Vision Graphics Inc. Connect Magazine May/June 2015 by Tyson Polzkill

Vision Graphics Inc. Engaging Marketing Minds

Vol. 5, Issue 3, May/June 2015

UNDERDOGS How our

weaknesses can become our strengths INSIDE Marketing 2020 Nancy Shenker on the secrets of branding 5 inbound marketing tactics that work

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publisher ’s letter

The ‘slow fix’ E

veryone wants a quick fix in business these days. We need leads right away. We want sales results now. We need to have positive ROI on specific marketing activities. If the quick fix doesn’t happen, heads will roll. Budget will be cut. In general, it seems like we can tolerate a little pain, but not for very long. There really is no standard recipe for how companies can win now. If we had the answer or the proverbial “quick fix,” it wouldn’t be a secret for very long. The facts are that iconic brands stand the test of time. They endure because they’re willing to put forth the effort to build a relationship with their community, even if it doesn’t pay off in the short term. Great relationships are born out of trust. They are built to endure the toughest challenges. They can take the pain in the short term in order to realize long-term prosperity. The most compelling marketers today are not looking for quick fixes. They are working feverishly to be a part of people’s lives. They realize that we have an irreducible need to belong. In turn, being present within their target community increases the chance their brand will be loved. So, with a nod to the quick fix gurus out there, we suggest the “slow fix.” This is the kind of fix where collecting and acting on client feedback is sincere. The kind of fix where we cultivate flexibility and adaptability. The fix where we create a culture of innovation. The fix where we identify and correct internal barriers to our profitable growth. Another great fix is reading our wonderful publication. We hope it continues to inspire you. This issue’s cover story, “Underdogs,” tackles how our weaknesses actually can become our strengths in business. And our second feature, “Marketing 2020,” takes a look at what jobs will exist in our marketing departments in the collective future.

The most compelling marketers today are not looking for quick fixes. They are working feverishly to be a part of people’s lives.

We hope you enjoy. Warmest wishes,

Mark Steputis, Publisher

CONTENTS

Publisher’s Letter

04 The Inbox

The ‘slow fix’

Marketing Department 2020 See what the future of branding may look like

06 Underdogs

How our weaknesses can become our strengths

Nancy Shenker, theOnswitch

Survey highlights most effective inbound marketing tactics

Trending with...

That’ll work

Publisher

Mark Steputis mark.steputis@visiongraphics-inc.com

Managing Editor

Michele McCreath michele.mccreath@visiongraphics-inc.com

Art Direction

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

The

Inbox

The number of marketers who plan to increase their spending on content marketing in 2015, according to a poll by Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The other category due for an increase is mobile apps, with 65 percent of marketers preparing for an increase this year, the polling found.

Consistent and continuous experiences only happen when marketing goes beyond marketing, and the reality is that brands have to earn it every day, with each experience. With each touch point, we either win or we lose.” – Brad Rencher, senior VP and GM at Adobe, on why marketers must strive every day to be personal with today’s consumers

Gut instinct Study shows few marketers know which channel has best return There’s nothing better than gut instinct. Or is there? According to Webmarketing123’s “2015 State of Digital Marketing” report, many marketers still are relying on “gut instinct” when determining which channels to use for marketing campaigns. Research shows that 33 percent of B2B and B2C marketers still don’t know which channel made the biggest impact on revenues. For example, while 87 percent of B2B marketers used social media, just 17 percent could prove its ROI – the lowest percentage among the channels used. The good news is that 9 percent are investing in ROI improvement measurements this year, the study found.

