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Marketing OCTOBER 2005 $7.95

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004 CONTENTS

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016 022

SPECIAL FEATURES 016

MY ADIDAS Whether worn to maximise sport performance or to impress fellow sneakerlovers with an appreciation of retro-style, Catherine Woods explores the undeniable allure of Adidas.

022

028 036

BACK TO THE BOOKS Contemplating further study? Marketing’s panel of experts is here to help you wade through the issues you need to consider before jumping in.

028

POSTCARD FROM WELLINGTON Derek Glass reveals the secrets to marketing in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

036

A MELBOURNE STORM

057

ONE:2:ONE

When three Monash University marketing students entered the international L’OrÊal Brandstorm Competition, they had no idea it would lead them across the world to L’OrÊal headquarters in Clichy, France. Russell Carter reports.

This special quarterly section focuses exclusively on direct best practice and includes opinion pieces from leading one-to-one marketing practitioners. In October Marketing, One:2:One features articles on relationship marketing, international SPAM regulations and CRM.

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006 CONTENTS

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COLUMNS

034

032

A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME… Car manufacturers would do well to follow the lead of branding experts and product naming consultants when devising distinct titles for their products, writes Kim Lehman.

040

QUALITATIVE DATA ANALYSIS SOFTWARE:FRIENDORFOE? Lisa Pakenham examines the changing attitudes of market researchers towards technology and suggests the industry is taking a quantum leap.

042

048

DISCOVERING THE SAVVY NEW CONSUMER Mark Uncles and Emma Macdonald provide some insights into the new breed of media and marketing savvy consumers based on findings from the recent consumer attitudes study undertaken by ADMA, UNSW and TNS.

044

THE MILITARY AND THE ART OF CHANNEL PLANNING Channel planners could learn a thing or two from the military, says Andrew Turley.

046

BRANDING YOURSELF FOR THE BEST JOB Are you an expert at selling products and services? Apply these successful formulas, Christine Khor advises, and you’ll reap the benefits and see yourself in a brand new light.

050 052

REGULARS 008

KIELY Michael Kiely

034

BLUEPRINT Packaging design

048

WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO?

050

RECIPE OF THE MONTH

052

GUERRILLA GUIDE Geoffrey Bowll

056

RETRO MARKETING Today’s views on yesterday’s news

066

PROSE AND CONS Con Stavros

Tony Lambaart

Group Publisher Grant Arnott grant.arnott@niche.com.au Managing Editor Sam McConnell sam.mcconnell@niche.com.au Media Zone Editor Tami Dower tami.dower@niche.com.au Features Editor Tami Dower tami.dower@niche.com.au Sub Editors Madeleine Swain madeleine.swain@niche.com.au Michele Frankeni Production Coordinator Jeanne Tan jeanne.tan@niche.com.au Digital Prepress Emma Meagher emma.meagher@niche.com.au National Advertising Manager Melissa Simmons melissa.simmons@niche.com.au Editorial Submissions marketing@niche.com.au Tel: (03) 9525 5566 Subscriptions Circulation Manager Edward Gough edward.gough@niche.com.au Subscription Inquiries Tel: (03) 9525 5566 Fax: (03) 9525 5628 subscriptions@niche.com.au www.marketingmag.com.au Marketing is a publication of Niche Media Pty Ltd ABN 13 064 613 529 Level 3, 165 Fitzroy Street St Kilda VIC 3182 Tel +613 9525 5566 Fax +613 9525 5628 Chairman Nicholas Dower Managing Director Paul Lidgerwood Finance Director John Clarke Studio Design Manager Keely Atkins keely.atkins@niche.com.au Printing Southern Colour (VIC) Pty Ltd Tel: (03) 9701 5544 Marketing ISSN 1441–7863 © 2003 Niche Media Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, internet, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publishers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information in this publication, the publishers accept no responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions or resultant consequences including any loss or damage arising from reliance on information in this publication. The views expressed in this publication are not necessarily endorsed by the editor, publisher or Niche Media Pty Ltd. Niche Media Privacy Policy This issue of Marketing may contain offers, competitions, surveys, subscription offers and premiums that, if you choose to participate, require you to provide information about yourself. If you provide information about yourself to NICHE MEDIA, NICHE MEDIA will use the information to provide you with the products or services you have requested (such as subscriptions). We may also provide this information to contractors who provide the products and services on our behalf (such as mail houses and suppliers of subscriber premiums and promotional prizes). We do not sell your information to third parties under any circumstances, however the suppliers of some of these products and services may retain the information we provide for future activities of their own, including direct marketing. NICHE MEDIA will also retain your information and use it to inform you of other NICHE MEDIA promotions and publications from time to time. If you would like to know what information NICHE MEDIA holds about you please contact The Privacy Officer, NICHE MEDIA PTY LTD, Level 3 / 165 Fitzroy Street ST KILDA VIC 3182..

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

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008 KIELY Michael Kiely was editor of Marketing from 1985 to 1995 and has been executive editor since 1995. He is an independent consultant in the direct marketing and brand strategy disciplines, a national director of the Australian Direct Marketing Association and was inducted into the ADMA Hall of Fame in 2001.

The philosophy of marketing?

W

hat is your philosophy of marketing? You must have one. It sets down the tram tracks along which all your thinking about marketing runs. It preordains most of your ideas and determines the outcomes you achieve. Is it possible to have something of that power exercising a controlling influence in your professional life and not know what it is?

Clearly it is because nowhere in literature or classrooms does ‘philosophy of marketing’ get a mention. Therefore I declare open – for the first time anywhere around the world – the discussion about ‘the philosophy of marketing’.

Recently I spoke at the Marketing Week conference in Adelaide. The theme of the conference was ‘Convergence’. What does it mean? I asked the organisers, the attendees, and marketing professionals I met in the weeks prior to the event.

No one could tell me with any certainty. I suspect it is the next hot buzz term. It will have its day in the sun until the next buzz term arrives.

Convergence joins a long list of terms – including CRM, integrated marketing, relationship marketing, database marketing, niche marketing, interactive marketing, digital marketing, loyalty marketing, segmentation, customer service, direct marketing, the four ‘Ps’, brand marketing, even the term ‘marketing’ itself, advertising, channel management, incentives marketing, public relations, sponsorship, etc. etc. – that claim to have an independent life in the ‘field of marketing’. But they are merely new labels for the same old stuff and, as such, they obscure the nature of marketing rather than teach us something new about it.

What do I mean? These terms, such as ‘convergence’, all refer to the same top-down, linear, one-way, self-centred, ego-driven, male, mining-mentality, exploitative, dehumanising process of shoving things down consumers’ throats. It reduces human beings to revenue streams. How could it be otherwise when our definition of the purpose of marketing is ‘to

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

move product’ in order to achieve our chosen definition of the purpose of a business: ‘to make profits’. Consumers in this process are the passive recipients of communications that beguile them into buying what we choose to sell them.

Immediately, you can see, simply by describing the dominant paradigm, we almost automatically reveal another alternative: a bottom-up, lateral, omnidirectional, otherfocused model.

What is your purpose of marketing? Why are you doing it? What do you hope to achieve?

When you are lying on your death bed, will you look back and say, “I sold a lot of widgets for XYZ company! I made the shareholders happy.”

This is not a stupid question because what is a company? It is the sum total of the personal ambitions and values of the individual people who make it up. Companies are created new everyday by the humans that live and work in them. People. Humans. Not business concepts.

Furphies that the dominant model has perpetrated on the industry include the following: people have relationships with brands. The high point of farce was achieved with this concept by the author of Love Marks, Saatchi & Saatchi’s Kevin Roberts. Naturally, it had to be an ad agency. Flash as a rat with a gold tooth.

People do not have emotional human relationships with brands. The assertion that they do can only be made if you mistakenly deduce attitudes from behaviour. Clearly people can hate brands and yet appear to be in love with them by their continued choice. Another furphy perpetrated by the same shallow thinking is this: brands have a life of their own. They don’t. A brand is simply an agreement between a group of people to act in a similar way. A logo then becomes a standard that they march behind.

No people, no logo display. No brand.

Marketing, therefore, is people doing things to and for people. People are complex bundles of emotion and intellect whose greatest need is self-respect and whose dirty little secret is that they don’t like themselves. Super models do not

like what they see in the mirror. Do you? Given this analysis, an incident of bad customer service does not offend because it causes inconvenience. It deeply offends because it confirms the individual’s own self assessment of worth. “You are worthless,” says our action of poor service. “You are right, and I hate you for reminding me,” says the victim.

Do people feel ‘bigger’ after dealing with you? Or do you reduce people to dwarf size? In other columns, I have covered the highest level of human need on Maslow’s hierarchy: self actualisation. Growing into a bigger, better human being. “Let no one ever come to you without leaving better and happier,” said Mother Teresa.

If marketing is about people, not brands, let’s go one step backwards and ask: why are people born? What is the purpose of people? I believe we have three reasons for being here: 1. To learn who we are 2. To fulfil our potential 3. To learn to love and be loved.

Jesus Christ said our task is to, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The story in the Bible says he sacrificed his life for people. Was he asking us to do the same? In another place he says, “The greatest among you shall be the servant to all.”

Where will a consumer’s patronage and contribution to profit go? Toward those whose purpose is to reduce them to a revenue stream?

Or towards those who genuinely feel love for them and express that love in a spirit of selfsacrifice and service of the type Mother Teresa described? As a race, people aren’t happy; they are haunted by existential angst and fear of being alone. How much will they cling to someone who proves by their behaviour that they are not alone? M

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010 AROUND THE TABLE

1

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■1 DOUGLAS NICOL

2 ROGER JAMES ■

3 AMY SMITH ■

FORMER MANAGING PARTNER, DIRECT & CRM, GEORGE PATTERSON PARTNERS

NATIONAL PRESIDENT, AMI

MANAGING DIRECTOR, WHYBIN\TBWA

WHY IS MYER IN A HOLE? As a consumer, I look at the Myer offering and I see multiple personalities: sometimes I see aspirations to be David Jones, but with an addiction to the price discount pill, sometimes I see Kmart apparel buying with a promise of Stella McCartney shoes.

I don’t have a reason to shop there. I can buy apparel of quality and lower price at Target and there is no added value experience in terms of the retail theatre, packaging or customer service.

When you think about the David Jones brand, whether you are a customer or not, some clear perceptions emerge. But when you think about the Myer brand it’s tougher, particularly if you live in New South Wales and only knew the Grace Bros name until a few years ago.

Yet if you look closer there are some distinct things that Coles Myer has done to build and/or revive the Myer brand in recent years.

But I think most people do not have a clear idea of the brand, its qualities and positioning.

So is this a marketing problem? Analysis of the two businesses suggests that building the brand is not in itself going to allow Myer to outperform David Jones.

A lot has been written about the superior financial performance of DJs: higher profits off a lower revenue base and, critically, superior margins. But talk to people in the industry and they will tell you that the flagship Myer stores are running at a reasonable profit; the overall performance is being dragged down by too many smaller stores that are probably just not viable, no matter what brand they carry, at least not in their current department store format.

This suggests the bigger problem is in the current retail outlet dispersal and structure.

So strengthening the Myer brand may help, but it’s not going to fix the problems of unviable outlets. That’s no doubt why a sale is being contemplated, for some, or perhaps all the Myer store chain and it’s likely to be the appropriate course of action. M

Myer is the dilemma of Australian retailing. It’s a retail icon and still appears in the holding company’s name (Coles Myer), but for how much longer? Who knows?

Through numerous management and strategic changes, we have seen a schizophrenic store trying to work out what it is – a discount store? A clothing store? A speciality store?

Everything but a department store.

What it has ended up as is a store on-sale all year round with nothing special about it and no reason for shoppers to shop. It has forgotten the basics of retail marketing, particularly those basics of marketing a department store that desires shoppers to shop the entire store. ✒ If you devalue the price of your products every week by putting them on sale, how do you expect your shoppers to value them?

Offer products that deliver something special to shoppers. ✒ Improve customer service. There are a lot of lapsed Myer customers who would love to come back for the old equities of the store.

They won’t at the moment because they’ve been let down before with promises not delivered. ✒ ‘My store Myer’ – no it’s not! I would humbly suggest that in the long-term, it needs to get out of the malls, away from its major competition (every retailer in Australia in one spot) and become destination points in its own right. ✒ Last but not least, buy product consumers want, product that helps differentiate Myer from every other retailer.

But seriously it’s really all about selling stuff people want in an environment that encourages purchases. M

HOW CAN THEY GET OUT OF THE HOLE? There is a clear opportunity to deliver an innovative proposition in a vanilla retail market. Zara in Spain has been pretty successful on the back of a simple proposition: ‘From the catwalks to our stores in five weeks at a fraction of the cost’, but this requires a business to reorganise itself and to be nimble, not just change the advertising jingle.

Myer has the distinct advantage over David Jones in being part of a bigger family, with lots of customers and lots of data on those customers via FlyBuys, MYER one and daily interaction with millions of Australian consumers; it should exploit this advantage better.

I think that the MYER one program has had a good start, but the opportunity is to use it to deliver a more personal experience for customers. The card can be an instrument that leads the way on customer insight and customer behaviour change. The danger is that it is thought of as a broadcast promotional tool rather than a relationship marketing tool. M

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

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QUESTION – Myer is losing the battle of the big department stores to long-time rival David Jones.

From a marketing perspective, why is Myer falling behind and what can it do to halt its decline?

4 GRAEME CHIPP ■

5 BELINDA ROWE ■

MANAGING DIRECTOR, GROWTH SOLUTIONS GROUP

MANAGING PARTNER, OPTIMEDIA

A big question! I’d focus on getting three key areas right: make the brand stand for something compelling, provide new reasons to come to Myer each day and throw out the ‘rulebook’ – motivate staff to deliver a uniquely ‘Myer’ brand of service.

Firstly, the brand. Today, Myer stands for a ‘store on-sale’ and it doesn’t need to. ‘My store Myer’ is a terrific proposition, but it isn’t being brought to life. It has lost its meaning. The Myer experience doesn’t really convey why shoppers should think of it as ‘My store’.

Secondly, I’d want to create a compelling reason for people to come to Myer every day. As it is today, there is no new news at Myer.

The competitive retail landscape demands that sale offers continue, but I’d lead with other reasons to come. I’d excite my customers. I’d challenge suppliers to come up with new Myer news. Great merchandise, original promotional support and ideas for adding to the Myer experience. I’d rethink my catalogue approach. I’d invest in my Myer card and direct marketing capability. I’d make it the ‘must have’ club card.

And, finally, my most important asset: my people. None of this can be achieved without them. They are the true source of my possible ‘X factor’. The evidence is clear that customer service and experience is what counts most.

This will require a cultural revolution for Myer.

This will require the rulebook to be changed and all staff to be empowered around a single theme of customer delight. M

Myer has suffered from having too many different strategies and it’s lost a lot of its heartland – it’s been all things to all people, from bargain bins at Myer Megamart to something far more upmarket.

It seems to have confused the market more by positioning itself to compete directly with David Jones on fashion brands, but then always seems to be on sale, which is Target and Kmart territory. The focus on fashion brands also seems at odds with its distribution of stores across middle Australia.

Both David Jones and Myer have worked hard to attract the cashed up brand-conscious consumer to drive their business. But the strategies of each store seem too similar for both to do well in a limited market for high profile fashion brands.

It would be great to see Myer find a positioning that differentiates it and attracts back the heartland of middle Australia.

Myer was always about great service as well as great value and you can’t help feel that it has lost some of that. It should welcome back middle Australia and give them a shopping experience that is more than just price. M

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012 EDITORIAL

Cuts both ways?

S

ometimes I think people underestimate just how hard it is to be a marketer. Why? Not because of the difficulties inherent in establishing a branding strategy to encompass all of an organisation’s touch-points, nor the skills required when developing integrated campaigns. It’s not because developing a holistic view of the customer has never been more challenging, nor because operating within an increasingly fragmented media landscape presents new hurdles for contemporary marketers.

It’s not even because it takes a special type of commitment to keep up to speed with this ever-expanding portfolio of marketing buzzwords and catch-phrases.

It’s simply because marketers are routinely expected to successfully promote unpromotable products. It’s part of the job.

Shavers are the ultimate example. Is there another product on earth that’s changed so little over the centuries yet is rereleased so often? In recent times, we’ve seen the introduction of lubricating strips, up to four blades and, earlier this year, a battery. The inspiration for this entire editorial, however, was the new Schick Quattro™ Midnight. While the value of having four blades is pretty questionable in any case, this would have to be the ultimate example of a product with almost no discernable new features entering the market. There is even a new website – www.schick.com.au/midnight/ – to talk up the Midnight’s unique features, which include: ✒ “four precisely synchronised blades” ✒ “new chromium coated blade edges” ✒ “new enhanced handle design, providing precision and control” ✒ “new anti-clog technology ensuring highest total flowthrough for excellent rinsability” ✒ “one-step loading – easy, one-step process allowing for a simplified and easier shaving experience”, and ✒ “unique stand – with a futuristic look, this unique stand allows the razor to air dry and stores it securely and safely for travel”.

If anyone can convince a single consumer to purchase this razor based on these new features, they deserve a medal. Now I’m sure that many people will buy the Midnight (maybe they just need something with a darker handle or have the requisite degree to know how chromium will make your shave go better). So the way I see it, either consumers are getting more stupid and, by all reports, the opposite is occurring (add media savvy to the list of buzzwords), or marketers, particularly in fields where the product is far from, ahem, groundbreaking, deserve a hell of a lot more credit for doing the impossible.

Watch this space for new shaver news (perhaps a fifth blade, third lubricating strip or second handle will be included?). I can’t wait to find out.

Sam McConnell Managing Editor

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

FYI: FOR YOUR DIARY MEDIA FEDERATION AWARDS 13 October Venue: Wharf 8, 53-59 Hickson Road, Sydney Contact: mfa@twodeforce.com.au NATIONAL RADIO CONFERENCE 14 October A range of speakers from Australia and abroad — including guest speaker Barry Humphries — will cover topics including sales, marketing, creative, research, electronic measurement, digital, programming and engineering.

Venue: Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre, Sydney Contact: Commercial Radio Australia, 02 9281 6577, mail@commercialradio.com.au 2005 INTERNET AWARDS 27 October The Internet Awards recognise and reward outstanding innovation, creativity and results for online advertising and marketing initiatives carried out between 1 July 2004 and 31 July 2005.

Venue: Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT), Circular Quay West, Sydney Contact: www.awwwards.com.au/event.html ADMA DATA DAY Data Day offers you a unique opportunity to learn from the leading practitioners in data-driven marketing. This is a jam-packed day of practical data insights and actionable learnings including detailed case study presentations.

Plus, the exhibition held in conjunction with the conference provides you with the opportunity to see the latest resources to enable you to put your data learnings into practice and improve your campaign effectiveness.

Melbourne Date: 8 November Venue: RACV Club, 501 Bourke Street, Melbourne Brisbane Date: 10 November Venue: Eagle St Conference Centre, Brisbane Sydney Date: 15 November Venue: Four Points by Sheraton, 161 Sussex St, Sydney Contact: Sarah Madden Goodlad — 02 9368 0366 ext 237, email: sarah.madden@adma.com.au 2005 AWARD AWARDS 11 November The AWARD presentation dinner showcases the best creative work in advertising, graphic design, packaging, direct marketing, and interactive throughout the year.

Venue: Wharf 8, Sydney Contact: Lucy McKee at Two de Force — 02 9281 8004 APG TRAINING COURSE — INTEGRATED PLANNING 18 November This day-long course will offer practical insight and examples as to how planners can provide creative inspiration for breakthrough and effective communications solutions.

Venue: TBA, Sydney Contact: 02 8297 3800, email: genevieve@afa.org.au For more upcoming media and marketing events, visit www.marketingmag.com.au

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FYI 013

FYI: NEWS AND VIEWS

UNITED IN DISILLUSIONMENT

I’m not normally inclined to do this, but had to shoot you an email to say how much I loved Geoffrey Bowll’s ‘Marketing Meltdown’ article (August Marketing).

As someone who has grown somewhat disillusioned with the corporate environment, it was good to hear an accomplished professional with such a healthy dose of scepticism and resistance to the stripping of our rights and freedoms under the guise of good intentions. I will never understand why people want something banned when they don’t like it rather than just not watch it themselves. I laugh when Peter Costello says that rap music is to blame, but I actually presume he is catering to a carefully researched (and politically powerful) segment that he is trying to get onside.

Watching Outfoxed was a real eye-opener, but it was only after watching The Corporation that I realised what mistakes large corporates were making – much of it with the blessing of the government that is meant to represent the best interests of the people on whose behalf it is acting.

My favourite bit of Outfoxed was in the lead-up to the last US election when they would have the countdown ‘How many days until Bush wins the election?’ I mean, they aren’t even trying to hide it are they? And don’t even get me started on Today Tonight or A Current Affair.

