If you let your competition set the rules, you will never win.

This is a lesson I learned the hard way in the comics industry almost a decade ago.

At the time the industry was dominated by Marvel, DC and Image, with two or three hundred other publishers fighting for the remaining shelf space. Gaining a foothold in every store was almost an impossibility for a comic that wasn't published by the three big publishers. But if you could get a latch on enough stores, it was enough to make a comfortable living. That is - until the actions of the big three publishers caused a giant contraction in the market. Suddenly the comfortable living was cut to a third. It was my own fault for relying on a market that was so completely influenced and controlled by my competition.

It's a lesson that Jones Soda understands very well. The Coca-Cola Company and Pepsi Co. have a strong hold on the soda market. The traditional mindset would be for Jones to try to purchase premium shelf-space at convenience stores and super-markets paired with a large glitzy ad campaign to trumpet the new brand. Had Jones followed that route, it's unlikely it would be in existence today. The world has a Coca-Cola. The world has a Pepsi. It would take more marketing dollars than most companies can spare to convince anyone that there is a need for another brand of soda, let alone that your brand is the one that's needed.

Rather than fight Coke and Pepsi on their turf, Jones sought distribution venues that no one had ever considered. Jones approached tattoo parlours, collectible stores, sports stores, motorcycle shops. Any place that Coke and Pepsi had never in their wildest dreams considered approaching - Jones was there. Rather than play the rules set by the competition, Jones is busy writing their own rules and gaining a share of the market that would otherwise have been impossible to attain.

Who's rules are you playing by?

All Marketers are Liars

All marketers tell stories, and if they do it right, we believe them. But the interesting part is that by believing the story the story becomes true. That is the premise of Seth Godin's latest book All Marketers Are Liars.

Nike tells a story of athleticism, of competition and excelling - and with that story they are able to sell a $150 shoe that is not far different than the $20 no-name running shoe you can buy at Wal-Mart. Apple tells a story of being creative and edgey and hip and are able to dominate the digital music market, despite other companies offering players that are not only technically better but are cheaper to purchase.

Seth argues that it's not the Nike shoe or ipod that satisfies our desires - but rather it's the story. Tell a good enough story and you can claim a premium on what you offer. Tell a good enough story to the right people and you will see the sales come through. The story doesn't have to necessarily be true but it must be authentic and consistent. The emperor can very happily walk stark naked through the streets and the people will for years talk about how spectacularly he was garbed.

I would have prefered if Seth offered up a few hard numbers, perhaps a case study of a company that did well by telling their story well versus one that bombed due to a lack of a consistant or inauthentic story. But then, Seth isn't here to present cold hard facts, but rather to tell a story of his own. If you've been following the story about marketing that Seth began laying out in Permission Marketing and has continued to develop through The Ideavirus, Purple Cow and Free Prize Inside, then you will definitely want this latest chapter. Seth's story is one that all marketers should know.

A book's cover...

My copy of Seth Godin's latest book, All Marketers are Liars, arrived courtesy of BzzAgent.

Kudos to Seth on yet another great packaging of a book. Limited amounts of Seth's book Purple Cow were packaged in a milk carton, and the cereal box in the business books section contained his book Free Prize Inside. Now, with All Marketers are Liars, we have a stark red cover with solid white lettering. It's the type of cover that leaps out at you from a mile away and beckons for you to pick it up.

Those of you who do pick it up and flip to the back are then met with the caveat, Marketers Aren't Really Liars, and an explanation from Seth that he was lying when he named the book. At first it gives you a chuckle - then suddenly it hits you that the marketing guru just lied to you in order to get you to pick up the book.

I'll have more to say about the book after I've had a chance to read it cover to cover and digest what's inside, but that cover alone contains lessons that anyone in communications should pay attention to.

Business Lessons Gleaned from Lunch

Had lunch at a trendy new restaurant today – ten Restaurant and Wine Bar.

The restaurant is in a prime location, right at the heart of Port Credit’s thriving Harbour strip. The interior design and architecture are beautiful. When a script calls for the characters to be in a trendy restaurant populated by power-brokers, ten is what the set designers would likely try to approximate. The menu is a splash of interesting specialty dishes like Potato Skins stuffed with Lobster Thermadore, or onion stuffed with goat cheese and bacon.

