Capital C

Renegade CMO Takes a Closer Look at Credit Card Fraud

I leave technology and software applications to Paul Quigley, who along side Glenn Chilton joined us as Partners this year, leading a band of over 100 data base and digital employees that used to be known as Kenna.  We joined forces so our collective strengths, ours being creativity, their been connectivity, could power each other.  My next rant really belongs in their space, so forgive me if what I ask for can only happen in the future...

I am pissed off with credit card fraud.  Last week I got a call from my credit card company saying that someone in Thailand was using my card.  “How can that be possible”, I said with the full emotional force possible when talking to someone wearing a head set in a call center, located in India.

My question to credit card companies is this; when is credit card fraud including the monetary loss, the indignation and often the paralyzing fear that comes with knowing someone is using your identity and trying to spend your money going to be solved.?

Debit Cards ask for a pin numbers, not perfect but at least another barrier that might prevent someone in Thailand from using a counterfeit card that works as well as mine in my pocket. 

Lets go one step further – and why not have Canada take the lead. We want retina or fingerprint scans.  We don’t want to sign our name, swipe a card, punch in a pin number that can be read from fifteen feet, or do anything else that can be copied, stolen and used.

I have to believe that the cost of electronics, and the number of merchants would get the cost of scanners and ATM machines to an attractive level, and the motivation of the consumer would encourage action.  Paul what do you think?

Renegade CMO vs the Card Playing Marketing Executive

Forbes Magazines annual ranking in 2005 estimated that Walton’s heirs were worth  $91 billion, more than the combined wealth of Bill Gates and Warrant Buffett.  His greatest secret was that he was always willing to share, so that collectively they could advance Wal-Mart’s goals.  He shared his vision, he shared his profits, and he shared information.  He realized that information was the future currency of business, the more people knew, the better they could get at what they did.  Stop holding the cards so close to your chest.  Share your vision, share your strategies, share your wins and your mistakes.  Only then can you have a continuous learning culture.

Renegade CMO Takes on Teaching

Why are more and more kids falling asleep in classroom?  Because schools and teachers are boring.  Close your eyes and imagine someone droning on at the front of the class, in a boxed structure.  The dull paint, the faded map, and the cork boards choked with bad photocopies of information and instruction.   Juxtapose that with the kids life including playing million dollar video games, surfing a 500 million web universe, connecting with his community on Face Book, or if watching a prerecorded program on his PVR.

When are we going to fuse the educational world with the kids world?  Why can’t kids learn about the history of Canada by playing a character in a video game?  Why can’t they learn 3-D programming by being forced to construct a on line vehicle, or design the next fashion trend?  Why can’t we get kids physically fit by having them burn calories playing a video game that requires body movement and a heart beat?

The teaching profession which is based on forced attendance, forced attention and discipline will become extinct as creativity and technology forge new ways to learn.  The brightest minds will the ones that learn through open source learning, on line communities, and sophisticated software.

Will this revolution come from school boards, from universities, or from game developers?  You know where my bet is.

Renegade CMO Takes on Home Builders

It is getting harder and harder to catch the consumer. Time starved, media and product saturated; the consumer is on the move, mad as hell, and demanding more for less. Airlines, movie theatres, and even homebuilders will realize the asset value of ‘bums’ in the seat.

Lets take homebuilders who have a captive audience from the day a consumer walks into their sales center, to months later when they complete their home purchase. Why do homebuilders take all the risk for a modest profit when they know their client often tricks out their new home with new furniture, appliances and electronics? If I were a large builder I would vertically integrate into the furniture business, designing product that maximized my space. I might look to a JV with a leading electronics manufacturer and use my model home as not only a showcase but also a pop up retail store. Even the smaller builders could incorporate this strategy, and use kiosk technology to offer their client ever possible combination of bathroom fixtures, furniture and toys known to mankind.

Welcome to my web, said the spider to the fly.

Renegade CMO Takes on the Grocery Stores

Wal-Mart wins through economies of scale, and a frugal culture, both of which ladder up to being the low cost buyer, the low cost producer, and the low cost price point.  No one will beat them at this game, unless anti-trust legislation, or unionized labour breaks their momentum.  I don’t understand why grocery stores, hell bent on building 120,000 square foot jungles, chocked with mass merchandise, are trying to beat them at this game.

