NAWLA’s New Claim: Our Wood. Our Bond. Our Future.

There is something rather magical about wood. The beauty, utility, abundance and organic nature of wood is remarkable, and over the last 115 years has created an entire industry of people who nurture, steward, manage, cultivate and promote the wise and expansive use of wood. Founded as The North American Wholesale Lumber Association, or NAWLA, the members within the organization are indeed, remarkable themselves.

Amazingly, the people we’ve talked with in this association are creative, resilient, diligent, independent minded, industrious and entrepreneurial. And these entrepreneurs are unique in that the deals done between these members often transcend the business and become a commitment to the common good of each other and the industry at large. It is an industry where a handshake is a promise, and a promise is a bond to be honored. Over my career, I’ve never seen a culture of such strongly held shared values within a single industry that perpetuate such a common bond. That bond is the fuel that will continue generate new ideas, new partnerships, new opportunities for NAWLA members, I’m certain of it. If wood is their bond, their bond is their future.

Co-branding for Distributors create new sales activity

Wholesalers today are facing both great opportunity and difficult choices. If wholesalers/distributors can’t create new value, new products, new programs to introduce into the market, the stagnancy of the crawling economy will mean further operational cuts. The opportunity for wholesalers is to take the initiative and forge a new, different and stronger alliance with a highly trusted manufacturer. Jointly create a new program that delivers something new to the market. This alliance creates something new to generate sales, while building upon the earned trust of both wholesaler and manufacturer. Co-branding this between the distributor’s brand and the manufacturer’s brand creates a new level of interest, engagement and trust. For example, these deals can be based on a new product, new purchase volume, new financing, new service model, new delivery schedules, new bundling, etc. Promoting it jointly can generate new buzz for both of brands.

The North American Wholesale Lumber Association’s Trader’s Market is a great opportunity for LBM distributors to forge these new deals.

Twitter me this Batman?

No doubt, Social Media is THE hot topic. 

I attended a major conference last week…a top-notch event that I will attend again.  What I found quite intriguing was all the real-time tweeting…

The conference had people continually tweeting during each speaker’s presentation.   These tweets displayed on gigantic screens located adjacent to the speaker’s presentation screens.

Realizing I have a little ADD, but I found this to be distracting.  Moreover, having tweets reiterate what the speaker said or tweets on the room temperature seemed more like entertainment than value. (maybe that was the goal?)

In business, we must find the best way to utilize this media, add value, get people to think differently and create a relationship.  This is done first by building trust through shared values, shared vision, assumed responsibility and delivering on promises.

So Batman, did we utilize Twitter in the best way possible?  What do you think?

Could Toyota Salvage its Image with a Logo Refresh?

Toyota has beefed up their advertising in Q1 of 2010 with the hope of off setting some of the hot press surrounding their recalls. The automotive giant is still reeling from the recall of their Avalon, Camry, Highlander Hybrid, Highlander, Prius, Truck,
Corolla, Matrix, and Venza product lines. The consumer outcry has represented the collective voice of frustration and worry about how the company handled the cases of deaths related to these recalls.

Other industry defining companies have under gone logo rebrands to easy the public resentment and hostility. Wal-Mart, facing public scrutiny for their poor internal HR management and harmful environmental practices, decided to give their company image a face lift. They opted to ease the logo’s rich, deep blue for a softer shade of turquoise.

The militant blue star was transformed into a friendly 6 spoked yellow orb. This repositioning may have offset some negative association with the old brand, but the true test will be if Wal-mart can make the internal changes necessary to reflect their new brand image.

Now that the economy is seeing faint rays of light indicating that the recession has begun to reside, is it time to revisit your company logo? Do your customers or clients know that your company weathered the storm?

Trust in the market place will be built by those companies that advertise the message, “We are still here and going strong!”

Now is the time to tell your story!!! Don’t wait.

QR codes can track your direct mail

The QR code technology, created in 1994 by the Japanese company Denso-Wave, is revolutionizing the advertising marketplace on a global scale. You will see this technology all over Asia but it just starting to gain traction in the US market.

QR codes are a 2 dimensional bar code that enables the creator to embed a website address, phone number, standard HTML message or SMS message for mobile devices.

Consumers with any smart phone- Blackberry, iPhone, Droid…etc. – download an app to read the QR code. Then they are enabled to take a picture of these bar codes anywhere (t-shirts, billboards, faxes, car magnets, etc.) and they are redirected to the medium of choice listed above.

Think of the possibilities…

1. Consumers looking to buy you product can scan your postcard and they are directed to your website (that is being tracked) and buy your product via their phone.

