How Soy Sauce Captured The American Dream?

How many times did you hear the term 'think from the outside in'? And how many times did you not follow its meaning? Well if the answer to either of the question is 'pretty often', you are reading the correct post.

Let me decipher the meaning in simplest of ways. Think from outside in propagates the idea of thinking from the customer's point of view towards the brand rather than the other way around. At the heart, outside-in thinking is a commitment to manage customer experience and ensure an explicit customer reason is in every decision. As marketers we need to be cognizant that customers' interests take precedent and are embedded throughout the process.

Defining it is easy, but practicing the process in reality is a bit difficult. It's a behavioral change and needs a lot of unlearning to kill the preemptive authority of our minds. One such brand did it perfectly. Here's a little story on how it managed to accept new culture and transform itself to scale sales.

Kikkoman is the world's largest seller of soy sauce - the biggest marketer, in fact the most successful marketer of soy sauce. They hail from Japan and were soon eyeing the very large food and beverage market of the US of A. They entered the US in the 1950s, as most Japanese firms do, from the west coast in California. Soon sales started and the product was primarily aimed towards the Asian grocery stores. Before they realized, Kikkoman was in a soup, unfortunately not literally but figuratively, and that was a bad news. They were selling very low volumes and the reason given by the commercial team was obvious, Americans do not consume soy sauce. It's a foreign product, rather an exotic product. We all know how the word 'exotic' is used with almost everything related to Asia - exotic drinks, exotic beaches, exotic food and what not. So it wasn't a surprise that Soy sauce got labelled as an exotic Asian product too. The sales & marketing teams, couldn't figure out how to unriddle the tricky situation in order to sell more. In moments like this sometimes we need to reason with our mind and have the patience to look beyond the obvious. That's exactly what the chairman of the company did. He visited US with the singular objective of studying the way American consumers consumed their food. After minute observation, he gathered a very important insight.

There were two main difference between the way Americans and Japanese eat their food. One is that Americans don't eat a lot of Sushi compared to Japanese. When you eat sushi (if you haven't tried it out, go easy on the wasabi sauce. It turns up the heat in lesser time than you can think of framing a sentence), you dip it in soy sauce. In those days, soy sauce wasn't that prevalent other than with sushi. So no sushi pretty much took the ball out of the court. Second major difference was, Americans eat a lot more beef. Beef was much more expensive in Japan. With these two insights in the marketing arsenal, Kikkoman started re-strategising. They brainstormed and pondered that rather than changing the Americans to behave like Japanese consumers, why don't they change the way and make the product more acceptable to the Americans? This simple contemplation led to the invention of 'Teriyaki' (rings a bell?). it's a barbecue marinade that was made for American consumers to dip their large pieces of beef meat in the barbecue and then throw the marinade out. Voila! The volume of Soy Sauce went through the roof.

Kikkoman through hard work removed the cultural barrier and presented itself with the opportunity for prosperity and success. The very ethos of the great American Dream. A huge lesson here. Rather than trying to get a consumer  to change to our way, change the product in a way so that it founds meaning and acceptance in their daily lives.

The Game Behind Game Of Thrones...

Do you still think that you do marketing for your company? Well, think hard.

We, the marketing fraternity, can talk about our great product or service all day, but self-promotion can't contest with the kind of credibility and authority that comes from consumer stories. Traditional marketing is in ICU and on life support. The rules of the game have changed. Today's consumer is independent, empowered, and their voice of reason increasingly affects the opinions and experiences of people like them. It allows heavy lifting of your brand that resonates and stick with your targeted group of consumers.

As a new age marketer, it's imperative that you are also a smart strategist and one who understands consumer's pulse better. The magic trick is to facilitate platform and provide opportunities. Be the enabler which would help your consumers express themselves. If you can make them fall in love with your brand, your consumers will spread the word, create content and grow your brand. But the question is, how do you make them fall in love with your brand or product?

At the onset, we should deprioritize targeting markets. While doing the segmentation exercise, we think about market size, age, gender, etc. We spend most of our time behind this. Maybe we should start targeting people. Understand their ecosystem, what triggers a response out of them, what kind of social interactions they prefer, what excites them, etc. Once we have successfully profiled our consumers, we can group them with similar characteristics under one category and begin our engagement. Thereby, kick-starting the community marketing program.

