Kickstarter closed 2011 with some fairly impressive numbers. The site, which matches artists, musicians and creative projects with financial backers, tallied just shy of
$1 million in pledges with more than 27,000 launched projects. Ironically in 2010, combined projects raised only about $27,000.

While it seems unlikely that this funding avenue for L.A. waiter/actors and Brooklyn barista/songwriters keeps Goldman Sachs executives up at night, a few recent success stories demand a serious look at the crowd-sourced funding phenomenon. Startup marketing may no longer live exclusively in b-to-b, as consumers get in on backing the products and companies they desire.

In Austin, Texas, entrepreneurs sought to open the nation’s first package-free, zero-waste grocery store. When their idea fell short of the funding needed to open the doors to their bulk-bin bonanza, they turned to an online crowd-sourced funding campaign. The move not only greased their financial tracks, but also created marketing gold.

Utilizing the site IndieGoGo, the start-up posted a short concept video and established $25-$2,000 tiers for a $15,000 fund-raising goal. Within two months, they reached that goal with a variety of very non-Wall Street investment incentives, including t-shirts and growlers of beer. Naturally, many of the supporters were local, potential customers. Others, from California, Canada and the U.K., simply supported the brand concept.

Along the way, the company picked up more than 2,500 Twitter and 5,000 Facebook followers, as well as more than 120,000 YouTube views — all for a store that will not open until later this year. Many followers living thousands of miles away from in.gredients’ doormat, left notes already pleading for expansion. The company’s video pitch, constant online-engagement and a generous dose of blog and traditional media clips (including Time and Rolling Stone) established a solid brand without boundaries.

With the success of crowd-sourced funding now moving realistically into the entrepreneurial world, sold marketing — including brand stories, segment targeting, digital outreach and incentives, not only plays a role in getting customers in the door.

It may just be essential for getting the doors open in the first place.

Oh, if only it were as easy as switching out the baking soda in the refrigerator … and let’s be honest, few of us change that on time either. So while there’s no stamped “use by” date or calendar app to signal a marketing refresh, here are a few quick “sniff tests” to determine if you own a stale campaign. read more »

So, now that everyone’s back at work, what did you do over the holidays? Wait. If you’re a Foursquare user, don’t bother. We pretty much know the whole story from where you bought your wife’s presents to the steak you ate on New Year’s Eve. (And by the way, that’s not a very nice name for your in-laws’ house.)

Of all the social-media trends, we’ve curiously followed the location services most closely — specifically, Foursquare since its 2009 launch. Early on, it became apparent that Twitter could transform over-sharing of your favorite sandwich to a legitimate marketing communication. But how willing would people appear in transitioning cyber-stalking to a physical level with geo-location sites?

Apparently, we’re fairly willing. While it’s been a slow expansion beyond the realm of early adopters and the 35-and-under crowd, it seems this inexpensive mobile marketing continues to persistently tug at the holdouts, leaving many doom-and-gloom predictions cold.

Oh, how easily concerns of security can be dismissed with the offer of a free bagel upon check-in.

If you’re still not convinced that Foursquare goes beyond the hipsters and tweens, look at their check-in statistics from Black Friday this past holiday season. Yes, the hipsters came in first, placing Starbucks at number one, and the teens met their friends at McDonalds, which came in second. However, Wal-Mart sat solidly in third place at 150,000 check-ins that day. Others in the top 10 included the not-so-trendy locations of Target, Best Buy, Home Depot and Costco. Clearly, these check-ins were about promotional campaigns and associated discounts, not bragging rights as the man-about-town.

With more than 15 million global Foursquare users, the geo-location numbers don’t scratch at the social-media giants of Facebook and Twitter. However, with more than a half-million business locations now registered and an average of a billion check-ins per day, Foursquare’s momentum seems to be growing as it evolves into a more business-savvy tool.

The key to this success rests clearly on merchants’ abilities to motivate users. One standout last year was Starwood Hotels’ check-in reward program. Foursquare check-ins earned loyalty-program users an additional 250 points during the peak travel season. In less than two months of their summer promotion, Starwood distributed almost 10 million points. The program’s success prompted a second round for the holiday season.

So while others may dismiss these check-in promotions, we’re continuing to check them out. If momentum holds, 2012 could finally serve notice of their arrival.

A Look at Big Stories of 2011 and How They Affect Your Business
read more »

Remember the term-paper strategy when you were really unsure what the instructor wanted? Fear pushed us to throw in every ancient reference, complex allegory and five-syllable word found in the thesaurus. The reception was typically less than enthusiastic. By overcompensating for the unknown, it looked like very little was known at all.

Business always holds a few mysteries, mumbled prayers and crossed fingers, but rough financial times tend to complicate things even more. Consumers remain apprehensive, fickle and reactionary as they turn daily transactions into an economic chess match. Business owners rush to redesign the dam before ever assessing the severity of a leak. That old, insecure term-paper logic abounds, even though history’s greatest minds of philosophy and business — from Occam’s razor in the 17th century to the late Steve Jobs — preached the virtues of simplicity.

