The Responsible Marketing Blog » innovation

Fly the responsible skies with Jet Blue

Patrick Byers — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 09:09:56 +0000

Earlier this year, Hyundai introduced its Assurance Program giving buyers the option to return their new car to the dealership if they lost their job.

I liked the idea then and I like it now.

Now, Jet Blue has taken a page from Hyundai and has introduced the Jet Blue Promise Program.

While returning a ticket doesn’t have the same impact as returning a car, I like this new corporate forgiveness trend.

Do you?

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Image: BusinessWeek

Lose your job? Return your car.

Patrick Byers — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 08:05:57 +0000

As retailer desperation reaches a fever pitch and discount signs pop up everywhere, here’s something a little different:

With Hyundai’s Assurance Program, if you lose your job, you can return your car to the dealership.

Any automaker could have done this, but they haven’t—yet. And Hyundai did it first.

Not only will this drive word of mouth, it positions Hyundai as a company that cares—not just another automaker desperately trying to move metal.

What’s more, this is simply smart business:

When someone starts missing payments, what happens? Collection calls are followed by legal notices, and eventually the gets a visit from the repo man and their car gets to ride the hook. Ultimately, the customer is demoralized and the creditor loses money.

With this program the car is returned without incident, the customer retains their dignity and Hyundai is the good guy.

I think it’s brilliant.

But what do you think?

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Via Trendhunter

McDonald’s zags with new concept store

Patrick Byers — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 12:06:07 +0000

At a time when most companies are looking for ways to extend their brand to gain a greater share of the customer’s wallet, McDonalds has “secretly” introduced Quarter Pounder, a new concept store in Japan that sells only Quarter Pounders.

That’s right, you can get a Quarter Pounder, or a Double Quarter Pounder, fries and a drink—and nothing else.

No Egg McMuffins, McNuggets, McFlurry’s—and certainly no clown. In fact, there’s no McBrand, and until recently—no hint of the golden arches.

Here’s a shot of their homepage as of about a week ago, via InventorSpot:

Simplicity is a powerful concept, and focus is always a good thing. But with such a limited menu, will the Quarter Pounder store ever be anything more than a novelty?

What do you think of McDonald’s brave new concept?

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While we’re on the subject. . .

Marketing lessons from Barack Obama

Patrick Byers — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:05:04 +0000

Whether you are red or blue, you can’t deny Barack Obama’s marketing prowess. Here are a few lessons every organization should consider when they are seeking ‘votes’ from prospects:

Develop strategies based on consumer insights. The Obama campaign clearly understood where America was hurting most, and developed strategies in response.

Build an organization that can deliver that strategy. Obama was casting responsible, fielding an impressive team from the very start.

Own a unique position. Hillary and Barack stood out in a sea of mostly white guys. While Obama was new, different and attractive as a brand, he claimed the word “change” first. It was the thing the market wanted most, and when others tried to claim “change,” they looked like copycats.

Work from a plan. The Obama campaign never veered very far off course from their original plan. They said they would compete in and win in red states—and they did just that.

Stay on message. From the primaries through the general election, Obama did a better job than his opponent at staying on message. Though distracted more than once, like clockwork, he would faithfully return to his message strategy.

~~Get a great name.~~ Okay, maybe his name didn’t help him much.

Offer form and substance. While Obama’s marketing was the best presidential politics has ever seen, his opponent’s statements that he was a great orator but simply wasn’t ready to lead fell on deaf ears. His policies resonated better with voters, and his delivery, especially later in the campaign, were downright Presidential.

Stay positive. “Yes we can” trumps “No you can’t” every time.

Work from the ground up. Over 90% of the $640 million raised by Barack Obama came from individuals, and the bulk of that was contributions under $200.

Respond to the competition immediately. Smear tactics were often responded to within minutes by Obama’s staff and the candidate himself. The campaign’s Fight the Smears site helped spread the truth to supporters and the media.

Pick partners that reinforce your strengths and make up for your weaknesses. Obama chose a running mate that filled one of his greatest weaknesses by selecting Joe Biden, the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Embrace social media. The Obama campaign did a masterful job using social networking sites, using word of mouth campaigns that often went viral.

Remember all your audiences. As a minority, Obama understood he would have some cross-cultural appeal. Still, Team Obama pursued an ambitious multicultural marketing effort. Here’s an ad that aired in Puerto Rico:

View this video on YouTube

The strategies above aren’t red or blue. They’re green—the color of money.

So did you pick up any other marketing tips during the campaign that might translate well to your organization?

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Photo: Rainer Jensen/European Pressphoto Agency, via The New York Times

Ford innovation differentiates

Patrick Byers — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 08:05:59 +0000

When it’s time to buy a car, you have plenty of choices.

But if you have a teen driver in the house and have the Benjamins to buy them a new car, you’ll have to put a 2009 Ford on your shortlist.

Here’s why:

Ford Motor Company is introducing MyKey™, a standard new technology designed to allow parents to encourage teen-agers to drive safer and more fuel efficiently, and increase safety-belt usage.

Ford’s MyKey feature – which will launch on the Focus and be offered standard across many Ford, Lincoln and Mercury models in 2009 – allows owners to designate a key that can limit the vehicle’s top speed and audio volume.

View MyKey info graphic (PDF)

Consumers want innovation like this. It’s one of those “they shoulda done that years ago” game-changers that every car should have, and Ford will be rewarded for it.

It’s no secret American auto builders are in a world of hurt right now.

Listening to the customer and then giving them what they want is strategically responsible—and is a necessary piece of the puzzle that needs to be solved to help return Ford to profitability.

Which game-changing product or service innovation has impressed you most recently?

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