Marketing the Philanthropic Brand

By Emily Jasper

There are some people who just belong in marketing: they are outgoing, creative, and full of energy. What if you aren’t sure? It seems like a pretty fun industry, there are tons of blogs and publications dedicated to the topic, and all your Twitter friends are in marketing or PR. All the signs are pointing to yes, and yet there’s still a question.

Do I belong in marketing? It seems so superficial…

This is tough for many people, especially because there’s a lot of uncertainty in the world. Marketing might even be more susceptible to uncertainty, not just because of lost jobs and decreases in budget, but because the whole nature of marketing is changing. If you need stability in your life, marketing can seem pretty daunting.

And the whole point is to raise awareness of a brand…it might want you to buy something.

The thing to keep in mind is that marketing touches everything, and it’s not all sketchy. Sure, there are messages about “Buy, buy, buy!” On the other hand, did you ever wonder who got the neat job to handle the philanthropic efforts for a company? The representatives to make donations on the news? The planners of fundraising galas with celebrity entertainers?

Could be marketing.

What may have been lost during the recession’s hardest months is that positive work that organizations do. Donating time to your community or collecting canned goods for a shelter is great work that a company can highlight as part of its public appearance. Sure, if your company isn’t actually doing those kinds of things, don’t promote it as if you are. But there isn’t a reason to hide good work. If it’s part of a company’s brand, put it into the portfolio.

If you love highlighting that kind of community and philanthropic work, look into how companies market their own involvement. They are sponsors at a national level for organizations like Susan G. Komen for the Cure or can be involved more locally with the Race for the Cure event in your city. There may be entire teams in a company doing food drives or knitting blankets for hospitals.

If you are heavily involved in that arena, there is no reason why you cannot be part of communicating those efforts as part of a company brand.

Emily Jasper is a Corporate Marketing Manager with PDI Ninth House. In addition to marketing, Emily has sales and PR experience from previous roles. She currently writes a blog, "From the Gen Y Perspective," and can be followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/emilyjasper.

The Wheaties FUEL™ Development Story

By Ben Johnson

New Wheaties FUEL^™ cereal -- created with the help of Peyton Manning, triathlete Hunter Kemper, Kevin Garnett, gold medal-winning decathlete Bryan Clay, Albert Pujols and sports nutritionist Dr. John Ivy -- is now available in retail stores across the country. Wheaties FUEL is a lightly sweetened, crunchy whole wheat flake with crispy rice and a touch of honey and cinnamon and it represents the evolution of the iconic 85-year-old Breakfast of Champions^®. Wheaties FUEL is the first-ever cereal designed to help meet the nutritional needs of today's athletes. Take a look at the first webisode, reviewing the unique Wheaties FUEL^™ co-creation process.

Ben Johnson is an Associate Marketing Manager for the Wheaties Brand at General Mills. Ben and his team will be presenting "The Evolution of an American Icon: The Wheaties FUEL^™ Development Story" at the upcoming MN AMA program on April 13, 2010.

Alphabet Games

By Dave Folkens

Anyone that’s spent any time studying marketing at all has heard of the four P’s: Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Those simple letters set the foundation for marketing and differentiating products and services of all kinds. However, as we enter 2010, are consumers shifting to a new model that marketers must adopt in order to succeed?

With social media all the rage right now (via Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and more) are consumers forever making the shift to a different set of expectations of brands? There are four new points that are making a great impact on the dynamic between corporate brands and consumers.

• Influence- What type of reach does a brand have and how can it influence purchasing decisions. Think of top brands in social media like Zappos on Twitter or Dell which seeks influence in a variety of social media channels.
• Interaction- Consumers are now expecting attention from the brands they love in real-time. Not via email in a day or two, not by waiting for a customer service call but actual interaction to get their questions answered or problems addressed. And, if you’re not responding, they’ll let everyone know about it.
• Identification- Can customers identify with your brand online? Does your online personality feel like it’s something they can personally support? Are you fun or totally stuffy and corporate? Would your brand be the kind of “friend” they’d really want to know?
• Individuality- While consumers are seeking to identify with your company; they don’t want you to be just like other companies either. Those that carve out an identity that provides some type of value add while doing so in a style that’s unique do well.