The concept of simplicity is one we’ve talked about for years with our clients. Often, usually by the noble virtue of enthusiasm, people itch to think big with messages for start-ups, rebranding or market expansions. Layering multiple messages, bleeding too many conclusions from a single research design, or shoving a commencement ceremony’s worth of motivations into a :30 spot pulls businesses away from primary goals, such as selling more A to B.

But sticking to the basics requires discipline. Before rushing off with a solution, return to a few simple questions:

Who am I really talking to?
What do I need them to do?
What’s the real value to the customer?
How is this different from the competition?

If the answer to any of these is more than a few words, revisit and whittle it down.

More than likely, you’ll find your challenge is a bit less daunting than managing the euro debt crisis. Be grateful and steer away from bloated, complex solutions. At this economy’s rapid pace, only the light and nimble can maneuver the hairpin turns.

Like the martini-swilling holiday party, it looks like the huge end-of-year retirement celebrations may be another tradition living exclusively in “Mad Men” episodes. The mass backslapping of technicians through management heading off to the golf course or grandkids now conjures pure nostalgia.

Blame it on bottom-dwelling 401Ks, prolonged life expectancy or a less physically taxing work environment (or, all the above), but the number of Americans older than 65 in the labor force increased 16 percent between 2007 and 2010. And before you claim this is a short-term quirk of the economy, consider that according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the 65+ working crowd already jumped 101 percent between 1977 and 2007. Another trend red flag is that while previously those 65+ numbers included a lot of part-time employment, more and more now put in minimum 40-hour workweeks.

This movement creates a new sub-demographic within an age group, but also creates a new market within the workforce itself. How will the aging workers address healthcare, lifestyle or even simple leisure decisions while still on the job? Yes, there will be a longer period without a “fixed” income, but it’s coupled with a stretched out “savings period” — especially with many Baby Boomers trying to recover from the past few years. Many of these workers are single females. And, nearly 450,000 Americans 65 and older are actively looking for employment.

Marketing to the 65+ demographic isn’t new (and yes, as I age, I suddenly realize 65 is not simply the target for Life Alert and Snuggies). According to Marc Freedman, author of the new book “The Big Shift: Navigating the New Stage Beyond Midlife,” the retirement concept many of us grew up with was largely a product of the post–World War II and Baby Boom labor shifts escorting older workers out of the market. The decades-long retirement became a big marketing opportunity in the lifestyle and service categories. We’re obviously talking to a different group than the 1930s farmer working until he dropped, but this new twist on aging poses some interesting opportunities in a new set of categories, including …

• Technology
• Education
• Home-office design
• Travel and hospitality

So, let us pause briefly to mourn the engraved years-of-service watch. Today, those 65+ have other needs on their minds.

Yes, Virginia, the 2011 Recession-Be-Damned Holiday Shopping Season is now open. We’re also marking the official end to the 2011 Christmas Creep Kvetching Season — the annual griping about tinsel during back-to-school shopping and Halloween Laffy Taffy instantly turning into candy canes. We may now legitimately be jolly without looking “commercial” to our peers.

If you even glanced at social media during the past 60 days, you noticed the viral campaign extending preseason cheer to Nordstrom Department Stores for their refusal to play reindeer games until after the turkey carcass was cold this year. Facebook, Twitter and the like sent up a digital hallelujah chorus surrounding the photo of a sign that read, “We won’t be decking our halls until Nov. 27. Why? Well, we just like the idea of celebrating one holiday at a time.”

Wait. November 27? Yep, it’s a photo of an old sign.

It seems this holiday restraint has been the mark of the Seattle-based retailer for a few decades. This year, the news broke viral on a grander scale, prompting new praise for the high-end store. Although the origins for this year’s surge are unknown (it’s the season for magic, right?), traditional media picked it up, and Americans miles from the nearest store fawned over Nordstrom’s stand for virtue — no matter how many gift bags were currently hidden in their own trunks. This probably does not hurt their online sales.

Let’s face it. Nordstrom’s shoppers are not your line-up-at-midnight-for-a-25-percent-discount crowd. There will likely be little shoving over the Chanel. Does this failure to encourage early holiday shopping hurt their sales? Obviously not much, per the tradition’s history.

Here are the takeaways from this year’s out-of-the-gate seasonal success:

Viral: Behold the Miraculous Wonder
Yes, we already knew this, but the fact that by the first 10 days of November the store’s old holiday sign registered more than 17,000 Facebook shares is a great reminder. That says nothing of the numerous blog posts and Tweets for which the #savethanksgiving and #nochristmasbeforethanksgiving hashtags were a strong promoter.

Do You Hear What I Hear?
Consumers like to feel their grumbling has some purpose. Whether it’s a brief hat tip to the holiday craziness or a simple nod acknowledging that cries don’t fall upon deaf ears, consumer acknowledgement wins incredible brand points that hopefully hold greater shelf life than circular coupons.