Anyway, thanks again for a great article.

Paul Harmat, web manager, Melbourne Pacific Internet (Australia)

THERE’S A CHINK IN THAT HALO

David Chalke in Around the Table (August Marketing) responded to the claim of book ‘Affluenza’ that we're wasteful by saying that we're the best recyclers in the world and many of us have switched to green bags. Sorry David – sure, snaps all round for our recycling and green bag effort; however, that's no proof we're not wasteful. How many of us throw away food every day, pour litres of water down the sink and on the driveway and generate greenhouse gases by using electricity we don't really need? We shouldn't fool ourselves into thinking the recycling bin and green bags get us off the hook.

Samantha Palmer Director, Marketing and Communication Environmental Protection Agency, Qld

STUCK ON YOU

Many Marketing subscribers will be wondering why there’s a disk stuck to the front cover of the magazine this month.

Always on the look out for interesting ways to present new marketing ideas and technologies to our growing subscriber base, we jumped at the opportunity to include a sample of the latest technology from Vividas.

Vividas has developed a full screen video player that can be utilised over the internet or in this case, via CD ROM. Australia’s online advertising market grew by a phenomenal 62.7% last year and given there’s no need to install any special software, the technology is great for a range of promotions. It’s also proved popular with organisations including CUB (Carlton Draught’s ‘Big Ad’), Rip Curl, United International Pictures, Lexus, AFL Auskick and Coca Cola.

For more information, watch out for our ‘New Marketing’ special feature next month where we’ll look at new marketing strategies and techniques delivering amazing results.

Visit www.vividas.com

MORE JOBS FOR MARKETERS

The past 12 months have seen a significant increase in job opportunities in marketing, according to the latest Australia Salary Monitor published by specialist staffing firm Aquent. The survey revealed a shortage of top quality candidates, particularly in the financial services, professional services and retail sectors. More senior marketing directors’ roles are now earning over the $150,000 mark, suggesting that top-class marketers are now finding themselves better placed to negotiate superior compensation packages. The Aquent survey also suggests that accelerating demand for marketing talent is partly driven by the broad scale restructuring of marketing departments in the past few years. In Sydney, which has previously seen the highest marketing staff turnover, the new Aquent data sees new staff stability where 70% of marketing companies reported turnover of less than 10% per annum. Melbourne and Brisbane companies, however, are now experiencing the speed of change with 25% of the former reporting marketing staff turnover in excess of 20%, while Brisbane has recorded 33% of companies with turnover in excess of 20%. In Sydney, 90% of marketers surveyed said they would be increasing marketing salaries over the next 12 months. In Melbourne this figure is 86% and in Brisbane 74%.

GRAND PRIX RANGE FINISHES AHEAD OF THE REST The Australasian Promotional Products Association (APPA) recently celebrated the best promotional products campaigns in the Australasian region, at the seventh annual Pyramid Awards. Taking out the night’s top honour was Wompro, for the Foster’s Brewing International’s Grand Prix range, which was successfully sold into more than 25 countries and was the first in Foster’s history to be designed, managed and logistically rolled-out from Australia. Products appeared on TV, trackside, radio, press, POS posters, shows, parades, and websites.

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FYI: NEWS AND VIEWS Media habits of the NFP sector

Brisbane-based consultancy Not-For-Profit Network recently ran an informal survey of not-forprofit organisations from around Australia to better understand their television, newspaper and radio habits. Managing director, Belinda Busoli, said, “The results of this initial survey show the not-for-profit sector as a whole to be rather conservative, with the average person in the non-profit sector watching ABC TV, reading The Australian and their local community paper and listening to either Triple J or ABC Radio – mostly on the way to and from work. Favourite television shows were ABC News, Black Books, Spicks & Specks and The Glass House.” Over the coming year NotFor-Profit Network will be following up this survey with an in-depth profiling project. If you’d like more information on getting involved, please contact Vanessa Bole on 07 3210 2288.

Meeting demands PROTECTING KIDS Half the normal working year is spent in face-to-face meetings, with an additional quarter consumed by travel time, according to a recent study commissioned by Microsoft Australia and conducted by independent research firm The Leading Edge. The 38-page report, ‘The Tyranny of Distance: a study of the impact of business meetings on work and personal lives’, was a survey of 300 managers and employees. It found that Australian business people are away from their home town or city for 30% of the working year. Nine out of 10 travel at least once a year for meetings, and the travel can take up to twice as long as the average face-to-face meeting time. Almost one in five face-to-face meetings was considered ‘avoidable’ by survey respondents. Ninety percent said attending meetings was adding to their overall working hours and 75% said it reduced time spent with family and friends. The number of face-toface meetings is also increasing. The report is available for download from www.microsoft.com.au/tod

WE’RE SORRY In August Marketing’s feature on promotional products, a Westfield Tuggerah mp3 player by Flip Promotions was incorrectly credited to another company. We apologise for this error.

Visit: www.flip-promo.com.au

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

FROM ONLINE DANGERS An online safety training roadshow and information campaign aimed at educating parents, teachers and community groups about the risks children face online has been launched by the Minister for Communications, Information Technology and the Arts, Senator Helen Coonan. NetAlert, the government-funded internet safety body, will deliver NetAlert Expo over the next few months. The NetAlert Expo roadshow began on Monday 8 August, with the first workshops held in Melbourne. The Expo will then travel throughout every state and territory, visiting community centres, schools and libraries.

MOBILE ANIMATION

A new service called SportFreeX means visual branding can now extend to mobiles with animated characters that speak your message directly to consumers. InPho Interactive, which recently launched the service in Australia, is offering consumers the opportunity to select a choice of animated characters to deliver and read out their traditional text messages. Australia is one of the first countries to adopt this new technology, with it only being launched in the UK and Malaysia at the beginning of July 2005. In the UK, the technology has been taken up by Vodafone and Nokia, using animated branded characters as part of their internal initiatives and viral campaigns.

Unlike MMS, the SportFreeX service is interoperable between all Australian mobile networks, and can be used on phones that are GPRS- and WAP-enabled including Nokia, Motorola, Panasonic, Samsung, Sharp, Siemens and Sony Ericsson handsets.

PHONE A FRIEND...

Two young Victorians have created an SMS service that has all the answers. Literally. 199-BONGO TEXT INFO is a one-stop SMS mobile phone information service that will quickly research and find the answer to any question you could ever need or want answered. Users simply text what they want to know to 199-BONGO (199 266 46), and they will receive their answer within a few minutes. Launched Australia-wide in July, the service offers info on an infinite range of topics, including trivia, sport results, public transport timetables, street directions, food and diet info, gig guides, cinema session times, weather forecasts, TV guides and cheap petrol prices. The service is available around the clock.

Aussies support home brands Australians are big supporters of private label brands, a global study by research company ACNielsen has found. The Online Consumer Opinion Survey revealed that Australian acceptance of private label brands was the highest in the Asia Pacific region, with nearly four in five consumers (79%) saying private label products were a good alternative to other brands. Australia was ranked in the top 10 countries globally in terms of private label perception of value for money – 81% of Australian consumers agreed that the private label products they bought usually offered extremely good value for money. This compared to an Asia Pacific regional average of just 60% and a global average of 62%. Acceptance varies dramatically, however, across different categories. Generally consumers are less concerned with private label quality when it comes to ‘low involvement’ products such as milk, sugar and flour. When asked if they thought private label products were meant for people on tight budgets who couldn’t afford the best brands, 52% of Australian consumers disagreed.

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FYI: AROUND THE GLOBE US: KIDS FED LESS FOOD ADS NOW THAN IN 1977 A US Federal Trade Commission report has suggested that the amount of food advertising children see on TV has decreased substantially since 1977. The report was based on a comparison of research done by the Commission in 1977 with Nielsen Media data from 2004. According to the research, each child aged two to 11 saw 2724 commercials for food or fast food in 2004 compared with 4100 in 1977, a 33% decrease based on programming with more than 50% of the audience in that age group.

The number of minutes of commercial time was also down. Children today saw fewer commercials for all products, according to the study, but the drop in food and fast food was steeper than the decrease in overall products.

PLAYBOY GOES ONLINE Playboy magazine has gone online with the first digital magazine set to go live on 13 September. The digital version of the magazine mirrors the print version and is available from www.playboydigital.com. With the digital service, readers can buy either a subscription or single copy that can then be downloaded. The company launched the service in conjunction with digital marketing and publishing company Zinio Systems Inc. The online migration is a bid to win new subscribers and advertisers and comes on the heels of flagging advertising sales. The publishing division of Playboy Enterprises reportedly posted a second-quarter loss of US$2.3 million. Overall the media company’s profit totalled US$4.6 million with the bulk of revenue coming from its licensing and entertainment businesses.

US: NIKE CELEBRATES ‘BIG’ BUTTS In an ostensible salute to women of ‘all shapes and sizes’, Nike has introduced a campaign that celebrates ‘big butts, thunder thighs and tomboy knees’. The ads, from Nike’s Portland agency, Wieden & Kennedy, feature six different images representing six different parts of the body. One of the ads features a curvaceous posterior, accompanied by copy that reads: “My butt is big and round like the letter C, and 10,000 lunges have made it rounder but not smaller. And that’s just fine. It’s a space heater for my side of the bed. It’s my ambassador. To those who walk behind me, it’s a border collie that herds skinny women away from the best deals at clothing sales. My butt is big and that’s just fine. And those who might scorn it are invited to kiss it. Just do it.” The featured butt could fairly be described as round, but big? Well, you be the judge…

CHECK IT OUT! www.marketingmag.com.au

The perfect online complement to your favourite industry magazine features: Current industry news Employment opportunities Upcoming industry events Education and professional development ■ Recent articles plus exclusive online content ■ Email newsletters ■ ■ ■ ■

www.marketingmag.com.au For further information or to enquire about advertising, contact: Grant Arnott / grant.arnott@niche.com.au Melissa Simmons / melissa.simmons@niche.com.au

(03) 9525 5566

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BRAND PROFILE 017 RUN DMC – ‘MY ADIDAS’ Standin’ on 2 Fifth St Funky fresh and yes cold on my feet With no shoe string in ‘em, I did not win ‘em I bought ‘em off the Ave with the tags still in ‘em I like to sport ‘em, that's why I bought ‘em A sucker tried to steal ‘em so I caught ‘em and I thwart ‘em And I walk down the street and I bop to the beat With Lee on my legs and Adidas on my feet And now I just standin’ here shooting the gif Me and D and my Adidas standing on 2 Fifth My Adidas My Adidas

MY ADIDAS

Hip-hop stars and world-famous soccer players will tell you, there’s no brand like Adidas. Whether worn to maximise sport performance or to impress fellow sneaker-lovers with an appreciation of retro-style, Catherine Woods explores the undeniable allure of Adidas.

T

he story behind Adidas encompasses family rivalry and struggle through hardship and triumph. The name itself was born of its creator, Adi Dassler. A passionate athlete, Dassler dedicated himself to the task of making highquality shoes with the limited materials available in the post-war period of the early 1920s in Herzogenaurach, Germany.

At the tender age of 20, Dassler created his first shoes designed for track and field from canvas. His success was realised when athletes wore shoes from his workshop at the 1928 Olympic Games in Amsterdam and by the mid 1930s Dassler was making 30 different styles of shoe across 11 sports and employing a team of 100.

Having struggled through the turmoil created by World War I, Dassler determinedly rebuilt Adidas in the aftermath of the Depression.

His fervour imbued the Adidas brand with the take-no-prisoners attitude that would pull it through future hardships.

During the late 1940s, he first designed sports shoes using rubber from US fuel tanks and in 1948 the company adopted the name Adidas, registering that classic symbol – the three stripes – the following year.

“The three stripes mark is without doubt the quintessential Adidas symbol,” says Tim Jackson, marketing manager, Adidas Australia. “He created a symbol that could be immediately recognised when his footwear was used in athletic competition and associated with Adidas.”

Jackson joined the company in late 2003, a period of renewal and creative experimentation for Adidas. Declining sales in North America and strong competition from rivals Nike and Puma impelled Adidas to embrace a major repositioning of its brand on a global level.

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above: Adidas founder Adi Dassler

above: David Beckham, perhaps Adidas’ most high profile athlete

“In the early 1990s, Adidas was almost bankrupt,” admits Jackson. “When Robert Louis-Dreyfus bought the company in 1993, he achieved the turnaround. Adidas at the time was a production company and Dreyfus changed that and turned it into a marketing driven brand. After two years, Adidas went onto the stock exchange and in 1997 bought the Salomon Group becoming Adidas-Salomon AG.” In August this year, Adidas acquired another world-renowned sporting goods brand, Reebok, for US$3.8 billion. Already a technology leader, Adidas has adopted Reebok’s experienced research and development professionals, resulting in accelerated new product introductions across all divisions. Reebok is also an essential driver behind the expansion of the brand’s profile through sports such as basketball, American football, hockey, tennis and golf. In early August Adidas CEO Herbert Hainer told the Nightly Business Report in Washington that Reebok’s strong roots in

the US were a primary reason for the partnership. “This definitely is a major strategic milestone for us,” he said. “It gives us a global geographical reach and it extremely strengthens our business in the US market, which is by far the biggest in the world.”

Since 2003, Smart, a creative agency based in Melbourne, has handled Adidas’ Australian campaigns. CEO Ben Lilley believes the Adidas/Reebok alliance is a clever strategic move. “Their combined marketing power will limit the choice of strategic targets for sponsorship and resources to compete in the areas of convergent technologies such as music and entertainment. Snapping up key strategic alliances will become all the more important with fewer players to fight it out.”

Adidas faces some determined and powerful competitors in Nike and Puma (which was founded by Adi Dassler’s brother, Rudolf). But Lilley feels Nike in particular has suffered in recent times in terms of marketing effectiveness. “Nike has slipped in their product development and innovation – traditional strengths of the business, allowing Adidas to gain valuable market share and brand awareness across these key parameters. Nike has good reason to feel threatened by the continual innovation demonstrated by Adidas, not just across its product lines, but in the evolution of the business with key developments such as the new Reebok partnership.”

Strong brands practise what they preach and, according to Lilley, this is the secret behind Adidas’ ability to attract such a devoted consumer base. “Brands are not logos or the last slide on strategy presentation,” he says, “they are living and breathing cultures and generally much stronger than the parent company.

Strong brands live their culture both internally and externally. This voice exists at all levels of the organisation, not just in marketing communications.” Lilley identifies PlayStation, Apple, Virgin, Guinness, Carlsberg and Honda as other brands to successfully establish a lifestyle culture complementary to their brand.

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“

“Sport Performance is the biggest division and always will be... here we focus on offering functional and innovative products for athletes at all levels,” says Jackson. “Sport Heritage offers sports lifestyle products to consumers who seek trend-setting streetwear with authentic origins.

Sport Style is for the fashion-conscious consumer looking for exclusive, style-leading active sportswear.”

The functionality of the apparel is always an important factor – make no mistake, Adidas is still about creating products to enhance sporting prowess. “Adidas is a sports brand and always will be a sports brand,” stresses Jackson. “Everything we do is clearly rooted in sports. We are the partner of choice for some of the world’s biggest athletes, clubs and events. We were the most visible brand at the two biggest sporting events in 2004, and will be so again in 2006.”

In June of this year, Adidas presented its new global football advertising campaign. As with ‘Impossible is Nothing’, this soccer specific campaign integrated TV, cinema, print, outdoor and e-marketing under the title ‘Impossible Field’. Adidas was not modest in flaunting its celebrity line-up – players featured included Beckham, Ballack, Raúl, Defoe, Kaká and Saviola. The commercial was screened during half-time at the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, before being rolled out globally during the following weeks. In July, Adidas also signed a long-term partnership with Andre Agassi resulting in the star exclusively wearing Adidas footwear and apparel. At the Los Angeles press conference, Agassi said, “I’m excited about my new partnership with Adidas... I will be working with one of the best brands in the world.”

For Agassi, the partnership is a family affair, as his wife, Steffi Graf, has been an Adidas ambassador throughout her career.

Adidas ambassadors are not exclusively sports stars though. The brand has invited collaboration with musicians, artists and fashion

Brands are not logos or the last slide on strategy presentation, they are living and breathing cultures and generally much stronger than the parent company.

BEN LILLEY, SMART Part of Adidas’ long-term brand strength and ‘lifestyle culture’ has been developed through calculated partnerships with sports stars and entertainers – Dassler was the first in the arena of sports promotion to publicise his products using famous athletes. Stars including David Beckham, Muhammad Ali, Jesse Owens and Max Schmeling have donned the famous three stripes over the years.

Today, Adidas still pursues celebrity partnerships and endorsements and has at various times been represented by high calibre ambassadors including David Beckham, Missy Elliott and director Spike Jonze. Jonze’s involvement with the brand was to direct a surreal Adidas ad entitled ‘Hello Tomorrow’.

Accompanied by music from Jonze’s brother, Sam Spiegel, and Karen O of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, the ad was an ingenious campaign to target an audience that likes a story behind its fashion and lifestyle products.

The ad was made for the 2005 launch of the first ‘intelligent’ shoe, adidas_1. Adidas spent US$2.9 million in 12 months on media promotion and establishing an innovative retail concept that included holographic technology and, in a reflection of the TVC, a floor that changed scenes as customers walked over it.

Along with this kind of innovation, another aspect of Adidas’ strength is the brand’s diverse consumer audience, now split into three divisions to cater for the various tastes of its customers – Sport Performance, Sport Heritage and Sport Style.

”

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020 BRAND PROFILE US model. “In communicating and supporting the Adidas brand at a local level in Australia, we apply an ‘adopt, adapt, originate’ communications policy... Local brand activities and initiatives requiring dedicated support, such as those supporting the Australian football codes, are communicated via work that is ‘originated’ by Smart for the Australian market in line with Adidas’ global brand identity and guidelines.”

In 2004, as part of the ‘Impossible is Nothing’ campaign, Adidas partnered with Smart to deliver a guerrilla marketing campaign featuring Olympic hopefuls, Ian Thorpe and Jana Pittman. In the lead-up to the Athens Olympics, swimmers’ starting blocks were installed in high foottraffic sites such as Sydney’s Circular Quay with messages like “Ian Thorpe can swim from here to Circular Quay in 3 min and 40 sec” and track starting blocks reading “Jana Pittman can run from here to Darling Harbour in 50.43 seconds”.

Lilley says that Adidas demands and values outstanding creative work and also understands and supports the strategic process that must be followed to achieve it.

“We work in a collaborative partnership that we value highly, where both parties share business and brand building knowledge, information and ideas.”

The research put into developing the Adidas marketing strategy is particularly thorough. “We carry out a variety of local and international reviews of creative, media, consumer insights and trend analysis that have the potential to impact the Australian market,” Lilley says. “This year we will also be conducting the first global StreetSmart review (LA, New York, Tokyo, Paris, Rome, Hong Kong and London) to ascertain key insights,

“

Missy Elliott also came on board in 2004 to help attract fashion conscious consumers. Her collection, RespectME offers footwear, apparel and accessories that knowingly conjure up images from Adidas’ street history and updates them with Missy’s distinctive flair for pop fashion.

above left: The recently released ‘intelligent’ shoe adidas_1 below: Missy Elliot Conjuring images of Adidas’ street heritage

”

designers. Ex-Chloe designer and famous Beatles progeny, Stella McCartney and Adidas presented their first Fall/Winter fashion collection in London in April this year. Part of the Sport Performance division, the collection focused on running, gym and swimwear. Recognising that the collection would appeal, and be accessible to, a select customer base, it was stocked in high-end department stores and in the Adidas Sport Performance Centre stores globally.

Joining McCartney in the role of fashion designer, renowned hip-hop diva Missy Elliott also came on board in 2004 to help attract fashion conscious consumers. Her collection, RespectME offers footwear, apparel and accessories that knowingly conjure up images from Adidas’ street history and updates them with Missy’s distinctive flair for pop fashion.

Adidas released a statement saying, “RespectME is a platform for positivity, empowerment, style, skills, friendship and, above all, respect.”

Recent work created and produced in Australia has included campaigns promoting Adidas’ involvement in each of the four local football codes: AFL, NRL, Rugby Union and soccer. In terms of Adidas marketing in Australia, Lilley describes the process as one of adapting the

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trends and the strength of opinion-leading brands around the world... among youth. StreetSmart is a powerful tool as it’s a video diary of what the target audience actually thinks of each brand – good, bad or otherwise – within the context of their lives and their cultural brand scape.”

Lilley has the last word on the relationship between Adidas and the Australian consumer. “Adidas is a popular brand. In fact, it rates as one of the strongest brands among youth... Among early adopters, Adidas is

rated above Nike. It is without a doubt a power brand on the macro Australian landscape and in context of the brand scape for a youth audience it is one of the most powerful.”

