Business – Simren Deogun

iPhone 4 Sparks Line Up Frenzy in Canada (And Invalidates Antennagate)

August 2, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

I dropped by Mississauga’s well-known Square One Shopping Mall early on July 30th, the Canadian launch of Apple’s iPhone 4, and was surprisingly greeted by a lengthy line up of eager-eyed and probably sleep-deprived prospective purchasers.

For those of you who know the location, the line extended from the store itself (pictured above) down a hallway, round the escalators trickling off at the end of CitySide (pictured below).

I have to admit I didn’t expect to see as many people as I had since the line up for iPad at the same location was perhaps an eighth of what I saw on Friday!

With mounds of controversy surrounding purported antenna issues on Apple’s new device, now dubbed ‘Antennagate’, I wondered if fear would consume the buying public. I’m so glad to say that they were far from afraid, in fact, news reports quoted many patrons as citing the antenna issue as blown out of proportion.

Important to consider in this Apple scenario is what is motivating the buyer to pursue the purchase despite the bombardment of negative media? Simply put, a well-designed, well-executed product from a historically trustworthy source.

What the line ups and the frenzy and the sales success prove is that today’s buying public are much smarter than perhaps we give them credit for. Willing to do the research, parse through media bias and stand for hours upon hours. Apple has done the utterly commendable in creating a loyal customer base that continues to develop and break conventional psychographic and demographic descriptors. The average purchaser of an Apple product can no longer be boxed into the ‘young, tech-savvy, Apple-aware’ group, as the above pictures clearly show.

Apple is spreading its wings, breaking boundaries and doing so with a strong, consistent strategy that has slowly but amazingly penetrated the market.

And in case you’re wondering if I’ve made the purchase plunge, I’ve decided to hold out a while longer to see if the white version ever comes to fruition, at which point, I hope someone at Apple might find it in their heart to personally send me one!

Filed Under: Events, News Tagged With: Apple, Demographics, iPhone 4, Psychographics, Square One

I Have A Tired Brain

July 6, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

And so do you. I’m not trying to offend you. Honest.

Our brains are saturated, overexposed, goldfish, marketing nightmares. But you’ve heard this before. Too much information, all thrown at us right now, and if you missed it then you lose, and if you caught it then you’re so-three-seconds-ago when you began reading this sentence.

But my take is that even though we’re more tired than ever before, we’re also smarter. I need to have faith in you. Because you have exactly what I need: the intelligent prowess to understand me, and that is most important of all.

When that brain of ours feels a little weary and a little overloaded, it’s not just going to take flash, pep and jazz to move us off of our ergonomic office chair. Instead, we’ll respond to intelligence, wit and insight.

So, why don’t I tell you something you may not know, in a way you may not have seen, and then ask you to do something for me in return. Visit a url. Call a phone number. Fill out a survey. Cut out a coupon.

And when we get really cozy with one another, I’ll give you something bigger, something intangible so that you will do something big for me. I transfer the knowledge. Make you an advocate. Being an advocate gives you immeasurable power. And we create a long-lasting bond.

Filed Under: Business, Thoughts Tagged With: Brain, Information, Long-Lasting Relationships, Marketing

How Do You Market Cars In A Green World?

June 27, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

Continuing on my recent Green kick [see previous post on environmentalism and consumerism], I’ve been thinking more and more about the automobile.

With timely documentaries such as Who Killed the Electric Car? and Suzuki’s series, The Nature of Things, the gasoline-powered car is no doubt a major villain against Mother Earth, alongside oil cartels and mankind, of course!

So, I pose myself (and, you) the following question: How do we market cars in a world becoming increasingly concerned with Greenism yet consistently concerned with price?

From Ford’s Model T to Nissan’s Leaf, a drastic shift in buyer perception, power, and overall market sentiment has taken place. In his time, Ford had unearthed a growing societal need for mobility while simultaneously offering a streamlined solution. Long gone are the days of assembly-line, one-colour options. But, in contrast, are the days for ultra environmentally-friendly vehicles now, today? Or are we not ready yet?

