Peeps Are Out of Control

As Easter approaches, I find myself confronted with one of my long time enemies…Peeps. Wandering down the candy aisle, the sugary beady-eyed marshmallow monsters staring back at me, I thought, why? Why do people eat these things? And hey – wasn’t it not that long ago that these fools were taking over the candy aisle. Has it really been a year? Well, no. They have Peepified other holidays now too. There were heart shaped Peeps for Valentine’s Day. Trees and snowmen Peeps for Christmas. And pumpkin and ghost Peeps for Halloween. While I could go on about my intense dislike for Peeps, and why no one should be eating Peeps – of any shape or color, during any holiday – instead I’ll try to focus on the positive.

So Peeps are made by a company called Just Born (ha, like the Peep chicks!). Turns out they also make Mike & Ikes and Hot Tamales, so maybe they should go onto my list of boycotted companies. Oops, sorry. Positive. Ok, branching out the “beloved” Peeps into other times of the year is actually quite smart. Why only make money during one month when you can expand your profits year round? Plus, everyone knows the name and everyone knows what they are. Love them or hate them, we all know them and can recognize them. They are mainstream. So if you’ve already got a brand identity and a market, why not capitalize on that?  Yea, they did. In fact, since releasing other versions of the traditional yellow chick Peep for Easter, they have enjoyed double digit growth!

So branching out during the rest of the year wasn’t enough for the fine folks at Just Born. They’ve expanded their Easter line too. Every year there are more and more. It’s like a Peeps platoon – a full on army even – in the candy aisle now. Yellow Peeps. Pink Peeps. Flavored Peeps. Peeps dipped in chocolate. Peeps coming out of a shell.  Mini Peeps.

And guess what else. According to Just Born, 1 out of every 3 Peeps are purchased by people who don’t like them or FOR people who don’t like them – people with no intention of ever eating them! Like me. The squishy urine colored treats find their way into my Easter basket every year just for kicks. (Yes, my parents still make me an Easter basket. Don’t judge.)

And now there are over 2 billion Peeps being produced each year.

Hello – why are there no summer Peeps? Peep S’mores anyone?  No, I changed my mind. Peeps are out of control. Stop buying Peeps. Stop eating Peeps. Just, stop.

A Day Without A Woman

It’s International Women’s Day – a day to stand together for equality, justice, and the human rights of women.  But this year, it’s also a one day demonstration of economic solidarity with “A Day Without A Woman”.  The idea behind the movement is to recognize the “enormous value that women of all backgrounds add to our socio-economic system–while receiving lower wages and experiencing greater inequities, vulnerability to discrimination, sexual harassment, and job insecurity.” Today, women are being encouraged to stay home from work, avoid shopping, and wear red.

So yes, of course I’m participating!  In fact, I’m doing all 3 😉  But I’d still like to take a moment- as I sit comfortably on the couch in my red sweatshirt – and share a few facts I’ve learned on the impact women have on our economy.

• Women are responsible for almost 80% of all consumer purchasing. Even when a woman isn’t doing the actual purchase herself, she is often the influence behind someone else’s decision to purchase or not.
• Women make the decision in buying 94% of home furnishings, 92% of vacations, 91% of home electronics, 90% of homes, 80% of household goods, 60% of all cars, and own 40% of all stocks.
• Women have what is called a “multiplier effect”, meaning they account for multiple target markets in one. Women typically buy on behalf of all of the people in their household – which could consist of men, children, older parents or in-laws, extended family or friends.
• Women contribute over $20 trillion dollars in annual consumer spending.
• Women represent a market that is bigger than all of China and India combined.
• 22% of women shop online at least once a day and 92% pass along information about deals or finds to others.
• Women make up nearly half of the US workforce, but also do the bulk of the unpaid work, such as cooking, cleaning and caring for their children and families.

So yea, women are pretty important.  Today will highlight the effect of women on the economy and demonstrate how women’s work (both paid and unpaid) keeps businesses, communities, and households running.  Today, let’s not only note and support the obvious – that women should be free of discrimination and inequalities as a basic human right – but let’s also appreciate and respect their impact on the socio-economic system as a whole.

 

Yes, Facebook is spying on you!

