If you come from my generation, marketing is just the
4Ps. Later, when I entered the industry I hear people talk about however many
Ps and what not.
There were a few seminal books on marketing and advertising.
If you read those, understood them and somewhat guided by them, you turned out
OK; whether in the marketing department of some MNCs or ad agencies.
Somewhere along the line I think we lost the plot.
Bookshelves of marketing started to resemble the cereal aisle of a hypermarket.
Each shouting a different flavor, variant and taste. Some are junk. Some
grounded on the same basic ingredients labelled differently.
If you are a marketer today, you should hunt down those
seminal works on marketing and advertising before foraging into the wilderness
of ‘modern marketing’ (if there is even such a thing.) Get your basics right.
It’s like getting your ABCs right before reading. 123s
right before counting.
Basic kicks, punches, stances, throws, grapple, locks and
blocks exists in all martial arts. They may call them differently, but without
these no self defense art is worth your time.
There is no need to keep adding ‘new thoughts’, ‘new
programs’ into your marketing program until you have got the fundamentals
right. Be patient, put in the good fundamentals, and stay loyal to it. Let the
results show before you start tinkering with it. Don’t conclude too soon that
it is not working for you. Determine your fundamentals, get good at it and give
it time to work.
Are you sticking to the fundamentals?
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Over the weekend, one of the leading brands of instant noodles in Malaysia won one of the best brand awards to be won in Malaysia. It’s a people’s choice award which no money can buy.
Interestingly, along with this award they also garnered a good review from an overseas instant noodles reviewer and ended being rated top ten in the world. Surely that must be something to shout about.
Even more interestingly, there are congratulatory ads from a state government, a global football team and their ad agency for their win and the rating.
All things considered, I would not have mentioned the rating by an instant noodle blogger (ok, reviewer) albeit he is foreign based and seem to be a expert in his food category. Mainly because they did not garner a top spot in the review – in fact, the bottom half of a top ten list – and a competitive brand actually got the number one spot.
The brand that got the number one spot currently has a cult following. I have heard people queue for it where it is available in the early days. They do not have big budgets for A&P. And like all brands with a cult following, word of mouth does the job for them. Plus, the word of mouth is doing a good job.
Now, with these congratulatory ads driving traffic to this instant noodles review site the brand on the number one spot will get free publicity. People who once did not know of their existence will now look for it. The best thing is that, those who make the effort to go to this site are all consumers who are interested in the category.
I believe every brand has the right to be proud of their achievement. But in the din of celebrations, one must ask – what is the objective? What is the best way of achieving that objective? Otherwise, you may end up doing your competitor a favour.
Are awards glitters blinding you?
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If you made small marginal 1% improvements in the things
you do – doesn't matter what they are, they be could habits, lifestyle, marketing,
whatever – everyday, where would you be in a year’s time? In two year’s time,
so on and so forth?
Dave Brailsford, General Manager and Performance Director
for Team Sky (Great Britain’s professional cycling team) referred to this as
“the aggregation of marginal gains.” Using this ‘principle’ he helped Sir Bradley Wiggins, the first British rider
to win the Tour de France medal in 2012.
There is a similar thought in the Chinese saying, “不怕慢 只怕站.” Translated to mean, “Do not be afraid of
going slowly, be afraid of stopping.”
How much progress can you make?
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You read the inspiring book. You dissected the case
study.
You envy the manager that quit and became an artist by
the beach.
You love what others do with their brands.
All the talk, thoughts and feelings from being inspired
by whatever just leads to lies being told to yourself or disappointment further
down the road if it is not followed with action.
Are you just going to sit there?
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Sometimes young executives repeat in interviews the fact
that they want to learn and are willing to learn so many times that it scares
me.
I have seen people who say they want to learn but when
things are being taught, they do not even know it.
The adage that the teacher appears when the student is
ready is true.
Don’t expect things to be taught a certain way, what you
should be taught and how you should learn it. When your mind is closed, how can
you be taught? Much less learn something new?
Purposeful teaching cannot happen when there is no
mindful learning.
How should you be taught?
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As a student, we all want to progress to more impressive
things - to do the fancy stuff. Sometimes, teachers and coaches get influenced too. They too want to teach the fancy stuff.
Why not? On the one hand the students want it and on the
other the teacher gets to show off. Or at least, the class becomes interesting
for both.
It takes truck loads of discipline for both to stick to
the basics; knowing one will fall off and the other being accused of spending
too much time on stuff that is supposedly boring.
It doesn’t matter what you are learning or teaching - golf,
music, mix martial arts, reading, riding, driving or marketing – excelling in
the basics is the foundation for the fancy schmancy stuff.
Did you get the basics right?
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