The old banner has finally come down and been replaced. It probably took the 2 Guyz’ relentlessness…and Covid-19.

The 2 Guyz on Marketing say, “Thank you.” For multiple reasons.

“THIS TOO SHALL PASS” is the new message with a phone number

The 2 Guyz Larry remembered the on-air radio contest in 1991 on the once famous Ken and Barkley Company radio program. It was back when radio personalities were media stars of the city, and wielded a lot of clout.

Larry decided to go in 2018 with a former student and have a hamburger from Hamburger Habit at 11223 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064.  Over the years Londre had always doubted the use of this banner which says “Best Hamburger.”  But more than his quest for the perfect burger, he is a lifelong collector of marketing and advertising stories.

So many things were wrong with the posting of the old banner.

Well, it was once judged best by a radio show, so that much is true.

Was the claim true for the past 20 years? Probably not. Does anything stay “best” that long?

But most importantly, it’s been too darn long to claim the results from a 1991 radio station promotion!

Both of The 2 Guyz on Marketing teach and work in marketing, advertising and promotion. In our classes, this brings up issues of advertising ethics, honesty in advertising, and sound business practice (or lack of).

Sales promotion includes several communications activities, under “Promotion” in the nine P’s of Marketing, that attempt to provide added value or incentives to wholesalers, retailers, or consumers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts or activities attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase.

Ultimately they are trying to sell more hamburgers and fries.

Sales promotion is the process of persuading a potential customer to buy the product. Sales promotion is designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost sales.

Larry and his former student agreed that it was NOT the best hamburger even within three blocks of National and Sepulveda.  For many reasons it was not appropriate to use the banner.  I would bet no one who was part of their “hamburger“ study” even works at KABC anymore. I would also bet they have changed suppliers, ingredients and employees multiple times, too.

Legally, the FTC gives us the “6 Month Rule,” which basically states a “new product” is new for six months.

An advertiser cannot promote a new product is “NEW” forever. (That’s why a lot of products do smaller innovations more frequently, so that can continually “legally” claim to be new, or “new and improved.”)

But simply it’s not good to say you “were”, if you “are not”.  And even if you “were” back then, 29 years is just too long. 

ALL THINGS DO PASS.

Can your customers find your product? Can your customers, clients or users tell the difference between your product or service and your competition, if they can’t find it?

Do the potential customers know about or are they aware of your product or service? Why is your product or service better? How is it different? That’s where “promotion” come in.

The 9 P’s/9P’s of Marketing can be used successfully by product companies, service firms, for profits entities and nonprofits “selling” directly or indirectly to consumers (B2C), to marketing intermediaries (such as industrial, consumer, retail, wholesale and professional channels of distribution), and to other businesses (B2B).

It’s the company’s activities that make the product available, using distribution and trade channels, roles, coverage, assortments, locations, inventory and transportation characteristics and alternatives.

Good Marketing is the offering the right Product at the right Price, with the right Partners and Presentation, at the right time, at the right Place. Consider, develop and review store and non-store, e-commerce and “brick and mortar” factors, considerations, objectives, strategies and tactics, including “Partners.”

Look at developing steps in an effective and efficient distribution plan, objectives, strategies, and tactics, plus execution.

• Channels of distribution.
• Considerations in and for an effective distribution network and partners.
• Channel partners. Identify and specify the roles of distribution partners and members, within the integrated strategic distribution strategies.
• Develop geographic strategies.
  • Develop and review financial conditions of partners, perishability, installation, maintenance and use of technology. Regarding technology or technographical characteristics. Understand your potential partner. Remember, in the back of your mind, that the reason technology is phenomenal is because it displaces years, or centuries, of previous technology. Partners and your consumers may or may not have the skills. Think employees here too. The reason technology skills are transitory is because they will almost certainly be displaced, too.
• A typical supply chain may consist of four links in the chain:

Producer > Factory > Manufacturer >
Distributor > Wholesaler > Retailer >
Consumer (supplying the ultimate users)

Here’s another example or two from the 2 Guyz on Marketing.  It was reported that Subway was selling 80% of its new franchise locations to existing franchisees. More than half of the locations are non-traditional including schools, zoos, military bases, plus hospitals, where there are “captive audiences.”

Place is more than just distribution. The smart marketer should explore all the different aspects of place: where is the brand made, where is it distributed, where is the competition, where is the competition missing from, where are the customers, where where do they live/shop/buy…all critical questions related to Place.

For more Marketing insights, ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to Londremarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s or Nine P’s/9P’s of Marketing.

*Created by Larry Steven Londre. Copyright 2007.

The 2 Guyz on Marketing think “yes.” Why? Multiple reasons.

2 Guyz Larry remembers the on-air radio contest in 1991 on the once famous Ken and Barkley Company radio program. It was back when radio personalities were media stars of the city, and wielded a lot of clout.