The beauty about building community is that it isn't just about the brand, but also people making connections with each other. Think about this. As a consumer, what are you most likely to do? Follow, like and comment on a particular individual's/brand's blog, or spend more time in a community, where you have like-minded people to discuss/debate on your favorite topics? If you choose to do the latter, you and I would soon become best of pals! But if you're not convinced, yet, read the below tale about a brand who is reaping benefits.

HBO definitely takes the iron throne with their social marketing for Game of Thrones (GoT), an original series of books authored by George R.R. Martin which, after becoming a televised series, has broken all viewership records and won numerous awards and accolades. So what made the show such a runaway success? Apart from the gritty story, action, voyeurism, dragons, Cersei's evil plans, John Snow's honesty and Tyrion's intelligence; it is also about how the excitement among fans is articulated across every strand of media. In fact, GoT episode ratings have started to rank as HBO's most watched  show since 2007. Crunch this data. The Season 4 finale had a whooping 19 million cumulative viewers. Mind you, the number doesn't  account for the real viewership as the episode was also the most illegally downloaded one across the world.

So how did HBO achieve this success? They managed to ride the the wave by getting fans involved in conversations, while also using creative campaigns to re-kindle the fire between the episodes in seasons. One of the show's most successful  social efforts was the #RoastJoffrey. It was the first social media roast where fans, celebrities and even show's cast sent in taunts and jokes. In its first 48 hours, it collected more than 60,000 roasts, 1 million interactions and 850 million impressions. Time for slow clap.

There was also a 30-day countdown to the season 4 premiere called Beautiful Death, which featured many graphic illustrations representing a significant death  from every episode, and also asked fans to submit their own artwork. Why death? Well one can argue that deaths in GoT are pretty important and central to the plot. They're shocking and gruesome, but also beautiful.

Recently during Red Nose Day, a campaign dedicated to alleviate condition for children and young people living in poverty by raising money, GoT casts got in touch with Coldplay and made a musical as part of the larger charity effort. It attracted over 8 million hits on youtube and was shared on various social media sites. The effort helped raise $21 million. Apart from being a smash hit ROI strategy, it also elevated the brand's character in the minds of its consumers. There you go, that's the way to make consumers fall in love. Here, take a look at it yourself.

HBO has channelized GoT fans' enthusiasm to fuel its marketing. They amplified the speculation and conversation that happened around the characters and always looked for ways to capitalize and reward fans. The GoT community even overshadowed the author's own blog. It is abundantly clear that communities are more endearing when the relationships are many-to-many. Communities will thrive because of consumers. And, as marketers, we should  keep stoking the engagement fire.

Now, if you still prefer to follow, like and comment on a particular individual's/brand's blog over a community, no hard feelings. But do remember to share my blog post there.

Cheers!

Think Like A Foodie And Develop A Big Appetite For Risks

Things change, even if we don't want them to. Cliched? Yes. But if you pay no heed, it will be the last nail in the coffin. But it's not easy keeping pace with change. And maybe that's why we should start thinking like our foodie friend. We all know what our friend does, try different cuisines at different places. Embrace new possibilities in exploring the world of food because you never know what would you end up loving. It's a risk. Risk of investing money on to something which you might regret. Risk of spending time and energy behind something which might not live up to the expectations. But for our foodie friend that's the way of life. They always like to try out new things. And when they succeed, the joy is contagious.

Risk appetite doesn't come naturally to everybody. It's deceptive and requires an organization to analyze how much risk would be required in order to attain appropriate or sought-after returns. In real life, answer to this challenge is very difficult. And what makes it so difficult? Efforts to quantify risk appetite may produce an illusion of precision. Having said so, if risk appetite is properly understood and well articulated, it becomes a very powerful tool, not only for managing risk, but re-positioning your brand preference around your customers' ecosystem.So there you go. By definition, it's a double-edged sword which can either help you demolish your competition, or annihilate you from the inside.

Like always, it's time when the post gets interesting. I am going to tell you a couple of stories where the risk appetite of marketers reaped huge benefits for the brand. It shattered the mindset of maintaining status quo and became a benchmark for innovation.

Who can forget the giant leap by Red Bull?

