Tag: Marketing

Portraying Advertising, Marketing as the Bad Guys

A love story 4 minute animation from Chipotle Mexican Grill to launch their new marketing campaign.
A love story 4 minute animation from Chipotle Mexican Grill to launch their new marketing campaign.

I just watched the 4 minute Chipotle animation that launches their new marketing strategy.  It was just posted about 2 months ago and has 7 million views. After a week, it had 4 million views.

It’s about business competitors trying to out do each other and ends as a love affair with sensible food.

Is the point of this video that marketing, advertising and promotion helps you to lose site of your values?  In this video the marketing and advertising influences are portrayed as the villain in the story.

Portraying Advertising as the Cause

Marketing is demonized by plenty of people, not just this video.  Is it really the fault of marketing?!?!

Is marketing the problem with the fast food industry? Marketing made them put food additives into the food?

Maybe I’m missing something, but I never thought the problems at Chipotle were about excessive advertising and marketing.

Their website outlines the outbreaks in 2015 in a very straightforward crisis communications manner. Social media has rumors of an unscrupulous conspiracy designed to give them a bad name.

Maybe I missed something. Was there a secret love affair gone bad that caused the rumors (or fact) of health problems due to food?

Are they trying to redirect and blur their story?

Is this love story actually the story of how Chipolte was founded?

What is the strategy behind this animation?

Obviouly I have more questions than answers about this subject.

I originally wrote this post a few days after the short video was released, but didn’t publish it. I waited because I thought I might figure it out. Instead, I’m throwing this out to my readers to explain it to me. 

What’s the deal with this… I just don’t get it? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

 

Should a Blog be part of your Marketing Program?

In 1997, when I worked at a large corporation, I remember the marketing discussions “Do we really need a website?”  “We have the 800 number, why do we need a website?”  “If we do, who is in charge of it? How do we do it? What are we trying to accomplish with it?”

Now I am hearing the same questions about blogs.

Is the idea of a blog as a tool in your marketing program met with a nervous laugh?  Take a look at this video clip of business leaders Tom Peters (best selling author, management visionary) and Seth Godin (marketing guru), because it tells another story.

Tom Peters: My first post was in August 2004. No single thing in the last 15 years professionally has been more important to my life than blogging. It has changed my life. it has changed my perspective, it has changed my intellictualual outlook. It’s changed my emotional outlook.. (And it’s the best damn marketing tool by an order of magnitude I’ve ever had.)

Seth Godin: And it’s free.

Tom Peters: And it’s free.

Hat tip to Blog Squad’s Denise Wakeman for her post “Tom Peters says it’s the Best Damn Marketing Tool”.

Mack Collier of The Viral Garden explained it to me this way:

How can I convince a client whose only exposure to blogging is his teenager’s MySpace antics?

By telling them that it gives your company a human voice, and it helps you understand what your customers want, and it helps your customers understand what you can give them.

And add that people will buy from companies that listen to them and reach out to them, and that’s what a blog does.

Is your company still just considering a blog? Are you thinking about using a blog for your business marketing program? Or have you started to answer the questions to get this marketing tool moving and building a community?

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An Example of 7 Best Practices on How to Market Your Business with a Video Testimonial

Gathering and using testimonials for marketing your business can be challenging but I’ve found a video testimonial that is a really great example of how to do it right.

There are several things I really like about the way MMG (McLellan Marketing Group in Des Moines, Iowa) has used their clients testimonials this video.

Video Testimonial Best Practices:

  1. Fast lead in about the company, getting right to the “meat” of the video.
  2. Used a similar background, but slightly different for each client, so you could focus on what they say, not the background.
  3. Someone off camera cued them with questions. (How does working with MMG make your work easier? Did your experience with MMG match your expectations? How is MMG a value to your organization? What’s the biggest difference working with MMG over other marketing firms?)
  4. They had the client repeat or paraphrase the question “… What’s the one word I’d use to describe McLellan Marketing Group? Well, it’s two words actually…” Many of the answers reinforced their branding.
  5. The use of a character generator to type words over the bottom of the video to identify the person who is speaking. Adds credibility.
  6. While the client was talking, they edited the video to fade to a pan of the work that was done for that particular client, video brochure, ad campaigns, annual reports, newsletters, folders, rack cards, etc. Now it’s a portfolio plus testimonials!
  7. It was posted on YouTube. Not only does posting on YouTube make it easy to search and find… it made it easy for me to embed and promote them as well. Isn’t YouTube the biggest TV station in the world and you can run your commercials for free? And the people who are looking for a service like yours can find you in a search? What’s not to like?

What am I missing? What else do you see that Drew and Mark did right on this video testimonial?

More Marketing with Testimonials How-To Tips:

Giving and Getting References, Testimonials and Referrals
5 Tips for Getting Testimonials to Build Referrals
How to Get Testimonials
How to Use Testimonials on a Business Website

Available on Amazon: Age of Conversation2

If you bought it, please review it. If you haven’t had chance to order it, now’s your chance, it’s on Amazon.

The Age of Conversation2 is a resource of information and insights. Its a great gift to a business friend or associate who is talking about social media, web2.0 and blogging, but hasn’t got their arms around it yet. With 237 knowledgeable authors, this collaborative book is a must read. Plus, all the profits go to a Children’s Charity. Order the Age of Conversation2 from Amazon today.

How to Use LinkedIn for Networking, Building Business and Career Development

Special thanks to Bob Coppenhaver, a Strategic Marketing & Product Management expert who shared this PowerPoint in January 2009 at the Greater Cleveland Society for Association Executives (GCSAE) meeting.

He developed a great presentation about how to use LinkedIn for networking, building your business and career development.

It may give you a birds eye view about how to better use LinkedIn for building relationships with business professionals.

How do you currently use LinkedIn?

  • Do you have your profile on line?
  • Have you answered a question in your field of expertise?
  • Did you send invitations to link with former collegues?
  • Have you forwarded an introduction from one business associate to another?
  • Have you searched the company profiles for ones that match your target company profile?
  • Do you know how to look inside companies to find someone who one of your contacts already knows and can introduce you to?

Making connections on LinkedIn is effective because you can do some research before sending that original email or picking up the phone for calling someone.