I don’t want to minimize the issue of alcohol abuse but it seems to me that most of us are sophisticated enough to understand that advertising is not a silver bullet. Kids don’t get wasted after school because of beer commercials and no ban is going to change that. In fact studies in both Canada and the United States find no significant link between restrictions on advertising and alcohol consumption. Additional research from around the world found that advertising has virtually no influence on consumption and has no impact whatsoever on either experimentation with alcohol or its abuse.

The BMA criticizes the alcohol industry for spending £800m a year promoting alcohol in the UK and suggests that rather than focusing on the behavior of teens to go after “those responsible for marketing alcohol”. The BMA is particularly concerned that, “The alcohol industry uses its prodigious marketing skills and massive budgets to promote positive images about alcohol, and back these up with incentives, branding, enticing new products and sophisticated public relations.”

Perhaps it is easier to go after advertising fatcats than it is to admit a national addiction to booze that is arguably more serious, if better hidden, among older adults than among the younger drinkers most marketers covet. Initiatives to fight for the youth of the nation are considerably better received than those aimed at promoting sensible drinking in adults.

Clearly Burger King understands its primary target (18-34 year old men or superfans as they call them) and they have created a bunch of campaigns which are intended to appeal directly to them. The campaigns are edgy, sexually charged and exhibit a comedy that is surreal, slightly subversive, and self-reflective. I would agree this sounds on brief for the audience but I wonder- is Burger King risking all its other segments to seal the deal with their target audience?

It is a good idea to segment your audience. It is a good idea to understand who your most valuable customers are. It is also a good idea to target that segment with unique, relevant and timely marketing. However segment specific marketing campaigns, while different, need to adhere to the overall brand personality and compliment each other.

According to the NPD Group, between May 2008 and 2009 Burger King experienced:

I guess BK has the financial model that proves out the profitability of Superfans because if these results are only because of the rising popularity of the Quick Serve segment in general (5% growth overall during the same period), BK will have a difficult time rebuilding the family aspect of their brand.

Check out some of the more spectacular BK marketing mis-steps below:

Ass Worship 

This widely criticized Square Butts campaign makes some sense for superfans but promoting the kids meal?

Anger

The Angry Whopper campaign (from Toronto agency Taxi 2)  includes radio, TV and online ads that direct to a micro-site that encourages users to shout as loudly as they can into their web cam in the hope of winning a free Whopper.  “Let’s see how full of rage you are,” it says. You can also send an Angry-Gram to let somebody know “they annoy the hell outta you.” Insults include: 

• You love yourself so much you would reply to your own personal ad.
• You are bitchier than a school bus of hormonal cheerleaders.
• Why do you always read my email? It’s like you are working for the FBI.

Pretty weak stuff but again it proves successful. The last time BK brought out the Angry Whopper in Canada it sold above expectations.

Masturbation

In 2007  Bleublancrouge Montreal took the double entendre to an interesting place with the Pleasure Yourself poster in the Metro, creating a mini-scandal for the brand.

Fellatio 

Burger King’s representatives in Singapore, Bon Foods, ran this campaign which is getting attention from critics everywhere.

Between the copy managing to slip the word ’blow’ in twice, the strategic use of mayo and the model’s “omigoodness” look, the Super Seven Incher makes the Angry Burger spots barely capable of causing mild heartburn.  

Nudity

In the good old US of A, where family values rule, Burger King has turned to ad agency, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky who are well known for edgy, attention grabbing ads. They worked on the campaign for Flame, a body spray inspired by The King.

 The body spray has it’s own micro-site as well, Fire Meets Desire, where users are given the opportunity to click a virtual bottle of “Flame.”  Each time you do, it sprays and reveals a new romantic image, culminating in this wonderfully erotic picture of The King:

This product is real and you can order it here for about $4.

Virgins

Another Crispin Porter & Bogusky campaign, Whopper Virgins had a production crew sent to remote places to conduct “Whopper-vs-Big Mac” taste tests among people who had never heard of a hamburger. The web documentary featured ‘virgins’ trying burgers for the first time and while some preferred Big Macs and one Greenland tester saying he preferred his native seal meat, Whoppers were the big winners.

Criticism was rampant againg including The Chicago Tribune headlined the campaign as a supersize flop and Adweek columnist Barbara Lippert suggested the ads were “culturally tone-deaf.”

Too Risky? 

I would love to hear from people – do you think BK risks it’s entire brand on this kind of marketing or are they brilliantly catering to Superfans?

Narcissism aside, any chance to get behind the veneer of media training and prepared statements to hear what sports stars have to say in their own words (well their own 140 characters…) should be regarded as a god send. Twitter is a perfect platform for athletes to interact with fans and some of their best work comes when their guards are down. Authenticity like that can’t be faked it gives fans a much better sense what these stars are like than any glossy network produced profile might.

While most of the major sports have come down on Twitter use, it is a fantastic relationship building tool for their leagues and I suspect the marketers (not so much Corporate Communications) are secretly thrilled about it. Sure they would like to have greater control over the content but any forum for speaking to the fans that is initiated by the stars is pure gold. The lesson here for marketers is that your social media strategy needs to trust users to take the message and spread it throughout their community. Marketers need to learn to cede control and instead build relationships that move prospects from being merely interested to enthusiastic and ultimately advocates.

Maybe this is why the radio guys don’t like Twitter. It isn’t the narcissism but the ceding control to citizen (or in this case, athlete) journalists. Instead of placing professionals such as radio commentators at the top, social media eliminate the hierarchy, giving a more-or-less equal voice to all users. Or maybe they aren’t as interested in Alex Ovechkin’s pre-skate rituals as the fans are.

In the meantime let’s see if the major sports leagues can give up enough control to let us fans continue to get unfiltered access, both the good and the bad.