Felix Baumgartner's record shattering 24 mile (39 Km) space jump has put the Austrian skydriver into the history books. But it leapfrogged Red Bull into a higher stratosphere. The marketing stunt, which complemented the brand slogan - Red Bull Gives You Wings, engaged over 7 million people via social media with over 685,000 Facebook fans and 245,000 Twitter followers. A record of 8 billion  viewers watched the live stream of the skydiving resulting in invaluable exposure of the Red Bull brand. The 'space jump' helped Red Bull to expand in core markets and newer geographies such as Brazil and Japan. It sold 5.2 billion cans, a 13% increase over the year prior, and varied markets like South Africa, France & Germany saw a double-digit growth. And what was the great thing behind all these? People didn't even know that it was a carefully planned marketing promotional event. But here comes the most interesting part. Seeing a chance to emulate promotional success, Google's SVP, Alan Eustace, tried a skydive attempt and actually broke Felix's record. But very few people are aware of it. So the learning is - the guy that takes a chance first gets the reward.

How to launch a car in a marketplace where the company had no presence? This was a big problem which was being discussed at Fiat's executive boardroom in the UK. The Fiat 500L represented the company's first foray  into the family car market. The car has been designed to plug a gap in the market for stylish yet practical family car. Fiat decided to take a risk. They created the campaign plan centered around young mothers. What, a big jolt to your male ego? If so, take a moment, do a slow breathing exercise and continue reading. Fiat's idea was to create a powerful story through a mother's eyes. They realized that Mum is the lynch-pin in any young family. Fiat wanted to connect with dynamic young mums, in a way that demonstrated their ability to understand the challenges of balancing between a life of a mother vis-a-vis their desire to keep hold of their pre-children identity. They hoped that by dramatizing the reality of becoming a new mum in this way, they will raise a knowing smile from mums and will recognize how the car will bring a touch of glamour into their family lives. Thus the 'motherhood' campaign was born. The first of its kind musical-rap fusion film featured a harassed mother, in a messy house besieged by young kids, raps ironically about her world - sleepless nights, eating leftover food. It is far from the usual depiction of cars cruising through beautiful scenery. Here, take a look at the film. It is absolutely genius of a work.

Was the idea successful? Well to start with, the video gained over 2000,000 Youtube views in just a day or two. A vast online buzz was created and shared across social media achieving rich engagement and brand conversation prior to the launch. The film featured in Sunday Times and on the Guardian, Telegraph, Daily Mail websites, BBC radio and earned many more media coverage achieving over 2.5 million GBP worth of PR. Importantly the brand which had no resonance in this segment and tested uncharted waters, launched the car with an 11% increase in enquiries over the popular segments. The popularity also meant Fiat had to later develop a 'fatherhood' campaign, as the males didn't want to miss-out on the fun and wanted the company to tell their side of the story as well. A real marketing triumph.

Today, the business landscape has changed from a controlled environment to open source. While it is easy and natural to crave for consistency and avoid risk, the changing nature of how consumer chooses to engage with a brand requires marketing to adapt and to take chances in order to survive, differentiate and thrive. Now, I am a firm believer that Marketers are risk-takers by birth. It's in their blood. They are fearless and creative, two significant attributes which help harness the culture of taking risks. Risk-taking in marketing stems from innovation and it should be embraced by the organization and get embedded in the brand strategy. And how does that help? It breaks barriers and redefines the way a brand can talk to its customers. The brand gets a new avatar which results in new customer acquisition and at the same time converting existing customers into brand followers.

The last word. Marketing is not for faint-hearted. Learn to take the leap of faith.

How Manchester United Is Killing Two Birds With A Stone?

Wait up! Don't call the International Animal Rights Organization just yet. The above headline is a famous idiom and solely meant to illustrate the fact that Manchester United, one of the 'blue-chip' football clubs of the world, is solving two problems with a single action. Now, breathe easy. In fact just relax, open a bottle of beer and continue reading.

The Blues (read Chelsea and a big 'Hurrah') might have won the battle against their arch rivals on the pitch, but when it comes to brand marketing, there's no stopping the Red Devils. Just take a minute, sip on your beer, and crunch the below numbers in your mind.
659 million supporters - So you're quite likely to find a fan wherever you go.
Brand value - $3.6 billion. And there's no tangible product.
Approx. 400 million GBP -  Premier league's most expensive squad.

