Welcome to the Week #24

Welcome to the week!

I spent all weekend moving house for what turns out to be the latest in a series of moves over the last ten years. In that time I moved continents, moved countries, lived in apartments, flats, single-bedroom studies, and large sprawling urban spaces, too. I’ve become very good at sorting, triaging the things I own (Do I really need this? Do I really want to pack this up and move it?) and getting it all from one place to another.

Like my marketing day job, it gets easier with experience. What seems overwhelming the first time becomes easier the second time, and second nature by the fourth or fifth time. That IKEA cabinet that took an hour to build the first time now takes ten minutes to pull down and fifteen minutes to build up again – and all without the instructions and without those pesky extra parts that suggest that you left something out that may or may not be vitally important to the structural integrity of the cabinet.

You might not be moving house this week – and I hope I won’t be moving again for some time – but you and I will be marketing. It’s time to get yourself into gear, fall into that second-nature feeling, and get stuck into those things we’ve done so many times and that we’re so good at that it feels natural.

Here’s some inspiration to get you going.

Choose the Right Brand Ambassador

Businesses and brands used to sponsor athletes or pay a celebrity to appear in an advertisement. Maybe, if they came up with enough cash, they’d also be able to convince a celebrity to make the rounds of the talk shows and a couple of radio call-ins to spruik a product, too. Today, though, businesses have brand ambassadors.

When you think Coco Mademoiselle you think Keira Knightly. When you think Nespresso, you think George Clooney – what else, right? But how do you choose the right brand ambassador for your business? Is it all about the money you invest and the name you associate with your product, or is it more about product match and credibility?

At Mumbrella Tym Yee explores this question and concludes that there are various strategies for finding the perfect brand ambassador, but that a couple of rules apply: first, sincerity and believability comes with time; and second, being convincing is more important than just putting a famous face together with a product shot. If you’re looking to expand your brand strategy with a familiar figure, check out what Yee has to say.

Leave ‘Em Laughing

The Euro 2016 football championship in France this month has meant a big advertising and marketing spend by the official sponsors and, well, most anyone else who wants to move product or sell services to a football-mad public in the lead up to summer. Reaching football fans and their so-forgiving families means being able to break through an awful lot of noise, and finding the best strategy for doing just this can be tough.

The team at Marketing Week have studied all the new advertisements targeting fans this Euro 2016 and have concluded that there are two things that really seem to cut through more than any other: understanding fans, and making them laugh.

Of course, understanding the fans shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who markets for a living. Understanding your target market and what their needs, hopes, dreams, and wants are during the championship and beyond is typical of almost any marketing campaign. However, making the audience laugh and reaching out to the viewer’s funny bone can be difficult. After all, what works in one European country to get them rolling in the aisles might go over like a lead balloon in the country next door. That dry and sarcastic British sense of humor doesn’t mix with the slapstick the French prefer or the dark humor of the Germans.

Marketing Week has a ton of examples of what works this year and what doesn’t – do check out the video and print ads they include and see if you agree with their conclusions.

This Week on The DOZ Blog 

A nice mixed bag this week on The DOZ Blog. We’ve got a guest post tomorrow on generating leads via content marketing before a little thought exercise on Wednesday as to why we think Facebook’s long-awaited Chinese expansion is coming soon. We deal with a little more policy on Thursday as we dive deep into the issues that the internet is causing for traditional news, publishers, and journalism in general (hint: it’s not really a problem of revenue) and on Friday we’ve got a great post looking at the NBA and the social media championship in that league. Yeah, the Cavs might be the champions on the court for 2016, but who rules the social streams? Find out Friday.

Want More Marketing Goodness?

Every Monday morning DOZ delivers the best marketing content directly to inboxes around the world. Subscribe to DOZ’s Marketing Monday for a generous serving of the best in digital marketing, SEO, and the tactics and strategies to drive your business forward this year. Want in? Add your name to the list and start your week a little smarter.

Time to Get to Work

Know a great piece on marketing that we missed? If so, let us know and we’ll share it with the world, crediting your good self, of course, with the tip. Send your sources straight to Content Manager Dylan and you could be featured in next week’s Welcome to the Week post.

So you’re good to go? Got everything you need? All ready to make this week count? Good. As I’m settling into the new house, this old chair at work feels comfortable and just like home. Does that mean I’m working too much? Nah, just that getting here on a Monday morning feels good. Here’s hoping your Monday starts in the same positive way. Welcome to the week – no get going and make it work.