Elastic Thought

Should I do a Groupon?

There has been a lot said about Groupon.  And the concept of a Groupon or a blog post on Groupon is certainly not a new thing considering there are already over 170 Groupon competitors already in the field--and growing.  But we still do get the question of "should I do a Groupon for my company?"  And with each blog post, news article, video of the owner's experience and announcement of another multi-billion dollar offer, it get's more confusing. 

So let's just make it simple: Yes, if you can afford the worst case scenario, you should do a Groupon (or similar group-buying, discount-oriented deal). 

But here's the caveat: you better be prepared for a lot more work after the Groupons have all come in to make it a worthwhile endeavor.  Actually, on second thought, you better be prepared for a lot more work while the Groupons are coming in. 

And here's why in a nutshell: Groupon's customers are theirs….not yours.  You have to win them over to you.  And the Groupon itself is not the way to do it. 

Let's step back for a moment.  We may need a quick recap of the pros and cons of Groupon here before going into shopper psychology.  And probably explain what I mean by "if you can afford the worst case scenario."  Groupon can bring an onslaught of people into your business that has never been there before.  It can get you noticed and exposure to a number of people you can't reach on your own, or even with a competitor's list.  It's big, it has a cult following and it works. 

We can even justify some of the negatives.  Groupons cheapen brands.  Maybe.  But you can't say that a brand is forever cheapened if they offer a mass deep discount.  That is up the brand experience itself--and how and how many times it uses Groupon.  I don't think anyone would think less of Apple (or insert your favorite brand here) if they did a 50% off Groupon.  Now… if they did one every other week, we may start to think they are overpriced and continue to wait for the next one.  But a one time shot in the arm isn't going to cheapen the brand. 

Groupon has trouble communicating between their sales team and their operations team.  Probably.  But it's up to you to know your break-even point, the deal, the merchandise and the stipulations you want to offer.  If you do a smart deal, you can work through the typical left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.  That happens anywhere. 

And what do I mean by "if you can afford the worst case scenario?"  Well, a lot of people that use Groupon think that one or both of the following will happen: (a) people will come into my business and spend more than the amount of the face value of the Groupon; (b) people will see what a great business I have here and become a repeat customer, gaining in the long-run.  The statistics tell us otherwise, 25% and 19% respectively (as of November 2010).  But what you did get was great advertising.  Not only great exposure, but traffic to your store.  Very few other forms of advertising bring feet through your door.  Not print, radio, TV, Google, or even a lot of new-fangled social media "channels."  So the worst-case scenario is an advertising buy.  Can you afford it at the level you negotiated with Groupon?  Can you afford it if only 25% buy more than face value and only 19% return?  If so… do it.  I don't know of a better way to get people to come check you out. 

But here is the catch.  Like any form of advertising, you can't sit back and count the orders.  You have to work it.  And this goes back to the customers being Groupon's and not yours.  The people that redeem a Groupon don't know you.  They know the deal.  They are loyal to Groupon and follow the deals from one to the next.  Always beholden to the 50% off (or greater deal).  They don't care about you, your company or your brand.  They just want the deep discount.  And most of them will then move on after they've gotten what they want out of you never to return. 

But with some work, you can stop that.  You can win some of the crowd over.  If the service is fantastic, if the other products around the deal are irresistible, if you can entice them to come back with another exclusive deal or reward, you've got a chance to get some of them back.  You have to really word to get them to fall harder for you than for the deal.  It make take more discounting, and some tricks, but if you can get the ball rolling, you have a shot of moving that 19% up to 25%-35% return rate.  And if that happens, then you've made a really smart marketing and promotions deal with Groupon.

And if I could get 1/3 of everyone that drove by my billboard to not only come into my store, but then become a repeat and loyal customer… well, I wouldn't be writing this blog post…. 

Would it cheapen the brand if our agency did a Groupon?

When it's all said and done, did the Old Spice Guy WORK?

