Tactics, Vol. 5, Issue 3

Marketing 2020

Nancy Shenker on the secrets of branding

5 inbound marketing tactics that work

INSIDE

How our weaknesses can become our strengths

UNDERDOGSEngaging Marketing Minds Vol. 5, Issue 3, May/June 2015

AT SHAWMUTPRINT IS ALIVE

As a full-service, cross-media

company we combine beautiful print

work with unique digital solutions

to create integrated marketing

campaigns. Our state-of-the-art

offset and digital printing equipment

is second to none, guaranteeing we

meet and exceed your expectations.

We support hundreds of clients

every year and produce top-notch

direct mailers, marketing collateral,

signage, tradeshow displays,

and much more.

Winners will be announced in June 2015. Prizes will not exceed $500. Reservations and service arrangements must be made through Shawmut. Shawmut has the authority to make changes to the prizes and certain restrictions may apply.

See the Big Picture of Shawmut

and Enter to Win!At Shawmut Communications Group we are more than a

printer. We offer an array of marketing services and creative

solutions to help you market with relevance so you can

communicate with excellence.

Join us throughout the year as we highlight some of New

England’s must-see destinations. Each quarter you’ll have a

chance to win a trip to one of these beautiful destinations and

learn more about Shawmut!

33 Cherry Hill Drive, Danvers MA 01923www.shawmutdelivers.com • 978.762.7500

Visit the-big-picture.us to learn more and enter for your chance to win!

publisher ’s letter

Everyone wants a quick fix in business these days. We need leads right away. We want sales results now. We need to have positive ROI on specific marketing activities. If the quick fix doesn’t happen, heads will roll. Bud-get will be cut. In general, it seems like we can tolerate a little pain, but not for very long.There really is no standard recipe for how companies can win now. If we had the answer or the proverbial

“quick fix,” it wouldn’t be a secret for very long. The facts are that iconic brands stand the test of time. They endure because they’re willing to put forth the effort to build a relationship with their community, even if it doesn’t pay off in the short term.

Great relationships are born out of trust. They are built to endure the toughest challenges. They can take the pain in the short term in order to realize long-term prosperity.

The most compelling marketers today are not looking for quick fixes. They are working feverishly to be a part of people’s lives. They realize that we have an irreducible need to belong. In turn, being present within their target community increases the chance their brand will be loved.

So, with a nod to the quick fix gurus out there, we suggest the “slow fix.” This is the kind of fix where collecting and acting on client feedback is sincere. The kind of fix where we cultivate flexibility and adaptability. The fix where we create a culture of innovation. The fix where we identify and correct internal barriers to our profitable growth.

Another great fix is reading our wonderful publication. We hope it continues to inspire you. This issue’s cover story, “Underdogs,” tackles how our weaknesses actually can become our strengths in business. And our second feature, “Marketing 2020,” takes a look at what jobs will exist in our marketing departments in the collective future.

We hope you enjoy.

Warmest wishes,

Michael PelusoPresident, Shawmut Communications Group

The ‘slow fix’

CONTENTSBrought to you by: Shawmut Communications Group

Shawmut Communications Group is proud to bring you Tactics, a bi-monthly industry publication created by and for marketing minds.

Founded in 1951—and now in its third generation of family ownership—Shawmut Communications Group provides an array of marketing, print, mail and fulfillment services to meet the needs of clients across all industries. With decades of experience, the Shawmut team is committed to helping clients market with relevance and communicate with excellence. Visit www.shawmutdelivers.com or call 978-762-7500 to learn more.

The most compelling marketers today are not looking for quick fixes. They are working feverishly to be a part of people’s lives.

03 04 06Publisher’s Letter

The ‘slow fix’The Inbox Underdogs


10 14 15Marketing

Department 2020See what the future of branding may look like

Trending with...Nancy Shenker,

theOnswitch

That’ll work Survey highlights most effective

inbound marketing tactics

3Shawmut – tactics • May/June 2015

TheInbox

66The number of marketers who plan to increase their

spending on content marketing in 2015, according to a poll

by Salesforce Marketing Cloud. The other category due for

an increase is mobile apps, with 65 percent of marketers preparing for an increase this

year, the polling found.

Consistent and continuous

experiences only happen when

marketing goes beyond marketing,

and the reality is that brands have

to earn it every day, with each

experience. With each touch point,

we either win or we lose.”

