BRANDING: Product As Hero Vs. Product As Evil.

We've all heard about product as hero advertising. But how about product as hero branding? That's what Hummer is undertaking. Literally.

GM's new marketing campaign aims to rescue their declining Hummer image by highlighting its exploits. The Hummer SUV line has recently been swept up in an almost perfect storm of outrageous gas prices, the rise in environmental consciousness and the war in Iraq. "The brand came to represent an icon for all things evil," says Megan Stooke, GM's marketing director.

How turn turn your business from an evil empire into something heroic? Take a tip from GM's playbook:

The new Hummer campaign strives to position the vehicle as a "force for good" with a very humanitarian purpose. The campaign is called "Hummer Heroes" and portrays how rescue workers and owners rely on Hummers to help others, specifically in disaster-response scenarios. The campaign hopes to humanize the brand with its serious approach; one upcoming TV spot will use real newspaper headlines, such as a tornado rescue in Colorado. GM is also launching a microsite at www.hummerhelps.com that encourages owners to submit stories and photos, illustrating how they assisted others in need.

Buy a Hummer and save humanity. Are you convinced?

Does your brand need more heroic branding? What are you doing to position your brand as a force for good and not evil? While it may sound funny, it's serious business. Think about it. Forward-thinking marketers are.

SOURCE: Advertising Age, NOISE

Reported by: Kimberley Parket

RETAIL MARKETING: Out With the Old, In With the New, Still the Same Push.

Certainly one of the oldest (if not the oldest) form of advertising is point of purchase. Today, thousands of years since the world's first sale took place (we won't go so far as to suggest the point-of-purchase ad was for the world's oldest profession!), point of purchase (or if you prefer, point of sale) advertising remains a highly-effective way to stimulate sales, add-on sales, upsales or spontaneous sales for a variety of products, in a variety of situations.

However, POP has clearly evolved in recent years beyond the traditional, static, one-dimensional sign, banner or poster to fully-walking-upright technology — including interactive, touch-screen, digital or even video displays. More importantly to retail marketers, the strategy still works — in supermarkets, for instance, delivering on average a 1.2% to almost 20.0% lift in brand sales (depending on product and type of display), while in pharmacies pulling an average 6.5% brand sales lift. According to Point-of-Purchase Advertising International (POPAI), the global association for marketing at retail, the same positive results should be anticipated in virtually any retail setting.

So if you're marketing on the ground, give that marketing a push with POP.

SOURCE: Marketing News, NOISE

Reported by: John Sprecher

MARKETING: In Defense of Free Speech (On the Part of Your Consumer).

The interaction that consumers now have today with advertisers — via web logs, shared videos and much more — should impart this lesson for all of us: you can't hide your head in the sand anymore.

The fact is, according to a fine essay in Marketing Management that NOISE thoroughly endorses, "marketing is not a one-way lecture anymore; it's a two-way conversation. Receipt of the (branding, advertising or public relations) message is no longer the endpoint of media communications; rather, it's the beginning of a reaction by those at the receiving end."

The essay goes on to point out that marketers who choose to ignore comments or criticism by their consumers are living in a fantasy world, and that any company that tries to stifle criticism will only engender more criticism and mistrust. Those customers are going to air those comments or criticisms anyway — so why not encourage them to interact with you, via your website or other customer touch points? — where you can control their diatribes or damage, and (ideally) turn a negative into a positive, gaining you the most valuable, positive word-of-mouth-or-keyboard customer of all (the one who receives "above and beyond" care and has had their underwhelming overwhelmed).

As the essay concludes, "the messages of every brand are now filtered and remade...from consumers as much as from competitors. New approaches to marketing communications are imperative. Marketers must learn to listen to others, not simply revel in hearing themselves talk."

Amen to that.

So marketers, look to your websites and customer service centers — and make it easy for your consumers to opine, while being prepared to respond positively.

SOURCE: Marketing Management, NOISE

E-MARKETING: Top 10 E-Mail Essentials.

Your time is valuable. The same can be said of your potential customers. So when you're trying to reach them through e-marketing, make sure you address — in Letterman fashion — the "top 10 e-mail essentials." According to Email Insider, these are:

1. A link to the customer's (assuming pre-registration) preferences and profile page.
2. Link to comment on story or provide feedback.
3. Link to back issues or other offers where appropriate.
4. Like to web version of e-blast.
5. Link to related information or offers, products or services on your website.
6. Description or link to shipping and/or return policies.
7. Privacy policy or link to it.
8. Phone, e-mail or contact info for newsletter staff or related departments (sales,customer service).
9. Forward to a friend instructions.
10. Unsubscribe link.

While some of these may seem obvious, others are often overlooked. Make sure your e-marketing includes 'em all and you'll look like the pro that you are.

SOURCE: Email Insider, Visit Florida, NOISE

Reported by: John Sprecher