| We have all learned about the 4P's of marketing in | | | | transform boring reminders into interesting, entertaining |
| undergrad: Product, Place, Price and Promotion. If not, | | | | marketing communications. Nike is proof. Several |
| you can open up one of your old marketing text | | | | commercials in a Nike campaign never mention the |
| books, blow off the dust and read about it there. The 6 | | | | company name or even spelled it out on the screen. |
| C's, however, is a not a concept that replaces the | | | | Each communication told a story. And, the only |
| 4'Ps; rather, it just expands on the promotion element | | | | on-screen cue identifying the sponsor was a single |
| and provides a more granular look at consumer | | | | "swoosh" logo inscribed on the final scene. |
| marketing. | | | | CULTURE |
| CUSTOMER | | | | All marketing communications needs cross-cultural |
| In this day and age, a company's marketing strategy | | | | research to be able to succeed. It's simple to see |
| needs to be customer focused. It's about | | | | things from your own perspective, assuming that |
| understanding the target consumer; their wants, needs | | | | everyone else in the world thinks exactly like you and |
| and motivations. Not as demographics, psychographics | | | | should understand what's so great about your product |
| or any other graphics, but as real people. Its | | | | or service. Just reading about all the mistakes made |
| understanding why customers do what they do (or | | | | by large corporations proves that even the most |
| don't do),when they do it and why they do it. Such | | | | sizable and experienced marketers have made errors |
| knowledge is critical in marketing since having a strong | | | | time and again. |
| understanding of buyer behavior will help shed light on | | | | One of the most famous examples is Coca Cola |
| what is important to the customer. It's about focusing | | | | translating the name into Chinese without |
| on the target customer first and then working back to | | | | back-translating it ("bite the wax tadpole"), ultimately |
| the brand. It's imperative that companies have | | | | resulting in a horrible response from an insulted society. |
| mindshare before focusing on market share. | | | | Marketing books are full of examples like these. As |
| CONSISTENCY | | | | David Ogilvy, known as the Father of Advertising, |
| Companies need to maintain consistency in their | | | | states, "If you are trying to persuade people to do |
| message; a practice called integrated marketing | | | | something, or buy something, it seems to me you |
| communications, from packaging and advertising to | | | | should use their language, the language in which they |
| sales promotion and publicity. This will maintain and | | | | think". |
| reinforce a brand's personality and image in a real life | | | | COMMUNICATION |
| context and avoid doing something brainless like | | | | This one is basic. Consumers don't want to be |
| changing the distinctive color of the UPS truck to | | | | "marketed to". Rather, they want to be "communicated |
| orange. I am sure it's been talked about. | | | | with". Good marketing communication creates value |
| CREATIVITY | | | | with target customers, speaks in their language and |
| Creativity is imperative to attract attention in a world | | | | tells your story. It's about building long term, trustworthy, |
| cluttered with thousands of messages. Creativity | | | | and profitable relationships with your customers. As |
| means laying aside the rules, and engages in | | | | Seth Godin states, it's about reinforcing the lies that |
| out-of-box thinking so that marketers can reach | | | | consumers tell themselves everyday (i.e. I look much |
| beyond logic and structure and tap into their | | | | better in these jeans from Abercrombie; they make |
| imaginations. | | | | me look sexy). |
| Creativity Informs - Marketing's responsibility to inform | | | | CHANGE |
| is greatly enhanced by creativity. Creativity makes | | | | Marketing is not just a business function, but a process. |
| marketing more vivid, and many researchers believe | | | | There is a beginning, middle, but there is never an end. |
| vividness attracts attention, maintains interest, and | | | | Marketers must constantly CHANGE as society |
| stimulates consumers' thinking. | | | | changes. They should never be afraid to try something |
| Creativity Persuades - The ancients Greeks created | | | | new. Marketing today is not what it was 2 - 5 - or |
| legends and myths about gods and heroes, symbols | | | | even 20 years ago. Marketing needs to be an evolving |
| for humankind's instinctive longings and fears, to | | | | process that considers change in the world, economy, |
| influence human behavior and thought. Today's | | | | market, consumers; as well as internal change within |
| marketers are doing the same thing; they are creating | | | | the organization. |
| new myths, heroes and symbols like Ronald McDonald, | | | | Conclusion (not the 7th C) |
| the "Can You Hear Me Now" guy from Verizon, and | | | | So there it is; the 6 C's of marketing: Customer, |
| more recently the Gecko from Geico Insurance. | | | | Consistency, Creativity, Culture, Communication and |
| Creativity Reminds - Imagine using the same invitation, | | | | Change. I am sure that these will be published in every |
| without any creativity, to remind people to try a | | | | text book in the country within the next ten years and I |
| particular product everyday for a month. The invitation | | | | will be a rich, well known author. Yeah right! |
| would become stale very quickly. Only creativity can | | | | |