Spread the Word . . .
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Category Archives: Ask Sig
Ask Sig: Motivating Patients and Doctors
Dear Sig,
As a Brand Manager for a prescription medication about to go into clinical trials, I’m worried that when we ultimately go to market we won’t understand which benefits will motivate patients to mention this to their doctors, and which benefits will motivate physicians to prescribe…and to make matters worse, even if we do find out what’s important, I’m having terrible dreams that the FDA won’t let us talk about the most important benefits.
Sincerely,
Sleepy in Saratoga
Dear Sleepy,
I know things move fast in your industry so kudos for your forethought, dear reader. Luckily, I know a lot about dreams and what they mean…and, as it turns out, I’ve dabbled in pharmaceutical marketing, too.
Right before I turned 30, I researched the medical effects of coca. I started my project by first talking to my town physician and my neighbors. We sat in my living room together and talked about wellness and medical ailments. I then came up with a short list of points I thought were worthy of communicating about coca and how it can improve the body. I asked the mayor, Andreas, to approve my ads for use in a few gathering places. Since I could tell him the community leaders came up with the list, and promise to encourage its infrequent use, he was on board.
Ask Sig: Slogans to Motivate Purchase
Q. Dear Sig,
As the Senior Brand Manager at No Flats Tire, I can tell you our brand team has spent a great deal of time and budget on our “Let the Good Times Roll” advertising campaign. Although consumers seem to know and love the slogan, it hasn’t translated into any measurable bump in sales. What’s going on?
Best,
Down in Detroit
A. Dear Down,
Well loyal reader, don’t be deflated…as you know from being surrounded by advertising in the world today, often you see advertisements you enjoy, although you do not remember the products featured.
Though your advertising creations fill consumers with glee, it is rash to assume that you have connected at a deeper level – or that consumers will be able to recall the product or brand name at all.
Ask Sig: Postal Service and Desserts…
Q. Dear Sig,
I’ve heard of techniques that appear to offer both psychological richness and easy identification of segments, but the reality is we are always forced to choose. Isn’t there a solution that is truly psychologically insightful AND targetable?
Sincerely,
Ambivalent in Arizona
A. Dear Ambivalent,
This is the classic conundrum, no? Recalling a darker proverb of my childhood, Wenn Sie zwei Hasen jagen, werden Sie am Ende weder mit (if you chase two hares, you will end up with neither.) This, indeed, is the justification used by many purveyors of standardtechniken, off-the-shelf segmentation solutions based on pre-identified characteristics.
Of course, neighborhood and zip-code based groupings are not perfect. Let me tell you why. My letter carrier, Henri, is well known for his love of dogs and strudel, and general bonhomie; he delights in trying new sensual pleasures, particularly desserts. His closest neighbor is Fritz and although he is similarly situated economically, he could not be more different. Fritz is a malcontent who rejects all pleasures of the senses and has been known to kick small dogs that get too close to him when he marches down the Schottenring. A marketer who sought to advertise to both Henri and Fritz using the same messaging based on their addresses would clearly miss the mark!
However, combining an attitudinal segmentation with secondary data would provide a more accurate grouping of Henri, Fritz, and many more neighbors – giving you both rich insight and targetability. Take heart, dear reader, you may have your cremeschnitten and eat them too.
Best regards,
Ask Sig: “Radar Eating”
Q. Dear Sig,
I am in charge of a group of brands for a large maker of snack foods, including a brand of popcorn. A fascinating article I’ve just read discussed the different motivations behind eating, but used an unfamiliar term. Can you explain “radar eating” in more detail?
Sincerely,
Curious in Chicago
A. Dear Curious,
How fascinating and technological are today’s contemporary terms! Radar – as any competent schüler knows – is an American acronym for “radio detection and ranging,” introduced by the U.S. Navy in 1940. Eating isn’t just for nutrition and hunger; the radar metaphor is apt when eating is used as a tool for “forward movement” amid other activity. Allow me to explain.
