New Products Archives - Page 2 of 7 - Branding and Marketing

New Technologies Improve Marketing Products and Services

This past week I was impressed with two new technologies that makes marketing a new product or service better.

3-D Printing:
This 3-D printing looks like it is going to change a lot of things. Shipping is less than $7 and anyone can become a product designer by uploading their drawing. Very affordable one off prototypes at less than $2 per cm2 for most materials which you could probably source from places similar to Gumstix.com if you’re creating electronics.

The on demand industry changed self published books… In my opinion, this is going to change a lot more. Check out the apps with this link to Shapeways, the 3D printing marketplace and community where you can make your ideas real with 3D printing. This knocks out a giant barrier to entry for new products.

Have you tried this yet? If you have, please let me know how it worked out…

Augumented Reality:
The other day in the office we were talking about using NFC and augmented reality in marketing to explain complex engineering models or value propositions.

Found this video on YouTube showing a new Bert & Ernie toy that uses augmented reality. Sesame Street Augmented Reality Dolls Take AR to the Next Level.

To view the augmented reality from the toy, you just need a tablet or smartphone app.

Are you using any augmented reality campaigns in your marketing programs?

Is Marketing and Branding Responsible for Obesity in America?

As a marketer, at first I was upset, but now I feel there is a huge marketing opportunity.

When marketers hang their heads in shame - it’s an opportunity for NPD - new product development!

After reading The Extraordinary Science of Addictive Junk Foods called to my attention by Dr. Barbara Berkley, I realize there is a tremendous opportunity for new product development and marketing in the food industry.

Michael Moss details examples of the market research and marketing of products that consumers crave… which has resulted in the obesity epidemic:

“Discover what consumers want to buy and give it to them with both barrels. Sell more, keep your job! How do marketers often translate these ‘rules’ into action on food? Our limbic brains love sugar, fat, salt. . . . So formulate products to deliver these. Perhaps add low-cost ingredients to boost profit margins. Then ‘supersize’ to sell more. . . . And advertise/promote to lock in ‘heavy users.’ Plenty of guilt to go around here!”

The New Product Development Challenge:

To create and market healthy (low fat, low sugar and low sodium) convenient foods that deliver a balance of vitamin/minerals AND tastes good.

Intellectually we can know certain foods are “not good” for us, but they taste so good, they become hard to resist. Addicting actually.

In the last 5 years I’ve been trying to focus on becoming more healthy, learning how to how to change my eating habits and exercise behavior. It’s amazing how easy and difficult at the same time it can be.

With the Obesity Epidemic in the United States soaring, (almost 70% of the USA is overweight or obese) I know I’m not the only marketing professional concerned with this! I believe that there is a tremendous marketing opportunity here. As marketers, we must figure out a way to market the healthy food better.

The secret to making it happen? Follow the money. Some QSR and casual dining restaurants are finding that healthier choices improve sales.

Comments please!

New Pizza Product Introduction Success Uses a Variety of Non Traditional Marketing Tools

A few weeks ago, I met Greg Getzinger when I was talking with a group of about 35 entrepreneurs as part of a business speaker series to help new business owners learn more about branding and marketing their business. Greg is the owner of Portion Padl, a new product that helps people cut a pizza into exact sizes.

He has used a number of innovative techniques to market his unique product (which has been submitted to the patent office) to other businesses who are in the pizza delivery industry.

ADVERTISING SPECIALTY: By working with the largest national distributor of frozen pizzas to school systems he created a custom made paddle and imprinted the handle with distributor’s logo as an advertising specialty item as a prize in a rewards program for dietitians. The schools loved the product! When it comes to marketing for schools education marketing strategies are the way to go! Next thing Greg knew, the schools were calling to find out where they could get more portion paddles. Most important takeaway: Instead of marketing to all the individual schools all over the country, he was able to market once to the largest distributor and get sampling through an advertising specialty program.
YOUTUBE: He has almost 2000 views of his product in a pizza video on YouTube that shows the benefits of using the product. Using simple editing techniques, he was able to superimposed text to point out the benefits to pizza shop owners of using the product. (First Day Employees Cut Equal Sizes of Pizza Easily.)
PRESS RELEASES: He’s used a variety of milestones as the headline for his press releases and distributed them on the internet.
PROMOTIONAL PLACEMENT: The product received promotional placement by starring in a Speedway Commercial which helps build awareness of the new product.
BLOG: Greg’s business partner, Andrew Spriegel, uses the power of self publishing to tell the story in his blog where he promotes his customers’ success with the product and keeps his website fresh.
AMAZON- Although his product was developed for professional use at pizza shops and commercial kitchens, he sells it to consumers as well through a link on his website to his product page on Amazon.

Greg and Andrew are using all of these techniques to build their branding and marketing for the Portion Padl.

Of these six sales and marketing techniques for launching a new product, which ones do you think you should use for bringing your new product or service to market?

Improve Your Marketing Results - A/B Case Study Results

Ever wonder which version of a website landing page or an email subject headline would deliver better results?

If so, you might be interested in checking out this library of “A/B and Multivariate testing” case study results. They have almost 300 case studies of real life examples. You can sign up for a 90 day trial for $25 or a full year for only $75.

Wonder which one of those offers wins — the 90 day or full year?

EDITOR’S NOTE:I have no affiliation with “Which Test Won” and am not receiving any money or in kind benefits from this post. I just thought it would be helpful to business professionals trying to improve their marketing programs.

3 Steps to Improve Your Marketing Message

Are you struggling to fit all your copy into your ads and sell sheets? Wondering why you’re putting so much money into marketing and not getting the return on investment that you’d expect? Consider taking these three steps to improve your marketing message.

1) Get clear on the basics:

Strategic Pyramid

Before your marketing can be clear, your company’s overall purpose, mission and vision need to be. Marty Neumeier from the Liquid Brand Agency explains it in “Steal this Idea” about the Strategic Pyramid.

2) Boil it down:

Barbara Berkley used it when fighting a road-widening battle with her county government by using what her friend Tony describes as the 27/9/3 approach:

When we looked at him blankly, Tony explained that a 27/9/3 was a way of putting complex thoughts into short form.

“When you knock on a door”, he explained “or give a quote to the press, or talk to someone on the street, you have about 27 seconds of their attention. In this time span, you’ve got to have 9 words that express 3 key concepts. Any more and you’ve lost them. And your 27/9/3 has to be standardized. Every member of the group has to have the same mantra.”

3) Make It a Repeatable Mantra:

Guy Kawasaki echoes the idea that a short and memorable message needs to be repeatable and says “the ultimate test…is if your telephone operators can tell you what it is.”

Does your marketing message focus on our mission and purpose? Does it fit the 27/9/3 rule? Is it repeatable by everyone in your company?

Extra: Which companies had these as their marketing slogans?
A) Where’s the Beef?
B) Just Do It.
C) I’m Loving It.
D) You Deserve a Break Today
E) Absolutely, Positively Overnight.
F) I Can’t believe I ate the Whole Thing
G) The Quicker Picker Upper