p. 16 MEREDITH’S SALES GUARANTEE p. 42 WHY OWNED MEDIA CHANGES EVERYTHING p. 49 PUBLICATIONS MAIL AGREEMENT 40070230 POSTAGE PAID IN TORONTO MARKETING MAGAZINE, ONE MOUNT PLEASANT ROAD, TORONTO, CANADA M4Y 2Y5 August 29, 2011 THE 2011 INCENTIVE SUPPLEMENT ALWAYS PREPARED since 1908 Research in Motion THE MARKETING SURVIVAL GUIDE How Blackberry can stay alive— and thrive—in the hearts and minds of a jilted market BY CHRIS POWELL fig. 1.0 $5.95 RIM CO-CEOs MIKE LAZARIDIS & JIM BALSILLIE DEMONSTRATE HOW TO FIGHT A HUNGRY COMPETITOR. contents 42 p. Havana club rum gets into the spirit of cuban culture in an upcoming film the company produced. 30 features tHe researcH in Motion Marketing survival guide How Blackberry can stay alive— resonate even!—in the hearts and minds of a jilted market. PLUS the Marketing Debate: Is RIM RIP? 42 How owned Media cHanges tHe rules By creating, producing and owning their platforms in addition to brand messages, marketers are starting to act a lot like traditional media. Because shouldn’t all companies be media companies? sPecial suPPleMent: incentive Marketing From mobile campaigns to cribbing strategies from game designers, Marketing’s 2011 report from the incentive marketing frontlines dives deep into a market full of opportunities. “More incentive marketers are using gamification to pump up the fun factor” 49 p. THIS MONTH AT MARKETINGMAG.CA ☞ SPORTSNET MAGAZING More about Canada’s newest mag ExcluSIvE INduSTRy vIdEOS Watch and learn... or laugh KEEP uP ON ThE GO The new-ish Marketing mobile site. No app store visit required MarketingMag.ca August 29, 2011 3 COMING SEPTEMBER 29 SPORTSNET MaGazINE For all Canadians who cram into the rinks, arenas and stadiums across the country, and for those who get home in time to watch the big game, there’s Sportsnet Magazine – the new bi-weekly from Rogers – featuring the best photos, biggest interviews, strongest editorial features and most entertaining commentary from the country’s best roster of sportswriters and columnists. As a stand-alone buy, Sportsnet Magazine will connect you with 100,000+ enthusiastic sports fans. Together with its digital and broadcast teammates, Sportsnet offers a full lineup of integrated opportunities for advertisers. PuBlIShEd 2 EvERy wEEkS GaME ON! TO advERTISE IN ThE PREMIERE ISSuE BRaNdON kIRk CONTaCT aSSOCIaTE PuBlIShER 416-764-1591 brandon.kirk@rci.rogers.com 14 DEPARTMENTS 7 8 notes From you and from us. oil change How to stop worrying and learn to love the oilsands. Step one: Listen to this guy. PLUS The month in judgment. 10 essential Marshall Mcluhan 21 The lessons you need to study. p. chirping Mike ford Twitter insights, rants and surrealism from Canada’s creative industry. poll Facebook or Google+? 12 suMMer in the industry Media and marketing high-fliers on what they did this summer. PLUS Arlene Dickinson’s new book. 16 p. printing proMises Did Meredith change the media game by promising sales increases to its advertisers? 18 Brainstorm’s president and CEO Ron Telpner keeps it analogue and inspirational. 11 16 creative space 10 sportsnet Magazine first look Newly minted publisher and editor-in-chief Steve Maich takes us through his game plan. In a Whalers jersey! We Want ansWers! Marketing corners industry insiders at the Toronto Ad Club Golf Day. afterhours Extreme Group’s Shawn King keeps the creative juices flowing by running down a dream. 22 the tv ad sales revolution An archaic industry process goes boldly forward (thank God). 25 tiM to say goodbye After spending his entire career building brands at P&G, Tim Penner calls it a career. But not before sharing his 33 years of lessons with us first. 62 last Question How does a hobbled RIM fit into the new mobile reality? MeDIA, ADVeRtISIng and PR in Canada editor-in-chief tom Gierasimczuk (416) 764-1603 tom.gierasimczuk@marketingmag.rogers.com publisher lucy collin (416) 764-1582 lucy.collin@marketingmag.rogers.com Managing editors david Brown (416) 764-1595 davidj.brown@marketingmag.rogers.com sales Manager hayley humenick (416) 764-1575 hayley.humenick@marketingmag.rogers.com rebecca harris (416) 764-1485 rebecca.harris@marketingmag.rogers.com sales Manager: ontario & Western canada carol leighton (416) 764-1544 1-800-720-8916 carol.leighton@marketingmag.rogers.com senior editor Jeromy lloyd (416) 764-1567 jeromy.lloyd@marketingmag.rogers.com staff Writers Alicia Androich (416) 764-1640 alicia.androich@marketingmag.rogers.com kristin laird (416) 764-1588 kristin.laird@marketingmag.rogers.com art director Peter Zaver (416) 764-1563 peter.zaver@marketingmag.rogers.com associate art director Ally tripkovic (416) 764-1583 ally.tripkovic@marketingmag.rogers.com correspondents vancouver eve lazarus (604) 990-9397 eve_lazarus@shaw.ca calgary norma ramage (403) 938-0215 nramage@platinum.ca inside sales representative, classifieds, ticket sales Aldo russo (416) 764-1597 aldo.russo@marketingmag.rogers.com sales & Marketing coordinator lindsay thompson (416) 764-1625 lindsay.thompson@marketingmag.rogers.com general Manager, conferences & events kellie smith (416) 764-1390 kellie.smith@rci.rogers.com production Manager Ajay Masih (416) 764-3914 ajay.masih@rci.rogers.com circulation Manager duncan Palmer (416) 764-3860 duncan.palmer@rci.rogers.com Publication mail agreement #40070230 Periodicals postage paid at lewiston, ny. canadian and u.s. Postmasters: send address changes to Marketing Magazine, Po Box 18003 toronto, on M7y 3J3. undeliverable copies notices to: Marketing Magazine, one Mount Pleasant rd., 7th floor, toronto, on M4y 2y5, duncan.palmer@rci.rogers.com. u.s. periodical registration no. 010-574 Marketing is indexed in the canadian Business index by Micromedia limited. Back copies are available in microform from Micromedia limited, 20 Victoria st., toronto, on M5c 2n8, tel: (416) 362-5211; and from the university of Michigan Micro films international, 300 north Zeeb rd., Ann Arbor, Mi, 48106. 103rd year–vol. 116–no. 10 contents copyright © 2011 by roGers PuBlishinG liMited, may not be reprinted without permission. single copy sales only (416) 764-1620 current issue (in canada) $5.95 plus tax and postage and handling (P&h). 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Marketing is published 18 times a year except for occasional combined, expanded or premium issues, which count as two subscription issues. Marketing, established in 1908, is published by rogers Publishing limited, a division of rogers Media inc. one Mount Pleasant rd. toronto, on M4y 2y5, canada telephone (416) 764-2000 fax (416) 764-1519 Montreal 1200 Avenue McGill college, Bureau 800 Montreal, Qc h3B 4G7 telephone (514) 8432563 fax (514) 843-8358 Vancouver 154 Applebrook cres. kelowna, Bc V1V 1w4 telephone (250) 860-0907 fax (250) 860-0937 halifax Matt semansky (902) 404-0637 semanskywrites@gmail.com intern Brandon terry brandon.terry@rci.rogers.com We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Periodical Fund (CPF) for our publishing activities. ADVISORY BOARD • Andrew BAiley, chairman, Proximity north America • Arlene dickinson, ceo, Venture communications • roB Guenette, ceo, taxi • Mitch Joel, president, twist image • AMBer MAcArthur, technology/new media author and consultant, MGimedia • sidneyeVe MAtrix, assistant professor of media and mass communications, Queen’s university • scott Moore, president, rogers Broadcasting • Miles nAdAl, chairman, Mdc Partners • Jill nykoliAtion, president, Juniper Park • serGe rAncourt, coo, doug and serge • Andrew sAunders, vice-president of advertising sales, the Globe and Mail • rick seifeddine, senior vice-president of brand, Bell canada • lAAs turnBull, publisher and editor-in-chief, the Grid • MiA PeArson, co-founder, north strategic • rick white, head of marketing for canadian banking, scotiabank MarketingMag.ca August 29, 2011 5 Mobile usage is exploding in Canada. Are you on the map? You should be here onto! In Tor the 2011 Mobile Marketing ConferenCe Featuring keynote presenter Kevin Newman, former anchor of Global National News, sharing his research and insight into how you can't speak about mobile without starting the sentence with video. PlUS: Janice Diner on optimizing Facebook commerce in the mobile space october 25, 2011 Eglinton Grand, Toronto 8a.m. – 5p.m. october 27, 2011 Omni Hotel, Montréal 8a.m. – 12p.m. The digital wallet is coming to Canada. Who will own this potential goldmine? Is Facebook commerce worth your time? The Canadian brands that are making geo-location work—and how you can, too Marketing’s exclusive research on the new mobile landscape Check out the event website MarketingMag.ca/Mobile2011 for more information. tiCket info: toronto Montréal $425 $249 +HST @marketing_event #mobile11 +QST For ticket information, contact Aldo Russo at 416-764-1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com CONNECT WITH US Marketing Magazine Events facebook.com/MarketingMagazineEventsPage MC Feature SponSor, toronto event aSSociate SponSor MC eDitOr’s letter grim at Rim? A new focus on marketing can help L ike at most places of kinetic business, Marketing staffers are issued Blackberrys as a matter of course. Right after you get your security pass card you get a gleaming new Bold, or if you play your cards right, a torch. As a lifelong iPhone user (iPhone’s lifetime, not mine), my Blackberry adoption is not going well since being given one 10 months ago. trying to adapt to the user interface after the intuitive fluidity of Apple’s iOs has proven too hard for my limited range. I hacked my personal iPhone to do everything work-related and now my Blackberry only comes with me on business trips that involve long-distance calls. so when news about RIM’s decline hit last year, my first reaction was, “Why is this surprising?” When you run the numbers on how many people around the world prefer a digital swiss Army knife to the one-trick pony of encrypted e-mail, market share would seem to flow towards the mini computer with a touch screen. It was an obviously biased assumption, and as we started researching this month’s cover story (“the Research in Motion Marketing survival guide,” pg. 30), I discovered that I was in the minority in iOs bullheadedness. Blackberry still rules Canada. It still resonates internationally. And it’s sitting on a small continent’s gDPworth of cash. the more writer Chris Powell delved into the story, the more the steve Jobs disciples who run this book started believing that MarketingMag.ca all RIM needs to get back on top is to think about marketing seriously—about listening to users, about speaking to them in the language of their needs, and stopping at once bizarro musician associations that are as forced as sunbelt hockey. After all, people love their Blackberrys. they love the encryption and BBM and the security the network provides. they can’t figure out the iPhone voodoo. But just as we were about to pick up some RIM stock cheap and ride it back into the glory days, the company committed consumer-trust seppuku when it allegedly offered the London authorities—reports as of press time claim voluntarily and unprovoked—complete access to rioter data. to quote Powell when I sent him the news: “A-a-a-n-d... there go the unparalleled security claims.” His cover story is required reading not only for RIM junkies, but for everyone who wants to learn from an industry juggernaut’s epic fall. As insiders reveal, there was a real sense of superiority over customer insight, and things fell apart pretty quickly after that potentially fatal flaw. Powell’s story is compelling reading, not to mention a great visual package with some fantastic commissioned imagery from illustrator Jillian Ditner. the survival guide riff on the story is only half in jest. RIM is on the edge when few thought it would ever be. that the company is even considering cutting back on marketing, as is widely being reported of late, is absolute folly. theirs is a customer engagement problem that is on fire. And it’s only partially caused by steve Jobs, appearing this month in our issue as a turtlenecked, mom-jean-wearing grizzly bear. Enjoy this hefty issue, packed with insight from the summer that was and intel for the busy fall season. And as always, please get in touch and share your thoughts. Coming up next issue the charity issue How to save your soul, save the world and win tons of awards. the Digital MeDia tree Our industrycoveted guide to who does what. And how. This is the first time we’re spotlighting digital media exclusively, so don’t miss it. Want tO get engageD? Great ideas for engaging young consumers going back to school. CORRECTION NOTICE In our Aug. 1 issue, Marketing erroneously listed Shaw Media as our Lead Sponsor of Digital Day. Postmedia is in fact the Lead Sponsor and we are proud to have them on board. Tom Gierasimczuk, Editor-in-Chief Got any hot news tips? Let us know: letters@ marketingmag.ca or @marketing_mag August 29, 2011 7 “It’s a ballsy move” —Mark Sherman, executive chairman, Media Experts, pg. 16 ☞ Filter Oil Change Alykhan Velshi, the 27-year-old ex-Conservative PR spinster, is sticking up for the oilsands with EthicalOil.org. His strategy? Beat Greenpeace at its own game, “but without the foreign funding and occasional law breaking” F By Tom Gierasimczuk or the past decade, associating with Alberta’s oilsands has been a public relations hot potato at best; catalyst for instant judgment and vilifica- tion at worst. With the basic concession that, yep, turning Alberta’s northern wilderness into a network of open pit mines twice the size of Belgium destroys wildlife habitat and spews emissions, the PR spin has rarely resonated as anything more than lipstick on a sprawling, voracious, belching pig. the oilsands have become easy targets for anyone from Barack Obama looking to warm up a room, to environmental groups taking the battle directly to the Alberta government by contrasting the province’s Rocky Mountain imagery (and tourism carrot) with the Mordorlike hellscape of an oilsands mine. QuOTeD The albian Sands oilsands project, just outside of Fort McMurray Just another day at work in Northern Alberta. Below Ethical Oil’s ad message is simple: If you don’t support the oilsands, then the terrorists won. ada’s and Alberta’s labour laws and in a way that respects environmental laws, or support an oppressive regime.” the “stark choice” was unveiled last month as a series of images on the relaunched EthicalOil.org and picked up by the national media. they all stick to the same theme: armed soldiers and death, or smiling, employed Canadians. It’s an argument long championed by Ezra Levant in his book of the same name. “Ezra and me are longtime friends and he’s busy with his daily show (on Quebecor-owned suntV). I thought it would be an interesting challenge to run the blog and try to superficially promote the arguments in the book,” Velshi says. “But the real goal was to see if we could turn it into a marketing and branding campaign, and a grassroots advocacy campaign.” With a plan to beat run-and-gun environ- Just like the environmental groups, I’m not beholden to any one corporation, AP Photo/Jeff McIntosh organization or government —Alykhan Velshi Clearly, fighting back with rosy job-growth numbers and infrequent reclaimed tailing ponds photo ops has amounted to little more than proverbially pissing in the wind. this had to be a frame game all along. And who frames things better—“either you’re with us or you’re with the terrorists”— than conservative politicians? Or more specifically, their communications departments? Alykhan Velshi, a longtime Harper staffer who until May was the communications director for Immigration Minister Jason Kenney, doesn’t try to smooth talk his way around the oilsands, and neither does his growing advocacy group at EthicalOil.org. His message is A. or B., leaving little room for interjection: Either choose Canadian oil “extracted in a way that’s consistent with Can8 August 29, 2011 mental groups at their own game, he’s taking donations to fund access to information requests and to produce a tV commercial. “I’m like greenpeace without the foreign funding and occasional law-breaking,” he says, adding that suncor’s communications department isn’t about to go out and mix it up with smears across social media. But Velshi and his growing ranks of interns sure will. “We’re building this as a member-based, bottom-up organization that’s ready to employ tactics currently used by the grassroots organizations attacking the oilsands,” he says. “Just like the environmental groups, I’m not beholden to any one corporation, organization or government.” somewhere, a PR president with an oil and gas portfolio just did a fist pump. MarketingMag.ca GOOD MONTH canaDian tire cOrP. received clearance from the Competition Bureau for its $771-million takeover of The Forzani Group Ltd. MarketingMag.ca A highly subjective review of the month that was for the marketing and advertising industry. HaBitat FOr HUManitY canaDa will receive $80,000 a year for the next three years from Loblaw as part of a fundraising effort that includes a line of specially designed homeliving items. SearS canaDa added retail merchandising guru Steven Goldsmith to its arsenal in a move that should help breathe new life into the tired and struggling department store. Male model FaBiO was rejected by Old Spice fans who crowned Isaiah Mustafa “The New Old Spice Guy” in an online hunk-off. air canaDa was fined US$50,000 by the U.S. Department of Transportation for violating “deceptive price advertising” rules in online ads. BAD MONTH Both U.S. POLiticaL PartieS took their lumps for politicizing debt-limit negotiations. They made their deadline, but markets and reputations are still reeling. August 29, 2011 9 Filter creative (office) space Winding Up ron telpner, ceo of the BrainstorM group, finds inspiration in the decidedly analogue and oBscure By Kristin Laird “If you asked me what in particular was important, I would have to say everything. the robots, crazy lamps, bowling balls and pins, neon signs, old typewriters, metal cars, cameras, all seem to work together to create a welcoming, friendly energy that permeates the [office].” 2 “As my collection grew, I realized that I was attracted to many of the products designed just after the great Depression. these were streamlined products designed to demonstrate progress and economic recovery. My collections of Crosley radios, retro bikes, scooters, gas pumps and memorabilia of all descriptions make for a fun environment to hang out in.” 3 “Honest Ed Mirvish originally owned the 1939 Wurlitzer jukebox that greets every visitor in the reception area. It still plays, but only on full volume.” 