Aren't these stats fascinating? But here's where it gets better. For the past consecutive 2 years, United has failed to win the Premier League. It has been 7 years since they won the UEFA Champions League, the battleground of Europe's best football teams. Yet, their fan base has increased at an infectious rate from 333 million to 659 million in less than 3 years. Doesn't that become a dream scenario for a heavy-weight organization, where you are not at your best, but still continue to win more hearts? And if you do not follow football, remember this, United supporters are fiercely loyal and there's no doubt with whom their allegiance lie.

Now we all recognize the superstars who wear the United colours and make us twist, turn, yelp and fall in love with their football artistry. But, little do we know about the men in black who are charged with the job of making United the most powerful sporting brand in the world. The job is one of the toughest you will find, yet, this remarkable men are very close in achieving their goal.

So what's their marketing mantra? It's simple. Increase fan base and earn revenue. And what's the lethal strategy? Co-marketing. Briefly defined, Co-marketing is the art of flexing your brand muscle with other companies (like-minded) to accomplish much more than you might on your own. The concept has been around for a long time. But very few companies do it the United way. Below are a couple of stories, which epitomizes the acumen that has made Manchester United among the most valuable brand in sports. Now is the time to take another sip of your beer (believe me, the story is just getting better).

United sent branded iPads loaded with company specific presentations to DHL. The idea was to persuade the company to sponsor jerseys United players wear. Big deal, right? Think again. These jerseys were not meant for 'matchday' but which the team would wear during training. Deal-breaker? No. DHL signed a 40 million GBP deal. Now, you must be thinking what made DHL sign this. Well, United had a secret sauce up their sleeve. The club reportedly invests time and money on learning about potential partners, understanding club's brand value & reach, and how it can all translate into a winning proposal. Remember the great Don Corleone's famous dialogue, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse"? Offers like that, can only stem from deeper knowledge. United has been known to house such information/knowledge about their partners. Digest this. United executives accidentally discovered that one of their partners had a weakness for Diet Coke. Since that moment, every meeting that United had with that partner, Diet Coke was the first thing that got served. With DHL, it was no different. The sensitive presentation which was sent to DHL had a brilliant market insight which will have a great brand impact for the company. The media coverage and fan following that United gets when they're training is more as compared to two small teams' coverage when they are on the pitch. So more people are interested in seeing Manchester United down on the training ground than they are in seeing most other teams live. What's important here is to realize three things. First, United travels in and around Europe during Champions League, which effectively means DHL brand will be noticed across Europe without much marketing effort. Second, on 'matchday', while warming-up before kick-off, the team will be wearing the training kit. Third, not many people get to watch United on the pitch, tickets availability, cost, etc. Watching the team during training is free. How could DHL possibly refuse the offer? And they didn't.

If you're impressed with the marketing prowess of United, consider this story. On a cold December morning, an unexpected package arrived at the HQ of Concha Y Toro, the 127 year old wine maker in Santiago, Chile. Inside was an ornate box lined with black silk and holding a leather football. The Concha Y Toro insignia was embossed on the ball, next to that of the sender's: Manchester United. Accompanying the gift was a book explaining the financial benefits of partnership between the football club and the winemaker. Within 36 hours, United executives were on the phone with their counterparts with Concha Y Toro, working on the outlines of the deal. An official ceremony was held four months later at Old Trafford, United's stadium, where the club introduced the Chilean company as its first global wine partner. Under the arrangement, luxury boxes and lounges in Old Trafford are served only Concha Y Toro's finest wines and the company's ads appear on the broadcasts of United's home games. What United got in return was a loyal fan base in Chile. Deal score: 1-1.

Lastly, I want to leave you with the below image which represents all the successful and strategic partnerships that United has successfully negotiated. Click on it to enlarge. It might just be a good thing to contemplate as you finish your beer.

How buying a kettle resulted into a business of 8.4 Billion Dollars!!!

Yes! You read it right. You must be thinking was the kettle made of gold? Well it wasn't. So stop hyper-ventilating. But the story is worth more than a few ounce of gold for every marketer. So here's what happened.

Okay before we get on with the story, a little background will help. It's that time of the year when  back to school sale season is on a full swing. It happens in the months of June-August, when  retailers in America offer the same, discounted and homogeneous service across each and every store. Wherever you go, as a customer, you will see the exact same scene. Shelves stacked with same things with big signage that reads, "Back to School Savings". After all, it's easier to sell the same things that everyone else does.