2. Post flyers advertising your home for sale that directs buyers to a more detailed listing on Remax.com.

3. Distribute your weekly coupon via text message to your database of 10,000 loyal and raving fans!

4. Enable tech savvy consumers to scan your bar codes on your billboard in Times Square, London, Tokyo, Singapore or Rome with the simple snap of their mobile camera.

Why don’t you give it a try for yourself? Go to Google and search which mobile app will work for your phone. Then start snapping away!

Still have more questions? Give us a call: 630-587-6000.

Facebook surpasses Google as most visited website in US

On March 13, 2010, Facebook surpassed Google’s online market share for the first time ever. Facebook was launched in February of 2004 and has quickly become the most popular social networking site in the world. Not to be confused with Google, which is the worlds largest – most popular – search engine.

Facebook has grown by 185% in the last 12 months allowing it catch up and pass Google by landing a 7.07% market share in the US. How has Facebook managed to accomplish such a daring and sought after feat? The answer lies within the very essence of viral media marketing. Build a community around like-minded values and let the wild brush burn.

Facebook captivated the youth of America by offering a haven where one could document their life in real-time to be shared with their network of friends and peers. The ultimate popularity contest where pictures, videos, messaging, and apps could be found in one central location.

However, not just tech savvy GenYer’s are hopping on this exponential growth curve. Now Mom, Dad and Grandma Susie are all posting pictures and sharing their information through Facebook.

The continuous script of new messages posted by friends, vacation updates and picture tagged from weekend shenanigans have avid Facebooker’s engaging in the online community all day long. That is one way that Facebook has managed to grow so rapidly and capture that ever coveted online market share.

What are the social values held by Facebook that are so appealing to the average web browser? Or is it the engagement of being a member of the online community the real draw?

Market share for Facebook and Google

What does the iPad do for Apple’s brand?

If you are Apple, what comes after revolutionizing the music, computer, operation system, and software industries? Why not create a new product that has all the bells and whistles of the iPod Touch (music, photos, web browsing, maps, data management…etc), but 4 times the size so you can download and read The Wall Street Journal, Malcolm Gladwell’s newest best seller, or even Wired Magazine remotely anytime…anywhere?

That is exactly what the iPad has done for the Apple hungry consumer. Download apps, listen to music, or read your favorite periodical. There is no industry or technology that is safe from the Apple hand print. In 2009, the GPS industry was rocked by 3G networks and apps that deliver you “turn by turn” to you location from your cell phone.

Now, electronic book manufacturers will need to push harder and stronger to differentiate their product in the market while providing a service that supersedes the Apple brand promise. This will not be an easy road for the iPad’s competition.

How can the this industry stake it’s claim on the market share? They will need to dive deep into the consumer segment and truly understand the emotional triggers of the buyer. Buyer Behavior 101, but the unique value proposition and positioning statements to the market are what will help these companies stay afloat while Apple launches the iBookstore torpedos.

Long story short, to quote the author Jack Trout, “Differentiate or die..”

Could Toyota have used digital media to stem damage to its brand?

Digital media and web chatter provide a great window into how some consumers view the brand, and for this example, Toyota’s brand chatter is off the charts. In his book, The Tipping Point, Malcolm Gladwell helps us predict what the NTSC has known for decades — regulators say it is common for consumer complaints to rise following a major automotive recall.

Toyota has stated that it takes “all customer reports seriously” and it is working to apply “more stringent quality controls, investigate customer complaints more aggressively, keep open lines of communication with safety agencies and respond more quickly to safety issues we identify.”

Frankly, this sounds little flat, impersonal and “after-the-fact” if you ask me. Surely the PR and crisis managers were looking out for their liability in their statements, but this was a time for aggressive, proactive action, demonstrating Toyota’s assertive leadership commitment to safety.

Unfortunately, Toyota was slow. PR gurus say that their response was too little too late, and the consumer “tipping point” had already begun.

What if Toyota had refreshed their website, jumped on Twitter, Linked-In, Facebook and a couple dozen other social media sites and to reinforce who they are, what they value and then backed it up with viral video and leadership action to reinforce their promise of safety? Could they have averted this brand crisis?

Perhaps. With unprecedented access to millions of car owners through social and web media, if Toyota had become proactive, linking its core values to its brand promise using social media, it might have slowed down the speed and trajectory of the crisis at the least, and arguably, prevented deep damage to the brand equity and trust it has earned.

It didn’t do so.

