SparkBlog by The Hartman Group

Message disconnect

Curious signage spotted at a TJ Maxx in Seattle. The “Labels for Less” retailer has historically offered an odd ball mix of “gourmet” inspired condiments and reduced price candy, best reserved for your great auntie’s sweet tooth. So we found it counter-intuitive that the retailer best known for last season’s designer labels would suddenly be promoting health via food. Buzz words like “organic,” “natural” and “no preservatives” certainly suggests food, yet there is no mention of actual food or better yet, fresh food.

On the same visit we overheard two Millemnials chatting at the checkout, each with an armful of assorted trendy togs. “Wow, organic pancake mix? That’s weird. I just wouldn’t think to eat anything from this place.”

Nothing wrong with a bit of humor

From the "something a little different" file:

FRONT - Conversation Starters:

BACK - Conversation Stoppers:

 
 

Southwest has continually cultivated a brand that is just a little bit different. They've been able to do this time and again with just a bit of humor. Here again, Southwest creates a unique kind of culture that offers a bit of emotional appeal to make Southwest the airline you choose to "move about the country."

Weekly Six: Packaging and innovation from the cool to the creative

12 of the World's Coolest Packaging Designs via Fast Company

Collage of the cool via Superficial Gallery

Anti-theft lunch bags via Think of The

NASA invention for kids: Applesauce on the go via Ambalaj

Meaty Packaging via Lovely Packaging

Credit card-sized Pocket Light folds flat via Dvice

Enjoy!

P.S. BONUS

There's an app for that: Plastic surgery ala iPhone

Starbucks social networking campaign goes awry

Example #6,438 of why brands should quit thinking that Twitter is a great way to connect with their customers:

Starbucks recently announced a major ad campaign designed to recruit online fans. In addition to large-format posters touting the chain’s coffee quality in six major cities, the clever marketing team decided to harness the power of online social networking sites by challenging their customers to hunt for the posters and be the first to post a photo of the poster on Twitter. In addition to the fact that there is nothing remotely interesting about the challenge, it never dawned on the powers that be that they were opening themselves up for a landslide of user-generated criticism and parody.

Case in point: Filmmaker Robert Greenwald was releasing a documentary that criticized Starbucks anti-union labor policies on the same day as the campaign. He thought to himself, “Why not invite fans of my position to play at the same game?”  So he simply tossed out a blog post on one of the many anti-Starbucks web sites encouraging people to take pictures in front of Starbucks stores holding signs that criticized the company’s “anti-labor practices.” Then he invited users to upload the photos onto Twitter and tweet them out to followers with the same hashtags Starbucks designated for their own campaign:  #top3percent and #starbucks.

Within hours many dozens of photos of Starbucks haters with their signs started to flow through Twitter from all around the country.

While we certainly do not share Mr. Greenwald's political views, we can’t help but applaud his efforts to expose the naïve thinking that characterizes most marketers responses to social networking technology.

The world is a most dangerous place.

Or, as the saying goes, be careful what you wish for…

Branding work from the bottom up

As an example of "bottoms up" branding work, this Southwest flight attendant, David Holmes, became an online sensation and was dubbed the "rhythmic ambassador" of the airline at a recent shareholders' meeting.

Want customer smiles like these? Before any brand experience can resonate with the consumer, it must first appear credible and authentic to the team members. After all, if your team members can't take the brand seriously, there is little chance your customer will.

And in order to get critical buy-in from your team members, they, in turn, must truly believe they are part of something "real," "meaningful" or "larger." This belief can't be ordered or scripted from the top down - via a pep talks or a mission statements - but must arise as an indigenous impulse. Our research identifies two critical components to this impulse.

First, in order for your team members to believe they are part of something "real," the brand must have attained some level of cultural legitimacy in the larger social world. What we mean by this is the brand (or brand experience) must reside within the indigenous collective conscience, within the set of options that are seen as authentic or real, and not necessarily a by-product of the artificial, impersonal, homogenous nature of capitalism. That may sound complicated, but think about it. Southwest has already established itself as an airline that is more approachable, more relevant and with a sense of humor to boot (think: "You are now free to move about the country.") As the rapping flight attendant says, "You will not get that on United Airlines, I guarantee you."