The market alongside the consumer continue to evolve. But the idea of the economical car is far too perfect to dissolve — price is king! And with the inclusion of luxury-trim stylings in low-cost models, car companies are laughing as they continue to win on the basis of simple economics.

Whether you’re looking for cost-effectiveness, luxury, size or looks, I think the message to the market in each of these categories is pliable enough even in the face of environmental concerns. And again, the story is everything. Maybe yours is of the working parent with kids or the college student with a part-time job or the high-rolling millionaire CEO! The story is designed to appeal to you, whoever you are, and that’s where creative marketing in the auto industry enters the picture.

Zoom-zoom. Drive one. Das Auto. The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection. These are just off the top of my head. Can you identify any? Better yet, do you identify with any? Because these taglines are powerful assets in helping carve out a specific audience with a specific desire.

And through all of this, the green advocates and environmentalists are not completely forgotten with many hybrid options available and with, hopefully, full electric alternatives also on the horizon.

What do you think? How much does being green factor into your car purchase decision? And, if the price was right, would you choose electric over gas?

Filed Under: Business, Thoughts Tagged With: Cars, David Suzuki, Electric Car, Environmentalism, Ford Model T, Green, Greenism, Nissan Leaf, Price, Taglines, The Nature of Things, Who Killed the Electric Car?

When Did Green Become More Than Just A Colour?

June 20, 2010 By Simren Deogun 2 Comments

Type “green” into Google, and you’ll get a firm understanding of how deeply rooted the new “green” has become.

Not just a colour. But a politics. A party. A movement for the environmental world.

And to the right appear sponsored ads to protect the environment and safeguard your home. Green is no longer a hard-to-reach and even harder-to-understand abstract concept. It’s in your living room, heating your house, lighting up your chandelier, and fuelling your car.

Also, Green is not just for the 21st century hippie, but for the well-rounded, health-minded, socially-conscious every-person. And industry leaders (alongside marketing mavens) are making it easier to fall into the latter category by making green ubiquitous.

Procter & Gamble’s Future Friendly. Apple’s “A Green Apple“. UPS’ right turns over left turns save fuel. And a host of dreamt-up green labels and “certifications”. These are just a few examples of some of the big steps being taken by profit-driven conglomerates to spearhead greenism.

It’s no surprise that there is a whole other side to this movement that centers on my world, the marketing world. Taking steps to be green as a company as well as offering green products and services is a strong, smart differentiating marketing strategy. As consumers become more knowledgeable about environmental threats and how being “green” can make a positive impact, their inherent inclination is to opt for goods and services which match that ideology.

But what’s the tradeoff? Often, it’s price. Green goods bear the heavier price burden over their value-marked but less green alternatives. So, green comes at a premium, no surprise. But in 2010, we are closing in on the precipice of the green movement, where green becomes mainstream and — ideally — drives down cost. Numerous reports and studies show that price is the biggest barrier to going green, so I ask, who is going to make a big splash and make green affordable?

And let’s not forget that Green is also money — not just to the consumer but to the CEOs and CMOs. Slowly, as the market moves towards saturation where close to 100% of viable companies exercise green adoption, the differentiating impact of being green will diminish. But the strength of choosing an all-natural, good-for-the-environment product over one that contains trace amounts of death and destruction is marketing heaven.

Green is the perfect murder. Easy to sell to the top, highly profitable, proactive, healthy, and brand-building. You really going to let price stand in the way?

Filed Under: Business, Thoughts Tagged With: Apple, Brand, Differentiation, Environmentalism, Green, Greenism, Price, Procter & Gamble, strategy, UPS

So You Think You Know Everything About iPhone 4?

June 13, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

So you’ve perused the features, perhaps drooled a bit at the imagery and maybe hailed Jobs the all-time, hall-of-fame tech guru? But have you considered Apple’s business strategy? Or better yet, its marketing strategy?

