Tag Archive: Quantitative Research

“Did the (Dodge Ram) company really just use Dr. King’s words about the value of service to sell trucks?”New York Times, February 5, 2017

The unfortunate answer was … “Yes.”

Did somebody … anybody … at Chrysler suggest that its Super Bowl LII advertisement shown to 103.4 million viewers (Nielsen Ratings) may not be the best idea? One would hope the executive management at Chrysler is not exclusively composed of yes men and yes women.

If a viewer watching next Sunday’s Super Bowl LIII advertisements takes a sip of tequila every time a cause marketing spot comes across the screen, would that person be smashed by half time?

Based upon last year’s Super Bowl and the trend so far this year, Almost DailyBrett will take the over.

Even weighing Chrysler’s public relations/marketing disaster last February, it seems the trend toward questionable cause-marketing advertising is growing, not subsiding.

Razor Blades and #MeToo?

“Razor blade commercials aren’t supposed to make national headlines, but these aren’t ordinary times. Last week’s Gillette commercial playing on the #MeToo movement became the latest piece of corporate messaging to berate and belittle men.” – Karol Markowicz, New York Post

For Almost DailyBrett, it seems the growing use of cause-marketing advertising with predictable somber music and societal images are mostly lame corporate attempts to attach product brands to a public policy push or cultural icon.

The question remains: Are cause marketing advertising practitioners, who recommend paying $5.1-$5.3 million per 30-second Super Bowl LIII spots to their corporate clients, playing with fire works in the forest with a company’s hard-earned reputation and brand?

Consider Nike’s cause marketing folly of tying its “Swoosh” athletic apparel to Colin Kaepernick, who in many quarters is persona non grata for taking a knee on the flag, the Star Spangled Banner and America.

Is Colin playing in the Super Bowl next week? Will he ever play again? Almost DailyBrett will take the under.

We all know that Chrysler was burned big time for attempting to link the words of the late Dr. Martin Luther King’s sermons to the sale of Dodge Ram trucks.

Who thought this poor taste linkage was a good idea?

Ditto for Gillette tying razor blades to the #MeToo movement or Nike taking a knee on Old Glory.

Almost DailyBrett must ask: Were the ads submitted to focus groups (qualitative research)? What was the input of in-depth interviews from African-American respondents (Dodge), women (Gillette) and veterans and their families (Nike)? Was any random quantitative research conducted to validate or contradict the focus group reactions?

Tying the sale of muscle trucks by a publicly traded company to the words, works and deeds of a renowned assassinated civil rights leader/legend sounds risky at best.

The national response to boorish men continues to this day. Is Gillette taking a stand against the #MeToo movement? Hope not.

Does Nike management have a problem with the Star Spangled Banner?

Infamous Or Notorious Brand?

Defenders of dubious cause marketing ads, which draw justified rebukes, will predictably respond that millions of viewers now identify with the (tarnished) brand/product. They will piously state that nothing is worse than spending $5 million-plus for a 30-second spot and the viewers don’t remember the sponsor of the advertisement. Okay, but …

Your author is not carte blanche taking aim against all cause marketing ads.

For example, Verizon cleverly tied its wireless services to first responders running toward the flood, the fire, the earthquake … ensuring they receive the urgent call for their life-and-depth services.

What are Almost DailyBrett’s rules for cause marketing spots, whether or not they are intended for the Super Bowl of Advertising?

