Building Marketing Capital

When a company like Interbrand measures brand value (http://issuu.com/interbrand/docs/bgb2009_magazine_final), they apply a formula that calculates how the intangible brand translates into tangible revenues. I struggle with how this truly works.

From my view into the inner-workings of marketing departments, I have to acknowledge that most dollars are burnt up on campaigns that appear and vanish in an instant.

In economics, "capital" is the word that describes the process of attaching concrete value to something that may not have inherent value. A good or service has an absolute capital value, which is calculated by taking the materials cost, plus the cost associated with reforming those materials toward a greater end result.

So, with this understanding as the basis, let's ask whether an advertising campaign adds capital value or whether it is merely an expense. My argument is that if a given marketing material is "temporary", it's an expense. If it's permanent, it's capital.

So why doesn't the 21st Century Marketer build true capital value into their marketing plan? What does that look like? Here are some ideas for building a capital portion into the marketing arsenal:
1. Websites: Rather than building "campaign" sites, build permanent sites that attract ongoing followers. If building (and maintaining) websites is to cost/labor intensive, buy an existing site, form a partnership or form a joint venture with properties that already appeal to the target.
2. Applications: Applications give manufacturers the ability to provide either an additional service or an ongoing communication platform with devoted followers.
3. Media Channels: Rather than temporary ad placements, look for ways to create permanent channels. Netflix recently shifted toward a strategy where they are placing doorways to their service on the proliferation of devices. So are brands like Pandora, YouTube and Facebook.
4. Events: Create a real-world community where your devoted followers can come into contact with your brand around a common interest.
5. Data: Seek out programs that allow you to own the data. If you can build a marketing channel where data tallies in the background, you will gain massive amounts of insight to fuel into future product development. E.g. - Google keywords, Apple Apps, Facebook
6. Brand Ambassadors: Create ways for your most loyal fans to spread the love.
7. Affiliated Marketing/Profit Sharing: Rather than expecting people to find my product or rather than expecting me to find them (with advertising), let other media channels deliver an audience for a cut of the final sale.

The 10 YES's that Make a Winning Product

1. Proposition: Is there a compelling idea behind this product?
2. Research: If you gave me this product for a week, would I refuse to return it?
3. Identity: Is there a simple, visual language to make my user experience intuitive?
4. Seeding: Will I tell my friends about this product?
5. Naming: Is the name of this product simple and memorable?
6. Packaging: When I receive this product, does it feel like it was presented as a gift just for me?
7. PR: Does the idea behind this product just as newsworthy as the product itself?
8. Endorsement: Do I get the sense that people like me use this product?
9. CRM: Am I interested in hearing direct communications from the manufacturer about this product?
10. Advertising: If I received a picture, editorial or video about this product, would I send it to a friend, unprompted?

Where Does Information Pollution Come From?

How ironic. If you fill a room with marketers and ask them to share their life's work, a great majority of them will show you what I call "information pollution". Every time a message is thrown at me, I ask whether it leaves a positive impact or a negative net impact?

Although I can't control the ideas that flow from other people, I can forge a framework to ensure that I eliminate my own contributions to the mass of information pollution.

The easiest way to spot information pollution is to ask consumers whether a given exhibit elicits in them a sense of intrigue. If not, it should be removed from existence.

The purpose of this blog is to focus on ensuring that my impact is positive. I hope that you and I both can redesign the world around us to ensure that our footprint is net positive.

A good place to start is to think like a designer. At its core, design thinking is intended to simplify everything around you to the absolute bare essentials.