Production is a fast paced and dynamic environment in which many decisions and negotiations on 3rd party suppliers must be made by the production team. These teams are often under intense pressure to find the right resource within very tight time constraints which may result in little to no price negotiation. At Jack Morton, however, these situations can quite often be leveraged to maximize the level of success for our clients, through leveraging our strategic procurement process. Jack Morton has embraced the discipline of “production” procurement and one of its most important tools, the RFP, to maximize results, relationships and opportunities while minimizing the associated risks to our projects success.

A perception once prevailed in production that a procurement process and, in particular, an RFP required too much time (remember, fast-paced and dynamic!) and was only to be utilized to drive pricing down thus placing the production house in a contentious position with their supplier. JMW has proven this perception to be completely inaccurate. A properly written and conducted RFP with commodity suppliers coupled with an “air of fairness” will clearly identify needs, expectations, remedies, potential issues, and thereby save time and money in the long run. In other words, an RFP minimizes risk and maximizes results.

The purpose of an RFP as it relates to production is to clearly identify and define all aspects and expectations of a 3rd party relationship and the deliverable the supplier is to provide. It sets out concise guardrails and enables an “apples to apples” comparison of competing suppliers. A good RFP process ensures that each supplier is treated with respect, trust and equality. The RFP process is best suited to when there is a need for a very specific deliverable that will not vary in a material way from competitor to competitor.

In the end, the discipline of production procurement and the RFP process works to deliver more cost effective and efficient solutions to our clients while simultaneously strengthening supplier relationships. The RFP also works to avoid previously unrecognized challenges further maximizing savings to clients through cost avoidance! The RFP process does in fact serve all parties well in production, even when working under often extreme time constraints.

To provide perspective as to the effectiveness of the RFP process I offer this single example: $1.8 Million in direct savings to our client over a 2 year engagement and in the words of the client “The best produced show he’s ever been associated with!”

Great interview with Avon CEO Andrea Jung in yesterday's Wall Street Journal. Love this quote from Jung about the strength of Avon's sales representative model, especially in China where the sales force has grown to 700,000 (that's a lot of "Avon ladies"):
"Things have changed in many ways, but one thing hasn't -- the need for personalized service. We're firm believers that our model -- when modernized with technology -- can be extraordinarily competitive. So my mantra certainly is high-touch meets high-tech."

Have you ever heard someone say, “There’s no place like New York,” and thought the same could be said for Paris, London and plenty others? According to the new book Brandscapes, that evident uniqueness of a cityscape comes from its specific social fabric influencing architecture in the same that way branding influences company or product identity.

The author Anna Klingmann bases this view partly from what she does as founder of her architecture and branding consulting agency and partly from theories laid out in The Experience Economy.

The big point to the book is that while she encourages more of today’s architects to think of a structure’s “brand” like experiential marketers do for companies or products, Klingmann also urges architects to incorporate a city’s unique social dynamism into a structure’s brand identity. That way, architects might at least prevent identical areas of cities, much like how one US town may have a strip mall I can’t distinguish from another town's strip mall.

Brandscapes is currently available in hardcover.

A few weeks ago it was National Park(ing) Day. This is a one day, global event where citizens, activists and artists collaborate to temporarily transform parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks. I actually encountered two such parks on my way to work in New York City. Immediately entranced, I took a photo and hung around with other people for a few moments. Because I could see it, be part of it and sit down on a park bench for a minute—I was an instant supporter and wanted to learn more.

Continue reading "Activism needs more experiential marketing"

The Word of Mouth Marketing Summit is coming up in Las Vegas in November. The agenda looks compelling (and I'm not just saying this because I'm presenting). Great client-side presentations from Toyota, Southwest Airlines, Microsoft, Dell and Habbo Hotel.

Check it out at http://www.wommasummit.com.

As someone in the event marketing profession I am regularly faced with a client challenge - how do we get more people (and the right people) to our events. It's a tough proposition...we know that people are busy and it takes something really compelling to get them to show up. We also know that they are presented with many events to choose from, and that they can't go to every conference or seminar or tradeshow that seems interesting to them.

