I have learned many truths about supplier relationships and negotiations. One truth, which I'll detail here, is very useful anytime, but critical in an economy that's undergoing a "correction". Now more than ever we need to be very focused on doing better deals and managing them better. It is simply the healthiest thing we can do for our clients, suppliers and ourselves.

The one truth I'd like to explain is that you have to hear some "no's". In other words, you must have some deadlocks and impasses in your supplier negotiations. This should be no surprise, given the contrasting goals of a supplier, who wants to maximize revenue, and the customer (us) who is dedicated to minimizing costs and maximizing performance for our clients.

Here's an interesting scenario: A supplier makes you an offer, "$1 million." You respond, "Not a dime more than $900,000." The supplier says, "Done Deal." How good is the deal you just struck? With a supplier response as quick as that, there was obviously some substantial bottom-line dollars left on the table.

The suppliers we contract with normally do not provide "widgets." They provide services and as such it can be very difficult to determine "fair market value". This means we must be assertive enough (but, fair and professional) to push a supplier to the point of saying "no." Only then can we and our clients be assured we have obtained the best deal possible.

Keep in mind I am not and do not advocate simply going with a lowest bid when selecting a supplier to provide a particular service for a client. I am, however, suggesting that in order to secure the best deal from the most qualified supplier you must ask for what you want - assertively. That's not easy because almost no one likes conflict; we'd rather just do the deal. However, just "doing the deal" most often leads us down a path to an unhealthy supplier relationship. Pushing a supplier to say "no" during negotiations leads to questions that lead to communication which leads to a crystal clear understanding of expectations and responsibilities.....which leads to a better deal, a healthy and respectful supplier relationship and flawless execution of services. This translates to a satisfied and happy client! So the next time you hear "no" when negotiating, realize the importance and value it holds!

I recently read about a new trend marketers will be smart to consider: video snacking. As coined by The New York Times, video snacking is a favorite activity of more and more office professionals. Essentially, people are watching short video clips on the internet during their lunchtime breaks about anything and everything: the morning’s news, a home video, an episode of The Daily Show. Increasingly, there are shows being developed specifically for the mid-day viewer – examples include Political Lunch’s three-minute commentary (filmed by 10 a.m. every morning and edited for noon) and local television stations' web-based shows that are posted at lunchtime. Regardless of what the office is tuned into, there are definitive pluses: the clips are easily digestible, quick to consume and satisfying for the information-hungry.

As marketers, we should keep our fingers on this phenomenon and incorporate it into our strategies to reach target audiences. Video snackers tend to be younger and are attracted by the efficient yet informative blast of communication. So what can we do? Well for starters, consider piggy-backing on what’s already being produced – research has shown that consumers are 30% more likely to make a purchase after seeing an advertisement during lunch than at any other time. Taking it a step further, consider creating your own video segments. It can be a one-time thing or a longer running show format. Just remember, the message must be short and sweet and give the most meat!

There's article on CES with some nice words about the experience Jack Morton designed for NBC Universal in today's New York Times -- front page of the business section.

What's really cool about the experience (I can't call it a booth) is that it has served as "broadcast central" for NBC Nightly News, The Today Show and a host of CNBC shows -- a perfect way to showcase NBC Universal as the first content brand to exhibit at CES.

This being CES, there's tons of coverage everywhere -- check out cnet and the photos below...

The start of the presidential primary season always fascinates me. With media attention and campaign pressure at its peak, I wait for candidates to crack, go off-script and abandon the veneer their consultants train them on for months. And then I wait for the voters to react with the ballot. It’s the oldest kind of experiential marketing with instant measurement!

In these unrehearsed experiences, the candidates’ personae seem more authentic. And we know that voters take notice, thanks to poll results. What we can never predict, however, is if voters will like or dislike candidates after “getting real.”