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

Crunching numbers Why data-driven marketing practices are working

More marketers than ever are embracing data-driven marketing practices. According to Bizo's “Data-Driven Marketer” survey, 68.2 percent are analyzing customers through data, while 54.8 percent say they're leveraging data to measure marketing performance. The goal: find the right technology solutions and train staffers to get the most out of big data. Here's a look at the software platforms that are working:

61% Analytics tools

37.5%

39.8%

36.3%

Email software

Social media management tools

Blogging platforms

The Power of Why: Breaking Out in a Competitive Marketplace By C. Richard Weylman “Voted No. 1 two years running.” “Rated best customer service.” Who doesn’t love accolades? But do these kudos engage your customers emotionally? Marketing innovator and bestselling author C. Richard Weylman says the strategy is simple: You win customers by speaking to what they want to buy instead of what you want to sell. In The Power of Why, Weylman shows how to elevate your business performance in today’s marketplace. When customers decide where to buy, they have two things in mind: Why should I do business with you? Will you solve my problem, today? Welyman details why today’s buyers want to do business with companies willing to make a customer-centric promise of expected outcome: up-front, unconditional and unqualified. This is not just a slogan, he writes, it’s the company’s DNA, consistently delivered through all parts of the organization. By emphasizing Weylman’s actionable, hands-on strategies, The Power of Why may become the new manual for business survival and growth.

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

“ We have a chip on our shoulder, and that chip doesn’t go away, because there’s not a finish line. It’s not about hitting some number. It’s much greater than that, and frankly, it’s much more purposeful than that.” – Kevin Plank, Founder & CEO, Under Armour

UNDERDOGS How our weaknesses can become our strengths By Michael J. Pallerino

t’s fair to say that Nike never saw it coming. In 1996, the all-everything brand was comfortably positioned as the sporting goods leader in footwear and apparel, not to mention a marketing trendsetter whose print and TV campaigns still stand as teaching tools today (“I Want to be Like Mike” and “Just Do It,” to name two). With the Olympics back on American soil in Atlanta, the brand was preparing to introduce a slew of cutting-edge designs and marketing campaigns to further cement its growing legacy.

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

Underdogs

The modern-day Goliath was the creation of Phil Knight, the former University of Oregon track star who transformed the athletic footwear world with his waffle-design outsoles. Knight’s eventual business plan was spelled out in a term paper he wrote while working on his master’s degree at Stanford University. The paper outlined a strategy for breaking the stranglehold Adidas had on the running-shoe market by using cheap Japanese labor to manufacture a cheaper, betterquality running shoe. As the David to Adidas’ Goliath, you would have thought that Knight and company would have seen somebody like Kevin Plank working in the shadows. In 1995, Plank devised the idea for Under Armour while playing football at the University of Maryland. In 1996, using $15,000 of personal savings and charging $40,000 on his credit cards, he set out to change the sports compression market, with Nike’s Dri-Fit technology as one of his targets. In five years, Plank would turn his $55,000 investment into a $5 million company. Today, according to the most recent numbers from Forbes, Under Armour’s net worth is $3.3 billion. The more interesting part of this story is that Plank, founder and CEO, still considers his brand an underdog. The intensely driven entrepreneur is on record as saying that

LESSONS WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM DAVID & GOLIATH

Nothing is impossible: David found that weak point in Goliath’s armor, which allowed him to triumph in the battle. You must find the proper approach, and/or bide your time for the right opportunity to take action. Lead by your actions: David faced his fear and stood his ground, which in turn inspired an entire army. You can inspire your peers and co-workers to new heights through your actions. Don’t over-complicate things: Remember that David won using very basic tools and a simple approach. This proves that simple solutions almost always are the most effective, even to what initially may appear to be a monstrous problem. Perspective is everything: David understood the task at hand, even while everybody doubted the outcome. To transform your company, you must transform your perspective of what’s possible given the values and principles that make up your view of your place in the world.

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

his company’s growth can be traced back to lessons learned early on. Plank often has been quoted as saying,“There have been all sorts of ups and downs, but we have learned at every stop and we have used those lessons to make ourselves better.” “An underdog can certainly win as evidenced by Under Armour’s success,” says Matt Powell, an analyst for The NPD Group who has tracked the sporting goods market for the last 20-plus years. “Under Armour kind of snuck in while Nike was distracted by other business issues. Its initial entry was word of mouth, player to player. Then, it found an ally in Dick’s Sporting Goods, which believed in the brand.” Powell says that, while small businesses always will face challenges, being able to find opportunities when none seem to exist is critical. “Under Armour was able to secure financing early, which helped them get to critical mass. Whenever competition ignores you, it leaves the door open for a company to gain a beachhead. Leveraging that opening is key.”