I feel their pain. I am invited to at least one marketing industry event a week. It's daunting! Every year I try to attend one or two events that seem particularly relevant. A few weeks ago I went to the Brand Manage Camp Conference in Chicago. Really good event, some great speakers - here are some of the highlights...

Continue reading "Highlights from Brand Manage Camp in Chicago"

I had the pleasure to visit Taipei, Taiwan last month and was impressed by a beautiful, modern city that is buzzing with commerce and... experiential marketing. I stayed in a hotel that used to be a Holiday Inn, and really looked like any Hyatt or similar "huge atrium" hotel in any American city. As I ventured from my hotel, I encountered (in order) Outback Steakhouse, Starbucks, and IKEA. I had to walk around the corner and down an alley to experience the street markets so associated with Asian urban life.

On the sidewalk outside the IKEA, there was a day-long event marketing paint. Two spokesmodels in mini-skirts, go-go boots and sun visors stood on a small stage talking and gesturing to the stack of paint cans nearby. I don't speak Chinese, so I don't know what they were saying, but they were enthusiastic about it! I found it odd that they talked about paint for 10 hours but never once opened a can and painted anything or involved the audience. Big opportunity missed. This lack of interaction, plus the Austin Powers outfits (that weren't being played for camp) made the event seem kind of 70s. On the other hand, they drew a good crowd throughout the day. Not sure if they sold any paint.

One evening, I went to the Night Market, which is an amazing experience in itself. It was a cool night by Taipei standards -- about 80 degree F -- and we rode the clean, modern (and cheap) subway system to the stop right across from the largest Night Market in Taipei. On any given night, the night market is packed with all the local families who gather to socialize and eat at the stalls. Did I mention that it's really packed? You enter into the structure, which is open on all sides like the first floor of a parking garage, and the temperature immediately rises at least 15 degrees -- partly from the throngs of people, but mostly because of all the woks and stoves preparing food in stall after stall. Good food (if you know what to ask for) at prices affordable for local families on a daily basis.

We happened to be there on a night when there was another experiential marketing event going on in a small open space between the night market structure and the subway station. It was an event to publicize a new movie. There must have been over 10,000 people crowded in front of a temporary stage, with more people crowded on top of the night market (where I was when I took the photo) and on the train platform across the street. They projected short clips from the movie, and the PA system blasted loudly as the movie stars on stage spoke to the crowd. I didn't recognize any of the stars, but the crowd certainly did and they were passionate about their feelings. They waited in huge packs ('lines' isn't really the right word) to get autographs.

My visit was a great experience and I'm glad to see marketers around the world getting out and making face-to-face contact with their passionates!

Living in the great foodie city of San Francisco, I’ve always been blessed with an endless selection of gastronomic options. I’ve often read about innovative dining concepts in other parts of the nation, but never found myself dying to experience them…until now. Evidently the food magazine Bon Appetit has opened a pop-up restaurant in Manhattan, an interesting twist on the experiential marketing trend of pop-up stores.

Bon Appetit’s store front will be up for a mere two weeks – open to the public for lunch only, as it will host private parties catered by the likes of Food Network celebrity chefs including Emeril Lagasse. The sleek space was conceived by superstar designer David Rockwell, who has also designed well known restaurants and theater spaces such as Nobu 57 in Manhattan.

I personally think the pop-up concept is hardly novel anymore, but Bon Appetit’s added restaurant and party venue dimensions have “kicked it up a notch” (had to throw that in for you Emeril lovers) for pop-ups, and even more so if you take the time to digest the costly financial investment of such a fleeting experience. Short or not, it certainly caught my attention, and I’ll be curious to read follow-up press.

My colleague Tim has created some very cool installations in Jack's London offices. Since he's far too modest to toot his own humble horn, here's a peek at one that's already famous in the blogosphere and currently featured on this ain't no disco, a site with many intriguing office installations.