Ask Sig: Hot Dogs are Serious Business
We make a popular line of hot dog brands and have done so for decades. Our company is doing ok, but we have seen better times. All management levels agree that we need to grow, but there is some debate over how – expand distribution, partner for recipe inclusion, extend beyond hot dogs, etc. Our company board is partial to extending to hot dog buns. How
do I determine what is best for the brands?Sincerely,
Down in the Dogs
A. A very tricky situation, indeed. I have faced a similar dilemma when I was at the University of Vienna and asked to work on a rather unfruitful search for proof that was never to be found. Professor Karl Claus asked me to study the life cycle of eels. After four weeks at the zoological research station where I dissected hundreds of eels, and starting seeing many of them swimming in my dreams, I was still not able to prove or disprove the presence of male reproductive organs in eels. Professor Claus was determined – he suggested we look again at only baby eels. I suggested we take a step back.
Merging Need States and Occasion Segmentations
Q. Dear Sigmund,
Our marketing team plans to consider occasion segmentation – or “need states” – in the marketing of our product. Is there a way to know if it is smarter to market to an occasion’s situational dynamics or the consumer’s emotional desires within a need state?Sincerely,
Pulled in Two Directions
A. Clever reader, we are less pulled in two directions as bringing together pieces of a puzzle. This is an insightful question that reminds me of my letter carrier, Henri, who delivered your letter to me on his current route.
As a courier, Henri once possessed a typical distaste for dogs, and not unjustly so. Early in his career, he was bitten. Based on this detest for canines as well as his famous love for strudel, Henri managed to have his courier route moved to Replankment Strasse, away from a number of hounds with whom he’d developed poor relationships, and near Bäckerei Bereifen, a pastry shop that everyone highly recommended.
Ask Sig: Trying To Focus
Sig,
I am a 41 year-old market researcher working for a large financial services company based in the Northeast. My weekend hobby is photography, and the walls of my office are filled with framed enlargements I have shot all over the country.
It is fascinating how different people walking into my office for the first time might react to the scenes in the photos, yet others point out the way they brighten up the office, still others see technical aspects of the photography and of course some people don’t notice
at all.
Dr. Freud, while it has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words, isn’t it true that these words correspond to a thousand interpretations?- Trying to Focus
Dear Trying to Focus,
Ah, reader. Not only is one thousand words too limited, words are simply another form of data! Emotions are the pure states you want to understand – not just in the people enjoying your artwork, but in the consumers served by your company.
Ask Sig: Noogies Over Nougat
Sig,
It is difficult to market a snack food that, while delicious, is not particularly healthy. I’m fighting significant trends; there simply aren’t enough people open to a product of this sort. What’s an appropriate product benefit when today’s parents won’t give their kids this sort of thing?
Thanks for reading,
Getting Noogies Over Nougat
Dear Getting Noogies Over Nougat,
Ah, reader. Your letter reminds me of my grandmother’s marzipan, which she pressed into large pans to let cool on the window sills of her farmhouse in Pribor. The aroma was so wonderful it made the Yellowhamers sing! One can only hope that your product is a lovely marzipan?
But your question is also important! Consider for a moment my neighbor at #17 Bergasse, Otto, who is somewhat portly. He enjoys ale and a good Kaisersemmel roll, and even if he gets them at Franziskanerplatz Kleine Café around the corner, he prefers to take a carriage than to walk. Otto is not what one would call spry.
Ask Sig: Road to Innovation
Sig,
I’ve been asked to create an “Innovation Roadmap” for the marketing and product development groups at my company. What is it and how do I create it?
Sincerely,
Confused in California
Dear Confused,
At Forbes Consulting, we’re also hearing this new buzzword a lot. Although the term is new, the concept is not, previously known as the “Stage Gates” process, among others. Like certain well-known rehabilitation programs, the Innovation Roadmap is sometimes described as a 12-step program, and like Stage Gates, a go/no-go decision is made at the conclusion of each step in the process. The 12 steps proceed from idea generation to product roll-out as follows:
