DR4WARD

WELCOME TO THE DR4WARD BLOG

My name is Dr. William J. Ward but you can call me Bill, a.k.a DR4WARD.

I have been "Digging For Worms" and applying my "4Ward philosophy" since I was nine when I started my first business selling night crawlers on Cowan Lake in Rockford, Michigan where I grew up.   My business grew by providing my customers with the best, freshest worms and fishing tips around.

The purpose of this blog is to provide diagnosis and prognosis of concepts such as integrated marketing communications / 360 degree branding and to engage readers in a discussion of their impact on society.  I hope we can help each other understand what these terms really mean. Do these concepts have any impact on your life?

MARVEL IRON MAN BOX OFFICE BLAST OFF

My wife and I had a blast at the Friday, May 2nd opening of Iron Man (starring Academy-Award nominated Robert Downey Jr. and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow.) My wife, who is not a Super Hero Fan like me like me, loved the movie. I also heard from another female professional who is not a Super Hero movie fan who thought the movie was great. Although not a scientific study both of these responses point to the potential of Iron Man to attract a much broader audience beyond the comic book crowd and appeal to a larger female and older audience thanks to a tremendous performance by Robert Downey Jr. Jeff Bridges makes a great villain too and the whole supporting cast comes through with flying colors. Iron Man offers plenty of fun and exciting action for all and the sound track rocks too.

The Iron Man opening weekend box office blasted past $100 million exceeding expectations. However, the broader potential appeal with women and the non-Super Hero crowd may give Iron Man surprising staying power at the box office.

I only have one concern with Marvel after watching the film. I wanted to buy an Iron Man comic book, video, t-shirt or some other paraphernalia after the film and could not find anything. I went to every store in the mall after seeing the film and I even stopped at Target and could not find any Marvel related signagage, promotion or products. Seems like a missed opportunity for fans and Marvel.

Did you have any trouble finding Iron Man products at retail? If you found them, where were they?

I look 4Ward to your feedback.

Keep Digging For Worms!

TURNAROUND MAN TO SPEAK AT RAMA MARKETER OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2008

I am looking forward to the Rochester Business Journal and Rochester American Marketing Association (RAMA) Marketer of the Year Awards 2008 luncheon on Wednesday, May 7 from Noon - 1 PM at the Rochester Riverside Convention Center for three (3) reasons:

1. Turnaround Man a.k.a. Peter Cuneo, former CEO and current Vice Chairman of Marvel Entertainment Inc. will be giving the keynote address on “Marvel – Evolution of a Super Brand.”

I am a lifelong fan of the Marvel Universe of Super Hero characters and a marketing professor who admires how Marvel strategically uses Branded Entertainment to market their characters as celebrity brands. I look forward to hearing from Cuneo about the challenges and successes with the Marvel brand over the years.

Also, Iron Man is opening on May 2nd and The Incredible Hulk on June 13. These films are the first produced by Marvel Studios so there is a lot of upcoming news and excitement surrounding the brand.   

2. As a Board Member of RAMA I am honored to be part of a professional organization that recognizes and supports excellence in marketing and salutes Rochester area marketing heroes. I am looking forward to networking with the areas best and brightest marketers at the event.

3. As a Marketing teacher, professional, and researcher I had the privilege to be a judge and review the excellent marketing from the Marketer of the Year Finalists and look forward to seeing which of the finalists will be  the winner in the following categories:

• Turnaround/Start-up Marketer of the Year
• Non-profit Marketer of the Year
• Marketer of the Year
• Online Marketer of the Year

You can register for the Marketer of the Year event online. I look 4Ward to seeing you there!

Keep Digging For Worms!

 

 

MARVEL CHARACTERS IRON MAN / HULK = BRAND ENTERTAINMENT

Like many of you I grew up reading Marvel comics featuring the Marvel Universe of Super Hero characters.  I spent many hours imagining what it would be like to be Spider-Man,The Incredible Hulk,  The Silver Surfer, Captain America, and Iron Man or to be part of a team like the X-Men or the Fantastic Four. I am a Marvel fan and have also seen all of the television shows and movie adaptations over the years and I am happy to see the blockbuster box office success of the Marvel Comics Film Franchise. Who is your favorite Marvel Character?
 

