Where do new ideas come from? I often find they spring up at the intersection of two old ideas. Take today’s blog post. I recently wrote about ensuring that there is true value in your value proposition. Then I worked with Associate Editor Brad Bortone on the MarketingSherpa Wisdom Report submission form – where we publish our audience’s top lessons learned from this year.
Voila. A new idea. It made me wonder what “good” marketing you did this year.
After all, whether your hope this year is peace on Earth and goodwill toward men,tocelebrate a great miracle that happened there, or to just not get a lump of coal in your stocking…this is the time of year when our thoughts wander beyond year-end performance to actual, well, “good.”
So, with the holidays upon us, I thought it best to highlight your marketing efforts that contributed to the greater good…however you choose to define that. As well as get your thoughts on whether a marketing campaign can benefit more than just you and your company, or client.
One of my favorite “good” campaigns this year was the Pepsi Refresh Project. Pepsi decided not to advertise on the Super Bowl for the first time in 23 years in favor of giving away $20 million through what is, essentially, a social media marketing campaign. So, how goes it? Will this approach become the choice of a new generation of marketers? “The brand equity is so huge we’d be crazy not to continue to work on it,” said CEO Indra Nooyi.
Well, that’s my pick. Here are some of my favorite responses from you…
Double-digit response rates from charity voting
Over the last couple years, we’ve replaced our traditional holiday greeting and gift to our customers and prospects with campaigns benefiting our favorite local charity.
For the campaigns, we created an online voting tool that allowed our contacts to select a gift for us to donate on their behalf. For each vote, we made a donation of food, toys, books, clothing or time.
As far as business results, the campaigns got double-digit response rates and contributed to the acquisition of some huge accounts.
But what really stood out to me was the emotional response we got from the campaigns. We received tons of calls, posts, and emails from recipients who loved the idea of helping others more than receiving a fruit basket, popcorn tin, Starbucks gift card, or any other popular customer appreciation gift we could have sent out.
Please, please steal this idea for your business.
David Vogel, Direct Marketing Strategist and Internet marketer at MailPrint
The benefit to the consumer
One of the benefits of marketing that doesn’t get enough credit is “understanding.” People focus on the money, the market share, the niches, but not enough credit goes to the benefit to the consumer.
Through effective marketing campaigns that include thorough research, a company really learns what exactly their customers want. They learn their likes, dislikes, and what they’re passionate about. It is this research that allows them to deliver a better product and better experience.
Through marketing, companies have a better understanding of their client and themselves. This could be abused in attempt to prey on the customers’ weaknesses, but great marketers will use this deeper understanding to provide a better customer experience.
Ben Nesvig, Marketing Manager at Fuzed Marketing
Providing real value
In the past, our marketing efforts have primarily focused on promoting the website to increase site users/registrants, and therefore make it easier to sell job postings. As job seekers’ habits have changed, as well as the economy, our marketing tactics have changed greatly as well.
We now find that we get the greatest exposure via presenting ourselves as experts in the job seeker/employer arena, and in order to do so, must continue to provide some real value to our site users via our social media outlets, tradeshows, email marketing, etc.
It requires a lot more time and effort but helps us increase a positive brand awareness, while at the same time helping job seekers land their dream jobs and employers recruit top talent. It’s not just about driving traffic to the job postings on our site anymore; we now network with them online and in-person, help them in their search and share their success stories so as to help others (all the while marketing ourselves as experts and as a top resource for job seekers and employers).
We’ve learned that we can get excellent exposure utilizing “free” outlets by sharing helpful content and time. It may end up costing us more time-wise, but we end up doing a lot of good for our community while getting our name out there.
Skye Callan, Marketing Director at BAJobs.com
And while I couldn’t possibly publish all of your “good” responses, I added everyone that sent something in to the MarketingExperiments Nice (Twitter) List.
Now let me know your thoughts. Is “good” marketing even possible? And, if so, what was your favorite “good” campaign this year?
Recommended resources
Online Marketing: Your peers’ top lessons from 2010
Top Online Marketing Lessons of 2010: What worked and what didn’t in the last 365 days of experimentation –Web Clinic Replay
The MarketingExperiments Quarterly Research Journal, Q3 2010
New MarketingSherpa Inbound Marketing Newsletter
Photo by: JJ & Special K