Our strategy would borrow heavily from Dollar Stores and Target. Dollar Stores, the fastest growing retail category establishes a low price point, but adds the mentality of a treasure hunt to the shopping experience. Fast turning inventory, provides a fertile ground for Consumers to comb their aisles looking for that unbelievable deal, that might have a shelf life of only a few hours.  Target, also known as a mass retailer, has gone the other way and looked to designers like Stella McCartney to add cache for consumers who define value beyond simply price.

Grocery Stores need to look at three trends to define their strategy.  An aging population, with a dying palette, who is interested in quality and adventure versus quantity, a multi cultural society and the fusion of tastes, and the investment Canadians have made in their cocoons, including wonderful kitchens, and extraordinary home theatres.

In the same manner that Apple embraces consumer electronics, and Abercrombie and Fitch embrace teenage sexuality, grocery stores need to embrace food.   If I was a major grocery player I would showcase how my buyers machete through the jungle to uncover the perfect spice for the perfect sauce, I would show how my shelves are in fact a safe haven for Canadians of any ethnicity to try food from another part of the world, I would ensure that I had the best organic lineup, the best antioxidant foods, and the best cuts of beef for the Saturday barbeque.  I wouldn’t stop there; I would protect my food leadership by buying the Food Channel.  Every ad would be funded through my vendors, and the very best content would run on my digital signage. Catering, party planning, and feeding the soccer team - you wouldn’t imagine getting catering from anywhere else.

Let Wal-Mart own the $3.00 hibachi, it’s the Kobe steaks that I want to sell.

Renegade CMO Takes on the Incumbents

Your market position, no matter how dominant or secure it might appear is at best fragile.  Chances are whatever strategies your followed, whatever brands you promoted to get you to where you are today will not get you to where you need to go tomorrow.  Your future is dependent on your ability to create new ideas, to align your organization to new approaches.  This has not been the domain of the incumbent, who is reluctant to change.  Tomorrow’s marketplace belongs to the innovators, and the creators.

Renegade CMO Takes on the B2B Marketplace

Your customer doesn’t need more stuff, they don’t need hockey tickets, or to be showered by direct mail pieces.  Focus your efforts on selling solutions, not stuff, and competing on value not price.  You can dethrone any incumbent if you prove to your client that your offering will accomplish one or more of the following goals – faster, better and cheaper.  Show your client how your offer will make your client faster at responding to the needs of their customers, better at marketing and selling their products and more efficient.

Get Back on the Highway

May 09, 2005

With the oil lamp flashing on GM's dashboard, TONY CHAPMAN offers some thought-starters on how to retool its marketing

General Motors' North American operations recorded an astonishing loss of US$1.3 billion dollars in the first quarter of 2005, the biggest decline in a decade. At the same time, its market share in North America fell to 25.2% from 28.3% in 2003. In fact, the only thing that's increased at GM of late is its advertising spend, which in 2004 was $2.8 billion, up 17.5% over the previous year.

There is no magic fix for what ails GM. I can only imagine the complexities of rebuilding the product mix, operations and union contracts that bury the company in extravagant health-care costs and unfunded pension liabilities. However I can't help but wonder if it's time to rebuild the GM marketing engine.

What made GM the business icon of the last century was the vision and leadership of Alfred Sloan. When Sloan took over as president in 1923, GM's share was 18% of the U.S. auto market while Ford was at 60%. He took Ford's efficiency model of mass-produced Model Ts and attacked it head on by introducing new models and colours that the car-buying public loved. In less than eight years GM passed Ford in market share and never looked back. Over the next two decades, Sloan continued to blaze a trail of innovation in how cars were created, marketed and sold. He created powerhouse brand platforms like Chevrolet, Buick, Pontiac, Oldsmobile and Cadillac that were unique and distinctive.

What has happened to GM in the last 30 years has been nothing short of a disaster. It failed to challenge Mercedes in the 1970s, and it let its muscle cars get pushed around. Today, the Germans own the ultra luxury and sports car segments. GM also gave away the entry level segment to the Asian manufacturers.
The answer to GM's marketing problems doesn't lie in buying share with rebates or with yet another winding-road car commercial or a thick, over-varnished brochure.

The answer lies with the automotive buyer. The right vehicle will seduce its consumers, make them fall in love, and shower it with their loyalty and word of mouth advertising. Just ask a Porsche 911 driver, or a Chrysler 300 C owner, or a Mini aficionado. GM's only hope is to shed the mentality of a market leader with a $2.8-billion marketing war chest, and get back to the challenger mentality that defined Sloan's legacy.

