Archive for Marketing
What’s Going On Here?
Posted by: | CommentsSome of you have heard about Derek Webb’s latest album, Stockholm Syndrome, which has not been released yet. Last week he sent out a letter to his fans stating that there were issues with the publishing company over the content of the album, here is the letter that he sent:
friends-
i haven’t sent many personal emails to this email list but we’re in a situation that has gotten a little out of control and it’s time to fill you in. as some of you may know, i’ve been working for months on my new record, ‘stockholm syndrome’, which i’ve recently finished and turned in to the record label. they’ve been very supportive over the years, but this time we didn’t get the response we expected. it seems i’ve finally found the line beyond which my label can support me, and apparently i’ve crossed it.i consider this my most important record and am adamant about all of you hearing it. we had originally hoped to have ‘stockholm syndrome’ out this month (next week even), but at this point we’re not sure when the record will come out and in what form. the majority of the controversy is surrounding one song, which i consider to be among the most important songs on the record. so we’ve decided it’s an appropriate time to break the rules.
but because of various legal/publishing issues we’re having to be rather careful with how we do what we’re going to do next. that’s really all i can say for now and i’ve probably said too much.
we have a plan and we’re moving ahead, but we’re not sure what kind of trouble we might be getting into. we’ll let you know as soon as we know our next move-
derek
That email created a stir amongst fans of Derek and a whole lot of speculation over what exactly could be so offensive to the publishing company. Then I found this email in my inbox this morning from Derek:
friends-
this is turning into a bigger deal than we expected. as a result, we’re having to temporarily _pull everything online down (can’t explain now). and to be on the s_afe side, i’m going to pe_rsonally go offline while we sort this out. i re_ally shouldn’t use my twitter account for now either so _don’t expect any updates there.make no m_istake, our trouble with the label over content i_s very real, and not as simple as one word; we’re back_ed into a corner. but we have applied all of our creative resources to th_is, working furiou_sly to create something that we believe not only subverts any leg_al issues but should also be a _pretty wild ride.
so this will be the l_ast email for a while. we’ll t_ry to lea_k information via a new tw_itter account, @ssyndrome. you’re o_n your own so start payin_g attention. i’l_l see you _on the o_ther side-
derek
Is there some sort of code in there? Is Derek attempting to set this up like the publishing company is holding him “hostage?” Remember what Stockholm Syndrome is all about after all.
Is this the begining of a Jesus Wants To Save Christians style game? Could it be that he is simply engaged in a marketing scheme?
Seth Godin Would Be Proud
Posted by: | Comments
You know how it goes, you buy something online and then you start getting catalogs in the mail. This time something was different though and I almost missed it…
I grabbed the mail from the mailbox the other day and threw the “junk mail” in a pile to be sorted for shredding and recycling and I noticed what sort of, but not really, looked like a catalog from Backcountry.com. It turns out that this was no catalog at all, here’s what I read on the inside cover:
THIS IS NOT A CATALOG
We’ve tried that before — Many times, in fact. And no matter what we did, it left the same bland taste in our mouths. It always seemed like something that came out of an ad agency in Chicago, not from a bunch of dirtbag ski bums in Park City. The smattering of products and staid format never felt true to our voice or to those passionate about out gear and the outdoors.
So we trashed it. But rather than using a tanking economy as an excuse to bag the the whole project, we switched it up and focused instead on what sets Backcountry.com apart — you, the community. We scoured our Leaderboard…
They made a catazine, a magalog, or whatever. What they made is different and true to who they are and what drives them as a company. That is branding.
Is your ministry being authentic in branding or are you just trying to adapt other ministries’ branding to your situation?
Stick With Your Strengths
Posted by: | CommentsWe hear it over and over again, stick with your strengths and delegate everything else. The simplicity of this message makes a lot of sense when we hear someone else say it or we read it in a big time leadership book but to actually implement this idea into our lives, our ministries and businesses is a whole other thing! For example, the other day I was out at Home Depot to pick up a $5 item for a quick fix in my house. Upon exiting the store, I noticed this:
Did you see it? The orange box center-bottom…
Shop on Line
homedepot.com
Yeah, Home Depot should stick with providing stuff for your home and leave their internet sales marketing to a professional. What could they have done better?
- They probably would have been better off if they knew that when you access the internet you are not going “on line” you are actually going “online.”
- Believe it or not there are still people out there that do not easily read URIs, instead of “homedepot.com” they would have been much better off with “HomeDepot.com“
I am willing to bet that these simple mistakes could have been avoided if Home Depot had a professional on staff to think these things through correctly or simply shelled out a few bucks to hire a competent outside firm.
