A Look at Each Candidates Campaign Slogans

Putting political opinions and view points aside, one campaign slogan from this recent election season seemed to perform better than the other. Ray Hennessey makes this claim in his recent article titled “Why 'Make America Great Again' Beat 'Stronger Together'”, which was published on Entrepreneur.com this past week. Here, Hennessey discusses the five reasons why Donald Trump’s ‘Make America Great Again’ and its #MAGA hashtag out performed the marketing efforts of Hillary Clinton’s ‘Stronger Together’.

The first reason that Hennessey discusses is the call to action that #MAGA produced. Comparing it to Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ slogan, Hennessey links the two and describes how the slogan almost comes off as an order and is the voter’s responsibility. Contrasting it with ‘Stronger Together’, which Hennessey describes as an attempt at being all-inclusive, yet lacking the call to order that is important with marketing messages. While I do not support the campaign style and platform that Trump ran on, I do agree with Hennessey here who suggests that the ‘Make America Great Again’ slogan seemed to motivate people more so than ‘Stronger Together’.

The second factor that attributes to Trump’s marketing success is that the slogan is so simple with its execution. There was no real design team or image with hidden messages or symbols to take into consideration. Trump’s slogan was infamously seen as plain font on a red or white baseball hat or simply on a bumper sticker. There was nothing to be unsure about or confused about with this slogan. Simply, if you wanted to make America great again, you knew which slogan to look for. With ‘Stronger Together’, Hennessey explains how the slogan was inherently more ambiguous. The ambiguity comes from the idea that they need strength, as if to criticize the previous administration but not to go all the way since she was a part of it. This more passive approach apparently did not resonate with all voters and came off as another message trying to be politically correct, which contrasts the type of rhetoric that was common with Trump. In the end, it appears that the Clinton slogan was less blunt and more passive than the in your face strategy by Trump.

The third factor that Hennessey describes is that Clinton’s slogan campaign was not nearly as definitive as Trump’s. There was no question with Trump on what his slogan message was. Everyone knew it was all about ‘Make America Great Again’. Clinton used multiple different “sub-slogans” like, “I’m With Her”, “Fighting for Us”, and “Breaking Down Barriers.” By having all these messages at once, it can muddy the waters and make your overall campaign seem less grounded and more all over the place. We have all seen marketing campaigns where there was too much going on and thus lost part of its impact. This ties in with the next factor, which Hennessey states was social media.

With social media, Clinton was not able to make her main slogan ‘Stronger Together’ a massive hit. While she had a lot of success on social media, it was with her ‘I’m with Her’ slogan. By not capitalizing off her main slogan, it added ambiguity to the marketing campaign, which was not helped by the success of #MAGA with Trump supporters. Interestingly enough, ‘Make America Great Again’ is not as social media friendly on paper as something like ‘Stronger Together’, yet Trump supporters organically abbreviated it to #MAGA. Clinton’s supporters were using a hashtag of a slogan that their campaign essentially abandoned as its branding. Should Clinton have been able to better use her slogans on social media, who knows if the outcome would have changed.

The last and fifth factor that Hennessey discusses is the idea of leadership. He felt that the ‘Stronger Together’ slogan attempted to be too inclusive and did not give off the definitive leader feel that Clinton should have been going for. He also argues that ‘Stronger Together’ was a direct response to ‘Make America Great Again’ and seemed almost defensive, rather than direct and inspiring. Trump’s campaign seemed to be going off the premise that he, as an individual was going to ‘Make America Great Again’, compared to Clinton’s campaign, which was centered on a group effort. Personally, I like the idea of being “Stronger Together’ and working as a team, although apparently that was not the same sentiment with the way the Electoral College votes panned out. How do you feel about the slogans from this campaign? Do you agree with the claims made by Hennessey, or do you think the Clinton’s marketing was stronger. Let me know what you think in the comments section below.

Doctor Pepper Invests in Sugar-Free Drink Company Admist New Soda Taxes

There was more than just the future president to vote on earlier this week. A tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (namely soda) was voted through in the Californian cities San Francisco, Oakland and Albany, as well as in Boulder, Colorado and Cook County, Illinois, which includes Chicago. Boulder had the highest tax with 2-cents-per-ounce, while the other cities passed a tax of 1-cent-per-ounce. The idea behind these new taxes is to generate revenue for the city and is deterrence towards consuming these sugary and unhealthy beverages. These are not new trends either, since 2009 there have been more than 40 attempted soda tax efforts in cities across the United States. Before this new wave of cities that voted through these “anti-soda” taxes, Berkeley, California, and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania were the only cities to have such a law.

