Optimarketer: The Marketing Optimization Blog

Marketing Teams Should See the Michael Jackson Film

"The show we create here has to have people leaving and not being able to turn it off. They shouldn't be able to go to sleep. They have to see the sun come up and still be talking about it."

Maybe you didn't agree with the lifestyle, but the man's success as an artist was undeniable.

Michael Jackson had the top-selling album of all time. Four of his albums debuted at number one in the U.S. Jackson was the first singer to have four top ten singles from one album, and the only performer to have five number one hits from just one LP.  

If he wasn't the best ever at what he did, he came damn close.

The MJ quote in the New York Times got me thinking about why so many marketing managers keep the bar so incredibly low. It's as if they merely punch through a checklist. The CEO, BOD, and VCs don't seem to care if even a single component of the marketing mix is genuinely great, provided marketing covers the basics and some of the newer stuff.

I wish more clients would tell their agency, "I want to break a record for marketing profitability, and while we're at it, win every award in our category. Just tell me what you need and I'll make sure you get it."

Marketing groups should go on a field trip this week and see This Is It on a big screen. Act as if it's a motivational video.

Now it's your turn. Whadyya think it'll take to get more marketers to aim high?

The Mechanical Marketing Manager

I have a head for "analytics" and love working with new technologies. I'm a serious user of data and over the years I've run thousands of marketing tests. But I've always known that marketing is more art than science, and will always be, more than anything else, a business of ideas.

That's why it's disturbing to see a new breed of marketing manager emerging: one that cares passionately about process, operations and infrastructure, but treats the creative side as an afterthought.

If we were talking about construction, it would be the difference between plumbers and architects. The former are useful, but the latter are capable of making a lasting impact.

Many of today's direct marketing managers are little more than quasi IT people. They wouldn't recognize a disruptive advertising concept if it knocked them over. They cover everything on their lengthy checklists but fail to ask a simple question: Where's the big idea?

The undifferentiated, uninspired work these managers routinely run often results in ordinary outcomes -- or worse. They need new skills. But many don't see their own shortcomings.

Do you agree, and if so, what's the solution?

Marketers Should Take a Lesson from Coach John Wooden

As a kid, I had a serious basketball jones. On the walk to Third Ward Park (the inspiration for our direct marketing shop's earlier name, Passaic Parc), I often dribbled the ball every step of the way.

Like many roundball fanatics, I became interested in coach John Wooden, who won 10 NCAA national titles while at UCLA. The Wizard of Westwood attracted the top recruits in the country -- including Power Memorial's Lew Alcindor, who later became known as Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

Instead of putting his budding superstars on a pedestal, when players arrived at Pauley Pavilion for the first time, Coach Wooden covered the basics. And I mean basics. Like putting on one's socks and shoes. Setting picks. The fundamentals of the game.

Most marketers aren't in the Big Fella's league. They're average. And more than a few aren't very well schooled in the fundamentals of marketing success. So when new employees arrive, if you run a world-class organization, why not cover the basics? Drill home the fact that quality matters more than expediency. That it's about outcomes, rather than pointless agendas. Thinking before acting. Treating people with respect. And simply doing the right thing.

Make sense?

Seth Godin Proves He's Mortal

Bulletin for marketers: Seth Godin doesn't walk on water. He can't draw blood from a stone. And every now and then he screws up. Just like the rest of us.

In The Disciplined Marketer, I found links to two confusing posts on Seth's Blog. In the first one, Ads are the new online tip jar, Seth suggests to blog readers, "If you like what you're reading, click an ad to say thanks."

By doing this Seth believes "the economics of the web would change immediately." Right -- but wouldn't the immediate impact be negative? Readers, in their attempt to "honor the writer," would punish advertisers by making them pay for more false positives. 

Seth adds, "I can say this because there are no ads here..."  Huh? This claim sat inches from a "Widget Menu" with images of 11 Godin books linked to Amazon.com and other online retailers.

He opened the post with "'I never click on ads.' It's almost a badge of honor to say that." Like most direct marketers, Seth has no doubt heard consumers say they never respond to direct response. When pressed, people add remarks like, "Well actually, I have bought magazine subscriptions. And clothing. And sex aids." What counts is what people actually do, not what they say they do.

In a follow-up post Seth attempts to clarify things: "My point was that if everyone started clicking, clickthrough rates would go up. For a while, there'd be an imbalance, and sites would make too much and advertisers would pay too much. But then, advertisers would use the landing pages to start converting..." So, make advertisers pay for lots of worthless clicks and they'll finally become more efficient. Why not just taze 'em every time they goof? Might be less painful.

OK. Let's talk about how to really support bloggers and other content providers. First, contribute to conversations by commenting on posts when you have something to say. (Since Seth Godin is one of the few bloggers who doesn't accept comments, I wouldn't expect him to mention that.) Next, share blogs you like with your buddies. If your friendly neighborhood blogger is part of a business that offers products or services you need, buy from that business.