Apple expertly understands the market, what they want, when to give it to them and, most importantly, when to hold back. Aptly put in this National Post article, Apple harvests targeted strategy, Apple is not the quintessential inventor but rather, as I like to put it, the re-innovator!

Let’s extrapolate now on the strategy of Mr. Jobs and his crew of Merry Geniuses:

Hardware Design
It’s different. And yes, Apple is all “think different”, all the time. But it’s not exactly an ogre to prince transformation here [side Shrek reference!]. Some may perceive this negatively, positing why Apple hasn’t pushed the design limits further like some of its competitors, Sony, namely.

Apple keeps it fresh, simple and innovative. The team balances clean design with full-featured ferocity. Plus, Apple only offers one mobile device — unlike ALL of its competitors, who release a multitude of options to the consuming public. By doing this, Apple focuses your attention, simplifying the purchase decision while simultaneously offering the benefit of continuous improvement for that single device, the iPhone.

iMovie
Strategy is easy here. You have to pay for it, a measly $4.99, I believe. It’s not much. But picture this, every consumer who makes the iPhone 4 purchase cannot possibly go without iMovie, it essentially renders the movie-editing prowess of the device useless. Thus, Apple instantaneously pulls in another $5 per iPhone sold, it may sound small but just multiply that 5 by millions and it’s nothing but profit heaven.

iBooks
Strategy here is also easy. This app comes with the phone. No need to pay — though you will pay for the books you want to read, but only once because of the ultimate syncing capabilities.

So, Apple gives you iBooks, but asks you kindly to purchase iMovie (an app that ships free with iLife on all Mac computers). I see this as an interesting and creative tradeoff. You give some and you take some. Kudos, Apple!

The Screen
Apple’s newly-dubbed “retina display” with more pixels than the human eye can detect is a huge leap, but the screen itself has actually stayed the same size. The focus, however, is not on size but on quality. And Apple has always relied heavily on emphasizing quality with a hard-to-beat no-fail attitude. Another trade-off? Perhaps.

There are a plethora of other features, enhancements and Apple idiosyncrasies I could pick apart, but what I want to stress is the strategic importance that backs each of these. Apple is the powerhouse when it comes to product announcements and releases, and it’s significant to understand the implications of their every move and the careful thought that is most certainly poured into every decision.

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With: Apple, iBooks, iMovie, iPhone 4, Steve Jobs

Google Slowly Introduces Chrome OS To The Masses

June 10, 2010 By Simren Deogun 2 Comments

Well, at least in my opinion. In a very Bing-esque styling, Google has atypically changed its design approach to an option that will undoubtedly be compared to their biggest competitor.

So, what’s the reason, Google? My guess is that with Google’s Chrome OS on the verge of release, the great Google geniuses are giving us a taste of what it might feel like. Without Microsoft, without a desktop, without all those PC (and Mac!) familiarities, Google has to bridge the gap.

Step one seems to be to introduce the “wallpaper” to Google — thereby transforming your Google homepage into a desktop (or into a desktop-like experience!).

Now, you can customize your Google experience, just like you can currently customize your PC or Mac experience, but, of course, without all the burdens that come with bloated operating systems, such as applications and features you don’t even need. This will most certainly be Google’s future pitch for its shiny, new OS!

Does Google’s new homepage enhance your experience or is it just another web-based distraction? It is smart, though, I will contend. As almost everything from Google is. Even when we doubt Google’s zany new offerings in the beginning, as we did with Gmail and are now doing with Buzz, Google has consistently outwitted our skepticism. The geniuses are testing the waters, sharks abound. For me, I have a take-it-or-leave-it attitude for the wallpaper, but, for the masses, I predict it will grow to be a fan-favourite!

