UPS Shows Brands What 'Brown Can Do' For Them

In a first for a package delivery company, United Parcel Service is giving away samples from major brands to its customers. The company is piloting a program in Chicago, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Miami, Phoenix and Washington, D.C., in which people who get UPS' Direct-to-Door home delivery also get offers and samples from a roster of brands. It is expected to go nationwide in 2010.

The offers will be packaged in a custom-designed "UPS Direct-to-Door Pak" -- white with an image of a UPS delivery van -- and delivered to residents in the test ZIP codes who are receiving a small package shipment that day. Each Direct-to-Door Pak can contain approximately 12 offers and samples from UPS customers.

Brands participating in the program include Williams Sonoma, Bed Bath & Beyond, FTD.com, Pottery Barn, The Finish Line, Sephora, West Elm and Zappos.com.

A spokesperson for UPS tells Marketing Daily that about 12 brands are involved now. "We are asking brands to put in discrete offers you wouldn't get with other marketing channels," she says. Zappos.com, for instance, is giving recipients an invite to its VIP club, whose members get free shipping, among other perks.

The company is not promoting the program at this point, per the spokesperson. "Right now, there's no advertising in place, but we actually will be getting metrics from feedback and talking to customers. Like any pilot, we have to go through evaluation."

The samples will come in a separate, uniquely designed pack. The spokesperson says UPS developed the idea after doing focus-group research on direct-mail marketing that suggested people are too inundated with offers to notice them.

The focus group attendees said they would feel differently about it if a sample package were delivered by hand by a familiar person. "They trust a familiar face, the UPS driver, and they are more likely to accept something from them that's a surprise or gift."

"As marketing channels evolve and consumer choices increase, we need new touchpoints to connect with customers," said Pat Connolly, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Williams Sonoma, in a statement. "With a UPS Direct-to-Door delivery, we're reaching an active consumer, an important factor for increased response rates."

New Design for Hockey Ad/Boards

Check out the Sponsor Ads on the boards in Sweeden....very nice design...clean looking. Maybe the next thing to hit NHL?

Sponsorships are like Sailing on the open seas....

Ever wonder why Christopher Cross' iconic song, Sailing, never mentioned anything about operating costs? The 80's song probably wouldn't have reached #1 had he started reeling off the costs for sails, slugs, slides, shackles and spinnaker socks. Like your local yacht dealer, the person selling you a sponsorship probably can't tell you exactly what you need (and what the cost) will be to make YOUR sponsorship work.

You pay for the opportunity to get on the water, but buying a boat doesn't guarantee you fun. Buying a sponsorship, doesn't guarantee you results, but used (activated) the right way you'll see you're expected ROI (and hopefully have some fun in the process!)

Any boat owner will tell you, you'll have to pay a lot more than the purchase price to make the most of your boat...

Survey Says: People Like Sponsors!

Interesting research from the U.K. commissioned by London agency Target Media: Of 2,000 music festival attendees surveyed, 41 percent had positive feelings toward brands that sponsored such events.

Thirty-nine percent said sponsor ads fit better with the festival experience than ads elsewhere, while only 19 percent said they were annoyed by sponsor ID at festivals. Additionally, 75 percent of attendees said they could recall beer, wine or spirits sponsors at music festivals, with 77 percent believing such adult beverages “work best” as festival sponsors.

British and European sponsors typically do a very good job at activating their presence at music festivals to ensure their brands play a role in enhancing the attendees’ experience, which I am willing to bet plays a large role in the positive feedback to this survey.

Source: Jim Andrews
Senior Vice President / Editorial Director
IEG

The Cost Behind The Catwalk

A B C

Tips from the best motivational sales speach ever!!

A=Always

B=Be

C= Closing

Open the Sale before closing the sale!

The panhandler's secret

When there were old-school parking meters in New York, quarters were precious.

One day, I'm walking down the street and a guy comes up to me and says, "Do you have a dollar for four quarters?" He held out his hand with four quarters in it.

Curious, I engaged with him. I took out a dollar bill and took the four quarters.

Then he turned to me and said, "can you spare a quarter?"

What a fascinating interaction.

First, he engaged me. A fair trade, one that perhaps even benefited me, not him.

Now, we have a relationship. Now, he knows I have a quarter (in my hand, even). So his next request is much more difficult to turn down. If he had just walked up to me and said, "can you spare a quarter," he would have been invisible.

Too often, we close the sale before we even open it.

Interact first, sell second.

Bobby Flay Rocks Up-State NY

Marketing Lessons From The Weinermobile

By Rob Strasberg
Strasberg is vice chairman and chief creative officer of Doner

Someone recently sent me the picture of a crashed Wienermobile in Wisconsin and it reminded me of my own experience driving it 18 years ago and how much a 22-foot-long wiener can teach you about marketing.

Lesson 1. I was a living, breathing brand 24/7 for an entire year. I was an Oscar Mayer Hotdogger. Who in their right mind would hand their billion dollar brand and an $80,000 motorized hot dog over to a 22-year-old right out of college? That was my first lesson - a brand is a big responsibility. Take it seriously (but not too seriously in my case – it is a Wienermobile), understand the brand, the voice, the identity, the company point of view – it was clear my collegiate toilet humor was not the brand voice.

