Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show

How Marketers Can Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Episode 95 - How Marketers Can Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak 

Amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak, marketers, advertisers, brands and businesses might need to adjust, if not pause their messages to consumers.

It is important to be sensitive to the seriousness of this situation. The economy may be threatened, but lives are at stake.

Take a look at any of your existing marketing campaigns and make sure to bring them up-to-date. Authenticity is always a priority in marketing, but now more than ever, what you say to your audience is a representation of how you feel as a brand.

Business must go on, but think how you might be able to do things in a better way.

Think like CVS Health. They announced the other day that they will deliver prescribed medications to customers for free. That's a win-win situation if ever there was one. That's how to do things in these tough times.

What can you do now as a marketer, advertiser, brand or business to show that you care as much about - ideally, more than - your constituents as you do about the bottom line? #Marketing #Advertising #Coronavirus

A Few Words with Rebecca Lennartz

Episode 94 - A Few Words with Rebecca Lennartz 

In this episode - recorded over coffee at Cafe on the Common in Waltham, MA, on Friday, February 21, 2020 - I talk to Rebecca Lennartz, a trade show marketer and exhibit consultant, about marketing, social media and much more. 

About Rebecca Lennartz 

A results driven, detailed and creative professional who can help create and orchestrate a message when more than words will matter. 

A Good Bedside Manner Goes a Long Way

Episode 93 - A Good Bedside Manner Goes a Long Way

My wife, Barbara, wasn’t feeling well one day earlier this winter.

After talking to her doctor’s office on the phone, we decided to go to a local on-demand healthcare facility, CareWell Urgent Care in Marlborough, where she could get the quickest treatment possible.

We didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes before she was seen by two different nurses and thoroughly checked out.

Not only did she receive exceptional care at this facility, the medical team’s bedside manner was ridiculously awesome.

They spent a lot of time examining her as well as just plain comforting her.

They weren’t just extremely professional, they were incredibly personable as well.

BIG thanks to Kristen and Virginia, the two nurses who took care of Barbara during our visit.

You. Me. We can all learn a lot from this dynamic healthcare duo. Being good at what you do is one thing, being nice is another. Both are equally important. Affability matters as much as ability.

Every business and brand should care for its customers as well as this place cared for Barbara.

A good bedside manner goes such a long way, whether you’re in the healthcare field or not.

Be nice. Be kind. Be good to those around you in both your professional and personal lives.

A Few Words with Sarah Ginand

Episode 92 - A Few Words with Sarah Ginand

In this episode – recorded on Thursday, January 16, 2020 – I talk to Sarah Ginand about her work as an independent marketing consultant and how she provides her clients with such exemplary service.

About Sarah Ginand (From Her LinkedIn Profile)

Proven strategic marketing consultant focused on helping small businesses grow. Recognized as a versatile leader with experience in driving marketing strategy, planning, execution, and implementation. Expertise finding innovative ways to present implementable solutions to clients in the areas of strategic marketing; market positioning, competitive analysis, process improvement, CRM, social media marketing, integrated marketing, corporate communications, and training, managing, and mentoring staff.

How Close Are You to Your Customers and Prospects?

Episode 91 - How Close Are You to Your Customers and Prospects?

In business, we want to think of our customers and prospects as relationships, not transactions.

We want them to like and respect us, to think so highly of our businesses, brands, products and services, that they’re loyal to us forever.

We want them to feel close to us, to know that we’ve got their backs, that we’re listening to them, that we care about them, that we want them to be happy with everything they get from us.

I recently read a blog post written by Mark Schaefer in which he talked about something called parasocial relationships. As Mark explains in his post – which you can read here: https://businessesgrow.com/2019/12/12/parasocial-relationships – a phenomenon that started out in the ‘50s, with people feeling so close to the stars they watched on TV that they felt they were friends, is now associated with social media.

You. Me. Anybody can take advantage of this idea.

We may see it in ourselves as viewer, readers, listeners and consumers.

But as marketers, we can capitalize on it. We can use social media and other forms of communications to form long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with those on the receiving end of our content.

Bad Ad, Good Ad

Episode 90 - Bad Ad, Good Ad

You’ve probably seen the ad. Surely you’ve heard about it.

I’m talking about the recent Peloton ad, the one where a woman is gifted a Peloton stationary bike by her husband and looks like she’s under pressure to use it.

