One thing I enjoy most about what I do is the opportunity to interact with such smart individuals. From our employees to our clients, I enjoy the spirited debates we can have.
The internet has become a powerful tool in those debates. It arms you with detailed facts to support your argument. But it should also be used with extreme caution. I ran into this with a specific debate around the bank Emigrant Direct, who my debate opponent tried to convince me was a bank exclusively for Immigrants. We both turned to the internet to prove our point.
If you set out to look for a specific conclusion to your question, you will undoubtedly find it. Just Google ‘Apollo Hoax’ and look at what you find, thousands of sites dedicated to proving that we never went to the moon. Now instead, if you simply googled ‘Apollo landing’ you get a different and more balanced result.
The Internet is a wonderful research tool, which needs to be coupled with additional research from other sources.
Now back to this banking debate…
The internet has become a powerful tool in those debates. It arms you with detailed facts to support your argument. But it should also be used with extreme caution. I ran into this with a specific debate around the bank Emigrant Direct, who my debate opponent tried to convince me was a bank exclusively for Immigrants. We both turned to the internet to prove our point.
If you set out to look for a specific conclusion to your question, you will undoubtedly find it. Just Google ‘Apollo Hoax’ and look at what you find, thousands of sites dedicated to proving that we never went to the moon. Now instead, if you simply googled ‘Apollo landing’ you get a different and more balanced result.
The Internet is a wonderful research tool, which needs to be coupled with additional research from other sources.
Now back to this banking debate…
04/16/06: Is Wi-Fi the new Color-TV?
I decided to drive down the California coast to visit an old friend on Los Cabos, Mexico. While I could have certainly flown down, I was looking forward to the beautiful drive with the top down. I wasn’t sure of my exact pace, so I simply stopped when I got tired in pretty coastal towns along the way.
The hotel signs were more than signs for the hotels, they were signs for our times. Hotels old and new, big and small, had signs proclaiming that they had Wi-Fi in the rooms. I remember growing up when our parents would load us up in the blue Rambler and take us on a trip across the country. The hotels and motels then would advertise things like Color TVs and In-Room Phones. Over the last twenty years or so, the signs were updated to advertise in-room HBO. Now it is high speed wireless internet that they brag about in big letters.
The cost and complexities of offering Wi-Fi have both dropped dramatically. While companies still use Wi-Fi as direct revenue generator, many have simply added it to the list of amenities. Establishments such as restaurants and coffee shops, looking to lure you in to stay and spend money, are offering Wi-Fi for free. Wi-Fi becomes a marketing tool for these businesses.
I came to a crossroads of sorts, where a brand new Holiday Inn Express was opposite an old local travel-inn motel. Two places to rest from two different eras.
Both had signs for Wi-Fi.
The hotel signs were more than signs for the hotels, they were signs for our times. Hotels old and new, big and small, had signs proclaiming that they had Wi-Fi in the rooms. I remember growing up when our parents would load us up in the blue Rambler and take us on a trip across the country. The hotels and motels then would advertise things like Color TVs and In-Room Phones. Over the last twenty years or so, the signs were updated to advertise in-room HBO. Now it is high speed wireless internet that they brag about in big letters.
The cost and complexities of offering Wi-Fi have both dropped dramatically. While companies still use Wi-Fi as direct revenue generator, many have simply added it to the list of amenities. Establishments such as restaurants and coffee shops, looking to lure you in to stay and spend money, are offering Wi-Fi for free. Wi-Fi becomes a marketing tool for these businesses.
I came to a crossroads of sorts, where a brand new Holiday Inn Express was opposite an old local travel-inn motel. Two places to rest from two different eras.
Both had signs for Wi-Fi.
04/12/06: What is the purpose of your web site?
He was at the point where he knew he needed a new website. Too many times, he cringed when someone asked for his website address. He asked what I thought he should have on his web site, which I turned around and asked him what he wanted out of his web site.
At Archer we classify marketing web sites into two categories: First point of contact or second point of contact. First point of contact websites make sense where your site is your primary marketing tool and most of your customers will first find out about your product or service. These sites need to focus on the ‘sizzle’ and the ‘steak’ and be designed to hit the top of the search engines.
After a few hours of ‘product sampling’ our wine, we concluded that my friend needed a web site focused on the ‘second point of contact’. With these types of sites, potential customers will visit his site after being introduced to the product or service through some other means. The visitor already knows something about the company and is going to the site to confirm perceptions or ‘flesh out’ what the person already knew. Less flashy, and more detailed content to demonstrate the value of the product.
Before you set out to take the ‘cringe’ out of your out of date web site, think about how it fits into your overall marketing plan. Find out how your new customers first found out about you and what they were looking for when they went to your site. Remember, your website is about you, but for your customers.
GM is one of the most command and control organizations that I have ever been exposed to. Every ad is focus tested against each demographic to ensure proper delivery of the message. GM also has a large corporate structure indicative of, well, large corporations. I can only imagine the marketing executive who proposed that they allow the public to create their own advertisement for the Tahoe, using assets created by Chevy. They must have been quite a ‘car salesman’ to pull this off and have it featured on ‘The Apprentice’.
You can go assemble your own ad using Chevy video clips, insert your own text and send it to whoever you want. Your video message, regardless of how it positions the Tahoe, or if it even talks about the Tahoe, is prepared online, complete with the famous Chevy logo at the end. Sure we have all seen the contests where people can send in their own ad, but this is different. I doubt that an ad touting American Airlines proclivity for losing luggage would see the light of day if it were submitted for their ad contest.
This ad campaign took guts. David Weinberger, friend and author of a great book ‘Cluetrain Manifesto’, wrote at great length about accepting and even encouraging conversations about your brand. Sure its risky to open the floodgates to everyone with internet access and an axe to grind, but it makes your brand real. If you believe in your brand and think your customers will as well, then opening it up truly gives what David describes as ‘a voice’. This voice, driven as much by you as your customers, speaks much louder than any marketing blitz you could afford. Plus ‘word of mouse’ marketing continues long after a thirty second spot on prime time.
Go ahead and make your own Tahoe ad and pass it along. If you think of it, include me on it RArcher AT archer-group.com. That’s what GM hopes you would do.
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