Lesson 2. Everything is advertising. My partner and I were responsible for creating public relations, setting up events, speaking with press, working with the salespeople, talking to consumers and cooking over a grill (usually my most important duty). Our efforts consistently garnered more gross rating points than Oscar Mayer’s national ad buys and built strong field relations (ads rarely do that).

Lesson 3. Get along with your partner. A Wienermobile is not that big – make it work. Stay positive – no matter how many times your partner sings along to the Indigo Girls on the radio. Same in an agency: get along with your creative partner. When you’re young, you’ll create big ideas, and later, with your business partners, you’ll create even bigger ideas.

Lesson 4. It’s really easy to make a sexual pun, avoid them at all costs.

Lesson 5. Be prepared. Do your homework. Know your stuff. One wrong move and you could become a national joke.

Selling to Gen Y.....it's complicated!

When I was 16 years old I went out looking for my first car. Together with my parents, I had set a budget of $8,000. For a 16 year old this felt like $100,000, but to the people trying to earn my business, that $8,000 was enough to sell me what ever they wanted to sell me. I found a beautiful Ford Mustang at a local car lot. My Dad drove me down to the see the car, and I ran excitedly toward the Mustang.

The salesman approached me, and I asked him how much the car cost.

He asked me how much I was looking to spend.

I told him $8,000.

And as you may have guessed he told me that was exactly the price of the Mustang.

Lesson learned.

Now, what is the lesson for you?

As a marketer, you are in a position to manipulate your customer if you so choose to. But that doesn't mean you should. And when dealing with Gen Y you can either use their characteristics to work with them, or you can use their characteristics to take advantage of them. As you can imagine, in the spirit of the greater good, you should use your market research to work with them.

So, now that we have covered your obligation to Gen Y, let's take some time to learn about them financially.

1. Gen Y is wracked with debt, and they don't realize the ramifications of this. The average person graduates college with over $20,000 in student loan debt. This is actually a good example of selling something (loans) to a group of people that aren't in the best position to make a good financial decision.

I'm not discrediting the importance of a college education, but I'm simply pointing out that 18 year olds are committing themselves to levels of debt that they can't possibly comprehend. Understand that it's quite possible that your product or service could contribute to this train wreck of debt.

2. Gen Y either doesn't care about planned obsolescence or doesn't know what it is. Either way, planned obsolescence will continue to break (financially) Gen Y until it's no longer an industrial trend. Planned obsolescence, simply put, is a manufacturing strategy that encourages customers to always buy the latest greatest thing.

This is generally accomplished through a slight tweaking of product features, and then marketing the hell out of the feature changes. The customer ends up buying the features, and ignores the fact that the previous product they own is still a very workable solution.

Gen Y always wants the latest greatest thing because they haven't caught on to the game of planned obsolescence. Are you going to perpetuate the practice of planned obsolescence? Or are you going to build a product or service solution that is a long-term solution?

3. Gen Y has created a group of expenses that I call The New Necessities. This is a category of spending that didn't exist 15 years ago. The category includes Internet access, mobile phone charges, cable, designer coffee, and lease payments. Young people don't think twice about paying big money for cell phones and coffee.

I guess that's why there are so many highly caffeinated broke people face down into their cell phone texting their highly caffeinated broke friends. Gen Y doesn't see anything wrong with spending money on these items, and if your product or service can find it's way on to this new sacred list, then you are golden.

4. Gen Y has more bailout plans than the federal government. And as is the case with the newsworthy bailout, Gen Y bailouts are also ill conceived. Gen Y will not hesitate for a second to solve their financial problems in two very distinct ways. They will use their credit cards in a heartbeat, and they will pick up the phone and call their parents in an instant.

Ask a group of Gen Yers their backup plan, and these two solutions will come up time and time again. As a marketer, this is a very important thing to know. Gen Y never says die; they will find a way to afford the things that they want.

You may be thinking that Gen Y is a generation that is guilty of the "keeping up with the Joneses mentality," but they aren't. Their desire to have the things that they want is personal. They don't particularly care what their friends have or don't have. That is more a characteristic of Gen X.

This nugget of truth paired with the financial characteristics outlined above will certainly help you understand this generation from a financial perspective. And this understanding should help you market to this elusive yet important part of your customer base.

1st key to selling...Interact first, sell second.

The panhandler's secret

When there were old-school parking meters in New York, quarters were precious.

One day, I'm walking down the street and a guy comes up to me and says, "Do you have a dollar for four quarters?" He held out his hand with four quarters in it.

Curious, I engaged with him. I took out a dollar bill and took the four quarters.

Then he turned to me and said, "can you spare a quarter?"

What a fascinating interaction.

First, he engaged me. A fair trade, one that perhaps even benefited me, not him.

Now, we have a relationship. Now, he knows I have a quarter (in my hand, even). So his next request is much more difficult to turn down. If he had just walked up to me and said, "can you spare a quarter," he would have been invisible.

Too often, we close the sale before we even open it.

