The Marketing Plaza

Business and marketing always love acronyms. It’s the reason we have 3Ms, IBMs as brand names not to mention ROIs and KPIs in strategy discussions.*  Sometimes the names are used to mask an original identity, allowing a brand to move into a new era with a new persona. Other times acronyms are used as field jargon to make the presenter appear brilliant and in-the-know.  Other times, and less surreptitiously, the acronyms are just a quick shorthand for fast communications particularly in an increasing digital world limited by character counts. OMG, LOL!

Another use of acronyms is to help people remember things, particularly students studying for tests.  For middle schoolers trying to name the Great Lakes for a social studies test, the acronym HOMES helps them recall Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie and Superior. Not all acronyms work for everyone, but one acronym does suffice for all marketing endeavors.  It takes you back to basics on the ABCs of Marketing – for Always Be Communicating.

There are great debates in the marketing world about what media to use when, and the value return of a broadcast spot on The Daily Show versus a Tweet on Twitter. With aplogies to Marshall McLuhan, the ABCs of marketing remind us that the medium is not the message. The message is the message  and whatever medium allows you to communicate consistently to the right audience is the right medium for you.

If the cost-effectiveness of a blog allows you to communicate more than a broadcast commercial, then a blog is your better bet.  In contrast, if you don’t have the wherewithal to blog and do have the funds to produce a broadcast spot and air it consistently, then the spot hits the spot for your needs.

Marketing plans by definition admit that there is no one solution for everyone, which is why plans need to be carefully crafted based on time, budget, resources, needs, mission and skill sets. But any plan that doesn’t account for the ABCs and gives you great one-time hits, is not a marketing plan at all.  If you are not communicating, you are not marketing.  It’s as basic as it gets; as basic as the ABCs.

*For those who don’t remember or are intimidated by jargon:
3M originally stood for Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company
IBM was International Business Machines
ROI is Return on Investment
KPI is Key Performance Indicator

Q: What do marketing people and therapists have in common?

A: They both deal with insecurities.

Q: Is marketing a discipline that belongs in a business school, communications school, or in the school of social sciences?

A: Yes.

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In his book In Search of the Obvious: The Antidote for Today’s Marketing Mess,” marketing guru Jack Trout states the obvious: “…the human mind tends to be insecure when it comes to purchasing things.” The role of marketing, he argues, is simply to make people feel more secure with a purchasing decision.  It’s also the reason, Trout notes, that a leadership is so important and should be utilized whenever possible in a marketing campaign.

In psychology, he states, it’s called the “herd mentality.” The consumer assumes that others know better and are willing to lessen their psychological risk by following others in the marketplace. If a brand is number one, it must be number one for a reason.

Ironically, many company CEOs, CMOs and Communications VPs get humble when they hold a leadership position. From watching too many Greek Tragedies, they fear corporate Hubris and being toppled from the mountaintop should their position be discovered.

Odd, isn’t it?  Marketing is about helping a company be discovered and differentiating itself in the marketplace to make a consumer’s choice fsst, easy and obvious. Nevertheless, Trout has example after example of companies who go quiet when they are, in fact, number one in their profession.

I’m facing a similar challenge with a current client, who is clearly number one in its field.  Others, with a longer history with the account, emphatically state that the client will not admit in public that they are number one in their industry. They will say the are an industry leader, have the largest network, and make many other claims that imply number one, but will not use the term. “We’re number one!”

In the recent movie Whip It, starring Drew Barrymore, the featured roller derby team consistently comes in Number Two.  They even take up the chant, “We’re number two,” after every game. Roller Derby becomes about “attitude” as is “marketing.”  I won’t tell you the end of the movie. It isn’t a formula and may not be what you expect.

Here’s an interesting fact: Roller Derby is one of three major league sports invented in the U.S.  If you count marketing as a major league sport, perhaps it’s one of four.  However, it’s no secret that there are tons of sports analogies used in business. Perhaps it’s time, we stole a few from Roller Derby.  Attitude Matters and it’s not about just going around in circles.  The goal is to come in first.

Here’s a takeaway from yet another sport – horse racing – not invented in the U.S. You can be a leader and not be number one. You can be a leader in a Win, Place or Show position. You can only be number one in the Winner’s Circle.