So, in the end, will social media and the four I’s replace long-standing marketing tactics and sales approaches that have been established to date? Absolutely not. Online engagement is a great new addition to the arsenal for companies and those that lead them, but social media should not be the singular focus of any organization.

If you run off to chase the latest technology out of fear for being viewed as “behind the times” or “missing the boat” and ignore your core competencies, you may lose customers that have brought you this far and risk tremendous damage to your brand. But you can’t deny the impact that online engagement has either. You need to be looking to add opportunities for consumers to get to know your brand and feel connected as well.

What’s the answer? A well-rounded strategy that is based on fundamentals with social media as a tool to enhance your brand…not replace it.

Dave Folkens is currently the Director of Communications for the Minnesota AIDS Project. He has previous experience with both small and large corporations as well as on the agency side of the PR business. He can be followed via Twitter @dfolkens.

Should you Market in China?

By Jessica Egyhazi

Have you ever been curious about traveling, marketing, or operating overseas? If so, the January 26 event, Marketing in China – Trends to Adapt and Succeed in Today’s China hosted by Asia Business Consulting was for you! Dr. Lydia Price, Associate Dean at Shanghai’s Chinese European International Business School, enlightened attendees on the real China; a place where you have to wrap your mind around the enormity of “1 Billion” to succeed. One billion consumers. One billion opportunities for growth. And 0ne billion potential roadblocks for expanding US businesses. If you missed this event, or want to delve back into the topics covered, let me fill you in on some of the highlights.

To succeed in China, you need to do three things:
1) See Through Local Eyes.
Companies need to get a grasp on local markets and consumer behavior. Chinese consumers have yet to become brand loyal. While this is an exciting opportunity for companies hoping to capture some of the 11 trillion dollars of Chinese consumer spend (per Euromonitor, 2008), this also means that consumers are still surveying all of their purchasing options; Chinese consumers may buy a Porsche one year and a BMW the next. I discovered that Chinese consumer behavior does not function in the same was as in the US and that research – and trial and error – is needed to build brand loyalty from scratch.

2) Be Realistic.
Identify actual market opportunity. Markets might be much smaller (or larger) than you think. The life stage segments that marketers target in the US do not correspond to those of Chinese consumers. While I expected some differences between the life stages of US and Chinese consumers, I was amazed to see just how much our experience varied. A great suggestion for anyone looking to market in China is to not target products to specific age groups. If you do, your efforts will be obsolete in less than 10 years. Take a look at why this is the case:
Age ------------in US----------------in China
Age 64+ -- Retired -- Experienced Japanese Invasion/ China Civil War
Age 54-63 --Empty Nest --------- China Cultural Revolution
Age 42-53 --Kids in University -----Recovery, Mao to Deng
Age 30-41 --New Families ------ Open Door, SEZ, RuralReform
Age 18-29 --University, New Job ----One Child, Market Economy
Age 0-17 --Youth -------Internet, Consumer Society

3) Be Pragmatic.
The best way to succeed is to form a partnership with China to help them solve problems like rapid urbanization and an aging population. With increased urbanization comes abundant opportunity, but also great problems with infrastructure, resources, and overpopulation. As in the US, an aging population means that those entering the workforce cannot generate the income needed to support those retiring from the workforce. A great piece of advice is to set up your business practices to help the government achieve their goals and they will help you achieve yours.

Dr. Price’s presentation drove home the challenges and opportunities facing US businesses interested in China. More than I could’ve learned from a case study or a 2-week vacation. If you work at a growing company or simply enjoy gaining world perspectives, you would definitely benefit from similar events from the MN AMA or Asia Business Consulting in the future. I’ll be there and I hope to run into you!

Do you have experience with China or thoughts on this topic? Add your opinions and comments to this post now.

Jessica Egyhazi is a marketing and communications consultant and an associate principal with Misaki Marketing Communications.