Category Archives: Marketing

Casey Flanagan

Are You Ready For Some (Lessons From A) Football (Coach)?

Posted: by Filed under: Ideas, Marketing

Marketers pay close attention to the Super Bowl. Countless stats, charts and opinions are shared leading up to the big game. But a more valuable lesson may be learned on a football field hundreds of miles away. In front of a billion fewer fans.

Kevin Kelly is the football coach of Pulaski Academy in Little Rock, Arkansas. He has changed the way the game is played. He’s done it by looking at the numbers. And focusing on the big picture. He thinks in averages, not individual outcomes.

He’s found that if his team punts the ball, he is only decreasing the other team’s likelihood to score by 15%. So his team doesn’t punt. They go for it. He likes those odds better.

He’s found that the difference in the opposing team’s starting field position between an onside kick and a regular kick off is fourteen yards. So his team’s kickoffs are always onside. He’d rather give up those yards to have a chance to recover the ball. He likes those odds better.

An added bonus? Not only do the numbers make sense for him, but it forces the competition to change the way they play. And, oh by the way, he’s won three state championships in the last nine years.

Using the data to buck conventional wisdom. To make your own rules. To force others to react. Those are the types of lessons marketers could use more of.

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Casey Flanagan

How To Start Simple: Just Start

Posted: by Filed under: Branding, How To, Ideas, Marketing, Tracking

Two weeks ago, I wrote a post titled “Start Simple.” My focus was on the word “simple.” Equal attention should be given to the word “start.”

Starting is hard. It’s hard because if you haven’t done it, you won’t know what it’s going to take. Or where it’s going to lead.

A case in point comes from the eMarketer webinar I attended earlier this week – “Measuring Social Media Success.” 39% of worldwide retailers don’t measure social media marketing.

I’ve not talked to those 39%, but I would bet they haven’t started because they don’t know the right way.

Here’s the secret: There isn’t one way.

Now, there is a right way for your company. But your organization’s culture, available resources, strategic vision and short-term goals – among other things – must all be considered. And the only way to figure out that “right way?” It’s simple. Start.

Prototyping isn’t just for products. It can be used for research methodologies. For ideas. And even for processes. Processes like “Measuring Social Media Success.”

Start by being clear on goals and objectives. Start by articulating the right questions. And then start figuring out the right answers from there.

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Casey Flanagan

Start Simple

Posted: by Filed under: Advertising, Branding, Ideas, Marketing

A New Year’s Resolution: Start Simple.

It’s a new year. A new beginning. A fresh start.

Start simple.

Simple demands a premium price.

Simple builds loyalty.

Simple creates clarity.

Simple encourages authority.

Simple facilitates buy-in.

Simple cuts through clutter.

Simple sparks action.

And, yes, simple can move mountains.

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Casey Flanagan

For Every Efficiency You Find, Find Two Ways To Add Value.

Posted: by Filed under: Branding, Ideas, Marketing

Want to change the game this year? Instead of just finding efficiencies, find ways to add value.

From messaging to product design, brands that add value are the ones that have the most enviable relationships with their customers. Brands that simplify the experience are the ones that engender loyalty. Brands that pay attention to both their look and their feel are the ones we’ll feel good about without knowing why.

Sure, you can cut a little here and a little there. And you should. But doing so won’t get you introduced to people who have no idea you exist. It certainly won’t get you re-considered by those who have written you off. It might not even change the way your current customers think, much less behave. Clearly defined value can get the attention that can get you all three.

Finding efficiencies can make your sales funnel more efficient. And that’s important. But adding value can change your funnel. Fundamentally. And for the better.

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Casey Flanagan

A Healthy Approach To Change: Comfort as a means to Confidence

Posted: by Filed under: Branding, Ideas, Marketing

I’ve written about the topic of change for the last two weeks. First, about how the New Normal in the business world is to acknowledge the fact that change is reality, but not the realities of change. And, then, last week on the value of risk and change.

As with most things, there is a second side to this coin. Change is not always the right choice. Certainly not change for the sake of change.

As data becomes more real-time and more omnipresent, it will be easier and easier to justify tweaks, evolutions and outright changes. But while optimization is essential, consistency matters.

The best change is sometimes the one you don’t make. Struggling brands, especially, tend to lack an organizing concept they can own. Which results in more changes. Which results in less of a cohesive reason for being. Which likely leads to more changes. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.

Change is a concept that is too often feared (ex: “It ain’t broke”) or too fully embraced (ex: Bright Shiny Object Syndrome). My bottom line? The ideal is decision makers who feel comfortable enough making changes that they can be confident not making them.

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Casey Flanagan

Brand Strategy 101: The Value of Risk and Change

Posted: by Filed under: Brand Strategy 101, Ideas, Marketing

[This is part of a continuing series called Brand Strategy 101 – 101 “revolutionary ways” to build a strong brand.]

“It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory.”

It sounds like something that a baron of the social media industry would say. And, that’s not far off. A few weeks ago, Mark Zuckerberg spoke at Stanford and said that he felt many businesses act too slowly and are scared to take risks. He went on to say that in such a fast-paced world, the biggest risk is not to take any risk and ultimately watching technology and the industry pass you by.

But that original quote came from W. Edwards Deming. Who passed away in 1993 –years before this most recent technology tide swept us away again. His words are, however, perhaps more prescient today than ever. And the fact that business leaders still feel a need to pontificate on it is a powerful reminder of the times in which we live.

Last week, I wrote about The New Normal for Business. And that constant change around a brand may actually discourage a brand to change. This month’s Fast Company has an interesting collection of perspectives on Risk.

