Have Media Will Travel

A blog about outdoor adventure, family travel, national parks, media, technology, marketing, fitness and me.

Marketing

Bank of America commercial followed by Imodium ad

by

So… I was on the elliptical trainer at the gym this morning. I was watching CNN as I stepped and stepped.

There was a commercial for Bank of America (slogan: Bank of Opportunity). BTW, probably they should add a “?” at the end of the slogan for the time being.

Anyhow, immediately following the BOA ad, was an ad for Imodium to help with diarrhea. And then immediately following the Imodium commercial was an Aleve commercial, to help with pain and discomfort.

The guy on the elliptical trainer next to me (friend Scott Yates) and I both laughed at the sequence and relevance of the commercial/advertising grouping.

While I can (happily) report I’m not the target market for either Imodium or Aleve, I did find it funny that the BOA, Imodium and Aleve ads all ran in sequence, as if the three products are related in some way.

Marketers: A little care goes a long way

by

I’m convinced that the solution to most marketers’, and businesses’, problems lies in hiring people who care.

I love the company, Life is Good. Not only because of their great story, fantastic products and their name, but also because of their slogan, which is something to the effect of: “Do what you love. Love what you do.”

That says it all. “Passion-centric” is the buzzword we are hearing that describes people who are brought together by a common passion.

If we have passionate people on our teams, who truly care about what we’re promoting and offering, then they serve as the best ambassadors we could hope for. They reflect the best aspects of our business.

One great example I have of this involves a hotel in Salt Lake City.

About a year ago, our middle son, Hayden, had to get a lump removed from his neck. It was his third such surgery and every time the lump came back it consumed us with worry. What if it’s cancer? How we hated to see our 6-year-old go through another surgery.

Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)
Hayden, a year after his successful third surgery. (If you look closely you can see he has an incision across the front of his neck)

The Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City is phenomenal, and at 5 hours from where we live in Lander, WY, it was the best option.

We booked a stay at the Shilo Inn, in downtown Salt Lake. Upon booking the reservation, the attendant on the phone asked me what brought us to Salt Lake. I told her the brief story about our 6-year-old having surgery scheduled to remove a lump from his neck at the nearby Children’s Hospital.

We booked a room and a week later, arrived.

During check-in, the attendant remembered us and said she was praying for us and wishing us a great stay. She’d be thinking of our son, and of us, she said, as we checked in.

When we got to our room, there was a gift basket, complete with a card for Hayden, and beach balls for all three of our sons for the swimming pool.

To say that touched us during what would be a truly worrisome stay is an understatement. It moved us… and had the effect to make our sons happy and to take Hayden’s mind off the surgery.

Following the surgery, we returned to our room. Rachel Bremer, the marketing/sales person, sought us out and asked us how Hayden’s surgery came out.

The concern was genuine. Way more than I would have expected from a simple hotel reservation and hotel stay.

And I’ll tell you what, the Shilo Inn could have a train track right outside it and we’d always stay there when we visit Salt Lake City.

The care and concern showed for us during our stay spoke volumes and will never be forgotten. They won us over. Their people won us over.

(BTW, Hayden’s operation that time was a success; the lump was not cancerous. So far so good – it has not returned.)

Take a Deep Breath.

by

I LOVE Skype.

I love it for the same reasons everyone else does.

For free, I can call friends and family and colleagues, regardless of their location. Even if I’m talking to someone in Germany, the quality is so good it’s as if we’re at the same table having our chat. If you have iSight or some other web cam connected it’s even more optimal and real.

But most of the all, the reason I love Skype is because I love their slogan:
Take a Deep Breath.

Don't mind if I do.
Don't mind if I do.

In fact, sometimes I shut down the application and restart it only so I can see that message again.

Go ahead. Laugh. I’m lol at the thought of it myself. But seeing this little reminder from Skype when the application loads – to Take a Deep Breath – helps me every time.

So, although the slogan doesn’t seem very relevant to an online calling/communication platform, it gets an A from me because it helps me and it makes me feel better.

And that is quite an amazing marketing feat.

Susan Boyle on YouTube

by

I got goosebumps and ‘happy tears’ when I watched the YouTube clip that’s gone viral of Susan Boyle’s performance on Britain’s Got Talent.

But I take issue with the moral of the story that has been attached to the great viral video of her performance – that is to say, “Don’t judge a book by the cover.”

What’s wrong with the cover? Susan Boyle looks like a happy, jovial, wonderfully warm and loving Grandma-type. (BTW, what is a great singer supposed to look like?) I just makes me a little sad when people say to/about her: “Wow, you’re a phenomenal singer even if you’re not much to look at.”

That said, what a fascinating voice and performance. It gives me inspiration and goosebumps every time I watch it and listen to Susan Boyle sing with such passion.

An Unsolicited Phone Call *Can* Be Perfect

by

Seth Godin posted “Poisoning the Well” on his blog Friday morning, April 3.

And as usual, with his wisdom, Godin pretty much nailed it. Godin’s Permission Marketing remains one of my favorite business books, and was a pivotal one in our destination travel business.

Or I thought he had nailed it until later that day.

”This

You see, my mother-in-law has a birthday coming up on April 9. Since we are leaving town for a spring break trip and would be in some remote place on April 9 where there are no phones or cell reception, getting a gift ordered for her birthday had been on my “to do” list for over a week. By Friday afternoon there it was, still nagging at me and yet to be checked off the list. I still needed to order Theresa a lily bouquet to be delivered on April 9.

Right after a quick bite for lunch at home, my phone rang. I didn’t recognize the number, so I ignored the call and let the answering machine do its job.

A friendly lady’s voice came over the machine.
Hi there. This is Janet from Gift Tree. I’m really sorry to call you. I know this is an unsolicited call. But I was looking at our records from this time last year and saw that you ordered Theresa Johnson a gift basket for her birthday. Is there anything we can do to help with her birthday this year?

As I heard this, I swiftly picked up the phone.

Why, yes, you certainly can help, I exclaimed. And before I knew it (in fewer than a couple of minutes), I had ordered a beautiful lily bouquet with gift card to be delivered on the morning of my mother-in-law’s birthday.

Whew. Now I don’t know how all the stars aligned just perfectly to make the above happen and be a good thing, but it was exactly perfect. Something important had the effect of checking itself off my list, almost with no effort, and all thanks to the great customer service and tact provided by a company eager for business and eager to please. A rare thing in today’s world.

Sure, timing had a lot to do with it. Talk about Gift Tree getting lucky and hitting me right at the time I had a need for them. But also, I think much of it had to do with the fact that Janet’s message started out with a sincere “I’m really sorry to call you.” It is nice when others show respect for your time.

For the record, we are among those who get the unwelcome unsolicited calls that come on a Friday or Saturday evening when our family is snuggled down for a great movie night or board game. Nothing is more inappropriate or annoying, or goes further to make us not want to do business with the company from which these callers are calling.

But for now: Gift Tree, I thank you. You reached out, and with tact, you helped make my life easier.