Posts Tagged by marketing
Advertising and Public Relations – Raising the Bar
| October 10, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
We tend to be acutely aware that the quality of so much of the “stuff” we have in our lives is deteriorating. As I’ve written in connection with the wonderful series The Story of Stuff, this is due in large measure to planned obsolescence; manufacturers go to great pains to build things that will fall apart, but not so soon that customers will become so furious as to never buy from them again. I’ve come to learn that this is a modern-day art-form.
On the other hand, since I’ve promised to put on a happier face, let me point out that the quality of other things in our lives is actually going through the roof. The example most people might think of first in this connection is technology, especially health care and communications. We live longer, healthier, and far more connected lives than anytime in the past. Read More
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Innovation Means Introducing New, Relevant Concepts to Your Customers
| January 18, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
I had a talk just now with an old friend — an extremely senior business visionary who helped me put a few things into perspective about the innovations that are reshaping our world. Coming out of decades of work for Deloitte Consulting and other top names in strategy, she explained:
There’s the BUY-side, the supply chain, which has been quite important through the last few decades. A change in tax law, for example, can mean huge savings by completely re-constructing this part of the business. However, it’s not where the energy is today.
There’s the IN-side, the core business. Here are all the changes you’re making within the enterprise. Again, not where the world’s attention is aimed now.
And there’s the SELL-side. This, of course, was always important – but now it’s where the world is truly focused. Read More
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Vision Motors and Its Insights into the Electric Vehicle Market
| January 14, 2011 | Posted by Craig Shields under Electric Vehicles |
Vision Motors is in the process of bringing us on board to do some marketing work for them. This will truly be a labor of love; I can’t wait to sink my teeth into the task of promoting a company with a terrific product that, I believe, will essentially sell itself.
I developed an instant affinity for the company’s CEO, Brooks Agnew, when I first met him in Charlotte, NC last year. He’s sharp, likeable, treats people well, and carries himself with a bearing of success. It’s always best to work with people that you personally respect and admire.
Here’s a paper he just sent me that explains the company’s approach. I think readers will find it quite informative about the nature of the electric vehicle market and the direction that he (and I) believe it will be taking. Read More
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Marketing's Job Sometimes: Do the Obvious
| October 7, 2010 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
As a marketing consultant, sometimes my job is to avoid making a stupid mistake. As I mentioned the other day, we’re doing a project for an importer of natural and sustainable silk bedding, and discussing the enagement of a celebrity spokesperson who actually favors silk over polycotton.
In my recommendations, I wrote: The choice should be made in favor of an attractive woman with a youthful appearance, preferably one who is known for a considered, deliberate (rather than frivolous, irresponsible) approach to life. Though the initial list of candidates is fairly long, it’s gets short quickly once this criterion is applied. As much as we may admire Dustin Hoffman, I think it goes without saying that the world would much rather imagine Scarlett Johansson lying on a silk sheet; the reader is invited to review this photographic comparison if he’s having trouble agreeing with me here.
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Matching Your Brand to Customers’ Self-Expression
| September 28, 2009 | Posted by Craig Shields under Renewables - Business |
As part of my report “25 Tips for Renewable Energy Businesses” I include an idea that I call “Match Your Brand to Customers’ Self-Expression.”
I believe that the most fundamental ingredient in successful marketing is understanding your target market’s “self-concept.” Generally, people like themselves; they approve of who they are and how they think. And they manifest this self-concept by aligning themselves with brands that reflect that approval back to them. If you doubt this, I offer this simple challenge: write down a few of the values that are at the core of your own self-concept—the beliefs that make you who you really are. I think you’ll find that the car you drive, the clothes you wear, the books you read, etc., are all a very direct reflection of those values. And no place is this more important than in the marketing of environmentally sustainable products and services.
I know that you and I are are totally wrapped up in the idea of clean energy — both on a personal and professional viewpoint – and I’m cautious about thinking that everyone on Earth is as tuned into this as we are – which is obviously not the case. But each time I wash my 14 year old BMW with its 206,000 miles on it, I remind myself of the promise I made to myself (that I’ll never my another car without a plug on it). I’m SO done with traditional transportation, with defining myself in terms of what I drive, with needing a car that will go 130 MPH, with driving a car that causes a little piece of environmental death each time I step on the gas. I simply can’t help but think that other people must be tired of this stupidity as well.
I believe most of the 25 tips apply fairly well to businesses of all types, but I have to think this concept is even more relevant in the clean energy space. As I’ve written elsewhere, the zeitgeist that surrounds environmental stewardship is probably the most pronounced and sweeping trend of the 21st century.
I’m reminded of the seachange that took place in the fur industry in the 1960s, when civilization took hold of the brutality by which minks and chinchillas were slaughtered to make ladies’ coats. In a very short period of time, women who didn’t get the message and weren’t willing to make this minor sacrifice were regarded as pariahs. It seems to me that the situation is the same now, with Hummer drivers and others who somehow haven’t developed some level of eco-consciousness.
In a few words (by no means original), I would say that this consciousness is summed up as:
I live in a world where others’ rights — even the rights of those as yet unborn — are just as important is mine.
I do not own the Earth or any piece of it; I am a caretake of Earth for a short period of time.
I am proud and happy to make sacrifices of my own convenience and comfort to ensure that the world a better place for us all to live — now and forever.
My advice: Do some research to validate the idea that this spirit is alive in your target customer base. If it is, work hard to capture the essence of that spirit in your marketing.
