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Article #54: The Power of High Voltage Marketing

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Persuasion, seduction, negotiation, and in the form of a mission statement, and
fear have lost their effectiveness to while many companies have written mission
clinch the deal, close the sale, and make statements, few live them. Many mission
cash registers ring. Whiter, brighter, statements boast noble virtues,
faster, and better -- while intriguing -- principles, and intentions, but it's
no longer motivate consumers to act. really profits that steer the corporate
Today's savvy marketers are shifting ship, and constituents know it.
strategies to more strongly connect with Smart companies realize that when they
customers; they are harnessing the power put employees, customers, and society
of the four Ps of high voltage first, profits follow. By creating
communications (TM) -- personhood, excellent work environments, they attract
purpose, persona, and presence -- to the best employees, and consumers will
promote their products, services, issues, choose them over competitors if they
and organizations. offer hiqh-quality products and excellent
Sick of the impersonal quality of much of service at a good price, and if they are
their daily lives, Americans are seeking socially responsible.
to reconnect and build stronger The last few years have seen an explosion
relationships. "In all walks of life, we in the field of corporate social
see a trend toward wanting to convert responsibility. Today, almost all big
impersonal transactions into personal companies have specific guidelines on
relations," reports famed futurist Daniel social responsibility and are consciously
Yankelovich. engaged in efforts to give back to
Connection, or the feeling of belonging, society.
is one of the top three human needs, Some call marketing with purpose "cause
according to psychologist Abraham Maslow, branding," and one of the country's
after physical needs. In our well-fed leading experts on cause branding is
society, almost all of our physiological Carol Cone, president of Boston-based
and safety needs are being met, but for Cone, Inc.
many the need for connection is not, and "As cause branding continues to evolve,
smart businesses are responding. so too will the public's expectations
The image of business today is being about the role companies play in
altered, says futurist Faith Popcorn in addressing societal needs. In the new
her bestselling book Clicking. "(Business reality, companies must implement
will be) no longer seen as a war to be meaningful, substantive programs around
won by trouncing the competition, but social issues to bring their values to
viewed as a complicated mosaic to be life, articulate their 'soul', and answer
developed, one relationship at a time." the question, 'What do you stand for?"
Sharp marketers forge stronger Cone says.
connections with their constituents by Those that do put their money where their
building deeper relationships that result mission is -- such as the BodyShop, Ben &
in trust, and this trust is built on the Jerry's, and Patogonia - are richly
four Ps of high voltage communications rewarded by consumers.
(TM) . Persona: Persona describes the masks we
Personhood: Personhood requires companies wear, or the image we assume, in order to
to be self-aware, self-accepting, and facilitate communication. In business, we
self-disclosing. In order to be call persona "branding."
self-aware and accepting, many marketers "Branding is merely establishing a
use a tool called "gap analysis." During relationship," says Charlotte Beers,
a gap analysis, research is conducted to former head of two of advertising's most
determine if a company's current prestigous brands, Ogilvy & Mather and J.
reputation matches its desired one: if it Walter Thompson. Much has been written on
doesn't, further research is required to branding and for good reason. Without it,
find out why. If it's because of a product, service, issue, or
consumers' perceptions, marketers know organization is no different than its
they must do a better job of promoting, competition and will die. But futurist
and if it's a real problem, they Melinda Davis predicts that the power of
understand changes must be made. the brand is waning. In its place, she
Personhood also requires being authentic says consumers will come to depend on new
and after too many recent corporate meta-brands that are idenified with a
scandals, being authentic has never been creed, or marketplace manifesto, and not
so important. tied into one product category. Davis
"In the current environment, it's time sites Oprah Winfrey as an example of this
for brands to rethink their basic brand emerging trend. Women interested in
foundation and consider adding a pillar bettering themselves turn to Oprah for
around trust. They must clarify their advice on a wide variety of issues from
company's values and synchronize them what recipe to cook to the right books to
with their customers' values," says Ed read. The Oprah meta-brand is also an
Keller, CEO of RoperASW, one the world's excellent example of high voltage
most respected market research firms. marketing (TM) because it possesses all
Smart marketers earn consumers' trust four Ps: personhood, purpose, persona,
when they are self-disclosing and/or and presence.
willing to make fun of themselves. A good Presence: Presence refers to the way a
example is when Jaguar confronted its company operates in the world including
reputation for mechanical problems and how it communicates with constituents. In
turned its business around by promoting, the past, marketers depended primarily on
"We kept what you loved. The rest is one-way communication vehicles such as
history." advertising and publicity. No longer.
By putting a face on a product, issue, or Consumers want a say. "(They) are hoping
organization, high voltage marketers (TM) to connect, to be heard, to be found - at
use personhood to personalize their least, to be seen - in a world that makes
products. But a pretty face is not us feel increasingly invisible," writes
enough; they are also using storytelling. Davis.
"The power of the story is upstaging the Experts suggest using two-way
power of the sound bite in advertising," communications vehicles such as
writes Melinda Davis in her book The New word-of-mouth marketing, the Internet,
Culture of Desire: Five Radical New and stronger consumer relations programs
Strategies That Will Change Your Business to dialog with consumers and build
and Your Life. A good story is more critical relationships.
personal and credible than a contrived Personhood, purpose, persona, and
advertising slogan, and we will remember presence are not linear, but
a story long after a catchy tagline has interrelated. Each depends on the other.
faded from our memory. Personhood, purpose, persona, and
Dave Thomas of Wendy's, Scottie Mayfield presence can be pictured as the four
of Mayfield Dairies, and Chrysler's Lee points of a cross that is contained
Ioccoa are good examples of how marketers within a circle. Personhood is at the
have used personhood to promote products. bottom of the cross where it grounds it;
These CEOs are comfortable talking about purpose is at the top. On the far left,
themselves and are able to connect their resides persona, and on the opposite axis
stories to customers' needs. is presence. Where the four points join
Personalizing and storytelling work in the middle, high voltage
because they help people form emotional communications (TM) take place, and it
bonds with the company and its products. is here that we are at our most powerful
Purpose: Most companies express purpose as marketers.






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