For many reasons, it’s not a good ad, if you ask me, and it has received a ton of negative publicity. The ad comes across as sexist, insensitive and out of touch with reality.

In a word, clueless.

The star of this controversial ad, however, Monica Ruiz, reappeared very quickly on screen in an entirely different ad for Aviation American Gin, which was clearly poking fun at the Peloton ad.

This time around, she’s sitting at a bar with her friends, they toast to “new beginnings” and she guzzles her drink. Too funny.

Not only did Aviation American Gin (actor, Ryan Reynolds, apparently has a stake in the company) move fast in rolling out this spot, they newsjacked the Peloton ad debacle and went viral for all the right reasons. Their ad was timely, funny, topical and authentic.

Good for them. Good for Monica Ruiz. Not so good for Peloton.

Humanize Your Brand

Episode 89 - Humanize Your Brand

Real success in business is achieved when you use real people in marketing and sales, real people in real time being really honest with their audience.

When I saw Mark Schaefer speak earlier this year, he emphasized the importance of being human as marketers.

I saw Seth Godin a few months later, and he pointed out that human marketing takes time.

They're both right, of course. Consumers are tired of being bombarded by the constant cacophony of cries for their attention from brands.

There must be a better way to win friends and influence people in business.

That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of social media.

Social media levels the playing field, making it possible for companies to engage with consumers - and vice versa - as human beings. Social media keeps it real, allowing for discourse and disagreement, ensuring everybody has a voice, for better or worse. Social media, used correctly, works faster than you may realize to separate yourself from the competition, connect with your constituents and turn prospects into customers.

Put a face on your brand and a smile on your face. Put the social in social media to work for you today.

The Future of Advertising...It's About to Get Real

Episode 88 - The Future of Advertising...It's About to Get Real 

To break through the clutter and win consumers over, advertising and marketing need to get real.

That’s what Bud Light did recently. During game five of the 2019 World Series, Washington Nationals fan, Jeff Adams, took a home run ball to the chest while holding on tightly to his two cold beers.

That’s when Bud Light sprang into action. Not only did they take quickly to Twitter to call attention to the moment, they tracked down the fan and by the next game, had him the star of a television campaign that featured the actual video footage of him being hit by the ball.

This scenario was remarkably well played by Bud Light, to say the least. Borrowing a page out of the social media handbook, they wasted no time in leveraging the equivalent of user-generated content (UGC) to take advantage of the moment. Including real people in real situations in real time (if possible) to connect with consumers...that's how all brands should be playing the advertising and marketing game today.

 

People Don't Like Advertising and Marketing

Episode 87 - People Don't Like Advertising and Marketing

I hate to break it to you, but people don’t want to be interrupted by advertising and marketing.

I know. That’s the last thing I want to hear, too, as I’ve earned my livelihood in this business for years.

But we can’t bury our heads in the sand. We can’t look the other way. We can’t say we weren’t warned.

Not after reading a recent article in The New York Times (“The Advertising Industry Has a Problem: People Hate Ads" (https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/28/business/media/advertising-industry-research.html) that painted a very pessimistic picture of what my colleagues and I do for a living.

Consumers are turning off and tuning out, going so far as to pay extra to receive news, information and entertainment without being bothered by brands’ incessant cries for attention and engagement.

This is what I’ve been saying for a while now in my videos and presentations, advertisers and marketers have to change how they do business or else.

This is why I believe so strongly in social media, as it represents a much more authentic, credible way of communicating with our audience members.

What's Your Goldfish?

Episode 86 - What's Your Goldfish? 

"The goal of marketing is to capture the mind and ultimately conquer the heart of your target audience,” says Stan Phelps, CSP.

I couldn’t agree with him more.

Brands and businesses need to provide their customers and prospects with an exceptional experience they’ll remember for a long time and rave about among their own respective networks.

If you don’t know Stan, you’re missing out. He’s an acclaimed public speaker, a best-selling author, a rock star of a marketer and a great guy, too. He’s written a bunch of books about marketing using the goldfish as a symbol for that little something extra that makes a mighty big difference to the consumer.

What’s your goldfish?

What do you do differently to stand out from the competition?

Are you capturing the minds and conquering the hearts of those on the receiving end of your marketing messages?

Are you going above and beyond to provide those in your audience with a remarkable experience, one that will keep them coming back to you time and time again?