November 5, 2004
Chen’s Chatter: Musical Eye Candy
Greetings!
“You do not want everyone to like what you do. You want 10% to love what you do.”
There are only a few times when someone says something so profound that it changes your perspective. I hope that what Harry Beckwith wrote in his book What Clients Love will change your perspective.
So many times we are faced with clients who want to make everyone happy. That’s really not necessary. Most businesses would be ecstatic to command a 10% market share! All you have to do is make 10% love you, and you will be very successful.
What will make them love you? That extra mile–make that a couple of miles. Oftentimes we are working harder to keep 80% of our clients happy, while the 20% which are giving us 80% of our revenue suffer. And we only need half of those 20% to love us!
Let’s look at it from a perspective close to The Pepper Group’s heart–marketing strategies and tactics. After all, it’s our newsletter!
You have to differentiate your product or service. No one will dispute this. Can you do that by appealing to everyone? If you do, it’s going to be soft, boring, mainstream–hardly gaining the attention of anyone. Do something bold and spicy and you’ll get attention.
Also, say little, but make each word count. Save the volume for the white papers and the mounds of statistical data. Speak visually (what “is worth a thousand words”?). Use photos, illustrations or supporting graphics to achieve impact.
It’s rare that my column is so short, but today I just wanted to say a little so that there is no confusion. Get out there and ruffle some feathers. It may mean that you exclude some, maybe even confuse a small percentage, but the rest will say, “Yowsa!” And “Yowsa” usually turns into “ka-ching!”
Tim Padgett
tim@peppergroup.com
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| “Advertising may be described as the science of arresting the human intelligence long enough to get money from it.” | |
| —Stephen Butler Leacock | |
| “To advertisers: ‘Do not compete with your agency in the creative area. Why keep a dog and bark yourself?’” | |
| —David Ogilvy, Confessions of an Advertising Man, 1971 | |
The close working relationship we’ve had this year with Downers Grove-based PAMCANI (the Plumbing and Mechanical Contractors Association of Northern Illinois) has been a real pleasure. As their name implies, this busy group represents union plumbing and mechanical contractors in the collar counties of Chicago. They’re tapping our expertise in marketing and design to help with everything from developing a consumer-friendly name and identity (Association for Plumbing and Mechanical Excellence) to designing a new website, trade show booth, promotional materials, a customer service training program, and a soon-to-air cable television commercial.
This 30-second spot stars Chicago-based comic/narrator/actor, Greg Whalen and was filmed in three Palatine locations on a sunny October day. The commercial takes a comedic look at the hard way to find a reputable plumber/mechanical contractor in your area. Supporting characters were all in the Pepper family, including Tim’s delightful Aunt Peg, Sarah, George and George’s cat: Theodore. You’ll start seeing it aired on Comcast begining the week of November 8, or you can view it now on their new Pepper-designed website: www.plumbingexcellence.org. While you’re there, use this valuable resource to locate a reputable contractor near you!
Todd’s Tidbits: Three-Peat!!!
In case you didn’t catch it in the local papers, we at the Pepper Group are quite proud of our third consecutive win in the Chicagoland Bicycle Commuter Challenge. Sponsored by the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation, the 2004 contest took place June 12-18 and our challenge was to once again get as many employees as possible to ride their bike at least a portion of their daily commute, at least once during that week.
Sarah and Chris had joined us right before this year’s Challenge and I’m really proud of them jumping in and bringing our participation up to an unprecedented 100% of the full-time staff we had at the time (Don and Rob have joined us since then). Sarah and I proudly accepted our award for winning the Business/Non-profit, 5-24 employee category at a downtown ceremony a few weeks ago.
As you may know, bicycle commuting has been a personal passion of mine for quite a while. I became hooked in 1992 after my wife and I bought a home and my commute went from four blocks to ten miles each way. I grew impatient with sitting in my car at stoplights and found that it only took me ten minutes longer to ride my bike. A huge factor for me was that the Fox River Trail went practically door-to-door. In 1998, I joined the Pepper Group and my commute became a more challenging 45-mile round trip.
I’ve stopped for the winter (because of three busy, shoulderless roads that are unsafe in the dark), but from April through October, I usually ride to work one or two days a week. In these days of skyrocketing oil prices, the combination of fossil-fuel-free transportation and exercise makes bike commuting pretty attractive. Let me know if you’d like any advice on getting started.
Todd Underwood
todd@peppergroup.com
Chen's Chatter
Bring It On!
At the Pepper Group, we’re always keeping our eyes on different visual media to stay connected with the latest innovative techniques and creative inspirations. For me, those “Wow! Is that cool/funny/clever/mind-blowing!” moments often come as I kick back on my couch and watch MTV—on those rare occasions it’s actually playing music videos and not some overhyped, hormone-driven debauchery mistakenly called The Real World.
When you think about it, music videos are one of the most covert types of advertising today. Behind the masquerade of film editing tricks and shapely, cavorting bodies, beneath the soft coo of (usually) literarily-challenged lyrics lies the call of a single, driving message: Buy my CD!!!
Thus, I feel no guilt over having spent the past hour and a half looking all across the web for some of the more noteworthy music videos I’ve seen in recent months. Some may call it “slacking off”; I term it “competitive analysis.”
One of the most talked about music videos lately is Eminem’s Mosh, an anti-war, anti-Bush statement that features some really cool animation if you can get past the doof’s typically controversial message. If you’ve been hearing about the video over the last few days and are itching to take a look, head this way: http://boss.streamos.com/qtime/interscope/eminem/encore/video/mosh-rev/300_mosh-rev.mov
Another political—but not nearly as abrasive—music video to watch out for is Sarah McLachlan’s World on Fire. Rather than dropping a huge chunk of change on a slickly produced video, McLachlan uses a home camera, stock photography, gritty illustration and some sobering statistics to create a powerful message. Take a look here: http://worldonfire.ca
For a fun video that is decidedly unpolitical take a look at Bowling for Soup’s 1985. A spoof of some classic 80s videos, Bowling for Soup performs a playful, irreverent anthem for all those whose dreams of fame and glory fell before the reality of job security. This music video combines a clever song with a fun, nostalgic trip back to the 80s. Although, considering I was only 3 in 1985, the video is more a collection of fuzzy, early pop-culture references than a trip down memory lane for me. View the video on Bowling for Soup’s website at http://www.bowlingforsoup.com/1985qt.html
Still, my favorite music video at the moment really has nothing more to offer than sweaty bodies in skin-tight workout clothes gyrating to a relentless beat. To view Eric Prydz Call on Me—and to make your own judgments on the validity of my musical standards—go to http://www.internetdj.com/media/ericprydz/EricPrydz_CallonMe_300k.wmv
Chris Chen
chris@peppergroup.com
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(c) 2004 Pepper Group
http://www.peppergroup.com
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