Cut to the story. On a fine jolly morning, a small argument started in the kitchen department of a big store between a teenager and his father. The boy was 18 years old and getting ready for college in a month. One of the key 'things to buy' in his list was a kettle. As he picked it up, his dad argued and made him keep it back on the shelf. Dad said, "you can always borrow", to which the son replied,"if someone else brings, it won't be mine to use".The son couldn't reason much and was frustrated with his dad, who couldn't believe why his boy cared so much about tea kettles?

What his father missed, thankfully Target, the second largest retailer in the US, did not. To stand out from this mad rush of sale season, Target knew they had to do something different.They wanted to do more than launching cool products. They wanted a fresh perspective. To gain insight, Target needed to step out of their world, and spend time with families like in the story above. 

So why did the boy needed the kettle? It's simple. In college, it's about late night study sessions or even mindless discussions with friends. This meant only one thing. Lots of cups of tea. And it was imperative he be prepared for it. Kettle was just a symbolic gesture of comfort against the anxiety about the big change in lifestyle. 

Target understood that for this particular boy it was a kettle. For someone else it could be a sleeping bag or a cell phone. What matters to a student is to feel equipped for a big change in life. So with their new marketing campaign, they urged students to imagine. Imagine their future college life. They actually helped to build-up the anxiety and how with Target they can strike each one of them down. The retail giant launched hundreds of new products, such as laundry bags with washing instructions printed on the inside label (hiding incompetence), kitchen tools packed together, lighted door sign that read  either 'Partying' or 'Studying' and many more. Target's new found customer understanding led to an increased revenue of $8.4 billion.

Watch this video below to understand students' psyche and how Target got it right.

So here's the learning. When you step outside of yourself, you open to the possibility of re-looking at things, unlearn what you've learnt and thereby solve your customers' problems.

Oxytocin - Unleash The Love Potion

It’s all about humanizing your brand, isn’t it? Smart companies realize that these days it’s not enough having the best price or best product. No sir, those glory days are a thing of the past. Today customers care for what do the company stand for? That’s why, as a brand, it’s inevitable to have a trustworthy story which establishes the emotional connect with your customers.

So what oxytocin really is? Let me provide you a non-technical explanation. When brands tell you an emotional story, it actually changes the chemistry in our brain. We as customers get seduced by the power of storytelling and release oxytocin, moral molecule. When triggered, oxytocin opens our mind to contentedness & trustworthiness, which makes us fall in love with a brand. Still too technical? Okay how about this? Oxytocin is the mother sauce which controls all your emotions. Makes sense?

For marketers, there’s more to oxytocin than what meets the eye (of course it’s a hormone, which means you cannot see but only experience it). Powerful releases of oxytocin in customers promote generosity. Don’t agree? Let me tell you a cute little story based on a true incident.

Meet Carson, a 4 year old adorable boy. When Carson was born he couldn’t drink milk protein. His parents had to get him alternate milk formula delivered to home. The delivery used to happen via brown truck. Carson was slowly infatuated with the frequent appearances of this truck. As a kid, Carson was anyway in love with trucks. But that big brown truck became his favourite. It held a special place in his little heart. The fascination only grew as a friendship developed between Carson and the truck driver Mr. Ernie. The driver got Carson a similar uniform, which completely made the boy fall in love and made him look adorable. Soon, seeing Mr. Ernie, twice a week, became the best part of his day. One day, Carson confessed to Mr. Ernie that he would want to be like him. He would like to drive the big brown truck in his neighborhood.  Little did Carson know that his wish was about to come true. On his next visit, Mr. Ernie surprised the kid with a mini brown truck which came with cool packages, like room maps, signature pad, etc. What’s more, the mini truck had a pedal. Carson packed up his mini truck with boxes for the neighbors, and after glancing at his hand-drawn map, began his route of deliveries, going door to door and making sure the recipient signed off for their packages, just like Mr. Ernie. This was a dream come true moment for Carson. But wasn’t it a great news for the truck delivery company? Carson’s entire neighborhood was now in love with the company. They were perceived as a company who not only delivered packages but much more – love, surprises, excitement, etc. They were making Carson & his neighbors release oxytocin.