– Brad Rencher, senior VP and GM at Adobe, on why marketers must strive every day to be personal with today’s consumers

There’s nothing better than gut instinct. Or is there? According to Webmarketing123’s “2015 State of Digital Marketing” report, many marketers still are relying on “gut instinct” when determining which channels to use for marketing campaigns. Research shows that 33 percent of B2B and B2C marketers still don’t know which channel made the biggest impact on revenues. For example, while 87 percent of B2B marketers used social media, just 17 percent could prove its ROI – the lowest percentage among the channels used. The good news is that 9 percent are investing in ROI improvement measurements this year, the study found.

Study shows few marketers know which channel has best return

Gutinstinct

May/June 2015 • tactics – Shawmut4

The Power of Why: Breaking Out in a Competitive Marketplace By C. Richard Weylman

“Voted No. 1 two years running.” “Rated best customer service.” Who doesn’t love accolades? But do these kudos engage your customers emotionally? Marketing innovator and bestselling author C. Richard Weylman

says the strategy is simple: You win cus-tomers by speaking to what they want to buy instead of what you want to sell.

In The Power of Why, Weylman shows how to elevate your business per-formance in today’s

marketplace. When customers decide where to buy, they have two things in mind: Why should I do business with you? Will you solve my problem, today?

Weylman details why today’s buyers want to do business with companies willing to make a customer-centric promise of expected outcome: up-front, unconditional and unquali-fied. This is not just a slogan, he writes, it’s the company’s DNA, consistently delivered through all parts of the organization.

By emphasizing Weylman’s actionable, hands-on strategies, The Power of Why may become the new manual for business survival and growth.

Crunching numbers

Why data-driven marketing practices are working

More marketers than ever are embracing data-driven marketing practices. According to Bizo's “Data-Driven Marketer” survey, 68.2 percent are analyzing customers through data, while 54.8 percent say they're leveraging data to measure marketing performance. The goal: find the right technology solutions and train staffers to get the most out of big data. Here's a look at the software platforms that are working:

61%Analytics tools

39.8%Email software

37.5%Social media

management tools

36.3%Blogging platforms




DOGSUNDER

“ We have a chip on our shoulder, and that chip doesn’t go away, because there’s not a finish line. It’s not about hitting some number. It’s much greater than that, and frankly, it’s much more purposeful than that.”

– Kevin Plank, Founder & CEO, Under Armour

It’s fair to say that Nike never saw it coming. In 1996, the all-everything brand was comfortably positioned as the sporting goods leader in

footwear and apparel, not to mention a marketing trendsetter whose print and TV campaigns still stand as teaching tools today (“I Want to be Like Mike” and “Just Do It,” to name two). With the Olympics back on American soil in Atlanta, the brand was preparing to introduce a slew of cutting-edge designs and marketing campaigns to further cement its growing legacy.

By Michael J. Pallerino


Underdogs

The modern-day Goliath was the cre-ation of Phil Knight, the former University of Oregon track star who transformed the ath-letic footwear world with his waffle-design outsoles. Knight’s eventual business plan was spelled out in a term paper he wrote while working on his master’s degree at Stanford University. The paper outlined a strategy for breaking the stranglehold Adidas had on the running-shoe market by using cheap Japa-nese labor to manufacture a cheaper, better-quality running shoe.

As the David to Adidas’ Goliath, you would have thought that Knight and company would have seen somebody like Kevin Plank working in the shadows. In 1995, Plank devised the idea for Under Armour while playing football at the University of Maryland. In 1996, us-ing $15,000 of personal savings and charg-ing $40,000 on his credit cards, he set out to change the sports compression market, with Nike’s Dri-Fit technology as one of his targets.

In five years, Plank would turn his $55,000 investment into a $5 million compa-ny. Today, according to the most recent num-bers from Forbes, Under Armour’s net worth is $3.3 billion. The more interesting part of this story is that Plank, founder and CEO, still con-siders his brand an underdog. The intensely driven entrepreneur is on record as saying that

his company’s growth can be traced back to lessons learned early on.

Plank often has been quoted as saying,“There have been all sorts of ups and downs, but we have learned at every stop and we have used those lessons to make ourselves better.”

“An underdog can certainly win as evi-denced by Under Armour’s success,” says Matt Powell, an analyst for The NPD Group who has tracked the sporting goods market for the last 20-plus years. “Under Armour kind of snuck in while Nike was distracted by other business is-sues. Its initial entry was word of mouth, player to player. Then, it found an ally in Dick’s Sport-ing Goods, which believed in the brand.”

Powell says that, while small businesses always will face challenges, being able to find opportunities when none seem to exist is criti-cal. “Under Armour was able to secure financ-ing early, which helped them get to critical mass. Whenever competition ignores you, it leaves the door open for a company to gain a beachhead. Leveraging that opening is key.”