If nothing else, we've (mostly) all heard about the media darling that is the Old Spice Guy.  And we've heard countless debate on the effectiveness of this campaign.  There are two camps and they bolster themselves with plenty of data.

One of the first in the camp of "it didn't work" was MaggieMcGary1 on socialmedia today.  Citing an article in BNET she states that sales were down.  "Shocking."  The BNET article actually has corrected itself recently, but they stated:

"But sales of the featured product—Red Zone After Hours Body Wash—aren’t necessarily tracking with that consumer appeal: In the 52 weeks ended June 13, sales of the brand have dropped 7 percent according to SymphonyIRI. (That amount excludes those rung up at Walmart.) P&G execs were not available to comment."

This was quickly followed up by BL Ochman: "The bottom line: there is no such thing as a social media strategy. There is business strategy incorporating social media. But if that strategy doesn't include sales, it's nothing more than a tactic. Tactics don't move markets."

On the other side of the debate is PR Week who are reporting:

"The brand's ad agency Wieden + Kennedy developed and coordinated 186 customized video responses that contributed to a 107% increase in Old Spice Body Wash sales over the last month, according to Nielsen data from Mike Norton, director of external relations for male grooming at P&G."

So which is it?

Media Bistro asks us to wait and see.

But the interesting thing is to actually look at the numbers.  The "sales slump" was a 52 week number ended June 13,  PRIOR to the social media blitz.  The 107% figure is a monthly figure for the previous 30 days.  (measured by Symphony IRI in June).  This would include early data AFTER the recent blitz.

So we can assume it "worked," right?  Well, Ad Age also points out that the campaign was bolstered with a high value coupon.  It also notes that the other P&G body wash in the category, Gillette, rose 277% in the same space in the same time.  And they didn't have Mr. Mustafa pitching them.  (Granted, they are a smaller player in the space).

Back to Media Bistro, we will have to wait and see.

If we are defining "worked" by sales register data.

And that is the rub here.  Is it all about immediate sales data?  Kevin Green of Digital Influence Group said:

"Doesn't the increase in connected consumers create significant opportunity to market products? Don't get me wrong... I agree that more direct integration could have been included, but the value of the connection has to be worth a significant amount and the effort. Does engagement always have to include conversion? I would argue that it does not."

And here is how I tie it back to Elasticity and a few opinions from our side of the debate.  First, let's go back to the numbers.  Actually, let's go to a comment on an NPR story they did on the Old Spice campaign.  A follow up to a popular story read that not everyone is comfortable and liking the "Old Spice Guy."  One listener complained that Old Spice was the "scent of gentlemen," and represented countless men for generations prior to ours that were true gentlemen.

Perhaps that is why the brand was on a slide.  (back to the 7% decline).  Today's consumers thought of the brand as their grandpa's brand.  One they didn't want.  So to hold steady or even gain in a period is a good business outcome.  Even better, to appeal to a broader audience and begin to walk away from that perception is even better.  The business objectives may never be public, but they seem apparent.

When asked by our clients about ROI, we always ask what they are trying to achieve.  It may not always be about conversions.  It may be reputation, it may be perception, it may be search results, or numerous others.  Not all of which are measured by sales.  That said, they are measurable and we can prove results on any objective with true data, relevant and timely.

Second, let's look at Triangulation.  The original Old Spice commercial was slapped up to YouTube after it appeared and garnered a modest amount of hits (a few million I think).  After a traditional media blitz (NPR, Good Morning America, etc.) and social media engagement that linked the 3 pillars of the model, views went over 90 million.  True proof in action.

And finally, to sales.  There is a link from social media to conversion.  It often times appears in overlapping data points to draw the connection.  A client of Elasticity often employs several tactics to push sales campaigns and drives to an online channel.  When taking the social media component out of the mix, there is a trend line that can be drawn that shows a boost in traffic and conversions from the norm.  But when you layer in the social media components of the program in a week later, the trend lines spike and map back to spikes in social media activity.  This has played out multiple times in their conversion charts as well as those of other clients.