I realize that some of the films based on Marvel characters have not been as well received as others. However, I am pleasantly reminded of the movies of one of my other favorite film franchises, James Bond 007, based on Ian Fleming's fictional spy character from his novels. James Bond films have also had varied levels of success and have survived and thrived over 40 plus years, 22 films and six lead actor changes. (The Sean Connery James Bond films from the 1960's are my favorite in the series but I  enjoy the new films with actor Daniel Craig too.) Which actor is your favorite Bond?
 

I am eagerly awaiting the release of Iron Man on May 2nd and The Incredible Hulk on June 13. Iron Man (starring Academy-Award nominated Robert Downey Jr. and Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow ) and “The Incredible Hulk”(starring Academy-Award nominated Edward Norton) are the first films produced by Marvel Studios. Which Marvel film are you most looking forward to?
 

How is Marvel Brand Entertainment?
As a marketer I am impressed with how Marvel has strategically marketed the characters as celebrity brands paving the way for Marvel's success. Brands want their products integrated with the characters and story in Marvel films through product placement and marketing tie-ins. The Audi R8 , part of the Iron Man product tie-ins, is driven by the Iron Man / Tony Stark character in the film and is also featured in Audi sponsored advertising referencing the film. (James Bond drove Aston Martin and BMW autos in his films.) Burger King and 7-Eleven also have product tie-ins in Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk. Why are product placement and marketing tie-ins important? 

ALFRED UNIVERSITY WINS AWARDS AT AMA COLLEGIATE CONFERENCE IN NEW ORLEANS

I am catching up after an exciting weekend at the 2008 American Marketing Association Collegiate Conference in New Orleans and wanted to share the experience with you. I attended the 30th Annual AMA Collegiate Conference with ten students from the Alfred University Collegiate Chapter of the AMA. I have had the privilege to be the Marketing Faculty Advisor for the past two years and have watched the students and the AU AMA chapter grow. The opportunity to be a mentor and help students gain real-world marketing experience and leadership has been a wonderful experience.

The AMA Collegiate Conference in New Orleans had record attendance with over 1,300 students and over 120 of the leading collegiate chapters from around the country competing, networking and gaining professional experience. The conference was particularly rewarding as the AU AMA chapter was recognized as a "Revitalized Chapter of the Year - 2007/2008" and I received the "Hugh G. Wales Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award - 2007/2008." 

Why is the AMA important to students?

TOPLESS MEETINGS / CLASSROOMS ENGAGING CONTROVERSY

As a teacher, researcher and marketing professional I have been watching the coverage of Silicon Valley meetings going 'topless' with great interest. No laptops, cellphones or email/internet hand held devices allowed in company meetings and in classrooms is a growing trend. Here is the link to an ABC News story on Ditching the Devices. (Warning - ABC forces you to watch a brief pre-roll ad before the story).

In my post on Multitasking Addiction A Turnoff I explain how cognitive research supports that the devices are a distraction and multitasking is a myth. Dan Saffer at Adaptive Path coined the topless term (as in laptopless) and even posted the Rules for "Topless Meetings." I can tell you from first hand experience that enforcing topless meetings and classrooms can be a challenging task.

It is very telling that the Social Media and Marketing experts who rely on this technology are recognizing that these devices can also be a distraction. At the same time that corporate America is going topless there is also a competing trend in the classroom that technology is the answer to learning. You can also see the challenges and opportunities in the classroom in the video below, "A Vision of Students Today" and then compare and contrast this with the trend in "Topless Meetings."

I have "Topless Classes" but I also try to address the multitasking addiction and create an interactive learning environment by using eInstruction Interactive Wirless Remote Clickers. The clickers allow students to interact and respond to the PowerPoint slide presentations. No cellphones or laptops are allowed because I find that most students who bring these devices are not working on class stuff. They  are too tempted to feed the multitasking addiction and give only partial attention to the discussion at hand. An article in Wired titled  Classroom clickers make the grade explains why these devices can help to stimulate discussion, participation and learning.

To encourage learning and engagement I also try to use a lot of interactive technology including Audio / Video Podcast downloads of the PowerPoint slides, Internet Activities and online Toolkit Exercises, Digitally Submitted Assignments, Electronic Feedback of all assignments within a few days of submission, and online quizzes and exams.

