Marketing Should Be Doing Something Good
Bob Gilbreath is blogging from Cannes Lions 2008, and he’s got a great recap of Nike’s presentation. He reports about Nike’s Stefan Olander, Global Director for Brand Connections, who listed many of the creative ways in which Nike continues to lead the pack among social media marketing initiatives to develop deeper engagement with customers. Money quote:
“Nike continues to blow me away with its whole-hearted dive into meaningful marketing. Stefan also shared data like the fact that “30% of Nike+ users come to the site 3 or more times per week.” He said that people who don’t have their Nike+ sensors with them will simply skip running “because they want credit for their achievements.” Overall, Stefan summed up Nike’s approach as follows:
“If we can do something good for somebody, they will repay us with sales.” [emphasis my own]
Like I’ve written before, consumers are seeking brands that deliver not just a valuable product, but adds further value through the marketing itself.
5 Comments, Comment or Ping
Josh Chambers
Ryan, I dig what you’re saying about creating marketing that makes life better through the marketing itself.
Question: if your product isn’t the most useful product out there, do you think it’s possible to create useful marketing? Your headline struck me and made me wonder, ‘what does it actually mean to do be doing something good through marketing?’ Does the cause have to be good (rescuing slaves, environmental conservation)? Or can the cause be selling sugar water that rots teeth?
Thanks for your thoughts.
Jun 21st, 2008
ryanmoede
Josh - I use the term “good” in the sense that the marketing service is of some kind of value to the customer. While the good can most certainly be of the charitable or noble kind, in this sense it’s that it meets a need (often in concert with the product itself) for the customer. I think Stefan’s quote about customer’s responding to those “good” services with sales has a lot of truth.
As always, thanks for your questions.
Jun 22nd, 2008
Josh Chambers
Ryan,
Makes sense. I wonder if it’s possible to do something “good” — as in valuable to a need of the customer — for a “bad” product. Your post makes sense….it just still makes me think. Thanks.
Jun 22nd, 2008
ryanmoede
It seems doubtful. Can you think of a marketing service that is more valuable than the product it’s promoting?
Jun 23rd, 2008
Josh Chambers
To take an extreme example, what about terrorism and their powerful online marketing techniques. Oddly enough, there was an article in the post regarding that this morning: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/06/23/AR2008062302135.html?hpid=topnews
Or, another extreme example: I think of all the websites that alerted sex tourists to places they could find underage prostitution — the marketing on those sites added value not only to the end as they contained directions & info; but also had some additional pieces that “added value” in the process.
I know, two extreme examples. But, it seems possible to perform “good marketing” for “bad” products/services.
How about Nike? A company that has produced quite a few excellent marketing campaigns — excellent branded utilities — but have been implicated in employing slave labor. Walmart could also fit that ticket with it’s “Why Wal-Mart Works; and Why That Drives Some People C-R-A-Z-Y” documentary, and it’s Flog (although, a Flog isn’t “good” marketing).
Just some thoughts…
Jun 24th, 2008
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