This relates to the current trend in the soft-drink industry, where per capita soda consumption was the lowest in 2015 that it had been in 30-years. While Coca-Cola and PepsiCo, the two biggest players in this market, are not stopping their sugary drinks, there has been a shift towards starting to implement smaller sizes of these drinks. This puts the marketers of these brands in a tricky situation. How do you continue to sell products at the same or greater rate when consumer tastes are starting to change? To me, this is the perfect situation to do what Doctor Pepper just announced. They invested in a beverage startup company called Bai Brands, which offers sugar free and naturally sweetened sodas that are a true fraction of the calories of the household usual’s. They are offering new takes on classic flavors like cola, root beer, and citrus. One thing that really struck me, was a quote from their CEO, Ben Weiss, who said, “We're under the belief that people aren't running from soda -- they're running from sugar…If you can create a beverage that's reminiscent of all those great flavors we grew up on, but doesn't have the suspicious ingredients, I think the consumer will go there”. Here, Bai Brands recognized an issue with the current state of the market and is making, what they consider, a better and healthier alternative that still has those classic tastes.

I think it will be really interesting to see what types of decisions and moves competing soda companies will make. I think this is great PR for Doctor Pepper as well as a potential successful investment. Being able to pivot and adapt marketing campaigns is a vital responsibility that these beverage marketers will have to undertake. What do you think of this new soda tax that is starting to pop up in a slew of cities? Leave a comment below about how you think marketers can use this setback to reach even newer heights.

Marijuana Advertising Laws Differ on a State-by-State Basis

As a society, we can almost unanimously agree that recreational marijuana legalization or at least medical legalization is an eventual reality across the board. Knowing this, as future marketers, we need to be able to be aware of certain regulations that may be in place. These emerging brands and companies cannot simply advertise in every state like say a toy company might do. There are certain guidelines set in place in the relevant states where there is either medicinal or recreational marijuana legalization. The spectrum of rules varies on a state-by-state basis and ranges from little to no regulation, to states that have adopted similar guidelines as with alcohol and cigarettes. Let’s look at a few different states that have restrictions in place:

Colorado:

Having adopted a legalization of marijuana for adults over the age of 21, Colorado is most certainly a pioneer state with marijuana. The general requirement in Colorado for advertising is that there are no deceptive, false, or misleading statements. This is a normal requirement for advertising, which holds true almost universally with all industries. Further, Colorado has put in place a restriction on television advertising, which states, “A Retail Marijuana Establishment shall not utilize television Advertising unless the Retail Marijuana Establishment has reliable evidence that no more than 30 percent of the audience for the program on which the Advertising is to air is reasonably expected to be under the age of 21”. This is pretty interesting because it limits the informed audience to people over the age of 21, which is the youngest you can be to legally purchase marijuana in Colorado. In reality, advertisers are often focusing on reaching their target audience, so I personally do not feel that this is too restrictive on their business efforts. This same rule of no more than 30% under the age of 21 also holds true for radio, print, and Internet advertising. While it may be difficult to be certain of the amount of viewers are under the age of 21, it does put in place a guideline to be adhered to. In Colorado, you are also not permitted to advertise marijuana specifically to out of state persons or advertise with content that targets minors or is publically visible outdoors.

Delaware:

Marijuana is decriminalized in Delaware, which means that while you cannot go into a store and purchase it, you will not be criminally charged if found possessing the plant. Medical marijuana exists, although for smaller list of ‘approved’ medical conditions than say a state like Rhode Island. Here, the law states that, “no person may advertise medical marijuana sales in print, broadcast, or by paid in-person solicitation of customers. This shall not prevent appropriate signs on the property of the registered compassion center, listings in business directories including phone books, listings in trade or medical publications, or the sponsorship of health or not-for-profit charity or advocacy events”. This is much more severe than with Colorado. While there are guidelines with advertising on say print media in Colorado, the entire act is prohibited in Delaware. This makes sense though; Delaware’s marijuana legislation is not nearly as encompassing as a state like Colorado.

Nevada:

In Nevada, marijuana is decriminalized for adults over the age of 21 and still considered a misdemeanor for persons under the age of 21. In addition, medical marijuana exists in Nevada and was put in place back in 2000. Here, “a medical marijuana establishment shall not use: (1) A name or logo unless the name or logo has been approved by the Administrator of the Division; or (2) Any sign or advertisement unless the sign or advertisement has been approved by the Administrator of the Division”. I would consider these advertising laws to be somewhere in the middle of Delaware and Colorado. There are not necessarily laws prohibiting the advertising from these companies like in Delaware, but are not as loose as in Colorado. The amount of grey area here can be scary for an advertiser. Not only do the advertisements have to be approved by the Administrator of the Division, but also so do the names and logo of the business. This essentially places the branding and advertising efforts in the hands of the state department, which obviously hinders the flow of creative and unique marketing campaigns.

