| 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.
|