A to Z of Marketing: Z - the Z Factor

At the end of the year ... as we come to the end of our series A to Z of Marketing ... what a perfect time to tell you about the Z Factor. The photo at the left shows the scene at Maple Creative. Yes, the office is decorated for Christmas and the holidays. Sure, we sent cards to our clients, vendors and friends of the firm. We even had a party, as many of you did.

What about those snowflakes? They are 297 in number. Each one is unique. The snowflakes are handmade, then hung with care throughout the entire Maple office suite. Mind you, all of this is done on top of the normal workload and end-of-year rush. To understand why we do it, is to understand the Z Factor.

In truth, officially there is no Z Factor. I just made it up a few hours ago. But stay with me--there is a lesson here, I promise.

Say that the X Factor is about outworking one's competition. Try harder. Work longer. Be more determined than the other company. Not the most creative approach, but still a source of competitive advantage.

Now, let's attribute the Y Factor to outsmarting the competition. Be more clever. Utilize more of the latest, most powerful technologies. Hire more talented people than the other guys. Beat 'em with your brainpower. Indeed! I heartily recommend such an approach.

And that leads us to the Z Factor. It's what we call "the Maple difference." The Z Factor is the most intangible of those intangible attributes. It is about passion and caring. The Z Factor is your environment, your attitude and your heart. The Z Factor case in question is caring so much about what you do (and those you do it with) that your are driven to display your passion by creating a visibly different and inspired environment. It's the spirit and passion behind 297 snowflakes. Discover and harness your Z Factor and your competition doesn't stand a chance. This is as applicable to marketing as it is to macrame. It is the ultimate competitive advantage.

[Incidentally, I cannot begin to express how much I have enjoyed the snowflakes
and the resulting environment. They are such a light, cheerful visual reminder
of the season and of the Maple esprit de corps. It's hard to be in a bad mood
dashing about the office, dodging snowflakes.]

To all of you, our beloved readers, those marketing geniuses around the world ... I invite you to discover and act upon your Z Factor in 2008. Bring it! If you have it already, please take a moment and share (spread) your inspiration with all of us; post a comment and tell us all about your Z Factor.

PS - Special thanks to Lora Franco and Ashley Rees, our little elves who hung most of the flakes. And thanks to our artists, whose origami prowess is nothing short of amazing.

A to Z of Marketing: Y - Yuengling

Yes, I like a good beer, especially one with character. Nothing compares to an ice cold, complex ale with a great aroma and a long finish. But that's not why I am telling you about Yuengling.

This is America's oldest beer, brewed in a very humble (take that to mean real) location--Pottsville, Pennsylvania. It remains a family-owned business, dating back to 1829, and is run by a real, hands-on, shirtsleeves-rolled-up sort of owner, Dick Yuengling. He is not a paper-thin, glamorous PR superstar. How cool is that!

And that is a perfect segue into the marketing significance. The story here is that Yuengling is real. It is genuine. The brand and its products reflect the personality, commitment and style of its owners. Yeungling is a brand that is rooted in reality. And in today's over-hyped, glitz-and-glamour, built-to-flip world, real brands are refreshing. Yuengling has steadliy grown its sales over the past decade (more than 25% in fact) without flashy advertising and without hype.

So how has this brand become noteworthy? How has Yuengling grown? Why do I even know about it? (Aside from the fact that I have a couple good friends from Eastern Pa.) Why does my buddy Kerry refer to it as "that golden nectar"? Well, there are a few good reasons.

Primarily, the company has been consistently dedicated to making a great quality of beer. That's the first part. Secondly, Yuengling has had the courage and vision to innovate. No, they have not changed rapidly or whimsically; instead they have changed strategically. For example, to survive Prohibition, it switched production to "almost beer." And when competitors began mass producing lighter beers, Yuengling spotted an opening and filled the niche by introducing more flavorful, richer brews. Finally, Yuengling has benefited from some well-deserved and long overdue earned media coverage. The chart above shows the huge rise in awareness of this brand when a New York Times feature was published (May 2005).

