BRANDING: When Your Brand Really Tick-Tick-Ticks You Off.

Once upon a time, complaints were limited to letter writing campaigns or standing in line at the Customer Complaint Department. Fortunately for consumers (and maybe not so fortunately for marketers), the internet has made it possible for just about anyone to have a voice and be heard — fueled on by the power of social media.

Case in point: Anticipating the birth of our third child, my wife and I finally succumbed to the promise of convenience the mighty minivan extended, and purchased a 2008 Chrysler Town and Country late last year. Highly praised in reviews in the Wall Street Journal and Business Week (among others), we were initially delighted with our purchase — until, about a month into ownership, we returned our car to the dealership, complaining of a loud tick tick tick that grated grated grated on you for roughly two minutes, whenever you turned the car off.

It was then that we were told that this was a new catalytic converter issue, that it was a normal sound for an automobile (huh?), and that Chrysler had no plans for a recall, or a repair, or even a "sorry."

As a branding and marketing professional, not to mention someone who a) had previously purchased three Chrysler products (Jeeps) over the past 10 years and been a loyal, happy, referring and obviously repeat customer and b) had spent good money on the Town and Country, I found that simply unacceptable.

In inquired of the dealership again, speaking to management. Nothing. I phoned Chrysler and was promised a call back. Nada. I phoned Chrysler again and my complaint was lodged — only to be followed up with nothing.

So I turned to the internet, launched a blog (view it here), founded the Chrysler Tick-Tick-Ticked Off Club and am now spreading the gospel of the almighty dissatisfied buyer, in the hopes that the many others who have filed similar complaints on various auto review websites will join me in raising awareness and forcing Chrysler to recall and repair this obvious, embarrassing screw-up that, while they call it normal, most certainly will be corrected in their 2009 models.

Lesson for marketers? You don't necessarily control your brand anymore. Your customers do, by their experience and their ability to share that experience with others. So make sure that experience (and that sharing) is positive.

Source: NOISE
Reported by: John Sprecher

BRANDING: Textbook Marketing, Courtesy of NOISE.

NOISE has been honored to have its work featured in quite a number of noteworthy publications in our years — including the Wall Street Journal, Chicago Tribune, Adweek, Print, Graphis, Graphic Design, Gulf Coast Business Review, Florida Weekly, and three installments (including chapter introduction to direct mail) in celebrated marketing expert and Northwestern University professor Dr. Philip Kotler's book, Marketing for Hospitality and Tourism.

Today, we're extremely proud and excited to share the news that NOISE — and our highly successful, award-winning interactive branding and marketing work for client 'Tween Waters Inn of Captiva Island — has been dedicated a chapter in the new marketing book, Get Content. Get Customers.

Co-authored by Joe Pulizzi (noted content marketing expert and founder of Junta42, a content marketing and publishing online community) and Newt Barrett (another noted content marketing guru and founder of Content Marketing Today), the book is absolutely must reading for any marketer who wants to maximize the effectiveness of their online marketing efforts — web, e-database, social media and more. Which means, every marketer out there.

For your free copy of the NOISE chapter on effective travel and tourism web marketing, simply email johns@make-noise.com. And to order your very own copy of this very valuable new book, visit getcustomersgetcontent.com or here at amazon.com.

Source: NOISE

Reported by: John Sprecher

DIGITAL MEDIA: Magazine Publishing Turns a New Page.

By now, a lot of you have heard of Zinio — arguably the leading digital publisher of magazines in the United States. If you haven't, odds are you will hear of Zinio and others in the near future, as the near (and long-term) future of publishing will see more and more converts to digital format.

Today, Zinio publishes more than 750 electronic versions of primarily US magazines — including such stalwarts as Cosmopolitan, Business Week, US News, Macworld, Elle, Playboy and Men's Health. Titles are being added daily. And subscriptions are growing rapidly in what has been labeled the "e-paper" industry, with an anticipated $25 billion in annually sales by 2020.

Digital magazines can be viewed, obviously, on computers — but also iPhones, iPods and any other technology that can access the internet. And while it's safe to say that younger audiences (teenager readers have now been coined "screenagers") and early adopters are embracing digital publishing, the expectation is that over the next few years, electronic magazines will grow in acceptance and usage to become a (yes) household item.

If you're a magazine advertiser, Zinio and other digital publishers will make it easier for consumers to clickthrough to your website — and for you to track the effectiveness of the medium. At the same time, if magazine or newsletter publishing is part of your marketing mix, the time is now to analyze the possibilities and potential of bringing a digital offering to your consumers.

And, if nothing else, we're saving trees. That's a good thing, too.

Source: USA Today, Zinio, NOISE

Reported by: John Sprecher

BRANDING: Creating Your Own Brand Confusion (Sort Of).

When is it okay to go off brand message — so far off brand message that you change your brand name (at least temporarily)? For Pizza Hut, it was April Fool's Day.

As an April Fool's joke this year, Pizza Hut temporarily changed its name to Pasta Hut in conjunction with the introduction of their new line of Tuscani Pastas. What began as a jest at the brand quickly turned into a highly-effective strategic campaign, as the Pizza Hut logo cross-dissolved to a Pasta Hut logo with the tagline, “Pasta so good we changed our name.”

While some critics (aren't there always some?) have argued that the hoax caused confusion in the marketplace, the brand has gained significant media coverage and notoriety for their new expanded menu — not to mention a hefty serving of sales (no joke, despite the bad pun). And while new product introductions or product extensions aren't anything new, the (albeit temporary) evolution of the brand was a bold move that NOISE applauds for its courage.

Source: AdAge, NOISE
Submitted by: Lori Sansoucie, John Sprecher

SOCIAL MEDIA: The New Grass Roots.

Once upon a time in politics, grass roots efforts were limited to door-to-door campaigning — just like once upon a time in marketing, there existed the door-to-door salesperson. But politics, like marketing, has changed (many would substitute the word merged) — and in 2008, more than ever, presidential candidates have been setting precedence for how to target younger audiences through new social media including blogs, text messaging, video and social networking.

During his brief campaign, Mitt Romney effectively used his blog to get news out and react to other bloggers. John Edwards used his Flickr photo-sharing site to provide an inside glimpse of the business of campaigning. And Ron Paul had a streaming-video site where his team could broadcast live events.

Democratic candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama each had their own effective methods of communicating with their constituents. Clinton utilized Facebook to interact with her constituents, whereas Barack Obama had (and continues to have) what is likely the most sophisticated and interactive web marketing and social media campaign in history — a highly integrated marketing effort including e-marketing, webcasts, an online community and even a ranker that tracks an individual's "point total" relative to financial and social support. At the same time, John McCain slugs it out with similar web marketing, support and recruitment tools, and even has a "follow Cindy's travels" page to brand and market the would-be First Lady. In addition, each campaign employs tools such as Google Blog Search or other news sites such as memeorandum.com to track what bloggers and journalists are saying about them.

If social media tools are now a critical way to reach and market to the American people, how can you use them to reach and market to your people? NOISE can help.

Source: PR Week, NOISE
Reported by: Lori Sansoucie