CRM - March 2008 - (Page 27)

not she can adequately defend a multicultural launch. The typical lifespan of a CMO is 18 months, Muse says, a relatively short period of time in an executive role; hence, they are more eager to grab the low-hanging fruit from the general market even if it only produces shortterm results. But marketing shouldn’t revolve around the numbers—innovation and long-term success depend on creativity. The marketer/agency relationship is also crucial. Agencies want to give marketers valuable information and help them succeed as much as marketers need to give agencies inspiration. An independent agency trained to target specific markets, Muse says, can provide more creativity, more insight, and more experience. “When the CMO is fired and the agencies have been let go, they’ve basically failed each other,” he says. This story rang true for Nita Song, president of Asian American advertising agency IW Group. With one client, Song soon realized that it lacked the resources, the intent, and the internal champion. “There was a huge burden on the agency to make up for the lack of client infrastructure,” Song says, which in this case forced the agency and company to part ways. Unless it’s a true partnership, she says,“it will never get the recognition or positioning it deserves.” 3 types OF MULTICULTURAL CAMPAIGNS Ron Campbell, president of Campbell-Communications, provides examples of advertisements that fall under three general categories, in order of decreasing effectiveness: Targeted, Inclusive, and Token. THE TECHNIQUE: Targeted Most effective; directed to a specific audience; resonates on a more personal level. T H E C A M PA I G N : In 2005, Verizon Broadband’s “Realize” campaign was an effort to reach the African American communities in Philadelphia and Washington. Creative elements featured real people who rely on Verizon Broadband’s services to aid in the pursuit of their entrepreneurial endeavors. Language and cultural services expert Nikki O’Dell was photographed with a stack of language dictionaries and a slogan that read, “Realize: Success Translated Globally.” Other, more general slogans were simple, yet powerful, such as “Realize Potential,” featuring a picture of boxing gloves. THE TECHNIQUE: Inclusive Works well as a general message; not necessarily culturally targeted, but delivered by a person culturally relevant and important to the group; features minority actors in lead roles rather than secondary ones, adding to relevancy. T H E C A M PA I G N : African American actor Dennis Haysbert is the current national spokesman for insurance company Allstate. “He’s an appealing celebrity in general,” Campbell says, “but certainly the African Americans identify with him.” THE ADVERSITY OF DIVERSITY Whether you’re marketing to the multicultural market or the general market, you have to understand your customers—sometimes at the most basic level. “I’ve had advertisers say, ‘Oh, we didn’t know Asian people shaved their armpits,’” Romley says. Research is invariably the most crucial element in this entire process. “You should never use naïve assumptions about people…it’s got to be fact-based,” Microsoft’s Wilson says. Multicultural marketing requires more than just having a multicultural cast in a TV commercial. While this seems obvious, too many failed attempts are due to violations of the critical rule: Multicultural consumers are not homogeneous. “It’s not enough to say,‘I’m a good person. I’m not racist. I’m going to cater to www.destinationCRM.com THE TECHNIQUE: Token Least effective; what Campbell calls the “Oh, by the way” technique; a minority is merely thrown in without particular rhyme or reason. T H E C A M PA I G N : When General Motors cast Mary J. Blige in its commercial for the Chevy Tahoe, Campbell says the ads underutilized her. “It was just another celebrity in a commercial,” he says. The 30-second spot ends with her in the vehicle, but says nothing substantive about how Chevy benefits her (or the African American) lifestyle. CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT | MARCH 2008 27 http://www.destinationCRM.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of CRM - March 2008

CRM - March 2008 Contents Front Office Feedback Reality Check Customer Centricity The Tipping Point Re-shoring Contact Centers NetSuite’s Sweet Ride Takes Another Turn SaaS X.0? destinationCRM Dashboard Retailers Dream Big Detroit: Driven to Distraction Required Reading The Markets Within the Masses In Search of... Selling CRM to Your Sales Force Quixtar’s Quick Fix Travelocity’s New Traveling Companion Chasing Down First-Call Resolution Governing Better Marketing Secret of My Success Re: Tooling Connect Pint of View

CRM - March 2008

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