So what's the lesson here? Reality reigns supreme. Consistently great brands prevail. Slow, steady growth sustains companies and brands over decades. That's real success. And that is real great beer!

A to Z of Marketing: X is for Mulitply

Marketing is a system of strategic tactics and processes utilized to create an environment in which sales flourish.

Sales flourish. That's a phrase worth repeating. Sounds damn good, doesn't it!

Are your sales flourishing?

Sales is very often a one-to-one process. One sales call ... one order.

Same with word of mouth. One-to-one. It's a slow process. One person to the next. And so on.

Enter marketing. Marketing is the great multiplier. Good, smart marketing multiplies the sales results. Marketing accelerates the Word-of-Mouth referral process, like pouring kerosene on a fire. (I'll admit that I have never poured kerosene on anything.)

Marketing even has the power to compress the sales cycle. It can reduce the number of sales calls required to get from "Who are you?" to "Did you receive my purchase order on e-mail this morning?" Thus, marketing can also be a very welcome divisor. But there's not a letter from our alphabet that represents division, now is there. And then, after all, this is about the letter X.

Oh --- and while we're on X ...

Merry X-mas to marketing geniuses around the globe! We appreciate you and are glad to have you as part of our community.

A to Z of Marketing – W is for “Wow” Factor

On a scale of 1 to 10, what’s the “Wow” Factor of your marketing? If you don’t know, here’s a test.

- Has someone approached you in the past four months to comment on one of your marketing touchpoints? (See T is for Touchpoints below)

- Have you been genuinely excited by your own marketing lately, i.e. the kind of rush that keeps you working until 4am and you love every minute of it?

- Have you embarked on a marketing idea lately that’s so unique, it’s bound to generate some buzz?

If you answered “No” to all of the above, think about this: Your message is just one of thousands your customers see every single day. If you want to rise above the noise, you’ve got to do something that makes them say “Wow!”

At Maple, our company Christmas card was a compilation CD of staff musings, quotes, a paranoid rant about monkeys and a ridiculous beat poem by yours truly. Yes, it’s out there, but it’s also making people talk. It’s “wow”.

I recently put wraps for one of our clients, an accountant and business advisory firm, on the elevator doors at our regional mall. An usual move for CPAs, sure, but one that has the holiday crowd stopping for a second look.

In the post below, Skip asked about your marketing flops. I want to know about your marketing “Wows”. Please share your most successful, over-the-top “Wow” stories. We’d love to hear them.

P.S. Marketing guru and “Wow” advocate Tom Peters encourages his readers to ask, “Is it Wow?” before sending ANY work off into the world. Food for thought....

What's Your Biggest Marketing Flop?

I usually ask my audience this question whenever I do a training seminar or speaking engagement: "What is your biggest marketing flop?"

Here's a snapshot of responses from a recent group--

I placed a single ad in the newspaper to promote an event. Received zero response.

Have not had any success from newspaper advertising.

We planned a private retail shopping party. From the RSVPs we thought we had 25 people coming and planned food, staff, etc., accordingly. Only two disinterested people showed up, and we did not sell one dollar's worth of merchandise.

When I was starting out in business, I got my first call from a reporter. I did not prepare, and the call caught me off guard. Needless to say, my message did not come across in the story as well as it should have.

I have not had any response to my "yellow page" ads.

Have you had any experiences like these? What could these folks have done differently? Let's hear from you marketing geniuses.

A to Z of Marketing – U is for Universal

This year, one of West Virginia’s long-standing Christmas tree farms began offering their trees online. As a result, a business that had only sold within a small radius now had their first customer in Hawaii.

Isn’t that great? The world really is flat.

In fact, the more business becomes universal, the more opportunity is out there for organizations that are positioned correctly. Think about it: What would make someone from Hawaii, who has a perfectly adequate selection of Christmas trees in their home state, want to buy one from half a continent away?

Here’s a better question: Is there anything so unique about your product or service that someone from across the country would seek you out?