Larry decided to go recently  with a former student and have a hamburger from Hamburger Habit at 11223 National Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90064. Over the years Londre has always doubted the use of this banner which says “Best Hamburger.”  But more than his quest for the perfect burger, he is a lifelong collector of marketing and advertising stories.

So many things are wrong with the posting of this banner. Is the claim true? Well, it was once judged best by a radio show, so that is true. Were they the best? Maybe. Are they still? Highly unlikely. (Does anything stay “best” that long?)

But most importantly, it’s been too darn long to claim the results from a 1991 radio station promotion!

Both of the 2 Guyz on Marketing teach and work in marketing, advertising and promotion. In our classes, this brings up issues of advertising ethics, honesty in advertising, and sound business practice (or lack of).

Sales promotion includes several communications activities, under Promotion in the nine P’s of Marketing, that attempt to provide added value or incentives to wholesalers, retailers, or consumers to stimulate immediate sales. These efforts or activities attempt to stimulate product interest, trial, or purchase. Sales promotion is the process of persuading a potential customer to buy the product. Sales promotion is designed to be used as a short-term tactic to boost sales.

Why do companies and advertising agencies use sales promotion? To promote an increase in sales, usage or trial of a product or service.

Larry and his former student agreed that it may not be the best hamburger within three blocks of National and Sepulveda.  For many reasons it’s not appropriate to use the banner.  I would bet no one who was part of the “study” even works at KABC anymore. I would also bet they have changed suppliers and employees multiple times, too.

Legally, the FTC gave us the “6 Month Rule”, which basically states a “new product” is new for 6 months. An advertiser cannot promote a new product is new forever. (That’s why a lot of products do smaller innovations more frequently, so that can continually “legally” claim to be new, or “new and improved”).

But simply it’s not good to say you “were”, if you “are not”. And even if you “were” back then, 27 years is just too long.

Sometimes it’s pure imagination. Better put, creativity is imagination and originality.

So what do you do when you a producing the Academy Awards one year after their biggest flub…ever? Get creative.

While your company may not have ever had a big a mistake as last year’s announcement of the wrong movie for best picture, you can’t really blame Faye Dunnaway or Warren Beatty.  It was really the accounting firm of PwC.  They gave the stars the wrong envelope.

How do you address it, overcome the awkwardenss? Want a bigger rating, share and buzz for the Oscar’s this weekend. Think “Promotion,” one of the nine P’s of marketing?

Here’s what ABC and the producers dreamed up.

Easy, they are bring back Dunaway and Beatty!

Confirmed. After last year’s best picture mix-up by Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, they will again present the final award this Sunday March 4th on ABC.

First reported by TMZ, the “Bonnie and Clyde” actors have already rehearsed at the Dolby Theater for this year’s Academy Awards.

What you are not hearing is that after the best picture fiasco of last year, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences retained the services of accounting firm PwC for the 90th ceremony. Again.

PwC doesn’t like that association of the mistake, for sure.  They are in the business of accuracy.

The same PwC representatives will not be back. PwC will be on their toes being sure of everything and that everything goes right.

Pass the envelope, please!

(Photo courtesy Oscar.org)

What do the 2 Guyz On Marketing look for in spokespersons or celebrities?

Why use a celebrity or someone to front for your product or brand? It’s done because, when done well, it can…

1. Attract attention
2. Improve company or product’s image
3. Boost company or product’s awareness
4. Break through clutter
5. Exploit celebrity’s popularity
6. Increase sales
7. Increase company or product’s credibility
8. Use celebrity in marketing and sales meetings. Star can appear in events.

Strategic questions a brand manager or marketing manager should ask?

1. Is the celebrity appropriate for our product or service?
2. Does celebrity subtract from product or service?
3. Does the celebrity add value? Or generate a good impression?
4. Does the celebrity add to the product’s image?
5. How much is the fee?
6. How is the contract structured?
7. Do you pay the celebrity their fee, which will decrease media exposure/expenses?
8. What about the history and future of the celebrity exposure? What about “after hour” behavior, any criminal record, FTC issues? Health?
9. Be sure celebrity uses and continues to use the product?
10. Be sure the facts about the product are true and substantiated, before giving script to celebrity.
11. You must disclose if the star or celebrity has considerable interest in the company or product.

We teach and consult that brand managers and advertising executives need to come up with the right idea or selling concept. That must be first.   Then decide on the “celebrity” to present, sing or act. What you are going to say is more important than the “who.”

There is a downside. Not all relationships end well. Celebrities get in trouble, get injured, retire, etc. Your brand will be linked to the celebrity, for better or for worse. And when your contract ends, the celebrity’s life and career go on, but your relationship (and benefit) fades quickly.

