone with a problem and offer himself as the solution. Paladin would have the hotel’s porter bring him a stack of newspapers from territories near and far. He would look for articles about someone with a particular problem. Maybe it was a mine owner being overrun by outlaws. It might have been a lopsidedly violent land dispute. It could be a blatant want ad for a fast gun. Either way, Paladin would clip the article and send it to the prospective client, along with his card. Oh, that iconic card. It was eventually featured in a tight camera shot during every episode. There was always an accompanying dramatic musical riff. The card was also immortalized in singer Johnny Western’s (what a great name) theme as “The Card of a Man”. It was a simple, period-standard “calling card” with the only artwork being a stark, black silhouette of a chess knight. A silver chess night adorned Paladin’s black holster. It was his distinctive “Brand”, I guess. The card had only these words” “Have Gun—Will Travel” and “Wire Paladin” “San Francisco”. What a pitch! You have a pressing problem and a virtual stranger offers an effective solution in the form of a simple card with a chess piece printed on it and a few words. It worked well for 50s-60s TV fiction, but what about today? If the American West were still untamed, would there be scores of gunfighter/problem-solvers out there? Would they be paying consultants to search-engine optimize their websites so a besieged mine owner could find them? Would they hire marketing firms to provide advanced demographic and psychoanalytical research on frontier peoples? Or would a strong man (or company) with a reliable reputation and good references get the job done? Oh, for a simpler time. But alas, I know it’s not to be. We do embrace business evolution and technology. But I also do believe the strategy is solid and the principles therein are effective. I regularly scour the trades and newspapers for articles about changes or moves at companies for which our services are a fit. I then try to send some form of attention-getting correspondence offering our services as a cost-effective solution. I then follow up with a phone call. I guess the big difference is our reputation doesn’t always precede us. We were well known and have great references in the home-textiles and department-store world. But cold calling often presents us as just another little agency in a vast sea of them. Given the chance, we will again prove our mettle and carve a new niche’ in another field. Our new clients will certainly benefit from our experience and cost-saving operations. That’s a benefit of running lean without all the latest trends and tricks. Not Always the Best, But Outstanding in the Field Paladin was very good at his trade. He also studied the competition to assess their weakness in relationship to his strengths. He adjusted his position accordingly. In one episode, he conquered a cobra-fast opponent with his slightly slower draw and impeccably placed hip shot. While clutching a resulting flesh wound, Paladin had these words for any other possible opponents in the hostile crowd. “Fast, but not accurate. Anybody figure he can do better?” Our services are not a perfect fit for all clients. We know that some larger operations will eat us alive with low-ball quotes, We also know the limitations of our resources and never bite off more than can be chewed. That’s why we specialize in certain programs and position ourselves as an “add-on” service, to boost client’s bottom lines, incrementally. Unfortunately many prospects immediately dismiss us because they “already have someone who does that” without even listening to what we do and how it works. You Have to Be Versatile When asked about the silver knight on his holster, Paladin told someone “It’s a chess piece, the most versatile one on the board. It can move in eight different directions, over obstacles and it’s always unexpected.” Back in the days when we were annually producing and delivering over 300 million print inserts, I would encourage our “troops” to diversify and develop cross-platform skills. My mantra was “AdTex isn’t a one-trick pony”. Our creative partners are some of the most skilled designers, artists, photographers, videographers, printers, copywriters and project managers around. That skill and versatility is handy when scrambling for piecework in times like these. When things turn around globally, we hope to have kept our “chops” up for the next trusted client. Know Your Tools, Keep Them Working Well and Have an “Ace in the Hole” When working, Paladin’s best friend was his sidearm. It was a smooth, black single-action .44 cal revolver with a rifled barrel. He practiced drawing and shooting it with both hands. The .44 was a precision handcrafted piece with a 1-oz. trigger pull. Paladin really hated to hear “Drop that gun!” I think it wasn’t so much that an opponent had the drop. It was likely the idea of his “livelihood” hitting the dirt. But, Paladin was usually always prepared for that scenario. In his waistband, was a little 2-shot derringer. The “stingy gun’s” sharp report was often the last sound Paladin’s enemies heard. Our “tools” aren’t necessarily our Macintosh computers, software, high-resolution digital cameras, large-format color laser printers or gigantic web presses. Those are all means to the end. But our most-trusted tools are our minds. Even during slow times like these, we’re doing projects to keep our creativity rolling. I’m a copywriter by trade. Although my abilities might have been slightly dulled by nearly 15 years of executive-level project management, I take every opportunity to write some retail copy. If nothing else breaks loose soon, our creative minds are still our vocational “derringers”. We keep ‘em clean and ready. The “Paladin Principles” So what have I learned from Have Gun—Will Travel and how do I apply it now and in the future? 1. Work hard and stay sharp. 2. Don’t wait for work to come to us. Find it and make us the answer to clients’ questions. 3. Stay current and relevant. 4. Be fast and accurate. 5. Know our strengths and acknowledge any weaknesses. 6. Be versatile. 7. Be honorable and honest, even when business can be dirty. 8. Stay cool under fire. 9. Keep our brand consistent. Now, where are those dailies? We need some work!
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Lost in the Maze of Modern Marketing or “What Would Paladin Do?” « adtexadvertising.com Blog
http://adtexadvertising.com/blog/2009/07/08/lost-in-the-maze-of-modern-marketing-or-what-would-paladin-do/
Tags: adtex, advertising, have gun, marketing, paladin This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 8th, 2009 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
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12/1/10 2:04 PM