You’ve probably already noticed “coincidences” as you scroll through your news feed and see an ad for a local gym – wow, you were just talking about wanting to lose weight; or an ad for JetBlue – how bout that, you were just looking up pricing for an upcoming trip; or a coupon for Chipotle – hey you just ate there! Or an ad for diapers – how did they know you had a baby?

Well, Facebook denies listening to your conversations.. unless of course you’ve ever posted a video with sound in which case they asked you for permission to access your microphone 😮  But anywayyyyyy.  Ok, so let’s say we believe them, and they aren’t listening, per se, but they are still watching everything you do in order to service their advertisers.  Because after all, how do you think they made over $7 billion last year?  It wasn’t from you – oh wait, yes it was.

Facebook is tracking your every move so they can mine the most valuable data to draw in advertisers. And those advertisers will pay to get their messages in front of you.  Yes, specifically you.  And you’re just serving it right up on a platter for them.

So how do they know exactly who to target and for what products?  It’s actually pretty easy.  You can even do it yourself!  Go ahead – go on Facebook and type in the search bar “moving to Florida”. Now scroll down past the groups and pages and you’ll see posts by your friends and posts by public.  I see status updates such as “Days like today make me think how much I am going to enjoy moving to Florida“, “As you may or may not know Rich and I are moving to Florida in May”, and “I’m moving to Florida in a few days so you can all expect a lot of fun in the sun.”  Now – if you were a real estate agent in Florida, or a moving company in Florida, or a home insurance company in Florida, wouldn’t you just love to get your ads in front of these folks?  Of course!

Guess what else they track?  Every time you “like” something. But that’s probably obvious.  Yes, we all know that. But what about your non-obvious “likes”?  Not the literal ones on Facebook, but the other websites you go to.  Anytime you visit a web page with a “Like” or “Share” button – which is pretty much all of them – Facebook gets alerted.  And so they’ll make assumptions. For example, if you’re reading an article about the best places to hike in New Jersey, you probably like exercising outdoors; or you are looking for a recipe for stuffed peppers, you probably like cooking; or if you’re browsing the shoe section on Macys.com, you’re probably in the market for new shoes. And then, what happens next time you’re on Facebook?  UnderArmour outdoor gear on sale!  Try Blue Apron for Just $5! SHOES! Macy’s coupons! More shoes!  Macy’s SHOE coupons!

But, wait.  There’s more…

So they track what you do on Facebook. And they track what you do online, off of Facebook.  But they also know what you do in the real world.  Dun dun dunnnn.  Maybe you go buy some groceries. Do you have a loyalty card at the grocery store?  Probably. Did you have to give your email address when you signed up?  You betcha. Well now you’re part of a “custom audience”. So ShopRite (or wherever you bought your groceries from) uploads their customer email list and Facebook pairs it to email addresses of its users. Don’t worry – the data is private (ha). And now Facebook knows who to tell ShopRite they should advertise to. Scroll, scroll, scroll, oh bananas are on sale? Sweet!

Creeped out?  Most people are. Find this invasive?  Most people do. Unless you’re a marketing geek. Or lazy. And since I’m both – I’ll weigh in with my opinion 🙂  I like it. Facebook is going to serve up ads no matter what. That’s how they make money. Good for them. But then at least show me something I’m interested in. Maybe I won’t have to search for things I might want to buy anymore. I can just waste time on Facebook (like I was going to do anyway) and things that are relevant to my interests will magically appear for me to easily click and buy. Yay! Facebook makes internet advertising a better experience for us as consumers. And that’s who digital marketing is making a dramatic shift towards. US. It’s less about getting the most money from the advertiser, and more about giving consumers what they want (which in turn, will make them more money from advertisers).

There’s no other platform that can target the way Facebook can. They are providing a useful, meaningful experience for customers and are extremely profitable for advertisers.  And that’s why Facebook is winning the internet marketing game.

Marketing Lessons from the Girl Scouts

First of all, kudos to the Girl Scouts for believing in the power of girls.  But also for those amazing cookies. Mmm….cookies….yes, the cookies. The Girl Scout Cookie Program has a solid marketing strategy – from the gurus behind the scenes, right down to the little entrepreneur offering you that box of delciousness.  Grab one of your Samoas (or Caramel Delites, depending on where you live – more on that later!) and let’s talk about what we can all learn from the Girl Scouts.