It appears to us that Gerber has hit a homerun. Their new baby named “Lucas” won over 140K babies.

Celebrity endorsements and spokespeople work when they are truly connected to the brand. They are successful when the make positive connections three ways: between the celebrity, the brand, and the customer.

It’s a new world and a different world out there.

Lucas is cute, and he’s a special needs child. He has Down Syndrome. Smart marketing and good PR for Gerber. They are standing out and for a reason. Good for Gerber. Good for Lucas.

There are videos promoting this really harmful idea.

The American Association of Poison Control Centers, Proctor and Gamble (P&G), and heath care professionals call it “dangerous”.  Many have been making warnings about the increase in the number of teenagers eating the detergent pods, which can cause seizures, respiratory arrests and even deaths.

During the first two weeks of 2018, poison control centers have handled at least 39 cases of intentional misuse among 13 to 19 year olds.

Procter & Gamble or P&G is trying to get teens not to consume Tide pods, fueled by social media.

Is this a marketing and promotional tactic by P&G?

They definitely want to get this heath message out and to inform teenagers not to bite into a Tide Pod. This looks like a case of “demarkting”.

But what is “demarketing?”

To explain “demarketing,” the 2 Guyz need to reference “price” or pricing, “products” and “place,” under the nine P’s of Marketing

Demarketing is any Marketing effort, strategy and tactic aimed at discouraging and/or decreasing demand for a product 1) which a company or entity cannot supply in large-enough quantities, 2) it does not want to supply in a certain geographical region where the high costs of distribution (Place), 3) where costs of Promotion allow  too little profit or profit margin, or 4) simply want to stop or slow demand for good reason.  It’s not about eating, it’s about use.

We teach that common “demarketing” strategies typically include higher “prices” (another of the 9P’s), scaled-down “Promotion” and promotional message changes and product redesign.

Some owners, brand managers and marketing managers seek fewer customers and decrease demand for their product or service.

National parks such as Yosemite want fewer visitors during their summer months. Utilities tell us to use less energy during peak usage months. We’re reminded of the tampered Tylenol bottles,  the recent recall of romaine lettuce in many states as a result of e-coli, and many other instances of reducing demand.

In integrated marketing communications this is where advertising must be in sync with public relations and publicity efforts. And while Tide isn’t responsible for getting teens to eat pods, demarketing the behavior might be critical for the immediate future and profitability of the brand.

Over the years we hadn’t seen too many Sonic® TV spots, as Sonic was a Midwest chain, and while expanding, didn’t get to California until recently.

Sonic, “America’s Drive In,” has also adopted a new media strategy. They began advertising across the country, even in states they didn’t have drive-ins. They currently have more than 3,500 company and franchised locations around the country, but are only in 45 states.

We remember that in 2012 Sonic went back to the two advertising guys for Sonic after their CEO J. Clifford Hudson said their try at other new ideas and advertising executions “did not have the flexibility of moving across a variety of dayparts and messages.”

Sonic tried different executions for TV creative. They didn’t move the needle. Potential customers for Sonic didn’t see the spots in the sense that they were airing but didn’t get customers and fast food enthusiasts to go to Sonic.

For the 2 Guyz On Marketing it’s about more than generating awareness. It’s about making the cash register ring.

The TV approach and creative of their new campaign was the problem, Hudson told investors, that the length of time it took for one new commercial “to be even recognized as a Sonic promotion” was way too long. The 2 Guyz On Marketing would translate that into “Lack of sales. In retail, the goal is to make the cash register ring. When that doesn’t happen, people, and agencies, lose jobs.

So the 2 Sonic advertising guys are back. What is Sonic’s marketing objective? With a lot of experience in fast food and restaurant marketing, the 2 Guyz On Marketing (Larry and Brian) can pretty confidently say that is it to maintain or increase positive same-store sales growth. They advertise to support the stores and the brand, and know they are growing, so they are “softening the beaches” in the newer states.

We see the TV more. And they vary executions, frequently. They raise awareness. And they do plenty of promotions, about food and their food products.

The spots are interesting to us since they show product, and they make promotions work and generate store traffic.

Sonic wants brand recognition and wants a way to deliver copy points quickly and ultimately get store traffic and sales. That is what their 2 Sonic advertising guys do.

(Note: Sonic is a registered trademark of SONIC AMERICA’S DRIVE-IN BRAND PROPERTIES LLC)

Cinemark, the third-largest movie theater chain, has a marketing partnership with the AAA (aka the Auto Club). The AAA promotes that they have movie tickets discounted for Cinemark.

As an AAA member, you can purchase tickets for $8.49. Not sure you knew that. Sounds like a pretty good deal, right? Discount programs and sales promotion fall are part of “Price” and “Promotion,” under the 9P’s of Marketing.