With Adidas enjoying a resurgence of popularity in the hip-hop scene where it has always had a strong presence, it seems fitting to repeat the time-honoured words of rap group Run DMC: “I like to sport ‘em, that's why I bought ‘em.” M

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From left to right: Anita Ziemer, Dr Jack Cadeaux, Juliet Swain, Mark Crowe, Mark Ritson and Peter Klein

BACK TO THE BOOKS

Contemplating further study? Marketing’s panel of experts is here to help you wade through the issues you need to consider before jumping in.

W

hether you’ve got your eye on a seat in the boardroom or you’re sniffing out the possibilities of a fatter pay packet, further study may be one way to get you closer to your goal. But making the decision to relinquish your social freedom in the name of higher learning is only the first step. You then have to choose between the dizzying array of courses and institutions available. To save you from the obvious hazards of pinning your options all on a wall and letting a dart determine your future, we’ve assembled a panel of experts to answer some of the questions commonly asked by people seeking advice on marketing-related further education.

THE PANEL

AZ: Anita Ziemer, director of recruitment agency Final5 JC: Dr Jack Cadeaux, director, Master of Marketing Program, University of New South Wales JS: Juliet Swain, head of education, Australian Direct Marketing Association (ADMA) MC: Mark Crowe, CEO, Australian Marketing Institute (AMI) MR: Mark Ritson, associate professor, Melbourne Business School (MBS) PK: Peter Klein, author of Careers in Marketing

SHOULD I UNDERTAKE FURTHER STUDY?

AZ: There are two good reasons for you to undertake further study: (a) you have critical gaps in your technical knowledge base, or (b) you’ve decided a serious marketing career looks attractive and you have an unrelated undergraduate qualification (or none at all).

JC: You should consider your career objectives – particularly if you are looking at a lateral move across to another marketing speciality or a

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

more direct move up the ladder. You should also consider practicalities such as time availability. In spite of all the talk about distance education, true quality programs are generally on-campus programs requiring faceto-face classroom activity.

MR: There are two key issues. First, are you prepared to make the major sacrifices in your personal life and personal relationships that are needed to complete advanced study in marketing? Second, will your career really benefit by additional qualifications or is there a more efficient investment of your time, other than advanced marketing study that would develop your career?

MC: Any decision to undertake further study should be based on a range of issues including your career path aspirations, time and lifestyle considerations, cost, employer support, etc. Whatever your career, it is always important to undertake continuing professional development in order to keep abreast of the latest information and trends. By undertaking further study it is a very clear demonstration of your commitment to your career and your desire to remain relevant.

PK: Before undertaking further study, ask yourself: is this is the course for me? Will I really benefit from doing this? Will it help my career? Do I have a gap in my marketing skills that this course will fill? Also, you should be honest with yourself about your available free time. If you are working full-time, then you need to have a supportive employer who will allow you to attend that 6pm class every Tuesday night. It’s hard enough battling through a degree part-time without fighting to get time off to attend classes. You also need to allow time for study and your partner/friends/family, so be sure to factor that into your week. If you are deciding to study full-time, then obviously the question of affordability comes into it. Will you be able to survive on HECS? Will you need to work part-time?

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JS: Taking on any kind of study while employed is a big deal; it demonstrates that a person has worked hard at their day-to-day job. It takes a lot of your time and shows commitment. As far as a career in direct marketing goes, a bachelor of business or marketing communications will teach you the basics of advertising or marketing, but you probably won’t learn a lot about DM. In my experience, employers do look for specific DM training when recruiting direct marketers.

WHAT ARE MY OPTIONS FOR MARKETINGRELATED FURTHER STUDY?

MR: Ultimately, you face a choice between a more general MBA qualification or the more specifically focused masters degree in marketing. The MBA is the better choice if you want to move into a more general management position at some point. If you are certain that your career will focus on marketing then opt for the masters degree. But be very careful to avoid any masters of marketing course that only offers you marketing subjects. If you are going to become a senior marketer one day you will need many more proficiencies than just specialist marketing knowledge.

Look for a masters degree that also provides you with a foundation in key topics such as finance, strategy, organisations and economics, as well as specialist marketing electives.

The other major decision you must make is whether you will take time off work and pursue your qualification full-time or whether you will continue to work and study on a part-time basis. The latter path is very hard work, but allows you to retain a salary and study at the same time.

AZ: Why not start by Googling ‘postgraduate marketing’? You’ll find that regardless of where you live, there are myriad courses. Starting with postgraduate certificate courses right through to MBAs, Australia’s leading universities all offer business marketing courses. Of course, there are

certificate and diploma courses offered by specific industry sectors – for example, PR, direct marketing and advertising.

JC: Postgraduate degree courses consist mostly of master of commerce courses with a specialisation in marketing. These generally do not require prior academic marketing study or experience. A unique option for marketing professionals who have both significant marketing experience and some prior study in marketing is the master of marketing. The School of Marketing at UNSW offers such a program. It is specifically aimed at those who are looking to progress towards a senior marketing role.

MC: There are a range of options from degree courses at universities to accredited certificate courses at private institutions. In addition, there are a variety of seminars and professional development offerings organised by the AMI and other industry bodies, which are tailored to particular areas of speciality and need. The AMI’s professional development program, for instance, ranges from two-day training courses, conferences and seminars to short breakfast or evening presentations.

PK: Typically, students will gravitate to a graduate diploma or masters of marketing after they have completed their undergraduate degree.

Nothing wrong with that, as you cover most of the subjects you tackled in your undergraduate degree in more detail. But if fronting up a second time for the same subjects turns you off, consider something completely new or a refresher course to bring you up to date. A lot of university business faculties have short courses that are non-award, but excellent for upgrading skills.

JS: There is not a lot in specific DM training. Three months ago, ADMA restructured and remodelled its education program to make it fresher and more relevant. All the course contributors, writers and tutors are Australian direct marketers, and are at the ‘top-of-the-tree’ in their discipline.

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HOW DO I CHOOSE THE COURSE THAT’S RIGHT FOR ME?

JC: This depends on your experience and prior qualifications. Most universities, however, have excellent websites that provide plenty of details about their programs, contact information and links. They usually also host information evenings several times a year for prospective students.

AZ: Ask yourself the first big question: why am I doing it? For example, is it for knowledge development, is it because you love to learn, is it because you need it for your next career step, or is it because you’re bored with what you’re currently doing? The second big question is: am I an instinctive marketer and what am I best at? If you answer this question honestly, it will provide you with an insight into what course might be right for you. An e-business marketing course might be suited to your interests, the ADMA certificate might hit the mark or you might find a PR program rather than the MBA best matches your specific marketing passion.

JS: Marketing has many facets; you need to work out which one is for you. As with everything, word of mouth is paramount, so I recommend you ask your peers and mentors what and where they have studied.

MC: This should be based on your career objectives along with work and lifestyle considerations. It is always preferable to speak with people who

have undertaken a course you are considering as they can provide an insight as to how they benefited from what they learned and achieved. It is increasingly important that marketers consider undertaking nonmarketing courses that will complement their marketing studies and provide a greater understanding of wider business activities. In this respect today’s business environment requires marketers to be more financially literate.

MR: First, take a good look at the faculty that will be teaching you. At the best schools most, if not all, of the faculty, will have a PhD and most of them will have advised corporations too. You should expect the lecturers that teach you to also have international experience and pedigree, and not just to have taught in Australia for their whole careers. An international perspective is vital. Second, speak to existing students. Look beyond the slick brochures and find out from existing customers just how good, or bad, the classes in marketing really are. You should also feel comfortable asking to sit in on a class to witness first-hand the teaching experience. Third, take a good look at your fellow students. As a manager returning for further study you should avoid any school that offers both undergraduate and masters courses simultaneously. Too often, experienced managers are frustrated by classes that were designed for – and in some cases shared with – undergraduate students. Look for schools that specialise in educating executives and masters-level students.

FINANCING FURTHER STUDY In a perfect world, further study would be universally open to all. But the reality is it can be very expensive. And unfortunately bills and other obligatory expenses don’t politely take a hiatus in recognition of your pursuit of intellectual betterment. With any luck, you may be eligible for assistance to help you fund your higher educational aspirations.

HOW MUCH WILL IT COST? It depends on what and where you choose to study. TAFE diplomas, for example, cost between $625 and $1200 a year. In contrast, be prepared to pay $2500 for the most modest university graduate certificate (equivalent to six months’ fulltime study). An MBA can run to $50,000 or more. Then there are books, field trips and residentials, perhaps an upgrade for your laptop, extra kilometres to and from campus.

WHAT FINANCIAL SUPPORT IS AVAILABLE? For coursework postgraduates – around three-quarters of the total – publicly-funded scholarships are a thing of the past and Commonwealth-supported courses are a rare find indeed.

FEE-HELP The first and best hope for most is FEE-HELP (formerly PELS). FEE-HELP is a loan facility for eligible students enrolled in fee-paying, postgraduate non-research courses similar to the deferred payment arrangements under HECS-

HELP (formerly the Higher Education Contribution Scheme or HECS). Eligible students can apply for a government loan to cover part or all of their tuition fees. The loan is repaid, via the taxation system, once the borrower’s income exceeds the minimum threshold. All public universities and quite a number of private colleges are approved to offer their students FEE-HELP. To find out more about FEE-HELP go to www.goingtouni.gov.au.

COURSEWORK SCHOLARSHIPS The second hope is to get lucky in the draw for a coursework scholarship. A small number of awards are offered through universities and a few private providers funded or sponsored by corporations, foundations, non-government organisations, government departments, smaller private organisations or through bequests/memorial funds.

TAX DEDUCTIONS The third hope is tax deduction. Fees, books and materials, even travel and accommodation can sometimes be deducted if the study is related to your income earning. Study undertaken for the purpose of getting a job or changing jobs generally does not count. There is plenty of grey in these formulations, of course, so consult your tax adviser before committing.

EMPLOYER SUPPORT Employers are the final source of support for postgraduate study. They may agree to help in the payment of fees or agree to time off for study.

Based on information extracted from The Good Universities Guide to Postgraduate and Career Upgrade Courses 2006, published by Hobsons Guides (RRP $35) www.thegoodguides.com.au

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

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026 FURTHER EDUCATION PK: Finding information about a course has never been easier. Get on the web or look up one of the course guide books. Better still, when you’ve located a course/campus, ask them for some past students you can contact to ask about the course. Tutors and lecturers are also a good source; just be wary they’re not ‘sugar coating’ the course to make it sound more attractive than it is. A university will always have close ties with business. It doesn’t hurt to contact one of those companies affiliated with the campus and ask what they think of the graduates of that course. There are also a huge number of short courses, from one day to 10 weeks, which focus on specific areas of marketing. So if you need up-skilling in, say, brand management, there’s no need to undertake several other subjects that are of no real use to you. Just do the one that’s right for you.

HOW DO I FIND THE RIGHT INSTITUTION?

course are all important factors. The Hobsons Good University Guide will give you some pointers. There are other factors that may swing your choice between similar courses at different campuses. For example, some may have better sporting facilities, clubs or bookshops and libraries, which may influence where you decide to study.

HOW MUCH EXPERIENCE SHOULD I HAVE BEFORE UNDERTAKING FURTHER STUDY?

PK: I’m a big believer in having some real-life, practical work experience in between study. You can go straight from an undergraduate degree to a postgraduate course, but you need to balance the theory with the practical. You tend to absorb more and get more out of postgraduate study when you are working and studying a course that is similar to your profession.

MR: It is absolutely crucial that you do not go straight from an undergraduate program into a masters course in marketing. You should directly avoid any school that encourages you to enrol in a masters course with less than three, and preferably no less than five, years of experience. You will get the most from a course once you have a solid bedrock of work experience and you will get so much more from your fellow classmates if they too have extensive work experience to rely on.

This does not mean that you need to be a marketing expert, but you must have some experience of the workplace and marketing practice before you apply.

JC: It is possible to enter postgrad study directly from an undergrad degree, particularly if your undergraduate study was not heavily focused on marketing. In which case, your postgraduate study would serve as an intensive exposure to marketing. A master of commerce in marketing

AZ: Obvious fundamentals such as location, cost, course content and flexible learning options will partly drive your decision. In the major capital cities, however, where there’ll be little overt difference between two or three postgraduate courses, how does one choose? Use your network and talk to different people who have completed or at least started the course work and then make your own informed decision. If prestige is important to you, then speak with a couple of respected executive recruiters in the marketing field and ask them what impresses them and employers.

JC: Institutional reputations are clearly very important. It is also a good idea to take a look at teaching staff, the qualifications of these staff and their specific interests. Also, take a close look at the courses on offer.

Almost all of this information is available on websites.

JS: This will be determined by what marketing discipline it is you want to grow your skills in. The right institution is the one that is wellnetworked and leading the way in its industry. It will offer relevant training, have access to the best practitioners, the best case studies (both local and from overseas) and MARK RITSON, the course content will be highly ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, MELBOURNE BUSINESS SCHOOL developed.

MC: Identify your own needs and ask the institutions why you should choose them. Many people are reluc- best suits this path. Generally, the better postgraduate programs require tant to question institutions on their credentials, but remember you’re undergraduate qualifications for entry. the customer. The education sector is a competitive environment and JS: Depending on what stage you are at in your career, find a course institutions are very active in promoting their offering. Most are very that is right for you. The wonderful thing about education, particularly here in Australia, is that everyone has the right to it. A colleague recently receptive to being asked to demonstrate their credentials.

MR: The better schools are more than happy to talk to you one-on-one handed me an old Amish quote, “Too soon old, too late smart”. about your interests and the programs they offer. Make sure you attend MC: This will depend on individual circumstances. If, however, you have the information sessions that most schools offer and take the time to talk already completed some tertiary study it can be helpful to gain some to both faculty staff and students about each of the programs you are industry experience before undertaking further study. Any work expericonsidering. One of the best resources that you can immediately access is ence will always help you gain more from any course work and offered by the Financial Times. Each year the Financial Times ranks all complement the theoretical concepts. In addition, industry experience business schools based on the opinions of former students and the com- will tend to provide you with a better appreciation of what particular panies that recruit them. Take a good look at the schools listed here, note areas of marketing you may like to specialise in, which in turn will influthe ones that did not even make the list, and decide accordingly: ence your further study choices.

AZ: If you have loads of senior experience and no undergraduate qualihttp://rankings.ft.com/rankings/mba/rankings.html.

PK: Proximity to work or home, transport or parking, cost of course fications, it is possible to get entry into several postgraduate programs. (amazing how the same course can vary in price) and quality of the Nonetheless, most do look for previous study as a natural entrance

“

The MBA is the better choice if you want to move into a more general management position at some point. If you are certain that your career will focus on marketing then opt for the masters degree in marketing.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

”

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FURTHER EDUCATION 027 requirement. You’ll certainly get more out of further study by having had at least two to five years of applied work experience in a marketing setting. To go straight into postgraduate studies following an undergraduate degree fails to allow students the opportunity to have real-life work experience. ‘Learning’ and ‘doing’ are very different.

WHAT CAN I EXPECT TO GAIN FROM MY FURTHER STUDY?

MC: Many people are motivated to undertake further study to increase their earning potential. Research suggests that additional study can prove to be a point of difference especially in a competitive marketplace for marketing roles. The primary motivation, however, should be to add to your understanding and knowledge of your chosen area and how that will help you become a better professional. Many people also refer to the stimulus that can be provided by sharing experiences and interacting with course colleagues outside the work environment.

JC: Of course this depends on where you are now. Working professionals can expect significant opportunities for promotion and increased responsibility commensurate with their strengthened level of qualification. At the entry level, the situation is a bit more difficult to predict and obviously depends on individual skill levels, as well as the industry and job function being targeted.

JS: Training is multifaceted. It gives you more confidence and sets your CV aside from the others that cross employers’ desks, but actually getting a qualification is really the end game. The real benefit comes from going through the process. It makes you think differently, gives you an oppor-

tunity to meet and network with your peers in the industry and the opportunity to be exposed to many more local case studies.

MR: A good advanced degree in marketing should be a transforming experience. You should expect to graduate with a world-class knowledge of the latest models, techniques and strategies. Marketing is unfortunately a subject about which many of its most senior practitioners know little. A good school will ensure that you know more about marketing and can practise it in a superior way. As a result your career should directly benefit. Internally, you should start to gain more respect and promotion with your existing employer. Externally, new opportunities such as brand management and management consulting become realistic options for you.

PK: For many, higher education is the key to moving up the ladder.

People study to improve themselves. Improvement usually leads to higher remuneration because you have broadened your skill base. In other words, you now have more to offer an employer. Having a good marketing/business qualification is usually considered a mandatory skill set for a business/marketing management role. You’d find it hard to land a reasonable job without a marketing qualification.

AZ: Further qualifications will undoubtedly support your career development, although nothing makes up for a stellar track record and outstanding results. And remember some of the brightest brains work in the back office because they lack people skills. Enhanced skills and knowledge will support your marketing career development. Yet your communication skills, your ability to learn, your ability to predict trends and changes, negotiation skills, flexibility and leadership qualities are what will ultimately propel you into a management role. M

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028 MARKETING IN NEW ZEALAND Derek Glass is the general manager of Derek Glass Direct Marketing, a Sydney-based consulting firm. He is a strategic adviser to New Zealand Post and teaches ADMA’s courses on maths, finance, statistics and modelling. He has worked with dozens of mailers in both Australia and New Zealand, including EziBuy, FlyBuys, Fuji Xerox Australia, Pumpkin Patch and others. You can reach Derek at Derek@DerekGlass.com

POSTCARD FROM WELLINGTON

Derek Glass reveals the secrets to marketing in the Land of the Long White Cloud.

W

hen I first moved to Australia, wise minds told me to expect the best opportunities to appear in unexpected places. And so it happened: within a month of moving to this bright and shining country at the sunny edge of the world, I found myself on the other side of the Tasman walking down a cold wet street in Wellington to a meeting with some people at New Zealand Post.

Eighteen months and 12 trips later, I now have what many people in the world (except for Australians) would consider a ‘dream assignment’.

My friends in California envy me. Friends in Sydney are appalled.

Australian chauvinism towards New Zealand is mostly of the goodnatured sort, and Kiwis cheerfully reciprocate. Every time I’m over there, someone is running a hilarious commercial at the expense of one charming Australian habit or another. A lot of this cross-Tasman posturing is entertaining, except when it factors into business decisions. It’s there that in my short time in Australia I’ve seen some disastrous choices made, and some great opportunities missed, by several businesses.

Already, every single direct marketing business in Australia, every single one, has Kiwi customers. Over 400,000 Kiwis are living, working and shopping in Australia at any one time. With a domestic population of four million, that means 10 percent of New Zealand’s consumer market is already buying from you.

Eventually, many go home. And of all the places for those former customers to go, there is no easier environment to continue doing business with them than New Zealand.

LET’S GET REAL Yes, it rains more. Yes, Sydney has better nightlife and the shopping is superior in Melbourne. Nevertheless, for most direct marketing businesses, the similarities between the Australian and New Zealand markets outweigh the differences – by a long shot.

Consumers in New Zealand basically buy the same things that consumers in Australia buy. And they have about the same amount of money to spend. There are all sorts of mildly interesting differences one can point out. New Zealand’s population is a bit younger and is growing a bit faster, for example. But compare those differences with

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

those between Australia and any Asian market, and you’ll see what I’m talking about.

Consumer behaviour in New Zealand is remarkably similar to that in Australia. And this makes it really easy to do direct marketing over there, adding a market of four million people to your business, the same size as Sydney. As a result, you can leverage testing and key learnings from Australia. You don’t have to re-test what you already know works. Just mail the same sort of thing over there, and it’ll basically do about the same.

By not having to reinvent the wheel in terms of best practice for your business, you’ll be able to grow your business faster in New Zealand than in Australia. Oddly enough, the same trend appears between the US and Canada and between the UK and Ireland.

Marketing strategies and tactics need to change little when mailing between these pairs of countries.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the Canadians, Irish and Kiwis figured this out faster than the Yanks, Brits and Aussies. Chrisco, EziBuy, FlyBuys and Pumpkin Patch are all examples of direct marketing businesses from New Zealand that grew huge by discovering that what works in Auckland works in Adelaide too.

So, let’s say you’re a successful direct marketing business in Australia and you would like to start mailing into New Zealand. Here are some ways you can make that a success:

PRIVACY The privacy rules are much the same as in Australia. If anything, the New Zealand privacy rules are slightly more relaxed, but only in minor ways.

In general, if your privacy policies measure up in Australia, they’ll measure up in New Zealand too.

If you plan to swap your customer list with third parties, you need to disclose that on your mail piece (the same as you do in Australia). It’s a good idea to offer customers a way to opt out of that as well.

CALL CENTRE MANAGEMENT Telco costs between New Zealand and Australia are very low, and it’s often easiest to route customer service and sales calls through your existing call centres. This widens your time zones by two hours, which allows

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MARKETING IN NEW ZEALAND 029 you to smooth out your call volume spikes, and businesses often find it can help them lower their abandonment rates and improve their speedof-answer rates in Australia as well as in New Zealand.