First, supply and demand. These cookies are only available one time per year. Which as we know, makes us want them even more. Sure, they are delicious, but do you think they’d be AS delicious if you could have them whenever you wanted?  Probably not.  Scarcity creates a demand.  And then not only do we buy, but we buy more than we might normally have for fear the supply will run out.  Limited supply.  That’s powerful when it comes to how our brains work. Tell us we can’t have something, and we have to have it.  Tell us there’s a limited amount, and we’ll buy it all.

Stage 2. They change some of the ingredients and make a new name and release new cookies but only make them available in certain locations. Depending on where you live, you’ll find Samoas or Caramel Delites and Tagalongs or Peanut Butter Patties. But are they the same? NO!  Samoas are dark chocolate and the Caramel Delites are milk chocolate. Tagalongs have more peanut butter than Peanut Butter Patties. This year, they released a new cookie – the S’more. But some Girl Scouts have the “crispy” graham cracker cookie coated with chocolate and others sell the “crunchy” sandwich cookie filled chocolate and marshmallow.  Now what will you do?  You’ll have to by them all and do side by side comparisons, naturally.  Look at you now.

So the gurus behind the scenes have mastered how to get into your mind and make you buy more.  But the girls on the front lines are also marketing geniuses. Why? Because where are they? They are right where you are. They’ve set up shop at your local grocery store, Walmart, the train station, the pharmacy, the library, at church…everywhere you go.  And just in case you somehow manage to resist the charm of the little girls while you’re out and about, too bad.  They’ve got their own sales network of parents – at your office.   In today’s digital age, you should be able to buy cookies online.  They know that. But it’s too easy to say no that way!  So instead, sales will be in person only.

They’ve also managed to combat any possible reason you might find to not purchase a box.  Vegan?  The Peanut Butter Patties are totally plant-based.  Gluten free?  Trios.  Already bought cookies?  Freeze them.  Don’t like cookies?  (Ha.) They make a great gift. Don’t know anyone?  You can send a box to the troops!

So what can we learn from the Girl Scouts?  Have a great product, create a demand, sell via non-traditional methods, expand your distribution, keep up with trends, and eliminate sales barriers – and you have all the ingredients necessary for a pretty sweet victory.

As a marketer, I have a true appreciation for the marketing strategy behind selling these Girl Scout cookies, but as a woman (and somewhat of a feminist), I’d also like to acknowledge the positive message the Girl Scouts encourage from this activity.  Young girls learn what it’s like to be an entrepreneur, running their own “business”. They learn goal setting, money management, business ethics, distribution, people skills and sales.  And best of all, they have fun while they’re doing it.  Bravo, ladies.

 

 

 

How did the Verizon guy become the Sprint guy?

Remember this guy? He would travel the country testing Verizon’s networks with a cell phone to his ear and ask “can you hear me now?”  You’ve definitely seen it – probably even referenced the character and repeated the tagline. I mean, come on.  There were over 100 different versions of this commercial and they ran for almost ten years.

Verizon’s marketing strategy here was to differentiate from the competition by highlighting how great their network was. They promoted themselves as “the gold standard” – no dropped calls, better reception, and crystal clear quality. And it worked. Verizon’s sales increased and while the competitors had to lower prices, Verizon was able to still charge premium rates because apparently people will pay for what they deem a premium service. And this guy – the “can you hear me now” guy – became a cultural icon.  So how did he end up in Sprint commercials?

It’s brilliant.

It’s 2017 (2016 when the new Sprint commercials first aired), and cellular networks are much more reliable – across all carriers. It’s really no longer a differentiator to have “the best network”.  They’re all pretty good and the differences are negligible.  Then how will the cell phone companies compete with each other?  Especially Sprint, who fell to #4 behind Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile.  Especially in a market when pretty much everyone already has a cell phone and are most likely locked into a contract with their provider.  Do they offer free phones? Maybe reduce their price?  In any case, they’d have to rely on poaching customers from the competition. Well, what better way to promote the idea of switching, then by getting your competitor’s best known spokesperson himself to switch?  That’s sure to get noticed.  I mean if even this guy switched, maybe we should too?

Check out Sprint’s first ad using the Verizon guy here (by the way, his name is Paul Marcarelli) and tell me it’s not genius.