I read an article recently about a marketing firm in Colorado that made a strategic decision to specialize in “play”, i.e. outdoor products, resorts, sports centers, sports teams, etc. Rather than promote itself as the usual “integrated, full-service marketing agency that acts as a strategic partner” to a host of different clients, this firm was so aligned with their brand that (among other things) it had a rock wall in the office and only hired staff that were proven “play” enthusiasts. Now, clients from around the world are coming to Colorado to meet and hire this expert team of marketing talent.

So… where are your clients coming from? If it’s only your city, your state or your region, you are missing a huge opportunity. Anyone can be a player in their hometown. It takes focus (i.e., a willingness to be the expert in something) to become a player in your industry.

A to Z of Marketing: T is for Touchpoints

Tag! You've just been touched by our brand. The Marketing Genius blog is one of many touchpoints for Maple Creative. And hey- we are thrilled that you're here!

A touchpoint is any interaction that you audience has with your brand. Each touchpoint is an opportunity. It can be a great, positive experience. Conversely a touchpoint can be disappointing or harmful, serving to detract from your brand and its perceived value.

Sure, your Web site is a touchpoint. And quite obviously, your office (or store) is a touchpoint, too. Sales reps are touchpoints, no doubt.

Following are a few other touchpoints that are easy to overlook:

Invoices and billing statements - Are these confusing and intricate? are they consistent with your brand identity? do they say, "Thank you"?


Voicemail greeting - Is it dull, plain and void of emotion? or is it unique and energetic?


Sponsorship presence and community outreach - Are these helping you to touch potential clients in the right venues and at the right time?


Former employees - What are these folks saying about your company and its leadership?


Vendors and suppliers - Are you perceived as paying your bills on time? Vendors talk ... and they have tremendous reach.


Tech support line or help desk - Do these represent your business well? Do they consistently fulfill the front-end promises that you are making ... or do they tend to disappoint?


Touchpoints can work for you--or against you. The case for most businesses is that some touchpoints are winning customers, while others are turning people off. It's rarely all or none.

Take an hour or two and map all of the touchpoints for your business. Evaluate each and every one on the list. Be sure to put yourself in the customer's (or prospect's) shoes. Better yet--get some external (i.e., real live customer) feedback on each touchpoint. Figure out which touchpoints need some TLC. Then, apply the leader's touch to fix or reinvent.

You may even find that you are lacking some touchpoints. For example, one client of ours felt that they weren't converting enough sales opportunities. They believed they need to add a couple helpful marketing touchpoints on the pre-sale side of things. The goal was to warm up the prospects, so that they are more informed and more inclined to do business, prior to the first sales contact. We helped them create those additional, informative touchpoints and the success rate grew! That's the midas touch that good marketing can deliver.

A to Z of Marketing: S is for Storytelling

Last weekend CBS Sunday Morning ran a profile of an elderly gentleman who has won car shows across the country. He doesn’t have the fastest car or the shiniest car, and he certainly doesn’t have the newest car. Frankly, it looks like a step above the Model T.

So why does he keep winning? Answer is, the story. The car might not have significant monetary value, but its story is priceless. A widower, this elderly man uses the car to keep memories of his late wife alive.

It picked up his wife on their first date more than six decades ago. It still holds the engraving from where she carved her name in the steering wheel. It has driven children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and now it’s come full circle. A man and his car -alone again.

We say it a lot here at Marketing Genius, but it’s worth saying again: All good marketing is storytelling.

So, what’s the story behind your product? Is it compelling? Does it make people care? Author Jeffrey Gitomer says that the heart and the wallet are connected. If you pull on people’s heartstrings, their wallet pops out. Blunt truth… but truth nonetheless.

A to Z of Marketing: R - Ready

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you marketing geniuses! Are you ready for Thanksgiving?

I hope that your enterprise is ready for your marketing. So many business owners make the mistake of launching their marketing campaign before they are ready.

Being ready means being prepared. It is having things organized and optimized. It's being set to win!