Stand up and be counted David Prosser isn’t quite convinced that the story of David & Goliath was originally intended as a Biblical story. Instead, he says the oftrepeated tale shows how ordinary, seemingly insignificant individuals can stand up and declare a bold, nearly impossible future. “David & Goliath is more than just about the underdog up against the behemoth,” says Prosser, CEO of The Prosser Group and BreakthroughSchool.com. “It tells a story

The lesson: It wasn’t what David did that about a small player creating a ‘disruptive made the difference in the end, it was that he leap’ against the competitor, which is a way stood up and declared who he was in the face to play the game in a market where you might of his seemingly unbeatable foe. be perceived to be the underdog. While it’s Today, Prosser teaches his clients that not readily apparent in the story as it is told, standing up for who they are is what can David did have a secret. That secret is in the change the outcome. “So yes, underdogs can way he created a bold stance that he took for win if they are willing to stand up, generate a himself and what he could accomplish. new perspective given by their stance, and de“He believed, while no one else did – not clare boldly who they are in the face of a perhis own leaders, and especially not the arroceived adversity. That is what is required from gant adversary who assumed David would lose,” Prosser says. In his book, “THIRTEENERS: Why Only 13 Percent of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategy – and How Yours Can Be One of Them,” Prosser says business leaders must shift their thinking from a predictable, yet unremarkable and vertical hierarchical, “head-based” approach to business leadership that makes it unnecessarily challenging for those who want to produce results. “The source of most leaders’ strength is not always apparent to the business world,” Prosser says. “Nor, in fact, is it very often apparent to the leaders themselves. In my experi– David Prosser, CEO, The Prosser Group ence, there are those who appear to struggle against some leaders today. It’s an amazingly kind of challenge or what they believe (or have brilliant story for today’s leadmade up) to be the ‘giant’ they are facing in ers that must be told.” a battle against all odds. These are the leadOf the many lessons that ers who have unconsciously adopted a limiting David & Goliath teach us, one view of their place in the world – a perspective of the best is that the underestiin which they have automatically diminished mated company – like Under Artheir own suitability to compete.” mour, and Nike before it – may hold As a result, Prosser says these leaders the best cards. play small or become commodity vendors. “When no one believes that This choice often is shaped by experiences you can achieve a certain objecthey have confronted where they’ve lost or tive, competitors can become failed in the past. “Their futures then belulled into a false sense of security come a repeat of their failed pasts, because thinking that no one can topple they have a limiting paradigm or model them,” says business and managethat says, ‘I’m insufficient to go up against ment consultant Brian Ray. “That mindset, the giant.’ The story of David & Goliath is on their part, then creates the opportunity a great metaphor for how people conduct for the underestimated person to fly under themselves in the face of adversity or what the radar, take care of business and emerge they may feel is the ‘apparent’ impending triumphantly at the appropriate time.” danger from their perspective.”

“ David & Goliath is more than just about the underdog up against the behemoth. It tells a story about a small player creating a ‘disruptive leap’ against the competitor, which is a way to play the game in a market where you might be perceived to be the underdog.”

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

MARKETING

2020 10

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

ave you ever tried to drive down a country road at night, while looking out the back window of your car? The late Peter Drucker, often called the founder of modern management, said trying to predict the future is akin to that experience. “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different,” Drucker said. The same could be said about the future of marketing departments, too. Today’s marketing department, driven by technology, is evolving rapidly across all aspects of marketing – distribution, advertising and research. The marketing department

See what the future of branding may look like By Lorrie Bryan

of the future likely is to be even more different and require updated skills, revised roles and a new contemporary culture. One of the anticipated major influencers, The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more of a reality than a lofty vision. ABI Research estimates that more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly connected to the Internet of Things by 2020. This ubiquitous computing in an increasingly smart world is sure to shape the future of marketing, says Jeff Sierra, founder of Mind Fuel and a 25-year veteran of the marketing services industry. “As the Internet of Things starts to evolve – your refrigerator sends your car a message that you are out of milk, and your car tells you where the closest grocery store is with the lowest price – it’s going to create new opportunities for how and when to engage customers,” Sierra says. “This will require marketers to be better rounded, and certainly even more technically savvy than they need to be today. These trends are going to shape the growing skill set for basic marketing jobs in the future.”

