Virgin Active jumps on the Wimpy bandwagon
This week saw the fast food lovers in South Africa ablaze with Wimpy’s promotional offer of a free breakfast. The offer simply put was that Wimpy restaurants were offering their streaky bacon breakfasts for free between 7am and 8am on the 19th of January, 2012.
This however is not what I want to write about; I would rather like to talk about the stroke of guerrilla marketing mastery from Virgin Active.
Their offer broke on Twitter :
This tweet was sent out short ly after breakfast and encouraged non-Virgin Active clients the opportunity to take advantage of a free workout at any Virgin Active (bar Classic Clubs) and work off the extra calories they just took in with the free breakfast.
This is sheer brilliance because of the following :
- It cost Virgin Active NOTHING.
- When non-members go to a Virgin Active club, they need to sign in and give their phone and email details – thus making a FREE list to which Virgin Active can market.
- It piggy backed on a lot of FREE exposure that Wimpy had paved the way for. There was a lot of buzz about the free breakfast and Virgin Active slid in right on top of that.
The only criticism that I have is that Virgin Active could have used this opportunity far more than they did. The Virgin Active tweet went out on the 19th of January – the same day as the Wimpy special. Wimpy started making noise about their special a few days before the special and had a few media punting it. (This memeburn article highlights which media they used.)
I feel that Virgin Active ran their response as a quick fire way to jump on the bandwagon and failed to realise how powerful it could have been for them.
I would be really interested to hear from Virgin Active if they have any Online Mention tracking in place to see how far their tweet went and then further to that see how many receipts were handed in from the free Wimpy breakfast!
Woolworths : Great social presence; terrible delivery
I am not generally one of those who get up on their soap box and start sprouting negative sentiment until the cows come home. I am also aware that some of my followers and readers of this blog are not fans of “brand trashing” through social channels. But (as there always is) this time I feel that I have been seriously betrayed by a much loved and admired brand in South Africa. Not only that, but there is a major example here – real life – of how brands can damage themselves should they not be adequately prepared.
The story goes like this.
Last week Tuesday I needed to get a R 100 Christmas present for a friend of mine as we were having a get together Christmas party on Saturday evening. I started scouring the internet to look for ideas and the thought struck me to try Woolworths. I had seen their offline ads about their shopping portal and how super simple it was to use. I had also seen the Woolworths SA twitter profile @Woolworths_SA making a lot of noise. So I gave it a shot.
I went online and looked around at the men’s section. I browsed until I was blue in the face and eventually found something that I thought my friend would like. He likes hats; so I found him a hat!
I hit the equivalent of “add to cart”; filled in my delivery address and selected my method of payment. I indicated my delivery time for Saturday morning between 10:00 and 13:00. It was smooth; it was almost nirvana! I proudly sat back thinking, “wow, when online shops like this work, it makes it so much easier – I will be back to do this again!”
I went and spoke to a colleague who was also looking for something and told her to go and order from Woolworths – which she did!
Shattered dreams!
Now the reason why I included the screenshot of the product I was going to buy; and please note that this screenshot was taken on the morning of writing this article, not 4 days prior – when the following transpired.
Friday afternoon at about 16:20; I was sitting in traffic when my cellphone rings with an unknown number. I hesitate before I answer thinking it is going to be someone selling me another cellphone contract; nevertheless I answer.
The gent on the other end of the phone proudly announces that he is calling me from Woolworths EASTGATE (my first suspicion something is about to go wrong). I miss his name as he mumbles it out before plunging in to tell me that the item I ordered from the store is not in stock.He continues to tell me that they cannot source another cap for me as there will be no time to do this before my requested delivery time. My blissful Woolworths dream is about to come crashing down.
After further interrogation; I tell him to cancel my order as if Woolworths cannot supply what I ordered; then I do not wish to proceed with anything further. After a few uhms, he says that he will get the call center to call me and officially cancel my order; after which he promptly puts the phone down (without saying good bye).
Being a proponent on online and social media; I decided to Tweet Woolworths to alert them of my dissatisfaction.
To date I have not heard anything from them in response to this Tweet.
The plot thickens.