New Hampshire’s women provide this year’s first phenomenon by giving Hillary Clinton unpredicted support after this wistful pause:

Continue reading "Campaign 2008 - As always, authenticity is key"

We're only half way through January and two of the biggest technology events of the year have happened -- the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and MacWorld in San Francisco. Both events can contribute to our perspective on trends in technology, each in its own way: CES provides broad market, global perspective; MacWorld provides vision.

CES is a sea of big, flat-screen TVs -- who has the biggest, the thinnest, the cheapest. There are all the big brands you'd expect to see, plus dozens of mostly Asian brands you've never heard of competing for shelf space at Best Buy. But that's not new -- it's been that way for several years. The two key trends from this year: GPS and wi-max.

The other thing that caught my attention is Wi-MAX -- think of it as long distance wi-fi. The specifics of the technology aren't that important to understand (in the context of this blog). The key takeaway is that we're on the road to wireless broadband anywhere and everywhere. Two years? Five? Ten? I'm not sure about when the business model will evolve to make the service available everywhere, but the technology is getting there quickly.

The not-as-impressive-as-the-iPhone big announcement from MacWorld was the introduction of the MacBook Air. It's being touted as the world's thinnest laptop, but that really overlooks the features that make this a revolutionary product.

A few years back, Apple took a lot of heat when they introduced the first desktop computer without a floppy drive. People thought they were crazy; they weren't, they were just first. The first to recognize technology that had been made obsolete by CD-ROM and ethernet technology. Now back to the MacBook Air: it doesn't have an optical (CD/DVD) drive or an ethernet port. Apple has assumed that anyone who uses this laptop will be high-speed wireless enabled, making those older technologies obsolete. (Why would you actually buy a DVD movie when you can download it on-demand from anywhere for 20% of the cost of the DVD?) Sure, it will take some time for other computer makers to catch up (and for many consumers to catch on), but three cheers for Apple having the guts to say it's time to move on.

A $2,500 car. Not a used car, not your uncle's hand-me-down, rather a brand spanking new car. A concept that is virtually unheard of in the Western world. And now Indian mogul Ratan Tata has made it a reality with the Tata Nano.

Tata (the man, not the car) has been a pioneer of many of the innovations leading what some consider the most bullish economy in the developing world. On my recent trip to India, it was hard not to notice that Tata's name adorns everything from trucks to apartment complexes to banks. And his latest creation, this $2,500 car stems not from consumer demand, but conversely - an unspoken need. You see, the average middle class family in India can't afford a car. And so when it comes time for a local family trip, an entire family of four will pile on to a scooter, originally intended for no more than two people.

Tata, recognizing this basic need for families to have a better, safer mode of transportation created a product based on what made sense for consumers. It's not a novel concept, this creating products based on what consumers need, not desire. But in a world of luxury vacations, designer bags, and flat screen plasmas, we are sometimes hard pressed to find the companies that innovate to improve lives. It's good to know that they are still out there.

To read more about Tata's Nano revolution and his vision, go to: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-2690777,prtpage-1.cms

This is not a rant about evolution; it’s a rant about marketing. Darwin’s big, paradigm-shifting idea was that those who adapt, succeed—a premise proved by marketing amidst fears of recession. Times of intense economic uncertainty are times when highly adaptive marketers can do quite well indeed. The ones who don’t do so well are not the weak ones but rather the ones who refuse to adapt.

So how to be adaptive right now, as customers, marketers and your CEO boss all worry that we’ve gone from tipping point to the point of no return? Here are some ideas, none original (see Darwin above), but all part of the marketers’ survival plan:

Continue reading "Darwin Was Right! What Evolution Teaches Marketers"

It's great to hear Nancy Hill, the just-hired President-CEO of the 4A's, say that her openness to a rapidly evolving media landscape is more important than her gender to how she's going to take the organization forward and ensure its robustness and relevance. She tells Ad Age: "Honestly, I don't think it's a gender issue. What I probably bring that my predecessors do not is my experience at a variety of different agencies. I've worked in digital, I've worked in every type of media. It's less about what I bring from a gender standpoint than what I bring from a background standpoint." We at Jack Morton hope that openness to a variety of media includes experiential!