My bottom line: The old way of doing things is only safe until it’s sorry.

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Casey Flanagan

Brand Strategy 101: Get Local.

Posted: by Filed under: Brand Strategy 101, Healthcare, Ideas, Marketing

[This is part of a continuing series called Brand Strategy 101 – 101 “revolutionary ways” to build a strong brand.]

There is an old adage, “I hate congress, but I love my congressman.” All politics is, indeed, local.

But congress represents only one instance of this phenomenon. Brands are affected, too.

Case in point, according to a Thomson Reuters HealthView survey, 58% of adults say if their preferred hospital received a below-average rating for clinical quality, they would change hospitals. But only 24% of consumers say they would change physicians if their preferred physician received a below-average rating for clinical quality. That’s twice as many people willing to make a move from their hospital as their doctor.

From Congress to Healthcare, everything is local.

So whether you are congress, a healthcare organization or any other player in any other industry — insurance, financial planning, B2B — get local. Build relationships. Make it easy for your consumers to have a meaningful, tangible experience. Doing so encourages your consumer to love you, even if they don’t love everything about your world.

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Casey Flanagan

Innovation, Innumeracy and Imagination

Posted: by Filed under: Ideas, Marketing, Planning / Research, Tracking

I am constantly amazed – and somewhat saddened – that numbers are allowed to be used as the weapon of choice in most incidents of Death By PowerPoint. “Professor Plum, with the 123 pages of graphs, in the conference room….”

In 1990, mathematician John Allen Paulos wrote a book called Innumeracy: Mathematical Illiteracy and its Consequences. His point? Illiteracy has an equally devious sibling in the world of numbers.

As a result, numbers are far too often used for mere reporting and far too rarely used to tell stories. I think we should take the opposite approach – and use Innumeracy as an opportunity.

An opportunity to innovate. To rethink and reframe. The fact that too many eyes glaze over at the introduction of charts and graphs should not be a reason to either (a) get rid of charts and / or graphs or (b) accept subpar charts and / or graphs.

There is no one way to present numbers because there is no one way to understand numbers. So don’t feel that you have to present them one way. Strive to use numbers as a way to capture someone’s imagination. Two recent examples that captured mine:

Videos On YouTube: Earlier this year, YouTube celebrated its sixth birthday. At the time, it was announced that 48 hours of video are now uploaded to YouTube every minute. Impressive. But what does that mean? Think about it this way: More video is uploaded in two months than the three major U.S. networks (ABC, CBS, NBC) combined created in six decades. Wow. I get it. And I’ve already told someone about it.

Time Spent On Facebook: It should come as no surprise to anyone that a good deal of time is spent on social networks. One widely reported statistic? Americans spend one quarter of their online time on social networks. That sounds like a big number. But @sarahvanelzen posed it this way to me yesterday: People spend 1.3 million years on Facebook every month. Wow. I get it. And I’ve already told someone about it.

As “big data” becomes the office-equivalent of a household word, we have an opportunity to make numbers meaningful. We should start by using them for what they are good for – telling stories.

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Casey Flanagan

Brands In The Blue Zone: Have A Purpose #iha2011am

Posted: by Filed under: Branding, How To, Ideas, Marketing

I had the pleasure of speaking at the Iowa Hospital Association this week in Des Moines. My talk “Does Hospital-Defined Quality Matter In A Consumer-Defined World?” built off some of the themes we discussed at last year’s SHSMD conference.

I also had the opportunity to see National Geographic writer and best-selling author, Dan Buettner speak about his concept of Blue Zones. Blue Zones are the parts of the world where people live the longest and report the highest levels of well-being. His passion for the topic and ideas about how to turn the tides of public health were inspiring and, as importantly, actionable. Buettner had nine keys for living longer and living better.

One of his keys in particular got me thinking about Blue Zones for brands. Buettner reported people who Know Their Purpose live an average of seven years longer than those who don’t. And they don’t just live longer, they live healthier lives. I think the same applies to brands.

Author Jim Collins would agree. He found that purpose-driven companies outperformed traditional ones by up to 7:1.

Defining your purpose needn’t be complicated nor, necessarily, pious. Knowing your purpose comes down to knowing your values, your passions and your talents. Figure out how to share them consistently. And start enjoying a longer, healthier “life” than your competition.

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Casey Flanagan

A New Strategic Imperative: Being Proactively Reactive

Posted: by Filed under: Branding, Ideas, Marketing

I wrote last week about the “pro’s” of reactivity – specifically in regards to customer service. It opened up a bigger discussion at the office about how being ready to be reactive is increasingly more important across disciplines. In The Age Of Engagement, we are required to react more quickly than ever before. So thinking about being proactively reactive makes good sense for all decision makers.

“What are we going to do?” (don’t stop here)
“How will our competitors react?” (don’t stop here)
“How might we react to that?” (repeat step two)

Physics teaches us that every action has an equal and opposite reaction. But what a lot of companies don’t do is anticipate how competitors will react to what they do so they can counter react. You cut your price, competitor cuts their price. You add a feature, competitor adds a feature. But what comes next?

Focusing on the short-term is a necessary part of any account or brand manager’s job. The day-to-day is designed to fill up your every day. The short run wins. A lot. But most winning brands keep an eye on the horizon. Seth Godin has a great line:

There really isn’t much a of ‘short run’. It quickly becomes yesterday. The long run, on the other hand, sticks around for quite a while.

Being proactively reactive? It can mean the difference between “becoming yesterday” and “sticking around for quite a while.”

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