Wishing You the Most Meaningful Myths

We deal in storytelling and meaning every day here at Mythology. We have a deep belief that what we do each day should have significance beyond ourselves and add value to our shared experience in this crazy, mixed up world. 

That's why this time of year is so special. Whether you celebrate Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa or all three, it's a time to reflect on meaning and faith. Our team at Mythology, like the rest of our society, shares many common beliefs, and diverge on a few others. But we focus on the unifying beliefs of our team and our world so that we can make a difference. 

C.S. Lewis talks of "myth become fact." The stories we share, the stories we believe, lead to the good that changes our world. Myth becomes fact every day, if we let it. Beliefs matter. 

And since businesses and "work" are where we invest the majority of our days, shouldn't we make the most meaning there? 

We wish you the most amazing holiday season ever. And we look forward to working with you to build belief in all those things that matter. 

Have a belief-building holiday season and a truly mythical 2012! 

Multiplying Your Brand Impact with Internal Alignment

Internal alignment enables your organization to consistently live up to the promises you make to customers, and better yet, to deliver those “surprises” that turn customers into fans who share positive word-of-mouth with their peers. It’s a core pillar in our Ten Pillars of Meaningful Marketing.

As a marketing management consulting firm, we believe that for your company to flourish there must be proper internal alignment. Many companies tank when they reach a point where alignment is lost. This often happens when a company or division grows faster than its capacity to build internal processes or infrastructure to keep up.

James L. Garlow’s book, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership - Tested by Time, puts businesses in two simple categories: “There were those who followed…and those who didn’t.”  While most entrepreneurs know their purpose and plan for their company, they do not know how to keep it consistently communicated among their employees at every level. 

First, it starts with selection: you need people who are bought into your brand values and company purpose and who are ready to work towards those goals.

Secondly, consecration (the “the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service “) is a necessity:  clearly state your expectations and stick to them. A good on-boarding process in partnership with HR can go a long way towards building this commitment from the beginning.

The next step is impartation and demonstration: it is critical to lead by example. Show your employees your successful habits so that they are “fully charged” and ready to do what is appointed to them.  This is also where the leader shows by “doing” or on-the-job training. A well-defined internal mentorship program can do wonders in this area.

Finally, delegation and supervision.  This is the time to trust your staff and empower them to work on their own.  While everything will not be perfect, this is where your staff will mature and grow the most.  Once your employees have finished their allotted tasks the manager will step in and “clean-up” or approve the work in ways to keep it aligned with your company’s mission and brand values.

In a business environment where employees are not allowed the opportunity to grow or contribute, the company itself suffers and cannot grow.  But when a company aligns its people with its goals, the business maximizes its opportunity to flourish.  The main principle of leadership, according to James L. Garlow, is “being able to multiply yourself.” 

Who’s Your Bestie? Customer Segmentation in a Non-Linear Social World

The Bravo Network identifies their besties as Metro Competitors, Newborn Grown-Ups, Will and Graces, PTA Trendsetters and Better Me’s.

Do you know who your best friends are (from a business perspective)? Who are the pockets of customers who are most influential and valuable to you, and how should you engage them?

Bain & Co. defines customer segmentation as “the subdivision of a market into discrete customer groups that share similar characteristics.” Pretty straightforward, right?

Segmenting your customer and prospect base by logical, actionable criteria can turn marketing mayhem into a meaningful marketing. Rather than diluting yourself with a generic message and engagement approach, you can focus and magnify your impact.

This year was a big year for customer segmentation projects here at Mythology. We helped non-profits such as the National Boy Scouts of America identify priority segments for launching the Summit Bechtel Reserve and International Justice Mission prioritize key pockets of avid advocates to grow in their fight against human trafficking.

Corporations weren’t far behind. A major insurance firm needed to improve their emotional connection with their customers, so we helped map the right audience triggers. A gaming company needed to transition from good old coin-operated bar games to the fast-growing iPad consumer market, so we helped develop influencer audiences to target.

Unfortunately, there are many ways to segment and it can get pretty confusing. You could potentially target a group of similar customers by any number of criteria:

• Demographic – Stuff you can easily find out about people such as age or income.
• Geographic – It’s pretty easy to figure out who’s in your market region, if you’re limited to that.
• Psychographic – Lifestyle preferences and core beliefs can be reliable predictors of response.
• Behavioral – Identifying who and when the best targets are open to your value proposition based on recent or consistent things they do, such as visiting a web site or moving from one community to another.

