The Tiger Woods Marketing and PR Machine

It has been almost a year since Tiger Woods infamously crashed his SUV outside his Florida home. From that moment he was no longer looked at as an indestructible sports star and perfect family man. How he portrayed himself publicly was in stark contrast to the person he had become – another young male sports celebrity that thought he was invincible and could behave in any way he wished.

With the revelations of his personal life being played out in tabloid and mainstream media, the disconnect between the messages he fed the public – through product endorsements, charity endeavors and success on the golf course – and the person he truly was, changed perceptions and attitudes to ones of betrayal, cynicism, doubt and anger.

Tiger Woods’ image makeover is a difficult task at best. Winning over the public appears to be top priority on his to-do list, but how is he going about it? Woods recently published an op-ed piece in Newsweek, appeared on ESPN radio and started Tweeting. All attempts to talk to the people directly and re-build his tarnished image.

Will this strategy work? The public is already disillusioned with Tiger Woods’ image and the motives behind his communications. It is extremely difficult to read the op-ed piece in Newsweek without a critical eye. In other words, I don’t want to be fooled again by the Tiger Woods marketing machine, do you? Publishing a polished letter that clearly had lawyers and PR professionals advising on content and word selection will not win over the people.

The idea was good but the execution was poor. In order to rebuild his image, Tiger Woods has to address his past behavior by publicly acknowledging his actions, appearing repentant and explaining his intent to continually work at being a better person. All of which he has done several times over, including in the Newsweek piece.

The op-ed piece does not deliver on one important aspect, honesty. I need to know that he personally wrote the letter, not a paid professional. The letter feeds skepticism because all his actions have been carefully planned and executed. There is nothing wrong with planning a marketing or PR campaign for re-making his image. In fact, he should have a well-crafted plan that addresses all the concerns of the public, his sponsors, fellow golf professionals, his family and any other person or organization affected by his actions. With that being said campaigns that appear sincere and authentic are the most successful and the contrived letter to Newsweek lacks both.

Will Blackberry Maker RIM Get Squeezed Out?

BlackBerry Torch

Once the innovator and proud leader in the smartphone category, Research in Motion (RIM), the maker of the Blackberry mobile device is facing tough times as it continues to lose market share to Android powered devices, the iPhone and now devices powered by the new Windows Phone 7.

The Blackberry was introduced in 1999, quickly becoming known as the “crackberry” in the business community as people were able to stay connected with secure email and instant messaging. Feeding an addiction for immediate communication and information.

From a marketing perspective, RIM understood its target market, catering to corporations and business professionals by developing a network with secure email and messaging capabilities. It was the supreme mobile email device and its competition was nowhere in sight.

Jump forward to 2010, the entire mobile device market has changed and many analysts are predicting that difficult times are on the horizon for RIM. One Yahoo News article titled, “The Android Revolution May Overwhelm Blackberry,” points to the success of both Android powered phones and the iPhone, with the most glaring statistic being that RIM’s market share among new smartphone users in the U.S. fell by 53 percent when compared with the third quarter of 2009.

In the business community, the Blackberry is still king, but it appears as though it is slowly being dethroned. Bank of America and Citi Group announced they are looking to give employees greater choices by offering them the iPhone or Android powered devices. Furthermore, Bloomberg claims that the iPhone has software that will make internal messaging secure. This is surely a blow to RIM as secure messaging has been a key reason for choosing Blackberry.

You can also add Dell to the list of companies abandoning the Blackberry as Dell recently announced its intentions to shift employees to the Dell Venue Pro running Microsoft’s new Windows Phone 7.

The Blackberry Torch was heralded as the newest innovative smartphone from RIM but initial sales didn’t meet expectations and at best RIM can only hope that the Torch prevents current customers from leaving.

The latest hope for RIM is the PlayBook, a tablet device that will compete with the iPad. As good as the PlayBook might be, RIM is finding itself in the familiar position of playing catch-up. Apple re-invented the smartphone market and it has done the same to the tablet market.

RIM is no longer seen as an innovator in the mobile device market, but rather a company attempting to stay afloat in what appears to be a futile effort.

On The Attack: T-Mobile Goes After AT&T In New Ad

Ask T-Mobile customers how they feel about the company and they’ll tell you where they don’t get reception. One T-Mobile customer told me, “The plan prices are affordable and I really like my phone but I don’t get reception in my office at work.” While its customer base has been complaining, T-Mobile has been working on improving its network by introducing 4G quality speed. What’s interesting is how T-Mobile is promoting this new technology. Take a look at its newest ad promoting its 4G network and the new myTouch 4G:

It’s a playful ad that mimics the Mac versus PC ads:

The new T-Mobile ad is talking to AT&T customers that use the iPhone, or consumers thinking about getting the iPhone 4 because of its video chatting capabilities. The ad does a good job at highlighting a problem of AT&T’s that makes video chatting on its 3G network difficult. It focuses on a problem that AT&T has and offers a solution with the T-Mobile myTouch 4G on its 4G network.