Filed Under: Business, Digital, Thoughts Tagged With: Bing, Chrome OS, Desktop, Google, Mac, Microsoft, Wallpaper

The ‘Campaign of the Decade’ Campaign

June 6, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

Beyond Rogers Publishing, beyond the prizes, beyond the somewhat confusing black and yellow website, there are 10 Canadian campaigns, one for each year of the last decade, up for recognition.

Which ad is the best of the decade? And does it even matter? The Campaign of the Decade is your choice, you make the call.

It’s your vote that decides the best of the best. Eerily fitting since the campaigns themselves are designed for you, so you’ll invest some part of yourself along with some part of your money (ahh, and there’s the marketing!).

And, yet, from the site to the prize to the voting style, something remains amiss. Something about the whole “extravaganza” is unsettlingly archaic.

I voted for 2007 — what’s your take?

Filed Under: Business, Campaigns Tagged With: Campaign of the Decade

Hardship And Heartache: Why Emotion Matters In Marketing

May 16, 2010 By Simren Deogun 1 Comment

Marketing is every definition you’ll find in a textbook. Every single linear explanation of good/service, want/need, and satisfaction. But making marketing matter, making marketing powerful must come from a deeper place.

In any environment, under any circumstance, my work as a marketer matters to me. I care about it, all of it. No word, no colour, no decision exists without a little bit of me inside of it. Many will say this is foolish. Business is business, right? It’s not personal. For me, that’s where the real foolishness resides.

Take a moment to ponder the great successes of our time (marketing and otherwise). Do you not think those products and successes were personal? Making your work personal, instilling emotion, when necessary, is a means to success.

When that end product is not just a derivative of tasked work created from monotonous thoughts and movements, it holds you inside of it. And because it holds you, it also holds your emotions — passion, praise, weakness and strength. And emotion is powerful.

As marketing moves away from interruptive strategies and towards compelling storytelling, marketers will rely more and more on emotion. On evoking a particular emotional response from the recipient of the marketing message. It’s because that emotional response weaves a bond. A bond which can lead to a purchase, to loyalty, to advocacy.

Gates, Jobs, Page and Brin — some of the geniuses of our time — channel the hardship and heartache they are forced to endure into positive emotion — because when it matters to you, the marketer, there’s a greater chance it will matter to you, the consumer.

Filed Under: Business, Thoughts Tagged With: Bill Gates, Emotion, Larry Page, Marketing, Sergey Brin, Steve Jobs

Google Is Number One in the PSFK Good Brands Report

April 25, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

PSFK has spoken, and what they have to say is mostly expected but not any less inspiring. Their annual Good Brands Report ranks Google as the number 1 reigning brand for a second year.

Apple takes the second spot with Nike at 7 and Twitter at 8, all presumably predictable outcomes given their perceived brand power. However, the list is not a Google / Apple promo session, it, in fact, throws in some welcome twists with Jamie Oliver (3), MIT (4), Ace Hotel (5), and Foursquare (9) gracing the list.

What is the Good Brands Report?

Being a genuinely good brand in 2010 takes more than a widely used product and an ubiquitous global presence. Though there is no precise formula, what the ten good brands on our list have in common is a penchant for imagination, innovation, environmental responsibility and social consciousness. — Piers Fawkes, PSFK, Founder

Well, if that’s all it takes! Each brand is ranked out of 10 in the above four categories by a panel of industry experts. This isn’t just another list, if anything, it should grow to be a definitive source of insightful brand analysis for not only equity and awareness but also social and marketing impact.

Why Google?
Connectivity. Openness. Accessibility. Customization. And Free.

These five factors are what I extrapolated from the report as determinant of Google’s success not only as a brand but as a global enterprise with an incalculable amount of clout.

Google’s ability to remain true to its core product in search and yet simultaneously branch out into a mobile phone OS with Android, a Microsoft Office rival with Google Docs, along with Buzz, Wave, and a host of SEO apps has redefined the act of differentiation.

PSFK does a wonderful job at eloquently summarizing the highlights of what makes Google the number one pick. The report adopts a refreshing focus, instead of only dictating the facts of Google’s success, it also effectively relates how you and I can apply the same in our own business and marketing practices.