  • Appreciate that tribalism is rampant in America, and the warring camps simply do not care, let alone in many cases tolerate each other. Avoid taking sides (e.g., Nike). The predominant views in your locale (e.g., Beaverton, Oregon) are most likely not a reflection of the country as a whole.
  • Contemplate that movements are based upon redressing grievances. They have leaders. They have organizations. They have a determined cause. Don’t try to hijack a movement to sell your products (e.g., Gillette).
  • Invest in qualitative (i.e., focus groups, in-depth interviews) and random quantitative research (e.g. surveys). Don’t prejudge the results. If the respondents essentially question or even revolt against the proposed ad … don’t argue, don’t rationalize … drop it (e.g., Dodge Ram).
  • Embrace honesty with company management about the possible repercussions in terms of reputation, brand, sales, stock price, market capitalization, P/E ratio.
  • Consider that viewers are smarter than you think. They may not respond kindly to clumsy ads that attempt to sell trucks with the words of a slain civil rights leader. How about using puppies or horses to sell beer (just as long as no animals were injured making the ad)?
  • Know that cause marketing is overdone, and is almost becoming cliché. That statement does not preclude cleverly tying a relevant product (wireless communication) to first-responders (e.g., Verizon).

And most of all, follow the Almost DailyBrett Golden Rule: When in doubt, throw it out.








PowerPoint Chutzpah?

You prepared a winning resume taking a prospective employer quickly down memory lane, quantifying your results and illustrating your achievements. Check.

You wrote a killer cover letter outlining your specific value add to whoever would be so fortunate to have you on the team. Check.

You have carefully surfed the website of the target company, agency, NGO etc. and cross-referenced with related Google and Wikipedia searches. Check.

You assembled a portfolio of your work, showcasing your message development, presentation and social media skills. Check.

You prepared at least four thoughtful questions that demonstrate your knowledge about the employer’s business and communications strategy and interest in the job. Check.

Wonderful. Hasn’t everyone else done pretty much the same in this consummate seller’s (employer’s) market?

What else can you do that separates you from the pack? How about a technique that takes a little old-fashioned Chutzpah, maybe a tad presumptuous, but definitely exudes confidence?

Why not bring along a PowerPoint “Action Plan” presentation to the interview, specifically tailored for that particular prospective employer?

Political pundits get almost giddy assessing the first 100 days of a new administration in Washington, D.C. What about your first 100 days on the job? What would you do? What are your ideas? How will you be part of the team? How will assist in an organization’s evolution (stay away from “revolution”)? What tools, both conventional and digital, will you employ to build thought leadership?

As communicators we are adept at choreographing communications plans with objectives, goals, target audiences, strategic messages, deliverables and time tables. By crafting a PowerPoint presentation for an employer you are showing them how you would advance their cause and tell their story to influential internal and external audiences.

In this case, you are providing them with your impressions of their strengths and weaknesses and how you intend to move the dial, enhancing their advantages and mitigating their disadvantages.

Before utilizing the PowerPoint, politely ask the interviewer(s) if she, he, they have any objections to you taking them through a short-presentation (six pages minimum, 10 pages maximum). If there are only one or two people conducting the interview, then hard copies are appropriate. If more than three or four, you might want to drive the presentation off your laptop.

One note of warning: The PowerPoint must begin with assertions that are likely to meet with agreement by the interviewer. We are not talking about stating the obvious. It may come in the form of quantitative polling data, media reports or recent financial or market analyst comments about the progress of a company, agency, organization in accomplishing its business strategy or issues management goals.

Your presentation can potentially backfire, if the interviewers disagree with your initial assessments prompting them to wonder what else is wrong with your conclusions. Don’t put any blood in the water for the angry sharks to go into a feeding frenzy. It is imperative that you get off to a good start.

Complete your presentation with a set of goals and measurable accomplishments and respond to questions. You can reinforce your presentation by sending a soft copy for their records along with your thank you note. By taking this approach, you can virtually guarantee that none of your interviews will be a mere courtesy.

An editor’s note is important at this time. While I have not been successful to date in reaching the Promised Land in this very tough hiring climate, I know from hard experience that it really boils down to a numbers game. There are literally thousands upon thousands of great communicators around the world. We have so much to offer and not enough places to fully practice our skills.

To be successful in this post-recessionary environment, we need to break out of the pack. More to the point, when we secure these vital in-person interviews we need to separate ourselves from our peers. Why not crystallize our thoughts, systematically outline our plan and demonstrate through our work and preparation how much we want the job and what we will do once we secure our new six-figure responsibility.

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