• Get your customer service staff ready before you launch a new promotion. Make sure they are trained and informed. Run them through the marketing campaign so that they will know what new customers have seen and will be discussing.

• Make your Web site ready, before you launch that flight of e-mail blasts. Have a landing page and dress up your home page copy. Be sure there's a call to action.

• Ensure that your inventory is ready to accommodate increased demand for featured items in retail promotions. Nobody likes "Sorry, we're out of that item."

• Check to see that your credit department (or service provider) is ready for a wave of new inquiries, prior to launching a new ad that touts your special financing program.

• Don't run an ad promoting your niche practice area when that particular group leader is going to be out on her two-week vacation--or immersed in a month-long, all-consuming client engagement. Make sure the service experts are ready and available.

• Ready your arsenal of response materials and sales collateral (brochures, case studies, testimonial sheets, sales slicks, white papers, proposal forms, folders, etc.) before you deploy the big, splashy sales promotion.

• Conduct the product and sales training before you run the ads for the new product.

• Do not market until you are ready. Just don't do it!

Every dollar spent on marketing a dysfunctional or poorly supported product or service is a dollar wasted. First, spend the time and the money fixing, informing, optimizing and preparing. Then, and only then, do the marketing. While this advice runs counter to the "just hurry up and put something out there" street wisdom of late, it is indisputably true--and it is what drives results. That's what you care about: being successful, not being trendy, right?

Now, let's get those Thanksgiving preparations complete before the guests start arriving! They are happy you invited them. They'll be even happier if you are ready for their arrival and prepared to provide a great Thanksgiving experience.

A to Z of Marketing: P - Perception

It doesn't matter what you think should be ... or hope for ... or wish that customers believed. It does not even matter what you think you know. What matters most--the only thing, really--is what prospective customers perceive about your company, its people and its product/service offering.

Perception is reality. That is the first law of marketing!

A to Z of Marketing - N: Not Me

N is for "Not Me."

As in ... "My Audience is Not Me."

Memorize this simple sentence. In fact, write it on a sticky note and post it on your bathroom mirror.

In my work as a marketing consultant, one of the most common mistakes that I observe is the tendency, especially by small business owners, to assume that one's audience is similar or the same as oneself. In psychology, this is known as an attribution error, which I covered many moons ago. But the lesson is worth revisiting.

Client is a big fan of Classic Rock.
Client believes that customers certainly must love classic rock, too.
Client thinks he should advertise on Classic Rock radio station.

Is this tactic good or bad? Truly, who knows until we examine some data, do some research.

How to proceed? First, get dialed in on your core customer profile. More female or male? How old? What household income level? What type of employment? Kids or empty nest? Where do they live? What do they do for fun? Where do they vacation? What do they drive? Where do they shop? And which media do they tend to consume or favor?

Once you've gained a clear, concrete understanding of your most important customer segments. Then, check the station's demographic index on Scarborough, or similar, reputable media evaluation tool. Is there a match? Does it fit? How well does it fit with your core customer(s)?

Once you know these answers, you'll know if the Classic Rock or the Classical station would be the better medium for reaching your audience.

What’s in a Marketing Plan Anyway?

OK Marketing Geniuses, since we’re coming upon the end of the year, I’m sure you’re getting your plans ready for 2008. What should they include? Here’s a few ideas:

Executive Summary – A one-page overview of where you are now and where you want to be at the end of the year.

Research – If you haven’t already done so, take the time to ask your customers and prospects how well you’re serving them and what you can do to improve. At the end of the year, ask them again and compare results. Who says marketing can’t be measured?

Goals & Objectives – Goals are what you’re going to do and objectives are how you’re going to do it.

Action Plan / Timeline – A breakdown of marketing initiatives per month. Combine old guard staples such as print, TV, and direct mail with a mix of banner ads, sponsorships, specialty items, etc.

Budget – How much will it take to actually put your action plan in action? How much contingency funds can you allocate for unforeseen (but important) marketing opportunities?

Earned Media – How are you going to get your business in the press this year? (The squeaky well gets the grease.)