Australian accents don’t usually affect sales close rates or customer satisfaction measures, unless you do something stupid like gloat about beating the All Blacks.

PRINTING AND LETTER SHOPS There are plenty of printers and letter shops in New Zealand that can handle mailings just as complex as anything that mails in Australia.

For a lot of mailers though, they find that it’s better to ‘bundle’ their Kiwi mailings with their Australian efforts. This lowers the cost per piece for both countries. Smart mailers use New Zealand as a way to cut their Australian costs. Similar efficiencies can be achieved with fulfilment and merchandising.

DIRECT MARKETING IN A FISH BOWL Did you know that New Zealand has perhaps the most effective police surveillance system anywhere? Because Kiwis are the nosiest people in the world. When the French blew up Greenpeace’s boat, the Rainbow Warrior, in Auckland Harbour 20 years ago, it took the police about an hour to catch the culprits. That’s because you really stand out in New Zealand if you’re French and you’re running around in a wetsuit. People notice that…

The first time I visited New Zealand, I stood out a bit too, but after a few times, folks accepted me and I became part of the scene. You will experience that too when you start mailing into New Zealand. And here’s how it’ll work. When you first start mailing to New Zealand, your response rate will be lower than the second and third time you mail there. This happens particularly if you mail the same people each time.

Everywhere else in the world, if you mailed the same people over and over they would get sick of you and gripe about it. But in New Zealand it’s a bit different. The more times they receive something, the more likely they are to respond. The response rate will continue to rise for the first five drops or so. Then it will level off after about six or seven drops.

So when you set up a test into New Zealand, try to set it up in two or even three steps. Measure to see if you experience this frequency effect, and then plot its trajectory to give you an idea of the true potential of the effort.

When I first heard about this from a Kiwi mailer, I simply didn’t believe it. It sounded like something an advertising salesperson at a magazine would tell me as a way to sell me three ads instead of one.

But, sure enough, it’s true. I’ve seen the results of dozens of mailers in New Zealand. And it’s certainly something worth testing and perhaps factoring into your planning.

and cable TV suppliers. Not only do they mail heaps of bills every month, but they do lots of direct mail marketing as well.

But every imaginable type of business uses direct marketing. You can even donate sheep to charity by mail (seriously). New Zealand’s largest charity raises millions that way. For a deeper view, there is some interesting new research just out to help you plan the right offer for your next campaign in New Zealand.

New Zealand Post recently commissioned Colmar Brunton Research to interview consumers in order to provide insights into how Kiwi consumers regard and interact with various marketing media across various marketing activities. Here are some highlights: BRAND ADVERTISING If that’s all you’re after, then go on TV or buy a newspaper ad. Seventyseven percent of those interviewed felt brand advertising was most appropriate on TV and 71 percent thought the same about newspapers.

Whereas only 22 percent of consumers thought someone like, say, FCUK should post them an A4 size card with nothing else written on it except that and their name and address on the back.

SALES PROMOTION It’s the other way around with sales promotions. For these offers, consumers preferred addressed mail over TV by 56 percent to 44 percent, with other media bringing up the rear.

LOYALTY PROGRAMS Customer retention and loyalty: it’s on the tip of everyone’s tongue this year. And in New Zealand, marketers are putting more of their money

WHAT WORKS BEST So who uses direct mail in a big way in New Zealand? Like here in Australia, a lot of the usual suspects. Fundraising, publishing and mail order catalogues allot a majority of their spend on direct marketing and, particularly, to direct mail.

After that come what I call the ‘billers’ – the banks, telcos, insurance, electricity, gas

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030 MARKETING IN NEW ZEALAND into it than ever before. Almost one in 10 advertising dollars is spent on loyalty programs. And this is where the power of database marketing makes direct mail so much more effective than other media channels. A whopping 65 percent of consumers prefer mail over other channels for this category of marketing, followed by TV at 37 percent and point-ofsale at 28 percent.

Now, as interesting as those facts and figures are the truth is, if you went to any Australian media planner and posed the same question, nine out of 10 of them would pull out some Australian research that says basically the same thing. Not only are the demographics of the two countries remarkably similar, but so is media consumption and consumer behaviour.

REACHING THIS MARKET There is one thing that does challenge direct marketers in New Zealand.

There are not very many lists available to swap or rent. And as a newcomer to the neighbourhood, this can be an important consideration for you. But clever mailers have dozens of ways to get around this obstacle.

Here are a few of them: NEW MOVERS One list that is commercially available is New Zealand Post’s New Mover list. It lists everyone who has submitted a mail-forwarding order with the post office. Every month, there are 20,000 new movers available. People who have recently moved are typically very good prospects for all sorts of offers, from local retail efforts and traditional mail order merchandise to telco, insurance and financial services.

LIST SWAPS These can be arranged bilaterally. When doing so, make sure you are swapping ‘like’ names. If you are providing 12-month buyers, you should be getting 12-month buyers in return, not 24-month-old prize draw entrants.

DATAPOOLING Cooperative databases are new to New Zealand, but they do exist. Abacus Australia operates an open datapool in New Zealand as well.

Datapooling allows you to combine your consumer data with the data of other organisations. It’s particularly useful for mail order catalogues, charities and publishers. If you’re in any of those sectors, joining a datapool is an easy way to access hundreds of thousands of records.

CREATING YOUR OWN LIST At a conference a few years ago, I met the direct marketing manager for the Danish Cancer Society. And I learned that in Denmark acquiring a prospecting list is really hard, mainly because it’s illegal. Exchanging customer data is subject to so many restrictions that it’s basically a waste of time to try.

Nevertheless, this guy needed to acquire 30,000 new donors every year just to keep fundraising levels steady. To grow, he had to acquire even more. So I asked him how he does it, and he told me that he creates his own lists. In fact, he had a prospecting database totalling over one million names.

Here is one technique he used: SURVEYS At a very low cost-per-piece, he would mail out letterbox surveys into the community asking people all sorts of questions about how much they smoke, what they eat, how often they exercise and so on. Surveys would get a much higher response rate than a request for money (about 10 times higher). But best of all, he isolated that crucial subset of residents who actually open, read and respond to his mail.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

When he re-mailed those survey respondents with a request for money, he got a phenomenal response rate (over 30 percent). Over time, he would segment this file by recency, as well as by how the respondents answered the survey questions. He also circulated the surveys online, using viral pass-along techniques.

Clever, but it’s not your only option. Here are some other techniques to build prospecting lists that are quite common in both Australia and New Zealand.

LOTTERIES AND PRIZE DRAWS You can run all sorts of prize draws to acquire contact details from large numbers of entrants. Again, what you’re doing is identifying a subset of consumers who pay attention to what you’re saying long enough to make a decision to pick up the phone, sign online or otherwise successfully give you their contact details. Because of this segmenting, these lists can be very effective response lists for future marketing efforts.

FREE SAMPLES AND TRIALS If you give people a free go at something, you’ll get a lot more takers. And they make terrific prospecting lists. Here you’ve got awareness, consideration and trial all ticked off, and it’s a ‘well’ you can go to over and over again. Expired or former customer lists are also sometimes overlooked as excellent sources for prospecting names.

SIZING IT ALL UP This breezy overview of New Zealand direct marketing is by no means intended to cover all the bases and, every time you expand your business, there are risks. So it’s best to be selective about the opportunities that come your way.

Management gurus often like to categorise business opportunities into one of four boxes, looking like this:

Box 1 is the best type of business opportunity to pursue.

Box 4 is the toughest opportunity to pursue.

When looking at your expansion to New Zealand, there are so many similarities with Australia that you could almost place the opportunity into Box 1. But even if you disagree, placing the opportunity into Box 2 is still pretty good. For most Australian direct marketers, an expansion into New Zealand is not a huge business risk, by any stretch.

The best thing about expanding your direct marketing efforts into New Zealand is the simple fact that the idea will not occur to a lot of your Australian competitors, leaving the spoils to you. It’s an easy opportunity to expand your market by 20 percent but, for many Australians, the thought just never crosses their mind.

There are lots of days in Wellington when the fog is so thick that you can’t see a thing. But when it comes to direct marketing in New Zealand, it’s best not to let the weather cloud your point of view. M

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032 BRANDING Kim Lehman is a lecturer at the University of Tasmania, teaching marketing communication and electronic marketing. His research into product naming in the car industry stems from a long held interest in the meaning of words stemming from a background in literature and creative writing. He can be contacted by email at: Kim.Lehman@utas.edu.au

A rose by any other name… How and why Australian car manufacturers name their products Car manufacturers would do well to follow the lead of branding experts and product naming consultants when devising distinct titles for their products, writes Kim Lehman.

M

ost marketers would agree that choosing the right product or brand name is a fundamentally important decision. Generally, the desirable qualities of a good product name are that it’s suggestive of the product’s benefits and qualities, easy to pronounce, recognise and remember, distinctive and able to communicate across cultures. These qualities are sought by most branding experts and product naming consultants. But car manufacturers, which produce one of society’s most visible ranges of products, can sometimes ignore them.

What is it car manufacturers think their product names mean to the potential buyer?

The Daihatsu ‘Naked’ certainly has a distinctive name, which is easy to pronounce, recognise and remember. But what does it symbolise about the product’s benefits and qualities? The vehicle was launched in Japan (in 1999) and while the company press release stated that the target market was “males in their 30s”, we can only guess at the meaning of the product name to the consumer.

As for communicating across cultures, the much publicised experiences of Ford with the Pinto in the 1960s should be a lesson to all.

Ford’s export push into Brazil was halted when it was discovered that the Portuguese slang translation of Pinto was ‘small male appendage’.

Clearly, this was a meaning that Ford preferred not be associated with its product.

We can afford to be amused by cultural faux pas overseas, but what of local manufacturers, whose product names can sometimes be similarly obscure?

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

A considerable number of models in the Australian auto market have traditional names.

In the case of Ford (the Fairlane in 1959 and the Falcon in 1960), they have been with the Australian consumer for over 40 years and are strong, established brands in themselves.

Mitsubishi and Toyota, newer manufacturers, are following the same strategy with their Magna and Camry models respectively. The established model names have considerable brand equity, which does not necessarily transfer to a replacement model with a different name. Regardless, longstanding names can be successfully changed once it is decided they have outlived their usefulness with the target market: Holden changing the name Kingswood to Commodore is one such example.

It might surprise people to know that a considerable number of Holden’s vehicle names are not their own. Even the Commodore, a well-known and very Australian brand name was originally used by Opel from the 1960s to the 1980s. The Caprice is a Chevrolet product name. The same is also true for Ford. The Falcon is a name from the US as is the Fairlane. Ford’s Focus and Fiesta are global model names.

Similarly, the Astra, Vectra and Zafira models have the same names whether they are badged Holden, Vauxhall or Opel. This is indicative of the global nature of the auto industry, and may explain why many model names are not ‘meaningful’ as such. Model names have to be culturally neutral – manufacturers cannot afford to suffer the ‘Pinto’ problem, but it’s difficult to see these bland ‘international’ product names symbolising anything.

There are model names that are more overtly evocative, however. Predominately they are in the four-wheel drive ranges: Ford’s Escape and Territory, Holden’s Adventra and Jackaroo, Toyota’s Landcruiser and Mitsubishi’s Challenger and Outlander. All these are suggestive of the product’s use, with Holden’s Jackaroo also scoring for its ‘Australiana’ name.

Holden was clearly looking to attach the product to one of the symbols of Australian life.

Similarly, Ford chose the name Territory to reinforce the vehicle’s Australian heritage (Proton’s Jumbuck and Ford’s Longreach are further examples). This is a similar strategy to that used by Holden in naming the Calais after a city in northern France, hoping that the sound of the exotic location would influence consumer perceptions.

It’s also been said that repetitive sounds generated by alliteration, assonance, consonance, rhyme and rhythm are also a desirable characteristic of a brand name. Perhaps this explains what US naming consultant Rivkin and Associates call the ‘doctor’s prescription’ for naming cars – use three syllables and end in A: Celica, Corolla, Cressida, Elantra, Integra, Maxima, Sonata, to name but a few recent and current examples. Holden has its share: Barina, Berlina, Vectra, Zafira… These are names that are chosen because, as noted above, they sound pleasing to the ear in some way, and in some cases may well highlight a product attribute. Certainly the Ford Fiesta sounds fun. Toyota’s Avensis, however, sounds awkward, but its Avalon, presumably named after the Island of the Dead in Arthurian myth, at least sounds exotic!

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BRANDING 033 Manfred Gotta, the man responsible for naming the Opel Vectra, and thus the Holden Vectra, has said that it was named as such because it had a technical sound like ‘vector’.

The notion that names can sound like they should be associated with a product has been noted by one study, where computer generated words made from random syllables reminded consumers of certain products: ‘whumies’ sounded like a cereal, and ‘dehax’ sounded like a detergent. That the sound of a name is significant in the mind of the consumer is evidenced

by Mitsubishi’s study of the pronunciation of its US vehicle, the Precis. It was perceived as an economy vehicle when pronounced PREE-sus, as a luxury or sports vehicle when pronounced PRAY-see, and as a family car when pronounced PRAY-sus.

At the next level down – products within the model – the dominant designation is the letter (and occasionally number) combination.

Alpha-numeric brand names are apparently associated with technology by consumers.

There is certainly a tradition in the car industry of such technical letter combinations, going back to the GT-gran tourismo, first used by Ferrari. Such letters can lend the products a certain style if they are associated in the consumer’s mind with another product, service or even idea that has those attributes. Originally the GT nomenclature would have given a European sound to a sports oriented car, clearly associated in the car enthusiast’s mind with the Ferrari GT. Letter combinations do appear to provide an aura of superior, technical complexity. They also avoid the issue of choosing a name that might have actual meaning. Toyota’s Camry has the Altise, the Ateva and the Azura. The point that a brand name be suggestive of a product’s benefits is clearly not being met here, but these obscure names are indicative of the difficulty in finding names that would be suggestive. Would Toyota have been wiser to call these products the L, the GL and the GLE? Perhaps, as such designations can have a similar effect to the ‘expert’ in the white coat that extols the virtues of a brand of toothpaste in a television commercial. That is, they sound like they mean something significant.

They also operate at another level. Take for example the Holden Astra: its product range within the model includes the Sxi, CD, CDX and SRi. What do these letter combinations stand for? CD – is that company director or compact disc? Maybe they stand for nothing.

Rather, different letter designations are simply an indicator of the feature level of each product. The CD has more features than the SXi. The CDX has more features than the CD. The SRi has more features than the CDX and so on. The buyer may assume that the letters stand for something, but are unlikely to attach significance to the actual letters, more to the fact the letters symbolise the level of features and therefore the level of product they can afford – in other words, the product’s perceived relative status.

Both the aura of superior technical complexity and the idea of an indicator of status come together in the sports vehicles. Ford’s Falcon and Ute both have the XR6 and the XR8. For many years, the letter X was regularly used as a designation for a sports vehicle and, commonly, for a vehicle that the manufacturer wished to position in the ‘sporty’ market.

Recently X has come to symbolise ‘extreme’, and is used on products that target the youth market. With cars, X seems to still represent sports models, except with four-wheel drive vehicles (Nissan’s X-Trail, for example) where the concept of ‘extreme’ links more closely with the nature of the product. The 6 or 8 in this case designate engine size. Holden names its products within number models in the same way: the S, the SS, the SV8: the S meaning sports, and SS presumably meaning super sports.

Again, for the buyer, the difference between these types is the level of features (or engine size). It seems unlikely that the designation means anything else.

Steve Manning, a US naming consultant, says, “When a name is rolled out, the public's perceptions are based on the entire experience of the brand. Consumers don’t separate the name from its context.” With this in mind, it’s fair to assume that the names of cars may mean less to the customer than their feelings of the overall brand; that is, they do not consider Toyota’s hybrid fuel car, the Prius’ model name – even if they knew it was Latin for ‘to go before’ – as separate from the total experience of the Toyota brand or from the buying decision in relation to such a vehicle. The actual word used as the product name may well be insignificant.

This is the strategy adopted by Mazda. By naming its new range the 2, 3 and 6 it places the emphasis on the brand and not the model.

Certainly, Australian automobile manufacturers’ products do not appear to possess the desirable qualities of a brand name to any great extent: that is, they are rarely suggestive of the

product’s attributes, except in the four-wheel drive market. Only some are easy to pronounce, recognise and remember; few are distinctive and many are bland, invented words. There does appear to be recognition by the manufacturers of the linguistic characteristics of words and the imagery that can be associated with words. But it is arguable whether they successfully utilise such characteristics. When names are distinctive, they are so for the wrong reason.

For example, Toyota’s strangely named Kluger.

What’s more, the various designations for products within a model are predominantly pseudo-technical; they seem mainly aimed at separating the levels of product and do not add any value with the choice of name. Overall, Australian car manufacturers are conservative in their selection of product names. Their names are not evocative, use few symbols and have little meaning.

There are certainly plenty of unanswered questions and considerable scope for research into consumer perceptions of brand names.

Stemming from the conclusions noted here, there are related questions deserving further consideration: what is it that car names symbolise or mean to the potential buyer? How closely, if at all, does their perception match that of the manufacturers? Is the actual word used as the product name significant in the purchase decision? And, finally, is the perception of the manufacturer’s brand more significant than that for the model or type?

Answers to these questions could be very valuable not only for the car industry, but for everyone with a product to name. M

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034 BLUEPRINT Simon Jones is managing director of Blue Marlin Brand Design. Email: simon@bluemarlinbd.com.au, call (03) 9694 5900 or visit www.bluemarlinbd.com

PACKAGING DESIGN

I

get a little upset when people describe Blue Marlin as a packaging design company. What we design are brands: we design what your customers see on shelf, what they hold in their hands, what they keep in their homes and what protects the product they will consume. It’s a relationship that runs deep.

When you ask someone to draw a brand, they don’t draw a storyboard of your most recent TVC. They draw the pack and the logo: that’s why we are brand designers, not just packaging designers.

So just how does the process of packaging design work?

1

WHAT’S THE REAL PROBLEM?

Or opportunity for that matter. I’m still staggered by the number of briefs we receive that ask for nothing more than to ‘make the pack more contemporary’ or ‘increase appetite appeal’. That may indeed be the solution required – or it may not be.

To start the journey, we need to know what has changed in the market; what is threatening consumer preference for our brand? Is it really that our food photography isn’t as good as it could be? Or could it be that people no longer see our pack first, or that a competitor’s offer is simpler and more direct to scan on shelf, or that there is a conflict between the look of our pack and the price at which we sell it? Only when we understand the real reason for an updated brand design can the process begin.

2

WHAT DOES THE BRAND STAND FOR? If the brand is simply there as a ‘producer mark’ that tells the consumer who made it, and its applied to an undifferentiated recipe with an OK pack shot… then Coles and Woolworths will soon have some bad news for you. Fixtures

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

aren’t going to get 20 percent longer to accommodate the new private label offers such as ‘You’ll Love Coles’ and ‘Coles Smart Buy’. It’s the commodity offers that will be delisted, those that offer similar recipes from brands, and companies that don’t capitalise on their emotional appeal.

One of the most interesting developments from a brand designer’s point of view is that masterbrands are becoming more and more dominant on pack, and there is increasing focus on capturing their appeal.

And quite rightly too. Competitive pressure means product differences in most FMCG categories don’t last long. The difference is the brand, and it is the brand that should be the hero, not the undifferentiated recipe.

Brands are moving from manufacturer endorsement on pack to the key communication, with marques that capture the essence of the brand.

3 4

WHAT ARE PEOPLE BUYING? WHAT IS THE BRAND ARCHITECTURE? Linked to

the increasing importance of the masterbrand is the attention being paid to brand architecture. This debate is often couched in terms that would be meaningless to the consumer: whether an offer is a sub brand or merely an endorsed brand for instance. But brand designers need a more concrete strategy: ask questions like, “What is the element of the offer that is most important to the consumer?” or “What is the relevance of the masterbrand and how important is it to the purchase decision?”

HOW IS THE BRAND SHOPPED AND HOW IS IT CONSUMED? It’s an obvious truth

that most marketers and advertising folk spend much of their working lives thinking about the consumer: consumer research, consumer proposition, consumer insights, consumer

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BLUEPRINT 035

segmentation… Get close to your consumer and everything will fall into place – the coffers will overflow with gold and all will be well with the world. Or something like that.

Packaging designers are all too often guilty of travelling down the same road as they compete with advertising agencies to help guide the development of their clients’ brands. Yes, we need to understand how the consumer interacts with a brand. But the reality is that brand design also needs to address another fundamental priority: given the few seconds the shopper spends looking at the fixture (if you’re lucky), we have to understand the factors that will make a hand reach for your brand, not someone else’s.

Not nearly enough attention has been paid to creating preference at the point of purchase and the role of brand design is absolutely critical.

