For Growth & Success, Get Out of the Office

Posted on May 22, 2013 | Leave a comment

There’s only so much you can do sitting at your desk.

Let’s face it.  If you’re not engaging off-site with everyone and everything that makes your company tick, that’s a problem – and lost opportunity.

That’s why you and your business team colleagues need to periodically get out of the office and, for example:

•  Listen to your customers;

•  Get direct feedback from your ultimate end-users;

•  Work with sales colleagues;

•  Investigate and learn about important marketing geography;

•  Talk with manufacturing colleagues in the plant.

Photo: Company Facebook.

I was reminded of this critical factor for success by Starwood Hotels & Resorts.

Twice in the last two years, Starwood has temporarily moved corporate HQ to another country for month-long immersions:

“To get to the heart of two of Starwood’s key markets — China and the Middle East, which account for 75% of its growth — the hotel group’s leadership team, including Mr. [Phil] McAveety [Executive VP-Chief Brand Officer at Starwood], the CEO, chief financial officer and others, took a month to immerse themselves in each location. The team spent March in Dubai and visited China in 2011.”

(Emma Hall, Advertising Age, A Peek Into Starwood Hotels’ Marketer Immersion Program)

 

Starwood does this to learn.  Here’s what they said in a company statement: Continue reading →

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Posted in Go-To-Market Strategy/Philosophy, Leadership & Coaching, Strategic Marketing

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Creative Product Distribution Brings Hope of Clean Water: Inventor Dean Kamen Connects with Coca-Cola

Posted on May 15, 2013 | 2 Comments

First I tried the international medical companies and even the U.N., but they weren’t the right fit for the product. Then it occurred to me that there’s only one organization that can get a product to any village in the world: Coca-Cola.  Dean Kamen in Fortune interview.

Dean Kamen & Slingshot water purification machine. Photo: www.coca-colacompany.com

Dean Kamen & Slingshot water purification machine. Photo: http://www.coca-colacompany.com

Where do good ideas come from?

Inventor Dean Kamen wanted to bring his water purification system to the people who need it the most in the developing world.

He found that a traditional analysis of product distribution partners did not generate the solution he desired.  Only when he turned the challenge on its head and looked at it differently, did the right outcome emerge.

Kamen needed an entity that already operated in the remote geographies he wanted to reach, and he wasn’t deterred that such a company didn’t neatly fit the definition of a small machine distributor.

By broadening the process by which he assessed his options – to think about capabilities instead of company description – Kamen and his team came up with an unlikely answer: soft drinks giant Coca-Cola!

“In a partnership with Coca-Cola, Kamen’s firm DEKA Research and Development will bring Slingshot to communities in need of clean water in rural parts of Latin America and Africa.”

Headline

There are no easy answers to difficult business problems.  But sometimes, if you start with the end-game in mind, you might discover a clever, if not crazy, solution.

Harvey Chimoff is a hands-on marketing leader and business-wide collaborator who builds marketing capabilities in B2B/B2C organizations that drive customer success. Contact him at hchimoff at gmail dot com.

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Posted in Channel Management, Innovation, Strategic Marketing, Video

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A Mindset for Success: “We Have Enough to Win”

Posted on May 8, 2013 | Leave a comment

I was hoping not to write this post.

You see, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Brooklyn Nets Saturday night in the NBA playoffs.  Had the team I was rooting for won, I wasn’t going to write this.  Instead, there’s an extra impetus to highlight why even non-sports fans can take something away from the “corporate culture” instilled by Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.

Thibodeau has become well-known in NBA circles for his leadership and coaching philosophy of “we have enough to win” and even his more pronounced “we have more than enough to win.”  It’s a refusing-to-blame-injuries-and illness belief system he’s had to put to good use since the team’s best player Derrick Rose tore up his knee in last year’s playoffs (still hasn’t returned to action); and throughout this year’s season and now playoffs.

The Bulls beat the Nets on the road in seven games despite two starting players out with injury/illness for games 6 and 7 and several others playing with the flu (garbage pails were needed on the bench in game six for at least one player to umm, get sick in).  Chicago has a deep and talented team, but their depleted-roster victory can also be credited to the Nets’ poor performance.  Really, Chicago had no business winning the series.

But, this isn’t a sports story.

It’s a lesson about the power of team attitude, mindset and culture.

Check out this quote from Bulls player Jimmy Butler, courtesy of ESPNChicago.com:

“I think whenever you hear it enough each and every day, you start to buy into it.  Thibs [Coach Tom Thibodeau] is constantly saying that, we’re constantly saying that. And we know that we have enough to win because even though (our injured teammates) aren’t on the court with us, they’re with us spiritually. Whenever we come into that locker room, they’re saying things that they see from the TV. They’re always helping, just maybe not physically out there on the court with us.”

Let’s say your organization has to operate without your best competitive asset and a 40% budget reduction (analogous to the Bulls situation versus the Nets). Continue reading →

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Posted in Leadership & Coaching, Video

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Canadian Sports Retailer Delivers Value with Hi-Tech, Not Low Price

Posted on May 1, 2013 | Leave a comment

“Brands may need to perform an even tougher trick: redefining their own definition of value to one that’s additive.  When not reduced to the question of price, value speaks directly to what benefits a product or service adds to a customer’s life.”    Maureen Morrison and Matthew Creamer in Advertising Age)

There’s more to value than just low price.