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

Marketing 2020

Updated skills Victoria Treyger, CMO of Kabbage Inc., a fastgrowing technology and data company that has pioneered an automated way to lend money to small businesses, says that even more analytical and technical skills will be required than in the past. “We are focused on innovation and moving technology forward. Today’s effective marketing requires interpreting large volumes of data and synthesizing it into marketing strategies. More than ever, marketing teams are working tightly with data science and technology teams to develop new products and marketing approaches.”

Revised roles

“ To lead successfully, a CMO will need to be much more well-rounded and have a broader base of experience in addition to traditional marketing acumen.”

Mind Fuel’s Sierra predicts that the future will hold more convergence among traditional marketing roles. Marketing jobs of the future will require people to multi-task at some level across disciplines such as data, analytics, content creation and delivery. “Who knows where content will reside and how it will be delivered in the future,” Sierra says. “It’s going to continue to be more technology driven. There will need to be roles and teams that combine an understanding of data, content, brand and customers – and people who have the ability to pull all that together in a collective manner; not in the silos that exist today.” A CMO today might be an expert at branding, customer experience or a digital specialist, but in five years a CMO will need to be able to do all of these things on some level, kind of in a “More than ever, collective environment. “To marketing teams lead successfully, a CMO will need to be much more well are working rounded and have a broader tightly with data base of experience in addition science and to traditional marketing acumen,” Sierra says. technology

and not just because they are tech savvy, seemingly possessing a digital sixth sense. “In general, Millennials want to be experts in a million different things,” Kuhl says. “They don’t want to be the marketing person just doing analytics, they also want teams to develop to be the person proposing Millennials new products recommendations – creatare a match ing the report and presenting Joan Kuhl, founder of Why Miland marketing it to executives. This gives lennials Matter, a New Yorkapproaches.” them some visibility and based Gen-Y speaking and credit, and also helps them consulting company, focuses on – Victoria Treyger, CMO, refine their communication raising employers’ awareness Kabbage Inc. skills and hone their execuabout the value of investing in tive presence so they can move into broader their future workforce and the Millennial customand bigger roles. Employers should encourer segment. She contends that Millennials are age their confidence and creativity, because, well-suited to these emerging converging roles,

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

– Jeff Sierra, Founder, Mind Fuel

in less than 10 years, 75 percent of the global work force will be Millennials.”

The new culture Many Millennials are finding the professional satisfaction they desire at companies like Kabbage, which recognizes the value of hiring and retaining this demographic. Kabbage, featured in “Best Places to Work” by the Atlanta Business Chronicle, attracts top talent by keeping the bar high, and valuing strong leadership skills and aptitude over any particular skill set. “We keep standards high, because smart people want to work with other smart people, and they are attracted to a company that empowers them to build and define an industry and redefine their area,” Treyger says. “We are doing revolutionary things – every day is new and different. We get to build the financial services of the future.”

MARKETING DEPARTMENT MAKEOVER What can you do to transform your marketing department? Joan Kuhl, founder of Why Millennials Matter and the co-author of Peter Drucker’s updated “Five Most Important Questions,” shows you how: 1. U pdate your job titles: Jobs such as IT and analytics sound so dry and uninteresting. Shake up your titles like Google and Zappos did with designations like chief people officer and chief happiness officer, respectively. 2. Give your employees more input: Give your team the opportunity to interface with executives and have input. Involve them in product development and seek their opinions. 3. Give marketers time on the front lines of sales: Do this, and they can see first-hand what is getting traction and what people are buying.