Why Not Apple?
Apple isn’t exactly a loser in this situation, only shy from the number one spot by 0.16 points, Apple is clearly catching up to Google in the brand category — and, in some areas, has already far surpassed it.

Apple outranked Google in the categories of innovation and imagination, and, well, if it hadn’t, I’d be rather alarmed. Outside of search and Google’s everything-sharing application in Wave, Google isn’t necessarily known for imagination, but more so slight reinvention.

Most of the score differences were admittedly slight, with Google really only stealing the thunder in the social responsibility category, which is somewhat expected given Apple’s tepid past with suppliers.

PSFK deems Apple a true game-changer, no arguments here, driven by its product design, endless innovation and futuristic thinking all centred on user experience. What Apple does best is reinvention — reinvention executed so well that it borders on real invention. From the CPU to the iMac. The mp3 to the iPod. The mobile phone to the iPhone. And now the tablet to the IPad. Apple’s game is founded upon taking what the market currently offers and making it so incredibly irresistible to a consumer that it can transform any desire into an absolute necessity.

Even without the number one spot, Apple is a dangerously powerful and still-growing brand.

What You Need to Learn from PSFK
Ultimately, success is derivative of many things, but we should all listen to what PSFK (and its industry experts) have to say. The report is not just a simple-minded overview of today’s brands but rather a teaching guide indicative of what marketing success means in 2010.

Out of PSFK’s 10 Key Learnings, what we all need to understand and practice is “re-imagining the world”. It’s a beautiful thing that can foster change, encourage passion, and spawn innovation. So, start asking yourself, how could you see or do things differently?

Read the full PSFK Good Brands Report 2010.

Filed Under: Business, News Tagged With: Ace Hotel, Apple, Brand, Foursquare, Google, Jamie Oliver, MIT, Nike, PSFK, PSFK Good Brands Report, twitter

Intention to Create, Sell And Buy

April 13, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

Intent — the act of doing something with a specific purpose — consolidates the marketer and the consumer. These predetermined roles become transferrable. The marketer leaves work, walks into a mall and is transformed into a consumer. The consumer leaves work, receives some communication or makes a purchase, and becomes a marketer outfitted with the power of voice and opinion.

Intention is action and direction with a desired outcome already perceived. Intent must be possessed by the marketer and created for the consumer.

These are my 3 tiers of intent:

Intent to Create
The organization’s or marketer’s decision to develop something new, something different and/or something revisited.

The intent to create does not need to be solely based in originality. But rather, what is original for the specific circumstance and situation of the organization in question. As simple an idea as a webinar, if never produced by an organization before, is a nugget of the intent to create.

How much easier it always is to say rather than do. But intent must demand action, so that action can demand result. A webinar is just a word, just an idea until someone owns the intent to create.

Intent to Sell
The organization’s or marketer’s decision to sell, for profit or not, a good or service with perceived value for the consumer.

The development, nurture and creation of an idea is not a prerequisite to the intent to sell. On the other hand, the intent to create need not be followed with an intent to sell. That is to say, the creation of a good or service will not always be saleable.

The intent to sell is to move beyond the concept of a single, valuable good or service and generate a ‘product’ equipped with identity, price, promotion, distribution and communication.

Intent to Buy
The consumer’s journey to reach a purchase decision; at this stage, the paths of marketer and consumer have crossed at least once.

The intent to create only indirectly influences the intent to buy, since without creation, purchase is not possible. The intent to sell, however, must exist and be fully and wholly delivered to the consumer in order facilitate a purchase.

All aspects of the intent to sell mentioned above — message, brand, value, etc. — are channelled to the consumer as a complete and influential marketing effort. These many parts will create the consumer’s intent to buy. And subsequently, with the intent to buy, the consumer officially assumes the role of marketer.

Filed Under: Business, Thoughts Tagged With: Brand, Communication, Distribution, Identity, Intent to Buy, Intent to Create, Intent to Sell, Intention, Marketing, Message, Price, Promotion, Value

Seth Godin: Geniuses, Leaders & Lizards at TAOM

March 9, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

“The market for something to believe in is infinite,” Seth exclaimed as he concluded his retrospective trip down Highway 11 and his visit to Rita’s infamous Candy Shoppe. At The Art of Marketing, Seth begins with a story. And to every good story, there is inevitably some lesson to be learned, some mantra to be imparted. And, so, if you create something to believe in, if you tell a compelling story, if you lead, then, you too can win.

Geniuses: those who solve an interesting problem in a unique way.

Leadership: what marketing has become.

Fear: what resides at the core of the lizard brain (inside our own amygdala) that prevents us from being the two things listed above.

So how do we overcome the lizard brain (or the resistance)? Be an artist. Or a leader. Or a genius. Just deciding to be different may be enough.

For me, it’s thinking like the un-corporation. Deciding that mediocrity and bureaucracy just aren’t going to cut it because creativity, inspiration and leadership are worth so much more.

What does it mean to you?

Image Credit: The Biz Media >> http://blog.thebizmedia.com/2010/03/sneak-peak-at-the-official-photos-for-the-art-of-marketing/

Filed Under: Digital, Events, Thoughts Tagged With: Fear, Genius, Leadership, Linchpin, Lizard Brain, Seth Godin, TAOM, The Art of Marketing

Sally Hogshead: Fascination at TAOM & The F Score

March 7, 2010 By Simren Deogun Leave a Comment

Fascination is an art form. This might be the key component that was left out of Sally Hogshead’s presentation at The Art of Marketing on March 2nd. Embedding any or all of Sally’s 7 triggers of fascination into your marketing and branding plan is part of the “art” of marketing.

“We didn’t used to need to fascinate. But now everyone is stressed and overwhelmed so it’s harder to connect,” remarked Sally. There is a heavy-handed truth to her words because with our more complex, more social, more cluttered lives, creating fascination also means creating engagement (and that seems to be what we’re all after these days, right?)

If you want to learn more about fascination and Sally’s 7 triggers, check out her book, Fascinate. I will be shortly!

Heavily intrigued by Sally’s presentation, I hopped on over to Sally’s website to take part in her self-made personality test and see how I faired.

The results were as fascinating as the test itself (slight pun intended!). My primary trigger turned out to be Power, secondary was Prestige and my dormant was Alarm, have a look below:

According to Sally, Power means I’m the alpha dog. I lead the pack, take control, and influence others to follow.

Primary Trigger: POWER | You’re a natural leader, and comfortable with authority, making you well-suited to creating messages that inspire large groups. Next step? None your power trigger for greater respect, bigger audiences, and more loyal advocates.

Prestige, my secondary trigger, translates into ambitious, aspirational and goal-oriented.

Secondary Trigger: PRESTIGE | You’re motivated by the admiration of your peers, and most likely, your peers are motivated by you. People in your group watch what you’re saying and doing, measuring themselves in relation to you, seeking cues of their own standing within the group. Keep in mind: Prestigious people can evoke admiration, but also competition and envy.

Only 7.1% of test-takers possess my combination of Power and Prestige, which I think plays to my inner egotism. But, like with any personality test, the results from the F Score must be analyzed with caution. It is not gospel but it certainly is amusing to see whether or not the triggers chosen match who you are (and these results certainly have me made).

The F Score test is the perfect accompaniment to Sally’s new book, Fascinate. It is a beautifully coiffed marketing tactic to pull me into her world while still keeping the focus on me: the prospective reader, the fan, the marketer, etc. I will read her book, understand her message, adore her more than I already do, and hopefully, along the way, learn to be a better marketer and a better me.

Filed Under: Digital, Events, Resources Tagged With: Alarm, F Score, Fascinate, Power, Prestige, Sally Hogshead, TAOM, The Art of Marketing