One of the speakers at The Art Of Marketing conference, in Toronto, this past Tuesday, was Sally Hogshead. Her presentation was brilliant and amazingly executed. She’s one of those presenters who can keep the audience actively engaged, and she did it in one of the most unique ways I’ve ever seen – she offered shots of Jägermeister.
Photos by Sheila Goldgrab, www.leadership-gold.com
Sally was looking for “Jägermeister virgins.” Those are people who have never tasted the cult classic better known as “Jager”. Sally’s goal wasn’t to get the audience all ‘liquor’ed’ up in the hope that we might enjoy her presentation more, instead she was proving a point. Jägermeister is a brand that sells close to a 100 million bottles a year and most people don’t like it. In fact, most people despise the taste of Jäger.
Since none of us like it, why the heck are we buying and drinking it at such an alarming rate? The reason we drink it is we’re fascinated by it – hence the title of Sally’s new book “Fascinate.” (which I plan to read as soon as I can)
I can remember the rumors from back in High School, (all of which Sally mentioned) in ”It’s made of Elk’s Blood,” “It’s got drugs in it,” etc. All of which are false by the way.
The real truth here is that this is the primary reason we continue to consume massive amounts of this stuff. Even though it tastes bad, we’re fascinated by it, and there is a trigger of fascination in play that’s influencing our decisions.
Sally says there are seven Triggers that are used to fascinate us and trigger a response or desired action from us, like buying something; Ta-da.
The seven triggers are:
Mystique – Jägger is made of Elk’s blood and contains hallucinogens – McDonald’s Secret Sauce – The KFC Secret Recipe – That’s mystique.
Power – We’re fascinated and influenced by people of power and control. Power is the ability to motivate but also create fear. To me, power is seen in the people and leaders who challenge the status quo. They rise up and say, “wait a minute, why do that when you could be doing this?” Everyone else is doing “that.” It’s the top film critic who motivates us to go see this movie over another. That is power.
Lust – The seduction of pleasure! I want that now! The giant big mac on the billboard, as the perfect hamburger, is almost irresistible and we can taste it. The dipping of strawberries into oozing milk chocolate. That’s lust.
Alarm – “Only 20 copies left……Order now” “You’ve got to call in the next 90 minutes if you want all 743 knives for only three easy payments of $19.95.” That’s alarm.
Trust – Sally gave the example of Toyota for trust. Trust is the hardest trigger to use properly. The entire brand of Toyota for over 100 years was built using trust. Trust of quality, trust of safety, trust they were doing things right. Now it’s broken. That “was” trust.
Vice – Sally mentioned the story of Tiger and the temptation of the forbidden fruit. He was obviously fascinated enough that he grabbed it, multiple times. We’re tempted by the vice trigger constantly, and that’s the reason we’re so fascinated by the Tiger saga. That’s vice.
Prestige - Think of expensive watches or fine champagne like Dom Perignon. Of course, it’s not just expensive and luxury items to create prestige. It’s also present when Lance Armstrong wins another race , or when Visa runs comeback story ads during the Olympics. Success – the finish line – the accomplishment. That’s prestige.
Everyone of us naturally use these triggers within our personalities. Sally has provided a test you can take to see which triggers you naturally use to trigger fascination. Take the “F-Test” now.
I truly enjoyed the conference and it exceeded all of my expectations.
But there was something about the conference that made the day just a little extra special for me. During the conference I was given a totally unexpected gift…
A gift that nearly took me out of my seat.
A gift that will stick with me forever.
A gift that told me I’m on the right track (or getting closer to it), while my lizard brain is trying to tell me otherwise.
A gift that reminded me that I have gifts to give as well.
A gift that reminded me just how powerful a small gesture or act of kindness can be.
I’m not talking about a gift where some form of reciprocation was expected. That isn’t really a gift, that’s a transaction. Many people give gifts with the expectation of receiving something in return. That’s a business deal.
Real gifts expect nothing in return.
Seth Godin
I wanted to share a little quote about gifts from my favorite author, and world-renowned marketer, Seth Godin, who I was fortunate enough to hear speak at today’s conference.
“When done properly, gifts work like nothing else. A gift gladly accepted changes everything. The imbalance creates motion, motion that pushes us to a new equilibrium, motion that creates connection.
The key is that the gift must be freely and gladly accepted. Sending someone a gift over the transom isn’t a gift, it’s marketing. Gifts have to be truly given, not given in anticipation of a repayment. True gifts are part of being in a community (willingly paying taxes for a school you will never again send your grown kids to) and part of being an artist (because the giving motivates you to do ever better work).
Plus, giving a gift feels good.“
He wasn’t kidding. I gladly accepted the gift, but more importantly, the gift changes everything. The gift increased the motion that Seth mentioned above. The imbalance was already there, and the ball was slowly rolling, but now it’s got momentum.