So at the end of this lengthy analysis, did the Old Spice Guy work?

I would argue that it, indeed, has.

1. It reached new audiences
2. It brought awareness to a brand that was beginning to slip into obscurity
3. It stopped and began to reverse a negative sales slide
4. It has shown signs (along with coupons) of turning sales into a profitable trend
5. It has shown the value of the oft-misunderstood social media "channel" (for those that think it a channel)
6. And it showed that slapping a video on YouTube won't cut it.  You need the additional "topspin" of a well-thought out campaign with multiple parts that feed on each other.  It's Triangulation and the highest visible example of its power yet.

Does Humor Belong in PR?

 Humor, parody and satire have been around since classic Greek literature.  It permeates music, politics, movies and popular culture.  And as of late, it's now made it's way into one of the last bastions of non-satirical holdouts--the mainstream news media.

Saturday Night Live has 30+ years of background in this.  The've poked fun at everything from presidents to popular culture and their Weekend Update has been the satirical news of record.  The Onion took a further step at creating new humorous antidotes, stories and otherwise and placing them out as a news media outlet (print, video, online, blog) like any other.

Then came the popularity of shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report .  The Daily Show taking what was started with Weekend Update and expanding to new audiences and The Colbert Report taking on the political blow-hard pundits who are gaining in popularity as of late.

But the traditional news media continued to stand firm.  They did not even acknowledge the other avenues existed.  The news was paramount.  And important.  Important enough that humor, parody and satire had no place.  And those that delivered the news?  Just as important.  There were no humorous angles to Dan Rather or Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow.

And thus, public relations as an industry followed suit.

But things are changing now.  I'm sure there is no one instance that was the tipping point, but I'm going to go out on a limb and say it was the Daily Show.  An IU study found the Daily Show with Jon Stewart to be as substantive as network news.  A Rasmussen Report showed 32% of adults ages 30-39 believe that The Daily Show and The Colbert Report are capable of replacing traditional new outlets.  And nearly one-third of younger Americans see Colbert and Stewart as true alternatives to traditional news outlets.

That's a big impact.  So how did traditional news outlets respond?  They started slowly.  They played clips on their shows (well, the cable news guys did--they have a lot of time to fill) to get a laugh, to prove a point that fit their political agenda, or attacked the satirical shows in retribution.

But then Brian Williams from 'NBC Nightly News' started showing up as a repeat guest on The Daily Show.  It was humorous, genuine, and a reach to cross into the audiences that watch the program.

But last night was a new milestone in my opinion.  If you haven't seen the piece on Chatroulette, you must go now and watch it.  (I'll wait). Did you count the media personalities in that piece?  At least 5.  All 3 major new network anchorpersons (ABC,CBS, NBC) as well as some cable news for good measure-- MSNBC and Fox Business.  And they weren't just mocking the video roulette site.  They were poking fun of themselves.  They were poking fun of their industry.  And they were doing it on The Daily Show's terms.

They showed that the news doesn't have to always take itself so seriously.

Why?  Well, for one, to get viewers.  But it's more than that.  It's an attempt to show that they are human.  They are endearing themselves to their audience, or better yet, a new potential one.

And they did it through humor and self-deprecation.

So, if you made it with me this far into a long blog post, my question is this: why hasn't the Public Relations Industry followed suit?  Why have they continued to act as if they are above the fray?  Why have they insisted that the news is more important than any humor based program you can think up.  (And by news, I mean EVERY press release every written for any client need--big or small)  Why would they not follow the actual media they are working with?

This is not an indemnification of the industry as a whole, only to say this: lighten up, you may just actually be more effective as an agency/industry if you do.

We have found at Elasticity that humor, parody, and the lighter side of human nature have phenomenal appeal.  Stories are placed more frequently.  Programs take off and go "viral" with greater frequency, and we're able to break through the clutter.  We're able to endear our clients to their audiences.

