Cracker: Get off This, Virgin

I have to admit that I don’t pay attention to Tuesday’s new release schedule with the fervor and passion that I used to in high school and college. Perhaps, I’m getting older, or spending to much time in the iTunes, the iTunes store, or on Pandora. But, I saw this about Cracker on Seth Godin’s blog and thought I’d share. Cracker, who had a bit of a falling out with Virgin Records pulled a pretty funny stunt. Virgin, working to get more dollars out of the Cracker catalog, releases greatest hits album. Well, Cracker, on their new/own label, returns the favor by releasing Greatest Hits: Redux on the same day. The redux version has the same track listing. The twist? Redux has re-recorded versions of each song. Which one do think fans would purchase? It’s almost as entertaining as the Wilco saga with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Coincidently, Wilco and Cracker are two of my favorite bands and the way in which they've conducted themselves in the face of the record companies only strengthens my emotional connection to these bands. Oh, and I did by a copy of Redux on iTunes?

The marketing take-aways:
1. Don’t be jerks
2. Understand the power of community

A rising Tide of insult

Honorary field agent Rebecca, points us to Susan's recent post about Tide. When 25% more is well, kind of like 25% more than a container that doesn't have as much... How much more does it cost? Twenty-five percent more, silly.

In college, my brother worked for Bed, Bath & Beyond. Their circulars that would appear in the Sunday paper made it seem like something was on sale, but they were simply promoting awareness, but hoped that Ma & Pa Sucker would think that the promotion provided great savings.

Blogs & Flogs

Wal*Mart is in the middle of another consumer-generated media SNAFU.

Web log = blog
Fake blog = flog
Wal*Mart & Blogs = Flog SNAFU; a repeated pattern

Here’s a brand truth for you, most brand damage comes from within. When people or organizations don’t “walk their talk” there’s bound to be issues. While not all damage and mishaps are the same you have to appreciate the irony of some recent examples – Mark Foley and Edelman Worldwide. The case of former U.S. Rep Mark Foley (R – FL) has been well documented. The irony that he was making political hay crusading for children while it turns out that he really liked to cruise for kids. His symbolic identity is no longer grounded.

Here’s the skinny on Edelman from AdAge:

It's ironic that Edelman Worldwide helped to write the Word of Mouth Marketing Association's code of ethics, which states: "Honesty of identity: You never obscure your identity."

Richard Edelman has been apologizing a lot lately for his PR firm's blog -- written by a freelance writer -- in support of Wal-Mart.
Ironic, of course, because the independent firm was publicly slapped -- and publicly apologized -- for being the force behind the Wal-Marting Across America blog that was unmasked as a fake created and paid for by Edelman.

So, one that espoused truth and transparency didn’t want you to look behind the curtain. You can read more at AdAge or CNN.

How are customers of Edelman supposed to take them seriously?

Take aways:
1. Make sure your media channels and messages positively reinforce and enhance your symbolic identity. Wal*Mart still doesn’t get consumer generated media – ah, where have all the hubsters gone?
2. Most brand damage comes from within.
3. Don’t lie and don’t be a hypocrite.
4. Group think can happen anywhere.

T-Shirt Math, Printing Money Via Chicago

Honorary field agent CJT sends in this article from the Chicago Tribune (you may have also heard about it on 37 Signals. It’s the story of Threadless, a Chicago-based design and t-shirt shop that is building a community around it’s vertical product and service.

When I was in college at Iowa, my friends and I would joke about “t-shirt math.” Don’t over-complicate something, get it done and if it works, it works. We figured, as the article points out, that you could have t-shirts designed for about $5.00 each and sell them for $10-15. Gearing them for the college, rowdy football crowd groups they would have clever sayings like “Muck Fichigan” on them. For the most part, all were money makers. Enough about me, on to the team that is making this work and then some.

