Measuring Up

I marvel at Apple

The other week, I was in an Apple store in a New Jersey mall. My 10 year old son’s iPod Touch wouldn’t charge because the charging component inside the device had been bent just enough to ensure that the little rectangular charging component would not fit squarely inside. My wife and I both knew that my son was the culprit here. He loves that iPod. And, I’m sure in his typical haste to give it optimum battery time each day, he clumsily pushed it to a breaking point. Still, we had purchased a three year warranty and I intended to bring out the salesman in me with an Apple representative to convince him to either cover the damage by fixing the iPod or replacing it.

I was just about to leave for the Apple retail store, when my wife explained to me that I can’t just walk in and receive service on the spot. No, instead (like thousands of others) I had to set an appointment, online via my Apple account. When she told me this, my first thought was, “What a royal pain in the butt.” I complained to my wife that I didn’t want to deal with any retailer that has gotten this big and bureaucratic; I started having visions of what it’s like to deal with cable and phone company service and that just didn’t make me happy.

My complaints really didn’t make a difference once my son gave me that sad look, which often leads to a few tears. So, I conceded, went online and made an appointment to see a service representative at 11am, on a Saturday morning, two days later.

Anyone who has been in an Apple store understands  the branding experience that customers receive there. (I won’t provide the obvious explanation about that.) What was interesting about my experience was just how service oriented the entire process was.  I checked in with a lead customer service representative. He asked me to sit anywhere I wanted  and within a few minutes,  a personalized technician (named Bill) would be at my service. And, that’s exactly what happened. After explaining the problem and walking the technician through my warranty, I asked him if this tiny little problem could be fixed. He smiled and told me no. The iPod was ruined because no charger or device to download tunes on it, could be attached. Then, he told me that my warranty only covers “problems that Apple is responsible for. Not those that a 10 year old boy created himself.’

I was just a second or two away from trying my used car salesman pitch (and then groveling if necessary) to get some relief on this product, when Bill surprised me. He explained that Apple wants to do right by its customers and he has no problem replacing it with a new iPod Touch. I would just need to pay the $20 warranty fee. I was completely psyched and appreciative. The next few words out of my mouth were “Thank you. Really appreciate it. You’re a great guy, Bill.”

Apple came through in a major way for me. Clearly, the company is devoted to ensuring that customers experience that brand promise (ease of use, innovation and being customer friendly) that is so heavily marketed every day.  The irony here (though) is that Apple creates these products knowing that most will break down and die within a 12-18 month period. Most iPods are not fixable. That’s a very smart go-to-market strategy for Apple. The company hopes (or in this case knows) that its customers will just keep coming back to purchase the next latest (and trendier) model. It works because most customers never really ever question why these products aren’t built to last longer.  And, to my earlier point, consumers (like me) are even willing to make appointments two days in advance to have their products serviced.

Very few brands have this type of powerful impact and control over consumers everywhere. Over the last decade, Apple has become the de facto standard in how to build a mainstream brand. It has worked so well that many consumers don’t even wait until their current model is broken. They just want the next greatest version as soon as it is released. The next big question for Apple is how long can the company stay on top. Most leaders typically fall from grace after any number of years because it’s so difficult to maintain that same level of innovation, quality and service (think of Dell, HP, Sony, etc.). But, I continue to marvel at Apple because it seems to keep getting better and better, each and every year.

How “privileged” is your client/agency communication?

There’s an interesting legal trial taking place which digs deep into an important issue involving public relations agencies and their clients. For as long as I can remember, clients, agencies and lawyers have questioned whether communications between client and PR agency would be deemed privileged information (as it is between lawyer and client) when challenged in a legal setting.

This current case is an interesting one because it brings this very issue to a head. Reyes is the former CEO of Brocade Communications Systems, who was convicted and then sentenced to 21 months in prison for backdating options a decade ago during the dot com days. His sentence was then thrown out in an appeals court because it was proven that the prosecution had knowingly made false statements during closing arguments.