Here are a few of the most infamous athlete tweets:

Charlie Villanueva – tweets at half time of a tied game against the Celtics about having to step it up and play tougher. He puts his money where is mouth is and scores 11 of his 19 points in the second half to help Milwaukee get past Boston.

Kevin Love – tweets Coach Kevin McHale would not be back as coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves next season before the team officially announces it

Brian Ching – tweets that referees cheated his MLS club team out of a win while watching the game on TV. Ching was not playing because of U.S. national team duty for a Gold Cup match.

A campaign followed shortly including TV ads with the taglines “Passionate people, passionate about food” that show Maple Leaf microbiologists working with meat at the Toronto plant, and later serving it to their children at home. Visitors to the Maple Leaf Foods website have the option to visit a special Food Safety at Home section which encourages families to take precautions while preparing, cooking, and storing food at home and offers tips and checklists to do so.

And while many want to paint this recent recall as another Maple Leaf failure, it is in fact a good news story that supports their ongoing efforts to be seen as a leader in food service safety.  Given listeria is practically impossible to eliminate; we should be lauding the industry and government for the fact their mandatory testing and reporting requirements are working rather than screaming ‘not again’ when the CFIA is reporting there have not been any reported illnesses with this recall.

My bank and Visa know a lot about me. They have years of transactions, a customer profile not to mention that I purchase several services from them and whether they know it or not, we have a relationship. Re-upping me for a service I cancelled with out my permission is a serious detriment to that relationship. Credit is not as easy to get as it once was but I could replace both my bank and Visa. Why don’t companies get this? Is $70 odd dollars today actually worth more to them than my future business? I understand the pressure to meet short term goals but isn’t this just a little too short term?

All companies need to remember customer relationships are the lifeblood of their business. To help them I am starting a 10 Commandments of Customer Relationships. Please send me revisions, additions and comments. 

1. Thou shall not charge me without my permission.
2. Thou shall take time to anticipate and understand my needs.
3. Thou shall send me timely and relevant messaging.
4. Thou shall remember service is your most powerful marketing tool.
5. Honour and respect my loyalty.
6. Thou shall give me a forum for feedback and actually use it.
7. Treat your employees as you wish they would treat me.
8. Thou shall accept you are only as good as your last interaction with me.
9. Thou shall not ask me for profile information and not use it.
10. Thou shall surprise and delight me by following the previous 9 commandments.    

What really caught me was his describing Twitter as a change agent. Here is the quote, “Twitter has been criticized as a time-waster – a way for people to inform their friends about the minutiae of their lives, 140 characters at a time. But in the past month, 140 characters were enough to shine a light on Iranian oppression and elevate Twitter to the level of change agent. Even the government of Iran has been forced to utilize the very tool they attempted to squelch to try to hold on to power.”

I am intrigued by this because to some degree Twitter didn’t make a difference at all. The elections in Iran were won by the incumbent and supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has demanded Iranians accept Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as President. We don’t really know, and many seriously doubt, if the election results are legitimate. Not to mention the ruling party still rules. It would be impossible to deny however that Twitter did not as Pfeifle say become, “…a window for the world to view hope, heroism, and horror.” Twitter may not have ensured a fair election but it did provide a tool which empowered people who had not before felt empowered to stand up for democracy. They did so hoping the world was watching and hoping the outcome would be different.

This is a good lesson for agents of change everywhere. Change is hard and oft times the results are not exactly as hoped. For instance many marketers change campaigns and tactics with the hope of seeing more prospects converted or growth of existing customers. In many cases the silver bullet of change does not instantly drive financial results. Instead what they find is engagement levels are increased but the corresponding sales metrics are not. Does this mean the change exercise was a failure? I would say no. Instead it needs to be viewed in context of longer term objectives. How can increased engagement be used to drive the desired results? What can be learned from the change effort which can improve campaigns or tactics in future?

While the stakes are considerably higher for Twitterers in Iran than the average marketer, it is worth remembering – success for change can be measured many ways.

They get it because they have made me into both a loyal customer, who takes 100% of his cleaning to them and, an advocate who recommends them to others. The experience is simple and satisfying. I come in and they seem to know me. I come in 3 or 4 times in a month and I get a discount. Recently when they didn’t know what to charge my wife to clean the bib of a baptism outfit, they just did it for free. They don’t ask me for a lot of personal information and still deliver a personal experience. More importantly they understand the limitations of  the cleaner/man with clothes relationship and they don’t try and make it more than it is. It’s not complex but it works and achieves what all businesses want – customer loyalty and 100% share of wallet.

In business speak, we would say, ‘they structure their business environment, attitudes and processes to enhance customer relationships and maximize each customer’s  overall profit’. Now I can’t guarantee every one of their customers has this experience but I also can’t imagine I am so special as to be singled out for an exceptional experience. The lesson of this is developing customer experiences to improve business results does not need to be complex. By simply taking a customer mindset and ensuring all interactions, as limited as they may be, are designed to ensure satisfaction for the customer any business can create compelling and engaging experiences.

Now it is possible and even likely my cleaner is not consciously trying to create exceptional customer experiences. Instead they may be just following an instinct for what feels right. Not everyone can instinctively create experiences like these however if you can look at the experience your business is delivering through your customer’s eyes, you can find opportunities to improve without breaking the bank or investing a lot of time. It may be a simple as training staff to use the customer’s name when they come in the door or offering a discount for recent, repeat business.

Shameless plug alert!

I am in the process of launching a marketing consulting practice that focuses on designing pragmatic and innovative customer relationship strategies that can be executed using a businesses current and existing resources. If you or any one you know might be interested in how I might be able to help you – please email me at info@chrishokansson.com. For more info, check out my website at www.chrishokansson.com.