Come Super Bowl Sunday we’ll all be gathered around the tube to give this hyped-up event the homage it deserves. Most of us will likely discuss the commercials that air during this glorious event as much as we discuss the game itself. That shouldn’t be so surprising considering how marketers pay close to $3 million per 30 seconds of Super Bowl airtime. Many of these things will be awe-inspiring productions. We may find ourselves talking about them for days afterward, in fact. A fair amount of them may cause us to look at our fellow Super-Bowl party attendees and go, “What the heck did that have to do with…anything?” If the creators of the commercials were at the party with us, they’d probably get all huffy and defensive and say that we’re missing the point. That the ad is supposed to generate “buzz” and that no brand will go far without first getting people to talk about it, and to get people to talk about it you first have to get their attention. And to get their attention you have to do something that dazzles them, and if they’re dazzled by the commercial, they’ll be dazzled by the product. If they love the commercial, they’ll love the brand, they might say.

Author Jack Trout refers to this  hoopla as “marketing theater” rather than marketing that should impress us, and he’s none too complimentary of most of it. He is quick to remind us of some important things about exactly what an advertisement is supposed to accomplish and what elements should be present in order for that to happen.

Trout says that an ad is basically what you do when you can’t send a salesperson to visit with the prospect. That simple fact shouldn’t be overlooked in any promotion we do, but especially for something we’re taking a three million dollar gamble on. Its ultimate purpose should be to SELL the VALUE of the offer. The content of the commercial should demonstrate how it is a superior solution over anything offered by a competitor and showcase how it will make the life of the customer better. That is the story the ad should tell.

As you watch the commercials that air during the big game, think about that and see if he might just have a point.

If it doesn’t sell, it isn’t creative.” - David Ogilvy

I have found myself being overly reflective of late. Maybe it’s because I’ve made some headway in finding a comfortable level of balance in my life by focusing on what’s most important and of letting go of what isn’t. Who knows, but it’s a good place and if you’ll indulge me I’ll be sharing a little more about that in future entries just because I think it’s something we’re all looking for. When I get my findings down to the kinds of brief, actionable ideas that you can use, which is the kind of value it is my great joy and honor to try to bring you with each entry, I’ll be eagerly sharing them.

One thing I think we’re all looking for is some kind of perspective. As I’ve written before, it’s a zany, crazy, mad, slap-happy, sometimes unforgiving world out there. I ran across this quote from “the great one” himself, (click here for one example of why I’m such a fan)  Dr. Peter F. Drucker, who said that every so many years, we cross a “divide.”

Within a few short decades, society rearranges itself - its worldview, its basic values, its social and political structure, its arts, its key institutions. Fifty years later, there is a new world. The people born after the transformation cannot even imagine the world in which their grandparents lived and into which their own parents were born.” -

Have your kids asked you what kind of cell phone you had when you were in junior high? For that matter, have you ever stopped and wondered how in the world we ever dared leave the house without our the security of having a cell phone handy? Or how we could have possibly done our Christmas shopping in the days before the Internet? Or what kind of psychotic episode would undoubtedly result if we failed to check e-mail for a whole week?

I wish I could conclude this entry with “THE” answers, but that’s above my pay grade. I have no idea what’s next, but as far as us determining what direction to take, one simple answer is VALUE. Think constantly about your customer and what they value most, and do more of that. Think about how what they currently value could be improved, then work to improve on that. None of us may be able to see the future, but if we really think about it, we can all imagine a better future and the winners of tomorrow will be those who can deliver that “better future” to the marketplace. So go get ‘em!

When I hear somebody sigh, ‘Life is hard,’ I am always tempted to ask, ‘Compared to what?’“— Sydney J. Harris, Journalist

Back when I was a boy, we knew Santa was on his way when the weatherman came on the news at 10 and showed good ole’ St. Nick on his radar. “Santa has left the North Pole…” He would proclaim in a tone that conveyed the seriousness of his message, “So all you little boys and girls out there had better be in bed…” and near panic would ensue as my sister and I scrambled off to our rooms.  Today, thanks to the NORAD Santa Tracker, you don’t need your own radar to keep up with Santa’s whereabouts, just an Internet connection. Way cool.

