Domino’s Post Update

January 9, 2010 by Mike Troiano · Comments 

Lots of buzz around the agency about that Domino’s video, and yesterday I got this e-mail:

Mr. Troiano,

My name is Sean Carroll and I’m working with Domino’s on the release of their new recipe and the campaign surrounding the new and improved pizza.  It is an honor and pleasure to meet you, if only over email.

After reading your Domino’s post, I wanted to be sure you were at least offered a chance to sample the new pie.  As such, I would love to offer you a coupon code for a free large, 1-topping, Domino’s pizza.

This code is for use in online ordering only: XXX-XXXX (Subject to store participation and delivery areas. Continental US only. Expires 2/15/10. Valid for one use only.)

I completely understand if you do not wish and/or have any interest in sharing your experience with your readers, but thought it necessary that you at least get to taste a slice or two on us.  All the best for a wonderful new year and please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments or requests.

Thank you sir,

-Sean Carroll”

Pretty damn impressive. I really think that’s what it takes to build a brand today.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

The Other Side of the Empowered Consumer Sword

January 5, 2010 by Mike Troiano · Comments 

Here’s what ignoring your customers on the Web does for your brand.

Good luck fixing this with anything other than meaningful, operational changes.

Maximize The Benefit

Minimize the bullshit.

By Ken Peters, January 2010

Let’s be frank. For consumers, your brand’s value is proportional to the amount of aggravation it adds to or eliminates from their lives. Maximize the benefit and minimize the bullshit or be swept into the dustbin of irrelevance. Today’s consumers are too smart and too busy to waste time with bullshit brands.

Case in point: my recent holiday shopping exploits with two prominent retailers. Never before have I encountered so much – pardon the bluntness – brand bullshit. Read on and you’ll see what I mean. Don’t worry, though, this post isn’t about whining.

You may have to indulge me in a little venting, but you’ll benefit from a critical review of how poorly designed brand experiences can cost sales and send customers running to your competition. Whether you’re selling consumer products at retail or offering B2B services – or anything in between – you can learn from the mistakes of these brands.

Our story begins with my quest for Christmas gifts. First on my list, a Nook, Barnes & Noble’s sleek new entry into the eBook reader category….

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Holland-Mark 2K10: Capital “M” Marketing in the Imperative Economy

December 30, 2009 by Mike Troiano · Comments 

Turns out we had a pretty good 2009 here in the ‘Mark, and closed the year stronger than any of us expected. We’ve spent the last few weeks reflecting on this momentum, and on what seems to be working for clients and resonating with prospects. A strategy has come into focus around these ideas, and it’s going to have a big impact on our direction going forward.

So what can you expect from us in 2010?

Well, while we’re still going to call ourselves an “agency,” it’s just so folks have a box to put us in. The truth is we’re becoming something very different than that.

Now… I know you hear that from every advertising agency these days. Next time you do, ask whether they’ve actually turned down opportunities to create advertising for paying clients. We have, and I must say it’s been pretty liberating.

We’ve done this not because we think advertising is dead, although that makes better copy than the truth. We’ve done it because we think advertising is the wrong place to start.

The Imperative Economy

We start with an observation. It is that people — in both their business and personal lives — are only spending money on what they consider imperative. Think about how your own behavior has changed over the course of The Gateway Recession. When was the last time you plunked down the Platinum card on something that was just interesting, or even something with just the potential to influence your life? I bet it’s been a while. We buy what we need now, and it’s the same for the spending decisions we make on the job in the “B2B” marketplace.

Becoming imperative has become imperative. And doing so isn’t about “small-m” marketing, meaning, primarily, outbound marketing communications. Good advertising can make a product more interesting, no doubt. But it cannot make it imperative. “Consumers” — as we used to call them — decide what is imperative, and they communicate with each other at a volume and frequency that drowns out all but a very few deep-pocketed commercial entities.

Reality Is Perception

The implication of this is significant: Where once you could focus on driving the product reality by shaping market perception, now you must also gather market perception to shape the product reality.

What I’m saying is what we all know… that Marketing needs to step up, put the crayons down for a bit, and take a seat at the grown-up table. Getting the topline moving in the Imperative Economy will take more than advertising. It will take “big-M” Marketing, meaning a willingness to tackle the substantive issues related to:

  1. the relevance of your offering,
  2. the clarity of your message,
  3. the consistency of your communication, and
  4. your ability to drive engagement among a group of brand advocates large enough to support your business.

Holland-Mark’s Role

We think our job is to help clients establish that cycle… to “corrupt” their vision with the external reality. In a nutshell, Holland-Mark helps businesses connect with, respond to, and benefit from the truth about their customers, products, and brand relationships.

If you come across someone who needs that — and who recognizes the need to change more than just their tagline to achieve it — please drop us a line. In the meantime, we’d love to hear what you think about our conclusions, our approach, and our prospects.

Look for more details soon right here. Be sure and subscribe to our blog if you’re interested.

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

DON’T MAKE ME USE ALL CAPS!

December 17, 2009 by caroline b. · Comments 

Dunce
Image by Candie_N via Flickr

Has anyone had any experience with customer service live chats? Whatcha think? I’ve been testing a few recently and can’t decide whether I find them to be more or less satisfying than a good ol’ fashion phone call to…wherever. I do think that the silly scripts are too, well, scripted and become painfully obvious online. It can actually be very frustrating. Recently while chatting with Overstock.com, my rep replied “Thank you for submitting those details” every time I said something about my order. You’re welcome, Overstock.com rep. But when things escalated and he was giving me canned lines about why my order hasn’t arrived (two weeks later) I had to keep myself from emphasizing my words using italics or worse… ALL CAPS. I’ve included a bit of the chat (I don’t exactly come off like Princess Grace…) for your enjoyment:

Derrick: The item is currently in transit to you.

you: okay

you: and there have been no updates since the 9th

you: that’s nine days ago

Derrick: The U.S. Postal Service does not provide detailed tracking information for their deliveries. The number listed is only a delivery confirmation number, and only shows information after your order is delivered. I apologize for this inconvenience.

you: at what point can i assumed it’s not coming?

you: i cant exactly wait another week when christmas is in a week…

Derrick: The item will be delivered to you with in 24th December.

Derrick: Is there anything else that I can help you with today?

you: no, derrick.

you: and im only typing this because its going to make me feel better, even though i know you couldnt give two shits… but someone doesnt order something 17 days before christmas so that it can arrived one day before the big day. that’s fucking insane.

Derrick: Thank you for visiting Overstock.com. Have a great day.

you: you too…

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Giving Up On Retail

December 13, 2009 by Rob Waldeck · Comments 

Nordstrom (outside)
Image by Hans van de Bruggen via Flickr

I had pretty much given up on retail. I hadn’t had a remarkable retail experience in I don’t know how long. In fact, I found myself so convinced that retailers couldn’t meet my needs as a consumer that I found myself making excuses for them . . . they are under-paid, under-staffed, under-something. Even worse, I convinced myself that I was the problem – I am too demanding, my standards are too high, I am unreasonable. And as we descended deeper into this recession-that’s-not-a-depression I was continually surprised that even those that were still employed weren’t able to provide a level of service that made me take notice.

Until this weekend. Two retail experiences, two home runs. One for Nordstrom’s and one for Apple.

Very briefly . . .

Nordstrom’s: I bought a pair of shoes. I wore them around the store. They felt pretty good. I wore them around the house. They still felt pretty good. I wore them to a party on saturday night (snow/rain/mud) and they killed my feet. I had to return them. I couldn’t wear them again. Nordstrom’s took them back. No question. No problem. Thank you Nordstrom’s for empowering your employees to make it easy for me. By the way, I bought another pair. More expensive.

Apple: I bought a new computer on Thursday. Today I woke up and realized I needed a printer. Went back to Apple and saw that they had printers with a $100 rebate when you buy it at the same time as a computer. I mentioned that I had bought one on Thursday, could they accommodate me? 2 minutes later they had printed out a duplicate copy of my receipt (I didn’t have the original with me), sold me the printer with the rebate and made me aware of two other promotions that are currently offered at a discount with a new computer. Thank you Apple for empowering your employees to make it easy for me.

So the weekend is over and I’m once again hopeful for you, Retail. Not to mention that you’ve reminded me of a few things about customer service that will serve me well as I begin my work week tomorrow. Thanks.

Posted via email from holland-mark posterous

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

“Post 390 is busy trying to keep up with the crowds”

December 2, 2009 by Mike Troiano · Comments 

"The seafood entrees, including the lobster roll served with fries, stand out at Post 390." (Photo by Aram Boghosian for The Boston Globe)

A mixed but on balance positive review of our wonderful Post 390 client in The Boston Globe. Bottom line: The restaurant is a runaway hit, even as it works out the inevitable kinks.

From the piece:

“To its credit, the team behind Post 390 knows the food is not yet up to par. Several days before this review was scheduled to run, the restaurant’s publicist called to say as much. The crowds have been greater than they anticipated, she said. It’s hard to refine things when the kitchen is struggling to keep up.

Still, crowds were the goal. A month before the restaurant opened, I spoke with Kenneth Himmel, founder of the restaurant group. “It will be very high energy, very high volume,’’ he said. By that measure, Post 390 succeeded as soon as it opened. Now the restaurant needs to work on tasting as good as it looks.”

What do you think? Have you had a positive or negative experience at the restaurant? Anything we should make sure they know??

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]

Next Page »