In my last post, I wrote about the misuse of brand image and product marketing in the B-to-B space. In his day, Leo Burnett believed that

“The eloquence of an image is more convincing than the traditional arguments touting the products being sold.”

When you read this post, look around your work station. Does the products your office uses state what kind of company you work for. Shouldn’t it?

Apple once again has managed to pull this off, when you walk into an ad agency that uses PCs, you immediately question their creative legitimacy. Why is that? We all understand that Apple’s intrinsic brand values is creativity and the people that use Apple use that as a statement. They have done this by using their consumer brand and paraelled efforts to their business category. They obviously understand people’s demand for image and a statement about their creativity, doesn’t stop as they walk through their office door. What does IBM, EMC or Intel users stand for besides what the products do? Shouldn’t we be able to know that?

I’m stating by no means that the business and consumer audiences are identical. Business targets will need a greater sense of purchase justification and eventually will need the rational elements to sell ideas and products into their co-workers and managers. They need product specifics to be available for the technical minded. Just not in place of an image for the brand.

I’ve put together some helpful guidelines that may assist in thinking beyond the B-to-B stereotypes.

1.    Assign a role to your communications. Businesses don’t need to give customers everything in one ad. If it is a “brand” ad, just have it communicate that and that only. Product advertising has its place but, have faith that if you can intrigue them enough with just an image or an idea. Then lead your customers with that intrigue, to want to seek you out.

2.    Draw the line between brand and product. How you communicate a brand or an image is completely different than what it takes to tout products. While they need to be congruent, they are not the same thing and cannot be done well without both being clearly articulated and differentiated.

3.    Give your customer some credit. You’re dealing with highly educated people in the workplace. While they might not all be marketing savvy, they will get the image that you are trying to project, even if it’s done in an obscure way.

4.    Don’t shop around creative ideas. Engineering doesn’t have you double-check their software configurations or hardware settings, so why do you need to check to see if they agree with the brand image? 

So I challenge us as an industry to come up with and create some truly revolutionary ideas and brands within the space. Stop focusing on a quantified list of product specs with a nice safe message, and then try to call that a brand. A brand is something people can belong to, have confidence in, understanding its statement to the world. Creativity and true differentiation can be achieved in this space if we can all free ourselves from the limitations of precedence. — Posted by Nick.

Nick manages Communications Planning for Mortar. He can be reached at “ntalbert@mortaragency.com”>

The advertising blogosphere is up in arms over Bacardi’s new TV spot which features two guys dressed in salmon suits running the wrong way in a marathon.

It seems the rummy beverage marketers ripped off San Francisco’s famous (Ok, but I’ve never heard of them) Cacophony Society that enters the Bay to Breakers run at mid point every year to run against the flow.

Which is pretty cool. See here for more.

Click the image to see the spot.
 

While I was off sunning myself in glorious Tuscany, the MortarPR team pulled off a seriously cool scoop in booking Long Tail author and Wired magazine editor Chris Anderson to speak (and sign copies of his book) at Golden Gate University on Wednesday, September 20.  Here’s the skinny:

The Long Tail: Why the Future of Business is Selling Less of More featuring Chris Anderson, editor-in-chief of Wired and author of The Long Tail

Wednesday, Sept. 20, 8-10 am
Golden Gate University
536 Mission Street, San Francisco, Room 5310

RSVP for this free event by Sept. 13 by contacting events@ggu.edu or calling 415-442-7830 (space is limited).

In your RSVP, remember to include your:

– Name
– Company name
– E-mail address
– GGU degree received or area of interest

We’re a big fan of guerilla marketing here at the Mortar. And using a $75 job posting on Craigslist to drive dress sales is right up there as a great tactic to consider. Especially if you have a sense of humor like these guys. This ad appears on Craigslist in NY.

Emergency!! Perfect Bridesmaid Needed!!

Have you always wanted to be in a wedding but keep getting passed over
for the role of bridesmaid? Are you often referred to as the life of
the party? Does your smile light up a room? Can you fake tears?!

If so, YOU could be just what we are looking for!

Fun bridal party is seeking replacement bridesmaid for amazing October wedding on the ocean.

The dress is a bridal 10 (street size 6-8) and requires someone busty.

Visit the link below to view your dress:

http://www.viviandiamond.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/viviancollection

If interested, please submit the following:

-Headshot

-Full body shot

-100 word (minimum) statement explaining why you are the perfect bridesmaid

-Past experience (modeling, acting or wedding)

-Favorite Dance Song

-Special talent and/or perfected dance moves

For preferred consideration, please submit website or video links.

*The following need not apply:

-Party Poopers

-Home Wreckers

-Recovering Addicts

-Sexual Predators

-Lightweights

-WWE wrestlers

-MILFs