Another example we talked about this week.  Ole' Miss is replacing their beloved Col. Reb with a new mascot.  The story is that Admiral Ackbar is a leading contender.  We all heard this story and it took off like wildfire.  Do you think you would have heard about this story had they been thinking about replacing their mascot with a bear, or an eagle?  (though it may have been picked up by Colbert since he hates bears)

This is a highly controversial topic right now, and those who practice this type of communications are not taken serious.  But it is catching on.  There are more and more every day that see this.  And in time, the larger agencies may just play ball on our terms, much like the major news networks participated in Chatroulette.

Now, this is not to say that the news is all humorous, nor to say that no news is actually legitimate.  Only to say that humor often times breaks through clutter and the news media is starting to catch on.  You don't' have to be 100% serious 100% of the time.  Having a "human" face often times endears you to your audience.

And isn't that what "public relations" is all about?  Endearing yourself to your audience?

Elastic Marketing - It's more than you think

 We've all heard what is wrong with marketing and advertising.  From what I gather at most conferences, blog posts, and industry quips, it needs to be more interactive.  It needs to be engaging.  I think they also say it needs to be more social, and a few other things I can't remember now.  It all jumbles together at this point.  What's funny is that you never hear someone actually say that it just needs to be good.

And it needs to be found.  There are so many ways for people to bury communications methods these days that the big industry money maker this year is going to be promoting promotions.  Really, it is.  Advertising for advertisements….  Really.

So look out for the great new buzz terms: "viral seeding" along with "tradigital" and "increasing visibility of your program."  While they seem rational enough terms (well, except for tradigital), make sure they aren't adding to the budget to push something that won't fly in the first place.

Now, we get asked a lot about Elastic Marketing.  As an agency, we're often dubbed a "hybrid" agency that sits somewhere in the middle of a Ven diagram with overlapping circles of advertising, PR, and social media (and I guess digital gets thrown in there too).  And we do our fair share of ridiculing the status quo in our pitches, so it's only fair that we share what it is we do a little more here online.

A recent client was ecstatic when he "figured it out."  He said we were "like an episodic, story-based sitcom" that "played itself out online and offline."  And I have to say, that's pretty accurate in some measures.  In a way, it's a more modern version of the soap opera.

I may have to explain that a bit here.  Wikipedia defines a soap opera as "an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on television or radio.  The name 'soap opera' stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Colgate-Palmolive, and Lever Brothers as sponsors and producers."

Now, we're not into dramatic fiction, and we certainly aren't television producers.  What we do is episodic, but those "episodes" aren't necessarily in chronological order and most likely play out on a multitude of channels.  Rather, our storyline is something that organically plays to a specific cause.  Say, for example, bringing the mustache back into popular culture.  That may include blog outreach, traditional PR, event marketing, and advertising.  And it's not something that goes away after a short run on TV.  This particular example has been going on for over 4 years.

So does your company want to change the status quo?  It may be something as simple as getting people to eat more potatoes.  It may be getting you to understand and appreciate rail liquor.  Hell, it may be to grow a luxurious mullet.  Whatever it is, there are a series of episodic events online and offline that can better get your program goals into the popular vernacular.  To actually get people to care about what it is you are doing.

And that is where Elastic Marketing comes into play.  We get that snowball rolling downhill.  We get the mullet talked about and have it show up where audiences actually care to hear about it.  People start talking more about potatoes and celebrating rail liquor.  And not because we virally seeded the campaign, but because people actually sought it out and cared to listen.  That's Elastic Marketing.

(none of the above examples relate to any past or current client we are actively working with.  any resemblance to anybody in any close approximation with mullets, rail liquor and potatoes is purely coincidental.  and if you know of anyone in any close approximation to monkeys, mullets, mustaches, Mr. T or wee people, please contact us immediately)