It is important to keep these regulations in mind as well as realize that these are prone to change. While a state like Delaware has certain regulations in effect now, does not mean that these will be the same advertising laws in effect 10 years from now. It is safe to assume that the more marijuana is normalized and legalized in the United States, the less restrictive the marketing restrictions will be. Laws will always be the strictest following a prohibition, but will start to loosen as time passes and society adapts. This applies to other industries than just marijuana too. Certain states have alcohol or cigarettes regulations with advertising and these are vital to be aware of when configuring a new campaign for your brand or company.

Using Fear to Sell Products

Companies have been using marketing based around customer fears forever. Fear marketing takes place by companies in all areas of business from soap companies to clothing brands to animal adoption/rescue groups like the ASPCA. By utilizing marketing campaigns that touch on individual’s fears, brands can often better convince consumers to buy their products or use their services. 

For example, if you go on Victoria Secret’s website at any given time you may see a banner saying “ONE DAY ONLY SALE!” or “SALE ENDS AT MIDNIGHT”. Here, the brand is creating a sense of urgency with the customer and attempting to convince them that they need to purchase a product right now otherwise they will miss out and not have this chance again. The customer may feel more obligated to spend money to receive the ‘deal’ even if another promotion begins right as this ends. It happens elsewhere from online retail as well. 

An advertisement from Just Soap company portrays a mother holding or about to handle her baby. Her hand is covered in cockroaches and the print advertisement reads, “If you aren’t totally clean, you are filthy”. Here, Just Soap is attempting to sell their product on the premise that if you are not using their soap, then you’re hands must be contaminated with germs and thus not clean enough to touch your child. It also can go off the fear of not wanting to get your new born baby sick with your dirty hands and to clean them, you must have Just Soap. This is a much more direct example of fear marketing than the Victoria’s Secret sale promotion approach we looked at before. 

A third form of fear marketing is not necessarily with a consumer product, but rather from the ASPCA, who works with rescuing animals and getting them adopted from shelters. They often use advertisements showing off very sad or sick looking animals asking for help and donations. ASPCA is attempting to guilt the viewers into donating or adopting one of the animals on the premise that they need help or are in grave danger. If they showed images of happy dogs running in the park, I doubt they would generate the same level of support from the general community. Personally, I feel so guilty when I see these commercials that I immediately change the channel as to not subject myself to seeing those depictions of animals. While that marketing does not necessarily speak to me directly, I certainly recognize the power in its success so far. 

Utilizing Raffles to Increase Sales

I am a huge proponent of consumer generated online marketplaces. As a life long collector of comics, footwear, vintage memorabilia, and all things dope, online marketplaces are the premier destination to curate collections. I am referring primarily to what I have experience with, which includes eBay, Facebook buying/selling groups, and designated forums. Here, sellers can post their items for sale on the marketplace to an audience of potentially interested customers. The entire transaction exists online and after a sale, the seller merely ships the item or arranges an in person meet up with the purchaser. Often, the seller lists the item for a set price and may accept reasonable offers.

However, an alternative selling style in these scenarios is a raffle. Here, the seller will sell a set amount of raffle spots for a specific ticket price. For example, if I were to normally sell a product priced at $400 I could alternatively sell 20 raffle spots at $20 each. This not only allows you to collect the full amount that you were looking to get for your product (preventing customers from making “low-ball” offers), but also gives the opportunity for a customer to get a high-valued product for a fraction of its price. This form of selling often comes under fire for being unfair or rigged in the winner selection process, although the most successful raffles that I have been associated with utilize a third party selector to choose the winner and avoid this issue. Raffles also can be seen as a form of gambling, which it essentially is, although there are always fixed odds. If the raffle you are partaking in has 15 spots, you know for a fact that you have a 6.6% chance of winning per ticket you purchase.

I find this to be a great style in selling higher priced and collectible items, but can be translated over big-ticket items featured at retail stores as well. With raffles, the customer can get wrapped into the allure of “winning” a product for a fraction of its cost without ever actually receiving any product. You can conceivably earn revenue from an entire audience of customers and never actually give them any products. One might raise the question “if customer’s keep losing, won’t they become upset with the store and stop purchasing there?”. This is a valid question, and I would rebuttal it by saying that not every product is meant to be raffled in a store. I envision a scenario where I can walk into Best Buy and buy products as I normally would. Then as I walk to the back to look at the unbelievable 60”+ 4K HDTVs there is a sign that they are holding a raffle for one of these beauties with 40 spots priced at $25. Here, Best Buy can earn revenue and gain inexpensive customer information on people who may not even purchased a product to begin with. This creates a low acquisition cost for customer information, which can many times be a leading line item for a company’s assets. In addition, this raffle idea would increase the total price per transaction for the participating customers and can help employees on the sales floor meet higher goals. As a consumer, it adds a level of excitement to shopping, the same thrill you get with gambling and betting, and can result in customers returning to the store more often than they historically had been before.