4 “You’ll notice hundreds of toys in my office along with photos of groucho Marx, Pee-wee Herman, Howdy Doody and other personal heroes.” 5 “I am also passionate about cycling, as evidenced by the many exotic bikes on display around the building, including the three in my office. Luckily my creative partner Dorothy McMillan is also a collector, so she adds to our collection almost as much as I do.” 3 1 5 2 Inspiring Stuff WEBSITE 8tracks.com, a really great website for music sharing. BOOK I just finished the Keith Richards autobiography called Life. Amazing he is still alive! PERSON My late father gene telpner still inspires me. He wrote a daily newspaper column and never missed a deadline and always made it look easy. MUSIC Reggae and blues can be heard coming from my office. Vinyl [is] preferred, played on my Crosley record player. 4 10 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca mike ford 1 McLuhan is the Message To mark the 100 anniversary of his birth, Marketing asked three media experts which of Marshall McLuhan’s teachings are most relevant today th “One of the nicest things about being big is the luxury of thinking little.” CP PHOTO/ROBeRT FlemInG McLuhan is right… but mITCH JOel I wish more brands and President of Twist Image, blogger, advertising agencies podcaster and would truly embrace author of Six Pixels of Separation this way of thinking. size, staff, revenue and a great client roster or banner of brands should not be a lumbering wormhole of corporate process and soul-sucking politics. Isn’t it somewhat ironic that the small brands (with no budgets or success) are the ones making the most innovative and interesting moves? In a world of media fragmentation, direct relationships with customers and a hyper-connected consumer, shouldn’t more brands and agencies think a little more… little? “There’s always more information than you can cope with.” McLuhan’s insight into the way that information overload shapes everyday life has become a truism that marketers might want to reconsider anew. McLuhan made his observation in the ’60s and since SIdneyeve then, the volume and speed of our information econmaTRIx omy has multiplied many times over and our capacity assistant professor in the department for processing commercial messages is “pushed to of media and Film, the limit,” as McLuhan would say. Messages that Queen’s university succeed in cutting through the noise and securing more than a passing glance will be elegant, emotional and empathetic, offering true value for information-overloaded audiences. poll of the Month So... Google+ or Facebook still? Based on our enlightened reader votes this month at MarketingMag.ca. MarketingMag.ca Google+ for work; Facebook for everything else Paul levInSOn Professor of Communication and media Studies, Fordham university that McLuhan mantra from Take Today: The Executive as Dropout in 1972, is the most relevant to modern marketers. In today’s volatile world, no marketer should be worried or concerned about being perceived as too far out there or crazy. Instead, the marketer must be willing to think and break out of the box, to go places that no one has gone before. All that counts are results. 54.78% 8.7% Other I now use both equally “The only people who have proof of their sanity are those who have been discharged from mental institutions.” 14.35% 10.87% 11.3% Still Facebook. Google+ is harder to figure out than the debt crisis Google+. It really targeted my FB frustration and got my loyalty as a result Industry ChIrp TweeTed insighTs, ranTs and surrealism from Canada’s media and ad peeps Kelly Linehares, graphic designer @cowandthemoonco “When the corner that your client is trying to cut includes your services and craft, it’s time to back away.” #icantworkforfree” Andy Borowitz, author, blogger, political satirist @BorowitzReport “Love how the GOP, after creating a totally unnecessary economic crisis, is now acting like someone else farted.” david Jones, Vp, social media strategy, proximity Worldwide @DoctorJones “I just watched a documentary about Cat Ladies. Does that make me one?” Andrew simon, chief creative officer, Blammo @andrewlsimon “Doug Ford’s daughter is in the lingerie football league. Here’s an idea–how about a lingerie library volunteer program. Win win.” Ian Barr , Vp, rocketXL @ ibarr “Just caught the ad for the new Conan the Barbarian movie. Is nothing sacred anymore???” shannon Mitchell, assistant consultant, hill & Knowlton @shann_mitchell “Decided to start watching Dexter tonight. Also made ribs tonight. Two good ideas separately, one bad idea together.” Alex Bogusky @bogusky “Got to hang with David Droga today and plot out some secret, worldchanging projects. This should be fun.” August 29, 2011 11 Filter 2 “That’s ill, eagle!” 1 3 4 I know what you dId thIs summer And now the rest of the industry will, too! Read on for how some of Canada’s top marketing, agency and media stars spent the sweetest season, and start assembling next summer’s reading list while you’re at it Compiled by Kristin Laird and Alicia Androich 1. ADRIAN CAPOBIANCO, PRESIDENT, QUIZATIVE Summer is always great. Quizative is busy with work for current clients, some notable programs like the recent AOR win for Jamieson Labs and an integrated media program this summer for the Greenbelt Foundation promoting local Ontario foods. But in between the work I got away for a few weeks to the cottage and the Arctic on a crazy fishing trip. This picture (above) is of a bald eagle with a six-foot wing span that decided it wanted the twofoot speckled trout on my line. Must-Read: The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains by Nicholas Carr 1 WoRked: 85% kicked back: 15% 2. NICOLAS MASSEY, VICE-PRESIDENT, CREATIVE DIRECTOR, PUBLICIS MONTREAL Vacation is a word that’s5 not part of my vocabulary at Publicis Montreal. That’s why I try to integrate vacation into every workday. In all of my creative projects I try to travel the world... in my mind. My imagination led me to so many places this summer: when I shot the Jean Paul Gaultier spot for the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts, I travelled to romantic Paris... When I shot the CocaCola “Brigade du bonheur” spot, I was in beautiful Berlin... Finally, when I shot a Metro 1 ad, I travelled through my very own province: Quebec, the best place in the world! When I finally got the chance to break out of my shackles, I went to the Montreal Grand Prix with my dad, Sir Richard Branson. Unfortunately, he disowned me 5 right after. Must-Read: I was surfing Monocle. com, Wired.com and my 2 3 4 personal favourite, 1 2 YouPorn.com. WoRked: 0% kicked back: 100% 3. ZAK MROUEH, PRESIDENT AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, ZULU ALPHA 6 7 8 KILO 5 6 I snuck in a few getaways, secretly checking in on Zulu from afar. At the end1of August, 2 I plan to completely unplug as my family takes a road trip along the California coast. Most memorable summer moment was inadvertently attending one of the world’s largest Elvis festivals. Must-Read: The Empathic Civilization by Jeremy Rifkin. This book was relevant and timely with the launch of the “People for Good” 3 2 campaign. WoRked: 66.7% kicked back: 33.3% 4 . DAVID KLINE, VICE-PRESIDENT, MARKETING, AEORPLAN Between 2012 planning and 6 7 executing on 2011’s plan, I did manage to sneak away with my wife to Prague and Vienna for 10 days to celebrate our th 3 4 20 anniversary—using my Aeroplan Miles. I thoroughly enjoyed, and marveled at, the 9 paradox—and new reality—of strolling through centuries-old cities navigating with one of 14—yes, 14—travel and touring apps I downloaded for the trip. 7 8 Must-Read: The Third Screen: Marketing to Your Customers in a World Gone Mobile by 3 4 Chuck Martin WoRked: 80% kicked back: 20% 4 8 5 6 9 9 12 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca 5. ANN MARIE LABERGE, VICE-PRESIDENT OF CONSUMER MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS, TELUS Like many marketers, this summer my team and I needed to work on our back-to-school campaign featuring our new critter, the saw whet owl. But I will definitely go away right after our launch in August. I went to the Cannes International Festival of Creativity for the first time. The speakers were very inspiring. One of my key takeaways is the return to regional strategies to speak directly with your targeted audience. My conclusion is that Telus is on the right path with its local advertising campaigns and our community investment strategy targeting the communities where we live and work, like our very successful “Pink” campaign last year. I promised my family to spend more time with them during 1 2 1 the weekends this summer and that’s exactly what I did. Must-Read: My trip to Cannes influenced me to re-read The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell. I also recommend the article about Andrew Mason, Groupon’s founder, in 5 5 6 August’s Vanity Fair. WoRked: 65% kicked Back: 35% 6. GRAHAM MOYSEY, GENERAL MANAGER, AOL CANADA 9 Summer has been sensational. 9 We are lucky enough to cottage up in “God’s country”—Pointe au Baril, Georgian Bay. The weather has been glorious and the family happy and healthy. I spent two weeks in July at our cottage and attribute a relatively undisturbed holiday to the terrific team at AOLC. I have always subscribed strongly to the “work hard, play hard” mantra and the summer is a terrific time to recharge batteries and freshen up for the fall push to year 2end. 1 Having said that, there is no real “unplug” in today’s media landscape—especially when you love what you do. Must-Read: For fun, Andre Agassi’s autobiography Open is awesome, and work related. 5 And HuffPost Canada, 6 of course! WoRked: 80% kicked Back: 20% MarketingMag.ca 9 anOtHer Must-read 7 8 7. GEOFF CRAIG, PRESIDENT, EXTREME GROUP I’m tilted to the work side ramping up in my new role. It’s great to be part of an independent agency driven by the belief that anything is possible! Expanding and inspiring my brain, learning about myriad subjects including fibre optics, small business strategy, malls, schizophrenia and the list goes on. I am also enjoying meeting like-minded potential clients and abusing 3 2 studio’s our time3 (see4photo). 4 1 In my leisure time I’m engaged as the chauffeur, ferrying my angels to camp, and couchsurfing at friends’ awesome cottages, using fine wine as payment. Must-Read: Why8 58 7 Start with 6 7 by Simon Sinek WoRked: 76% kicked Back: 24% 8. MAX VALIQUETTE, MANAGING DIRECTOR, INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND CONTENT DEVELOPMENT, BENSIMON BYRNE I didn’t take a vacation because 1 2 I started work at Bensimon Byrne, which is awesome. I’ve been getting up to speed and getting involved in everything I can. We’re working, pitching, and I hit the road a lot for speaking engagements, too. But the agency turns5all the three- 6 day summer weekends into four days, so that’s helped. And I’ve spent a lot of time on my lovely —especially for downtown Toronto—back deck. 3 4 Must-Read: Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty by 9 Andrew Bolton WoRked: 70% kicked Back: 30% 9. SHARON MCLEOD, BRAND 7 8 DIRECTOR, DOVE CANADA I would rather dive in than kick back. The truth is, I love what I do. This summer has had all of the elements that pull me to work: change, growth and creativity. Integrating Alberto Culver [personal care and household brands] into our portfolio and creating our 2012 plan is exactly the kind of work that inspires me. But I love summer, too. Riding my horse with our Border Collie and Aussie dogs at our farm is the perfect summer weekend. We’ll be vacationing in Colombia in September. Must-Read: I re-read Jim Collins’ 3 business2book Good to Great . One of the most important things he talks about is putting the right people in the right jobs before you try to achieve anything. I’m also reading Under An Afghan Sky: A Memoir6Of Captivity 7 by Mellissa Fung. WoRked: 80% kicked Back: 20% 9 3 7 9 4 8 GuidinG the sway 4 8 In Arlene Dickinson’s new book, Persuasion: A New Approach to Changing Minds, the marketer extraordinaire, Dragons’ Den star and Marketing editorial advisory board member reveals how she’s used persuasion as CEO of Calgary agency, Venture Communications. Principled persuasion, says Dickinson, comes from being self-aware, honest (she once lost a potential client because she admitted she wouldn’t personally be working on their account every day) and committing to reciprocity in relationships. The book is filled with tips on the art of convincing people to get onboard with an idea. She points out, for example, that pulling subtext from client conversations trumps being pushy or having an MBA. She also suggests a trick to help with ethically “grey” business decisions: make the choice you’d be okay with if your decision was filmed and a YouTube clip of it went viral. From putting presentations into perspective with self-talk (it’s okay to goof because no one will remember it in a year) to moving past feelings of bitterness (Venture ate an $80,000 printing bill that a client couldn’t pay; after stewing for a couple of days, the agency hunted for new clients), the book shares insights from a venture capitalist who’s trained herself to take risks—and persuaded others to join her along the way. –Alicia Androich August 29, 2011 13 ThE U.S. InSPIRATIOn: Both dominant U.S. sports magazines 6.901 M target—and deliver—the elusive 18 to 34 male demo. SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ESPn ThE MAGAzInE Filter 6.770 M Spring 08 The Playbook 7.130 M 7.097 M 6,909 M 6.947 M 6.814 M Fall 08 Spring 09 6.712 M Fall 09 6.902 M 6.696 M Spring 10 Why is Steve Maich wearing a Hartford Whalers jersey? go to marketingmag.ca to find out. SportSnet publiSher and editor-in-chief Steve Maich letS uS under the hood of canada’S neweSt Magazine brand By Tom Gierasimczuk A midst falling subscription numbers and rising operational costs, perhaps this is the only sane way to launch a magazine in Canada these days: to complement, not compete with, other cheaper and easily distributed channels. “With sportsnet already on tV, radio and online, the magazine completes the loop,” says steve Maich, formerly group publisher of Canadian Business, Profit and MoneySense magazines, and editor-in-chief of Canadian Business, which, like Sportsnet, are owned by Rogers. “No other media property in Canada has that sort of reach.” With a national, bi-weekly distribution of 100,000 copies, the magazine will be no small addendum to a sports empire when it launches in late september. the proof is in the talent as much as anywhere. Maich quickly went after big-name writer and hockey blogger gare Joyce as his features editor. His large editorial staff also consists of staffers from The Hockey News, Toronto Star and the National Post. Each one, he says, was hired knowing what advertisers are being told over and over: that nothing will be done in isolation and the ad buys are like nothing else available to a Canadian magazine. “that [convergence] helps us get very creative and ambitious, and talk to advertisers about ‘what’s possible’ rather than just ‘what’s available,’” Maich says. Below, a six-pack of other reasons he expects ad buyers to sprint to his magazine. Print still Pays the target audience tone advertising Being different Platform integration “There are still a lot of people out there who want a great magazine. Secondly, this is the final piece of the puzzle... We’re very focused on making sure each medium plays to its strengths, feeds the other platforms, and [serves] advertisers who have truly ambitious and creative advertising plans that unfold across the full range of media.” “All the research shows that the sports reader is a sub-set of the broader sports audience. That’s where magazines come in. I think this audience is the most affluent, educated, and passionate slice of the broader sports fan market. And when you look at the readership numbers for U.S. sports magazines like ESPN, it’s clear that segment is growing.” “The key is to communicate to the readers that we share their passion for the game. We love sports as much as they do. We think sports are important and fascinating and funny and inspiring, just like they do. People expect smart analysis, great writing, stunning photography and something that deepens their appreciation for what’s happening on the field.” “More and more, it’s about targeting a group and making sure you have the right kind of message for them, where, when and how they want it. With the launch of the magazine we feel like we have all our bases covered in a way that nobody else does. That helps us get very creative and ambitious [with ad buys].” “Being focused on the stories, people and issues that Canadians care about is a very big and important point of differentiation. The tone, energy and look of the magazine will also set us apart. But the key really is the fact that we take our inspiration and our direction from the people who spend the money to make sports a multi-billiondollar industry in North America: the fans.” “We are heading toward a world where the strengths of all the mediums are converging, so you can have a great profile inter-spliced with game highlights, audio clips of interviews, interactive graphics... all things that can take the depth of print and marry it to the immediacy, interactivity and dynamism of broadcast and digital. And sports is really the perfect place for those things to come alive.” 