Don’t ever forget how much impact a small gift can have.
Please take a minute and read Seth’s entire post on gifts.
Mitch Joel, author of the new book Six Pixels of Separation, and also one of the top 100 on-line marketers in the world, announced on his blog he was going to have a contest. Mitch said he would give away two tickets to the event and two signed copies of his new book. Mitch is also one of the speakers at this amazing event.
The rules of his contest were simple:
“To win this pair of tickets and the free books, all you have to do is leave a comment below with your thoughts on what it takes to be a great Marketer in 2010. I’ll choose one winner who really exemplifies passion on February 16th“
I have my own ideas on what it takes to be a great marketer in 2010, so I figured, I’ll enter the contest.
What did I have to lose, besides a few minutes of my time?
As it turns out, my answer exemplified the passion they were looking for because yesterday, I got an email from Mitch telling me that I had won. My response had been chosen.
Here’s what I said (I’ve cleaned it up a bit since my original response was a tad messy….I was writing in a bit of a rush as I went out the door)
3 Steps To Being a Great Marketer in 2010
Here’s what it takes to be a great marketer in 2010.
A great marketer….
“cares” instead of “sells”.
Old marketers will teach you tricks like how to write clever sales copy or how to write a proper headline.
A great marketer, in 2010, is able to spread this exuberance and touch people through the art of caring.
A great marketer realizes, in 2010, that a genuine fan of one is greater than a thousand drones and a 0.03% conversion rate.
2010 is about honesty and transparency. A great marketer doesn’t take on the client who doesn’t believe in this. It’s not only about the pay. Great marketers, in 2010, understand the importance of social responsibilities.
Social responsibility, within your marketing efforts, is equally as important as being socially responsible towards the environment.
There is no in-between. You either litter or you don’t. You either give a crap or you don’t.
There is no toeing the line.
A great marketer, in 2010, is socially responsible for all his/her actions.
A great marketer, in 2010, understands that all marketing is done for the good of the people (even if it’s one person) and not the almighty dollar.
The dollars will follow those who do the greatest good.
A great marketer….
(and most importantly) has giant balls. (yes ladies, you too)
A great marketer, in 2010, takes chances while still maintaining an intense social responsibility for all her/her actions. A great marketer doesn’t sit in the slow lane or drive in the middle of the road. A great marketer doesn’t colour within the lines. A great marketer, in 2010, takes chances and has giant balls. The marketer understands that multiple failures is the only option for great marketing.
The questions is, do you have the balls and are they enough?
You can blow piles of cash on newspapers, radio advertising, television commercials, or just hope for the best.
But I’ve got a better suggestion. If you live in Ontario (or even Detroit/Buffalo), you’re in luck. On March 2nd, 2010, there’s going to be a very special event held in Toronto called “The Art of Marketing”. This is, without a doubt, an all-star jam-packed conference that you can’t afford to miss.
And I’m especially calling on all the businesses in my area – the Windsor/Essex County area. Get in your cars, grab a Timmies, crack the stereo and hit the 401. This is a BIG event that packs some serious thunder. It will pay back in major dividends for you and your business.
Sure, you can go and buy a pile of books, spend a few days reading about social media tactics online, or maybe even hire someone awesome like this guy to come in and whip your business into shape….
Or – you can attend this event and learn WAY more and spend a lot less. I’d still hire this guy though.
Here’s who will be speaking at this jam-packed event.
Seth Godin on Leadership & Creativity – If you’ve been to my blog more than once you know I’m a Seth Godin nut. I think eight of my last 10 posts have included the name “Seth Godin.” Seriously. Seth Godin is by far, one of the (if not THE) top marketing gurus of our time. He’s written many best-selling books and has been called one of the top 21 greatest speakers of the 21st century.
If I can give you just ONE reason why this event is worth your time or money, this is it. I’m guessing Godin will be presenting concepts from latest book Linchpin. I wrote down my thoughts about Linchpin here.
That would be enough for most people. If Godin was coming to Toronto on his own to give a talk on leadership and creativity, you could bet the lineup would stretch down the road and wrap around the corner. But the organizers thought “we can make this event even better,” and they did.
Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
The Power of Telling Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World
Is Your Marketing out of Sync?
Why Smart Companies Abandon Worry and Embrace Change
Are You Indispensable?
Mitch Joel on Digital Marketing & Social Media – Mitch just released his book Six Pixels of Seperation and will be talking about social media. Thank goodness for that. Everyone and their sister is using social media. But only a handful of businesses are actually getting it. This is your chance to learn how to properly use social media and stand out in a very crowded room.