We have invested heavily in seeking to understand far more about how shoppers behave at the fixture and how design can channel their decision. To do this, we use quantitative data on shopping behaviour, qualitative research as well as our detailed knowledge of the grocery environment gained from working on the visual identity for Coles.

The result is a much clearer understanding of the stimuli that brands in different categories require to drive selection. By understanding a product’s balance of sales between impulse selection and the routine large shop, we tailor the design to reflect the different communication needs: most importantly, between the cues of the consumption occasion (appealing to ‘the consumer’) versus the rapid visual communication of product information (appealing to ‘the shopper’). And we can factor in the impact of brand saliency to further finesse the model.

Brand design must broaden the focus away from the familiar territory of the consumer to also embrace the needs of the shopper. It may

not be as easy, and the techniques not as familiar, but the rewards for getting it right are immediate and powerful.

5

AT LAST – DESIGN. With the strategic and creative brief fully defined, the designers can move forward in the most effective way possible. Sadly, there are no easy solutions or smart tools to getting great work. It’s down to talented designers to interpret the brief into compelling, differentiated and appealing designs, combined with creative direction that can spot the nugget of a great idea and bring it to life.

Involve the client early, with hand drawn visuals so a strong idea stands out in its own right, and a weak design is not masked by being beautifully visualised on the Mac.

6 7

RESEARCH. Brand design is of critical importance to the health and prosperity of a brand, and it’s fully understandable that such important decisions should be tested with consumers.What is essential is that designs are tested against fit to strategy, and that the limitations of research are recognised – for instance, it’s very difficult and expensive to accurately gauge shopper preference. And priorities need to be right – there is no point spending $40,000 testing designs that have had no budget and no time spent on them.

PRODUCTION – DON’T DROP THE BALL. Artwork for packaging is a highly specialised skill,

reflecting the complexities of the different print processes available. It’s not something that should be rushed. If, after all that work, you still need to increase the appetite appeal of your brand – that means making sure the photography is printed properly. M

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036 L’OREAL BRANDSTORM COMPETITION Russell Carter is in his final year of marketing and Mandarin majors at Monash University in Melbourne. In 2006, he plans to travel to Shanghai to work in a marketing role to gain an understanding of the Chinese market and culture. He has worked in marketing at Monash University, is a qualified chef and is currently working on a marketing project for BMW Doncaster. He can be contacted on 0405 667 011 or by email: russcarter292@yahoo.com.au Contact teammates Peter Whitwood at pwhitwood@pacific.net.au and Stewart Gillies at sagil1@student.monash.edu.au

A MELBOURNE STORM

When three Monash University marketing students entered the international L’Oréal Brandstorm Competition, they had no idea it would lead them across the world to L’Oréal headquarters in Clichy, France. Russell Carter reports.

T

he L’Oréal Brandstorm competition is not only an innovative recruitment tool, it’s also an opportunity for university students to test their creativity and motivation against the rest of the world for the chance to gain experience, new friends, contacts and employment.

The competition, run annually by L’Oréal, is already in its 13th year and the number of countries involved continues to grow. This year 31 countries competed at the L’Oréal headquarters in Paris for the grand prize of a trip worth $10,000. In 2004, 141 people were employed as a result of their involvement with the Brandstorm competition, on both the national and international level. Although the competition is held in Paris, English is the official language chosen for the presentations, which means that the teams competing from non-English speaking countries have an even greater challenge ahead of them. The CEO of L’Oréal, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones says, “One of the secrets of L’Oréal’s success is its spectacularly international and culturally diverse workforce.”

So what’s Brandstorm all about? One of the main differences between Brandstorm and other marketing competitions offered to students is that it is interactive. National finalists are given the opportunity to work with world-renowned advertising agencies to develop a magazine advertising campaign for use in their presentations.

At the beginning of each year, L’Oréal representatives approach some of the world’s internationally recognised universities and give a presentation encouraging students to enter the competition. To select the national finalists, teams of three are asked to prepare a 10-minute presentation, to be presented to several L’Oréal representatives, which serves as the initial interview. In Australia, six national finalist teams were selected

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

and this year three came from RMIT and three from Monash University.

Our team was from Monash University, and we were all in our final year of marketing majors, although each came from different academic backgrounds. Peter Whitwood is currently involved in business and information technology, Stewart Gillies is studying science and I am undertaking a major in Mandarin.

After the national finalists were selected, the fun really began. The 2005 theme was the Studio Line brand, which is the market leader in mass market styling products throughout Europe. All the teams were also given a briefing about the current state of the Studio Line brand and the core values L’Oréal believes should be reflected in its growing portfolio of

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The team with Mark Tucker, managing director of L’Oréal Australia. brands. Apart from these guidelines, the participants were urged to let their creativity run wild, even to the point of developing products based on scientific advancements that may not have yet been developed.

The next step was to attend meetings with the McCann Erickson Worldwide Group, which served to instruct students on the best way to brief the Mac operators who were responsible for bringing the ideas to life. One person from each team was given the role of ‘creative director’ and asked to design the creative for the print communications.

“Graphic communication has always been an area I have pursued as a self taught hobby to expand on my marketing experience. So when the opportunity arose to work with McCann Erickson on the print communication and packaging design for our product, I jumped at it,” says Peter Whitwood, creative director for our team. He impressed the Mac operators at McCann Erickson so much that they believed their services were barely required.

We dubbed our team ‘The Beasties’, considering we were all male and completely out of our comfort zone marketing a hairstyling brand (especially in my case, with a distinct lack of anything to use styling products on!). Feeling like a part of television program The Apprentice, minus the guy with the bizarre hairstyle, we set about gathering market research the old-fashioned way, reciting the old adage our marketing lecturer had beaten into our heads, ‘a product is a product is a product…’

Stewart Gillies quickly came up with an idea to base a purely male product range around the ever popular extreme sports phenomenon, and package the products in metal canisters with knurled, industrial metal lids.

“Considering we’re all blokes, we figured we might be best to stick with what we know,” he says.

Both Peter and I thought the idea was a winner, and together we set about developing three entirely new products for the range. We quickly realised that a purely male line was lacking, not only in Studio Line’s range, but the entire mass market, especially in Australia. Purely male, premium hair styling products were only to be found in salons and many guys were spending big dollars to style their hair with anything better than home brand gels.

We named the line extension ‘Studio Line Extreme FX’, following on from previous brand extensions ‘Studio Line FX’ and ‘Studio Line Special FX’. Three new products were created, with the names Extreme Ocean (a fibrous resin), Extreme Sky (an oxygel) and Extreme Glacier (a jelly gum). Each product was designed to appeal to the target segment through incorporating a personality of a different extreme sport. We determined that each product would be a new styling compound with actual technological advancements. Luckily, with Stewart’s connections in the science department, we were able to gather some interesting chemical combinations. One of these was Terpinen 4-Ol, which is a chemical that provides a cooling sensation when applied to the hair, and thankfully has no adverse side effects… well, none that we are aware of…

The presentations were to run for 20 minutes each, and there were no limits as to the degree of creativity allowed in terms of theatrics and technology. The six Australian national finalists battled it out for a shot at the coveted trip to Paris, all expenses paid.‘The Beasties’ were triumphant and, needless to say, we were overjoyed with the chance to represent Australia in Paris, learn from some of the other international finalists and give it all we had.

“Having such a strong and driven team enabled us to continually rise to the challenges of the competition, despite our already overloaded schedules,” says Peter.

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038 L’OREAL BRANDSTORM COMPETITION

The next interactive part of the competition then kicked in, with international finalists all able to witness their products brought to life. Once again, the excellent team at McCann Erickson was called upon to create physical mock-up versions of the products. Considering our products were made of metal, this proved to be no easy task, but luckily all three products were finished a few days before leaving for Paris.

The international finals took place on 20 June at L’Oréal’s headquarters in Clichy, and there was a great deal of excitement and anticipation generated as all the students gathered together for the first time. The teams were divided roughly by the region of the world they came from, apart from Australia being placed among the Americas, and Israel being placed amongst one of the two European groups. The fourth grouping comprised Asian countries. The amount of ingenious ideas delivered as creative products and communication strategies, as well as sheer enthusiasm generated by all the teams, was something I’m sure none of the participants will ever forget.

A few of the more amazing ideas were coloured gel pyramids, small bath gel spheres, gel strips that could be dissolved in water and some groovy, flower-shaped bottles. The creativity and complexity of the presentations themselves was also very high, with some teams shooting choreographed and edited television commercials. The presentations were in many cases very theatrical, allowing the dynamic skills of the team members to be showcased and making the spectacle highly entertaining for those in the audience. With the amount of technical ingenuity, it seemed that some of the teams were magicians rather than marketing students.

Later that evening the finalists were announced in an incredible convention venue complete with a stage rising out of the dance floor, a huge presentation screen, a DJ, gourmet delicacies and French champagne.

South Africa, Malaysia, Switzerland and Australia were called to the stage before an audience of hundreds, including all competitors, their fortunate lecturers (who had also been provided with a free trip to Paris) and a L’Oréal representative from each country involved.

The order of the final presentations was drawn out of a hat, with the Malaysians up first and the Aussies up last. Backstage, the four finalist teams gathered in their groups, some running through their presentations, which had to be cut from 20 minutes down to 10, and others busy preparing their stage props. Thankfully, our lecturer Erica Brady had attended the finals in the previous year and had coached us into preparing a 10-minute presentation as well as a 20-minute version, which saved us getting too stressed about any last minute changes and allowed us to sneak up to the back of the room to watch the three presentations before us.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

Students were rated on creativity, market analysis, synergy with the brand’s values, communications skills and team presentation style. The fate of the finalists was decided by a high profile jury made up of L’Oréal’s senior management including L’Oréal’s chairman and CEO, Sir Lindsay Owen-Jones; executive vice-president of consumer products, Patrick Rabin; executive vice president for human resources, Geoff Skingsley; general manager of L’Oréal Paris, Nicolas Hieronimus; and special guest, McCann Erickson’s CEO, John Dooner.

When we saw the level of competition we were up against, we realised the difficulty of the task that lay before us. I was particularly impressed with the Malaysian team, which had used the concept of ‘free running’ as an energy charged and exciting theme for their range of products. The Swiss also seemed to impress the judges with their products and innovative marketing communication strategy, which involved a great idea to use 1950s US-style cigarette ladies to sell their products in nightclubs.

“When it was our time to present we fed off the energy of the crowd.

They all seemed to get behind us and it was one of the best experiences in my life,” says Stewart.

Peter was also electrified by the response from the crowd, and played off his previous experience in presenting to large audiences.

“The atmosphere was so exhilarating, as our excitement and belief in the product concept quickly seemed to transfer to the audience. It was amazing to witness,” he says.

So I guess you’re wondering who managed to finally win the judges’ hearts and minds… Third place was announced as a tie between South Africa’s team, ‘Sisonke’ from the University of Cape Town and Malaysia’s ‘Osirians’ from University Teknologi Malaysia. When the cameras were suddenly in our faces as second place was announced, we realised where we had finished, and, although there was a flicker of disappointment, we were thrilled for the Swiss team ‘Bamboo’ from Université St Gall, as they were announced to be the Brandstorm winners for 2005.

The entire experience from beginning to end was something that will hold fond memories for all those involved for the rest of their lives. As a recruitment tool and idea generator, this is another brilliant idea engineered by L’Oréal that is a great part of the reason for its worldwide leadership success in beauty products.

Although the workload almost doubles for a final year marketing student, the experience and sheer fun of competing in the Brandstorm competition is well worth the effort and, for anyone thinking they would like to participate in future years, I really can’t recommend the experience highly enough. M

the ‘late night planner’

Catalogues can inspire, inform, excite and entice, enabling you to bring your showroom directly to the customer. As a proven marketing device in influencing consumer choices, catalogues can be as innovative and varied as the products they promote. Let us show you how catalogues can impact your market today. Franklin Web the power in catalogues.

the power in catalogues > M e l b o u r n e T ( 0 3 ) 9 31 2 10 2 2 > S y d n e y T ( 0 2 ) 9 9 2 5 0 7 0 0 > w w w . f r a n k l i n w e b . c o m . a u

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040 RESEARCH Lisa Pakenham is marketing communications manager for QSR International, a leading supplier in qualitative research software solutions. With a passion for international marketing, Lisa has worked exclusively in the IT industry in Japan, New Zealand and Australia. Contact Karen Thomas, marketing director, QSR International with enquiries on 03 9840 4971 or email: k.thomas@qsrinternational.com

Qualitative data analysis software: friend or foe?

Lisa Pakenham examines the changing attitudes of market researchers towards technology and suggests the industry is making a quantum leap.

F

or many market researchers, there has long been a stigma attached to software use in qualitative research. Computers have traditionally been viewed as a block to the creative process.

However, qualitative market researchers have been gradually warming to the idea of utilising technology in their research. Recognition of its ability to create room for strategic thinking and timely delivery to clients is growing.

Online group moderation and virtual viewing are good examples of this, but the use of software to facilitate the data analysis process has yet to be fully embraced.

According to Jackie Duke, commercial qualitative researcher for 20 years and software consultant to QSR International, most qualitative market researchers view their ability to add insight and value to the interpretation of data as their competitive edge.

“Computers by their very nature are perceived to work against this creativity,” she says.

“The rigidity imposed by the systematic constraints of computer software is believed to undermine and devalue this process.”

Gill Ereaut, renowned writer on qualitative research methods and director of Linguistic Landscapes in the UK, agrees. “Computers are very useful for administrative functions and at arranging and sorting data. What computers can’t do is think like a qualitative researcher.

“But the fact that computers don’t think is not a limitation at all; in fact it leaves the qualitative researcher doing what they most want to do – the thinking. So computers can play a positive part in the analysis process.”

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

While there are a number of qualitative data analysis programs on the market, Duke says they largely cater for academic researchers who extract patterns and meaning by using software to mine data or explore complex rich text data in a code-retrieve manner.

“This method had proven impractical or unrelated to the research issues and time constraints that qualitative market researchers need to address,” she says. “From the outset, it was evident that software could add value to the research process by facilitating the systematic analysis of data in such a way that interpretive thinking could be simultaneously captured and indeed enhanced.

“By expediting the manual processes, the researcher could dedicate more time to analysis and interpretation, ‘squeezing’ out every last bit of value from the data. It is this area the clients generally view as the most valuable – where interpretive findings are transformed into actionable recommendations on business direction or strategy.”

The UK’s largest independent research agency, MORI, implemented qualitative data analysis software in May 2004 and used it for a large national evaluation of a government program. MORI project manager Sara Butler says the switch was a natural progression for the agency. “It is a significant step for MORI to use qualitative research software, and we are aware that we were among the first in the business to do so,” she says.

Although clients rarely inspect original transcripts, researchers still have the arduous task of strategically linking the raw outputs of data to their creative inspiration.

Software allows researchers to return to the data and test ideas much more easily, check details and pull out illustrative quotations, ensuring they are more accurate and confident in what they’re saying.

Jackie Duke agrees. “Software facilitates improved rigour in analysis, which generates improved accountability and traceability of findings. Visibility of the analysis, at appropriate times, can enhance trust and hence the relationship with clients.”

According to Duke, the introduction of suitable software provides the framework that will further raise the quality and standard of qualitative research.

“Very often the commissioning client has the onerous task of collaborating findings from different markets with different suppliers who might even use different methodologies,” she says.

“What is needed in these situations are shared ‘whiteboards’, or templates that reflect the main themes and headings of the researchers’ findings so they can merge their projects and access all shared findings. Software offers the easiest facility to achieve this.”

So, is qualitative data analysis software the answer for time poor researchers? Duke is confident. “There are benefits to a number of areas – from time efficiencies and cost savings through to enhanced teamwork and quality of research outputs.

“The question is whether the industry is ready to step into an era where software and qualitative data analysis can be powerful partners in providing high quality business solutions for clients.” M

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042 CONSUMER TRENDS Mark Uncles is Professor of Marketing at UNSW. His research into buyer behaviour, branding, patterns of repeat-buying and loyalty programs is internationally recognised and has been published widely in management and academic journals.

Emma Macdonald is a PhD candidate at UNSW under Professor Uncle’s supervision. Her topic is the Buyer-Centric Revolution. Emma is an experienced marketing professional and consultant (e.g. Optus, Legion Interactive, CKW Wireless) with a particular interest in consumer impacts of new technologies.

Discovering the savvy new consumer.

Mark Uncles and Emma Macdonald provide some insights into the new breed of media and marketing savvy consumers based on findings from the recent consumer attitudes study undertaken by ADMA, UNSW and TNS. GLOBAL CHANGES Savvy new consumers are emerging around the globe and they have some distinct characteristics. First and foremost, they are technologically sophisticated. They have internet access at home, a PDA or cable TV, and use their mobile phones regularly for both conversing and SMS messaging.

High levels of marketing and media literacy are also displayed among this audience – an ability to deconstruct advertising messages, an awareness of the techniques used by direct marketers, and an understanding of the range of communications channels available. They are adept at media multi-tasking – using their iPod while flicking through a magazine for example – which presents a challenge for any marketer attempting to maximise cut-through.

AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS KEEP IN STEP TECHNOLOGICAL SOPHISTICATION Some 67 percent of consumers are heavy users of mobile phones and have internet access at home, and a further 19 percent are equally heavy users of mobile phones and have broadband internet access at home. That’s an overwhelming majority of the Australian adult population who show at least a moderate degree of technological sophistication.

NETWORKED These consumers make full use of their networks: 52 percent regularly use word of mouth to find out about new products, compared to making use of the internet (48 percent), a sales rep (46 percent) or a direct communication from a company (41 percent).

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

MARKETING AND MEDIA LITERATE When it comes to marketing communications, consumers like to hear from the companies they know: 74 percent are happy to receive communications from companies with which they deal, but for many consumers (40 percent) it is important that the companies demonstrate the relevance of the communication.

IN CONTROL A massive 91 percent of consumers believe it is important that companies give them the choice to decide how their personal information is collected and used. The ADMA survey shows, however, that as consumers become more adept at using technology, they gain confidence and are more willing to provide personal information for personalised service, for faster and more efficient service, and for gaining the benefits of special offers and discounts.

Moreover, consumers use technology to control the information that reaches them.

Many simply delete the email without opening it (42 percent) or use technology to screen it out (25 percent) if they don’t know the company.

ASSERTIVENESS Many of these consumers are demanding, assertive and active. More than a quarter (27 percent) is actively involved with consumer interest groups, subscribe to consumer publications such as Choice or write letters of complaint. A further quarter (25 percent) states that it is important for them to keep up to date with changes in consumer legislation and protection.

AGE DIFFERENCES Not all Australians are alike in these respects.

Young adults (18 to 29 years) do not mind

companies having, or using, their data in a targeted way and are happy to receive direct communications from companies, especially those with which they deal already. They are considerably more comfortable with SMS and email contact, and are at least twice as likely as the older generation (60-plus years) to consider a direct marketing approach to be an extension of customer service, and three times more likely to consider a phone call about a special deal to be customer service. But, a note of caution – many older consumers are quickly coming to terms with new technologies; some are very savvy and it would be a mistake to write them off or ignore them.

MARKETERS MUST LEARN TO ADAPT Ensure you get it right with this new breed of consumer by following a few key tips: ✒ ensure you ask for their consent when collecting, storing or forwarding personal data for a third party; ✒ regularly reassure consumers about the use and storage of their personal information; ✒ never underestimate the knowledge or expertise of this new breed of consumers, who are well aware of the ploys and tactics used by marketers – don’t try to bamboozle them with techno-babble and jargon; and ✒ ensure your communications are relevant, targeted and respect their need for control over when and how they are contacted.

Follow these tips to help ensure your marketing communications successfully reach today’s savvy new consumer. M

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044 CHANNEL PLANNING Andrew Turley is a director of btl (behind the line), a strategic agency focused on media and message integration to create consumer engagement chains. He has worked in Singapore, Australia and New Zealand with government department rebrands, retail advertising, B2B web strategies and as a global lead for employee brand engagement, on clients from HP to the New Zealand Army. He can be contacted at andrew.turley@btlintegration.com.au

The military and the art of channel planning.

Channel planners could learn a thing or two from the military, says Andrew Turley.

C ‘

hannel planning’ is the latest buzzword being touted by advertising and media agencies – coined to further their own business, financial and cultural objectives. Instead of a function bolted on to an agency’s existing offering to smokescreen an antiquated media hierarchy, marketers require a sound planning process. By using the learnings of some of the world’s greatest planners, Sun Tzu, Von Clauswitz and George Patton, substitute the word ‘military’ for ‘channel’ and you will be surprised at how clear the way forward is for media neutral strategy and channel planning.

The principle of channel planning acknowledges that both the media landscape and the way customers use media has changed significantly.

With mounting pressure from CEOs and CFOs for marketing to demonstrate a return on investment, sales have replaced media activity as the ultimate measure of output. Fragmenting media and consumer behaviour, however, means that an isolated engagement is no longer viable.