Today, Cinemark said customers of “Movie Club” pay a monthly fee of $8.99 for movies. But wait there’s more. It’s only one movie a month. Really? The Movie Club members will receive a credit for only one movie ticket a month. To be fair, these subscribers can also buy additional tickets for $8.99 each. Seems to the 2 Guyz that the program doesn’t amount to much.

In a major city like Los Angeles or New York, average ticket prices are twice that much. But nationwide, ticket prices average less than $9, so again, where is the benefit.

Discounting and sales promotions are usually designed to be short term sales boosts to get people to try something or possibly switch brands. There is a downside, though, in that people can get “hooked” on it. J.C. Penny tried to eliminate their coupon discounts a few years ago, only to find sales drop dramatically.

So as movie fans, when we heard Cinemark announce their $8.99 movie promotion, “Movie Club,” we had to look more closely. And we also found it odd that it limits only one ticket a month. Cinemark sells tickets to Auto Club for $8.49. That’s a better “movie” deal.

• Promotion:
  • Eight (8) major, strategic components: The communication elements include personal and non-personal communication activities.
  • The activities that communicate the merits of the overall product, which include:
    • Personal Selling/ Sales Force: Sales persons:
      • A special 2 Guyz on marketing tip: “Listen more than you talk. People who listen more, learn more, plus helps you position your service/product/solution or offering.”
    • Advertising: There’s an expression “It is only creative if it sells.” I wanted to add “It is only good media spending if it sells.”
    • Sales Promotion
    • Collateral Materials
    • Direct Marketing (also referred to as Action or Direct Response Advertising)
    • Interactive/Internet/Web, Digital Media, Social Media:
    • Events and Experiences
    • Public Relations/PR

Promotion is the “stuff” that lay people think about when we talk about marketing. There’s lots of creativity, ideas, and brainstorming. But The 2 Guyz teach it’s that and a lot more, too. Promotion is a critical strategic part of any company or brand’s marketing mix.

From The 2 Guyz on Marketing, here are some strategic questions to ask, as a business owner, brand manager or advertising professional, and all fall under Promotion:

• • • Have you noticed that you may watch what you want to watch in TV programing, when you want to watch it and anywhere, any screen? TV is still the largest single advertising media when you measure how many people are touched by a single message at a single time. All of these factors affect media planning.
    • Look at and evaluate the eight different elements under Promotion and your brand’s practices and ask is there a better way? Which of these eight ways works best, or which ones work well together?
    • What are your costs in dollars and manpower or person power, and be sure to ask, “Is there a different or better way or ways to budget to build awareness?”
    • Look at different strategic partners? How might their costs affect yours?
    • To whom should you target and promote? Under People/Targeting, target audience within media falls here.
    • What should you promote? What are strategic copy points.
    • Discounting? Special sales? What economic and discount levels should you offer? Look at revenue versus costs.
    • What form or combination of promotion should you offer? Features?

How frequent? Add media planning here. Great promotion placed in the wrong place is wasted effort. Lousy promotion in the best place is equally flawed. Good marketing and advertising is the blend of creating promotion and media planning that work together strategically. Brian of the 2 Guyz on Marketing preaches to his class that it’s both science and art together in a delicate balance to be successful.

We will do additional posts on media planning and we have a couple of videos out on media planning. Check out our YouTube channel for that.

For more Marketing insights, ideas, concepts and Marketing solutions: Go to Londremarketing.com and look under “Articles and Resources” and the 9P’s/Nine P’s ©2007. Specifically you will find them detailed at 9P’s/Nine P’s or Nine P’s/9P’s of Marketing.

*Created by Larry Steven Londre. Copyright 2007.

Last month Larry went to a presentation on the “Death of Retail,” at the UCLA Economic Forecast. He mentioned to his table that the bet for over/under on the mentions of “Amazon” would be 99.

He wasn’t far off.

Amazon is influencing everything. Plenty of mentions on the mega-shopping site, Amazon instead of retail and malls. So what’s new in advertising and promotion? It’s on Amazon.

Just look at this recent piece from thestreet.com about brands teens are beginning to hate, but the article IN THE TITLE says “Amazon isn’t one of them”.

Retailers are looking for more presentation and a better display of their product, whether in store on online. The question is, how do you do that online?

Well, for $500K Amazon will allow brands to enhance their product pages on Amazon. The pages will include a “from the manufacturer” section with a dynamic and dominant presentation.

Londre has his nine P’s and one of those P’s is “presentation.” Here’s a great example which blends “Product,” Promotion” and “Presentation.” a more dynamic presentation. These pages will include wide-screen videos and interactive, multimedia displays. They are called “premium” pages, and the $500K is per brand per year.

It’s a virtual shelf space to encourage clicks and buys.

This is arguably the newest type of virtual slotting fee!