Measurements of Success – Winning x number of clients, increasing Web traffic by x%, ect. When you understand what you’re trying to accomplish, it’s easy to know when you get there.

Happy planning!

A to Z of Marketing - M: Motivation

Don’t worry. I’m not going to channel Anthony Robbins here.

But the concept of motivation is essential to success in marketing.

Webster’s defines motive as something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act. To motivate is to provide with a motive.

Motivation often requires looking at things that others have overlooked. It requires taking nothing for granted. And it often spurs tremendous creativity.

What motivates your customer?

If you can’t answer that simple question your marketing plan is incomplete.

A to Z of Marketing - L: Look Like You're Worth It

Hey, we all know that in marketing impressions are everything. The first law of marketing speaks to this crucial fact: perception is reality. And that initial perception, i.e., first impression, is ultra-important.

At first look, are you perceived to be worthy of investment by your prospective customers? Do you look like you are worth it? They will not invest their dollars with you until you have invested in your own appearance ... your brand image, if you will.

Harry Beckwith says it best with this quote from his great book, Selling the Invisible:

"We invest in companies we believe in. And we know that others do the same.

"What impression do you make, then, when you appear to have invested very little in your own business--in your brochure, offices, business cards, presentations, advertisements? You're saying you lack confidence in your own enterprise. You are not confident enough to invest in yourself.

"What happens? If you--the person who knows more about your company than any prospect could--lack confidence in your business, why should your prospects put any faith in it?

"They shouldn't. And they don't.

"If you believe in your business, show it."

Indeed!

A to Z of Marketing - K: Know When to Hold ‘Em

Easy, trigger fingers!

I know it’s tempting to change an ad campaign that’s working because you’re tired of it. However, as David Ogilvy says, “Don’t even think about changing your campaign until your accountant gets tired of it.”

Yes, you may want to take on a mistress font or positioning statement, or add a burst of color that’s not in your palette, or run something totally outside your established look “just because.”

But when the urge to diverge strikes, remember that brand consistency is key to marketing success. Five years ago, it was estimated that the average prospect had to see your business name 6 times for it to make an impression that stuck. Today, that number has risen to 9.2.

With all the marketing noise we face everyday, it’s difficult to break through to customers. So make it easy for them to remember you by being unique in your message, but consistent in your delivery.

A to Z of Marketing - J is for Journey

No, not the Eighties rock band. But their most popular hit, "Don't Stop Believing," is not entirely off-message for this post.

Marketing is a journey. Marketing that brings results and drives business growth requires planning, research and preparation.

So how is marketing like a journey? Marketing is like hiking the Appalachian Trail from one end to the other. It is driving across the United States. It is a trip to Disneyland. It is Indiana Jones assembling the team and supplies to travel halfway around the globe in quest of the Lost Ark. (Okay, well maybe that one is a bit over the top.)

Marketing is not grabbing a pack of beef jerky and a stack of CDs and hopping in the car for a random road trip. Not one of us would attempt any of those important excursions without planning our routes, finding out what to pack, arranging for lodging, checking the weather and going to the bank. We might even make provisional plans: identifying an alternate route, arranging for pet care, adjusting the newspaper subscription and such. Your marketing is equally important. It is a journey and it requires preparation.

This analogy is directly attributable to embarking upon a marketing program for your business. Hey, there is a natural, almost innately human, desire to jump into action. Isn't that the street wisdom of today? Blink. Thin-slice. Nanoseconds. Just do it. Jump. (Now you're hearing Van Halen, aren't you? Sammy Hagar on vocals.)

Alas, "Jump" is absolutely the wrong "J-word." Jumping is impulsive and 99% of the time results in wasted money, wasted time and wasted effort. Jumping causes quick choices, almost always the wrong choices. Jumping created the ad that no one saw. It produced the direct-mail piece that did not pull responses. The jump represents those dollars you wish you had back.

Before anyone gets discouraged or begins to feel overburdened, let's clarify things a bit. Marketing is indeed a journey. Done right, done well, marketing requires preparation and planning. This preliminary work does not have to be terribly costly or time consuming. It just has to be done well.