Now, the case is being prosecuted again. But, this time, Reyes’ former PR firm, Sitrick & Company, is on the hot seat as prosecutors have subpoenaed client files held by the firm. These documents could provide damning information which would hurt Reyes’ case. It becomes a little confusing because Reyes now has new attorneys for this second trial. These attorneys (Cooley Godward Kronish) are claiming that the PR agency client files should be protected by the attorney client privileged code because the agency worked so closely with Reyes’ former attorneys (from Skadden Arps) during the first trial. They argue that they jointly created a responsive PR strategy and executional approach to combat the negative assault by the Justice Department. The government (prosecution) counters that Sitrick performed the sort of “standard public relations work” for which there is no attorney client privilege. 

Yikes. This is a very sticky issue that certainly has no black and white answer because there isn’t a real legal precedent to follow here.

We’ve dealt with topics like this over the years. To ensure that we don’t end up swimming in subpoenas and legal costs (like the agency in this trial is,) our strategy is usually straight forward if we’re about to enter into a crisis situation. Normally, we’ll be actually retained by the attorney representing the client so that our firm will be under the same privileged and confidential arrangement as the law firm is with its client.  So, technically, the law firm is then our client.

Of course, it isn’t always this easy. Many times we’ve represented a client for years. And, crisis situations which involve legal matters just sprout up out of nowhere. In these cases, it’s hard and many times inefficient, to simply change official representation during these chaotic times. And often, no one really knows if our communications will lead to the type of scary situation that Sitrick & Company is now involved in.

Anyway, this is a good article to read. And, one that certainly has me thinking about how we can prepare better for issues like this that could easily arise.

Through rain, sleet or frigid weather, Disney World keeps on smiling

I spent the last two days in a very cold Disney World.  Forty-five degree weather (with blustery winds) is simply too frigid to see the sights of the Magical Kingdom and take on the rides at Universal Studios.

But, that didn't really matter to those in charge of this theme park. They simply found new ways to draw thousands of kids' attention and to certainly make lots of added revenues while doing it. I tip my hat to this company. It is among the best I've seen at marketing. More to the point of this blog, Disney changes how it provides service and value to meet customer demands as quickly as a company can.

For example, I couldn't help but notice how every Disney shop strategically rearranged its stores by placing all sweatshirts, coats, hats and even gloves right up front. There were long lines at the cash registers to buy these necessities. Conversely, the typical Mickey, Homer Simpson and Jimmy Neutron t-shirts were almost impossible to find.

It was certainly too cold for families to slip and slide on water rides. But, that made no difference to Disney. It still found numerous ways to entertain everyone, keeping them outside in the streets. I noticed that the parks had (what seemed like) an unusually large number of Disney characters in costume walking the sidewalks, greeting excited kids. When I asked one park official why, he (unofficially) told me that they tripled the frequency of these characters coming out into the open so that families would brave the cold to make their children's dreams come true. (I'm not sure if any dreams were realized for my kids... but after waiting for 30 minutes, they did get a nice photo with Homer, Bart and Marge Simpson.)

Although most rides and exhibits had long waiting periods, it was obvious that Disney employees were also doing everything possible to herd groups of customers into express lines. This moved crowds along at a quicker pace and, in many cases, pushed people inside where warmer shelter existed.

I heard from many native Floridians in Orlando that this is the coldest winter in 20 years. Some complained that lots of businesses have been hurt because of it. My bet (though) is that Disney World has weathered this crisis just fine.

Riding roller coasters, eating ice cream and standing around to watch parades doesn't make much sense in any place with such extreme cold weather. That is, except for Disney World, where every day is magical and everyone is always smiling.

What’s not to like about Steven Singer?