In the retail world, no matter what Albertsons does, until they address the fact that they are not viewed (by most consumers) as a relevant, interesting feature of contemporary collective life, Albertsons cannot lay claim to any degree of cultural legitimacy. By contrast, when you talk to consumers about Trader Joe's, you'll notice their eyes alight with a twinkle. Never mind that Trader Joe's may be every bit as concerned with turning a profit as Albertsons, there is still something unique and personally compelling about the Trader Joe's experience such that it achieves a certain legitimacy in our contemporary culture. Put simply, Trader Joe's is currently "culturally meaningful," interesting and salient in a way that Albertsons is not.

Secondly, in order for team members to find meaning and "authenticity," in the brand, they must first respect the organizational structure of power. Again, this may sound complicated but in reality it is a pretty simple proposition. Devout followers - brand evangelists—will only "legitimate" or "respect," authority structures that appear natural and justified. Traditional top-down authority structures appear arbitrary and capricious, the product of mindless bureaucratic logics strikingly similar to much-maligned parenting techniques ("you'll do this because I said so, after all, I am the boss"). While the high-five at the end of the Southwest shareholders' meeting may have been utterly awkward, David Holmes continues to steal the show.

By contrast, many successful brands, especially in retail, have taken the unusual step of letting lower-level team members play an active role in management—both of the everyday workloads as well as the assorted elements of the retail or brand experience (product sets, promotional campaigns, etc.). By opening up the authority structure and encouraging active participation by all, your team members will respond as if they are engaged in something, well, real. Similarly, flexible, horizontal organizations with few layers of authority also foster the perception, if not the reality, that task at hand is less anonymous and ever more meaningful.

We believe that the successful brand designers of today (and tomorrow) will increasingly recognize that good brand management is as much about understanding how to organizationally manage their brand as it is how to deploy the products and services themselves.

What can steroid use and major league baseball teach us about soul?

There’s been much talk this season (and pre-season) about Alex Rodriguez’s downward spiral given his “remorseful” spring training confession. But no one’s described this so clearly and with such chutzpah ans Jeff Pearlman today on SportsIllustrated.com:

Less than a year ago, people were not merely speculating how many career home runs he would hit (800? 850? 900? 950?), but also how his name atop the all-time list would return Aaron-esque decency to a record book poisoned by Bonds' regrettable presence. Rodriguez was the Brad Pitt of baseball -- the pretty boy with chops who could carry a big-budget adventure through the summer.

Now, with the latest revelations, the comparison to Pitt seems ludicrous. Instead, Rodriguez brings to mind a slightly different fabled theatrical figure -- one who, 20 years ago, took America by storm. At the time, we fell in love with Spuds MacKenzie because the bull terrier brought spark and pizzazz to the otherwise mundane world of beer advertising. He was cute and funny and talented and engrossing.

Then, we learned the truth. Spuds, a lady-killer in ads, was actually a girl. Her real name was Honey Tree Evil Eye, and she didn't even like beer.

Turns out, ol' Spuds MacKenzie was nothing special after all.

Just another dog.

So why does this bothers us so much? In a culture that is itself only a little over 200 years old, we are obsessed with infusing authenticity and soul in everything we (collectively) do. When things come along that challenge the meaning - and hence legitimacy - of our institutions, we respond with vigor and unity, working hard to maintain their integrity.

So when a practice such as steroid use threatens to make the record books obsolete - in the process reminding us of the ultimate arbitrariness of the game - we respond by championing the anti-steroid position. Not because we care personally, but because we believe in the institution of baseball.

Ditto for the whole aluminum bat issue. After all, the decision of whether to play baseball with a wooden bat or an aluminum bat - or a racket, pool cue or putter for that matter - is wholly arbitrary. College players routinely rely on aluminum bats. But by championing the continued use of wood bats in the major league - and defending that belief with carefully crafted narratives explaining how the game will "never be the same" if we abandon wood bats - we channel the soulfulness and integrity of our cherished game. We remind ourselves how "pure" and "authentic" our tradition of baseball really is.

This is what we term "soul work," and it's actually much more common than many of us realize.

Think about something as basic as our descriptions of our work histories. Rarely do you listen as someone hops into Letterman's guest chair and explains, "I guess I am just blessed. My father was an actor so one day he just sent me to down to the studio and 'presto,' I've been a successful actor ever since." Instead we listen as each actor/actress recounts their early tribulations of "washing dishes in a diner," "living in squalor" or "maxing out their credit cards.” These carefully placed narratives suggest there is significantly more authenticity, meaning and soul behind the facade of our contemporary life. Somehow, these stories have a way of making our lives seem a little more real.