Before you launch a new advertising campaign, take the time to plan how you will respond to new inquiries. Where will you direct the prospective customer? If to your Web site, is it ready? When is the last time you changed the home page? How will you handle the initial arrival? Will you direct them to a landing page? Overall, do you have the marketing and sales tools (case studies, brochures, demonstrations, testimonials and proposals) to persuade a potential new customer? Are provisions in place for tracking and measurement? How will you get them from interested to invested ... from curious to committed?

The answer: not by jumping, rather by planning for your successful marketing journey. Finally, as marketing geniuses know: don't stop believing in the power of intelligent, well planned marketing to drive the results that you need.

A to Z of Marketing: I is for Innovation

To succeed in business you have to change and adapt. That is very easy to say and hard as heck to do.



In addition, to remain successful you have to have the awareness to see and understand how your customer base is changing. With that awareness in mind, you can begin to adapt your product or service offering to cater to their needs and desires.



When Canaan Valley State Park was built, more than three decades ago, it was focused on the needs of customers. Those customers, the Post-War Cohort group and the Leading-Edge Baby Boomers, were very much into golf and tennis. Wisely, the state park was built with a half-dozen tennis courts, like the ones shown in the photo at left.



Fast forward to 2007, guess what percentage of vacationers play tennis? Only around 9%, according to credible estimates I've seen recently.

So that presents a considerable dilemma. Tennis courts are big. They occupy a large quantity of real estate. Today, every square inch of real estate in a resort or park has to be utilized toward creating a phenomenally great experience for your visitors. In essence, every piece of land, every asset, has to generate revenue. Anyone in the tourism business today had better figure out what kinds of things today's (younger) visitors get excited about. What are Gen-Xers and Millenials (Gen-Y) willing and eager to do, or try, or see? (Pay money to do.)




Well, one thing they love is adrenaline. What if you provided a place where they could bungee jump, spin around and hang upside-down in midair at 20 feet off the ground! Tell you what: the young man in the photo at left was loving it! (And so were his buddies. )


How about skateboarding? And rockwall climbing. Or paintball? Yep. Those things work. Now you're talking ... creating some interest and excitement!




So guess what! Our friends at Canaan Valley Resort State Park have taken 2/3 of the tennis courts, which were forgotten and underutilized anyway, and converted them.



From State Park to Skate Park!
















And from tennis balls to paint balls!



This is a superb example of real awareness and innovation. Truly impressive!

Kudos to the marketing geniuses at Canaan! They knew that in order to survive and thrive they had to innovate.

A to Z of Marketing - H is for History

This one is for all of the aspiring Marketing Geniuses out there who are looking for a way to stand out in a crowded business.

What do the following words mean to you?

“Lemon.”
“When you’re only Number 2, you try harder. Or else.”
“1984.”

The answer is that they are classic advertisements, still regarded as among the best in the field.

“Lemon” is the infamous Volkswagen ad that successfully launched the company in the United States.

“When you’re only Number 2, you try harder” is the campaign that, in the words of advertising legend David Ogilvy, “made life miserable for Hertz, who was Number 1.”

“1984” is the futuristic, game-changing television spot for Apple Computers.

Why is this important?

Because if you want to compete at the highest levels of this industry (or any industry for that matter), you have to understand its history. In other words, you have to know where the business has been to make sense of where it’s going. In fact, I strongly believe that this knowledge drills down to the heart of who is passionate about their profession and who is not.

To get started, check out ad bibles such as David Ogilvy’s Ogilvy on Advertising and Claude Hopkins’ Scientific Advertising. For more of a beach-read history, try Mary Wells Lawrence’s A Big Life in Advertising. There are plenty more to choose from of course…. the point is that you become the best by learning from the best.

A to Z of Marketing: G is for Generational Marketing Theory

Wouldn't it be cool if you could anticipate the type of photograph that will resonate with your audience?

How great would it be if you could use more powerful or more persuasive examples or stories with a given audience group?