Will the ad change consumer perception that T-Mobile’s network is unreliable? It might be able to change consumer perception, but it has to back up its talk with action. A 4G phone doesn’t serve much purpose if you can’t get reception. I’m sure this is the first in a series of a new 4G ad campaign, we’ll have to wait and see if they are received as favorably as the highly successful Mac versus PC ads.

What do you think? Will T-Mobile be able to change consumer perception with these new ads or will their effort be futile?

Americans Care About The Economy… The Environment, Not So Much

I came across this interesting infographic on the Good Magazine website about how people in different countries feel about the environment in relation to the economy. Not surprisingly, Americans care more about the economy than the environment. On the other hand, people in less developed countries, like India and Brazil care more for the environment than the economy.

In the United States, companies such as Staples, P&G and Toyota have introduced entire product lines geared towards the eco-conscious consumer. Just think of all the eco-friendly products on the market, from cleaning products and office supplies to busses and cars. Significant marketing resources are being used to inform consumers about eco-friendly products. But do people care that much?

To answer my own question, if people didn’t care that much there wouldn’t be such a demand for eco-friendly products. There is huge demand and it keeps growing. But, do Americans genuinely care about the environment, or only when it’s convenient?

The data suggests that Americans have a greater interest in the environment when it’s convenient. This isn’t all that surprising because the economy is struggling and there are a lot of Americans out of work. People are more concerned about their personal well-being and having the ability to provide financially for their family.

Besides, our used televisions, computers, and cell phones magically disappear, don’t they? Apparently they don’t just disappear because according to the following infographic, countries like India and Brazil take our electronic waste. Maybe that’s why people in developing countries care more about the environment than the economy. And maybe that’s why Americans care more about the economy than the environment, they don’t have to see their waste, they just get to make it.

Allstate’s Mayhem vs. State Farm’s Cost Savings: Which Approach Is More Sustainable?

We have two companies, they both sell a variety of insurance products, they’re both headquartered in Illinois and they both have the word ‘state’ in their name. The challenge from a marketing perspective is to make them appear different through their messaging and product offerings.

The Case For Allstate: Allstate is not nearly as large as State Farm and it’s difficult to attract customers in a crowded market and against stiff competition. Take a look at Mayhem:

Is Mayhem Effective? Anything can happen at any time and if you’re not prepared for the unexpected you might be wishing you had the right type of insurance coverage. This type of messaging causes audiences to ask themselves if they have the right insurance coverage for their needs.

The Case For State Farm: State Farm is an extremely large company and highly recognizable insurance brand. There are numerous companies fighting for its clients. How does it fend off the competition and increase its customer base? Take a look at its approach:

Is Cost Savings Effective? It is for the short-term, particularly in our current economic environment. Consumers are constantly looking for ways to save and in many instances they’ll discard their allegiance to their favorite brands if they come across similar products that cost less. To prevent customers from switching products because they found a better deal somewhere else, it is important to establish a brand identity that is deeper and more meaningful than price alone. Therefore, State Farm’s positioning is not sustainable.

And The Winner Is… Mayhem!

Mayhem defines the Allstate brand as a company with insurance products that meets customer needs, even unexpected ones. The line of thinking of an Allstate customer may be, “I may pay a little more for my insurance, but I’m okay with that because I have the most comprehensive coverage for my needs.” On the other hand, by using cost savings to describe State Farm, the company defines itself on price rather than a differentiating factor that resonates more deeply with consumers. The line of thinking of a State Farm customer may be, “I thought that I paid less for my insurance but I just found out about a great deal from another company, I should look into that.”

From a business and marketing perspective, the objective is to effectively make your brand stand out from the competition, attract new customers and keep current customers for the long-term, this is where Allstate delivers and State Farm falls short.

A Look At Marketing From My Perspective

I’d like to welcome you to a blog about, you guessed it… marketing from my perspective! I’ll offer my thoughts on anything related to marketing like -  branding, consumer insight, strong brands, declining brands – in all areas of marketing – recruitment marketing, inbound marketing, traditional marketing, marketing technology – from anything that I see, hear and experience.

I know what you’re thinking, “good for him, but who cares?!”

Well, you got me there with a pretty philosophical question. I don’t know, who does care? I guess I’ve got some serious work cut out for me, but I’m up for the challenge and am looking forward converting you to regular readers.

Stay tuned and enjoy the read!