I didn’t think terribly much of this until earlier this afternoon. I was speaking to a colleague (the same one who also placed an order last week) and was telling them about my misfortune with my online order. To my shock and horror on Friday afternoon she also received a call and was told that her order could not be fulfilled! Surely this cannot be a coincidence? Two separate orders both getting the same response?
The only difference with her dealings with the call center agent is that she received an email confirming her order cancellation (something I am still waiting for).
I love the quip in brackets about them hoping it was not something that they did! 
What went wrong?
For my money there a few things that have gone wrong here :
- The online brand promise is not being fulfilled by offline promises.
- There seems to be a supply chain issue if the Eastgate store is calling me about an order when my closest store (which I indicated) is Fourways Mall.
- Staff monitoring the Woolworths online social presence are not properly trained in dealing with all their mentions or their monitoring techniques need some revising.
- The stock control for their online store is not sufficiently updated in real time with the in store POS (point of sale). (i do realise the complexities here and understand how difficult this point is to get right).
Use Vlogging to Position Yourself as an Expert
So you’ve decided to start sharing your wealth of information with the world. You’re determined to position yourself as a thought-leader, dishing out profound and witty insights and accumulating flocks of followers; but when it comes to actually writing, it’s like beating your head against a wall.
That’s where video blogging can become your best friend.
What is video blogging?
Video blogging – vlogging – is essentially taking what would have been a written article, and presenting it as you would to an audience. It’s speaking into a camera and connecting with the world. And it’s flexible; you can use video, images, cartoons, graphics or nothing more than your pretty chatting mug. The trick is to be as clear and compelling as possible with the message you want to get across and then illustrate it with verbal imagery that your audience will connect with and remember.
Who is doing it?
Everyone! From tea-cozy wearing hippy herbalists to tie-toting industry emperors. Vlogging works really well for a range of users.
As an entrepreneur, you can use it to bolster awareness of your brand, product or service. You Tube’s advertising model assists exceptionally well with this. Bloggers fit into this category as well, as they are trying to position themselves as experts in their specific fields. Vlogging gives you a platform to work on your personal brand. It can also be a powerful sales tool.
What should I be doing?
Here are some principles and guidelines for getting started:
1. Have a reason.
You need to have a reason for creating your vlog. There needs to be some value that you want your audience to see and take note of. Simply put: you must have something to say and they must get something out of watching you.
Granted, some of the most shared videos have content that is asinine and of no real value to the audience, but that stuff doesn’t build businesses. The real value in the medium lies in sharing great content that is of benefit to your target market, and which will build your brand and entice people to your offering.
2. Prepare your content.
This is the most vital part of your entire YouTube strategy. The look of your channel is important, but the content that you put together is paramount. This is why people are coming to your channel; not to see you but to benefit from your ideas; and it is what will ultimately make them decide to use your services or not.
Here’s where the magic of social media comes into play: If your content is good; really good; your audience is going to want to share it and comment on it. The more thought you put into making it worth sharing, the more successful your vlog will be.
This engagement and sharing is what marketers all over the word are striving towards. Engagement is incredibly important because it allows your audience to give you feedback on, quite literally, what they want. The sharing that goes on among your viewers is important because it replicates your messages, sometimes exponentially.
Always take note of the feedback your target audience gives you, because you need that input to make changes to your offering and improve it.
3. Name your vlog.
The same rules that you would usually use when naming an article, a product or a child still apply here! The name needs to be catchy. Vlad the Impaler lives on in history. Neil the Impaler just wouldn’t have cut it.
You should also factor good Search Engine Optimisation methodologies into your name. Simply put, it needs to feature the keywords that your audience would be searching for when looking for what you have to say. For instance, “Ways to make the audience take notice of you,” would not be found in a search for “public speaking tips”. A better idea would be to name the video: “Public speaking tips to make your audience take notice of you!”
Always ask yourself what keywords people would logically search to get to your type of content. You will get the opportunity to add these keywords to it when you load your vlog onto www.youtube.com.
4. Got the look?
Your outfit and the background determine the marketing tone of your vlog. Fortunately, vlogs can be relatively informal. You don’t need a film crew (the camera on your computer will do), and the background can quite acceptably be your study. Just bear in mind that a gym vest, a barking dog and a clock hanging skew won’t serve your brand well. Put some thought into what your target market will ultimately see; it informs their first impression of you.