The chairman and chief executive of Proctor and Gamble, Alan Lafley, was reported in The Australian as saying there is a need to engage consumers with media neutral ideas to “breathe life into brands, and help create the bonds and the relationships to buy and use our brands, we hope for a lifetime”. With this clear market sentiment, advertising and marketing organisations should be determining the channels (resources) clients require in order to achieve this ‘end state’.

Marketers have three simple requirements: 1. to ensure the mechanics of the advertising process are appropriate to both the consumer and the marketer;

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

2. to define all media capabilities and opportunities based on consumer usage patterns, relevance and ability to relate to the purchase cycle; and 3. to define media and message integration appropriate to consumer behaviours.

Recently the CEO of the Publicis group, Nicholas Davie, announced that, “The agency group is in the process of appointing staff to take on the role of channel planners with plans to have teams of three or four of the specialists in each of Publicis’ offices.”

There are two fundamental flaws to the structure of this offer from agencies: cost base and culture.

From a financial perspective, the agency that is going to drive this planning has a pre-existing remuneration system based on either media or creative or both.

So their delivery process has been built backwards from a predefined outcome – ‘optimise revenue in our existing field of offer’. If their field of offer is limited, then by definition their recommendations must be too. For example, a media or creative agency does not know how to remunerate itself for internal sales culture development and they certainly won’t make the revenues they would on the most efficient media to process of all – TV. So clients will be recommended that which is the correct balance of media to ensure the biggest injection to agency coffers.

Culturally, any specialist-driven planning has a media or creative start point (by definition this is isolationist and tactical rather than strategic). Isolationist or single path approaches often lead to a lack of information

and a pathological attachment to plans regardless of reality.

Last, because of both cost base and culture, the people who do the planning are independent of the people executing the plan. Too many agencies devote the bulk of their time to formulating ‘strategic advertising plans’ while ignoring the vital link between plan and action: the means of execution. General George Patton is recognised as one of the master planners of the 20th century. He said, “Remember that the issuance of an order or the devising of a plan is only about five percent of the responsibility… the other 95 percent is to ensure, by personal observation, or through the interposing of staff officers, that the order is carried out appropriately.”

Marketing is 95 percent follow-through. The trouble is that most agencies see their planners as ‘strategists’ not as monitors, marshals or executors. They must in fact be all of these.

Consider the planning it took to move 437,860 people in 281 days with 1,234,529 tonnes of equipment over 141,081,336 miles on 3,655,322 land vehicles while building 2498 bridges, repairing 2240 miles of road and 2094 miles of train track, not forgetting to pay them $240,539,569 and creating a presence in 116,113 square miles of land spread over six countries. George Patton did this in World War II. Only corporations such as General Motors (745,000 employees), Wal Mart (675,000 employees) and Pepsi Co (480,000) manage more personnel than he did.

Four key elements of military planning are: ✒ It uses generalists with crossover skills and knowledge to establish goals and objectives, allocate key tasks and drive the specialist

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CHANNEL PLANNING 045 functional resources without bias, to a qualified ‘end state’. ✒ It has a direct and personal stake in the outcomes of any planning and process (life and/or livelihood risks) ensuring they are robust in their search for better alternatives. ✒ Instead of planning backwards from the point of execution (‘h-hour’), the moment resources begin their task, military planning works backward from completion or ‘end state’, which includes level of success and the criteria for defining success. ✒ It studies failure as much as it does success to define and improve decision and planning processes and often turns its analytical tools upon itself.

So what would this mean translated to a commercial marketing context?

CROSSOVER PLANNING TEAMS. The most effective units would be agencies that use a crossover planning team of broad experts including an accountancy and technology function with awareness, permission marketing and point of sale experience to ensure appropriate: 1. integration – advertising process appropriate to both the consumer and the marketer resulting in effective cost/benefit equations, ROI determinants, measurement and brand translation; 2. delivery – utilise and create media and message appropriate to consumer behaviours; and 3. technology – define new media capabilities and opportunities, dependent on consumer usage patterns as well as the technology relevance and ability to deliver.

The marketer and their team would form the critical fourth area of expertise as they best know the business, corporate framework, stakeholders, product, customers and sales activity.

Then the integration leader from the planning team should get out from behind their desk and into the real world – whether it is with the agency or the client’s teams – accountable for brand stewardship, measurement and reporting in a meaningful format.

WORK BACKWARDS FROM THE SALE. Instead of planning backward from a campaign (the equivalent of an attack at ‘h-Hour’) the best organisations will work back from an ‘end state’.

Sales. This task focus minimises opportunity for isolationist and biased recommendations. The establishment of goals and success criteria means that priority is placed on achievement. The innate human emotional drive to achieve goals means there will be a greater acceptance of, and probably a push for, rigorous measurement. It also means that planners are less likely to self-impose limitations or switch on an institutionalised auto pilot.

TURN ANALYTICAL TOOLS ON YOURSELF. An organisation that is rigorous with its own processes will be rigorous with a marketer’s business. There is a planning term and process ruthlessly beaten into all military officers. One that is just as critical for analysing planning success and avoiding failures as it is an important conclusion point for this article.

‘So what?’

Officers are taught to pose this question at every stage of their thought process to test the relevance of information and intentions.

In this case, the consumer environment is changing and their patterns of absorption and responses to marketing are evolving, making it more difficult and expensive to reach them with existing advertising and marketing practice.

‘So what?’

Marketers (and by definition agencies) must evolve their planning practices at the speed of consumer change, or faster. Those unable to do so will not engage the consumer or generate sales.

‘So what?’

For agencies on a traditional remuneration structure who plan from an isolated or specialist position, this is not an issue. It is in fact favourable for their business. A limited engagement provides opportunity for recommending increases in client spend, optimising revenue in high margin fields of offer and increasing profit.

Channel planning is a valid method for marketers to achieve their corporate mission and sales objectives. But the existing agency delivery method is invalid. If advertising and media agencies are not willing to drive change based on efficiently and effectively achieving marketers’ tasks then perhaps it is time for marketers to take global and historical learnings and challenge the Australian status quo.

If you don’t push for what you need to achieve your business tasks, it is a commercial reality that media and creative agencies will give you what they need to achieve theirs. M

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046 CAREERS For more information about a career in marketing, please contact Christine Khor at Market Partners – Sales and Marketing Recruitment Specialists on (03) 9698 8788.

Branding yourself for the best job.

Are you an expert at selling products and services? Apply these successful formulas, Christine Khor advises, and you’ll reap the benefits and see yourself in a brand new light.

I

n today’s competitive employment market, it’s crucial to stand out from the pack. As marketers, we apply brand principles to our products and services – why not apply the same principles to ourselves? Let’s use the four Ps of the marketing mix to look at branding ourselves.

PRODUCT This is an opportunity to build your own brand – imagine that you are the product. All people, at all stages of their professional development, need to plan for their career. Planning is an ongoing process. Our skills, interests and motivations change over time as does the economy, the employment market and technology. What are your objectives? If you aren’t clear about what’s next it’s hard to determine the steps that need to be taken to develop your brand.

If you’re a graduate, then your challenge with this exercise is slightly different. You’ll have to sell your personality, as most likely you haven’t had any marketing experience to demonstrate your abilities. But this doesn’t mean that you can’t build your brand based on other things like extracurricular activities or voluntary positions.

If you’ve already been in the workforce for several years, then you need to sell your skill set and find an environment where your talents can be used to the best advantage.

Take some time to identify your skills, aptitudes and interests by asking such questions as: ✒ Why did you undertake studies in a particular field? ✒ What do you like doing and why? ✒ What aspects of your current work do you dislike and why?

✒ What are you good at and why? ✒ What motivates you (e.g. money, security, status)? ✒ What work environment appeals to you (e.g. large corporate, home office, small business)?

Then set long-term objectives: ✒ Where do you want to be in five years or 10 years? ✒ How are you going to get there? ✒ What are your financial goals and are you willing to sacrifice salary for your dream job? ✒ What do you need to do now in order to reach these goals in the future (e.g. do I need to do additional studies, do I need more experience or responsibilities, do I need a mentor)?

In order to achieve your objectives, uncover your positive attributes and areas that need development by doing a realistic SWOT analysis on yourself. What are your strengths and weaknesses, especially versus others who may have more experience then you? If you are lacking specialised skills, then what strategies can you put in place to help minimise this gap? A thorough understanding of yourself and your career plan will enable you to apply the other marketing Ps to the greatest advantage.

POSITIONING When going for a role, you are competing against other people who may have similar experience and qualifications. What sets you apart from the rest? What’s your unique selling proposition?

The first port of call is your résumé. That is your selling document and positioning statement.

If it’s not up to scratch, then you won’t even get

your foot in the door, regardless of how impressive you are in person. The good news is that it’s easy to be a professional job seeker. All it requires is attention to detail and a common sense approach. A good way to think of it is to treat it like a business plan. It should be based on facts, be clear and easy to read and written in logical order.

Keep your résumé under four pages, five at the absolute maximum. The most detail should be in your current role and the last five years of experience. A small role 15 years ago doesn’t need as much weight as recent roles.

Make sure you tell potential employees or recruiters all they need to know in a concise way including education and complete work history with dates of employment. If you work for a company that might not be well-known, include a brief company description. Also, list under each job title to whom you reported, if you had any direct reports and the size of your portfolio. It’s also good to list two or three achievements with tangible, measurable results that you’ve had in each role.

Finally, make sure that the achievements are good for the company rather than for you personally. For example, it’s better to mention that you increased market share or brand presence rather than say you were promoted or attended an overseas conference – just like in marketing where we must convince the consumer to buy our brand and not those of the competitors.

The next stage where positioning is important is the interview. Unfortunately, it’s still true that interviews count for much of the decision process. It’s important to do well in an interview because regardless of your great résumé and excellent experience, people will still base

W

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CAREERS 047 much of their decision on what they conclude during an interview.

Employees are looking for two major things in the first interview – proven skills and attitude. This is also a perfect opportunity for you to assess the company and the opportunity and, if you are interested in the role, how to position yourself to fulfil their needs. Preparation is essential to do well. You need to research how you will fit into the employer’s environment.

It’s always good to do a background search of the company – check its website, annual reports or, if it’s a consumer product, then go into retail and see it in the real world.

In today’s climate, employers don’t want to make a recruiting mistake, so take away as many barriers as possible. Take the time to prepare your responses in advance. Work out how to overcome objections, especially if there is a perceived skill gap. Make it easy for the employer to make a decision by giving relevant and specific examples of your proven skills and experience and how it could be applied to this role. It’s now common to use competency/ behavioural-based interviewing techniques where you’re given a situation then asked how you would respond. When answering, make sure you

not only say how you would take action, but also why and how you’ve achieved this in the past.

The other important things organisations are looking for are passion and confidence. In the job market you have to be the brand ambassador for yourself. Your chance of being successful increases when the employer sees your confidence and believes that your appointment will be mutually beneficial.

PLACE Defining your objectives and determining a positioning will help narrow your job search.

As you would in any marketing plan, it’s essential to know who you are targeting with your message. If you can identify target companies that suit the product then you can maximise your chances for success.

To unearth the ‘place’ you might ask yourself some of these questions: ✒ Do I want to work for a small, medium or large company? ✒ What management style do I prefer? ✒ Are there opportunities for advancement? ✒ What corporate culture fits with me?

Once you’ve determined the answers to these questions, you can go on the hunt for

companies that fulfil these requirements. Do your research. Find out how other people got into those companies and if you can replicate their progress. This is a targeted approach rather than the scattergun effect and will also help narrow down advertised roles so you are only applying to those that are relevant to you.

PRICE What are the most important things to you in a job? Surprisingly, for most people money is not always the top of the list. There is a trend for people to want life balance and they are prepared to sacrifice salary to get it. It’s also important to realise that while you might not be ready to forgo the big dollars, there may be other people applying for the same role who will take a pay cut if it’s the right company or position. If you can define what’s important to you, and what is negotiable, then it’s going to make your job search much easier.

When you work in marketing, you spend your life surrounded by brands, so it makes sense to apply some of those theories to yourself. All of this preparation will give you the best chance to brand yourself as a hot commodity in the employment marketplace. M

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048 WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO? BY TONY LAMBAART OF LEAP AGENCY.

ARE WE SHRINKING?

T

here is nothing more exciting for a lover of great creative than to have a look at a major award reel for the first time.

Last Friday I was lucky enough, thanks to Fairfax and the Melbourne Advertising Club, to be among the first audience in Australia to savour the winners of this year’s TV and cinema Cannes Lions.

As we (my creative department and agency partners) arrived at the Grand Hyatt, I prepared myself for the usual catch-up with a stack of industry mates who wouldn’t miss the opening of a Vegemite jar… perhaps I should have done a ring around. I couldn’t see a soul from the captains of the advertising industry. Apart from the table I was sitting at there was barely a person I knew. In fact there was barely anyone there at all.

Now, as a partner in Leap Agency, I try not to get too anxious about looking around a room at an event like this and thinking that the industry in Melbourne may be beginning to shrink a little beyond my comfort zone. As I sat there sipping my way into paranoia (via a much more confident chardonnay), I tried to console myself with the thought that perhaps the Advertising Club didn’t get it quite right in promoting the release of The Cannes Lions this year. I mean, it’s not that it’s the most important thing for agencies and clients to see now, is it? Not to worry, perhaps the rest of our very buoyant industry here in Melbourne is not disinterested, but so flat out that they just couldn’t see their way to attending such a minor soirée. After all you can buy the DVD for $99, so why bother going through a boring well-catered lunch at around $100 a head? Why not save that cost and have everyone in the agency watch the DVD in the boardroom for the added cost of a few pizzas and a six-pack?

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

That’s it! All is well. The industry in Melbourne is just fine – it has simply become frugal, that’s all.

The truth is, the likelihood of the advertising industry becoming frugal has the same odds as George Bush becoming a Muslim missionary. So do I have reason for concern? I have to say over the past 10 or 11 years, there has been a steady decline in not only the size of agencies in Melbourne, but their total number. There’s no guesswork required really; it’s a supply and demand situation. Fewer grazing cattle mean less grass.

So where is all the grass going? What’s happened to our client base? Are Melbourne clients behaving like Mexicans and wading across the Murray in search of wealth and happiness in a new land? What’s driving the momentum of a pilgrimage to the north?

It wouldn’t be the first time this industry has followed overseas trends in the blind belief that if they did it over there it’ll work here.

Globalisation is all based on making the world a smaller place, so it can be handled better. Rationalisation and centralisation are the mots de jour regardless of the fact that no one in the past 20 years has quite managed to succeed with either. We only have to look at those companies who’ve sold their souls to a call centre in India. Yes, it’s cost-effective and bound to improve profit – according to the numbers anyway.

‘Marketing divided by numbers minus the customer’ has been the mathematical philosophy adopted by many international corporations for the past eight to 10 years. More and more companies such as GM, Kraft, BHP Billiton, believe that all decisions are best left up to the omnipotent accounting department. Rationalisation and centralisation theories came from these departments, so who best to carry them out?

Doesn’t it strike you as a little odd, however, that in a time when

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WHO ARE YOU TALKING TO? 049 humans have become more independent and individualistic than ever before, corporations made up of those same individuals choose to adopt structures designed to force themselves and their customers into mindless cost-saving collectives? Banks have learned this lesson. Regardless of the push to get their customers to adopt ATMs and internet banking, they have finally realised that domestic customers are valuable and by nature need personal care. So, to win customers back they must offer a return to branches with real people who offer real one-on-one support. Hate to tell you number-crunchers, but the banking business is about relationships, not actuary tables.

Personal need is one thing an accountant can’t factor in to any formula.

So what’s happened to the Melbourne client base? It looks like rationalisation and marketing divided by numbers is alive and well. Toyota has come and gone, Repco, Bayer, Hewlett-Packard and many others have all moved to another state for cost cutting reasons. The question is, are they getting any change? Is the work more effective or superior? Is the communication becoming too Sydney centric? Is Sydney just another step towards having all the advertising and marketing created in Asia? After all you couldn’t get a more cost-effective opportunity than that. Besides we are already putting up with Asian and US commercials dubbed with Australian voices. There is no end to the number-crunching possibilities. Of course they all suffer from the ‘minus customer’ formula. The US, unlike any country in the world, has had its fair share of rationalisation at the hands of consultancy firms. In the early 90s, a great number of advertising accounts moved to the Big Apple. That made sense – all the major agency groups were there and, by centralising the

business into the head offices, savings could be made. New York is the brassy, edgy heart of the US, so whatever creative they produce is bound to have cut-through that could be used right across the nation, if not the world. Well, I guess that all added up! And it did for a short time.

Funny, though, in the past five years, accounts have begun to migrate away from the centralised model. Even Americans are beginning to see that making money is not about ubiquitous mathematical formulas. Money and business growth is made when customers want to buy what you have. If they don’t like you and see through your transparent objectives to make lots of money, they won’t buy your goods or services. Remember they are individuals.

Right now Sydney’s advertising industry may be enjoying a more buoyant period, but that is not assured, especially in the light of an even more successful and attractive Asian industry. It’s up to Melbourne agencies to prove that we are more creative and relevant. There’s nothing wrong with a Melbourne agency pitching for business in another market; after all, that’s how Sydney created its windfall and the New Zealand industry survives. The point I’m really making here is that Sydney may be enjoying a day in the sun, but the Melbourne industry has to be responsible for its own survival.

Clients don’t have to come to us, we have to go to them; and we better have something worthwhile to offer. BHP and Philip Morris have already started to move their marketing interests offshore so we all have to be aware of being exposed to global whims. The head of a leading agency in Melbourne claims that Melbourne agencies have class and the creative edge in Australia. I only hope that that was the reason they weren’t at the Cannes lunch – they didn’t need to be! M

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050 RECIPE OF THE MONTH

Keeping it simple Agency: M&C Saatchi Sydney Client: Optus Campaign: Give me the simple life BACKGROUND

APPROACH

For 14 years, Optus has successfully pursued the branding strategy ‘yes’ in the consumer market. The ‘yes’ brand represents competition, customer focus and innovative products and services. This year, the Optus brand evolved to a new direction to stay fresh in the eyes of the consumer, while keeping ‘yes’ as part of the branding messages. Significant research was undertaken for the campaign. It continued to show how strongly the use of animals triggered emotional reactions in Optus customers. It also revealed that customers were open to move on with the animals.

Research revealed that in the complex world of communications, people wanted simplicity.

The simplicity message would have to work across all media: from TV, press, outdoor and radio (all mainstream advertising, in fact) to direct and digital. An entire new brand identity and style book was needed. The new brand essence had to show that Optus was: ✒ human and inspiring ✒ large, substantial and reliable ✒ modern and on the ball ✒ easy-going, upfront and less corporate ✒ attuned and honest, and ✒ helpful.

The laidback attitude of the animals along with the feeling that Optus is taking responsibility for customer needs provides a sense that one aspect of people’s busy lives is resolved.

OBJECTIVES ✒ to make Optus and simplicity synonymous in consumers’ minds ✒ to evolve the brand strategy, suitable for all segments and across all marketing ✒ to take the next step with the animals while signally a refreshing move-on, and ✒ to develop a brand essence for Optus that leverages the best of the ‘yes’ Optus brand, and creates a credible, differentiated and appealing position.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

EXECUTION A teaser DPS press campaign went out to introduce the concept of simplicity. It was noticeably different to Optus’ previous advertising, but did not give too much away. Several weeks later, as an introduction, a radio teaser campaign went to air that simply featured the song and no branding; the following week the campaign launched in earnest.

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RECIPE OF THE MONTH 051

“

Well-known Australian performers Tammin Sursok, Human Nature, Kate Ceberano, Lee Kernaghan, Tex Perkins, James Morrison and Doug Parkinson recorded a classic and charming hit, ‘Give Me the Simple Life’, for the ad.

”

Other promotional elements based around the song were developed, particularly around radio. Optus in conjunction with Nova, Austereo, ARN and mcm entertainment designed one of Australia’s first cross-radio network competitions, driving listeners from all stations to the website thesimplelife.com.au. Listeners had the chance to win their share of $10,000 by going online, viewing the Optus ad and then matching the animals from the ad to the Australian artists. The website also hosted the new Optus TVC and behind the scenes footage from the shoot.

MEDIA As soon as the TVC broke, all advertising and marketing materials that followed from that day were rebranded. TV, press and print, outdoor, radio, digital and direct all introduced the new look and the new simplicity message immediately.

RESULTS

The entire campaign was spearheaded by a major 60-second TVC, created

by M&C Saatchi Sydney featuring, for the first time, animals with their own voices to give them character and personality. Well-known Australian performers Tammin Sursok, Human Nature, Kate Ceberano, Lee Kernaghan, Tex Perkins, James Morrison and Doug Parkinson recorded a classic and charming hit, ‘Give Me the Simple Life’, for the ad. The cast includes Sursok as a deer, Ceberano a giraffe, Human Nature a quartet of zebras, Parkinson a bear, Perkins a friendly alligator and Morrison a trumpeting elephant.

