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.
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.
"Efforts to quantify risk appetite may produce an illusion of precision..." - Awesome!!
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