A legendary thought leader, Peter Drucker is also credited with saying that the “best way to predict the future is to create it.” Kabbage and other innovative companies are creating their futures by keeping valued employees on board with perks such as daily catered lunches and snacks, weekly company-wide townhall meetings, volunteer projects, and plenty of beer and caffeine on tap. And don’t forget about traditional benefits and higher salaries. Committed to nurturing esprit de corps, Kabbage recently created a music video – a Bruno Mars Uptown Funk parody – that features employees and showcases their upbeat culture (check out http://bit.ly/1AThVaG). In March, employees spent a workday outdoors making improvements at a local nonprofit camp for seriously ill and disabled children. “Marketing starts internally, and we are focused on creating a positive culture

“ In general, Millennials want to be experts in a million different things. They don’t want to be the marketing person just doing analytics, they also want to be the person proposing recommendations.” – Joan Kuhl, Founder, Why Millennials Matter and an environment where people want to come to work,” Treyger says. Despite the updated skills, revised roles and new contemporary culture that the future will bring to the marketing world, some things remain constant: Employee satisfaction is a cornerstone of successful marketing. Says Kuhl, “We sometimes forget that our best brand ambassadors are our own employees.” Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

Q&A:

Interview with Nancy Shenker

Trending with ... Marketing aficionado Nancy Shenker

weeter. Linker. Pinner. Friend. Ask Nancy Shenker, and she’ll define herself as a little bit of everything when the topic centers on marketing. Known as one of the branding world’s most thorough strategists, Shenker considers herself a “dual citizen” of the traditional marketing world and continually evolving digital landscape. A regular Huffington Post blogger, her musings also can be seen in the New York Times, Businessweek, Entrepreneur.com and Forbes, among many others. As the founder and CEO of theOnswitch, she continues to help small and large businesses alike launch and rebrand their marketing strategies. Here are some of her secrets to winning the branding game.

When the marketing process is successful, a winning, creative idea will always cut through the clutter.

What branding secrets can you share with us? The secret is that branding is timeless. Having a unique identity and a brand image/voice has been the cornerstone of great marketing since advertising began. Although the media has changed (adding to marketplace clutter), a great brand will always survive and thrive.

What are the most important things any marketer can do to stand out? Continually examine your brand relevance to your consumers and ensure that your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is truly unique. You must employ marketing talent with experience, drive and a true understanding of what branding is. When the marketing process is successful, a winning, creative idea will always cut through the clutter.

Is it possible to escape all the chaos out there today? Yes, but you have to stay in touch with your customers. Research is still key. Follow discussions on social media sites and participate in a human way. Too many companies forget the true “social” aspect of social media

May/June 2015 • connect – Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm

and get too tied up in the bureaucracy. It is never going to work if you have inexperienced people managing your brand online. Appoint a brand champion (internal and/or external) and make the branding process a priority in your organization.

How important is leadership in this process? It’s essential. Every organization needs a brand champion at the senior level. This person must be strategic, seasoned and gently forceful. Great training and speaking skills are essential. It’s important to be courageous and willing to invest in a brand, and make staff changes to stay true to your vision. Most important, this person must truly listen to the voice of the customer.

What qualities do smart marketers possess? They must be willing to update or morph their brand when it stops working. Today’s successful marketing leaders are brand centric, customer focused, passionate and wildly creative, fluent in digital media, and quick thinking and quick moving.

Before You

That’ll work

Survey highlights the most effective inbound marketing tactics When it comes to inbound marketing, solidifying a strategy and creating content are critical to your success. And while today’s marketers know what it takes, it still isn’t easy. According to the “B2B Inbound Marketing Benchmarks” survey by NetProspex and Ascend2, 66 percent view their efforts as somewhat successful, while just 7 percent say inbound marketing has not helped their business at all.

Social media/social networking

Search engine optimization

Here’s a look at the most effective tactics:

Website design optimization

Marketing content creation

Blogging

Vision Graphics Inc/Eagle:xm – connect • May/June 2015

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