Why do I bring all of this up? It is crucial that as leaders we stick with what our strengths are and help to develop others around us to work within their strengths. Leading in this way not only helps to get the work done well but it engages people in the way that God has wired them. It is also crucial that our churches and ministries operate within the vision that God has given its’ leaders. Keep it simple, stick with your strengths.
Green or Not?
Posted by: | CommentsOk, let me start by saying that I am a huge fan of Relevant Magazine. I have been a subscriber since the second issue of the magazine came out. This magazine is full of thought provoking, real world, spiritually stretching stuff.
Today I got an email from Relevant with this advertisement:
I’m sorry, what!? I can go green by buying this magazine (which I already subscribe too!) and signing up for automatic renewal? This will save what? by my calulations this would save about two 8.5″ x 11″ sheets of paper and two envelopes per year to remind me to renew. That is going green?
This is an absolutely rediculous marketing ploy since it appears that Relevant does not offer an electronic version of the magazine (that would cut paper use, cut printing costs, cut delivery costs!)
What’s your opinion? Is this Relevant helping you go green? Have you come across others doing the same thing?
Dissapointment
Posted by: | CommentsOne of the great joys in life is ordering a Nooma and then getting it in the mail. It shows up in that eye catching “nooma blue” box, then you open it, to find it neatly packed with three cool “nooma blue” gum balls inside! Well, I got the latest Nooma vid in the mail yesterday like this:
A complete let down. Then I opened the box to find that the DVD was just packaged with some of that brown paper crumpled up. The whole experience was redeemed a little by the fact that my favorite gum balls were there though.
A little lesson in marketing, when you have habituated your customer to first-rate service, anything less, even though it gets the job done great, will be a dissapointment.
Signs, signs, everywhere signs…
Posted by: | CommentsSo what “signs” is you church putting out for the public to see and get an idea of what your church is about? Shawn, snapped this picture of a sign in a church parking lot on a recent trip:
Our “signs” may not be as obvious but we better be aware that we may have “signs” on our web sites, publications, and in our facilities that just might communicate the same thing.
The question
Posted by: | CommentsCheck this out, then substitute your church’s name in place of The Cheesecake Factory.
Marketing The Message
Posted by: | CommentsThis from marketing guru Seth Godin:
I don’t know French. I can’t play the piano. I have no clue how to catch a bony spinefish. This is the first kind of don’t know. Stuff you don’t know because you haven’t been taught it yet. Books are awfully good at solving this problem, so are good teachers.
The second kind of ‘don’t know’ is often confused with the first type, but it’s really quite different. This is the person who says they don’t know how to cook, or that they can’t balance a checkbook. This isn’t about technique or a lack of knowledge. It’s usually either fear or lack of interest. People with this type of deficit won’t find the answer in a book or (usually) in a seminar either. You don’t learn how to cook from a cookbook.
The answer lies in trial and error and motivation and in overcoming the fear that makes us avoid the topic in the first place.
And why should a marketer care?
You need to care because if you try to solve the second kind of ignorance with a manual or a PDF or a blog post or even a long infomercial, you’re going to fail. If you discover that users are afraid or resistant to what you’re trying to get them to do, more information is almost always the incorrect response. The effective technique involves peer pressure and support and in changing the design and inputs of what you’re doing so that this group is more receptive to what’s on offer. For example, internet penetration isn’t up by a factor of 20 because people read a lot of copies of Internet for Dummies. It happened because of what peers said to each other over time, and because the act of getting online is a lot easier than it used to be. And you can help that happen.
Hmmm… sound like a great plan for evangelism… actually it sounds an awful lot like the example that Jesus left us for sharing His love with others! We need to be living that love and engaging with others on a daily basis not simply trying to pump them full of information about Him.
Creativity of Love
Posted by: | CommentsJust how much effort has the church put into creatively communicating God’s love to the world around us? Probably not nearly as much as this guy put into this wonderful “project!”
(Thanks to Scott for pointing this out)
Getting it Right
Posted by: | CommentsThere are many times to use anecdotal evidence to support a point we are trying to make but when that evidence come at the expense of another individual or person, and we have not done all of our research I really believe that the use of that evidence is unethical.
Seth has a post up about marketing with fear, you can check it out.
I am thinking that even though the point is totally valid, the use of that particular photo is not. The photo is of a “Flying J” store, which is a truck stop company. In my opinion, it seems logical that there be communication to driver’s of “big rigs” about the threat levels. There is a lot that could go wrong if a driver were careless with their very large, very powerful vehicle and it fell into the wrong hands.
Let’s just make sure when we are communicating to people we are valuing the audience enough to make sure we are getting things right and not just using whatever is “handy” to make our point. Our point may end up coming at the expense of an innocent bystander.