Interact first, sell second.

My Girls....Love you guys:)

Miller MGD Sponsorship rewards the 64th place finisher!

Hooray for 64th Place! MGD 64 Rewards 64th Place Category Finishers At Inaugural Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon

To celebrate its first year as the official beer sponsor of the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon & 1/2 Marathon, and add a little fun and excitement for runners, MGD 64 today announced it will award an exclusive prize pack to the 64th place finisher in each age category.

MGD 64 prize packs will be awarded to the male and female 64th place finishers* in each of the thirteen age categories. Each winner will receive a gift basket full of fun items including branded apparel, a pedometer, a subscription to Competitor Magazine, Inside Triathlon, Triathlete Magazine or VeloNews, and other great items.

"MGD 64 is the perfect beer for social and active beer drinkers with on-the-go lifestyles. Celebrating the 64th place finishers is a fun way we can reward runners who are literally on the go," said Tristi Pfeiffer, MGD 64 marketing manager. "Whether runners place first or 64th, everyone can appreciate the fresh, crisp taste of MGD 64."

In addition to awarding prize packs to the 64th place finishers, MGD 64 will have an experiential area at the pre-race Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Health & Fitness Expo where consumers can learn more about the 64-calorie beer that's "as light as it gets." MGD 64 will also host a stretching area at the post-race Finish Line Festival where participants and supporters can gather to cool down, stretch out and listen to live music.

Legal-drinking-age runners are invited to celebrate their achievement with a free, refreshing bottle of MGD 64 at the Finish Line Festival.

"Our partnership with MGD 64 is a great way for us to provide our participants, as well as their friends and families, with the best light beer available," said Megan Young, event manager for the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle. "We utilize our Expo and Finish Line Festivals to provide health and fitness products and information for our participants. This is a great setting for a brand such as MGD 64 to introduce its fresh, crisp taste to thousands of people who definitely have something to toast after finishing the race."

With just 64 calories and 2.4 grams of carbohydrates, MGD 64 has steadily grown in popularity with calorie-conscious consumers since it launched nationally in the summer of 2008. This is the brand's first year as the official beer sponsor of the eleven-event Rock 'n' Roll Marathon Series which hosts races in Nashville, San Diego, Seattle, Chicago, Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, San Jose, Denver, San Antonio, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

*Only participants 21 years and older are eligible to win the MGD 64 prize pack

Leverage Gen Y Workers To Support Your Brand

Marketers can take full advantage of Gen Y's unique situation in the workforce. Members of this demographic can add value to their companies by being corporate citizens and brand ambassadors. They are marketing tools that can be leveraged by their own marketing organizations to reach customers, prospects, the press and various other stakeholders. As long as they maintain a positive reputation, their companies will benefit, and they will have better careers as a result.

Smart marketers understand that Gen Y workers can provide value to companies by leveraging their social networks. They can also protect the corporate brand and help employers recruit top talent fairly easily because they're constantly connected. Many Gen Y members have even labeled themselves as "social media experts" because they are tech savvy and are using web 2.0 tools outside of the workplace to communicate with peers. Marketers are realizing that they need dedicated resources for their own social media programs.

Aside from recruiting Gen Y, companies are looking at their current workers and asking some of them to start exploring this new territory. As the shift in communication turns from advertising and traditional marketing to new media marketing, it's critical to engage Gen Y and ask for marketing support. In today's digital world, the more connected you are, the more successful you can be.

Brand monitoring

Most companies aren't paying for blog monitoring services such as Buzzlogic or Radion6 and many aren't even using free services, such as Google Alerts. Keeping track of brand mentions, whether it's your CEO, your product or your company, is required. Word-of-mouth marketing online moves very fast and what starts off as a mere tweet can spawn a blog post and then a YouTube video and then become the front page story in the New York Times.

You should engage Millennials, who are already paying attention to conversations that are happening online, and ask them to monitor and report on brand mentions. Gen Y folks are more familiar with the online tools that allow you to listen well and can leverage that familiarity to prove themselves critically useful to their companies.

Marketing for free

Marketing budgets are on the decline, but companies still need to get their messages out to the marketplace. Traditional forms of advertising are clearly out of budget, but new media costs only your time. Gen Y members have been using social networks, such as Facebook, before they were even available to the masses, which means that their "friend" list is much greater than other generations.

Also, many have blogs that are related to their current industries or positions at their companies. Their blogs help position them as thought leaders and community activists, and as they build out their subscribe lists, they have more people to market to.

A blog is one of the best ways to build a brand for yourself -- whether it's for your ideas or products-Marketers should engage Gen Y when they need to push out a message to stakeholders by asking them nicely and simplifying the message so it's consumable by that audience.

Referral recruitment

Companies are hiring right now, but they not for advertising positions. Instead, they are using the power of referrals to track down the best talent out there. Marketers can take advantage of the interconnectedness of Gen Y members when they are looking to hire talented people because they already surround themselves with them.

One request can turn into three potential hires within an hour because of the speed at which Gen Y communicates with its peers. Whether it's a text message, a tweet or a Facebook post, you can get the best talent without having a marketing budget.