14 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca Source: Gfk MRI, Spring 2010 THE FUTURE OF CANADIAN ADVERTISING COULD LEARN FROM yOUR PAST. ? The Canadian adverTising MuseuM is aCCepTing work. There will be no penalty for the brilliance and artistry of award-winning advertising predating the year 2000. Indeed, those peer-acknowledged pieces of work, which have inspired us over the years and given us a history, will be available in abundance and in all media for the scrutiny of CAM visitors. But in a larger sense of measurement, the virtual museum will display advertising which is most representative of its category, of its period and the attendant marketing climate in which it was created and produced. Every message presented will have been assessed and selected by a panel of accomplished advertising-marketing practitioners. If you think you have what we’re looking for, please make your free submission to info@canadianadvertisingmuseum.com in one of these formats: .pdf (print), .mov (broadcast) and .mpeg (audio). No other formats will be accepted and we regret your file will not be returned. But these are mere triflings, we think, when you’re engaged in committing your ads to the ages. For more information about CAM, submissions, corporate and individual memberships and how you can contribute, please visit Trade Media Partner CanadianadvertisingMuseum.com registered Charity no. 857142210rr0001 Filter PRINTING PROMISES Has Meredith changed the media game by promising sales increases to its advertisers? By Jeromy Lloyd T H E F or Meredith, it just became all about the Benjamins. Earlier this year, the u.s. publisher of Family Circle, Ladies’ Home Journal and Better Homes and Gardens created the Meredith Engagement Dividend, a program for select top-tier advertisers that guarantees sales increases—not awareness or intent to purchase or any other metrics the industry has developed. success will be measured in cold hard cash in the register. Marketing metrics have been getting more refined over the past decade, and pay-for-performance has been around long enough that such a move isn’t a total surprise. But the fact that it’s a print publisher making this claim (the program does not include Meredith’s online properties) is seen as a bold move by media buyers and advertisers. Many believe this is the first instance of what will become a trend for all media owners. “there’s pressure to be innovative, to be accountable and show leadership,” says Richard Porter, president, media sales for N A B S 2 6 T H Meredith’s national media group. “success today means using the tools at your disposal as effectively as possible.” With that drive for leadership, however, comes risk. If clients don’t see the promised gains, Meredith is contractually left holding the bill for the difference. Details on makegoods will vary by agreement, but the general idea is to provide media in Meredith mags to make up for sales shortfalls. the company is being cautious in the program’s early stages, limiting it to just 10 advertisers with the national scale to make multi-million-dollar ad buys. the Engagement Dividend began 18 months ago when Nielsen analyzed more than a year of purchase data across 14 product categories, comparing Meredith subscribers to a demographically and geographically identical group of non-subscribers. the subscribers bought more in every category. (this data came from Nielsen’s 100,000-household Homescan program, which tracks products like packaged goods. since only advertisers A N N U A L Thank you to all of our attendees and to our generous sponsors for their support. Visit nabs.org for upcoming events and news! We look forward to seeing you and your foursome again next year! Platinum Sponsors: Silver Partners: Creative Provided By: Greaves & Allen Advertising 16 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca $5 Million Approximate minimum media buy over 12 months to take part in Meredith’s guaranteed sales program with products that can be measured by Homescan are eligible for Meredith’s program, a few major categories like automotive can’t take advantage. However, the CPg advertisers that are the bread and butter of Meredith’s shelter and family titles are a perfect fit.) this comparison is the standard to which Dividend’s “increases” will be held going forward; sales increases won’t be measured year-over-year (which would be subject to variables like pricing, the economy and dozens of other factors the publisher can’t control), but in contrast to Nielsen’s non-Meredith subscriber group. It is believed Nielsen, when pitching the idea to Meredith, was also selling it to other publishers. so far none have come out with similar programs, leaving Meredith to play guinea pig—or trailblazer. “We get to be the leader. Hopefully there’s an intangible benefit to that,” says Porter. Porter couldn’t say whether any contracts had been signed yet. But Canadian media owners and buyers who spoke with Marketing believe this is the first step of widespread change. “It’s a ballsy move,” says Mark sherman, executive chairman of Media Experts. “this is the way of the digital world—pay for performance. In direct response television, these schemes have existed for decades; in digital, models have moved from pay-per-click to cost-per- Media president tom Harty has only been in the big chair for about a month, and chief brand officer Andy sareyan departed in May just before the company dove into the food category by acquiring EatingWell and it shuttered ReadyMade. Poliquin doesn’t think Canadian publishers are properly equipped for such a program. “You’re going to see more of this as the traditional world digitizes” —Mark Sherman, executive chairman, Media Experts acquisition. that’s putting pressure on the traditional [media] world and I think you’re going to see more of this as the traditional world digitizes.” Renault Poliquin, senior vice-president of sales for transcontinental Media’s Business and Consumer solutions group, called the move “quite surprising,” and wondered if there wasn’t some desperation behind the offer. While u.s. magazine subscriptions keep declining, the company is also going through significant changes; Meredith “You need... transparency on both sides so advertisers are giving [publishers] information on sales volume. that’s pretty rare. the other thing you need is exclusivity. If this is part of a mixed media campaign with radio, television, web and so on, how do you know how the magazine component did?” Even though Poliquin says clients “never” ask for sales increases as a metric for magazine campaign success, like sherman and others, he believes it is only a matter of time before this becomes the norm. 2011 media innovation awards Marketing is pleased to announce SHAW as the platinum sponsor of the 12th annual Media Innovation Awards Join us novemeber 17th at sheraton Centre Hotel. For tickets visit www.marketingmag.ca/mia2011 MarketingMag.ca August 29, 2011 17 asked at ad club golf day, aug. 10, 2011 Filter “golf because it takes so long and to what result? advertising has an end result.” —Peter Vaz, MacLaren McCann, with Russ Seton (L) and Roy D’amour, General Motors Canada “golf and advertising are on par. You have the wind and beer and friends to steer you away from the hole. in advertising you have just as many obstacles getting in your way.” —Jennifer Aprile, Dentsu Canada “Both. Because you’re only as good as your last shot and you’re only as good as your last deal.” —Michael Stratton, Media City “advertising because you can’t take a mulligan.” —Amy Nelson, Rogers “advertising. golf you have control of your own skills and you make an assessment on the course. advertising you’re dealing with so many variables. it makes it much more challenging but that’s what makes it fun.” —Milyda Scott, Casale Media “advertising. People are overworked, underpaid, too busy and it creates lack of personal interaction.” —Darren Spratt, Media City Ad Club Golf Day Despite a soggy start to the day, more than 300 marketing and advertising executives hit the links at Lionhead Golf & Country Club in Brampton, Ont. on Aug. 10 for Ad Club’s annual Golf Day. As the sun peeked through the clouds and the beer started flowing, Marketing was there on the 17th hole asking attendees: Which is more frustrating, golf or advertising? By Kristin Laird brandon terry “You own your media budget, your golf swing is on loan. so golf is more frustrating.” —Josh Bloom, Facebook “golf. You play alone. You don’t have a team to help you. You don’t have any partners. [advertising is] all about partnerships.” —Catherine Berry, Transcontinental 18 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca 2011 DIGITAL MARKETING AWARDS PARTY We know that the digital world isn’t really into long ceremonies in stuffy theatres, so this year we’re turning the DMAs into a party. We’ll still be showing off all the Gold winners but we’ll be doing it nightclub-style at the ultra-hip Maison Mercer on Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011. Yup... It’s a partY! • Mix, mingle and catch up with peeps you haven’t seen in a while with a drink in your hand • Nosh on fantastic food all night from Kiwe Kitchen • Clap politely for Gold winners • Whisper with co-workers about why you really deserved the gold (with a drink in your hand) • Keep the party going all night with a drink or two to toast the winners (and a drink or two while you explain why you shoud have won more) TICKETS $245+HST For ticket information, contact Aldo Russo at 416-764-1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com PLATINUM SPONSOR For all details visit: www.MarketingMag.ca/DMA2011 ConneCt with us: @marketing_event #DMAward11 www.facebook.com/MarketingMagazineeventsPage SILVER SPONSOR BRONZE SPONSOR produced by 2011 eNGAGeMeNT MARKeTING The Let’s get CONFeReNCe engaged! In a world of PVRs and mobile content, blogs and on-demand everything, connecting with consumers of all ages has become harder and harder. The solution: Engage them, don’t just advertise to them. Talk with them, not at them. Entertain them. Give them an experience, something to remember. They are your consumers but they could be so much more. They can be fans of your brand. Champions even. And isn’t that we all want? Because they’ll tell two friends, and they’ll tell two friends and so on and so on. For all those marketers who know the world has changed and want to change with it, it’s time to engage. The 2011 eNGAGeMeNT MARKeTING CONFeReNCe Tuesday, September 27th, 2011 8am – 5pm eglinton Grand, Toronto Connect with us: @marketing_event #engagement11 ASSOCIATE SPONSOR Check out the event website at marketingmag.ca/engagement2011 for conference details and to purchase tickets. Tickets $425+hST For all ticket inquiries please contact Aldo Russo at 416.764.1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com Marketing Magazine Events www.facebook.com/MarketingMagazineEventsPage produced by Marketing aFter HOUrS Filter LINER NOTES • Shawn King’s first Tom Petty album Full Moon Fever RUNNING DOWN A DREAM Extreme Group’s Shawn King channels creativity on stage as easily as in the office By Jeromy Lloyd T o look at shawn King’s shaved head, heavily tattooed arms and small patch of beard, you might guess he’s into metal. And you’d be right. But sitting in some pub in Moncton or Halifax, you may be shocked to spot him beneath a wig of blonde hair, fronting a more classic rock vibe and belting out tom Petty’s “Running Down a Dream.” King regularly transforms into Petty to sing for his cover band, Petty Larceny, which has gone from a charitable one-off to a full-time hobby for the creative director at Halifax agency Extreme group. Petty Larceny formed in February 2010 for a mental health charity show called “A MarketingMag.ca • Favourite song to expecting to make a perform go of it at least semi“You Wreck Me” professionally. But, • Guitar as often happens, Fender Telecaster “life got in the way.” • Also in his repertoire Metallica, Pearl Jam It had been 15 years • A few of Petty Larceny’s between that and live performances Petty Larceny. can be previewed at ReverbNation.com/ “this came along, PettyLarceny. Also, the and I was like, ‘Why band rocks its 25-song repertoire at bars around the hell did I wait Atlantic Canada. so long? this is so much fun.’” Part of what King likes about performing in bars and clubs (often for little or no money) is the raw release it provides. “It’s a completely different outlet that has nothing to do with what I do every day. It’s a mental release... It’s like going to the gym.” Different stage of Mind,” where members of the business community performed as well-known singers with a house band. For King, that wasn’t enough. He formed a full band with steve Martell (Extreme, guitar), Julian Marentette (Egg Films, drums), Paul Boudreau (Cool Blue Halo, bass) and his brother John (keyboards). the group liked the experience so much, they kept it going after the benefit concert. “We were having so much fun with it, we learned 11 songs and put on a pre-gig. We charged $20 and that all went to the cause, too,” says King. King has played guitar since age 14. Do you know a professional doing awesome, Before embarking on his advertising career, creative things outside the office? Let us he played in rock, metal and grunge bands, know @marketing_mag August 29, 2011 21 2006: $1.885 billion 2008: $1.859 billion 2007: $1.804 billion ☞ TV ad revenue Filter for Canadian private broadcasters 2010: $1.809 billion 2009: $1.668 billion Source: CRTC Media buying Buyers and Sellers Finally Click with Adoption of E-avails TV buyers and sellers may not know much about XML, but it’s making their jobs a whole lot easier, saving trees and reducing data entry nightmares across the industry By David Brown F or years tV buyers and sellers across the industry bemoaned the massive amounts of paper pushed from one desk to the next and from one office to another. It was a vital part of the industry that time forgot. Data management systems existed, but they didn’t talk to each other. so requests were sent, proposals were made, avails were considered, deals were negotiated, all on paper. It was always a painfully labour-intensive process. time and trees wasted, paper cuts endured. But in the last year real progress has been made as e-avails finally catch on. today buyers and sellers are increasingly not only on the same page, they’re finally on the same screen, sharing information quickly and efficiently thanks to an open-source XMLbased standard established by Donovan Data systems (DDs) and now available for use by the entire industry. “I can almost call it kind of life-changing for buyers,” says Cathy Murray, broadcast director at MPg Canada. “It saves time in that it can take minutes to upload avails as opposed to hours and hours of inputting.” It is just much more accurate, adds Murray. “When you have people inputting reams and reams of data you are going to have re-keying errors,” she says, and those errors can have major ramifications. “A 10-rating is a lot different than a 1-rating.” “I’ve been in this business for 12 years now and for 12 years I’ve been wondering why we are re-keying data,” adds Janine Maillet, director, the DAILY ☞ HIGH FIVE The most popular stories in Marketing Daily from Aug. 7 to Aug. 12. Sign up for the Daily twice-a-day e-newsletter now at MarketingMag.ca 22 August 29, 2011 Wally Oakes, president of DDS Canada exchange at Mindshare. “It’s almost like, why have we not done this years ago?” the thing is, people have been working on it. For years. In late 2005 and into 2006 a number of industry players got together to form the television Automated supply Chain Initiative (or tAsCI). Buyers were frustrated because of the antiquated processes, explains Cam Reston, CFO at PHD and chair of tAsCI. And while they felt broadcasters and e-business experts like DDs or Harris should Mindshare’s Maillet. “they started with a lofty ideal to solve everything... DDs took a step back and said we are not going to solve the big problems all at once.” A fully technical explanation of the breakthrough isn’t necessary here. All you really need to know is this: XML make data entry good. this isn’t just for buyers, it’s good for broadcasters too who can make all of their inventory—even one or two spots in a latenight show in one market—more accessible to “I can almost call it kind of life-changing for buyers” —Cathy Murray, broadcast director, MPG Canada be developing something for them—“We are the customers,” says Reston—they seemed unwilling or unable to make anything happen. the goal of tAsCI was to build something to do what DDs and Harris weren’t doing for them. “Lo and behold... DDs actually got up off their asses and started building things,” says Reston. And now, that DDs solution has caught on. It’s being used by CtV, CBC, shaw and RDs. Wally Oakes, president of DDs Canada, says his company has actually been working on an e-avails system since before tAsCI existed. DDs broke through because tAsCI was looking for a holistic solution for the entire buying process, whereas DDs was focused on avails. the problem for tAsCI may have been too challenging a goal for an ad hoc group, says 1. Can Jersey Shore sustain its success? 2. Sidney Crosby, the Approachable One for Sport Chek buyers, says Murray. “If you give me everything that you have to sell easily, then I might buy it,” she says. And now that DDs has solved avails, it’s moving on to creating a new solution to solve the headache of make-goods, which it hopes to also share with the industry by fall. “We knew the industry couldn’t have multiple standards,” Oakes says when asked why DDs developed something it is now giving away. “We knew, once we got it working, we would share it.” tAsCI is now working to expand upon the standard established by DDs. so what does DDs get out of it? “Not a lot. Credit for being first mover,” says Oakes. “Hopefully we get some credit for leadership. Does that really monetize itself? I don’t know. Ask me five years from now.” 3. Rogers to launch FX Canada 4. Local news media war brewing in Canada 5. MediaCom welcomes Matt Di Paola MarketingMag.ca 2011 MedIA INNovATIoN AwArdS But before you celebrate, you have to enter. Entries open until September 2 @ 5pm EST! As the media landscape fragments, splinters and shakes, media strategists matter more than ever. At the Media Innovation Awards, Canada’s premier media achievement recognition program, we honour the people responsible for the selection, deployment and implementation of winning media programs. Join your industry peers as we recognize and award excellence in media innovation. This year’s Awards Gala will be held at Toronto’s Sheraton Centre Hotel on November 17, 2011. Enter Now! Tickets $299 For ticket information, contact Aldo russo at 416-764-1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com This year’s awards gala is being held on Thrusday November 17th at the Sheraton Centre Hotel in downtown Toronto. For all details visit: www.MarketingMag.ca/MIA2011 @marketing_event #MIAward11 For all submission details and requirements visit marketingmag.ca/MIA2011 (SUBMISSIoN deAdLINe: FrIdAY, SePTeMBer 2 @ 5 PM eST) Connect with us: Marketing Magazine events facebook.com/MarketingMagazineeventsPage PLATINUM SPoNSor GoLd SPoNSorS SILver SPoNSorS BroNZe SPoNSorS Graduate from Wilfrid Laurier University Start at Procter & Gamble Canada working on Downy fabric softener Become President of Procter & Gamble Canada Retire after more than a decade as President and a 33-year career at Procter & Gamble Canada Get a haircut Go over Niagara Falls in a barrel Climb Mt. Everest Book Virgin Galactic trip to space Transcontinental Media salutes Tim Penner on a remarkable career at Procter & Gamble Canada and his legacy of innovation and leadership excellence. Congratulations on your retirement, Tim! www.TCdigitalmedia.com Filter Jaime Hogge exit interview Penner SAyS GooDbye After an entire career building brands and moving consumer packaged goods at one of the world’s true giants, Tim Penner is calling it a career. Before leaving, he shared some of his lessons from 33 years at Procter & Gamble with Marketing By David Brown What is your proudest marketing moment at P&G? I don’t know that I have one moment. But I would say what I am most proud of from a marketing perspective are the launches of our biggest new-to-the-world categories. If you think about the launch of swiffer or Febreze or Crest Whitestrips, when we have invented a whole category which requires a major transformation of consumer habits, I honestly don’t think anyone does that better than P&g. On each of those launches, Canada’s results were among the very best in the world. Do you think marketers are asking more of their agencies today? Of course. It is tough out there and all business people are asking more from all their partners. I’m being asked for more by retailers and I’m asking for more from all of my suppliers. It is just the nature of business. Agencies also complain about more power given to procurement. Is that fair? People make a false assumption that when procurement is involved, the decision is all about price. My experience has been that good In 2008 you said P&G Canada was increasing online spend to about procurement people simply help to ensure a rigorous and thorough 20% of your marketing budget. process. I don’t think procurement people are the enemy. I think they that was the goal at the time and we have achieved that and surpassed are trying to ensure thoroughness, and for the most part they do the it, but it varies from business to business. At the time I probably thought job really well. it was going to be 20% for every brand and what we have realized is it needs to be over 50% for some brands and considerably less than What has been the biggest change in retailing in recent years? 