Earning and maintaining trust is about shared values, shared vision, assuming responsibility and always delivering on your promise. Rather than reinforcing its core values and talking about its vision for safe automobiles of the future, it got stuck in reverse. As of the writing of this article, Toyota still hasn’t connected its core values and corporate vision to what consumers value. This is the essence of trust.

A quick look at their website page “Our Values” reveals an animated photo montage of Toyota people with values as a title overlay, but there is no corporate link to a definition of the values that drive the organization forward, nor that help people know that the Toyota promise is one they can depend upon. The only list of Toyota corporate values I could find lies in a dusty website corner promoting the 1984 values that created its joint venture with General Motors in Fremont, California. Talk about dusty.

The issue remains. Can social media and digital media assist during brand and media crises?

Absolutely. But too few organizations understand that trust is not about the product, its features or its benefits, but about the core values and vision of the company behind it, and their living within those values consistently.

Corporate websites beware. Social media and social networking sites mavens take note. These are the media. Trust is always about the truth, shared values and shared vision. Unfortunately, Toyota missed and is still missing the boat.

Hey, Toyota, the world wants to know: What do you really stand for?

Chuck Thomas is President of CTCreative, a strategic marketing and branding consultancy serving market leaders with insight, imagination and integrity. For more information about CTCreative, visit www.ctcreative.com . Start the dialogue. Email at chuck123@ctcreative.com. Copyright 2010 CTCreative, Inc. All rights reserved.

Direct Mail losing popularity but not effectiveness…

The Wall Street Journal just published an article called, “Firms Hold Fast to Snail Mail Marketing”. The article addresses how, in this tough economy, companies have pursued new marketing opportunities in an effort to reduce marketing spend by shifting budgets and resources to digital campaigns.

The Wall Street Journal reported that consumers received about 5.2 billion pieces of direct mail in the third quarter of 2009, a 27% decline compared with 7.1 billion in the same period a year earlier. The cost and inability to track direct mailing promotions have driven many towards the easily trackable and less expensive digital platforms. Email marketing has continued to grow, however is quickly becoming a saturated communication channel.

Many companies do not recognize the importance of balancing traditional and contemporary marketing practices. A successful and effective marketing promotion leverages the collaborative effort of both the “old school” and the “new school”. The addition of new digital platforms should not reduce the outbound volume or frequency of a companies traditional marketing practices. The message, strategy or delivery may change, but the tactics should remain constant. They should compliment each other and together drive new traffic, impressions and conversions. The CTCreative Marketing Funnel below visually represents the collaborative relationship that results in an integrated marketing platform.

How is your marketing platform? Is it well balanced or is it fragmented?

CTCreative Marketing Funnel

Tiger and Trust…

Tiger Woods — His recently revealed tryst under the sheets uncovers a major lapse in character and judgment, and not just once, but over a number of months, that has caused deep damage to life-long relationships.

Tiger, how could this happen? Say it ain’t so!

Trust injuries cause bruises, welts, scars – some both seen and unseen.

So what’s the damage to Tiger and his brand?

Likely his public brand will remain strong because his website apology addressed his failure of personal values, then he accepted responsibility and, finally, he cast a shared vision and made a promise, to do what is right and good and honorable.

The way his mistress blasted Tiger’s voicemail to the news media, says a lot about her and about Tiger. She didn’t just talk about dirty laundry, she painted it on a billboard. Look for “collateral damage” to his brand from association with a volatile woman scorned.

Martha Stewart’s brand was under siege a few years ago and her response was silence, then denial, denial, denial.. Ultimately, her handling of it tarnished a strong brand.

Trust is built on shared values, shared vision, assumed responsibility, and always delivering on your promise. So Tiger has talked about his values, he’s assumed responsibility, and he’s made a promise, to his wife, family, his peers and to his fan base. No, Tiger, people don’t expect perfection, they expect honesty and transparency and they want someone to live up to their word. He’s delivered the talk. Now will he deliver on his promise to change his behavior.

Behavior reveals values.
The values we hold, drive the choices we make. There is no hiding. Avoiding, denying, posturing, spinning and parsing eventually becomes pretty well apparent.

Stay tuned. My bet is Tiger will come out of this with little “apparent” damage to his public trust. He will change his behavior hearing his Dad’s voice in the background. (he likely would get a good chewing out by his dad were he alive, and that will likely keep him focused for a bit).

But deep personal scars within his family won’t go away for a long time, if ever….unless he changes from the inside out.

I hope that he strikes good on his promises, and regains the trust, love and honor of those who love him beyond his ability to swing a club. The valuable things last beyond a lifetime and trust is the glue.