Stand up and be countedDavid Prosser isn’t quite convinced that the story of David & Goliath was originally intend-ed as a Biblical story. Instead, he says the oft-repeated tale shows how ordinary, seemingly insignificant individuals can stand up and de-clare a bold, nearly impossible future.

“David & Goliath is more than just about the underdog up against the behemoth,” says Prosser, CEO of The Prosser Group and BreakthroughSchool.com. “It tells a story

Nothing is impossible: David found that weak point in Goliath’s armor, which allowed him to triumph in the battle. You must find the proper approach, and/or bide your time for the right op-portunity to take action.

Lead by your actions: David faced his fear and stood his ground, which in turn inspired an entire army. You can inspire your peers and co-workers to new heights through your actions.

Don’t over-complicate things: Remember that David won using very basic tools and a simple approach. This proves that simple solutions al-most always are the most effective, even to what initially may appear to be a monstrous problem.

Perspective is everything: David understood the task at hand, even while everybody doubted the outcome. To transform your company, you must transform your perspective of what’s possible given the values and principles that make up your view of your place in the world.

4LESSONS WE CAN ALL LEARN FROM DAVID & GOLIATH


about a small player creating a ‘disruptive leap’ against the competitor, which is a way to play the game in a market where you might be perceived to be the underdog. While it’s not readily apparent in the story as it is told, David did have a secret. That secret is in the way he created a bold stance that he took for himself and what he could accomplish.

“He believed, while no one else did – not his own leaders, and especially not the arro-gant adversary who assumed David would lose,” Prosser says.

In his book, “THIRTEEN-ERS: Why Only 13 Percent of Companies Successfully Execute Their Strategy – and How Yours Can Be One of Them,” Prosser says business leaders must shift their thinking from a predict-able, yet unremarkable and ver-tical hierarchical, “head-based” approach to business leader-ship that makes it unnecessar-ily challenging for those who want to produce results.

“The source of most lead-ers’ strength is not always ap-parent to the business world,” Prosser says. “Nor, in fact, is it very often apparent to the lead-ers themselves. In my experi-ence, there are those who ap-pear to struggle against some kind of challenge or what they believe (or have made up) to be the ‘giant’ they are facing in a battle against all odds. These are the lead-ers who have unconsciously adopted a limiting view of their place in the world – a perspective in which they have automatically diminished their own suitability to compete.”

As a result, Prosser says these leaders play small or become commodity vendors. This choice often is shaped by experiences they have confronted where they’ve lost or failed in the past. “Their futures then be-come a repeat of their failed pasts, because they have a limiting paradigm or model that says, ‘I’m insufficient to go up against the giant.’ The story of David & Goliath is a great metaphor for how people conduct themselves in the face of adversity or what they may feel is the ‘apparent’ impending danger from their perspective.”

The lesson: It wasn’t what David did that made the difference in the end, it was that he stood up and declared who he was in the face of his seemingly unbeatable foe.

Today, Prosser teaches his clients that standing up for who they are is what can change the outcome. “So yes, underdogs can win if they are willing to stand up, generate a new perspective given by their stance, and de-clare boldly who they are in the face of a per-ceived adversity. That is what is required from

leaders today. It’s an amazingly brilliant story for today’s lead-ers that must be told.”

Of the many lessons that David & Goliath teach us, one of the best is that the underesti-mated company – like Under Ar-mour, and Nike before it – may hold the best cards.

“When no one believes that you can achieve a certain objec-tive, competitors can become lulled into a false sense of security thinking that no one can topple them,” says business and manage-ment consultant Brian Ray. “That mindset, on their part, then creates the opportunity for the underestimated person to fly under the radar, take care of business and emerge triumphantly at the appropriate time.”

“ David & Goliath is more than just about the underdog up against the behemoth. It tells a story about a small player creating a ‘disruptive leap’ against the competitor, which is a way to play the game in a market where you might be perceived to be the underdog.”

– David Prosser, CEO, The Prosser Group


MARKETING

2020May/June 2015 • tactics – Shawmut10

Have you ever tried to drive down a country road at night, while looking out the back win-dow of your car? The late Peter Drucker, often

called the founder of modern management, said try-ing to predict the future is akin to that experience. “The only thing we know about the future is that it will be different,” Drucker said.

The same could be said about the future of marketing departments, too. Today’s marketing de-partment, driven by technology, is evolving rapidly across all aspects of marketing – distribution, ad-vertising and research. The marketing department

of the future likely is to be even more different and require updated skills, revised roles and a new con-temporary culture.

One of the anticipated major influencers, The Internet of Things (IoT) is becoming more of a real-ity than a lofty vision. ABI Research estimates that more than 30 billion devices will be wirelessly con-nected to the Internet of Things by 2020.