The brown truck company was no one else but UPS (United Parcel Service), a global leader in logistics. They have been delivering 15 million packages a day since 1998. Now they have started humanizing their service with a touch of love, joy & excitement along with the packages. Their campaign “Your Wishes Delivered” is creating waves in social media. It is helping the company to connect emotionally with their customers, thereby creating evangelists. The campaign is simple. Invite customers to share their wishes during the holidays. For every wish shared on ups.com/wishes or via social media channels like Twitter or Instagram using #WishesDelivered, UPS will donate $1 to one of three charities: The Boys and Girls Clubs of America, The Salvation Army and Toys for Tots Literacy Program.

Take a look at the commercial and get ready to release some oxytocin.

Are You Reptilian or Empathetic?

Executives often know little about the people who buy their companies’ products and services. This is not surprising. To study people, you must care about them. However, most companies eliminate empathy from their operations. In essence, they proceed as if they have calculating, survival-bent reptile brains. Profits drive everything. This is an odd disconnect because corporate livelihoods depend on people – not lizards – and people’s brains are hardwired to be empathetic. Mr. Dev Patnaik - illustrative author, professor, marketer, start-up founder - argues about this topic passionately in his book 'Wired to Care'.

Patnaik insists today’s cold-hearted, bottom-line business world has room for caring companies, and he points to IBM, Nike and Harley-Davidson as examples.The fact that empathy is also a strong business strategy is icing on the cake. As Patnaik explains on his blog, “Empathy isn't about having a visionary leader. It’s about making customer information an easy, everyday and experiential part of working".

Have you heard about mirror neurons? No? Well, let me illustrate the concept to you with a real life story. So here's what happened. Lawrence Taylor, linebacker for the New York Giants in the 1980s and early 1990s, was a fearsome competitor and an awesome physical presence on the field. He played like a man among boys, smashing quarterbacks with gusto. Taylor enjoyed knocking down other players. On November 18, 1985, the Giants played the Washington Redskins, their division rivals, in a high-profile, televised Monday night football game. In the second quarter, Taylor landed a particularly vicious hit on Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theismann, who crumpled to the ground like a rag doll. Normally after a big hit, Taylor had always exalted, but not this time. Instead, Taylor beckoned wildly to the Redskins’ bench for help. What accounted for his dramatic change in demeanor? The answer: mirror neurons.

The human nervous system’s mirror neurons fire in automatic response to other people’s
actions.Thus, on a subconscious level, you are able to emote and replicate the actions of others simply by watching. Now you know why boxing fans physically wince when a heavyweight  fighter knocks out his opponent. What's the bottom-line? People care. But here lies the big disconnect.

Despite human beings’ basic hard wiring for empathy, most of the organizations that people create – including businesses – carefully eradicate emotion and empathy from their operations. As a result, businesses become “ethically neutral beasts.” Not surprisingly, such businesses often cannot remain competitive. Customers eventually stop buying from corporations whose actions show a lack of caring, no matter how much the companies’ ads claim that they love their customers.

Fortunately, not all businesses are “heartless” and reptilian. Here's a small story about Harley Davidson, the iconic motorcycle company. Though U.S. car manufacturers have been hugely unprofitable over the past two decades, Harley-Davidson has experienced double-digit sales growth. Why? The answer is basic: Virtually nothing separates the company from the people who buy its motorcycles. The company doesn't call them “customers”; it calls them “riders.” Most Harley employees, from engineers to accountants, also are Harley owners and riders. Cars, called “cages,” are items of derision at the company. Such vehicles can park only at the back of the headquarters building in Milwaukee. The building features countless banners, photos, signs and even motorcycle gas tanks handsomely painted with brilliant images. Everything about Harley celebrates the riders’ lifestyle. In exchange, Harley owners feel only contempt at the idea of riding a foreign-made motorcycle. Members of the Harley Owners Group (HOG), who are all customers, act as evangelists for the company. Any business would find such consumer loyalty priceless. Harley creates loyalty by deeply respecting its customer base: the riders.

Empathy is not just a marketing or business-growth strategy. It also provides companies
and their employees with a noble mission: making customers happy and improving their
lives. Plus, empathetic companies are ethical companies. So, it's time for you to decide. Who do you aspire to be? A reptilian or an empathetic?