The place looks like a million bucks and I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually cost two million. What a shame that the whole deal comes apart due to a waitress who’s likely making just a little over minimum wage.

After waiting several minutes at the entrance, the hostess - rather than asking the number in our party made the assumption that we weren’t all together. Arriving at our table, she was startled to see two more of us preparing to sit and so had to dash back for additional menus.

We had ordered our drinks already and were well set in our selections for lunch when our waitress suddenly ran back out with a sheet listing the specials. Shouldn’t that have come with our menus?

“Does the small serving of this combo platter come with four pieces of the flatbread pizza” one of the members at our table asked of the server. We were assured that it did, and so she ordered that.

The food was a good while in the arriving. So long that all of us had finished our drinks. We placed our order for a second round early. At the speed of things, it would be a while before the drinks came. The food finally did arrive. Too bad silverware didn’t arrive with it. We had to ask for that. The empty beer bottle and glasses sat on the table.

Oh – and it would seem that our server made a mistake. The small combo plate only came with two pieces of flat bread. One would think, upon recognizing the mistake, the server would ask the chef to throw in an extra two pieces, or unable to do that, would at least ask if we wanted to change the order. What’s more – the two pieces weren’t even what was originally ordered. Back to the kitchen for more. Maybe it’s time for a third round of drinks.

The beer bottle was finally cleared, yet strangely the empty glasses remained. By meal’s end, the only thing to arrive at the table in a timely fashion was the bill.

Maybe this isn’t typical of the service at ten – heck, maybe this isn’t even typical for the waitress. She was cheerful enough, but just didn’t seem to have her heart in the job she was doing. But that doesn’t change my first impression that ten has a great décor, pretty good food but less than stellar service. No amount of ads in the local paper or spots on the radio will change my view that ten has slow, indifferent service.

For every dollar of marketing it takes to get you in the door the first time around, it takes one hundred dollars of marketing to win me back after a bad experience. Marketing isn't just about advertising and promotions - it's how you communicate each and every day. How much attention are you putting on your front line staff? What impression do they give about you and your brand?

wiki

I've been using wikipedia as a resource for the better part of a year now, and have been keeping tabs on the 43folders wiki. But I have to say, my recent experience with the spreadcc wiki is starting to truly sell me on the wiki as a means for collaborative discussion.

A wiki is a piece of software that allows users to add content to a web page - such as on a forum or a blog - but also allows anyone to edit the content. This provides a great framework for collaboration.

One would think that if anyone could edit a document, that it would lead to pure chaos, but I've noticed the opposite appears to be true. In the past few days the spreadcc wiki has moved from a loose collection of brainstorming into the beginnings of a decent grassroots marketing plan.

Understandably - the wiki freaks some people out. The idea that 'anyone' can edit the document doesn't sit right with those who like being in control of the message. But I see it as an incredible tool for harnessing the distributed knowledge that lies across an organization. Imagine placing your operations plan onto a company intranet for all employees to review and contribute to. How much inefficiency could be done away with and logistical issues solved by tapping into the expertise and experience of your staff.

11 herbs and spices

Someone needs to have a long discussion with the public affairs and marketing departments at KFC.

Peter West, who has a great blog about Public Relations, was commenting on the way KFC responded to PETA's enlisting of Pamela Anderson to speak against their factory farming practices. Spurred by that discussion, I decided to do a quick look on Google and through the blogosphere to see what's what. Sadly, it seems KFCs problems are far greater than a CEO choosing to engage a celebraty in debate.

Take a look at the KFC website's section on the welfare of animals. Listed here are the bios of their advisory council and a few bullet points to highlight their progress and goals. Details are vague and the only links offered are to the front page of two of their suppliers. The press release section has not been updated in over a year. The

Now visit PETA's website for their campaign against KFC. Their objections are well outlined. Their alternatives are equally well presented. A timeline, complete with copies of emails, letters and press releases provides a well documented history of the organization's issues.

For someone, such as myself, who's just idley wandered across this issue, the PETA site comes across as if they're playing straight with me and laying all that they've got out for me to examine and decide for myself. KFC comes across as trying to hide something. That impression isn't helped by two of the more prominant experts on KFC's animal wlfare committee resigning after being asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement preventing them from discussing publicly about KFC's animal welfare policies.