Canadian sports retailer Sport Chek believes that.  It’s going high-tech to create what it hopes will be a unique customer buying experience.

Photo: Sport Chek Facebook.

Photo: Sport Chek Facebook.

Sport Chek recently unveiled a technologically souped-up retail store in Toronto that will serve as a living retail laboratory to bring shopping innovation to all of its 163 stores.

Sport Check is leveraging a fundamental shopper insight to battle the “showrooming” phenomenon enabled by website retailing:

Online shopping is great except you can’t always see the product fully, and it’s difficult to experience the product completely because you can’t touch and feel the item.

So, it’s bringing a 360-degree integrated marketing experience to Canadian sporting goods buyers.  It’s convergence, the best of all worlds - see it, touch it, try it, customize it, order it, take it home - all in the same place. Continue reading →

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Posted in Differentiation, Go-To-Market Strategy/Philosophy, Positioning, Technology & Marketing, Video

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What the Marines Can Teach Business Leaders

Posted on April 24, 2013 | Leave a comment

“I wish there was a book I could read that would tell me what to do.” (former brand management colleague)

As soon as I heard these words, I knew her days at our company were numbered.

They were, and it was a shame.  She was a new, junior marketer with an MBA from one of the best universities, and clearly a bright person.  At the same time, though, she was not cut out for the rough and tumble world of brand management, at least not in that company at that time.

One of the most prized business capabilities is being able to think on your feet, to take basic knowledge and principles and to be able to apply them in new and challenging situations.  As my former colleague learned, magic instructions rarely exist.  Notwithstanding training and coaching, you’ve got to figure it out!

The challenge is how to develop these capabilities.

Corps BusinessThere’s much good learning from the book Corps Business: The 30 Management Principles of the U.S. Marines (David H. Freedman).  It’s an easy read and contains excellent lessons and/or reminders for marketers and business leaders.

Consider this.  If you were given an inside opportunity to learn from this company, wouldn’t you want to?

[They] ”have specialized in operating under chaotic, fast changing, high-intensity conditions that provide not only little way of knowing what the opposition is going to throw at you but perhaps no way of knowing exactly who the opposition is going to be.”

Hell yes!

I’ve previously written about Principle 1, Aim for the 70-Percent Solution:  ”It’s better to decide quickly on an imperfect plan than to roll out a perfect plan when it’s too late.”

You can learn all 30 principles and more in the book.

In the meantime, I’ve organized 8 Key Nuggets and highlighted 3 More Principles that particularly resonated for me.

1.  Keep Getting Better

“No matter how good the Marines get at any aspect of their mission, they never consider themselves to have reached a pinnacle.  They always suspect that somehow there’s a better way to do things.”

2.  Foster a Climate of Action

“But it does want its people to be bold – that is, to take initiative and, when in doubt, to act rather than mull things over while critical events are unfolding.” Continue reading →

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Posted in Book Insights, Leadership & Coaching, Strategic Marketing

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NY Hospital Goes Too Far with Case Study Marketing

Posted on April 17, 2013 | 1 Comment

Just because you can tell a story doesn’t mean you should.

In recent years, medical professionals and hospital systems have begun to market directly to consumers, with mixed results I’m sure.  For instance, my dentist has an annual photo contest – maybe that helps build engagement and loyalty, I don’t know.

On a bigger scale, we see the venerable yet still effective “case study” tactic being utilized.

Most of the time, the ad features a person who has significantly benefited, or maybe even had her life saved, due to the great professionals and technology of XYZ medical system.  There’s merit to this approach.  It helps create awareness, builds capability recognition and possibly influences the provider selection decision-making process.

However, it can go too far.

In my mind, a new ad for NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital crosses the line and becomes ”no, they shouldn’t have done that.”

But first, you watch the ad.

Part one of the story is terrific.  The hospital’s doctors have miraculously saved the boy.  Unfortunately, it’s only temporary. Continue reading →

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Posted in Advertising, Branding, Content Marketing, Positioning, Video

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Arrow Electronics Uses NCAA Hoops to Rollout B2B Corporate Branding

Posted on April 10, 2013 | 1 Comment

I love college basketball and marketing.

That’s why I quickly grabbed my smartphone to learn more about Arrow Electronics after seeing their new Innovator’s Club commercial Saturday night during the NCAA Final Four men’s semifinal basketball game.

Photo: Arrow Electronics website.

Photo: Arrow Electronics website.

I needed to know more about who they were, what they were doing and why they decided to unveil a major new branding campaign during the Final Four.

After all, when a $20 billion company launches a branding campaign, I’m interested.

Arrow’s marketing is yet another example of a B2B company using consumer marketing channels to reach a business audience.  That’s smart, though, as both audiences and communication vehicles continue to converge.

But, I’m still trying to figure out exactly what they’re doing.  There are multiple objectives and you have to work a bit to make sense of and truly understand the depth of the communication (e.g., enabling “five years out” innovation).  One question:  will customers make the time to engage with the Arrow brand?

Oh, the launch ad is captivating and beautifully produced.

You can watch more of the campaign on Arrow’s YouTube page.

The company’s marketing chief described the strategy: Continue reading →

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Posted in Advertising, Branding, Positioning, Strategic Marketing, Video

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