This ubiquitous computing in an increasingly smart world is sure to shape the future of marketing, says Jeff Sierra, founder of Mind Fuel and a 25-year veteran of the marketing services industry.

“As the Internet of Things starts to evolve – your refrigerator sends your car a message that you are out of milk, and your car tells you where the closest grocery store is with the lowest price – it’s going to create new opportunities for how and when to engage customers,” Sierra says. “This will require marketers to be better rounded, and certainly even more technically savvy than they need to be today. These trends are going to shape the growing skill set for basic marketing jobs in the future.”

See what the future of branding may look likeBy Lorrie Bryan


Marketing 2020

Updated skillsVictoria Treyger, CMO of Kabbage Inc., a fast-growing technology and data company that has pioneered an automated way to lend mon-ey to small businesses, says that even more analytical and technical skills will be required than in the past. “We are focused on innova-tion and moving technology forward. Today’s effective marketing requires interpreting large volumes of data and synthesizing it into mar-keting strategies. More than ever, marketing teams are working tightly with data science and technology teams to develop new prod-ucts and marketing approaches.”

Revised rolesMind Fuel’s Sierra predicts that the future will hold more convergence among traditional marketing roles. Marketing jobs of the future will require people to multi-task at some level across disciplines such as data, analytics, content creation and delivery.

“Who knows where content will reside and how it will be delivered in the future,” Si-erra says. “It’s going to continue to be more technology driven. There will need to be roles and teams that combine an understanding of data, content, brand and customers – and people who have the ability to pull all that to-gether in a collective manner; not in the silos that exist today.”

A CMO today might be an expert at brand-ing, customer experience or a digital special-ist, but in five years a CMO will need to be able to do all of these things on some level, kind of in a collective environment. “To lead successfully, a CMO will need to be much more well rounded and have a broader base of experience in addition to traditional marketing acu-men,” Sierra says.

Millennials are a matchJoan Kuhl, founder of Why Mil-lennials Matter, a New York-based Gen-Y speaking and consulting company, focuses on raising employers’ awareness about the value of investing in their future workforce and the Millennial custom-er segment. She contends that Millennials are well-suited to these emerging converging roles,

and not just because they are tech savvy, seemingly possess-ing a digital sixth sense.

“In general, Millennials want to be experts in a mil-lion different things,” Kuhl says. “They don’t want to be the marketing person just do-ing analytics, they also want to be the person proposing recommendations – creat-ing the report and presenting it to executives. This gives them some visibility and credit, and also helps them refine their communication skills and hone their execu-

tive presence so they can move into broader and bigger roles. Employers should encour-age their confidence and creativity, because,

in less than 10 years, 75 percent of the global work force will be Millennials.”

The new cultureMany Millennials are finding the professional satisfaction they desire at companies like Kab-bage, which recognizes the value of hiring and retaining this demographic. Kabbage, featured in “Best Places to Work” by the Atlanta Busi-ness Chronicle, attracts top talent by keeping the bar high, and valuing strong leadership skills and aptitude over any particular skill set.

“We keep standards high, because smart people want to work with other smart people, and they are attracted to a company that em-powers them to build and define an industry and redefine their area,” Treyger says. “We are doing revolutionary things – every day is new and different. We get to build the financial ser-vices of the future.”

“More than ever, marketing teams

are working tightly with data

science and technology

teams to develop new products and marketing approaches.” – Victoria Treyger, CMO,

Kabbage Inc.

“ To lead successfully, a CMO will need to be much more well-rounded and have a broader base of experience in addition to traditional marketing acumen.”

– Jeff Sierra, Founder, Mind Fuel


A legendary thought leader, Peter Drucker is also credited with saying that the “best way to predict the future is to create it.” Kabbage and other innovative companies are creating their futures by keeping valued employees on board with perks such as daily catered lunch-es and snacks, weekly company-wide town-hall meetings, volunteer projects, and plenty of beer and caffeine on tap. And don’t forget about traditional benefits and higher salaries. Committed to nurturing esprit de corps, Kab-bage recently created a music video – a Bruno Mars Uptown Funk parody – that features em-ployees and showcases their upbeat culture (check out http://bit.ly/1AThVaG).

In March, employees spent a workday outdoors making improvements at a local nonprofit camp for seriously ill and disabled children. “Marketing starts internally, and we are focused on creating a positive culture

and an environment where people want to come to work,” Treyger says.

Despite the updated skills, revised roles and new contemporary culture that the future will bring to the marketing world, some things remain constant: Employee satisfaction is a cornerstone of successful marketing. Says Kuhl, “We sometimes for-get that our best brand ambassadors are our own employees.”