Ever hear of Steven Singer Jewelers? I’ve probably heard this company’s quirky radio commercials a thousand times and never thought anything about them. Until it finally hit me this morning just how bizarre Steve Singer’s marketing strategy is. You see, Steven Singer’s web site is www.ihatestevensinger.com. And, whether the company  is simply promoting discounted jewelry (as it always does) or special 14 carat gold dipped roses around Valentine’s day (yuck), this web URL is proudly highlighted over and over again in all of its advertising.

I found it quite odd that a company would promote such a negative statement about itself. So, I Googled Steven Singer to see if anything is being written about the URL name and then went to its Web site. I couldn’t find much being written, but the “About Us” section of Steven Singer’s Web site gave me what I was looking for. It seems that founder Steven Singer is quite a successful entrepreneur and businessman. He started the company at an early age and then expanded it in the Philadelphia area not long after. He’s won countless awards and has played a key civic role in the community as well. The positioning doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me, but Steven seems to feel that with each successful move he’s made, it’s a great reason for people to hate him (i.e. when people say, “Don’t you just hate the guy?”). Pretty weak, eh?

Regardless, his contrarian strategy to create a lot of noise around this negative (completely comical) Web site URL seems to work pretty well because the company keeps expanding. I only call this point out because it shows how sometimes counter intuitive, yet very creative marketing strategies can actually work when implemented the right way. With Steven Singer, he actually has Howard Stern preaching the company’s accolades, all while he makes fun of the URL ihatestevensinger.com. That’s caught on with Howard’s fans big time.

Who knows. Maybe this will start a trend and we’ll see Apple create www.ihateipod.com , or Disney promote www.idespisemickeymouse.com. Well… I can’t see this really becoming a trend (and I wouldn’t recommend it to any clients.) But, if it works for Steven Singer, that’s great.

Become synonymous with what you do

This is no easy task for companies. As a matter of fact, most hire firms like Peppercom to help them create more visibility for what sets them apart and to ultimately try to build their brand above and beyond category or industry competitors.

Over the last 50 years, I can only think of a handful of companies that have truly become synonymous with the category/service/product they create or represent. To name a few, Kleenex successfully did this with tissues and Google has now accomplished this with Internet search. But, it often takes many years of creating superb customer experiences, exhibiting much desired product/service qualities that competitors don’t posses and spending lots of $$$ on disciplined marketing.

The fact is that most industries or categories simply have too much competition for one company to truly stand out as a brand in this dominant way. Understanding that the odds are long against any organization becoming the next Kleenex or Google, I believe that many companies still have a real opportunity to become more synonymous with what they do. But, they need to recognize creative PR or marketing approaches that can create impactful ways for them to own white spaces that exist (especially when such ideas or opportunities are smacking them right in the face). ADP did exactly that when the opportunity presented itself. Among other offerings, ADP is the largest outsourced payroll company in the country. I’m not sure when it happened, but ADP proudly owns an employment index which showcases the increase/decrease in new jobs created each month. Guess what? Pretty much every media outlet I reviewed either refers to this index or simply profiles it as the official barometer in our marketplace. The tie in is clearly perfect for ADP because it links the brand to employees/jobs. In today’s business environment, tens of millions of eyeballs have seen this index and there’s no doubt it has helped ADP build its brand to become more synonymous with what it does.

I can find lesser known examples, but equally successful in their own right. Ever hear of a company called Prebon Yamane? Probably not, unless you are a Wall Street trader. Prebon Yamane was acquired over a dozen years ago, but it used to be one of the largest wholesale brokers (brokers to traders) on Wall Street. These firms are seen as commodities by their customers and most have very little to speak of that truly sets them apart. But, Prebon Yamane did something very smart. It had been tracking the ups and downs of Federal Fund prices in the industry for years. The information was limited to being used internally at the firm, as well as provided to clients to help their trading efforts. Until, a Wall Street Journal editor conducted a random interview with the firm’s CEO. As a matter of fact, this CEO happened to discuss how important this proprietary information is to clients. Long story made short, it took a few months, but Prebon Yamane’s index soon became the first official “Fed Fund” Index featured two to three times per week on the front page of the 'Marketplace' section of this elite daily newspaper. Aside from creating instant credibility and publicity for the firm, the branding from this index allowed Prebon Yamane to become synonymous with Fed Funds on Wall Street. This was a huge marketing win which cost nothing to arrange.