So which do you pick, or which combinations do you concoct? The simplistic but true answer is, whichever helps you engage most effectively and generate the most return on investment (ROI).

In a world where people can gather around random topics instantly via social media, this can require some trial and error. But often you can eliminate more of the error by utilizing test campaigns, simple surveys or social media interaction to capture a relatively good idea of what will generate response and conversion.

We like to look at targeting in terms of emotional archetypes. What role do you play in filling an emotional need for your customers? The answer to that can go a long way in helping you target more people with that need.

At Mythology, we discovered that our best segmentation wasn’t necessarily by industry, or region, or even size of company. We found that the best predictor of whether a client was a “fit” or not was how ambitious they were and how much they recognized building an effective marketing system was key to their growth. Those types of clients value what Mythology brings to the table with our comprehensive approach to growing marketing ROI.

Everyone can’t be your best friend. But those special friendship connections can often last a lifetime.  

How Scary is Pepsico-Frito Lay's Marketing?

Boo! Big brands are out to scare you into buying their products! 

So say some bloggers regarding Frito Lay's content-driven Asylum 626 and Hotel 626 campaigns targeting teens. (NOTE: The sites are only "open" from 6pm to 6am, because, says the agency behind the campaign, "We wanted people to visit the site at night, after hours, when guards are down and they are the most immersed in what could happen.")

Here's a snippet of what Frito Lay has produced: 

This is another great example of how brands, in order to customize and control the context in which they sell their products, have begun to create their own content and gaming experiences. It is a tricky thing to pull off, especially for the teen audience Frito Lay is shooting for, because brand-produced content has an automatic barrier of lack of authenticity. Kids are smart. They know when you're trying to push your products. 

However, some brands are pulling it off by letting the content speak for itself vs. becoming a direct shill for the product. Frito Lay has done a good job of that here. 

The digital age is creating many situations where the lines of content vs. sponsorship advertising are blurred. The traditional :30 or :60 spot continues to struggle to break through, especially for younger audiences, so more and more companies are looking to produce their own content where brand themes are woven into the storyline. 

A valid question to ask is, does scaring teenagers help sell Doritos? Like any marketing investment, the proof will be in the measurement. But for a low-consideration consumer goods purchase scenario that relies on brand awareness, affinity and (to a certain extent) emotional loyalty to drive sales, the answer is "probably." 

What content makes sense for your company to produce? Entertainment, educational or both? Mythology has some strategy workshops available to help you find out the answer to that and other key questions. 

Perhaps we can make your marketing ROI a little less scary in 2012. 

Can Your Brand Learn to #Occupy?

The Occupy Wall Street movement has officially become a national (actually, global) movement. Whatever you think of the politics, it serves as another opportunity to understand how movements and ideas spark, take shape and spread. 

At Mythology, we like to be students of belief-based movements, both social and commercial. While being criticized by some as not having a clear message, the idea behind OWS is powerful and simple. From a web site that seems to serve as a rallying hub:  

Occupy Wall Street is leaderless resistance movement with people of many colors, genders and political persuasions. The one thing we all have in common is that We Are The 99% that will no longer tolerate the greed and corruption of the 1%. We are using the revolutionary Arab Spring tactic to achieve our ends and encourage the use of nonviolence to maximize the safety of all participants.

This #OWS movement empowers real people to create real change from the bottom up. We want to see a general assembly in every backyard, on every street corner because we don't need Wall Street and we don't need politicians to build a better society.

Of course, it's also fully exploiting the power of instant media and social media platforms: 

And it has already spawned its own parodies: 

Test

For the most part, organizations with formal brands still have not embraced the full power of the "sticky" elements of true movement-building: surprise, unexpectedness, emotion. There is a hesitancy that comes from clinging to structure and control that many formal institutions will never quite embrace. And no true movement can be completely developed top-down; by definition it must be participatory and free-flowing (within certain boundaries). 

Still, it's interesting to think of things to learn from these grass roots movements, fueled by rebellious, often unscripted energy (although, as the movement matures, we're seeing signs of scripts and real strategies). 

What can your brand or public institution learn from the success of the OWS movement?