“ In general, Millennials want to be experts in a million different things. They don’t want to be the marketing person just doing analytics, they also want to be the person proposing recommendations.”

– Joan Kuhl, Founder, Why Millennials Matter

What can you do to transform your marketing department? Joan Kuhl, founder of Why Millennials Matter and the co-author of Peter Drucker’s updated “Five Most Important Questions,” shows you how:

1. Update your job titles: Jobs such as IT and analytics sound so dry and uninteresting. Shake up your titles like Google and Zappos did with designations like chief people officer and chief happiness officer, respectively.

2. Give your employees more input: Give your team the opportunity to interface with executives and have input. Involve them in product development and seek their opinions.

3. Give marketers time on the front lines of sales: Do this, and they can see first-hand what is getting traction and what people are buying.

MARKETING DEPARTMENT MAKEOVER


Interview with Nancy ShenkerQ&A:

T weeter. Linker. Pinner. Friend. Ask Nancy Shenker, and she’ll define herself as a little bit of everything when the topic centers on marketing. Known as one of the branding world’s most thorough strategists, Shenker considers herself a “dual citizen” of the traditional

marketing world and continually evolving digital landscape. A regular Huffington Post blogger, her musings also can be seen in the New York Times, Businessweek, Entrepreneur.com and Forbes, among many others. As the founder and CEO of theOnswitch, she continues to help small and large businesses alike launch and rebrand their marketing strategies. Here are some of her secrets to winning the branding game.

Trending with ...Marketing aficionado Nancy Shenker

What branding secrets can you share with us?The secret is that branding is timeless. Hav-ing a unique identity and a brand image/voice has been the cornerstone of great marketing since advertising began. Although the media has changed (adding to marketplace clutter), a great brand will always survive and thrive.

What are the most important things any marketer can do to stand out?Continually examine your brand relevance to your consumers and ensure that your USP (Unique Selling Proposition) is truly unique. You must employ marketing talent with expe-rience, drive and a true understanding of what branding is. When the marketing process is successful, a winning, creative idea will always cut through the clutter.

Is it possible to escape all the chaos out there today?Yes, but you have to stay in touch with your customers. Research is still key. Follow dis-cussions on social media sites and partici-pate in a human way. Too many companies forget the true “social” aspect of social media

and get too tied up in the bureaucracy. It is never going to work if you have inexperienced people managing your brand online. Appoint a brand champion (internal and/or external) and make the branding process a priority in your organization.

How important is leadership in this process? It’s essential. Every organization needs a brand champion at the senior level. This person must be strategic, seasoned and gently force-ful. Great training and speaking skills are es-sential. It’s important to be courageous and willing to invest in a brand, and make staff changes to stay true to your vision. Most im-portant, this person must truly listen to the voice of the customer.

What qualities do smart marketers possess?They must be willing to update or morph their brand when it stops working. Today’s success-ful marketing leaders are brand centric, cus-tomer focused, passionate and wildly creative, fluent in digital media, and quick thinking and quick moving.

When the marketing process is

successful, a winning,

creative idea will

always cut through the

clutter.


Before YouGo

That’ll work Survey highlights the most effective inbound marketing tactics

When it comes to inbound marketing, solidifying a strategy and creating content are critical to your success. And while today’s marketers know what it takes, it still isn’t easy. According to the “B2B Inbound Marketing Benchmarks” survey by NetProspex and Ascend2, 66 percent view their efforts as somewhat successful, while just 7 percent say inbound marketing has not helped their business at all.

Here’s a look at the most effective tactics:

54%Search engine optimization

30%Blogging

34%Social media/social

networking

30%Website design optimization

66%Marketing

content creation


AVAILABLE SPECIALTY EFFECTS and Materials

Metallic & Transparent Inks • Magnets • Labels • Raised PrintingEmbossing • Pearlescent Stocks • Environmentally Friendly Stocks

Signage • Banners • Tradeshow Displays

Shawmut Communications Group33 Cherry Hill Drive, Danvers MA 01923

www.shawmutdelivers.com • 978.762.7500

At Shawmut Communications Group, we provide custom print

solutions on unique substrates. Using our HP Indigo 7600 digital

press, wide format capabilities, and special � nishing techniques

we can make your print job stand out from the crowd!

LET SHAWMUT HELP YOU

GET NOTICED & THINK BIG Visit samplebook.shawmutdelivers.com to

receive free copies of our sample books for digital and wide format printing.

Shawmut Communications Group33 Cherry Hill Drive, Danvers, MA 01923

Documents

Tactics, Vol. 5, Issue 3