New technologies can be used to create collaboration and engagement and increase learning opportunities. However, if technology is used without structure, discipline and monitoring the multitasking addiction will continue to creep into the classroom and in meetings. The multitasking addiction will continue to distract us from human interaction and focusing on the task at hand until we learn how to turnoff at the appropriate times.

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep Digging For Worms!

MARKETING SKEPTICS RESISTANT TO BRAND MESSAGES

The degree of marketing skepticism and resistance to brand messages was highlighted this week when a student asked me in class if the brand examples used in the text book and discussed in class were paid product placements. I think this student has a future in marketing because the thought never occurred to me to sell my lectures in class to a captive student audience. Instead, the brand examples and case studies that I use are to demonstrate a concept or make a point about a company that does a particularly good or bad job at marketing. Where does this level of skepticism and resistance to brand messages come from?

Millennials is the label given to those born between 1982 and 2000.  They have grown up with instant and continuous multi-media communications, entertainment and social networks and are more dependent on technology, their peers and parents than previous generations. Millennials are continuously plugged into their iPods, mobile phones, video games, PC's, televisions, and social networks and multitasking. They consume so much media and entertainment through so many different channels that they receive over 3,000 distinct advertising messages daily.  This bombardment of sales messages and fragmentation of media use make Millennials difficult to reach and highly skeptical of marketers messages.
Image from www.matrixbusinesscoaching.com

This level of skepticism about information and communication is not unique to Millennials as consumers in general have become more suspicious and resistant to marketers messages.  This is a challenge and opportunity to marketers as the traditional brand marketing approach is no longer working.  Instead marketers are turning to new interactive models that give the control to consumers to create and share the marketing message with their peers through word-of-mouth. Brands are using consumer-created content and social networks to create and transmit something that is entertaining or helps to facilitate communication with others and make their lives better or easier. The best marketers understand that consumers do not need brands interrupting their lives and instead must be invited in.  Do you have examples of brands that you have invited in to your lives and shared with others?

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep Digging For Worms!

MARKETERS REACH EXCEEDING SCIENCE FICTION

As I was reading the April issue of WIRED I was reminded again that marketers reach is exceeding science fiction and that marketing ethics will become even more important in the future.  In the Steven Speilberg sci-fi film Minority Report starring Tom Cruise, criminals in 2054 are caught before the crimes they commit courtesy of some future viewing technology.  The question the film asks is : can someone be arrested for a crime they have not yet committed?  In George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four the threat in the future is that you are being watched and listened to at all times thus controlling your thoughts and actions through fear.  In sci-fi the escape from marketing and the government is impossible as video cameras, brain scans and eye-scanning technology allow an individual's every move to be tracked. 

Clive Thompson's article in Wired titled "It's All in Your Head - Why the next civil rights battle will be over the mind" discusses a new advertising medium called hypersonic sound.  This technology allows a focused beam of audio sound to be projected so that only a person standing directly in it's path hears the message, giving the effect of a speaker coming from inside your head. A&E has a creepy billboard for their new show "Paranormal State" that uses this "audio spotlight" technology to get inside the heads of people that pass by the ad with a message promoting the show.  What other ways are marketers getting inside our heads?

NIKE PLUS DIGITAL SUCCESS CHANGES RUNNING FOREVER

I often point out marketers who do not get it.  However, I have to admit that I would much rather point out innovators and brands that I admire and think we can all learn from. Nike is one of them and it starts with their mission statement. The Nike mission statement is to bring inspiration and innovation to every athlete (anyone who has a body) and help improve their lives and reach their potential.  Nike has created innovations with their physical products since the beginning but  now they are creating digital success through the Nike Plus Apple iPod and Nike iD.  The merging of the digital and physical world for Nike and the 360 Degree Brand Marketing focus on improving the lives of the consumer has changed running forever.
 

A sensor in your Nike shoe wirelessly talks to your iPod as you run and you can hear your pace, time, distance and calories burned while you run through your headphones.  You can download your runs on NikePlus.com, set your goals, check progress, challenge friends and interact with runners from all over the world.  You can even share your music and running routes.  The physical world of running and Nike products is now enhanced with the digital social network experience.  In 2007 I attended the Cannes Lions Interational Advertising Festival where Nike was awarded a Gold Cyber Lions and a Titanium Lions recognizing Nike Plus as one of the world's top interactive marketing and integrated advertising campaigns.