From time to time, we present clients with these type of branding opportunities. Typically, through one of our white space audits it becomes clear that no one in our client’s industry has taken ownership of a topic, issue or even most/all of the service/product it represents. Yet, I find that in many cases it’s hard to convince clients to move forward with such initiatives. The reasons vary as to why the responses can be negative. Sometimes it’s just about money (even though the investment cost is typically low), but often it’s just because  they are too focused on just delivering solid, yet basic “bread and butter” results for their organization.  

That’s disappointing. Whether it be some type of index, research, award program, unique coalition or simply just taking a proactive, consistent stance on owning a thought leadership topic that no one else is, marketers need to see that three is often very little setting each company apart from the competition. If a real idea comes along to make one’s company even a tiny bit more synonymous with what it does, my advice is to find a way to make it happen.

How will they “Spin” this?

There’s a cool, new club in New York City called Spin. Much like cigar bars and pool clubs took off five to ten years ago, Spin is making a big bet that ping pong will become the next craze among the New York club crowd who are quick to find the newest progressive and creative themed venues. 

Right now, Spin’s near term future looks pretty bright.  I attended a special charity tournament a few weeks back and was a little surprised to see just how packed the place was (on a Monday night.) It was fun to see how dozens of seemingly normal club goers became competitive and talented table tennis players once the jackets and ties came off and the paddles started to swing through the air. Naturally, ping pong isn’t the only activity of choice at this club. The crowd hanging at the chic long bar was just as rowdy as the players they were watching.

I’ve heard from friends that Spin is on fire right now. The place continues to pack ‘em in. That’s not surprising because Spin’s owners were smart enough to catch a rising trend in America… the growth of ping pong as a cultural sport.  And, they’ve created a nice formula to tie it into a real club scene. Unfortunately, it seems that the organization doesn’t understand (or simply doesn’t care) that success can be ephemeral. Especially, when the business is solely based on the fickle and ever changing wants of trendy consumers.

Which leads me to discuss my issues with Spin. For the last three weeks, we’ve tried to book a day time birthday party for my 10 year old son at Spin. (He’s an avid ping pong player.) The responses from the club have ranged from indifference, to rude, to plain idiotic. The women who are functionally charged with booking these types of events have lost our file, given us the wrong email addresses, told us they’d call back and then never did so, and have plain forgotten who we are (after multiple conversations.) I’ve spoken to two other friends who both shared the same type of experience as I.

In my mind, Spin’s staff either doesn’t give a damn, or is so confused and disorganized that they have no idea how to create customer loyalty. Either way, it doesn’t really matter. My belief is that it might happen tomorrow, next month, a year or even two, but Spin will fail if it doesn’t change its modus operandi pretty quickly.

I’m not writing this post to bitch about a business that frustrated me. Spin is but one example of a very real business issue that exists today. Trendy restaurants, clubs and other consumer facing businesses come and go for the reasons I highlighted above. Once that frenzy is over, only the really customer focused, savvy businesses that can provide superior products/services then survive. To do that, these businesses have to focus from the onset on how they can build a solid base of loyal fans who will provide the core sales revenues (to stay afloat) when all the hip and cool early adopters move on to the next trendy theme.

My guess is that the heads of Spin’s management are ‘spinning round and round’ right now in a state of euphoria and confusion. They are probably ecstatic about their new found success and have no idea that it’s time to shake off that feeling that they are conquering the world and start looking at the basics of how to build a business from the ground up. Of course, that all starts with delighting the customer.