20% for others. It’s hard to find growth. growth is elusive and if you can’t find topline growth and you still have to deliver the bottom line, you have to find Some of your target just isn’t online as much as others? ways to squeeze. What retailers do very often is look to their vendor Exactly. Or they are not interested in the message about some categories community and squeeze them for money. And frankly, I would do when they are online, but they are very interested in others. the same if I was in their shoes. they are not acting differently than MarketingMag.ca August 29, 2011 25 I act with my suppliers. But because there is no growth to be had, they are squeezing harder and getting more creative at squeezing than ever before. Frankly there is just less margin floating around for everybody so you have to squeeze the other guy for his margin. Has the consumer fundamentally changed? they have less disposable income today than they did 10 years ago. And therefore they have to be very selective. they don’t make purchases just by rote anymore. they look for sales, they use coupons, they have to be really, really choiceful. Has that eroded brand loyalty in CPG? In some categories, absolutely. And in others they believe very strongly in our brands. I think the biggest trend has been the elimination of the secondary and tertiary brands. For the most part the market leader has continued to thrive, private label has continued to thrive. And you just don’t see the other brands in between anymore. So there may only be four or five choices in a category? At most. In many cases there are only three. Everybody else has gotten squeezed out. Do you think it’s important to develop madein-Canada advertising for P&G? My response is not going to please Canadian agencies. I don’t believe we need to produce unique Canadian advertising for the Canadian market very often. It’s too expensive and too time-consuming. At P&g we generally start with a proven creative idea from somewhere else in the world and then adapt that idea for Canada. By working this way, we free up time and money to work on trial plans, digital plans, PR plans or shopper marketing plans that can help make the whole communication plan bigger and more effective. We only start from scratch to develop new creative ideas when we’ve failed with all the proven campaign ideas from other countries. What matters most about a creative idea is that it works—the passport of the creative team doesn’t really matter to me. How do you measure agency effectiveness? Admittedly it is subjective. But we try to make it as thorough as we can, involving everybody who interfaces with the agency. We get them to score the agencies across several dimensions and we do a formal evaluation each year of each of our agencies. We do that because our intent is to build long-term relationships with each QuoTeD 26 August 29, 2011 of them. We very rarely fire agencies. We shift some businesses from our poorer-performing to our best-performing, but for the most part our agency roster stays pretty much the same year over year. And if you want to have a long-term working relationship, then you have to foster dialogue. so we evaluate them and we encourage them to evaluate us. What about measuring the effectiveness of your advertising and media partners? We are fixated on return on our marketing investment and we have various tools that we use internally to measure return on investment. And they are helpful. I wouldn’t say that we follow them out the window. But they are helpful for us to learn which marketing investments are working best. Are suppliers and media agencies being more helpful in this regard? I think everybody plays a part. We do these analyses once a year on each of our brands to measure our return on investment from various media vehicles. We sit back and say, ‘What did we learn from that and what are we going to change for next year?’ It is not a mallet we hold over the heads of our agencies. It is a tool that we all use to define how we make different choices the next year. What will you miss most about the marketing game? the great thing about marketing is that you can see the impact of your work. Every day, consumers vote with their wallets on whether you have done a good job or not, and you get feedback very quickly. so, I will miss the ongoing feedback that comes with each month of sales results and market shares. I’m not suggesting that the feedback was always positive for me. Far from it! But it always gave me new insights for how I could serve Canadian consumers even better. that part was filled with mental stimulation and fun. What advice would you give a new graduate looking for their first job in marketing? stick with it! It’s a very difficult industry to break into. And once you get a job in marketing, you need to leave your personal experience and the experience of your friends and relatives at home. Immerse yourself in what real consumers are thinking and saying. Recognize that none of us is average. get to know your real consumers better than they know themselves. that will be your source of strength. I don’t believe we need to produce unique Canadian advertising for the Canadian market very often Tim’s tributes After 33 yeArs At An Advertising goliAth, tim Penner mAde A lot of friends. here’s whAt some of them hAd to sAy. “Tim Penner’s approach to, and impact on, marketing is felt across the organization. The hallways and boardrooms of P&G Canada are filled with employees and agency partners encouraged and empowered to embrace change and deliver on it. His legacy as a marketer will benefit the company for years to come.” —Nick Cowling, VP and general manager, Optimum Public Relations “Tim Penner is an insightful marketer who is a true inspiration not only to his people, but ours as well. His enthusiasm is infectious and his open, collaborative approach is refreshing and motivating. With the consumer squarely at the centre of everything, Tim and his team challenged us to develop initiatives that would engage with consumers across Canada, drive purchase and build loyalty. The work reflected his passion and marketplace success is his legacy.” —Stuart Payne, president and CEO, Saatchi & Saatchi “Tim Penner is the epitome of a great P&G marketer. I say this with the utmost respect. You see, I began my career at P&G and Tim had a part in my hiring. A great P&G marketer thinks about the consumer first, believes that innovation is the most powerful weapon, and that when you make the best product, your advertising needs to demonstrate this. I remember picking up an Ad Age while working in the U.S. and reading about Quilted Bounty Rinse & Reuse and quoting Tim, who was then the general manager of paper for North America. All I could think was, ‘What a great idea, I’m not surprised that Tim is behind it.’” –Brett Marchand, CEO, Cossette “Tim has been in a league of his own in the Canadian marketing industry for many years. He has helped drive P&G to be a clear leader in Canada while also encouraging the industry to try new approaches. He has been a great business partner to work with over the years, as well as someone that I personally learned a lot from while I worked at P&G.” –Aidan Tracey, president, Mosaic “Tim Penner will be remembered as a great leader, inspiring to all those who met him and a catalyst for change in the industry. Certainly at Starcom MediaVest Group, we saw firsthand how he drove a culture of innovation in his organization, enabling his brand team to take risks and try new media. P&G was one of the first CPG companies in Canada to invest in digital in a big way, and that was Tim Penner understanding that new approaches were needed to connect to consumers.” —Christine Saunders, SVP, group director, Starcom MediaVest Group MarketingMag.ca Marketing and the law “negoTiaTing The minefield” A conference presented by the Association of Canadian Advertisers and Marketing, in partnership with McMillan LLP December 6, 2011, velma RogeRs TheaTRe, ToRonTo December 8, 2011, locaTion Tba, monTReal The legal implications of interest-based advertising, product claims, competition issues, privacy and social media are topping the agendas of brand marketers, advertising agencies and media alike. You need to know where the law is heading—and what it all means for the marketing communications industry. nto! in Toro finD oUT here. feaTUreD presenTaTions by: Jennifer stoddart, Privacy Commissioner of Canada Since taking on the role of Commissioner in 2003, Stoddart has overseen a number of important investigations and policies affecting our industry, including those concerning privacy policies and social networking practices. lisa campbell, Deputy Commissioner of Competition, Fair Business Practices Branch, Competition Bureau Campbell has been involved in transnational matters, including investigations into the data-handling practices of global corporations and the regulatory implications of emerging online business models. plUs, panel DiscUssions WiTh inDUsTry experTs on: Privacy in an interconnected world: What are the limits? Our privacy laws require consent to the collection and use of personal information for commercial purposes. In this new digital world, what is “personal information?” Is consent necessary and, if so, how should it be obtained? Should the digital world have the same privacy expectations as the “real” offline world or is a new idiom appropriate? convergence or collision? The new all-things-video reality What is the future of broadcasting in Canada and indeed, what does “broadcasting” even mean anymore? Is Canadian content still fundamental to the system and, if so, who should pay for and carry it? What about the internet? Is the time finally right for some regulatory intervention or should it be allowed to continue to innovate unfettered? how evolving competition law is impacting the marketing communications industry ToronTo ACA members: 399 $ *plus HST Non-members: $499 Presented by: To regisTer, conTacT Davina Wong aT The associaTion of canaDian aDverTisers at 416-964-3805 ext. 1007 or dwong@acaweb.ca monTreal (half Day) ACA members $199 non-members $249 www.marketingmag.ca/thelaw2011 Lead sPonsor: Believe it or not, know isn’t just about how to turn of an idea to change up your SUMMER SPECIAL: HOLLYWOOD’S HOTTEST BACHELORS SPECIA DOUBL L ISSUE E C A N A D A W E E K LY • N o 2 2 6 • 8 A U G U S T 2 011 JENNIFER LOPEZ HER ‘VERY DIFFICULT’ DECISION TO END HER MARRIAGE place to look? WILLIAM AND KATE WHAT’S NEXT FOR THE ROYAL COUPLE AT HOME WITH BARBRA STREISAND THE STAR OPENS UP EXCLUSIVELY TO HELLO! ! 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Whether you’re tending 24 million paid subscribers fig. 1.0 RIM co-cEos MIkE LazaRIdIs & JIM BaLsILLIE dEMonstRatE how to fIght a hungRy coMpEtItoR. 30 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca research in Motion the MarketIng survIval guIDe How Blackberry can stay alive— and thrive—in the hearts and minds of a jilted market I By ChrIs Powell IllustratIons By JIllIan DItner n the introduction to his 2006 book Perfect Pitch, author and ad executive Jon steel recounts a 1997 meeting with steve Jobs just before the Apple CEO became a central figure in one of the greatest comeback stories in business history. At the time, steel was partner and director of planning for san Francisco agency goodby, silverstein & Partners, which was competing against tBWA\Chiat\ Day for the Apple business. Jobs was running late, so steel and Jeff goodby were forced to endure a 90-minute presentation by members of Apple’s marketing team outlining the then-struggling company’s “key competencies” and “key learnings”—all accompanied by a PowerPoint presentation replete with charts and graphs. When Jobs finally showed up and was informed that the ad executives had been briefed, he turned to goodby and steel and said “I’m sure what they told you was crap.” He then spent five minutes outlining Apple’s business strategy, informing the two ad men he was willing to stake MarketingMag.ca both the company’s future and his professional reputation on two “technologically superb” and “visually stunning” products: the iMac and the g4. After that, he took another minute or so to outline the marketing strategy. Apple’s advertising would not only thank the company’s loyal customers for standing by it in tough times, but also convey the message that it was an iconoclastic company—one that appealed to consumers who sought to be different. In a little over six minutes, Jobs had outlined a business strategy that would ultimately catapult Apple from a small niche player beloved mainly by tech boffins to a global powerhouse—while simultaneously allowing it to maintain the cache and allure of a “cult” brand. the humble, contrite Apple outlined by Jobs in that 1997 meeting may bear scant resemblance to the all-powerful company behind those smug “I’m a Mac. And I’m a PC” ads, yet it could serve as a starting point for a legendary comeback. this, though, is not a story about Apple. It is a story about Waterloo, Ont.-based Research in Motion (RIM) in which August 29, 2011 31 fig. 2.0 Have more apps. “Apple is an engineering and marketing culture and RIM is an engineering and accounting culture, and that’s the problem” 32 August 29, 2011 the Cupertino, Calif.-based outfit happens to form a key part of the narrative—including providing a possible blueprint for RIM’s return to former glory through a marketing reboot. Much like Apple in the late 1990s, RIM finds itself at a crossroads. thesauruses in newsrooms throughout North America have been getting a workout by business writers covering its recent woes, with “beleaguered,” “embattled” and “flat-footed” just some of the descriptors attached to the company. the past six months have been especially painful for the former tech darling. It has lost significant market share (while it remains the market leader in Canada, where its devices are owned by approximately 42% of smartphone users, a recent report from IDC found that its share of the global market fell to 11.6% in the second quarter, down from 17.4% in the same period last year), laid off 2,000 people (an estimated 11% of its global workforce) and endured a steady drumbeat of criticism about everything from its lacklustre foray into the tablet market to its co-CEO leadership structure. the consensus among analysts and investors is that the once infallible tech giant has lost its mojo, squandering what seemed like an insurmountable lead in a category it almost single-handedly created by failing to adequately assess the market. through a carefully calibrated marketing approach, meanwhile, Apple has managed to win the hearts and minds of the tech-savvy, gadget-hungry consumers that fuel the smartphone—and now tablet—categories. I NDUSTRY OBSERVERS say that RIM’s problems are numerous, but three key failings come up most often: ☞ It didn’t anticipate the consumer hunger for apps. “Not having a robust app marketplace and not romancing third-party developers was definitely an oversight,” says Queens university media professor sidneyeve Matrix. ☞ It was late to the party in the burgeoning tablet market. the much-hyped Blackberry PlayBook, says York university marketing professor Alan Middleton, “doesn’t move the game ahead enough.” ☞ It was overly reliant on the enterprise segment upon which it built its reputation at the expense of developing a robust consumercentric strategy. MarketingMag.ca fig. 3.0 Be on the same page. Compounding all those mistakes, observers say, is the fact that RIM consistently failed to produce the kind of marketing capable of igniting consumer passion. “Apple is an engineering and marketing culture and RIM is an engineering and accounting culture, and that’s the problem,” says Middleton. this was a recurring theme in conversations with marketing experts, with one Canadian agency executive who worked on the account stating, “I’m not sure they’ve figured out how to remove themselves from the process and be truly consumer-centric in terms of how they communicate things or what people care about. their roots are deeply in engineering, and they take that approach to marketing.” (One advertising executive who previously worked on the RIM business was willing to share his ideas for saving Blackberry on pg. 40.) RIM, says Middleton, was largely content to let carriers like Rogers and telus do much of the heavy lifting when it came to promoting its latest devices, a tactic that he feels came at the expense of establishing its own brand identity. “Just doing MarketingMag.ca a better job on marketing the features of a modified Blackberry is not what you’ve got to do when you’re competing with a company like Apple,” he says. Bruce Philp, the former chairman and CEO of gWP Brand Engineering who now operates his own marketing consultancy and blogs at BrandCowboy.blogspot.com, says that because Blackberry “When you have the two head guys not on the same page, it’s so difficult” devices essentially sold themselves for so long, RIM failed to develop what he calls a “marketing reflex.” Both men point to this year’s ad campaign for the PlayBook, developed by MDC-owned agency 72andsunny (which landed the account, along with BBDO Worldwide, late last year from Leo Burnett) as a prime example of the marketing malaise that has infected RIM. “Pathetic,” says Middleton of the PlayBook advertising. “they were very low-key Canadian about it, very sensible about what value it has and what it does and what apps are on it. Frankly there was no sex appeal in the marketing.” Philp, meanwhile, says the work once again exposed RIM’s engineering culture and a distinct lack of marketing acumen. “the first mistake was that superficially the spots had a very Apple-y feel to them: a great soundtrack and the touch-screen thing,” he says. “[For consumers] these are still cues for Apple.” Even more damaging, he says, was that the tV ads focused on what the PlayBook offers that the iPad doesn’t, namely multi-tasking and flash web browsing. “the logical flaw in that is the only people in the world who are going to recognize those as superior features are people who already have an iPad,” says Philp. “there are absolutely no people saying ‘I’m going to get one of those tablets as soon as they figure out multi-tasking.’ “What they really should have done is presented an alternative vision for the tablet,” he says. “the PlayBook is not an unworthy product, it’s just different, and that’s a massive failure on their part.” While all of the experts who spoke August 29, 2011 33 fig. 4.0 Touch The hearT. “[Apple is] a fascist organization. They’re a brilliant and loveable fascist organization, but they’re still a fascist organization” 34 August 29, 2011 with Marketing said that marketing alone won’t be enough to stop RIM’s slide, all agreed that it must comprise a key part of any comeback story. And like Apple a decade ago, the consensus is that RIM’s route to redemption lies in positioning itself as the scrappy challenger brand, a fresh alternative to the rotten Apple. “Where marketing could help a great deal would be to replace [the current] narrative with one that positions RIM as an underdog, and gives them a comeback story,” says Philp. “they need to think about hearts and minds now, and that will prepare us to love whatever products they introduce in a few months. the way to do that is to make us feel like these guys are being unfairly judged and they’re going to come out of the corner swinging.” Meanwhile, another ad executive who worked on the RIM business says a dose of humility might be the only thing capable of saving the floundering company. “It’s sometimes really difficult when you were the leader to become the challenger,” says the executive, who asked to remain anonymous. “there’s a certain amount of ego and pride involved, but sometimes you need to swallow your pride.” Working in RIM’s favour, says this executive, is the fact that a thriving “challenger culture” that already perceives Apple as a big bullying corporation already exists. “People want an alternative, but the alternative has to be good. People want to vote for the little guy.” Philp agrees, noting that Apple’s brand image is currently riding on a knife-edge. One too many unnecessary iPhone updates, he says, could begin to alienate customers weary of forking out money for the latest products. “We love their stuff, it works and it’s great, but the bigness of Apple—and you’re starting to see this on university campuses—is causing people to look for flaws,” he says. “they’re a fascist organization. they’re a brilliant and loveable fascist organization, but they’re still a fascist organization.” Echoing Philp’s comments, Matrix says that as much as 40% of the student body at Queen’s is using Blackberry (she regularly questions students about their devices to help build course curriculum) attracted in large part by its proprietary, non-public Blackberry Messenger (BBM) app, which enables them to instant message fellow Blackberry users free MarketingMag.ca LISA AND ROGERS ARE CONNECTED SHE HAS A WALK-IN LK-IN CLOSET SET FLARE IS HER FASHION BIBLE SHE READS { 5 SHE HAS BEEN A LOULOU SUBSCRIBER FOR f for handbags b SHE AND OTHERS LIKE HER SPENT $140 MILLION ON SHOES AN $ $140M HER SHELVES ARE STACKED WITH 5 YEARS TALK TO US Kathryn Brownlie > 416-764-1233 rogersconnect.com CREATE A CUSTOMIZED MEDIA EXPERIENCE TO REACH YOUR CONSUMER, NO MATTER WHO THEY ARE. fig. 5.0 Help at tHe store level. “They were very lowkey Canadian about it, very sensible about what value it has and what it does and what apps are on it. Frankly there was no sex appeal in the marketing” 36 August 29, 2011 of charge. (While not exactly positive news, RIM made headlines during the London riots where BBM was reportedly the tool of choice for rampaging youths looking to communicate in private.) “I know that there are competing products and services, and the price of text messaging has fallen, but young people love those BBMing devices from RIM and there’s a lot of strength there,” says Matrix. “From a marketing perspective, those are really strong emotional [feelings] that you can do great things with.” But while Apple may have an exploitable weakness, can RIM, which has traditionally projected an aura of invincibility in its marketing and in its corporate culture in general, really “do” contrite? “It does require an internal shift in how they’re going to behave, how they’re going to win. In the end that’s what it’s about,” says another Canadian agency executive familiar with the account who also asked to remain anonymous. “It would require a shift from the top; you can’t hire someone in and say ‘Change everything’ if they’re not totally empowered, so any major change has to happen at the top.” the jury is still out on whether RIM can successfully adopt that approach, particularly since it doesn’t appear to have a coherent approach to its marketing. (RIM declined to be interviewed for this story.) According to the former agency executives who spoke with Marketing on condition of anonymity, the company’s business problems were exacerbated by an obvious difference of opinion about overall brand strategy between chief marketing officer Keith Pardy, who stepped down earlier this year, and now-departed senior director of corporate marketing, Paul Kalbfleisch, who has been replaced by former Publicis exec Roger Baxter. “If things aren’t going well, the first things to get blamed are the agency or the work,” says one of the agency execs who worked on the account. “But if a company lacks vision, an agency ends up guessing what is right. It’s just a much smoother process when everyone’s on the same page and heading toward the same goal.” the final call on marketing was typically made by co-CEO Mike Lazaridis—although there are unsubstantiated rumours that his counterpart Jim Balsillie now makes those MarketingMag.ca decisions—and agency personnel were never granted an audience with the company’s senior management. “You do all this work and present it to the CMO, but you never get to see the ultimate decision-maker,” the executive says. “From what I’ve heard about Apple, steve Jobs is very involved in the marketing, but he’s also involved with the agency, so you do have one point of contact. “Often [with other companies] there are layers, but eventually you do get to the meet the top person,” says the executive. “It makes sense for good communication and it makes good business. Just to hear it from the top what you’re trying to do, why you like something, it helps.” While stressing that the rift between Pardy and Kalbfleisch wasn’t the sole factor in RIM’s downfall, another agency insider says it did hinder the company’s efforts to distinguish its products in an increasingly rancorous battle with Apple. “When you have the two head guys not on the same page, it’s so difficult. When one fig. 6.0 Assume the role of the ChAllenger. ➳ PAge 40 Profile Find People Help Sign Out Carrier pigeons would be more reliable than this network! I’m tired of dropped calls on Peak Telco. #frustrated rexmavin 100 of your competitor’s customers are hopping mad about network issues. r pe pa te hi om w s.c ia ad ed Le m m al ea ci Str so ial EE Soc FR Home p Marketing is pleased to announce Shaw Media as platinum sponsor of the 2011 Digital Marketing Awards Sysomos knows that’s your opportunity. How can you leverage real-time monitoring of social media to recognize and capture more timely sales leads? Find out now in Generating Sales Leads Through The Social Stream, a new Sysomos white paper that reveals how to monitor, measure and capture prospects in a smarter, more timely fashion. Learn how to instantly alert the right sales people to urgent opportunities, recruit your competitor’s customers stealthily and more. What great sales opportunities have you been missing? Go to SocialStreamLeads.com to download Generating Sales Leads Through The Social Stream. MarketingMag.ca August 29, 2011 37 the Marketing Debate Is RIM RIP? With RIM on the ropes and its market share tumbling faster than its (gulp) share price, things obviously look bleak (and bleak sells newspapers). But with a war chest larger than most global leaders and unheralded growth in international markets (not to mention legions of touchscreen haters), the circling vultures may have a long wait yet. We asked two industry observers to pick a side and make the call on the bruised and battered ex-champ. Let the fists fly. And throw your own @marketing_mag or letters@marketingmag.ca Time to throw in the towel By Brent Pulford, veteran agency copywriter, operator of creative consultancy Right Brain, and blogger at ADullRoar.com L ike many a cocky, young pretender to the crown, RIM is on the ropes. staggered and bleeding market share, the mandatory eight count echoing ominously through the arena, RIM is clumsily trying to regroup. But even from here, in the cheap seats, the outcome looks certain. Credit Apple for the beat down, its iPhone for delivering at least a tKO. But don’t overlook the effective combination that preceded it, a combination of legendary messaging and unmatched product innovation. 1 You don’t have to be a student of the sweet science to see that RIM was fighting above its weight when Apple entered the ring. Despite its Blackberry having insinuated itself into the pockets, briefcases and phone holsters of movers and shakers the world over, it was illequipped to face the most exciting, loved and dominating heavyweight in the tech gadget and gizmo game. to be fair, there’s no disputing the potency of the Blackberry, the first 38 August 29, 2011 wireless phone to allow users to securely send and receive e-mail. the Blackberry more than qualified RIM to get into the ring with the big dogs. But while RIM focused solely on smart telephony, Apple continued writing its mythic story by conquering every other segment of the consumer tech market. In fact long before RIM ever appeared on the card, Apple had celebrated multiple victories with the introduction of the cheerful iMac, OsX, the Mac Mini, a variety of slim but muscular laptops, the iPod and itunes. It seemed just a matter of time before Apple and RIM would rumble in the smartphone jungle. Now it could be argued that RIM, blinded by the success of its Blackberry and prematurely clasping its hands above its head in a show of bravado, just didn’t see Apple coming. But to believe that is to believe the company was deaf and dumb in addition to being blind. 2 No, what really has to gall RIM shareholders is, while steve Jobs and his savants at Apple were working the heavy bag, prepping to take on the Blackberry, RIM’s billionaire CEO, Jim Balsillie, in an absurd sideshow, publicly sparred with the bantam weight commissioner of the NHL, gary Bettman. Bettman made a punk out of Balsillie and exposed him as the self-important, would-be oligarch he seemed determined to become. Alternately Jobs, the visionary veteran of countless successful campaigns, appeared semi-regularly to throw the marketplace a new bone and assure the odds makers that Apple continued to deserve the smart money. 3 technically, the final bell hasn’t rung. But seeing the bloodied and bowed RIM, there’s a strong case to be made to call the fight and crown the real champ. 4 Brendan begs to differ… [1] No. Lost in the media tsunami about RIM’s imminent demise is the fact that Android is the platform blindsiding RIM in its own space, with samsung and HtC leading the charge. I’d wager Nokia ain’t out of the game either. In the business space, Android is indeed laying the big hurt on RIM. Not Apple. (However, the iPad for business is an enterprise platform with no visible competition anywhere. Ottawa Hospital just bought over 1,000 of ’em for its physicians: RIM should be sweating that one, big time.) [2] the leaks from RIM HQ tell a different story. RIM ain’t Apple: it’s an engineering shop, not a design shop. that noted, google’s internal upheaval once Eric schmidt was moved sideways and down is instructive: RIM had better streamline the hell out of the development process, socialize the technology and lose the hubris. that’s the rescue, not another CEO personality cult. [3] No, again: Jobs is playing a different game entirely. He wants to control the entire personal media ecosystem, from setbox to iPod to iPhone, via itunes. RIM’s job isn’t to take that universe on but rather to focus on growing the global market for its best technologies: the entrepreneurs who don’t want a media phone for their day job… but demand secure communications and a highperformance Os. Nokia’s freefall has left that door wide open—if RIM can out-engineer Android. [4] Way premature. so we’re talking turnarounds and lagging Os? Apple was flogging tired tech long after Jobs resumed the throne. It took even His steveness a solid year to right postsculley Apple. Point is, there’s weight to RIM’s superphone concept, especially if RIM sticks to its knitting and looks to the entrepreneurial class—as opposed to the down-market trendoids. You watch iPhone go for volume now, brother, to fend off samsung. MarketingMag.ca Plenty of fight left yet By Brendan Howley, former CBC investigative journalist and content marketing consultant I s RIM dead? Was Apple when steve Jobs reclaimed his throne back in 1996? 1 No and no. We’re mid-story: RIM has indeed mucked up in a ruthless marketplace since the torch failed to catch fire and that “Hail Mary” release of a Playbook with no e-mail. Moreover, the adoption rate of Android—especially among PC-based enterprise users—shows no signs of abating. Silicon Alley Insider stats show it’s the samsungs and HtCs of this world who’re taking a (big) bite out of the Blackberry—not Apple. 2 But that’s all I’m giving up in this set-to. I know early adopters and late adopters and women over 50 and women under 25 who simply won’t use an iPhone. Or hate theirs after switching from Pearls or Bolds. 3 I’ve had multiple friends shatter iPhone glass cases (most recently, last week, on chi-chi marble countertop: dead-o) and my hardcore silicon Valley pals routinely bitch about receptivity. they hate ’em. there’s an opportunity for smart RIM marketing, right there. Me, I don’t hate iPhones; I think the iPhone’s a lovely media device, if you want your life ruled by apps. I don’t. I want a business communications device. that my hefty torch gives me. In spades. I’ll trade an HD camera to have multiple programs open at once: big timesaver for me. And my torch tethers like a dream to my laptop. I laptop-watch movies and tV relentlessly (the iPad has no DVD drive—lost me there, steve). I loathe the iPhone interface, pecking away at what MarketingMag.ca looks like a cash register with misspells makes me mental. I never sweat battery life, call quality or device durability. I’ve dropped Blackberrys and they’ve never hiccupped. Communications-wise, I love the multiple message streams and, yes, my trendy 21 year-old über-fashionista daughter tried both platforms and, with zero input from dad, went BB (as do most of her trendy urban friends). We message with BBM routinely. Fast, clean and you know when the message’s been read. Clear sell there, too. I live in RIM country; I hear stories about good-old-boy engineers who couldn’t market their way out of a paper bag and QNX and other hushhush technologies that’ll set fire to the foreign markets blissfully unaware of Blackberry’s gyrations here. 4 Myopic Wall street has handed Lazaridis and Balsillie their jockstraps (ignoring the impressive Nortel patent deal) but the rest of the world is still buying. By the containerful. Se habla español? RIM does. there’s a ton of hot-stuff Blackberry technology that demands big-time socialization. RIM is learning (the hard way, as did Apple pre-Jobs II) that your technology may be wonderful, but it’s how you socialize the story around the technology that counts. RIM’s marketers (tweet me, guys) should think Marshall McLuhan meets FedEx—the medium is the message, yes. And forget lifestyle: show an entrepreneurial planet Blackberry means business. Brent begs to differ… [1] And who, exactly, is waiting in the wings to rescue RIM? [2] the iPhone was the game-changer and remains the market leader. the gathering jackals only proves that the carcass still has a little meat on its bones. For the record: 1. Apple 2. samsung 3. Nokia 4. RIM [3] August 3, 2011, BusinessInsider. com: “Apple Could sell 30 Million iPhones In Q4.” guess you can’t please everybody so the vast majority will have to do. [4] the new phones that RIM promised for later this month will be obsolete when QNX debuts just a few months later. they run on BB’s soonto-be-discarded Os 7. August 29, 2011 39 BlackBerry, how can I love thee? let me count the ways stephen leps, a former executive creative director on the rim business with leo burnett chicago, offers some tips for how blackberry can renew its love affair with consumers T the ori- tion from 2000 (guess what everyone, you can listen to music on your Blackberry!). ginator. ☞ deliver at the hey were the trailblazer. the market leader. It store level. Every once in a while I’d start asking about Blackberry products at the At&t store and the sales staff don’t support it. Most of the time the answer was “it’s okay.” Not a very good sales job. get the salespeople on the front lines excited about your product. If they are, it will show and get consumers excited. ☞ do not try and outdo the iPhone. talking. television presence is a neces- was called “Crackberry” for a reason. then other entrants came on the market and started taking share away. Blackberry didn’t fend these off. they didn’t stay ahead of the curve. And now they are paying for it. Dearly. so how can they go from has-been to comeback kid? Having worked on the brand, here are my thoughts on what they can do. You will suffer an even slower and more painful death. Nothing is the iPhone. It’s too big, too good, too cool. Be the challenger brand. People are attracted to the challenger, the shit disturber. Would RIM be alienating their businessminded customers? Perhaps. But new customers entering the smartphone world or those looking to switch devices won’t even consider Blackberry unless something about it speaks to them. Blackberry is synonymous with business. You need to go beyond that. ☞ make it easier to use. I spent 25 minutes trying to download the App world app just so I can get apps. If this isn’t already fixed on their Os it should be. ☞ Play catch uP without making it seem like you are Playing catch uP. When we did focus groups only a year ago, a lot of users weren’t even aware that their Blackberry had a music player. Big problem. Almost everything that is available on the iPhone is also available on the Blackberry, it’s just that people don’t know it. You might get some people back if you did. the trick is doing it in a way that doesn’t seem like you are running a piece of communica- 40 August 29, 2011 ☞ let media innovation do the sity but beyond that there are infinite ways to reach people in very interesting ways. use this. Make your media dollar go further. Outsmart because you’re not going to outspend. Especially now. ☞ Just Plain get noticed. Do something that makes people look twice. the only piece of communication I have seen in the last six months has been for the Playbook. It’s an amazing product. Amazing features. Yet the spot is the same as all the others, a finger sliding the screen through different applications to a cool music track. If I didn’t have personal interest in the brand, I would not have noticed or remembered it. this effort needs to be all-encompassing. One campaign won’t fix it. It goes way beyond that. this needs buy-in from the (co-) CEO, the developers, marketing, right down to the janitor. the only time I will compare RIM to Apple is that Apple made a comeback. RIM can, too— if they do it right. I want to love Blackberry. I should love Blackberry. Please give me reasons to. Stephen Leps is creative director at Taxi NYC ➳ fROM 37 guy’s picking one [creative approach] and the other guy’s picking something else, the agency is stuck in the middle. You’re forced to try and help them figure themselves out. “the work ends up suffering because you’re trying to satisfy all parties or at least get some coherent vision.” A 2010 tV spot for the Blackberry torch featuring DJ Diplo was symptomatic of RIM’s muddled approach to marketing, says the executive. “It just felt like it didn’t make enough of a connection.” the agency had proposed some creative concepts but Lazaridis apparently wanted testimonials. “And when everyone there is fearing for their job and the CEO picks something, the reaction is to go with it without fighting for what is right,” says the executive. Briefed to come up with testimonial spots, the agency opted for Diplo because he represented a new style of business professional that would appeal to younger consumers. “I think it was somewhat strategically correct, but besides beer, cellphones are probably one of the most advertised products on television; whatever you put on tV you have to make sure you break through all the Apple ads, the Verizon ads. I don’t think the work broke though like it was supposed to.” Meanwhile, it seems that even the savviest advertising executives—including one of those who once worked for RIM– are unable to resist the power of Apple. “I bought an iPad recently and somebody asked me ‘Where does this fit in your life, because you have a phone and you have a computer?’ And I said ‘I don’t know—I just want it. When you create products that create such desire, half of your work is done right there. then you’ve just got to get the message out.” After Jobs opined last year that the PlayBook’s screen was too small, RIM’s Balsillie derisively dismissed Apple’s socalled “distortion field” and said consumers were increasingly tired of being told what to think by the company. But if even sage advertising executives are unable to resist the allure of the latest igadget, what hope is there for the rest of us. Or RIM? 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Follow us @CGTCitytv JIMMY HAMELIN JIMMY HAMELIN To market itself as the “spirit” of Cuban culture, Havana Club rum sponsors Havana Cultura events, like the one above at a Toronto bar. The brand’s upcoming film Seven Days in Havana will feature images of Cuban life. 42 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca How owned Media CHanges tHe Rules By creating, producing and owning platforMs in addition to Brand Messages, Marketers are starting to act a lot like traditional Media. Because shouldn’t all coMpanies Be Media coMpanies? By Charlene Rooke A s I walk up Ossington Avenue, the west-end toronto It strip hugged by indie restaurants and old storefronts renovated into drinking halls, brass notes noodle through the air, undercut with hip-swinging percussion. A pungent draft of cigar smoke wafts from a doorway, and as I enter I’m passed a tall cool mojito—no doubt made with Pernod Ricard’s Havana Club rum, sponsor of Havana Cultura events like this in toronto and Montreal every summer. scenes of Cuban cultural life will also play out on big screens next year in Seven Days in Havana, a spanish-language film of vignettes by seven Latin auteurs, including first-time director and Oscar-winning actor Benicio del toro. It happens to be executiveproduced by Havana Club, as part of the marketing of the brand as the spirit of Cuban culture. Havana Club’s toronto-based brand manager Dominic Kreutzer calls the movie, which will be released in Canada and Europe, part of the brand’s “Havanaization” of the market. But you can call it deftly executed owned media. Havana Club, aimed at 25- to 34-year-old culture vultures, has been supporting Cuban culture since 2007, when it launched a multimedia showcase (HavanaCultura.com) of art, film, music and dance. the upcoming film will be an ambassador not only for the city it depicts, but for the brand that’s inseparable from that sense of place—an effect more powerful than any product placement or advertising campaign. If a rum label can act like a movie studio, can all brands become media now? *** Owned media is what audiences get when brands venture, as they have been in the last few years, beyond paid campaigns and earned mentions in newspapers, magazines and broadcast tV, and related MarketingMag.ca online properties. they might create their own platforms online, like Canadian tire’s DIY tutorial site House of Innovation (HouseOfInnovation.ca) or Fora online beauty and style magazine, created by MtV Canada with Johnson & Johnson’s Clean and Clear (Fora. MtV.ca). Or they might use a traditional media campaign of tV commercials and print ads to spark a viral idea, which becomes an online community generating its own media coverage (think Old spice guy answering twitter and Facebook queries on Youtube). “It’s not about selling and telling anymore,” says tony Chapman, president of Capital C. “It’s about sourcing and sharing.” ROE (return on engagement) instead of ROI, in other words. Owned media has the ability not just to roll out a campaign or product, but to establish brand credibility in an entire lifestyle area. Adidas owns old-school urban cool with its Adidas Originals brand, largely through its Youtube channel (by Montreal’s sid Lee) of vibrant shorts on celebration, music, creativity and featuring singular hip-hop stars, from Missy Elliot to snoop Dogg. Dove deepened its empathy campaign on perceptions of women’s beauty and body image through a broadcast-digital get Fresh partnership with CtV (getFresh.CtV.ca) integrating popular programming with beauty and lifestyle service. the roots of owned media go back a long time but it became something very different with BMW’s The Hire short films in 2001. today’s owned media places entertainment, information or benefit for the user above the brand message. It doesn’t rely on the advertising-supported media model, as traditional custom publishing or sponsored programming does. It often (though not exclusively) unfolds online and involves extensive use of social media; for that reason, owned media works well for social brands, or social and lifestyle aspects of brands. Effective owned media is transparent about the brand behind the content, which ironically can create credibility with audiences (like August 29, 2011 43 “Audiences online are totally willing to accept media sponsored by a brand. It just has to be authentic storytelling” —Brett Heard, Fresh Baked Entertainment youth, greens or hipsters) who might disdain mainstream messages. For instance, IKEA hired offbeat actress Illeana Douglas and a cast of Hollywood B-listers like Justine Bateman and Jeff goldblum to take aim at its quirky swedishness in Easy to Assemble webisodes. the episode parodying a nonsensical product-naming session, which could be a Saturday Night Live skit, is the kind of self-mocking humour that might just win over a cynical shopper. Creator MEC global says the 1.2 million views successfully created the kind of deeper engagement with shoppers (especially women) IKEA sought, and took the focus off its low-price/self-service credo to spotlight other aspects of the brand, such as modern design. Mary Kreuk, vice-president of brand partnerships at Bell Media, says, “the ecosystem is changing rapidly. More and more, clients want rich, multiplatform, unique executions that engage consumers rather than simply creating an ad.” the solution for brands right now probably means a mix of branded content deployed through paid media placements, owned media platforms and earned coverage in traditional and social media—or as story Worldwide CEO Kirk Cheyfitz succinctly says: “Paid jumpstarts owned. Owned sustains earned.” on behalf of the site’s viewers. “since stanfield’s, I’ve seen hundreds of one-Like-equals-one-dollar campaigns. We loved how simple that was,” says tucker. stanfield’s earned more than 3,000 media mentions in the process. Add a modest $350,000 budget, and it’s easy to see how owned media can compete against tV spots. the only way to achieve the client’s ambitious national goals was to drop a provocative idea into the social-media space and let it catch fire. Viewers had unscripted access to the guy and watched a deep content strategy unfold (like daily challenges, from getting a tattoo or a chest wax to belly dancing or cooking lessons). the month-long online frenzy was a time-limited but effective owned platform that you could call “leased media” for its temporal, social-media oriented strategy. the downside can be that online, content inevitably develops a life of its own. For instance, when Foot Locker’s brilliant sneakerpedia.com wiki launched, some sneakerheads groused in online forums that the mass retailer had no business defining itself as the urban-footwear authority. Other fans defended the brand: “Most of the kicks that I wanted as a kid came from stores like Foot Locker and the like,” wrote one. Owned with a Cause Owning amusement: Branded entertainment “What is this guy doing in his underwear, and why should I care?” Angus tucker, co-creative director and partner at John st., asked himself about turning a Big Brother-like webcam on a skivvy-wearing average dude at home for 25 days. “the guy at Home in His underwear” project (guyAtHome.com) was a great showcase for a daily pair by client stanfield’s. the must-see factor was elusive, “until we attached it to a cause,” says tucker. they partnered with the Canadian Cancer society, featuring a testicular cancer survivor named Mark as the guy. Viewers clicked Like to direct a dollar to charity and stanfield’s donated $50,000 Viewers browsing Rogers on Demand online last fall saw a new series, Life Unjarred, at one point the No. 5 program on ROD online, right up there with Modern Family and Glee. Except the five-minute Unjarred episodes were produced by Fresh Baked Entertainment for ConAgra’s VH sauces. In the meta-narrative debut episode, Unjarred dad Randy, who cooks saucy family meals when his chef wife is at work, becomes an online celebrity and VH spokesman when his son films him cooking. “Audiences online are totally willing to accept it’s being brought to you by or ➳ PAgE 46 5 owned media Campaigns that work, and why 44 August 29, 2011 RBC Blue WateR PRojeCt Cause-based owned media ReCiPe to RiChes owned-media entertainment MESSAGE Short films feature the freshwater research work of grant recipients, not RBC. MEDIUM YouTube channel shorts. “It’s an environmental cause, so we need to get our message out… in channels with less of an environmental impact,” says Melissa Steadman, senior manager of brand marketing at RBC. RESULTS 40,000 Facebook users, nearly 170,000 YouTube views. “Research is showing that consumers are caring more about our brand and feel good about our brand,” says Steadman. Cloudraker’s creative director Christina Brown says, “[RBC] can actually make a difference to the cause by community-building, educating and giving hundreds of grant recipients a platform and audience they might not otherwise have.” MESSAGE Canadian home cooks are the stars; Loblaws provides the stage. An actual marketer (Capital C’s Tony Chapman) is one of the judges. MEDIUM Broadcast TV episodes by Temple Street Productions on Food Network Canada this fall. RESULTS The winning recipes will be developed and featured for retail sale at Loblaws, connecting the dots between viewer, consumer and brand. This kind of crowdsourcing of innovation “could be used to create the next generation of consumer brands,” says Chapman. Similar models are already in development with other brands. MarketingMag.ca In Life Unjarred, a series of webisodes for ConAgra’s VH sauces, dad Randy becomes an online celeb and VH spokesman when his son films him cooking in the kitchen. TD CanaDa TrusT up Close anD ComforTable ExclusivE custom contEnt MESSAGE Go behind the scenes in exclusive interviews with a Grey’s Anatomy director, Dancing With the Stars costume designer or CSI co-executive producer. MEDIUM The talent gets comfortable in TD Canada Trust’s big green chair. Spots were embedded in CTV hit-show broadcasts in late 2010 and featured at TD.CTV.ca. RESULTS “A huge success… We got great feedback,” says TD Bank Financial Group executive vice-president, marketing, Dominic Mercuri, of the Starcom initiative in partnership with CTV. MarketingMag.ca bmo smarTsTeps for parenTs owning crEdibility and trust Degree men aDrenaline series lEasEd mEdia MESSAGE Financial knowledge for parents to share with their kids, geared at the discerning Gen-X supermom. MEDIUM Rich and dynamic online content—tips, games, videos—that looks like a branded website, reads like a magazine (Community.BMO.com/SmartStepsForParents). RESULTS The mom-blogger network and contributors like Rogers TV’s Alyson Schafer help give the banking brand family cred. “There’s a value exchange,” says Ariad Custom Communications senior vice-president Baron Manett. “The blogger network has to get something out of it, and the brand and the agency have to think about that.” MESSAGE No-sweat excitement for outdoor adventurers 25 to 34 who use Degree for Men Adrenaline. “Deodorant and antiperspirant are a low-involvement brand decision,” says Ariad’s Manett. “We need to meet our audience where they already go.” MEDIUM Digital agency Mindshare brokered a six-month Degree “leased media” sponsorship with existing Sympatico ski and snowboard site Push.ca. RESULTS A 2010 digital marketing campaign made Adrenaline Degree tops in the category; this year’s leased-media experiment is a further investment of that brand equity. August 29, 2011 45 The RBC Blue Water Project features a series of high-quality documentary shorts about water conservation. There’s no RBC branding. ➳ FROM 44 sponsored by a brand,” explains Brett Heard, storytellerin-chief at Fresh Baked Entertainment. “It just has to be authentic storytelling.” VH, already a leader in cooking sauces, grew twice as fast as the category did during the Unjarred campaign. Heard says that listing and tracking program views with Rogers—a first for owned-media content, and a placement negotiated by starcom—proves “the credibility factor, that people were viewing this as entertainment, not a commercial.” In a meta-meta twist, Jefferson Brown, the actor who plays Randy, later appeared on Rogers’ Breakfast Television talking about the show and doing a cooking demo with VH sauce. Point-of-sale QR codes, a twitter party for 40,000 followers (a virtual conversation about cooking and family, with VH recipes and prizes, hosted by partner mom bloggers) and paid banner ads on various Rogers websites were part of the plan, proving, as Fresh Baked Entertainment principal Marc Whitehead emphasizes, “there is still a need for marketers to spend money in traditional media.” He says, “two years ago we were evangelizing the world of branded entertainment. We’re now fielding calls [from]— rather than going after—marketers.” Owned with AuthOrity: CreAting Credibility And COmmunity For decades, Harlequin’s paperbacks and its annual Valentine’s Day Romance Report positioned it as the godmother of romance worldwide. this year, the toronto-based brand took it a step further, patenting 46 August 29, 2011 the kiss, complete with cheeky technical drawings and legal application, all engineered by National PR and its digital agency sonic Boom Creative Media. the point was not necessarily to own the patent, but to own the idea of the romantic kiss and create a Harlequin-owned platform for romance aficionados “to share, learn and grow relationships,” says Michelle Renaud, Harlequin’s “chief kissing officer.” to reach a younger demographic, talk directly to consumers and build media buzz, sonic Boom built the Harlequin Office for the Preservation of the Kiss (PatentYourKiss.com), where users can patent their own smooch using an animated kiss-building tool and follow the patent, currently in the provisional application stage. When Kim Kardashian and Mr. Khloe Kardashian (basketball star Lamar Odom) tweeted about their own patented kisses last Valentine’s Day, viewable on the site, results went beyond viral: print coverage in The New Yorker and InStyle; massive twitter, Facebook