KFC is dealing with this from a traditional media point of view. Don't acknowledge the problem, or if you do, minimize the significance. Try to deflect the issue or discredit your critics. Offer up a group of experts who are working on the problem and remark that "progress is being made" - but don't get into any specifics, timelines or anything else that will bollocks things up for you three months from now when you need to hold another press conference to announce that your experts are working on the problem and that 'progress is being made'.

This used to work. People's memories are short, and provided the company could lay low enough the story wouldn't be carried on to the next news cycle.

But the long memory of the internet is changing that. It's keeping this story alive beyond the traditional news cycles. Do a search for Kentucky Fried Chicken on Google and the PETA protest site will be the second to appear. Sift through blogs and discussion groups and you will find this issue arising again and again. I'm talking about it. Sooner or later you'll probably have a few words to say on the issue. And the story will just keep growing, and growing, despite the KFC's executive's pretending to the contrary.

Someone needs to have a long discussion with the public affairs and marketing departments at KFC.

Baker, Underhill, Tilly and Taylor

Given my previous post on the truth being the best long term communications strategy, you can probably guess that I'm not a fan of stealth marketing. Whenever a marketer uses less than honest means of delivering a message, it makes it just a little more difficult for the rest of us who are trying to hold a straight forward discourse. However, every now and then, there is one that's creative and unique enough that an exception can be made. Case in point, the following press release regarding a corporate appointment was carried by today's Globe & Mail.

Baker, Underhill, Tilly and Taylor Chartered Accountants

William Shatner
Photo - CNW Group

TORONTO, May 3 /CNW/ - Bob Baker, President and Chief Bean Counter, of Baker, Underhill, Tilly and Taylor Chartered Accountants is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. William Shatner as Receptionist and Managing Director of Making Fibre your Friend. Mr. Shatner will lead a team of chartered accountants through the Kellogg's All-Bran Two Week Challenge, answer phones and take messages. In this position, Mr. Shatner will increase awareness among the firm's employees about the benefits of fibre and encourage them to improve their overall health by increasing their daily fibre intake with just a 1/2 cup of Kellogg's All-Bran Original cereal a day. Mr. Shatner also aims to offer simple and tasty solutions for the diversification of fibre consumption with the rollout of two new fibre delivery systems: Kellogg's All-Bran Bars and Kellogg's All-Bran Strawberry Bites cereal.

Mr. Shatner has extensive experience in escalating fibre consumption. In his previous positions, Mr. Shatner served as a Firehall consultant where he increased both response times and fibre intake. Before that, Mr. Shatner worked as a Personal Trainer and Motivator, helping clients set-up training and fibre consumption programs. While he held both positions for only two weeks, outcomes were successful, with all involved reporting they "felt better" after having taken the All-Bran Two Week Challenge led by Mr. Shatner. Mr. Shatner has no experience as a receptionist, but is well groomed and has a pleasing manner.

Baker, Underhill, Tilly and Taylor Chartered Accountants is an international accounting and consulting firm. With over 45 years of consecutive growth, the managing partners attribute the firm's solid track record and high client satisfaction rate to its extensive employee health and well-being programs.

Now that was some damn fine marketing. I don't know about you, but I ignore almost all the ads in a newspaper. They don't even catch my notice. This sneaks past such filters by posing as a corporate appointment. Mind you, they make it obvious enough in the first couple of lines that it's an ad. Smart thing. If you tip that hand at the beginning, people can appreciate the joke for what it is. As a result, I'm willing to bet this ad got passed around a few watercoolers today. Tip your hand too late into the game and people will feel that the joke was on them. Woe unto you as an advertiser if the public feels the joke is on them. Now - odds are, if you're perusing the Corporate appointments, you're a good candidate for their All-Bran cereal, so not only does it slip past people's selective blindness towards traditional advertising, but it hits exactly the target market. Kudos to ApexPR and Kelloggs Canada for a job well done.

The Two Rules to Any Long-Term Communications Strategy

1) Always tell the truth.
2) It's not enough to tell the truth - you must be percieved to be telling the truth.

Countless articles, blog entries, seminars and discussions on communications and marketing and the long-range strategy always turns towards the truth.