One simple tip is to turn on the houselights, even during the day, for a rich, well-lit look.
Simply put, remember that there needs to be some syncronisation between the real you and the vlog you. Ultimately, you want these people to meet you in real life; and if there is no sync; trust and repeat business will be thrown out the window.
5. All the usual communication rules apply
Top of the list: You have to be interesting. Sure, a vlog is essentially a way of marketing yourself or your offering, but always put the value up front and the advertising at the end. You should aim to hook interest early (in the first 10 seconds), hold their attention with solid content, outline your ideas with brevity and impact, and then conclude before it gets boring. Your personal energy in the delivery also helps.
Leave them hanging and wanting more; this will start to breed a following for your vlog.
6. Doing your first one
Film it on your PC (or a camera, if you’d like to go a little higher quality). Save it on your computer. Open a YouTube account, and click on ‘Upload.’ Then follow the prompts. When you upload the video, it will give you the opportunity to add ‘tags,’ such as ‘Public Speaking,’ or ‘Leadership,’ or whatever will logically drive viewers in your direction.
You can get fancier with editing equipment if you’d like, but some very successful vlogs are simply an expert talking to an online audience about a topic that interests them.
7. Keep it up!
If vlogging is part of your strategy for being found, then you need to take a long term view. It will work if you keep at it. The more content you have, the more you can be found, and the more likely it is that your videos will have longevity and translate into business.
This means that you might consider dividing your points into a series of vlogs, and rather do ten individual vlogs of one minute each than a single ten minute info dump.
That said, there’s no real time-limit to a vlog (apart from YouTube’s 15 minute maximum for standard channels). If you’re interesting, they’ll keep watching. If you’re not, they won’t. But short, sharp and snappy tends to work most effectively.
8. The most important part?
Start! Start today. Vlogging is not the kind of thing that takes months of preparation and over-thinking. Search for some vlogs according to keywords that interest you, watch them, and evaluate what you do and do not enjoy. Don’t copy them. But ask yourself what works for you and try it out.
Here is an example of one of our vlogs, on the topic of Positioning Yourself as an Expert:
Remember: positioning yourself as an industry expert is a combination of knowledge, personality and sustained publicity. Keep your quality high. Use your personality to make it engaging. Keep it up!
Now go try it for yourself.
Happy vlogging!
Follow Jonathan on Twitter: @jingo27. Follow Douglas on Twitter: @Douglaskruger, or see his motivational speeches and skills-development articles at: www.douglaskruger.co.za
Social media for Entrepreneurs who want to be seen as experts online!
Entrepreneurs are arguably the lifeblood of a thriving economy. They are idea people; innovators; inventors and are driven by results (with a bit of cash thrown in for good measure. What an entrepreneur is not (by and large) is a marketer! The way that the internet has grown and developed has made “socal media” the biggest and greatest buzzword in marketing since the advent of the slice of bread. Entrepreneurs need a little guidance as to how to position themselves online, particularly if they are their brand.
How Do I become an Expert?
The name of the game here is “personal branding”. Simply put this means that the entrepreneur needs to understand what they stand for and ensure that everything they are pushing out via their social media profiles adheres to this philosophy.
A good friend of mine, Douglas Kruger, has crafted a motivational keynote presentation which highlights the basic “rules of engagement” when looking at how to position yourself as an Expert in your industry. Now the theory is simple and Douglas packages it with these 4 bullet points :
- Craft a struggle story
- Gain and maintain high visibility in the key outlets affecting your industry
- Distinguish yourself with a unique voice and philosophy
- Craft messages and outgoing Comms using the “expert positioning” model
LinkedIn – the professional network
LinkedIn is not a “social network” by design; it is quite literally a professional network and therefore should only be used when you are publishing professional content! It is not the place to upload photo’s and asinine comments. LinkedIn is the ultimate place to position yourself as an expert to people who are looking at your with their business hats on, not their clown (read: social) ones.
Facebook – where good friends meet (or people you’ve never met before)
Facebook is the grandfather of the social media networks; but it is not showing its age just yet; unless you have been converted to Google Plus! This is the social network where you are allowed to be as outrageous and obscure in your messages and postings as you want to be. This is traditionally where you connect with people who you know incredibly well; your closest friends and family. They know you well enough not to misinterpret your last update to literally mean that you want to move to Siberia for the rest of your life!
Facebook does however allow you to profile and ring fence (not circle, that’s another network) your “friends” so that you can control to a degree what they have access to on your profile. In other words, you can allow potential clients to be your friends on Facebook, just be sure that you have a specific permission level setup so that they can’t see the stupid stuff you get up to!
Google has recently entered the foray into Social Media Marketing with their Google Plus offering. Google’s social media platform is in direct competition to Facebook and will probably see a lot of unhappy Facebook users migrate to this new platform. At the moment, Google has recommended that businesses don’t claim a profile on Google Plus, so that can only mean that there is something extra special in the works for businesses on Google Plus.
The take out from all of this is that you cannot use your various social media profiles with a spray-and-pray, one-size-fits-all approach. Each network has specific audiences and mechanisms for connecting people. Understanding these and using them to your advantage will ensure that you get the most out of your social media platforms and your networks!
Car Magazine tries out Augmented Reality
In an incredibly welcome bold and adventurous move; Car Magazine have started experimenting with the concept of Augmented Reality! This is excellent news for consumers and even for the ailing offline media industry who have been hit considerably hard by the recent recession.
Even though their foray into augmented reality is a small one; it is the start that is going to set Car Magazine apart from the rest of the magazines that play in this space.
Recap on Augmented Reality
Augmented Reality is simply put; using the digital world to enhance the real world through the combination of the two. In other words you can use the camera on your smart phone or tablet; combined with specific augmented reality software to overlay an enhanced image of what you are looking at. So if you are looking at a car through your smart phone and your augmented reality software is geared to “read” the image; it can overlay additional information about the car such as engine size, kilo wattage, price etc.
How have Car Magazine done it?
Car Magazine have inlaid a reference image on the cover of their May edition of their magazine. This image when viewed through the Car Augmented Reality Webpage; with your computers web cam activated, will display a video. Once you have watched this video, you can close it. This will then allow you the opportunity to click on any of the other feature stories on the cover of the May Car Magazine.
The downside to all of this is that if you are not using 2x screens, you are going to have to juggle rather frustratingly between holding the magazine up to the camera and trying to see the screen. In fact, even if you are using 2x screens; let’s hope that you are ready to exercise some upper body strength as you need to keep the magazine up to the camera the entire time that you are trying to play with Car Magazine’s Augmented Reality.
What will this do for Car Magazine?
This will undoubtedly earn Car Magazine some “cool points” with their techno savvy readers and also push them ahead of the competition in terms of ensuring that they are giving their readers something new all the time.
Whether this will get them some additional long terms subscribers is yet to be seen; but seeing this level of integration between offline and online marketing is truly excellent news for their current subscribers and even better news for the greater marketing industry.
I look forward to seeing a lot more augmented reality features from a lot more offline media and cannot wait to see how they try to out do each other - which is inevitable!
Social Media in the South African Local Government Elections
By the looks of things; some South African political parties are finally waking up to the digital revolution and are beginning to embrace online marketing and its integration with offline media. From having a functional website, through to using social media like Twitter and Facebook – the times they are changing!
Of course as with everything; there needs to be a balance and there needs to be integration between everything that is being done offline and everything that is being done online. Added to this in politics is the fact that different parties are trying to attract different sections of the market so we cannot look at their marketing strategies and assume that they are both targeting the voting public. So let’s look at arguably 1 of biggest horses in the Local Government Elections, 2011: The Democratic Alliance and their entrenchment with new media.
Website.
The DA website has a decidedly Barack Obama feel to it; especially compared to when he was running his last electoral campaign.
The site is light and dynamic; it invites you to interact and most importantly it highlights the critical campaign messages of the DA :
- Donate to help the campaign
- stamp out corruption
- build the country together without discrimination.
Social Media.
Helen Zille has thrown herself into social media and opened herself and The DA up to the public. Allowing the public to interact, to ask questions and to most importantly voice their opinions. This social approach has definitely done the DA good as they have ensured that their campaign messages have been heard by a very important voting demographic : The Young South African!
These social media users are literally the future of the country and it is a very strategic and brilliant move; in my opinion; that The DA have realised that this is where the elections will be won or lost.
There are a number of DA Twitter profiles and personalities who are taking advantage of the media. There are Twitter profiles such as : DA News; DA_SA; votetowin and DA_parliament. Each of these profiles is pushing out information relevant to either the local elections; what impact the DA is having in government as well as general party news.
Engagement is the name of the game in politics and social media is the perfect medium to completely engage with an audience in a way which has very quickly become second nature to young South Africans.
From Facebook to Twitter and from Flickr to YouTube; the Democratic Alliance has ensured that they have not left any popular social media platform unattended.
Integration.
Online marketing and by extension social media are merely one channel of communication though and it is the integration between each of these channels which truly makes for a powerful campaign. once again the Democratic Alliance has echoed the last Obama campaign and has ensured that the offline voter has been catered for as well by using TV, radio, print and outdoor media to adequately enforce and repeat the major campaign messages.
Good luck to all the political parties on voting day! But most importantly; good luck to South Africa! Remember, you can’t moan, comment or pass judgement unless you do your part and vote!
Value is just teaching them to use you!
Here’s a quick snap-shot overview of the evolution of Sales, from the dawn of time until now:
Floating amoebas – prostitution – goods and services – selling the benefits of goods and services – selling solutions; and then finally: selling value.
Congratulations. You are now qualified to talk knowledgeably about the complete history of Sales. You slugger, you!
Now let’s discuss the latest one, with particular emphasis on that sneaky little word: Value.
From buzzword to useful tool
When we hear terms like ‘value,’ we intrinsically feel that we should agree with their spirit and ethos. They just seem right. But then comes the tricky part. How do you actually do value? How do you go about providing it, practically speaking? Better still, how do you use it to sell more effectively than your competitors?
The simplest answer is: by providing useful education. Otherwise stated: don’t just preach to your customers, teach them. Teach them what? Well, teach them how to use you, and your organisation, to their benefit.
Let’s take a simple example. Say you’re selling for an events company. You can stand out from your competitors by teaching your customers how to host a successful event; all the in’s and out’s. After all, you know much more about events than they do. You know what can go wrong, what more they might consider, what opportunities are available to them, the little tips ‘n tricks that can help to set their event apart.
The simple act of pointing these things out – of guiding them through the whole process – of educating them, is the true essence of
Value.
In most cases, someone else also makes what your company makes. Someone else provides the same service. The best opportunity for distinction lies in how useful you are at guiding them toward their goals. That value is worth more to your clients than your actual product.
With that in mind, are you using Value as part of your USP? Is it built into your pitches? Do you have leave-behind materials with insightful tips for your customers on how to go about what they are trying to achieve (with the underlying message that you can help to get them there?).
PR practitioners do this all the time, and it works. Dispense knowledge for free. Teach your customers how to achieve their goals. Show them how best to use you. Be proactive and guide them through the whole process, like a caring host. That is value. And giving true value positions you as an expert within your industry.
- From the book ‘50 Ways to Position Yourself as an Expert.’ Meet the author and view his speeches at: www.douglaskruger.co.za
All strategy is about asking Questions, not about being an expert
I have a problem with many strategies that you see doing the rounds today. I feel that there are to many “experts” in their respective fields that seem to know all the answers and have all the solutions to everything.
There are experts in each and every field and many of them are worth their salt. When you look through a text book on strategy and you see names like Philip Kotler and Michael Porter you can very quickly come to understand what made these great names of strategy.
They asked questions!
Only once you have a true understanding of all of the aspects that are going to have an effect on your strategy can you really begin to actually put a strategy together. Putting a marketing strategy together or indeed a full business strategy demands no less of a questioning mind than learning how to do a job in the first place.
Some Aspects of Strategy formation
- Before you begin to put your strategy down on paper and suss out the how’s and when’s you first need to articulate what you are trying to achieve. What is the purpose of what you are doing.
- Once you have a vision, you then need to look at the macro environment and ask yourself who else is offering something similar. Who is a potential threat – are the barriers to enter particularly high. Who is a potential customer. Analyse the macro environment and ask all the questions that relate to how effective your strategy will be in the market. A SWOT analysis is always a very under-appreciated but hugely effective strategy planning tool.
- Look internally; based on all the data you have already received. Is your organisation ready to make a change. What kind of a change does your company need. What additional steps are you going to have to plan and map for when your strategy reaches the market and they take action.
