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). Back issues $10 plus
tax and P&h. outside canada $10 plus P&h.
current subscribers: Marketing’s dAily
newsletter is included At no AdditionAl cost
with your Marketing subscription.
to ensure you receive all the industry news from
Marketing, forward us your e-mail address,
name, company and address for your existing
subscription.
send to duncan.palmer@rci.rogers.com.
Marketing subscription prices include: Marketing
MAGAZine, the Marketing dAily e-mailed
newsletter and full access to Marketing online
(www.marketingmag.ca)
suBscriBer custoMer serVice:
(416) 932-5082; fax: (416) 932-2488
toll free 1-800-222-5029
rogersb2bmedia.com/mrkt
subscription rates: in canada $49 (one year),
$90 (two years). Group/Bulk rates (2 or more
subs): $45 per subscription per year. staff and
student rate (one year): $30. u.s.: $100. other
foreign: $150.
Printed in canada. Member canadian Business
Press and Audit Bureau of circulations.
Mail preference: occasionally we make our
subscriber list available to reputable companies
and organizations whose products or services
may be of interest to you. if you do not want your
name to be made available, please call, write or
e-mail us.
list rental enquiries:
cornerstone list Brokerage
(416) 932-9555 fax: (416) 932-9566
our environmental policy is available at
www.rogerspublishing.ca/environment
rogers publishing liMited,
a division of rogers Media inc.
rogers Media inc. President: keith Pelley
rogers Publishing ltd. President and ceo:
Brian segal
senior Vice-President: Michael fox
Vice-Presidents: immee chee wah,
Patrick renard
Marketing receives unsolicited features and
materials (including letters to the editor)
from time to time. Marketing, its affiliates
and assignees may use, reproduce, publish,
re-publish, distribute, store and archive such
submissions in whole or in part in any form or
medium whatsoever, without compensation of
any sort.
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!
! That’s a
A NEW MAN,
A NEW HOME,
A NEW LIFE
PM40070230
‘My whole
life has been
a search for
beauty’
JENNIFER
ANISTON
DISPLAY UNTIL AUGUST 10, 2011
www.hellomagazine.ca
$4.95
you’re not alone. Magazines
attention, in
or in tough
Home ownership is a losing bet
Why renting is suddenly making
Pyramid schemes, shady gurus and lousy
to
a comeback P. 58
enforcement...
ARE VIDEO
GAMES
THE NEW
TOBACCO?
P. 14
PLUS
ECONOMY ON
THE BRINK: ON
THE GROUND
IN GREECE P. 19
CAN YOU REALLY
WEAR SHORTS
TO THE OFFICE?
REALLY? P. 78
or tending to
AUG. 15, 2011 $5.95
www.canadianbusiness.com
PM 40070230
would agree.
.
about social media. Want to
$3.99
LO U LO
? Need a
a bigger
U M AG A
Z I N E .C
OM
Celebrity
style guid
e
40
SUMMER’S
HOTTEST LOOKS!
PAGES
HAIR & OF
BEAUTY
IDEAS!
SUMMER
2011
UNTIL AUGUST
15
50
SMAR0+
BUYS T
WHAT TO
WEAR NOW
PP 40070230
PP 40070230
$3.99 DISPLAY
? Well, where’s the first
magazine you’re holding! And
CANADAÕS
FASHION
MAGAZINE
have quite a
FA
SH A TO
ION Z:
SPE
CIA
L
FLARE
EXCLUSIVE!
MILA KUNIS
FALL
TREND
REPORT
FASHION
& BEAUTY
PREVIEW
+
$3.99
AUGUST 2O11
FLARE.COM
HOW TO
WEAR IT:
THE SEASONÕS
BEST DENIM
Beauty
Crushes
Looks we love
on Hollywood’s
hottest stars
BRIGHT
YOUNG
THINGS
for getting
Tomorrow’s
stars in fashion
music & film
PLUS!
Victoria
Beckham
& Jessica
Chastain
APRIL 2O11
FLARE.COM
times. 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?
MarketingMag.ca
TM
A GLOBAL ENTERTAINMENT SUCCESS
IN 43 COUNTRIES, THE GOT TALENT
FRANCHISE IS COMING TO CANADA!
• Multi-media cross-platform exposure opportunities across the Rogers
Media network of properties in Television, Digital, Radio, and Magazine
• Coast to coast audition tour begins September 2011
• Show airs Spring 2012 on Citytv
If your talent lies in securing successful national sponsorships and
integrations for your clients, contact Rogers Media today to find out
more about this highly anticipated show visit
ROGERSTVSALES.CA
TM
Like us Canada’s Got Talent
Canada’s Got Talent™: FremantleMedia North America & Simco, Ltd. 2011. All Rights Reserved.
™Rogers, Mobius Design and Citytv are trademarks of or used under license from Rogers Communications Inc. or an affiliate. ©2011 Rogers Broadcasting Ltd.
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.
Loyalty Programs
Loyalty Strategy
Insight & Analytics Relationship Marketing
VISIT LOYALTY.COM
“LoyaltyOne” is a registered trademark of LoyaltyOne, Inc. “AIR MILES” is a registered trademark of AIR MILES International Trading B.V. used under license by LoyaltyOne, Inc.