And yes, if a blogger that enriches your life has an online tip jar, contribute to it. Tonight in Denver at the Democratic National Convention, some political bloggers are present only because readers subsidized the cost. Pretty damn cool if you ask me.

What say you?    

Mom's Advice: Don't Be A Chazer

In Yiddish, a chazer is a pig. My late mother thought chazers were a notch above pickpockets.

The vast majority of Mothers of Invention clients don't even attempt to enter into a win-lose relationship with us. But I do recall one from years ago that deserved to have their picture next to the "C" word in the Yiddish Dictionary.

We worked our butts off to open up a new marketing channel for a new client, and our efforts paid off bigtime. The outcome exceeded the client's most optimistic projections.

But when it was time for the next effort, the client tried to chisel down our fee -- even though they needed a huge amount of account service time and earned a fat ROI from our first program. They ended up hiring a cheaper group to implement a bastardized version of our approach.

Months later the client decided to start an agency-of-record relationship and invited us to pitch. They asked for a considerable amount of spec work. We complied and arrived with a collection of awesome strategies and concepts. But we never had a chance to talk about ideas.

One member of the agency review team decided to focus on a fairly minor capability we didn't have in-house but could easily get (we heard about this for the first time during the presentation). After sharing ideas that may have been worth millions, we were out of the running because of a technicality -- literally.

To add insult to injury, I later had lunch with the vice president of marketing, who decided to pick my brain on direct marketing strategies worth testing. I later learned they implemented one of my ideas without even asking us for a quote. That was the last straw.

Is there any hope for marketers who behave like pigs at the trough?

Sunk Cost Fallacy

Let's say you've spent 60% of your budget on a direct marketing strategy that's been an obvious failure.

I'm talking about one of those outcomes that has you saying, "We aren't going to repeat THAT mistake next year."

No tweaks, adjustments, modifications, revisions, or enhancements will make any real difference.

The results are in and the fat lady has sung.

If you could put the remaining 40% into another strategy this year, would you stop running the unprofitable approach or stay the course through the rest of the year?

I think I know what most of you would say: "Of course we'd stop." It's the rational answer.

But very often, we've seen marketers throw good money after bad and dump the balance of the budget into something with 100% odds of continued failure.

Why? You tell me.

CEO Checks Ego at Door, Reaps Benefits

Had a meeting recently with a company president. For the better part of two hours we talked about nothing but ... marketing.

Something seemed special about this particular meeting, but at first I couldn't put my finger on it. Then it hit me.

Too often, meetings with so-called senior marketing executives have everything to do with fragile egos and little or nothing to do with marketing.

This time, I encountered no "smartest guy in the room" bullshit. No games whatsoever. We were just a couple of guys kicking around ideas to revolutionize a business.

This gentleman (I used that noun deliberately) seemed to instinctively understand how to collaborate productively. But what about the CEOs and other honchos who lack this skill? Is there any hope for them?

Sexually Harassed Marketing VP Scores Victory Over Knicks

Sexual harassment, that omnipresent workplace problem, is in the news once again. New York Knicks Coach Isiah Thomas has been found guilty of sexually harassing the NBA team's former VP for Marketing. The victim, Anucha Browne Sanders, has been awarded damages of $11.6 million.

Hopefully this'll get some businesses and executives to change their policies and behavior. I witnessed cases of sexual harassment as an employeee. I just wish I'd done more about it. I guess I was young and insecure. But that's a lousy excuse.

At this point in my adult life, I'm beyond caring what some harassing dipshit thinks. If I see it, I'll call 'em on it, and report it.

A lot of men out there remain clueless about this problem, so if any female readers want to comment on their experiences with men behaving badly, feel free. If you prefer, do it anonymously.

Shooting Britney Spears to Death

Today Britney Spears lost custody of her babies. The 25-year-old who, just a few years ago, sat atop the pop world is now at risk of losing her life.

How did this happen?

This much is certain: our Diana-like obsession with Britney has clearly contributed to her downward spiral.

You've seen the images and stories. Every step out the door creates a feeding frenzy for hordes of paparazzi. Every misstep is videotaped, analyzed, and endlessly ridiculed.

Maybe if Britney happened to be stronger and healtheir and better educated -- like Angelina Jolie -- she'd essentially say, "Fuck 'em. I'm not going to let 'em destroy me." 

Some media properties have largely gone into the business of personal destruction -- specifically, celebrity destruction. We validate their business model by consuming their media and placing ads on their pages.

We can choose to opt-out of this game. Today's media world is enormously competitive. We have other options.

Think about it. 

Let's Talk Direct Marketing

Google has an amazing capability called Grand Central in beta right now. You simply press the "Call Me" button and Grand Central automatically connects our two phones.

Thanks to Jeff Griffin for inviting me to try this thing.

P.S. Email me at robert@themothersofinvention.com if you need an invitation.