- Nothing happens in isolation. Business decision making is like a Rubiks cube. This means that whatever you do today, will have multiple and continuous effects on every aspect of your business – both good and bad.
Question Everything
The basic lesson of this post is to say. When you think you have got all the answers; stop; and start again. Experts are experts because they ask the most questions and learn from them. Experts are not experts because they speak the most - those are politicians.
Strategy is about getting to the most simple answer and not the most complex. This does not mean you have to dilute your strategy, it simply means that when you have asked enough of the right kinds of questions, there is no need for anything complicated and there is no confusion.
IMCC : Integrated Marketing Communication Conference
The Integrated Marketing Communications Conference is coming to Johannesburg in June of this year (6 – 7 June, 2011). This is the second time the conference is being held and the first time it is coming to Johannesburg.
What’s it all about?
The general thrust of the IMCC is to get industry experts to share their knowledge around integrating marketing communication and why this is important. These top speakers will be sharing their thoughts and ideas of marketing for the upcoming years as well.
The speakers include : Heidi Brauer; Isis Nyong’o; Walter Pike and Ben Wagner as well as a few mystery speakers from international companies marketing departments.
The conference will not only have the run of the mill conference format (speakers present and the masses listen) there are also workshops and a keynote panel discussion.
The workshops are there to ensure that you delegates get the most out of the conference and up close exposure to marketing experts; ensuring that you can ask the pertinent questions and get expert answers.
I will be writing more on the IMCC 2011 as we get closer to the date; and I will also be live blogging from the conference itself.
To keep up to date on what is going on; you can follow me on Twitter
Planet Fitness : Not Making Friends or Winning Members
My usual disclaimer when starting a controversial post. This article is a real rant about the last few communications that I have received from Planet Fitness. I want to illustrate how business operations can greatly affect your marketing campaign and leave you with little control over the backlash is to follow.
Setting The Scene
Around 2 weeks ago, I received an email from Discovery letting me know what my monthly rates for Planet Fitness would be for 2011. That’s where my first inkling of annoyance started. I am on Discovery as a medical aid primarily because of the fact that Vitality allows me to – for a minimal monthly fee – be a member of the fine fitness institution that is Planet Fitness. There was no talk, when I joined up, about additional monthly fees.
To further my love for Planet Fitness, I then received a further sms, from Planet Fitness themselves this time, letting me know that my bank account would be double debited on the first of December for my membership fees.
(Cue the boiling blood…)
Now a few questions sprang to mind at this point :
- What on Earth is going on with Planet Fitness and Discovery’s relationship!?
- How dare Discovery pass my banking details across to Planet Fitness?!
- Where can I find a new gym?
Luckily I went to gym that afternoon and joined the picketing masses at the front desk demanding to know what on Earth was going on. We were curtly told that, “these messages were not meant for you, delete them and move on.”
Which I did. Ready to put this whole tirade behind me. But then….
The plot thickened…
This morning I received the following sms from Planet Fitness :
“Due to SA power demands, Planet Fitness will reduce our operating hours from 1 Jan 2011. We will nolonger be open 24 hours. Contact your club for details.”
The thing that really irks me is that Planet Fitness must think that I am stupid. Don’t lie to me and pretend that you are closing early to reduce the load on the Eskom power supply within the country. You are closing early because you are not making money between 02:00 and 04:30!
Let’s look at the damage.
From the beginning Discovery and Planet Fitness have been guilty of database mismanagement. They should have segmented their database enough to realise who on their database was a Vitality member and then NOT send the fees messages to them. Both of these messages have left bad tastes in their members mouths. Couple to this the fact that the Planet Fitness level of service delivery has dropped significantly (my opinion) over the last few months and you have a lot of members not loving Planet Fitness.
On another level, with Planet Fitness choosing to cut their operating times, they are losing what I deem as being one of their biggest differentiators. Now their offering does not differ significantly to Virgin Active.
In my opinion, Planet Fitness now have a huge mountain to climb to re-elevate their brand. They would need to start managing their online reputation. Second to that they need to evaluate what it is that they are bringing to their target market that makes it different from their competitors.
Let’s hope they don’t choose a wannabe comedian to be their spokesperson though…