Animal Logic, the Sydney digital production company that created special effects for films like Matrix 1 and 2, Babe, Moulin Rouge and Stealth – spent three months completing the postproduction work.

The TVC shows animals enjoying a carefree life in a paradise. Each animal was shot specifically for the campaign – no stock footage was used.

The new branding campaign itself had a PR program that built anticipation of the new TVC before it launched among journalists and the public.

This included a media conference and a range of media relations activities.

The Optus staff were treated as a unique market, too. The TVC and full marketing strategy was revealed to them at a special event. A viral email of the TVC and out-takes was launched before the TVC went on air. The TV campaign was played on a heavy media schedule, including cinema. It was soon followed by a range of advertising and below the line work.

In the company’s 14-year history there has never been such a positive response to a creative campaign. It surpasses ‘The Power of Yes’ and ‘Just Say the Word’, which were both very successful campaigns in building brand equity. This campaign has had an overwhelmingly positive reaction from everyone who has seen it.

It has been discussed positively on talkback radio nationally and all editorial coverage of the campaign has been positive.

“Our brand research tells us that we have one of the most recognised brands with unaided recall in Australia,” says Optus marketing director Stephen Cameron. “Customers and non-customers have a very positive disposition regarding the animals and nature metaphor and have responded to the ad with comments like: ‘makes you smile’, ‘imaginative’, ‘colourful’, ‘clever’, ‘entertaining’ and ‘shows a sense of humour’.” M

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052 GUERRILLA GUIDE Geoffrey McDonald Bowll (pictured with junior art director) is MD of The Starship, a Melbourne-based ad agency. Besides running mainstream campaigns since 1991, he has conducted hundreds of marketing and advertising research projects for major corporates.

Email geoffrey@starship.com.au or call (03) 9428 4411. Visit www.starship.com.au

DANCING WITH YOUR CUSTOMER

I

‘m driving with the family, itself an experience. They are excited. It’s loud. I can’t hear myself think (not that it’s worth listening to) and I can’t hear the radio either. If I wasn’t going to get hounded by the law (bit hard to explain the bodies when you’re related to them), I’d consider my other options more seriously. I look longingly at a big steel street pole. I wonder if I just steered to the left…

We’re in our old Land Rover Disco. Not an unscratched panel.

Worn tyres. Couple of good dents in it where I’ve gone too close to a tree. Plus the smell.

Did I mention we have a dog? That, and the two kids who are quite happy to wipe their hands on the seats after Maccas, means it has a peculiar scent, which goes nicely with the stains on the fabric and combines with the lumpy engine soot for a copyrightable atmospheric signature.

So we’ve decided to look at another, smaller car for around the city.

Sounds like a plan for a Saturday morning – just jump in the bomb, go for a few test drives, get signed up and have the new one delivered, say, next week, don’t ya reckon?

I’m looking forward to throwing objections at a few sales guys so I can hear the on-pat answers – looking forward to experiencing the best Australian automotive sales training has to offer.

We head to the big smoke and start with Toyota. Nice guy, jovial (best we dealt with). But couldn’t do the test drive for a few minutes ‘cause the car was parked on a cliff face of concrete.

We kept walking, keen to see as many as we could.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

PEUGEOT Now the first bloke here, dressed immaculately in striped suit, nice tie, contrasting shirt etc. beaming grin and witty personality, ushers us in.

Then he hands us over to his ‘gun salesman’ (his words) and we hit the stone wall. Young guy, doesn’t want to be there. It’s a Saturday. He’d much rather be lying in bed.

Slowly and painfully he explains to my wife Prue one thing or another, but essentially ignores her, missing the key buyer. I’d be just as happy to drive around in a fruit box on wheels. The only thing I care about is petrol consumption – I want a diesel or a very economical petrol ‘cause they chew less money and I need money to pay staff wages. She’s the one who wants the leather seats (don’t get so dirty) sun roof (dog can breathe while we are shopping), five-speed auto (can be on the phone and go around a corner without taking your other hand off the steering wheel) etc. You can tell he thinks she’s just a pushy bitch who knows nothing about cars.

Prue gets angry with him. Her skin colour is starting to match her lipstick, which is becoming almost invisible as her lips are bunched up so tight. I can feel the tension from the other side of the showroom. She comes over to me, serious. “I have a personality clash with the salesman.

We are leaving.”

We whistle for the kids, start heading for the door. The first guy, the one with the personality, races over. “You’re leaving? But…” Yes, we were.

JAGUAR Nice enough. Pommy, of course. East End London accent, know wot I mean? Told us the prices at the start as a way of trying to scare us off.

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Said $165,000 with a look on his face like “I bet you can’t afford this, guvnor”. Tried his hardest not to make the experience enjoyable – as soon as a retiree in chords, with a younger wife in pearls and cashmere staggered in, he dropped us like a hot potato and went over to them, without even saying something like “I’ll be back in a jiffy”.

RANGE ROVER The same dealership that handles Jaguar was handling Rangies; thus, even if we weren’t in the market for a Jag, and I was kind of keen on the idea of driving an old boat on wheels, we didn’t get to inspect the Rangies either.

We headed straight for the Germans, figuring, if zey can make schnapps, sausages, sauerkraut and strudel, they are one up on ze Poms.

MERCEDES I thought the Jags were a bit pricey... Merc charges 50 grand for a little motorised town shopping trolley they’d call a beemo in the Philippines and cover in streamers. The guy spat numbers at me. KWs (no one knows what a horse is anymore – even though they eat them in Germany – tasty too!) and prices and capacity, all stuff I don’t understand. Polite, in a stiff kind of way, but didn’t listen. None of the sales guys did.

I said the same words to them all, crafty old market researcher that I try to be. I said I was looking for something smaller, could fit four of us into, that I could use for business meetings and do the shopping in, bit of status, doesn’t need much power ‘cause I can’t stand paying zillions at the pump. They’d show me big, show me small, accuse me of not knowing

what I wanted. I had to explain where else I’d been that day, that I was keeping the other car, etc. They spent all their time qualifying, not selling.

Is it obvious what I’m really angry about yet?

No one would offer us a test drive. We’d ask, and it would be a long slow look, hesitation, no one around to move the cars, not your model in stock (standing in front of one), every excuse in the book. Who is the cretin training these guys?

I ask you, how am I supposed to buy a car without doing a test drive?

How am I supposed to fall in love with the damn thing? What’s my ‘brand experience’ if it’s not going to be smelling the leather, holding the steering wheel, feeling it grip around the corners, seeing if I can fit both my kids in the boot and get the lid down?

In case it’s just me and my silly assumptions, I ask a few mates when they’d go to buy a car. They all say the weekend – we all work or we couldn’t afford a bloody Merc. So then I ask a few car people and they spill the beans. They say it’s a dealer’s way of ‘taking you out of the market’. That if they don’t let you test drive it until during the week, you can’t go and compare apples with apples at another dealership…

Sounds kind of logical… not. First of all, the one who does let you drive it will have you fall in love with their car, will have the opportunity of sitting next to you for 20 minutes and bonding, will get the sale.

Secondly, it’s so stupid from the manufacturer’s perspective. Why wouldn’t you want them to experience the brand? They might experience someone else’s instead.

Where’s the brand experience? This article is supposed to be about dancing with your customer, getting great brand experiences. And the

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054 GUERRILLA GUIDE left: Of the thousands of car ads I’ve seen, this is the most popular strategy. Re-invented the car?

Looks like just another car to me...

I’d like to think there was a deep brand experience behind this hopelessly cliched claim, but I wouldn’t know – how would you unless you could drive it? I’m here, in my office, cheque book in hand. right: The Body Shop aims to give an overall, deeper brand experience — the ads talk product and beauty, the PR talks third world poverty, sourcing the rare and saving the endangered, the staff at retail level massage your hands and spout ‘meaningful’ slogans while charging you 40 bucks for something the chemist next door would sell you for half that.

world’s most prominent brands – cars – fall to bits in Melbourne… on weekends at least.

How do you develop a good brand experience? And how do you do it so well people think about it later? How do you deal with them more regularly, how do you work them?

A POSITIVE, RELATIONSHIP ATTITUDE Start not with the usual ‘How do we make more profits for less money’ shit, but with an attitude of ‘I deserve a relationship, I want a relationship, I enjoy people, what sort of dress should I wear tonight if I’m to look good and sexy for Mr Right now?’

WHAT IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE BRAND EXPERIENCE? Ask yourself what it is you think the customer ought to think about your brand. How should they feel about it? What does it stand for in their eyes?

Then throw out the budget for a few minutes and ask yourself what it is that the brand could be; how could it manifest itself? Is this the brand that the girl next to you on the bus brags about? Ties on her schoolbag?

To do experiences with brands, you need to think of the brand in a deeper sense. Most briefs you see written by marketing managers like you tend to be pretty basic about the brand personality – you get three or four comments, mainly about demographic differences in the target market and perhaps a few about their life cycle or lifestyle, but not their psychology. Rarely do I see something where the brand manager has actually built up a picture in their own mind’s eye of what the brand itself is. But you can do that for Virgin can’t you? (It can move its brand personality across a range of ‘products’.) And for the Liberal Party and for Harley-Davidson? All have depth, but are still one personality.

HOW TO GIVE THEM GOOD EXPERIENCES You can actually do lots of things to improve the brand experience and try to make it as total and as compelling as possible. Some of them are: DO MORE RESEARCH, DEEPER Now I’m making a big assumption here. I’m assuming you know your demographics – who are buying and when. You know your channel attitudes – some poor bugger has interviewed 100 retail staff etc. So now’s the time to really analyse what it is that motivates purchase – who is more

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

likely to buy and I mean the personality of the customer and their required mindset, not the surface answers. (I’ve used the books they read, their attitudes to politics, sex and a bunch of other issues to develop customer/brand matrix profiles.) We are seeking the means to make certain people like your brand enough to change behaviour. It’s often at this stage important to do research in phases – check for attitudes and behavioural stimulants, then get the agency to draw up some communication options and then go back to research and test for reactions, recognition etc.

A FRESH STYLE Brief for your ads to sound different. To use language or language structures in a way that is not clichéd. Very few writers out there will be able to do this, but the way a person or a brand with personality actually speaks makes a huge difference. As a matter of course, you ought to sit there when the agency is showing you its work with your brief firmly in your pocket and your mind open.

MAKE THEM LOOK UNIQUE Most of the time differentiation is managed by competent agencies or designers through visuals. Looks that are rare or never done before (of course everything has been done before – you may not have seen that particular ad from Italian Vogue in 1973, but the creative director found it at a garage sale and, whoopee, you’ve got a fresh look for your industry…) add huge impact in most markets and are used more than any other method to build a ‘unique’ brand experience.

MAKE THEM DANCE WITH YOU, SOMEHOW Do ads that home in on the brand’s personality. Get involvement – a mental reaction is one thing, better still to have them experience your brand by taste test, trial, feel etc. Broaden your media spread so it means more kinds of contacts. And contact more often on more subjects with more angles. A relationship is multilevel, multifaceted. It goes on, backwards, forwards, like a waltz.

If you happen to be a retailer, get them to experience your venues, be in your shops, swim thorough your website. Make sure the experience is worth their time somehow. I don’t care if your only media is SMS or the back of business cards, or your budget covers mainstream TV with magazine back-up. All communications should and do reflect a personality or a lack of it. All reflect and create an experience.

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GUERRILLA GUIDE 055 BE THE SAME PERSON Make the personality consistent. Have every contact of the same culture – you can’t expect all contacts to look or read the same, but if they add to the brand experience, things gel, rather than take it in different directions, where they just pull it apart.

FIX THE THICK END – SALES TEAMS When you have to deal with a sales team, train them well. Try to impress on them the importance of the brand experience as well as the importance of closing, neither of which I feel any sales team in Australia understands. Teach your sales teams to listen to the customer and deliver on their needs – that itself would be a great brand experience.

Where you don’t have much control over sales teams, say ‘cause you go though supermarkets, teach and communicate with their staff like you would directly to your target market – very few groups put any effort into training and staff communications with distribution channel employees. Do you have them on a database? Do you direct mail them or get your team to call them and ask how things are going? I’m hearing a deathly silence from most people reading this…

GET THE PUNTER’S NAME If you’re going to have a relationship, go to the trouble of finding out who they are. Like any clever person who wants to pick up, you need a contact point, a means of getting back to them. No matter what the industry, CRM (I could do an article on this alone, but I’d probably be the third one in this mag this month…) is a vital tool. Through competitions, asking for a business card, whatever, so you can follow up. I gave my business card to six different reps. I’ve had phone calls from only two, only one rang more than once. It’s hard to get people like me, you need to be persistent, but at a one-in-six ratio, it would obviously pay off. He’s the guy who’s bringing around the car next week for me to test drive.

MUZZLE YOUR ACCOUNTS PEOPLE The accounts department does not work for another company. They work with and ought to be managed by the marketing department. How

many times have you signed up for a phone company, internet group, wine club or whatever and had the accounts department blow it? (I think accounts people coined the term ‘churning’.

Marketers would have the intelligence to try to keep those customers.)

Why do they assume if someone takes a few extra days to pay they ought to be threatened?

Why do they assume it’s easy to find more customers? Every time they blow it with a customer, they ought to be personally sent out to beg them back. If there’s one department that would be much better run by computers – this is it.

ANOTHER MARKETING WANK? It’s possible that this deeper brand experience stuff is the sort of thing that paints us marketers, as usual, as total wankers. If you carry on about something, but can’t deliver on it, the public rightly calls you a wanker. A waster of energy and money.

When you are writing your marketing plans, hoping to get them approved by your board, give careful consideration to the fact that most of those boards are looking for an opportunity to cut you off at the knees, or at least to halve your budget in favour of something they see as more concrete, like their own salaries.

If you give them an excuse, like a totally wanky set of objectives, they will get together, snigger and cut your budgets. Thus, stifling your ability to do the job you need to do and further limiting your career.

Make the task possible. Keep your objectives simple. Keep the logic flowing clearly.

Explain how the public will view the exercise and why the sort of brand experience you are contemplating will pay off, but do it with numbers, even if you have to make them up (all sales projections are just fancy – who knows what real sales will be?) or they won’t let you try.

Next month I’m discussing unusual, radical tactics that some people use to develop customer loyalty – including market research to encourage immediate sales, double-billing to encourage new product tests etc.

Most legal, many suspect, quite a few that ought to be banned. If you’ve done something a bit nifty lately, especially if it really worked, please call me confidentially…M

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056 RETRO MARKETING

NOW

PAUL BUDDE, INDEPENDENT TELECOMS ANALYST The concept of iTV dates back to the 1970s when the first of such trials occurred in Columbus, Ohio, followed by similar trials in Biarritz, Berlin and Nagasaki. After 35 years we still have not seen any large scale iTV roll-outs. The business models simply don’t stack up.

I think what went wrong with the 1995 prediction is that two issues got mixed up.

There certainly was and still is interest in personal services along the lines of iTV, but they are fulfilled by internet-based services on PCs, e.g. home banking, bill payments, etc. The TV is not a personal device so you would never see such applications being used on TV sets.

Apart from the personal applications used on the PC, there is a limited set of applications that, on a commercial basis, can be made available via the TV. While lots of people will indicate they want to use such services via the TV, few are prepared to pay any money for it. The TV is seen as a free medium. So these applications need to be advertisement-driven and/or be made available at a small extra fee over cable TV networks. Free-to-air TV doesn’t have such facilities available (TV stations don’t have a relationship with their viewers) so the business models are very limited.

Services like news, sport and video on-demand are iTV applications that do work on TV as they fit more in the general entertainment experience that viewers expect from their TV. For this, however, you do need digital TV. The take-up of digital TV is currently hampered by a lack of interest by consumers to pay the premium price charged for such sets. With insufficient penetration, advertisers are not all that eager to become involved.

At the same time, once digital TV starts to make such services available, they will receive stiff competition from broadband TV. This new medium offers unlimited access to video-based content, fully interactive and at affordable (internet) prices. Through wireless devices, content can be transferred from the PC to the TV for entertainment use or family viewing.

For fear of competition, the freeto-air industry in Australia has actively – and successfully – been promoting the banning of such services on digital TV in Australia. By failing to move into this market, the free-to-air broadcasters will now face an uphill battle to become successful players in the iTV market.

So the predictions from 1995 have been partially realised, not on the TV but on the PC, and the iTV dream for the broadcasters is still mostly a dream, even 35 years after its initial conception. M

Today’s views on yesterday’s news THEN

MARKETING OCTOBER 1995: BILL PAYMENT VIA THE TV?

Most young adults would use their television to pay bills, make video phone calls and do their banking if the facility was available at little or not cost, according to a recent major study of Australia’s under 40s population.

The ‘Austereo Report: Lifestyles of Under 40 Australia’ explored the beliefs and attitudes of Australia’s young adults in areas including values, lifestyle choice, social issues and new technology.

Respondents were asked to consider what they would use their home TV for if it were connected to a special phone line. Sixty-one percent said they would use it to order reruns of favourite movies and television programs; 61 percent would use it to pay bills; 55 percent would use it to make video phone calls; 55 percent said they would use it to do their banking; and 52 percent said they would use it to choose their own camera angles while watching sports.

Interestingly, only 40 percent said they would use it to order products from onscreen catalogues and 36 percent said they would use it to take part in their favourite game show.

www.budde.com.au

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The essential quarterly one-to-one marketing guide

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THE CHANGING FACE OF DIRECT Richard Batterley

060

WHAT’S DUTCH FOR SPAM ACT? Kath Pay

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TRM: TOTAL RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT Craig Young

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058 DIRECT MARKETING Richard Batterley is chairman of The Relationship Alliance and author of Leading Through Relationship Marketing (published by McGraw-Hill, ISBN 007471374-4).

Richard Batterley takes a look at the role of direct marketing in today’s highly sophisticated, integrated and measurable marketing arena.

The changing face of direct.

“Did it deliver the required ROI?” “Make sure we use the right channel for the audience.”

“What does the customer think about it?”

T

hese are just some of the things you might hear today’s sophisticated, strategic marketer saying about various communications to different stakeholders – and every one of them a challenge to the traditional view of direct marketing: ✒ return on investment as opposed to cost per lead ✒ right for the audience as opposed to direct mail at the cost of other channels ✒ what the customer thinks as opposed to accepted direct marketing techniques.

Not long ago, I was working with a client who was celebrating the 10-year anniversary of an important aspect of their business – and they still have thousands of customers with them today who were there at the start. The client wanted to celebrate it with their customers – to do something that would strengthen that 10-year bond even more. So we recommended writing to each one saying simply “thank you”, but stressed that in today’s cynical information age, we believed the message would have greater impact on the relationship if it did not contain product information or an offer. After all, these were customers who had been with the company for 10 years (in a market where three or four is more the norm). But the client couldn’t resist it. They had to put an offer in the envelope. They didn’t recognise the longterm return on investment in those relationships would be better if they simply said “thank you”.

So another great relationship building opportunity is diminished by traditional direct marketing thinking. Thinking that puts the

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communication channel as the hero, not the long-term relationship outcome.

All too often, direct marketing activities are driven by tactical sales needs of the company without a thought being given to the point of view of any of the other stakeholders – what they might think, feel or need.

When was the last time you received a piece of direct marketing and thought ‘Wow, that’s exactly what I need’? How many businesses are taking a holistic view of building stronger relationships with all their stakeholders, utilising an integrated business approach to stronger mutual relationships? The Relationship Marketing Wheel shows how all the resources of a business should be focused on Relationship Marketing Strategy – and marketing, let alone direct marketing, is one of the components of the holistic vision (and then direct marketing becomes one of the implementation tools of marketing).

Diagram 1

Copyright © The Relationship Alliance 2005

DIAGRAM 1- THE RELATIONSHIP MARKETING WHEEL Most of us go to a whole range of conferences to learn all about the latest direct marketing techniques, particularly those from overseas.

Using data. Sophisticated segmentation methods. Measuring results. We’re all worried

about privacy and spam legislation. We continually talk about SMS marketing. Hey, we even focus on worrying about gender being the most important customer differentiator.

But how much of that fantastic knowledge from overseas is actually being put into practice here in Australia – for example, which retailer is using shopping basket information on an individual customer level to strengthen their relationships with their customers?

Make the right offers to each individual? One or two modest programs exist maybe, but nothing on the scale (or even level) of the much vaunted and oft talked about Tesco program.

You know what? We’ve forgotten one key thing – what does the target market think and how does it all fit together in an integrated business? What do the various stakeholders we’re trying to influence think about the product or service (and support) we’re offering them? What’s the view from their perspective?

Do we take it into account – and frankly do we care, provided we get an acceptable cost per lead/cost per order?

What we all need to do is consider things from the perspective of the person on the receiving end of our messages.