Nike iD also improves the physical experience with the digital ability to custom design your shoes, clothing, and equipment by selecting the materials, colors, and features.  You can visit the NikeTown store or go online to customize through Nike iD and have your order shipped directly to your home.  The success of Nike digital and innovation points the way towards success for other companies.  Do you have examples of other companies that have supported their mission and enhanced the physical experience through digital?  Are  there  digital ideas that you would like to see enhance the physical experience of your favorite brands?

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep Digging For Worms!

MULTITASKING ADDICTION A TURNOFF

In the interest of full disclosure I must confess that I am watching TV as I write this blog...or to be more specific the television is on and distracting me from my writing.  My wife is surfing the internet and sharing conversation with me which is also distracting me from my writing.  What should take me 10-15 minutes is now taking over an hour.  Multitasking allows me to do several things at once but ultimately none of them very well.  I am not giving my wife, the television show, or my writing my complete focus.  Instead of increasing my efficiency and productivity my multitasking is actually decreasing the quality of all my activities.

Cognitive research supports that Multitasking hurts learning and affects memory.  Multitasking while driving can even be deadly.  Brains aren't built to multitask and the myth that students who simultaneously text message, talk on the phone, listen to music, watch TV, surf the internet, all while working on their homework somehow have their brains wired differently is false.  The youth may have more practice using their thumbs but their brains are not any better equipped than those of their elders to handle multitasking.   

Image from appraisalnewsonline.typepad.com/appraisal_news_for_real_e/2006/11/ninetyfive_perc.html

I teach college students and work with professional marketers.  Text messaging on cell phones, emailing on PDA's and iPhones, surfing the internet, while simultaneously attending meetings are common with this crowd. In fact, students are so addicted to text messaging that they cannot put their phones down and stop texting even when asked or while spending time with their friends.  In case you think this is unique to students or marketers, sit at a table at any professional conference or corporate meeting and see how many people turn their PC's, PDA's and Cells off and give 100% attention to the speaker or topic at hand. 

Marketers and educators are continuing to address these multitasking media use trends by creating more multitasking solutions and communications. The need for instant and constant communication is an addiction and the excuse that multitasking somehow makes us more efficient or productive is false.  In the end, giving 100% focus to our friends, family, employers or task at hand is the only solution.  I had to pause the television just now to proofread this but if there are too many errors I will blame it on multitasking since my wife is still making conversation.  I will sign-off now so I can focus on our conversation. 

Are we willing to settle for less by not giving our full attention to others and not expecting their full attention in return?  Will there be some backlash when the quality of our learning, work, conversations, and relationship continues to decline? 

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep Digging For Worms!

MARKET RESEARCH FAILS TO PREDICT POLITICAL FUTURE

I have been watching the recent and frequent failures of pollsters to predict presidential primary results and the media and public frustration with these inaccuracies. As a researcher, scholar and marketer I am reminded that data is only a guide and statistics alone cannot accurately predict the future.

Depending on the source, 80-90% of all new products fail despite huge investments in research to understand the consumer.  Why would we expect our political research and predictions to be any more accurate?   

Research is only a snapshot at a given point in time and there are too many changing variables to isolate for all of the possible outcomes. Tom Peters compared research to driving while looking in the rearview mirror. That is not to say that research is not a valuable tool but a friendly remember that marketing is still the intersection of art and science.  Research is often used to support preconceptions rather than to gain new insights.  Do politicians look ahead or focus on the rearview mirror?  Do the polls support your personal view or reflect something completely foreign to your opinions?

Research must be interpreted and creatively applied in an ever changing and highly competitive arena. Often the wrong questions are asked.  A question asked incorrectly or formulated with bias will net inaccurate results. Creativity, luck, and timing combine with skill and the whims of nature, economics, politics, popular culture and global competition to create marketing successes (and failures). With the ever increasing pace of change and ever moving targets, marketing and politics will only become more challenging and more valuable to society. Marketing and political success will become more rare, more fleeting and more difficult to predict than ever.

I look 4WARD to your feedback.

Keep Digging for Worms!