What if you had some insight, in advance, about how a particular audience members will behave as consumers? Who might respond most favorably to a discount? By contrast, who might be more jazzed about a beefed-up warranty?

Looking at this proverbial marketer's wish list, all of these things are possible with generational marketing theory. Cool, huh!

Generational marketing theory, also known as cohort group theory, holds that humans are affected by certain life-shaping events that have a strong impact upon our beliefs, tastes and consumer tendencies. As we share these events at various times of our lives, especially during our adolescent or formative years, it causes us to become more alike with respect to our cohorts or generational peers. Without getting too deep into the theory, it also says that we are affected in similar fashion by government and media practices. Other societal factors play a role in this too: medicine, technology and the economy.

Now, what are some of these cohort groups? You'll recognize several--
Generation X
Leading-Edge Baby Boomers
Trailing-Edge Baby Boomers
Millenials or (Gen-Y)

In short, Generational Marketing Theory says that our world can be sorted into generational groups of people who share common hobbies, interests, thought processes, buying patterns and other behaviors, based upon their shared life experiences.

Consider how different the value systems of those who lived during the Great Depression are from those who lave lived their entire lives during prosperous periods. The theory begins to make sense, doesn't it?

Here's one, quick example: Gen-X versus Boomers - buying habits
Gen-Xers love to shop around and are very price conscious. They are voracious pre-shoppers and are masters at using the Internet to evaluate one offer versus another. In total contrast, Leading-Edge Boomers are very much driven by convenience. They are the utlimate impulse buyers. Big spenders, these Boomers see it and have to have it now.

Before you begin to shout, "Hey - don't stereotype me!" Please understand that this theory is only used for high-level shaping and direction. It is never definitive. Nor is it a replacement for research. The theory certainly understands and allows for individuality. Still, it is very useful.

There's more here on Generational Marketing Theory, should you wish to learn more.

For those marketing geniuses who really want to deep dive, go buy a copy of Defining Markets Defining Moments, by Geoffrey E. Meredith & Charles D. Schewe, PhD. Hungry Minds, Inc., New York, 2002.

A to Z of Marketing: F is for Flighting

Ready to double your exposure and your effective frequency, while not increasing your advertising campaign budget by even one extra dollar? The solution involves an easy, though not obvious, tactic called flighting.

Here's how flighting works. Let's say you have $48,000 to spend on advertising for one year. The average human would allocate the budget in even, equal increments. The monthly budget would be $4,000, right? That's just good common sense, no?

Yeah, well, that's one way to do it. But certainly not the smartest way.

The marketing genius knows to organize his campaign into strategic flights. Flighting is pretty simple, really. The basic concept is to concentrate your advertising around key periods. You keep the budget the same, but when you're on, you are on strong. When your are off the flight, you go completely dark. Your audience will perceive that you are advertising--even during the dark periods, since you have made a stronger impression with them during your intensive flights.

The savviest of national advertisers do this. McDonalds and Coke utilize flighted advertising. They do not advertise year-round; it just seems like they do. When is the last time you saw a Coke ad? Was it Super Bowl or holiday time? Was it during a championship sports season? Perhaps it was during an entertainment awards show? Point is: Coke doesn't advertise on any old mundane Monday in mid-summer. Neither does McDonalds. Nor does Nike.

Now. back to that $48,000 advertising budget. The marketing genius would find out the key seasons or opportunities for advertising and allocate the majority of his budget into flights that correspond to that time frame. Let's say that Fall and Spring are crucial times. Here's how a flighted campaign budget might look:

January - Dark
February - Dark
March - Dark
April - $8,000
May - $8,000
June - $8,000
July thru September - Dark
October - $8,000
November - $8,000
December - $8,000

Half the time--at the most important times--the advertiser will have the effect of twice the impact, or double the frequency. Who cares if no one sees you during weaker periods? They are probably not ready to buy anyway. Flighting is psychologically proven and cost productive. Flighting works. Try it on your next campaign, and watch your marketing results take flight!