How often have we heard of call centres saying they were performing to industry best practice because they were achieving their 80/20 ratio (80 percent of calls answered in 20 seconds or less)? But the customers calling them thought the service was terrible because the call centre never resolved an issue – they only looked at it from an industry practice and company introspective perspective. Why not ask several of the stakeholders (customers, sales force, delivery team, finance, for example) how they think the call centre is performing from their point of view – and don’t forget to ask what that

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Diagram 2

Copyright © The Relationship Alliance 2005

point of view is, what criteria they are using to make their judgment.

If you do this, you smooth your journey along The Relationship Pipe©.

DIAGRAM 2 – THE RELATIONSHIP PIPE Using a technique called ‘Stakeholder Relationship Driver Mapping©’ we are able to look at the key drivers affecting an organisation’s relationships with all of its stakeholders right along the Relationship Pipe©. Through it, we can understand how each stakeholder views each relationship and how they feel they should be performing. Then, by conducting a simple Gap Analysis, we can identify where most improvement and focus is required to ensure mutually successful relationships in the future – which drivers can have the greatest impact on the relationship landscape. Not hard at all and easy to do in Excel (it’s the concept and interpretation that are the difficult and important parts).

DIAGRAM 3 – SAMPLE RELATIONSHIP DRIVER MAP As you can see in Diagram 3 (which shows a sample Relationship Driver Map of current performance), different important stakeholders on an organisation’s relationship landscape have significantly different viewpoints on the quality of some important relationship drivers. For example, the reseller thinks the distribution network is excellent (scoring it nine out of 10) while the customer thinks it’s poor (scoring it just three out of 10). Carrying out the same exercise for the performance the stakeholders expect from each driver will clearly show you where the gap exists in the organisation’s relationship performance I would even go so far as to say that some people will even ignore the hard facts the response numbers are giving them in order to support their own,

personal, predetermined opinion of what will generate the best cost per lead (or maybe where their ego says they should be focusing their marketing).

There’s the story of an organisation that had embarked on a direct marketing campaign involving two primary different channels of communication – print advertising and direct mail. For all sorts of reasons they got the campaign the wrong way round – so the direct mail went out before the print ads appeared. Lo and behold once the print ads appeared the response from the direct mail leaped up dramatically – simply because the target market remembered the mail and preferred to respond to it. But the organisation’s marketing manager said that the numbers had to be wrong, that the print ads were what were generating the response so direct mail would not be included in the next campaign.

He had forgotten two simple things. First, direct mail response will normally be higher if awareness of the product and offer are hyped by print advertising. Second, that his potential customers might have preferred to respond to the direct mail they received rather than the print ads.

He took no notice of an important stakeholder’s view of the relationship landscape, and just looked at things from an internal company and personal perspective – an old, outdated direct marketing perspective that, in the next roll-out of the campaign (which focused on print advertising without the direct mail component), led to a significantly lower response rate – and obviously less acceptable ROI. So where does direct marketing fit in today’s marketing environment? Is it a valid tool? Does it have a future?

Diagram 3

Copyright © The Relationship Alliance 2005

Well, the answer to all that is probably in the second question – ‘is it a valid tool?’ Because that’s exactly what direct marketing is – a tool (with some inherent techniques and channels) to help us communicate with our selected prospects and customers down a channel through which they wish to receive messages.

And some customers do not want to receive their messages through direct marketing channels – they may wish to learn about products and offers through retail channels, or in print media, or on television. An organisation risks offending its prospects and customers if it uses the wrong channels of communication for an individual. For some people, direct marketing might be the perfect channel and technique, for others it might be a big turn-off – make sure you know which prospect/customer falls into which category.

Example: a colleague of mine used to receive two or three direct marketing pieces a month from a well-known charge card company and she never responded to one of them. But she kept on receiving them. Did the company use the data it had to show this supposedly valued card holder they understood her? Clearly not! Then she called them to ask them to stop sending her the direct marketing material. Did they take any notice of her request, pay her the respect due to a supposedly valued customer? No, they kept on sending it. They kept on looking at it from their perspective, not thinking of the recipient.

So then she called them and cancelled her card. Another customer gone! A deserved outcome, driven by traditional and now outdated direct marketing thinking.

There is no doubt direct marketing does have a role in tactically executing bigger picture strategies – campaign strategies if you like. It’s a tactical tool. In today’s environment there’s no such thing as a direct marketing strategy. There are relationship strategies.

There are campaign strategies. There are product strategies. There are marketing and communication strategies. But direct marketing is a tactical tool to be used in conjunction with other tools, techniques and channels – not at the expense of the others – in order to achieve strategic objectives.

Strategies are route maps, tactics are tools – direct marketing is a tool to be used wisely and well in an integrated marketing mix in order to maximise the overall outcomes of more valuable mutual relationships. M

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060 DIRECT MARKETING Kath Pay is co-founder and marketing director for Ezemail International. She heads up Ezemail’s UK office and spoke earlier this year at the International Direct Marketing Fair in London on SPAM regulations. Contact Kath at kath@ezemail.com or call the Sydney office on 02 9699 8030.

Australia’s not the only country with anti-spam legislation and direct marketers who ignore foreign anti-spam provisions, can wind up in a lot of trouble, writes Kath Pay.

What’s Dutch for Spam Act?

E

very country is different and, as you’d expect, each one has its own approach to anti-spam legislation.

Don’t expect email practices that comply with relevant legislation in one country to necessarily comply in another.

This is not an area where you can make assumptions about what’s right and wrong. Having said that, I am not a lawyer and this is not intended to be legal advice. It is, however, intended to give you an idea of what is involved in being internationally compliant and what to be aware of.

Firstly, let’s take a quick look at the current spam legislations of the EU and UK, US, Australia and Canada. From there we can do a brief comparison of these legislations and see what is and what isn’t a good idea.

EU The EU Directive is not in itself legally binding on individuals or businesses until transposed into national laws.

Keep in mind, however, that the EU is continually adding new members, and that each EU member state has its own ways of interpreting, implementing and enforcing the directive, and that each may be at a different stage in implementation… so stay vigilant and knowledgeable if emailing the EU. MAIN FEATURES OF EU DIRECTIVE ✒ No direct emails are allowed that “conceal or disguise the identity of the sender and which do not include a valid address to which recipients can send a request to cease such messages”. ✒ No marketing emails to natural persons (e.g. consumers) “unless the prior consent of the addressee has been obtained (opt-in system)”. An exception is where the email address was obtained through a prior sales transaction with the owner, known as a

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

✒

✒

✒ ✒

✒

‘soft opt-in’, in which case you can send marketing emails to that address, provided: it’s you sending the message (“the data may only be used by the same company that has established the relationship with the customer”); the products or services you’re marketing are similar to those originally bought by the addressee; you give the recipient the opportunity to opt-out in each message; you “make clear from the first time of collecting the data, that they may be used for direct marketing and should offer the right to object”; and with regards to sending emails to “legal persons” (mainly business addresses), the directive leaves it to each member state to decide whether email marketing should be based on opt-in or opt-out.

RELATED LINKS Information on EU anti-spam initiatives: http://europa.eu.int/information society/topics/ecomm/highlights/current spotlights/spam/index en.htm Full text of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Directive: http://europa.eu.int/information society/topics/ecomm/useful information/library/legislation/index en.htm#dir 2002 58 ec Summary information for the directive: http://europa.eu.int/information society/topics/ecomm/all about/todays framework/privacy protection/index en.htm#unsolicited

UK The regulations only require opt-in for emails to “individual subscribers”, which means residential subscribers, sole traders or a

non-limited liability partnership in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

MAIN FEATURES OF UK LEGISLATION ✒ A soft opt-in doesn’t have to involve an actual transaction, as suggested in the EU directive, instead defining significant sales negotiations alone (without a purchase) as sufficient. ✒ If email addresses are to be used for marketing purposes, this should be clearly stated at the point of collection. ✒ If the email addresses are to be shared with third parties, this should be clearly stated at the point of collection. ✒ Email addresses should not be harvested (e.g. copied from websites) and used for marketing purposes without the recipients’ knowledge. ✒ Your identity as the sender should never be disguised or concealed. ✒ In every communication, recipients must be given a simple and clear means of opting out from receiving future emails. ✒ When an opt-out request is received it must be honoured, with the contact details ideally being “suppressed” rather than deleted.

RELATED LINKS Full copy of the UK legislation: http://www.legislation.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2003/ 20032426.htm Detailed guidance on the law from the UK Government’s Information Commissioner (responsible for enforcement): http://www.informationcommissioner.gov.uk/ cms/DocumentUploads/Electronic%20Comm unications%20Guidance%20Part%201%20Ve r%202.pdf Email Marketing Council of the UK DMA Best Practice Guidelines: http://www.dma.org.uk/shared/Practice.asp

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US In the US each state has different policies, with some being stricter than others.

MAIN FEATURES OF US LEGISLATION ✒ A requirement that email senders add an opt-out mechanism to their messages. This opt-out provision must be honoured within 10 days. It also must be active for a minimum of 30 days after sending the email. ✒ A suppression list must be kept. ✒ A prohibition on false and deceptive headers and subject lines, so senders can be identified. ✒ A requirement that the physical address of the sender be displayed. ✒ A requirement that a message features a clear announcement, somewhere in the email, that the email is an advertisement or solicitation. An exception is granted if the sender already has the consumer’s permission to send them email.

‘unsubscribe’ facility to allow people to opt out from receiving messages from that source in the future. A request to opt out must be honoured within five working days. ✒ The Act prohibits the supply, acquisition or use of address lists, as well as software that ‘harvests’ electronic addresses from the internet, for the purpose of sending spam. ✒ The legislation also covers: mobile text messaging and other electronic messaging.

RELATED LINKS Can Spam Act: http://www.spamlaws.com/federal/108s877enr olled.pdf Summary of US states individual legislations and links: http://www.spamlaws.com/state/summary.html Direct Marketing Association: http://www.the-dma.org

RELATED LINKS Links to the full text of relevant legislation and regulations: http://www2.dcita.gov.au/ie/trust/improving/s pam home Spam Act 2003: A practical guide for businesses: http://www2.dcita.gov.au/ data/assets/file/31768/DCITA-Spam-4BusWeb.pdf Australian Communications Authority (responsible for enforcement): http://www.aca.gov.au/ Spam information for Australian businesses: http://www.aca.gov.au/consumer info/spam/informationforbusiness.htm Australian Direct Marketing Association (chairing the development of the Code of Practice): http://www.adma.com.au/asp/index.asp

AUSTRALIA

CANADA

Australia’s Spam Act became law on 12 December 2003 and became enforceable on the 12 April 2004. The requirements are some of the strictest around and provide for daily fines for repeat offenders of over $750,000.

Any commercial email requires the prior consent of the recipient, although the regulations define contexts where this consent can be inferred, such as through a prior transaction.

While Canada to date does not have a spamspecific national legislation, marketers need to be aware of the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), which came in force on 1 January 2004, and which restricts the collection and use of personal information online.

Canada has also set up an anti-spam task force featuring government, consumer and business representatives which delivered a report in May 2005 recommending the following: ✒ That the federal government establish a legal set of rules for prohibiting spam ✒ That the federal government enforce these new laws and penalise those who break them. ✒ That ISPs and professional email marketers follow the best practices recommended by the Task Force on Spam.

RELATED LINKS Privacy commissioner of Canada: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/index e.asp PIPEDA E-kit for Businesses: http://www.privcom.gc.ca/ekit/ekit e.asp

MAIN FEATURES OF THE AUSTRALIAN LEGISLATION ✒ The Act prohibits sending unsolicited commercial electronic messages that have an “Australian link” (spam originating in Australia or spam originating overseas sent to an address accessed in Australia). ✒ The Act requires all commercial electronic messaging to contain accurate information about the person or organisation that authorised the message. ✒ The Act requires that all commercial electronic messaging contain a functional

Anti-spam task force report: http://e-com.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/inecicceac.nsf/en/h_gv00317e.html

COMPARISONS Whilst we can’t go into detail here comparing the different legislations between the countries, in a nutshell we can say that: ✒ the US’s legislation is on an opt-out basis; ✒ the UK/EU’s legislation is a soft-opt-in basis – primarily focused on protecting consumers and individuals, rather than companies; and ✒ Australia’s legislation is on a strict opt-in basis.

INTERNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT While the international enforcement procedures are grey and, in many cases, undefined, that does not give you carte blanche to ignore these spam laws if you email to a country, but don’t have a presence there.

RELATED LINKS: The US, UK and Australian Memorandum: http://www.ftc.gov/os/2004/07/040630spammoutext.pdf Other countries’ legislation: http://www.spamlaws.com/world.html http://spamlinks.net/legal.htm

INTERNATIONAL EMAIL MARKETING BEST PRACTICES DO: ✒ Seek legal advice ✒ Seek a professional in that country and/or state. ✒ Use a sophisticated email marketing tool, which allows you to either manage a suppression list or, better still, allows you to make the opted out inactive, rather than deleted. ✒ Be mindful of marketing laws. ✒ Research local legislation within your targeted country/state. ✒ Research official guides and explanatory documents. ✒ Contact your local trade representatives. ✒ Contact local marketing associations. ✒ Be mindful of Privacy Acts (e.g. Canada’s PIPEDA) and data protection (e.g. UK Data Protection Act) acts, as well as other relevant acts within the target country. ✒ Consider other forms of marketing, e.g. advertising within the relevant industry newsletter. M

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062 CRM Craig Young is managing director of Sage ACT, the makers of ACT! Contact Management solution and SalesLogix CRM. Visit www.sageact.com.au or call Sage ACT on 1800 176 193.

In five years time, many healthy and prosperous businesses may be forced to close down. Labour shortages will be so severe that they simply won’t have the people to produce the goods. Luckily CRM can help, says Craig Young.

TRM: total relationship management.

R

esearch shows that Australia will face permanent labour shortages across most industries and occupations by 2010 due to our ageing population (Drake white paper, The Age Chasm, 2005).

This will make it much harder for businesses to maintain productivity levels and meet demand in the future. Nationally, it could see Australia’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth fall by 1.5 percent over the next 40 years if businesses don’t take proactive steps to preserve their workforce supply.

The labour shortage issue will affect all businesses, particularly medium to large-sized firms. In this current climate, businesses need to think beyond growth and focus on an even more pressing issue – business survival. Quite simply, having effective strategies in place to deal with the labour shortage crisis could mean the difference between a thriving business and an ailing one. The good news is that if applied correctly CRM can form part of the solution. In the past, businesses have only looked at half of the picture when it comes to CRM. While most organisations use CRM to understand the age profile and make-up of their customer base, they don’t apply the same systems and processes to understand the composition of their workforce and supply chain.

Businesses need to move beyond this traditional way of thinking about CRM to a more all-encompassing approach called Total Relationship Management (or TRM).

TRM recognises that in this changing landscape, managing your workforce and supply chain is just as important as managing your customers and prospects.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

Why? Because just as your customers have a life cycle, so too do your staff and supplier networks. While attrition is a reality for all businesses, it’s one that exposes an organisation to considerable risk – particularly when the population is ageing.

Take for example the US Department of Defence. It’s been reported that as a much as a third of its civilian workforce is now eligible for retirement, putting their intellectual property and productivity at severe risk. Here in Australia, local businesses would be feeling similar pressures with research showing more people are retiring than joining the workforce.

For these reasons, it’s important that businesses identify how they’re exposed to age-related risks. By applying traditional CRM practices across an entire organisation to achieve TRM, a company can have total visibility over its age profile, identify any age-related issues likely to occur and put in place suitable strategies to mitigate against these risks.

For marketers, gaining a clearer understanding of your workforce demography can assist with better matching of staff profiles and customer profiles. For example, a financial services firm with customers ranging from 16 to 60 needs to attract advisers of varying ages and backgrounds to effectively service this diverse clientele (traditionally this information has resided in the back office).

TRM can also be used to implement staff retention programs. By capturing detailed personal information about employees, an organisation is better able to provide for the needs of individual staff and position itself as an employer of choice. For example, childcare could be provided to working parents, retire-

ment plans phased in for mature aged workers and financial incentives offered to younger employees.

Applying TRM can also help a business protect against fluctuations in its supply chain.

This is particularly important for firms, such as manufacturers, that rely on the input of raw materials. If a key supplier were to suddenly go bust production would be disrupted and the companies in this industry would struggle to produce goods.

Organisations that rely on suppliers in this way can use TRM to monitor if businesses in their network are exposed to age-related risks and source goods from elsewhere if need be before problems occur.

The magnitude of Australia’s labour shortage is only just starting to permeate corporate Australia’s consciousness.

Most companies are still largely unaware of the impact this issue will have on their business if they don’t have a well-planned strategy in place. Even fewer businesses realise that their existing CRM systems can form an important part of the solution if applied as Total Relationship Management.

Adapting early to the labour supply problem is the key to business survival. Marketers have the opportunity to make a difference by taking active steps to put the labour shortage issue on management’s agenda.

Long-term workforce planning is the single biggest issue facing businesses today.

Companies that are prepared and have effective strategies in place will have a huge competitive advantage over those that take a head-in-the-sand approach. The time to act is now. M

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066 PROSE & CONS WITH CON STAVROS

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Con Stavros is a senior lecturer at the School of Marketing, RMIT University. Email: con.stavros@rmit.edu.au

DANCING CAR IS DANCING STAR

Male portrayal unfair?

DVD KILLING THE TVC

It takes a lot to get a cynic like me to love an ad, but the Citroen C4 ‘transforming car’ commercial that has been on Australian screens this year stands out as a favourite. The joint UK-Canada production first went to air in Europe late last year to great critical acclaim. While its computer animation graphics are relatively normal by modern standards, the execution, music, humour and concept are first rate, particularly for a car commercial. No doubt that the spot has put the car on a lot of buyers’ ‘must consider’ lists.

The news that more men are starting to make complaints about advertising is not surprising. Men have become the stereotypical dunce in a lot of television advertising and it appears that there is a groundswell of support to suggest that they have had enough. Whether it’s not being able to operate household equipment or cleaning car parts in a dishwasher, the ordinary Aussie bloke is affable, a bit lovable, but mainly stupid. According to some advertising agencies, at least. Before the chorus of discrimination gets too loud, however, perhaps it’s a good idea to step back a little and not be too precious about what’s occurring.

Sure a lot of the ads, if they were reverse engineered, would spark outrage. The concept of discrimination, however, is based on power and since pretty much forever men have been portrayed as the dominant group in advertising. They went out and earned the money, while the good ol’ wife stayed home and concerned herself with what margarine to use and what washing detergent got her husband’s shirts the whitest.

Thankfully those days are (almost) gone, but I don’t think it’s time to raise too much concern about men in advertising just yet. Advertisers need to stereotype as it saves time and it allows them to provide a simple problem-solution format for the range of typically low-involvement goods being presented. Unless an ad showing a male in a negative way blatantly crosses that fuzzy line of what is morally and socially acceptable, then it should get the benefit of the doubt. For now at least.

The marketing gods must be baffled that television stations continue to charge more for advertising rates in a period of increased media choice and the rapid diffusion of digital recorders. Throw in the seemingly booming use of the internet to (illegally) download television shows and you would have to think that the future of the humble 30-second TVC is heading the way of the dodo. In the pursuit of short-term ratings stations have hurt advertisers by swapping their schedules around on an almost daily basis, leading to greater audience fragmentation and frustration. In many instances the treatment of viewers is outright disrespectful, but I guess television executives see the customers as media buyers, not couch potatoes. Plus, if viewers aren’t turning to the computer to access their favourite shows with some semblance of continuity and regularity, they are buying television show DVD releases at record levels. Some 30 percent of all DVD sales are now said to be boxed sets of television programs, primarily US dramas and sitcoms. The trend is great for the US studios, but not so great for local television proprietors who are seeing more of their precious audience waiting the few extra months to buy or rent a boxed set, rather than rely on the whims of fickle programmers.

Can’t say I feel sorry for them.

GREEN IS GOOD The old marketing adage that the more visible a product, the more likely it is to succeed in terms of diffusion throughout the target market, is aptly demonstrated by the green shopping bag mania that has spread across the country. In just a couple of years the ubiquitous bag has grown to be de rigueur at the supermarket checkout and caused the humble plastic bag user to slink through the store with a sense of social shame. With plastic bag use down by almost 30 percent and over 80 percent of Australians agreeing that the single-use plastic bag should be banned, the future is looking very bright indeed for Clean Up Australia and its hit marketing cause. Getting people to change bag habits, however, is one thing; getting them to understand greenhouse gas emissions and the like and adjust their behaviour is another much more complex task. The bag is cheap, visible and makes users feel like they are making a tangible difference. I am told, however, that most of the bags are made of polypropylene, a not-so-easy to biodegrade material and also they are manufactured in China, not here in Australia. So perhaps there is still some way to go before this is a perfect social marketing exercise.

MARKETING OCTOBER 2005

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