and website numbers; 2,000 kiss inventors and nearly 6,000 Harlequin e-books downloaded as a result. spreading the news to legion romance bloggers paid off in hearts and spades, creating a “leased” network of voices spreading the campaign by creating and sharing patented kisses of their own. similarly, Ariad Custom Communications harnesses the powerful loyalty and credibility of the mom-blogger network for BMO’s smartsteps for parents online (see page 45). “We’re at the stage with social media now that a brand is what my friend says it is,” says Ariad senior MarketingMag.ca Harlequin’s “Patent Your Kiss” Valentine’s campaign went viral, with help from a tweet by Kim Kardashian. vice-president Baron Manet. He describes the old marketing “funnel” driving consumers directly to products as “now more of a flugelhorn of different inputs and different decision sets.” Ariad senior vice-president Mark Michaud adds, “[Marketers] have to stop thinking of online properties as a static piece of information that sits on the web, and think about them more as real-time content that changes all the time. Now we look at and manage them like media properties. And we all start to act like media.” Or, more accurately, brands need to act like multiplatform media companies. Capital C’s Chapman, who appears as a judge this fall on the Loblaws’ owned-media platform Recipe to Riches competitive reality show on Food Network Canada (see page 44), describes a model that’s bigger than any one medium. “We have the ability to reach the viewer and create energy for a tV show via social media. We can take our whole social media practice—from intelligence gathering and the ability to build a community—and drive them into the television show, to create an even bigger community that drives them into retail, to create an even bigger community that keeps it active into next season… It’s a really beautiful platform.” Few in Canada would go so far as to agree with the gilt group executive who told The New York Times this year it’s “clearly not the case anymore” that brands have to invest in print and broadcast media buys. While nobody wants to hear more chronicles of the end of the advertising agency or media-buying model as we know it, owned media does MarketingMag.ca represent a leap. the New York office of JWt has created the “Brand Journalism” tag to describe its owned-media work. WPP has included its custom-publishing agency spafax (in Canada, publishers of Air Canada’s enRoute, Fairmont magazine and other titles) in a new alliance called tenthavenue that provides transmedia and ownedmedia solutions for clients worldwide. Raymond girard, president of spafax Interactive, says, “Fundamentally, consumers have always been capable of treating owned media with credibility. It’s brands who have finally clued into the fact that when you become a media owner you have a lot more control over the touchpoints of that message and how it’s executed.” the next generation of owned media may be produced by companies like Forty Farms that are starting with a story, not the brand narrative. Currently in development is a drama about a professional cyclist facing the twilight of his career, which Forty Farms’ Christopher Bolton says could play out in filmed episodes, experiential channels and other transmedia. It has appeal for, say, a luxury car manufacturer that wants to speak to an in-transition male audience. Will the emotional connection and information a customer gets through such a media property be enough to earn the brand their loyalty and their dollars? “Experiments like this are important for every client to invest in,” says John st.’s tucker, acknowledging that some will do spectacularly while others fail. “the thing you have to get over is, that unlike the traditional media space, there are no guarantees.” “When you become a media owner you have a lot more control over the touchpoints of that message and how it’s executed” —Raymond Girard, Spafax Interactive August 29, 2011 47 Golfing can be hard. But nothing’s quite as tough as handling a golf tournament. From the clothes to the promotional giveaways to your logo’s application and placement – everything needs to be right. Never fear, getting logoed apparel and promotional merchandise 100% right is all that Imagewear Go-to-Guys do. And these professionals are ready to go out of their way to make sure you get everything your way, from the first tee right through to awards at the Club House. Count on our team’s unparalleled experience, connections, guarantee and free-delivery promise. Want your organization to look more professional at the golf tournament? Get the right help, call us at 1.877.836.5048, email imagewear@erequest.ca or visit imagewear.ca The 2011 Incentive Marketing Supplement 51 p. 54 p. 57 p. MarketingMag.ca What are your mobile options? Make incentive programs fun with gaming strategies The problem with employee pricing as a sales tool August 29, 2011 49 The 2011 IncenTIve MarkeTIng SuppleMenT RewaRdS foR the mobile maSSeS Cellphones are emerging as a powerful loyalty channel. Here’s how to make mobile work BY CHRIS DANIELS S ure, mobile phones offer exciting and affordable opportunities to deliver incentive programs to consumers. the trick is to avoid getting tripped up by the latest fads and check in to proven tactics that can help you play in this space. “Mobile always seems to be on the leading edge, because so many people are soapboxing new ideas,” says gary schwartz, CEO of Impact Mobile, a toronto-based provider of mobile technology. “the reality is if you want to make mobile work and drive key performance indicators, you should be doing what you were thinking about doing last year, this year.” Or at least expand on what you did last year, like in the case of Coca-Cola. Last summer, the company aimed to boost MarketingMag.ca sales among the vital teen demo. the company created an sMs promotion called twist text save, in which the PIN under the cap of 591 mL specially marked bottles (including Coca-Cola, Coca-Cola Zero, Diet Coke, sprite, Fanta and Nestea Cool) provided a short code for Rogers customers to get a 75-cent credit towards their mobile phone bill. Both Rogers and non-Rogers customers could also earn iCoke points, redeemable at iCoke.ca for rewards like free Coke products and a day pass to Canada’s Wonderland. the pilot program generated a significant sales lift, according to Coca-Cola—but among 19- to 24-year-olds, and not the core teen target. “We realized the incentive wasn’t really tailored to [teens],” says Jocelyn tse, interactive manager for Coca-Cola. “the 13- to 18-year-old cohort probably doesn’t pay their own mobile bill.” August 29, 2011 51 THE 2011 INCENTIvE MarkETINg SupplEMENT win one of five VIP concert experiences for themselves and three friends anywhere in North America, in addition to 10,000 secondary prizes such as free MP3 music downloads and a $40 credit towards a Live Nation concert. tse says the itunes promotion increased registration to iCoke.ca among 13- to 18-yearolds by 25% in the first two quarters, versus the same period a year ago. In addition to creating a relevant incentive for its target, schwartz says Coca-Cola (one of Impact Mobile’s clients) understands still, other metrics indicated mobile was a the importance of securing opt-in relationAbove Coca-Cola offered musicgreat vehicle for such a program. the percent- ships via customers’ mobile phones without related rewards to reach its age of people who uploaded the PIN through relying on a third party, such as a retailer or teen target. RighT The Verizon text (versus through the campaign website) technology provider. “that gives Coca-Cola Wireless QR code activation. FAR RighT Fashion retailer Dynamite’s increased by more than 600% versus past incen- the direct relationship with the customer QR-driven discount offer. tive programs. “that was great learning for us to drive further purchase and engagement,” to say, ‘Wow, this will actually work,’” says tse. he says. “so we knew we had an opportunity to optimize this for teens by tying it to a better, more relevant TEXTS WITH BENEFITS incentive.” Mobile alerts are another easy and cost-effective way marketers can incentivize customers. Coca-Cola understands the importance Air Miles, for example, encourages opt-in of its mobile alerts on its website, through e-mail of securing opt-in relationships via and its Facebook page. the mobile alerts are customers’ mobile phones without essentially sMs messages segmented based relying on a third party, such as a on the transactional activity of collectors; Air retailer or technology provider Miles may promote bonus reward miles to collectors who frequently shop at a particular With that in mind, Coca-Cola launched its sponsor, for example. 2011 single-serve under-the-cap promotions “We often take a campaign that has the with music-related prizing. Last year’s pilot highest response rate, and duplicate that program had limited advertising outreach— for all of our sponsors,” says grant Munro, posters in-store, plus some e-mail, sMs and director of social and mobile for Air Miles. online. this year, it was backed by a fully inte- “Collectors respond better to certain content grated marketing campaign created by toronto and offers, so sponsors are eager to copy those agency the Hive. models as much as possible.” In the first few months of the year, a PIN proFor instance, Air Miles has found limitedvided access to a free itunes download. In the time “spend X and get Y reward miles” camsummer, a promotion with Live Nation offered paigns for grocery retailers are very effective a PIN that gave buyers a chance to instantly via sMs. During a recent campaign, Munro winning nuMbers Five Reasons To Go Mobile 1 In the first quarter of 2011, there were more than 24.7 million wireless phone subscribers in Canada, an increase of 7.62% versus the same quarter the year prior. 2 68% of mobile phone users send and receive texts. 3 29% of mobile phone users access the internet with their device. 4 48% of mobile phone users between 18 and 34 have a smartphone (the figure is 55% for 18- to 24-year-olds). 5 76% of smartphone owners use apps related to weather information, and 69% use apps that link them to social networks, instant messaging or blogs. Source: Canadian Wireless Telecommunications Association 52 August 29, 2011 MarketingMag.ca says they saw response rates as high as 8%. “We’ve been able to replicate that across other grocery sponsors,” he says. the loyalty rewards program also uses geolocation analytics to help sponsors attract new customers. “Collectors who have optedin may live in a particular area, and so we can send them mobile alerts to incentivize them to visit a nearby retailer they’ve never been to before,” he says. “Mobile is more personal, so you tend to get that open rate fairly immediately. And because the incentive is relevant versus a mass offer, the response rates are also pretty high” —Grant Munro, airMiles Munro says Air Miles’ e-mail communications perform well above industry benchmarks for the retail sector. Nevertheless, its mobile alerts out-perform e-mail by as much as five times. they also help drive usage of the Air Miles mobile application launched late last year for iPhone and Blackberry users. “Mobile is more personalized, so you tend to get that open rate fairly immediately,” he says. “And because the incentive is relevant versus a mass offer, the response rates are also pretty high.” The QR Code Puzzle QR, or 2-D barcodes, is another tool that can be used as a delivery channel for incentives. In April and May, women’s fashion retailer MarketingMag.ca Dynamite featured QR codes on its store windows which could be scanned by mobile users to get 20% off a purchase of $60 or more. they simply had to present the coupon on their mobile device at the cash register at time of purchase. In san Francisco, Verizon Wireless stores have used them for a number of promotions. In the last week of June, for example, Verizon Wireless EVO2 stores gave consumers the chance to win a new cellphone or smartphone by scanning a QR code on its store front. When the smartphone users scanned the code, it took them to a page that prompted them to share the promotion details with their Facebook friends. After having their Facebook post verified by a Verizon Wireless representative and committing to a two-year contract, consumers could select a phone and receive an instant rebate towards its cost. Over the seven-day promotion, sales increased 200%, according to Hipscan, which provided the QR technology for Verizon Wireless. According to the Canadian Wireless telecommunications Association’s 2011 “Cell Phone Consumer Attitudes study,” roughly half of mobile phone users in Canada are familiar with 2-D barcodes and 10% of them have scanned one (among smartphone users, that figure is 28%). Nikolas Badminton, director of digital strategy at DDB Canada in Vancouver, says the technology behind QR and 2-D barcodes is cheap and more marketers are using them. “there is the challenge in terms of the fact consumers need to download and open an application to scan the codes,” he says. “But I think they can be used for the right promotion.” BEST PRACTICES 1 don’t get caught up in the hype around mobile technology. “the reality is that it should be a means to an end,” says gary schwartz, CEO of toronto-based Impact Mobile. “the end goal is to drive conversion, to sell stuff, and drive top-of-mind purchase consideration—not to get into mobile marketing.” 2 develop a permission-based opt-in strategy that allows you to capture your consumers’ mobile phone number. “this will allow you to communicate with your consumers for future interactions,” says schwartz. 3 offer a relevant incentive for your target, and make sure the incentive is well communicated. “Mobile is all about the messaging,” says schwartz. “It is what allows you to create a dialogue with the consumer.” August 29, 2011 53 The 2011 IncenTIve MarkeTIng SuppleMenT GeT in The Game Online social games are engaging and addictive. Your incentive programs should be, too By Alicia Androich T he incentive industry isn’t all fun and games. the thing is, it should be. there’s no reason for incentive programs that reward consumers and employees to be dullsville. there are loads of cool techniques incentive marketers can pluck from today’s addictive video and social media games and use to connect with their target in a fun and meaningful way. If they do it well, participants will get hooked and stay motivated through the program’s lifecycle. the popularity of social network apps and games themselves is staggering; everyone and their creative director’s cousin is growing virtual cabbage in FarmVille on Facebook. And Foursquare has the smartphone-toting masses checking in to bricksand-mortar locations to scoop up virtual points and 54 August 29, 2011 badges. A June 2011 saatchi & saatchi study called “Engagement unleashed: gamification for Business, Brands, and Loyalty” shows that half of the u.s. online population between 18 and 44 play social games on a daily basis. Implementing fundamental game mechanics— think rewards, levels, avatars, points, feedback, leaderboards—into a brand’s products, services or marketing strategy is called “gamification.” It uses tools, technology and processes from social games to breathe new life into brands, make websites stickier and invigorate participant engagement. the term itself may only be about 18 months old (many say it was coined by technology venture capitalist timothy Chang), but the concept isn’t new to the incentive industry. In fact, gabe Zichermann, co-author of Game-Based Marketing and Gamification by Design says that “in MarketingMag.ca OppOsite page Scotiabank’s “Let the Saving Begin” program’s piggy avatars for everyone. left A mobile app from Air Miles lets collectors find nearby sponsor locations. many ways, the original loyalty and incentive programs are prototype gamification systems.” He points to game hallmarks like points, levels and achievements already used by airline loyalty programs such as Aeroplan. “that’s a gamified system that doesn’t know it’s a game,” he says. But that’s changing. traditional “earn and burn” loyalty marketers are getting more worried about the risk of low participation rates. “traditional loyalty programs certainly lose dynamism,” says Zichermann. “I mean, how many super-platinum, double-platinum, extra-platinum levels can you implement in a program?” Spending on gamifying online experiences may grow from US$100 million this year to as much as US$2.8 billion by 2016, according to M2 Research Rather than run a humdrum program, more incentive marketers are using gamification to pump up the fun factor and go beyond the typical buy-10-get-onefree format. shoppers Drug Mart’s Optimum program took the game route last year when it implemented an online personality game by tribal DDB into the program’s 10-year-anniversary celebration. the game let consumers find out what kind of member they are, whether it be a “closet member” who is secretive about collecting points or a “mom member” who uses points to stock up on baby or beauty goods. Air Miles is also taking steps to appeal to the most engaged of its 10 million collectors in Canada. Young families in particular are the program’s most engaged collectors, and they’ve got a very strong gamer mentality, says Air Miles Reward Program director, social and MarketingMag.ca mobile, grant Munro. “It’s really part of their DNA.” to capitalize on that, Air Miles has done several pilot programs that use gamification. One is a mobile app where consumers can check in to a specific sponsored location that’s part of Air Miles’ coalition. shoppers are then given richer offers based on how frequently they check in and the amount they spend. “It’s still early days, but engagements are high in terms of driving frequency and basket size,” says Munro. He adds there’s been a roughly 15% increase in spend for one of the pilot’s large retailer sponsors. In fact, a report from M2 Research estimates spending on gamifying online experiences may grow from us$100 million this year to as much as us$2.8 billion by 2016. It’s wise spending considering 58% of the respondents in the saatchi study said it’s important for brands to be fun and playful. “Loyalty providers increasingly understand that their future is based on fun and the gamification tool set is the directional beacon that shows them where they can take it and how,” says Zichermann. that tool set takes cues from techniques used by gaming companies like Zynga, FarmVille’s developer, and mobile social networking lessons from Foursquare and the like. there are also a slew of online