While consumers and commercial enterprises alike are constantly engaged in soul work – we see this often with new niche brands, think of the brand narrative of Amy’s, we are struck by how few marketers and branders still do not include soul work as legitimate practice in their strategic brand platforms.

In fact, most companies are already practicing soul work without being aware. For years, older tech companies such as Microsoft and Apple perpetuated the now infamous, "garage" narratives that highlighted their respective organizations' "scrappy start" when they allegedly persevered with little more than a "musty garage" to call home.

Regarding soul work's applicability to marketing arenas, we note two critical implications:

Managing the Brand Image for Soul: While all of us have experience with soul work, we find few brand managers who appear to be consciously managing their brand's image with an eye for soul. Often it is as if those in charge of the brand have forgotten where their brand came from.

To this end, for all its critics and detractors, Wal-Mart has done a great job "managing soul." From the earliest days forward, nearly every narrative references some combination of (a) the pioneering work of Sam Walton (What would Sam do?) and (b) the original locale (Bentonville), not to mention the proverbial "tattered rags to riches" story. More importantly, though they've somehow managed to drag the rest of the business community into this game, every shout out to the "Bentonville Behemoth," serves simply to solidify Wal-Mart's association with its humble beginnings.

Thinking About Collective Sentiment: The emphasis on soul work also raises important methodological issues for marketers and researchers alike. Specifically, if it is the case that much of what casts a given institution in a "soulful light" has more to do with collective sentiment than individual preference, then we may need to rethink the levels of analysis we use for our consumer research. Consumer research focusing on the opinions and practices of individual consumers may prove irrelevant, at least for soul work.

Lest you go the way of Spuds MacKenzie.

IKEA Everywhere

Last weekend we pointed our browsers towards Apartment Therapy for some much-needed design inspiration. Our walls have been looking a little on the dreary side lately and we've found ourselves desperately searching for all the attention-grabbing patterns that spring has to offer.

Imagine our delight when we happened upon these photos of the train car IKEA decked out in celebration of their new location in Kobe, Japan. While the color pop of fabric chosen for the installation would be a little hard on our sleepy eyes first thing in the morning, the design insures that commuters can’t ignore this superbly executed experiential advertising. Give us a fabric be-decked train car over an ad-wrapped bus any day. Also, those seats look pretty darn comfortable.

This is not the first time we’ve noticed IKEA’s flare for site-specific advertising. In 2006 Seattleites were treated to the IKEA-sponsored Experimental Housing Project at the Bumbershoot music and arts festival. The interactive exhibition (or Living Art Advertising as one company likes to label it) featured several structures, designed by local artists and outfitted by IKEA. Festival goers were provided with perfect photo-ops, pleasing visual landscapes and much-welcomed spaces to rest their tired bones.

IKEA is one of many companies to increasingly use functional advertising as a unique way to draw attention to products and services. Through site-specific events and promotions consumers are able to engage with brands in meaningful ways that fulfill their needs. Take for example the Charmin Restrooms located in New York City during the holiday season. For two consecutive runs Proctor and Gamble has provided clean facilities and bathroom products to busy shoppers including luxury seating areas and baby changing stations.

Interactive, experience-based advertising takes consumers beyond a free sample or in-store demonstration to a memorable and helpful encounter facilitated by a brand. IKEA’s colorful train is simply one example of an effective way of building brand presence without inundating consumers with advertising.

We’re still waiting for unique prints and seating to reach our own public transport. In the meantime, though, we’ll head to our local Ikea to see what’s new in the fabric department. Those walls won’t color themselves!

Lipstick for the Lunchbox Set

For as long as we can remember, the toy isle at the drugstore has stocked brightly-colored makeup kits for girls. Plastic and poorly made, little thought was given to these products, tucked neatly between the dolls and the board games. This just in: times have changed.

With the growth of Bratz dolls and other fashion-focused products for children, young consumers have become more style conscious and, some worry, are maturing at lightening speeds. In an attempt to keep up with the increasing popularity of their edgier competitors (Bratz dolls captured forty percent of the fashion doll market last year) Mattel is partnering with Bonne Belle to create a makeup line targeted at young girls. Very young girls.