SHERATON CENTRE HOTEL // NOVEMBER 7TH, 2011
Connect.
Collaborate.
Actionable Insights
Every consumer is an empowered consumer, with filters and data at the ready. Connecting with them means connecting with their
networks. Audience engagement matters more
than ever for marketers. As a result, effective
digital marketing is human-scale, with personal
connection, transparency and customization.
Join us on November 7th, to connect and collaborate with a purpose, along with 500 of your
partners and peers.
Act.
SCAN THIS TO VISIT THE 2011 DIGITAL DAY MICROSITE.
FULL AGENDA DETAILS ARE NOW AVAILABLE ONLINE.
Luncheon Keynote
Walt Mossberg, Author, Personal Technology
Columnist, The Wall Street Journal
The Washington Post has declared Mr. Mossberg
“one of the most powerful men in the high-tech
world” and “a one-man media empire whose
prose can launch a new product.”
www.the-cma.org/digitalday2011
TICKETS!
$699
+HST
For ticket information, contact Aldo Russo at
416-764-1597 or aldo.russo@rci.rogers.com
LEAD SPONSOR
Speakers include:
• Lisa Bradner, Chief Client Services & Growth
Officer, Geomentum
• Marc Dinsdale, Director and General Manager,
Rogers Digital Media, Sports
• Janice Diner, Partner, ECD, Horizon Studios
• Walter Levitt, Executive Vice-President, Marketing,
Comedy Central
PRESENTING SPONSORS
FEATURE SPONSOR
SUPPLIER SPONSOR
LUNCH SPONSOR
RESEARCH SPONSOR
COCKTAIL
RECEPTION SPONSOR
productS & ServiceS
executive recruitMent
application Developers
The Right People.
The Right Jobs.
416.968.1000
Executive Recruitment Specialists
Marketing • Advertising • Sales • Research • Interactive
Direct Marketing • E-Commerce • Promotion • Retail
www.complexgames.com
204-417-9482
contact@complexgames.com
jobs@chadman.com | www.chadman.com | fax: 416.968.7754
ethnic proDuction
next issue: September 12 booking: August 25
contact alDo russo
 aldo.russo@marketingmag.rogers.com
 416-764-1597  416-764-1722
The National List of Advertisers...
This year we have completely re-vamped the
National List of Advertisers, transforming it into an
Want
insight into Canada’s
online research tool. Now get instant access to the
leading
advertisers?
latest data on Canada’s
advertising community in a
highly
searchable
format,
making prospecting for new
Prospecting made
easy!
advertising leads that much easier.
Your tools on the site:
• Instant access to comprehensive listings for
4,800 Canadian advertisers
• A powerful search tool to easily navigate over 18,000
brands, products and services
• A fully searchable directory of Canada’s advertising
agencies and Canadian Media Associations
• Click-through email access to every contact with
the added ability to add them to your in-house
CRM tool (MSOutlook, ACT etc)
• Print only what you want
Check it out: www.nationaladvertisers.ca
A fully
searchable
online tool!
exclusive
access to nearly
5,000 national
advertisers
fully searchable
to easily find
what you
need
updated daily
for instant
up-to-date
information
want a paper
version? Print
only what
you need
Add client
contact details
directly to your
address book
National List of Advertisers
Canada’s source of advertising information
Get instant access!
Contact Cristina Palhares: cristina.palhares@rci.rogers.com or 416-764-1619
60 August 29, 2011
MarketingMag.ca
executive recruitMent (continued)
exhibitS & diSplayS
Marketing, Communications, Direct, Media,
Sales, Creative, Technology & Research
We are Canada’s Leading Digital Recruiters
Toronto 416.599.4700
www.IQPartners.com
Bring your brands to life
with 1000’s of POP display
products & accessories.
IDL can help you create attractive POP
displays and shelf merchandising solutions.
Specialists in Marketing &
Marketing Research since 1976
resumes@mgmt1.com
Frank Edelberg • (416) 961-6100 • Dana Stewart
Sign Holders
Shelftalkers
Poster Frames
Shelf Management
Banner Stands
Merchandising Strips & Hooks
Pegboard/Slatwall Accessories
Ceiling Display Systems
Fasteners & Supports
Literature Displays
10% OFF
Online Orders
Promo Code:
MKTG11
Contact us today for product and pricing info.
www.idldisplays.com | 1-877-579-1882 | info@idldisplays.com
Staffing ServiceS
TERHAM
Consultants
Specialists in Marketing, Advertising,
Creative, Direct, Digital and Database.
Terry Hammond, President
Phone: (416) 968-3636; Fax (416) 968-6617
Email: consultants@TERHAM.com
Finding the right fit.
MarketingMag.ca
www.TERHAM.com
August 29, 2011 61
last question
1999
ultIMate celeBRIty
endoRseMent
RIM IntRoduces Its
fIRst BlackBeRRy,
the 850
no. 1 In canada
42%
of the 6.6 million Canadian
smartphone owners have
a Blackberry, according to
comScore.
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.
This is the B2B conference senior decision makers can’t afford to miss.
Silver Sponsors
Speaker Sponsor
Twitter Concierge Sponsor
Luncheon Sponsor
Creative Sponsor
Refreshment Breaks Sponsor
Print Sponsor
Trade Publication Sponsor