Threadless has utilized the net to improve this model and include designers into their community. Here’s the basic concept:

That idea: Conduct a running on-line T-shirt design competition. Take the winning des igns and print them on a limited number of shirts, as many as six new designs every week. Sell the shirts to the people who voted (and anyone el se on the mailing list or who visits the site). It's virtually no risk and, if you can build a community of users as large and loyal as Threadless', very high reward.

The article highlights some great insights about successful brands, communities, and understanding the symbolic space you wish to own.

1. They’ve embraced common-sense, not business school research.
2. They scaled back on promotions when they realized they “were spending too much time talking about what they do and not enough actually doing it.” In other words, they’re serving their customers and communities – talking to Target and Urban Outfitters doesn’t help them do that.
3. “They’re building and audience and selling them what they want.” They have a community around their brand and are gaining loyalty and grace. People (customers and designers) have used the product, formed an opinion, and are now advocates. Think diffusion of innovation.
4. My favorite quote from the article, highlights a post-modern element of the here-and-now phenomenon:

"T-shirts are such a fantastic medium," King says. "They're this instant sort of disposable notion of your own identity and you can change it at any moment.

The YouTube Experience via 37 Signals

Another nice post from the fine folks at 37 Signals.

Army Strong, McCann Worldgroup Rich

Taps gently plays for “Army of one” the U.S. Army’s tagline for the past five years. While the Army, which achieves many of its goals by ensuring operational effectiveness through the suppression of individual identity for a group identity, Army of one was not a good slogan. Be all you can be still sounds pretty good to me. In comes, the less articulate “Army Strong.” The new slogan, which apparently was a result of qualitative research with Dr. Bruce Banner after he became very angry, is from McCann Worldgroup. The Army account is valued at $200 million annually.

“There’s strong, then there’s Army Strong” claims the new campaign. The Army missed recruiting numbers two years ago and bounced back to exceed its goal of 80,000 soldiers. But as Lee Corso likes to say, “not so fast, my friend. AdAge points out, to hit the numbers, the Army engaged in some Army Dumb (lower aptitude tests) and some Army Misdemeanor (arrests and drunken driving), plus some Army Coin (greater financial incentives) to make sure the Army (is) Strong.

From an identity campaign, this may be the shiny lure to get young recruits to bite, but does this help America feel good about their military or does it help Army alums to continue to feel a part of the symbolic community of the U.S. Army?



From AdAge:

The ads were unveiled today as the Army released year-end recruiting numbers showing it exceeded by 635 its goal of recruiting 80,000 soldiers, a 7,000-soldier increase in the Army's target from last year. The Army has added a number of recruiters and offered bonuses to students for entering the Army.

The Army said 2,600 of the new recruits came in as a result of lower aptitude standards, and there was a slight increase in the number of recruits accepted under waivers for various medical, moral or criminal problems, including misdemeanor arrests and drunken driving.

Pontiac & The Paradox of Choice

Pontiac, one of the struggling brands, under the GM umbrella has launched a new campaign to support the “Build Your G6” effort makes a surprisingly silly claim. I caught the commercial three times during a college fottball broadcast yesterday. I had to listen carefully the second time, because I couldn’t believe what I heard the first time. Pontiac says that you can customize your Pontiac and that it "offers more combinations of options and accessories than there are drivers in America." I don’t dispute the claim (mix in a lot of unimportant things or smaller items and yes, lots of selections – by the same logic, Burger King could have hundreds of options to mix and match a whopper), I just wonder why you’d pack that piece of brand destroying language into a thirty second spot.

That’s not going to help you turn around your company or positively build your brand. Too many choices are not going to help. Please see my earlier post about choice or go read Barry Scwartz’s The Paradox of Choice.

I’ve said this before, but I believe in the not to distant future GM will make a great case study of what not to do with your brand. Remember, they’re paying companies big money to help them destroy their brand. You would think that brief for this project would have been "drive a commodity mindset for Pontiac and its potential customers."

Social networking sites are getting "older"

Apparently, when it comes to social networking, twenty-five now constitutes "older."