Hmmm….snacks

I was recently tagged by Chris Wilson on a meme started by Jeremiah Owyang wherein he asks the question – how do you respect MediaSnackers?”

What’s a MediaSnacker you ask? If you are unfamiliar with the term, it is “folks who consume small bits of information, data or entertainment when, where and how they want.”

MediaSnackers have helped me focus on writing shorter and tighter posts (not always the case, but my blog is a work in progress.) The hard part about snacking in general is that it can easily be a mindless activity. Have you ever started snacking on some chips and after awhile you realize that the bottom of the bag is staring (and taunting?) you in the face? Not pleasant.

In my opinion, one of the hardest parts of writing a blog post is trying to keep it short enough to respect the time of your readers yet satisfying enough to allow some recess of their mind to recognized they just consumed something very enjoyable and filling. Very tough to do.

Nike’s Native American shoe: Niche or Naive?

Nike just announced their new shoe designed specifically for Native Americans, the Nike Air Native N7. From the press release:

The Nike Air Native N7 is the result of nearly two years of collaborative research, development and fit testing in partnership with the Native American community. The first-of-its-kind performance shoe is built on a new and unique last created to address the specific fit and width requirements for the Native American foot. The result is a true Native fitting, performance product.

One early concern I have is that there appears to be only one style. So who is going to wear them? Adults? Teens? Children? If the adults start wearing them, then the teens may shy away. If the teens start wearing them, the adults may find them too “teenybopper-ish”. If the young kids start wearing these shoes, then the adults and teenagers may keep at arms length.

I like the idea to a certain degree, especially the fact that some of the money is going to the “Let Me Play” program. However, I also have a lot of questions. Will this really work? Also, these shoes will only be available through Nike’s Native Business Program, but what about other wider/taller feet individuals who are not Native American? So my question to you is: is this niche marketing done right or just Nike being naive? What are your thoughts?

Off the Topic: Blog search terms

What is the weirdest search engine term that somebody has used to find your blog?

My weirdest search terms on my marketing blog (which aren’t too weird):

• changing a hubcap Pontiac Vibe
• bathrooms in Disneyland
• I heart my wife
• the fugitive the one armed man

I bet that some of you have some very unusual search terms that people have used to find your blog. So come on and share them!

I’m back

I was in Disneyland the past week on vacation. The kids loved it and we had a blast. (A side note, when your kids come along I think it’s called a “trip” and when it is just you and your spouse it is called a “vacation”). Anyway, it will be good to get back to blogging.

A must read

If you haven’t stopped by the Gaping Void lately, there is a must read about corporate blogging (or blogging in general). Enjoy!

Make ‘em smile

After a marathon couple of days at Disneyland, I was feeling a little run down. While trying something to find something that would breath new life back into my tired soul, I came across a bottle of Vitamin Water at the “cozy” Long Beach airport.

The product label is what really caught my eye:

If you have a chance to make someone smile, do it! A smile is such a small but very powerful gesture. When you smile, you can’t help but feel good. Whether a customer smiles because of your product, your frontline employees, or from the overall experience they received, your customers will remember you (and maybe even blog about you!).

Marketers: Avoid “Jumping the Shark” at the Moment of Truth

The term “jump the shark” specifically refers to a scene in the hit TV comedy series Happy Days. The writers for the show created a storyline where Arthur Fonzarelli (a.k.a. “The Fonz”) is on water skis (wearing his trademark leather jacket, of course) and he literally jumps over a shark.

Many faithful watchers of Happy Days have noted the “shark episode” as the moment when they realized the storyline had been forever altered and that the show had run out of fresh, imaginative, and relevant ideas.

Today, the term “jumping the shark” could include any TV show/ religion/ political candidate/ business service/ widget that desperately tries to remain relevant in the eyes of the consumers but the “storyline” has so significantly declined from its intended focus and purpose that the original appeal is lost.

The Moment of Truth

During its natural life cycle, most every brand suffers from a loss of relevancy and begins a downward slope towards mediocrity or irrelevancy. At the beginning of this downward turn is what I have termed the “Moment of Truth”.

At the Moment of Truth, a marketer can either inject relevancy back into her brand or she can make a desperate (and often hollow) attempt to regain relevancy by doing something that fundamentally detracts from the brand’s soul and core purpose.

Take, for example, my early post about the Ford executives considering the option to “mainstream” the Ford Mustang for the general population by developing a Wagon model. I believe that if Ford does make a Wagon model of it’s famed muscle car, the Mustang enthusiasts will see this as such a significant departure from the Mustang’s original allure and that it may slip into the abyss of “products past”. (I mean really, does “Wagon” and “muscle car” belong in the same “storyline”? I think not!).

As marketers, we are faced with Moments of Truth all of the time. The moment may be grand and obvious or small and subtle. Whatever the structure or cause of the Moment of Truth, what really matters is that when faced with a Moment of Truth marketers stick with the original “storyline” and purpose of the brand and not desperately try to “jump the shark”.