I brought together Capital C's Big Ideas Group to consider ways GM can do just that. Here is what we came up with:

Reignite the culture
We would take GM back to decentralized entrepreneurial divisions that live and breathe their brands. Each of these divisions-Pontiac, Chevrolet, Buick, Cadillac and the rest-would be accountable for creating a platform to support unique and distinct vehicles, targeting unique and distinct consumer segments.

High-octane fuel and a consistent creative promise
Each of these brand platforms would be anchored to a big idea-based on powerful consumer insights that, when properly packaged, is easy for car dealers and marketers to sell and easy for the consumer to buy.

Let's take Pontiac as a case study. We can make the assumption that Pontiac stands for performance and style, targeting a psychographic segment that values these attributes. The big idea would be to bring back "Pontiac builds excitement" and use this DNA to forge the brand to the consumer.

Weave the big idea into the product
We would encourage a major overhaul of the model lineup. If the vehicle didn't embody excitement it wouldn't be a Pontiac. We then go outside of Pontiac to define the next generation of models. The creative geniuses that are driving the cosmetic and fashion world would be invited to create bold new Pontiac colours, fabrics and lines. Why not invite Apple to redesign our dashboard and the toys that lie within? Better yet, let's mash the brands together and create the Pontiac iPod, a vehicle that combines boldness with subtle nuances to create underground buzz, unsolicited editorial coverage and raving fans.

As a boomer I would personally make a case for launching a retro Firebird. We would take a hard look at the "tuners" who invest $30,000 into their street cars, and let our target consumer pimp-up their Pontiac. No more "sports" or "luxury" package. We would offer them a creative toolbox that includes the best rims, undercarriage lighting, spoilers, performance upgrades, custom paint, and high-tech toys. We would then go on a world tour showcasing how car fanatics hijacked the Pontiac brand.

Seed the big idea
In today's cluttered marketplace, big brands shout to be heard with big jingles and launch campaigns. Smart brands first whisper their DNA to key influencers and then let underground media and the digital pipeline spread the word before amplifying it with mass media.

A great seeding example would be advergaming. Our target grew up with video gaming and competition; why not offer them the excitement of "Playing for a Pontiac." The consumer could download a model, paint and customize it, and then turbo charge it by unlocking fuel and upgrades hidden on the Pontiac site or in their ads. Better yet, we could hire Jason Avent, the genius behind Xbox's Project Gotham, to build the sickest, most exciting racing game ever, where Pontiac drivers take on the world.

Fish where the fish are
Automotive dealers are anything but exciting. Close your eyes and you can picture the giant glass windows, the "buy cheap" signs plastered on windshields and a cavernous showroom with little cubicles populating the perimeter.

Now open your eyes and picture pop-up Pontiac dealers that can drive up to where our target market lives, works and plays-an interactive theatre that takes over any landscape, and showcases great music, lighting, gaming and other stimulus to make the heart skip a beat.

The cornerstone would be a simulator where up to four consumers could slide into Pontiac cockpits, and have 90 seconds to design their car-looks, sound and performance. They would then race each other, with the winner walking away with a free upgrade for their tires or a new chrome finish for their tail pipes. Of course, our Pontiac Racing Team, beautiful people decked out in Pontiac street fashion, would challenge the best of the best.

Amplify and activate
Once our platform DNA was seeded and embraced by our target, we would amplify it and activate it at every touch point. Everything would have to be ramped up to scream excitement. Dealer brochures would come in the form of a neon green memory stick, grassroot and sponsorship dollars would only go to Pontiac-created events produced by talent as rich as Jerry Bruckheimer.
We would bring excitement to every media dollar. One-way communication would be abolished and we would cut through the clutter by letting consumers interact and play with our ads using a mouse, cell- phone or TV remote.
***
GM has actually demonstrated in recent weeks that it is capable of being the challenger and reconnecting with the consumer. Its launch of the new Solstice model has been brilliant. The dramatic look of this car was created through an internal competition among designers, who traded bureaucracy and politics for passion and freedom. GM also broke every internal rule to dramatically compress the time it takes to go from sketches to production. Finally its use of Donald Trump's TV show The Apprentice as a launch showcase created immediate buzz.
Can GM's organization get back on the consumer-centric marketing track? It better. GM has to look to its past, and to the present with rule-breaking launches like that of the Solstice, to find motivation to reconnect with automotive buyers.

TONY CHAPMAN is CEO of Capital C in Toronto and a partner in P2P in Quebec.