This model is not designed for selling every product in your store. It is, however, a strong marketing opportunity for a store that does not require much capital and can generate a heightened level of brand equity and value to the customer. While this post may not be about as taboo of a subject matter of the rest, this could be a new facet of retail selling that exists primarily on the secondary selling market. Bridging the gap between secondary marketplaces and the primary supply chain is not only exciting, but a potentially very profitable avenue to explore.  

Marketing Techniques in Escorting Prove Helpful to All

“What in the world is this guy talking about now”, you may ask yourself. Well I will tell you: the marketing campaign techniques that escorts use can be applied to all facets of traditional business marketing. While trying to brainstorm topics for this week’s blog post, I tried to come up with all of the taboo industries existent in America. While doing this, I realized that escorts, or a less invasive term for prostitutes, must do marketing campaigns to stand out against the rest of the competition. In a non-regulated industry like this, I originally assumed that some of the techniques would be radical and vastly different than approaches a regular business may use. The reality is that many of the core concepts and approaches translate over very easily to more traditional businesses. 

After doing some basic researching online, I came across a website that was dedicated to giving tips and advice to women who were interested in being an escort or how to further their existent escorting service (http://www.howtobecomeanescort.net). Not to make a joke here, but you can consider this a service industry for the sake of marketing strategy. The escorts are not necessarily selling a product, but rather supplying an experience that services the desires and imaginations of their client. Once that notion is understood, the escort can start to better market the experience that they supply. This is very similar to the professional sports ticket sales, which thrives under the premise of selling a fan experience as a whole, opposed to just purely a ticket to a sporting event. What I discovered while reading posts on the escort website was that the success of the escort is more closely related to her marketing and customer relation performance opposed to her looks and attraction level. Naturally, I can imagine that looks play a role to some extent, although it does reiterate the notion that the better marketed company can out compete their competitors even if they have a slightly inferior product or service. With all of this said, let us look at some of the main points and approaches that I gathered to be the most important for escort marketing.

1. Advertise with the Best

Here, the author discussed her opinions on the best places to advertise your services. She includes a subscription based online directory, escort agency phone books, as well as a few other agency websites. She also touches on the importance of maximizing SEO for individual’s websites. These ideas of basic advertising are no different than say the construction industry, an area where I currently work. If I need to find a subcontractor who works with glass and glazing, I will look in the Construction Blue Book, which is not a free network to be part of. The concept of maximizing SEO and search results is also an area that is majorly focused on in every other business with an online aspect. 

2. Keep Regular Clients

This section is fairly straightforward. The importance of repeat customers is imperative in any business venture. In a quote from the article, the author states, “Keeping regular clients is one of the most important things you can do as an escort. When I was making $30000 a month as an escort before I retired, $25000 of that was from regular clients and $5000 was from random clients calling and booking an hour here or there.” What we can gather from this is that roughly 80% of this escort’s monthly revenue was generated via repeat customers. For a lot of companies, obtaining 40% (1/2 of what the escort experienced) revenue from repeat customers would be a large feat. Knowing your amount of repeat customers is vital in your marketing approach. For example, this escort would be wise to focus on customer relations and maintaining continued relationships rather than focusing on customer acquisition. The lesson in this section is that your primary efforts should be a result of current customer base. Essentially, those who better understand their customers will better understand how to market towards them. Keeping existent customers happy can often be more valuable than solely focusing on new customer acquisition. Improving customer relationships can actually lead to better acquisition results since you have a subset of die-hard and passionate customers who will act as company ambassadors. 

3. Stay Active and Consistent 

The last two sections on the website looked at both Internet marketing and becoming active in the local escorting community. These are in my opinion the most vital for branding a service-based company. The author writes about the importance of maintaining a consistent level of activity of various social media platforms. By existing across the spectrum of social media offerings, your brand can continue to gain recognition even when the customer was not previously thinking of you. If you make an effort to regularly post relevant content of these platforms, you increase the mental real estate you have in their mind. This translates well to non-social media platforms as well. Utilizing a monthly or bi-weekly email newsletter allows you to show off what’s new with your company and an easy opportunity to slip a promotional code or discount opportunity for your products. For the escorts, this could be in the sense of maintaining contact with customers who are likely to become regulars. Initiating contact with them can play a big role in whether they start to contact you exclusively, or will take his money to a variety of sources. Staying active in your local community is important for both maintaining relationships and also as a way to help your own business. For example, it is in the best interest of a skateboarding shop to be sponsoring local skaters or hosting skateboard events for the neighborhood and local area. By investing your own time is the community that you cater towards, you project a more favorable and relatable image to your customers. For escorts, the website author spoke about how she would partake in legalizing prostitution campaigns, and being vocal about sexual health and protection. These not only improve her image, but also acts in her personal interest by better educating her customers about safety and potentially legalizing her occupation.