The Quisenblog

“Our product sucked!”

Not exactly a textbook way of launching an upgraded product image, but definitely attention getting. That’s exactly what Domino’s Pizza is doing. The brand started running spots with clips (I suppose actual verbatims) from customer focus groups where the people panned their pizza: “The crust tastes like cardboard.” “The sauce is like ketchup.” And on and on.

Here’s a 4-minute corporate video that launched the same time as the new campaign.

The brutal honesty of the campaign is refreshing. While many client-types would deem such a strategy “risky,” to me it makes sense on so many levels. For one, Domino’s own research showed that 67% of ITS CUSTOMERS thought its product was in dire need of an upgrade. People didn’t order Domino’s for the quality of the pie. They ordered for the convenience, price and reliability. When you set out to launch a new campaign, you have to start with where your customers are.

Secondly, by taking such a non-conformist tone, Domino’s has been able to attract a ton of attention outside the advertising space. Over 700 daily newspapers covered the campaign. Late night talk show hosts have jumped on board. The campaign has been a trending topic on the Social Media circuit. Any idea what the “value” of this media coverage and conversation is worth?

Most importantly, this campaign provides a “sea change” moment for the brand. Rather than soft pedal a new formulation, the brand is jumping in with both feet, drawing a line in the sand. From this day forward, the brand seems to be saying, we will stand for something different.

Now, of course, the pressure is on Domino’s to pay it off. The proof is in the pizza, to borrow a metaphor. If the “big changes” the brand is promising turn out to be temporary or not so big, and customers’ perceptions of it remain the same, then all this publicity will have been wasted. Worse, they will alienate any new customers that may have come over as the result of this campaign. The brand will have damaged itself but good.

Then again, small risks limit you to small rewards. Bold steps can lead to “curve-jumping” results.

Only time will tell if this campaign from Domino’s is a success. But for the sake of all brands who are content to sell a below-average product, I sincerely hope it will be.

Posted by Mickey

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Mickey On Customers brand association, Customers, Domino's Pizza, focus groups, new campaign, product, successful campaign, Value

Let’s say you are a start-up company with a new product in a competitive category and a very limited marketing budget. Where would you start? Which of the following would you guess would give you the most “bang for the buck”? Which is the most likely to make you famous?

A) Develop a visually appealing logo.
B) Develop some distinctive packaging.
C) Develop a friendly web site.
D) Develop a smart, descriptive tag line.

So what would it be? The logo? The tag line?

If it were my money, I would invest it in “B.” I’d first put emphasis on developing distinctive packaging. Why? Two reasons. First, product packaging is the key touchpoint the customer will have (at least initially) with the brand. With the packaging, you have the opportunity to define the brand for the customer. It is the chance to compete on a level playing field, head-to-head with your competitors.

And secondly, at its best, package design can elicit an emotional reaction from the consumer. It can make him feel happy. Or smart. Or frugal. Or luxurious. A package can infer the values of the brand and engage all the physical senses. The consumer can see it, touch it, smell it, all of which goes into forming a lasting impression of the brand. Instantly, it helps him form a decision about it: yes, this is a useful product I should consider, or no, this is not a product I would be comfortable with or it looks like what I’m already using.

In fact, stop for a moment and think of a product you love. Chances are the mental picture in your mind is of the packaging.

Sorry to say, but I’ve yet to hear of anyone getting teary-eyed over a logo or getting inspired by a tag line.

What is it that makes a package stand out in the sea of 45,000+ items shoppers are confronted with in some retail environments? Four words: respect for the eye. A pleasing color palate. Eye-attracting negative space. Clean, uncluttered type and graphics treatment. And finally, some sort of visual “hook” that makes it stand out amongst its competitors.

I don’t mean this to diminish the need for a crisp logo and a thoughtful tag line. It’s just that as far as impact goes, organizations owe it to themselves to spend a proportionate amount of time and resources on the part of their business that wins sales.

Posted by Mickey

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Mickey Media, On Customers aesthetic, brand association, brand emotion, business sales, competition, distinctive packaging, logo, marketing budget, start-up company, tag line

How are buying decisions made by consumers? Which kinds of stimuli incite action, and which leave the consumer cold? Why do consumers often report behaving one way when in observation they may react totally the opposite?

These are questions that have vexed marketers for years. And now, a new book by Martin Lindstrom may shed some light on many of these issues.

Lindstrom’s book, Buyology: Truth and Lies About Why We Buy, reports the findings of some recent breakthrough Neuromarketing studies that relate buying behaviors to regions of the brain. Through the use of fMRI technology, Lindstom and his team were able to observe what goes on in consumers’ brains in real time while subjected to a variety of marketing images and concepts. Among some of his more interesting findings:

• Celebrity personalities and product placements are ineffective.
• Sexual images and innuendo, while widespread throughout advertising, are effective only at selling sex, not products.
• Products that involve some sort of ritual are much more likely to be embraced by consumers.
• When subjects view images associated with strong brands—for example, the iPod, Harley-Davidson, Coca Cola—their brains register the same patterns of activity as they do when viewing religious images.
• Fragrances and sounds associated with a brand are far more memorable and powerful than a (more often than not forgotten) company’s logo.
• Disclaimers and health warnings, instead of suppressing consumer behavior, actually stimulate it.

Kudos to Lindstrom and his team for undertaking this ground-breaking study. The information and often-surprising findings of this friendly-reading 240-page book is well worth the effort.

Posted by Mickey

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Mickey On Customers brand association, Martin Lindstrom, neuromarketing