4.27.2009

Make it Relevant

I was walking down Sutter Street here in the Bay Area on Earth Day and came upon this:


I couldn't help but stop and re-read it. The more I thought about what it said, the more I really started to see "the bigger picture." For a time, the environment was where it was at. Everyone was doing their part to live green, buy organic, change their energy habits, etc. But as the recession smothers us more and more, we've shifted all of our focus to the financial sector. In both cases, it required a crisis to make us act. The problem is, we've stopped looking at the environment in our sorrow for the sorry state we're in financially. And unfortunately, living environmentally-responsible doesn't always suit a tight budget.

Every day I walk downtown and every day, I see more stores closing. And it's easy to get caught up in the crisis--I've got ads telling me left and right how "In this economy..." or "Because of the recession..." and the news telling me about all the lost jobs and unemployed workers. But this sign took me back. "Nature doesn't do bailouts." Even throughout this crazy recession, there's always been movement--towards a bailout, towards consolidation, towards cost-cutting. And we've relied on anyone but ourselves to provide this movement. 

But that's not the case with the environment. We're the ones who have to make the change. By likening the environmental crisis to the financial one, it inspired me, the viewer, to be an advocate. By making the crisis relevant, it showed me the necessary path that I, and others, must take. 

I've since found that there have been more postings in SF and NY:





I love it when I find ads that help me better understand how to be a great advertiser. It's even better when it helps me better understand how to be a good person.

I've since signed up at teamearth.com and I highly suggest you do the same. If we don't, who will? Nature has no government to get us outta this one.

Very cool work by BBDO West. 

4.22.2009

Celebrating Value

In recent years, we've seen a great increase and emphasis on brands that facilitate "masstige," a kind of accessible status.  As both marketers and consumers, we recognize that much of our lives are aspirational--some young girls start reading Seventeen as early as 11 years old, and many driving enthusiasts learn all they can about Aston Martin so as to feel as though they intimately know the car without having actually owned or driven one themselves. When we can't DO or OWN, we imagine and aspire.

Think about a few things you've splurged on--maybe a Coach purse or a great Ralph Lauren sports coat. These brands elicit a certain amount of status, but almost anyone can feasibly purchase these items with a little thought towards saving.  Brands like Coach, RL, Grey Goose, W Hotels, Anthropologie, and even Gourmet magazine are all part of the masstige market. Manolo and Jimmy Choo shoes are imitated by Nine West and Michael Kors to bring status to the relative masses. Having seen the success of these brands, this same idea began to trickle down to value stores. 



Target has long been the "upscale" value store--they've told their consumers to "expect more" and delivered on that promise with an emphasis on design. For many years, this has served them well. But the recent recession has really taken Target down a notch. Despite putting out new ads that focus on the "Pay less" part of their slogan, defensive couponing, and price gouging, Target reported massive fourth quarter losses, down about 41%.





Walmart, on the other hand, which has always stood for value and nothing but the best price, has defied the recession, citing strong Q4 growth in packaged media, flat-screen TVs, and video game systems. By growing their Blue-Ray section and leveraging their entertainment exclusives, Walmart is able to keep their brand essence of value for everyday Walmart shoppers and provide the impetus for Target shoppers to try something at Walmart that they might not get currently. While still ultimately down 7.5% in Q4, Walmart reported 2.8% increase in quarterly same-store sales and a year-end net revenue increase of 7.2%. 



So what we can other brands learn from this?

- See what's performing strongly and leverage the hell out of it! Once you've got them interacting with your brand, they'll recognize your other efforts to provide value. And remember, high quality goods aren't out of the question; consumers still desire great products--you just have to provide them in the context of value.

-  Take a leaf out of Walmart's book and act on the offensive: instead of releasing "$10 off your $50 electronics purchase" coupons that exclude most any brand you'd want to buy (Target, I'm looking at you), sell me on a product or category I can't resist, and make it affordable.

- Even if you price gouge, Coach will still stand for quality purses and Target will still be upscale, design-infused value--pre-emptively mitigate competitor poaching by finding what you can offer at an everyday value price that is unique to your brand.