How to “burn the ships” and rethink marketing in a connected world
Mind-blowing stats about the online world and what people are doing/saying about your brand
How to thrive in a world where anyone can (and is) saying whatever they want about your brands, products, and services
Why “why?” is a much more important question to ask your teams than “what?”
How to understand what “control” means in a digital world
Why traditional advertising is making us all more irresponsible than ever before
The theory behind “Digital Darwinism” and how your business will evolve in the next 24 months
Sally Hogshead on Persuasion and Influence – Sally says that the average consumer’s attention span is nine seconds. Count em. 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9. If you haven’t captured your audience in those nine seconds, you’ve lost them. I can’t be bothered to read your ad or check your storefront window as I walk by. Why? Because my buddy is IM’ing me; I’ve got 16 texts coming in; I just got invited to seven events on Facebook; and 11 people just re-tweeted my awesome tweet.
Technological and cultural triggers in the evolution of branding, from persuasion through engagement, through advertising yet to come.
Why some brands are winning and some are losing the critical battle for authenticity.
Why advertising is a tension between art, commerce, and ethics.
Pros and cons of consumer-driven, immersive, imbedded utility, and now trans-media based branding approaches.
The roots, triggers, and implications of the coming revolution in narrative branding.
Discover via case studies from around the world, how understanding this profound shift in the way we create, share, and combine story and technology may prove to be one of the most vital skills of the 21st century marketing.
Max Lenderman on Branding & Experimental Marketing - If there are two words when combined that get me excited, they are “Experimental marketing.” Want to learn the newest and most radical marketing techniques being used around the globe? Max will show and tell you how to start using them in your own business.
Learn how oligarchs are using radical advertising and marketing tactics to launch brands and reinvent products.
Dive into the multi-billion-dollar racket of brand fakery at Silk Street, the epicentre of piracy and counterfeiting in China, and learn how pirates are reshaping brands around the world, and what brands are doing to combat and co-opt them.
Learn the secrets of success to marketing and advertising to four billion poor people in this world by examining how brands and products reach the hinterland of India, which has the world’s largest poor population.
Find out the strategies and ethos that are driving the future of marketing and advertising in the global marketplace.
Dan Heath on Strategy & Communications - Dan, along with his brother Chip, wrote Made to Stick. This is an amazing book about why some ideas survive and others die. This book will transform the way you think about communicating and sharing your ideas. If you haven’t read it, buy it. But then again, why not just come and listen to Dan speak?
This is going to be a great presentation It’s no surprise the organizers have left this event for the last one of the day.
Simplicity: Simplify your message. Simplicity isn’t about dumbing down, it’s about prioritizing
Demand before Supply: Before your message can stick, your audience must appreciate it
Credibility: How to create credibility in an untrusting market place
Emotion: How to enter the emotional realm, emotions lead to actions
Stories: Driving action through the power of stories
So after all is said and done, you’re looking at this and thinking “Holy Schmoly – That’s a pretty awesome event Noah!” But deep down you’re probably assuming the event costs thousands and thousands of dollars.
And why wouldn’t it?
People would easily pay that and more to hear Seth Godin speak. People HAVE paid that and more! You can’t blame them either. By just applying a few of the right techniques, or making a few changes to the current way you do business; you could easily make a lot more moola!
So what’s it all going to cost you?
Well, I hope someone is near you when you read this because you may just keel over and have a heart attack.
You might end up spitting coffee all over your computer monitor.
You might dance around like a nut for a few minutes.
Because the event is only $399 bucks.(keep reading)
But, let’s just say you enjoy the finer things in life. Like special access doors or being so close to the action that the speakers saliva might hit your forehead.
You want to wine-and-dine enjoying a 3-course meal while I’m outside stuffing my face with street-vendor Hot Dogs. You can do that too. VIP pricing is only $499 bucks. (keep reading)
Still alive?
Good.
Because you might not be after I drop the next bomb. I persuaded the organizers to do even better. Things are in rough shape in Windsor/Essex county! Give us a break I shouted! And they responded.
If you use the code CN25, you’ll be able to take $50 bucks off your ticket. This means you can get in for only $349 or you can be a high falootin VIP for only $449! The choice is yours!
Folks, this is a no-brainer. If you want to find me at the event, look for the guy outside keeping the Hot Dog stands in business.
Don’t want to go yourself?
Pony up and send your marketing employee.You know who I’m talking about. The one you keep locked up in the office with no windows. The person, or highly specialized person, you’ve hired to engage in everything your organization calls “marketing.” Send her.
She will thank you, not just for a day out of the office, but by showing you the new ways to grow your business. At first it will be hard for you to accept your employee’s recommendations. That’s normal. She’ll explain that there’s more to life than your yellow pages advertisement or the coupon in the local newspaper. She might even show you why, just because you have a Facebook & Twitter account, that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything even close to social media marketing.