Set to launch in 2008, Barbie's new beauty products will be aimed at 6-9 year olds. The "girl savvy" cosmetics were initially inspired by Mattel's overwhelming success with last year's Barbie Loves MAC, a product line for adults featuring vivid colors reminiscent of America's favorite perma-teenager. As expected, the upcoming girl's line is already raising concern amongst those who fear that the makeup will promote prepubescent sexuality, furthering the push for age compression in the toy market.

Keep in mind that while Barbara Millicent "Barbie" Roberts' latest venture is selling cosmetics to pre-teens, she has shown her entrepreneurial flare in the past. In fact, Barbie has consistently updated her resume over the almost five decades she's been on the scene, taking on an average of one career per year. That said, we'd pick Paleontologist Barbie over Bonne Belle Barbie any day.

(via MediaPost)

Stuck on Stilton?

For years, and with little competition, Demeter has served as the gold standard in the off-beat perfume market. Promoting "real scents from real life," Demeter's fragrances like Dirt and Laundromat draw upon the collective memories of their consumers to create a unique aromatic experiences.

One category missing in Demeter's line? Dairy. While we wouldn't be particularly keen on donning the stuff, the Stilton Cheesemakers' Association recently commissioned a Manchester-based aromatics company to produce a perfume that mirrors the pungent cheese. Appropriately named Eau De Stilton, the scent has been rendered to yield a "highly wearable perfume." Although we don't recommend Eau De Stilton for job interviews or first dates, praise is due to the cheesemakers for reimagining the idea of what a perfume aught to be. The question is, how will the scent be put to use, other than generating buzz around the historic cheese?

Here's an idea: why not take your cocktail party guests to the edge of molecular non-gastronomy by treating their olfactories to a calorie-free scent buffet? Start with Demeter's Gin and Tonic followed by Fig Leaf and Chocolate Covered Cherries. Stilton is traditionally served with chocolate and dried fruit.

A word of warning to late night snackers: Stilton has been proven to cause vivid and bizarre dreams when eaten close to bedtime.

(via Hello Delicious)

Attack of the Jolly Green Giant

Gone are the days of the Hamburglar and Mayor McCheese. McDonald’s has chosen Shrek as the face of their foray into marketing healthy eating to children. Beginning this month, Shrek is set to promote McDonald’s “Go for Green” campaign, their single biggest promotion of fruit, vegetables and milk. Items will include Shrek-themed Happy Meals, featuring apples and chocolate milk, more traditional McDonald’s fare, and, of course, toys.

Barely out of the gate, the promotion is taking heat from child advocacy groups, who are angered by Shrek’s partnership with McDonald’s, as well as Mars, Pepsi and Kellogg’s. The Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood is requesting that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services drop Shrek from their anti-obesity campaign, where the character has appeared in several Public Service Announcements. Shrek is currently promoting seventy separate food products, in addition to the items featured in the McDonald’s campaign.

Judging from his partnerships alone, it would appear that Shrek shares the eating habits of many Americans, often reaching for fat-free Apple Dippers with one hand while grabbing a fistful of “ogre-sized” Peanut-Butter M&M’s with the other. Ethics aside, character promotions serve to turn traditionally overlooked (exercise, for example) activities or seemingly standard (M&M’s) products into trendy desirables for their target audiences.

We exist in a time where novelty rules, regardless of the specific consumer. What if Kettle Chips were endorsed by independent bands like Iron and Wine or Modest Mouse? Would armies of hipsters flock to nosh on limited-edition flavors like Float On Sea Salt and Vinegar or Naked As We Came Unsalted? 

If crack-dealer-turned -rapper Fifty Cent can drink his personalized flavor of Vitamin Water in a commercial for Reebok while promoting his own line of G-Unit sneakers, is it so wrong for Shrek to simultaneously peddle Apple Dippers and Pop-Tarts to children? 

On a personal note, I recently ventured to my local McDonald’s to see what all the fuss was about. Initially seeking to purchase a Happy Meal, complete with apples and milk, I was drawn instead towards a Swamp Sludge Milkshake. Upon completing my order, I was handed a gigantic cup filled with no less than 32 ounces of minty-green frappe. The question is would I have selected such a drink had it simply been marketed as a gimmick-free mint shake? I think not.

(via AdAge, SFGate)