What is even cooler is how NORAD’s tracking of Santa was started and became an annual tradition.  As it turns out, a tiny error by Sears & Roebuck started it all!

The following story is borrowed from http://www.noradsanta.org/en/whytrack.html.

The tradition began in 1955 after a Colorado Springs-based Sears Roebuck & Co. advertisement for children to call Santa misprinted the telephone number. Instead of reaching Santa, the phone number put kids through to the CONAD Commander-in-Chief’s operations “hotline.” The Director of Operations at the time, Colonel Harry Shoup, had his staff check the radar for indications of Santa making his way south from the North Pole. Children who called were given updates on his location, and a tradition was born.

In 1958, the governments of Canada and the United States created a bi-national air defense command for North America called the North American Aerospace Defense Command, also known as NORAD, which then took on the tradition of tracking Santa.

Since that time, NORAD men, women, family and friends, have selflessly volunteered their time to personally respond to Christmas Eve phone calls and emails from children. In addition, we now track Santa using the Internet. Last year, millions of people who wanted to know Santa’s whereabouts visited the NORAD Tracks Santa website.

Finally, media from all over the world rely on NORAD as a trusted source to provide Christmas Eve updates on Santa’s journey. Kids can also call NORAD to track Santa. The number is 877-Hi-NORAD. Or send an email to noradtrackssanta@gmail.com.

Oklahoma City Jeweler, BC Clark, used the same jingle for their Christmas promotion year after year. Then a few years ago, they got to thinking that maybe the market was tired of this jingle, because they were getting tired of it, so they decided to change it. They quickly learned it was a big mistake because their customers let them know! They very quickly changed it right back. You can get the whole story here.

While some might consider this a “strategic hiccup,” it’s actually quite a story in the power of their brand, and a profitable lesson for us all. If a customer is so attached to any aspect of your business they’d miss it if you changed it, you know you’ve got a loyal following. Any time your customers will take time to speak up and let you know they’re unhappy, that’s a golden opportunity to fix it. You’ll likely keep and grow a customer relationship, and you may even impress them so much with your handling of the situation that they’ll tell all their friends about it and your net result will be even MORE customers and more profit!

Keep in mind that customers you get from referrals have no acquisition costs attached to them, so the margins are that much better! Strong customer service is a critical component of effective branding!

It also reminds us precisely When We Should Change A Strategy.

The wise person isn’t the one who makes the fewest mistakes. It’s the one who learns the most from them.” - Harvey Mackay

Retailers light up when they talk about “Black Friday.” This is the Friday right after Thanksgiving where they offer all kinds of crazy deals and hope to start to show black ink instead of red for the first time during the typical year.

I’ve already shared how I feel about the Super Bowl, and I have similar feelings about Black Friday. I think marketers are looking at the wrong things when they examine whether or not what they’re doing on these particular days is “good marketing.”

The idea is to get a stampede of customers into your store before the crack of dawn and get your inventory in their eager hands before your competitor does. The opportunity to get a jump on holiday sales is there, but does this tactic really net positive results?

First, there is that whole issue of the stampede of customers. The customers get pitted against each other in a viciously competitive way that hardly reflects the holiday spirit. I also don’t think it does much for the brand of the store or the product when the television news leads with a story about how one granny broke the other’s nose fighting over the last Tickle Me Elmo at Wal-Mart.

Assuming the sales events are non-violent, I still question whether they are really that productive. The merchandise is already offered at a discounted price and probably at a lower overall profit margin. The run on the store requires additional resources in the form of added personnel and such, which of course drives up overhead and can also eats into profit margins. Doesn’t that then push the elusive goal of producing black ink instead of red for the first time all year back just a little further?

I think my favorite Burtism, “Don’t cut the price, build the brand!” applies here as well as anywhere. And as I mentioned a few years ago, I think the online retailers are doing a better job of delivering in this area. Translation: Amazon.com RULES!

Price is what you pay…Value is what you get!” - Warren Buffett