gamification platforms, such as Badgeville and Bunchball, that brands can use to add game elements like challenges and virtual points to their websites. the first step to gamifying a site or incentive program, though, is identifying different player profiles, says greg greunke, whose san Francisco Bay area companies greunke LLC and HighKudos, help corporations gamify their loyalty, sales and safety programs. He uses post office customers as an example: some only periodically buy postage for one envelope, others are office managers glued to the post office’s website looking for updated pricing. they’ll be driven to play by different things. Once customer or employee profiles have been created, the next step is figuring out what drives people to use the service or product and what would make it interesting and fun for them. “You have to ask, ‘How do we want to change these people’s behaviour to make them more engaged?’” says greunke. At that point, it’s time to design meaningful incentive experiences for them. there are some core elements that program participants want as a reward for their actions: status, access, power and rewards. status can make incentive programs powerful and sticky, but Zichermann says it’s missing from the majority of them. giving participants virtual badges for completing activities and allowing them to display those on the program’s website may sound simple, but it’s the act of making the program social that will get Who’s playing and why? L ooking to gamify your incentive program? First you need to understand who your consumers are and what drives their engagement with a product or service. Those motivations affect what they consider fun and how to design an experience that’s right for them. Gabe Zichermann, chair of the Gamification Summit in New York in September, outlines the four player groups identified by game expert Richard Bartle: The achiever Likes to win. One caveat: if everyone who completes a challenge becomes a winner, “generally achievers go ‘I worked hard for that and it wasn’t a real win since everyone won.’” The explorer Enjoys discovering things and bringing them back to show others. The experience of finding something is almost more important than the thing itself. The socializer Finds it fun to have meaningful social interactions with other people, whether it’s talking about their kids or the game. About 80% of the population falls into this group. The killer Similar to an achiever, but plays a win/lose game. They want to do more than just win; “it’s ‘I’m going to win so you lose and I want everyone to see me kick your ass.’” August 29, 2011 55 The 2011 IncenTIve MaRkeTIng SuppleMenT people hungry to take on tasks to grow their status. “status is a key behaviour motivator,” says greunke. “And you give a point value to any kind of behaviour.” Access is another critical component for programs. “It’s about giving people access to things they couldn’t get without you,” says Zichermann. For example, he says the top .01% of customers at gilt groupe, a members-only shopping site that offers daily discounts on designer labels, were invited to join its loyalty program, gilt Noir. “You get no discounts, no free shit—you get a 15-minute head start on the sale every day.” that level of access counts to program members, and so does power. games understand this principle, but incentive programs rarely give people control. Even something small, like letting a frequent flyer periodically have the power to decide which fellow traveller gets upgraded at the gate could work. “It sounds crazy on one hand, but it’d be a lot of fun,” says Zichermann. case study This little piggy went to market… W hen Scotiabank launched “Let the Saving Begin,” a movement to help Canadians save money, the company needed an incentive platform that would get its roughly 19,000 customerfacing staff across the country behind the saving concept and new related “We used suite of gaming to add products. Going for a that extra fun and creative element of approach, Scotiabank engagement worked with Carlson to the Marketing create an program” toincentive —Ian CItulsky, Carlson MarketIng website and online game, complete with themeappropriate piggy (as in piggy bank) avatars. “We used gaming to add that extra element of 56 August 29, 2011 engagement to the program,” says Ian Citulsky, group account director, client services at Carlson. “It cut through a lot of their regular routine; the creative really drove engagement.” A Game of Life-esque training game included saving-related questions that were aligned with the product offerings. A leaderboard with branch, district and regional levels sustained friendly competition, says Citulsky. Also, employees could share personal or customer savings stories on the site. Using the Facebook model, colleagues could comment on or “like” those stories. The initial phase of the program lasted three months last year and brought impressive results. There were 8,000 stories submitted; they got 150,000 comments and 333,000 “likes.” All told, the website got 81,000 visits and 538,000 page views. Rather than run a humdrum program, more incentive marketers are using gamification to pump up the fun factor and go beyond the typical buy-10-getone-free format And—wouldn’t you know it?—so is getting rewards. “Being the number one sales guy has status associated with it, but if there isn’t any real reward or anything that makes that valuable outside of work, a program starts to lose its luster,” says greunke. that’s where tangible rewards come into play in gamification, whether in the form of a gift card, trip or merchandise. While users can identify the value of those sorts of rewards, it’s harder for them to attach a price to intangible rewards. What’s the value of, say, red carpet access or saving 10 minutes of time? Zichermann gives a hypothetical scenario: if you could choose a free cup of coffee on your next trip to the coffee shop or get line bypass and have your order waiting for you— but you have to pay for it—which would you choose? He finds most people pick the line bypass. “It’s not the right economic choice, but it’s emotionally and behaviourally valid. It’s that notion of ‘My time is valuable,’” he says. games recognize that these emotional aspects are often more important than tangible rewards. All that said, he warns that incentive marketers shouldn’t try to gamify any and all programs. An online program for a clothing retailer, for example, isn’t about having avatars fly through space and shoot clothes out of the sky. “this isn’t about making games out of your [program], it’s about using the lessons from games.” MarketingMag.ca THE TRUE COST OF EMPLOYEE PRICING Automakers rely on employee pricing to attract consumers. It can help boost sales, but critics say it can damage car brands in the long run BY KRISTIN LAIRD P urchasing a car is often like the complicated and dramatic soap opera plot. Open-ended narratives span several episodes (or in this case, trips to the dealership), each ending with the promise that everything will work out in the end. All that’s missing is the affected overture as the sales associate (often cast as the “bad guy”) coolly pushes the paperwork forward to reveal the “best I can do” bottom-line price. It’s an exhausting yet necessary dance for the dealers trying to move vehicles off the lot at a profit, and for consumers looking to get the biggest bang for their buck. theatrics aside, the last six years have been especially difficult for the auto industry as higher fuel prices and a shaky economy kept many consumers at bay and prompted some car companies to offer deep discounts. One of the most highly advertised incentive programs is employee pricing, which was introduced as a way of luring in customers during the summer of 2005 by the Detroit big three—general Motors, Ford and Chrysler. With this promotion, consumers receive the same discount on new cars as employees rather than pay the sticker price. At the time, employee pricing gave the auto industry the “giant boost” it needed, says Richard Arca, pricing manager at Edmunds.com, an online resource of rebates, reviews and tips on car purchases. Ford Canada deems the incentive a success, with more than 275,000 customers having taken advantage of the program since it launched, says graeme Whickman, vice-president, marketing at Ford Motor Company of Canada, which for the first time this year included actual employees in its advertising. “Customers appreciate how straightforward this offer is,” he says. “It is why the campaign has consistently had such a solid impact on both sales and share performance.” Jason Easton, corporate communications manager, general Motors of Canada agrees. “With the highly complex nature of auto marketing, [employee pricing] is an incentive program that allows us to reach broadly with a very simple message,” he says. But buyers beware: a discount by any other name is still a discount, says Arca. “the truth is, employee pricing is nothing more than an incentive packaged another way, and it really isn’t any different or any more [of a] cost saving than some of the incentives you see normally,” he says, estimating that consumers save approximately $1,000 (or 5%) on a $20,000 car during an employee pricing event. MarketingMag.ca “If you take a look now there’s a lot of manufacturers that have cash-back rebates worth $1,000 or even more,” he says. “the reason it’s such a great success is when you have employee pricing, the public thinks of an exclusive deal that you need to get now.” While the ploy can stimulate sales, some critics suggest it’s merely a quick revenue fix that in the long run is not only detrimental to the brands of individual manufacturers and dealers, but to the industry as a whole. the illusion that this is some sort of “insider” advantage is totally destroyed when it’s heavily advertised to the masses, says Jeanette Hanna, partner, vice-president, brand strat- “It trains egy at trajectory and co-author of Ikonica: people that the A Field Guide to Canada’s Brandscape. stated price “the conversation is focused only on price versus value. Customers will take is not the real the discount and just use that as the start price and the of more negotiations,” she says. “It trains blood sport of people that the stated price is not the real deal-hunting price and the blood sport of deal-hunting begins” begins.” —Jeanette Hanna, the appeal of a special employee distraJectory count can fade faster than that new-car smell as consumers start to hold out for a more substantial deal. there’s a risk that these promotions establish a new pricing floor that crushes profit margins. “It just gets harder to get your full price, and in the case of the car companies, they’ve conditioned consumers such that they’ll never again be able to get the prices they want for their vehicles,” says Rico Digiovanni, president, spider Marketing solutions. Ford’s Whickman disagrees. though he wouldn’t provide specific figures, Whickman says sales units in 2010 were up each month following the Ford Employee Pricing, compared to the year before. Even if sales continue to rise, brand equity can fall. Car companies need to think about the frequency of these discount programs, says Arca. “Employee pricing works because it seems like it’s a rare event,” he says. “It’s when the manufacturers constantly offer big rebates [that] it hurts that particular brand greatly.” August 29, 2011 57 GREAT CUSTOMERS NEVER COME BACK BECAUSE THEY NEVER LEAVE LoyaltyOne has led the loyalty industry for more than 20 years with unmatched strategic, analytic and marketing capabilities. Our innovative ideas are grounded in solid research, thoughtful analysis and decades of experience, so we can enrich the relationship between your customers and your brand like no one else. “The benefits of AIR MILES to BMO have really been central as we’ve built up our credit card businesses and other financial services in really establishing something that customers value.” Mike Kitchen BMO Bank of Montreal Let’s say ‘hello’ today – call us at 1.888.515.8515. 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WORLD DOMINAtION? the latest figures for Q2 2011 show Apple is officially the most popular smartphone in the world, commanding 18.5% of the market in Q2, up from 13.5% in the same quarter last year, according to data from Strategy Analytics. Apple sold 20.3 million iPhones in Q2, a 141.7% increase over the 8.4 million in the same quarter last year. While RIM had a challenging quarter in North America, global shipments grew 11% year on year and it remains the No. 1 vendor in Latin America with a 28% share, according to Canalys. In 2006 Webster’s New World College Dictionary deemed “Crackberry” the “New Word of the Year.” andRoIds takIng oveR nokIa Worldwide smartphone sales are expected to hit 468 million units in 2011 and Android will command 38.5% of the smartphone market, according to market research firm Gartner. By 2012, its market share will #1 #3 climb to 49.9%, but it will drop slightly to 48.8% by Nokia once dominated the 2015. (IDC has a slightly cellphone market globally, lower projection below.) but no more. Q2 ’10 N o one can argue that the smartphone market is exploding. What’s still shaking out is where Research in Motion’s Blackberry fits into the boom. At the moment, it doesn’t look good: While Blackberry’s global footprint is growing, its market share is slipping with the meteoric rise of rivals like Apple and Android, not to mention what’s being touted as the next big threat: Windows Phone 7. RIM’s overall share of the global smartphone market dropped to 11.6% in the second quarter of 2011, down from 17.4% in the same quarter last year, according to IDC Corp. the slippage happened despite unit sales rising to 12.4 million from 11.2 million in the same quarter last year. It’s a bitter pill for a company that was not so long ago celebrated as the industry leader, but whose stock has plummeted 60% in the past 12 months. RIM has been accused of treading water while rivals surge ahead. But don’t count RIM out yet. the company is ready to unveil three new devices in the lead-up to the all-important back-to-school shopping season, as well as a new software platform in 2012. fuelIng addIctIon 38.5% 49.9% 48.8% 2011 2012 2015 37.3% 15.7% Devices that operate on Google’s Android system now account for nearly half of the 107.7 million smartphones sold around the world in Q2 2011, according to consulting group Canalys. Android is the top smartphone platform in 35 of the 56 global countries Canalys tracks, accounting for a 48% global market share. Google says it activates 500,000 Android-friendly devices around the globe each and every day. SamSung market Share 5.5% sMaRtphone platfoRM outlook foR 2015 MICROSOFt tO tHE RESCUE? In February, Nokia and Microsoft announced a strategic alliance, making Windows Phone 7 Nokia’s primary smartphone platform. While a boon for Windows Phone 7, the move was a blow to other Nokia platforms, such as Symbian, which experts predict will all but disappear. Asia Pacific (APAC) remains the largest regional smartphone market, with 39.8 million units shipping there in Q2, compared with 35 million in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and 32.9 million in the Americas, according to Canalys. 16.2% Q2 ’10 20.9% 15.3% iOS 13.7% 0.2% 4.6% Symbian 45.4% Android gloBal useRs Others RIM’s Blackberry Messenger application is one of the most popular instantmessaging applications for mobile devices and has proven a key differentiator for the company. For now. With Apple’s forthcoming iMessage service and Facebook recently unveiling its new instant-messaging smartphone application, BBM is facing hefty competition. Facebook Messenger wants to position itself as the default messaging application on smartphones for its 750 million global users. MoBIle app downloads Market researcher IDC predicts the number of mobile app downloads will grow from 10.9 billion last year to 76.9 billion in 2014. With more than 300 million downloads across all platforms, Angry Birds is touted at the most successful mobile app in the world thus far. At the moment it’s not available on Blackberry smartphones. 2010 2014 10.9 bil ion 62 August 29, 2011 Growth largely credited to its adoption of Google’s Android platform. cuttIng edge BlackBerry Windows Phone 7 Q2 ’11 45,000,000 By Michelle Warren HYPE It functioned as a two-way pager used in Munich, Germany. In 2003, the company unveiled the Blackberry (soon to become Crackberry) as it’s known today—a smartphone that supports push e-mail, mobile telephone, text messaging, web browsing and other wireless features. Q2 ’11 Does Blackberry still matter? U.S. President Barack Obama made headlines for his Blackberry use during his 2008 presidential campaign and, despite security concerns, insisted on taking it into the White House. Marketing experts have estimated this “celebrity endorsement” was worth between $25 and $50 million. 76.9 bil ion 24% of iPhone owners agreed with the statement “I tend to be the fIrst to own new electronIc products” … nearly twice the amount of Blackberry owners (13%), according to a recent study by the Print Measurement Bureau. In addition, 51% of iPhone owners agreed with the statement “I’m excIted by the development of new technologIes” … compared with 32% of Blackberry owners. BLACkBERRY USERS tEND tO BE OLDER 33% 24% for iPhone, and have higher are Baby Boomers compared with personal income ($75,000+ for 26% of Blackberry users versus 20% of iPhone users) MarketingMag.ca Connect. Collaborate. Marketing is pleased to announce Postmedia as lead sponsor of Digital Day Act. SCAN THIS TO VISIT THE 2011 DIGITAL DAY MICROSITE. FULL AGENDA DETAILS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE. www.the-cma.org/digitalday2011 Join us on November 7 Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto TICKETS! $699 * +HST *Regular rate of $699+HST effective July 29TH For ticket information, contact Aldo Russo at 416-764-1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com COME FACE2FACE WITH THE NEW B2B. 10.19.2011 Appel Salon, Toronto Reference Library REGISTER TODAY at www.the-cma.org or call 416-645-3281 Learn how to win in a World of Change. B2B markets are changing exponentially. So are customers. They want control, and are using web-based tools to get it. That means your lead generation, sales productivity and retention efforts need rethinking. That’s why we’ve gathered the leading thinkers and practitioners to teach you how to get the new measurement techniques, new technologies and new ways of reaching and engaging buyers working for your business. 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