After 53 Years, It's No Longer Amusing

Alaska and Hawaii became American states in 1959.  Over the years, we've grown used to people asking if they need a passport to come to Hawaii for a visit.  And we usually tolerate people who come to Hawaii and talk about "back in the states."  But marketers should know better.  Companies and organizations (including the US Department of Commerce!) have chosen to graphically portray the United States by including an outline of the 48 states.  I checked on the date today: it's 2012, 53 years after that map became obsolete.

In today's Honolulu Star Advertiser, there is an ad for AT&T's wireless service, touting "The Nation's Largest 4G Network."  The dominant graphic is, you guessed it, an outline map of the continental "lower 48."  And this is in an ad that ran in Hawaii!!

Somebody in the AT&T marketing department ... Please pay attention.  Or sign up for a history course.

Using Technology to Improve Customer Service

While traveling in Europe, I visited a restroom in the Munich airport that used an innovative technology application to improve customer service.  Mounted on the restroom wall was an electronic polling device.  Users were asked to rate the cleanliness of the restroom by pushing the appropriate smiley button. 

Now, I don't know how management is using this information ... but it has the potential of providing feedback quickly ... and labeled with time-of-day. 

Maybe more importantly, it's a signal to the housekeeping employees that cleanliness is a high priority for the organization.  And, used intelligently, the results can help provide good feedback to housekeeping, telling them when the restroom most likely needs cleaning.  If the information is available in real time, it can even provide the ability to dispatch a cleaning crew when a frowney face is selected. 

Technology marches on ... into the restroom. 

New Advertising Media

I've been delinquent in my blogging.  But a recent sighting on a trip to Europe inspired me to resurrect my postings. 

While waiting for our bags to arrive in the Munich airport, a case went 'round and 'round on the carousel ... featuring a Heineken beer display.  Since there were no bags on the carousel, the passengers waiting for their bags had nothing to do but look at the display case.  Great example of creative media thinking. 

Diversifying from Core Strengths

Hawaii has been obsessed with diversifying its economy. And rightly so. Too much of the economic base of these islands is concentrated in a single industry with a dominant customer base.

So, the state has tried to diversify via industries like high tech. And, so far, has failed spectacularly. The problem is this: you can't just wish for new industries. The environment has to be right for new industries to grow and prosper. In the case of high tech, there's a reason that Silicon Valley is where it is ... and that's Stanford University. With Stanford as a magnet, the valley has attracted a plethora of innovation and high tech companies. As much as I love the University of Hawaii, we're not in the same league. And once you attract innovators, entrepreneurs and creative thinkers, there's a spontaneous combustion that seems to happen when theses folks get together. So, a place like Hawaii with a paucity of creative companies just isn't exciting when it comes to attracting new talent.

So how does Hawaii innovate? I think the answer is in building from its core strengths. Find ways to diversify tourism. Find new revenue generating ventures based on what we already have. Export our expertise. Maybe then we'll generate the revenue to invest in the infrastructure that can build new businesses outside of our core strengths.

DIY Marketing

I recently sat in a presentation in which some enthusiastic amateurs concluded that they could put together an effective marketing program all by themselves ... with no professional help. Truthfully, that may be possible, but the odds of success increase significantly when marketing programs are developed with people who have training and experience in the marketing discipline.

This example of amateur hour, unfortunately, is all too common. Otherwise intelligent people who would never thing of doing their own accounting ... or self-medicating ... think that they are innately gifted when it comes to marketing. The problem, I think, is that on the surface marketing appears pretty easy. But under the surface, there is a world of science and proven techniques that are the foundation for driving effective communication and motivating consumer behavior.

I've been a member of the American Marketing Association for years. My hope is that we in the profession can market the value of marketing.

The World Is Only Kinda Sorta Flat

Yes, I know. Globalization is here and here to stay. But even as everything seems to be globalizing, there are still differences in this world ... and Vive La Difference! Hawaii is a deliciously wonderful petri dish that demonstrates how a place can be part of the big wide world and still be different. Even quirky.

Some years ago, there was a book published titled "The Nine Nations of North America." The author made the case that, even with globalization, there were regional distinctions that defined nine regions in the US. Even with this regionalization, though, there were two places the author couldn't fit into a region: Manhatten and Hawaii. They were just too different.

Once, when I was doing the marketing for the Taco Bell franchise in Hawaii, the National Taco Bell organization decided to promote "value" by downsizing some of its menu items. Here in Hawaii, when it comes to food, it's all about how much you get ... not how much it costs. We tested some of the teensy food items in a focus group ... and some of the bruddahs described the items as "Barbie Food." I had to take a marketing exec from the company to see a plate lunch place (Masa's Massive Plate Lunch) to show her the difference between her definition of value and Hawaii's definition of value. Food value for lunch here is two scoops rice, macaroni salad and a huge portion of protein smothered in gravy.

Oh, and if you need to see more proof that Hawaii is different, just look at what constitutes a "door buster" sale here in the islands. The picture on today's blog is a floor display for a Spam promotion. - six feet high! Spam is a hot item here. The reasons are lost in history, but it's one of those quirky things that make us different. If globalization means that everything, everywhere is the same, the flat world would be a boring place. Fortunately, there are little quirks to keep us defined ... and amused.

Marketing and Society

There’s a longstanding debate in marketing circles about the role of marketing. Should marketing help shape civil discourse and moral standards? Or, does marketing merely reflect the standards that already exist in society? Clearly, just based on the definition of marketing and the power of persuasion that marketers possess, it is possible to change the temper of conversation. But, marketers are not gods. So the question remains: how (or should) marketers use that power?
Some would argue that the degeneration of good grammar and civil discourse in America is at least in part due to the way marketers sell their products and services. If marketing communications use sexually suggestive situations or push the envelope on acceptable moral behavior or language, are we “playing God?” Are we changing society rather than reflecting society? Look at political advertising. There are those who link the horrific attack on Congresswoman Gifford to advertising that visually depicted her district in the crosshairs of a rifle.
I began my career at Leo Burnett advertising. Leo always felt that advertising should be on the trailing edge of societal change. He even thought that advertising should be somewhat “corny.” But hard-charging creative writers and art directors often want to be on the “bleeding edge” of society. Who’s right? Once again, it’s a discussion worth having. And marketing managers need to take a role in the discussion. Marketing has the power to change things – for good or evil. That power shouldn’t be taken lightly.