So, holiday cheers to Nordstrom Department Stores. We’d raise a glass of eggnog if we weren’t still so full of turkey. Happy shopping.

Word of Facebook’s proposed settlement with the Federal Trade Commission regarding a 2009 complaint about the social network’s privacy settings changes has the tech and marketing worlds closely watching. Could this start a growing trend of increased regulations on Internet marketing and network information sharing? Here are issues we’re paying particularly close attention to as they sit before federal scrutiny:

“Do Not Track” Legislation
Everyone’s witnessed the growing web of information sharing. You update a social medium with a thought about sneakers and the next screen offers you an ad for a new set of kicks. Is this a more convenient way to deliver messages to audiences who crave them most or a digital eavesdropping on your private conversation to the 748 friends in your social networks?

The FTC requested a “do not track” service similar to a “do not call” opt-out and the Obama administration is requesting an online privacy bill of rights. However, after a burst of legislative movement on the matter last spring, this month U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Daniel Weitzner said in a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that he hoped any new laws would be “flexible” and allow for continued innovations to online communication.

Collecting on Kids
Earlier this year, Consumer Reports estimated 7.5 million children age 12 and under use Facebook. Stated another way, they reported 7.5 million illegal accounts. The 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (Coppa) prevents websites that collect consumer data from signing up those under the age of 13. While this is clearly stated on the site, the growing number of young users and the need to keep expanding led Facebook founder Mark Zuckerburg to recently attest that the company plans to challenge the regulations at some point.

We’ll leave any socialization discussions to the psychiatrist and sociologist. However, any debate of this sort will surely pull us in the time warp of the 1970s, when parents protested that Saturday morning Scooby Doo- and Fat Albert-marathons resulted in children’s demands for toys and sugary cereals. It continues today with crossover marketing of children’s series and promotional product. A new medium results in a new challenge.

Digital gives marketers great opportunities to finely pinpoint engaged audiences. Just how close they can target will be better defined in the coming months. Digital is officially a major market contender. Let the scrutiny begin.

We focused on Generation X in the last post. So that we don’t offend the much-hyped self-esteem of the Millennials, we’re going to spend some time on this teens-to-32-year-old group. Before you throw your hands up and protest that you know all you need to about a group of tech-dependent narcissists, consider some of these possibly lesser-known traits. These areas will be the ones to watch as Millennials mature and ascend to their reign as the demographic majority.

It’s been a rough few weeks for Generation X.

First, college-radio pioneers R.E.M. announced their retirement. Next, MTV President Stephen Friedman, when discussing programming changes, proclaimed, “We needed to let go of Generation X so we could own the Millennials.”

Et tu, Moonman?

The build-up of economic pressures and kicks possibly contributed to last week’s faster-than-you-can-say-Atari viral dissemination of Mat Honan’s “Generation X Doesn’t Want to Hear It.” Honan, a senior reporter for Gizmodo, penned a part-lament, part-scolding from the group many dub the “wrong place, wrong time” kids. In the end, he concludes, Gen-Xers are tired and just want to be left alone to enjoy a beer.

The smallest generation, with approximately 46 million, those born between 1965 and 1978 seem almost forgotten in the current economic saga. Once again a latchkey child, they go home to occupy their sofa, recalculate their post-bully entertainment allowance, and make their own peanut-butter and jelly sandwich.

However, marketers and entrepreneurs shouldn’t lose sight of this group among the louder Boomers and Millennials. This generation may just hold the greatest workforce and consumer shifts we’ve seen in awhile.

The Center For Work-Life Policy’s September release of “The X Factor: Tapping into the Strengths of the 33 to 46-Year-Old Generation” revealed huge Gen-X findings, including …

• 91 percent of women and 68 percent of men are part of dual-income couples
• 36 percent of women earn more than their spouses
• nearly a third of high-income earners work 60+ hours a week
• 43 percent claim student-loan debt influenced their career choices, while 74 percent cite credit-card debt
• workers expect to stay on the job an average of nine years longer than anticipated
• the real jaw-dropper: 43 percent of women and 32 percent of men do not have children

This generation, which has already witnessed three recessions, the housing bubble, layoffs, outsourcing and multiple consolidations, stands poised to redefine aging. Retirement will often be later and female-controlled, with fewer heirs and memories of now-you-see-it-now-you-don’t income. They are educated and know how to assimilate, but feel their youthful rebellion was snatched away by the kid refusing to look up from his smartphone while crossing in front of their aging SUVs.

Never underestimate the quiet ones. The game-changing status they longed for may still be ahead.

Is your target market browsing Facebook at the office? Watching yesterday’s TV shows online tonight during prime time? Shopping through their insomnia at 2 a.m.? read more »

Homeownership declined in the first quarter of 2011 to 66.4 percent. We’re now at the lowest level since 1998. And while single-family home construction is down 22 percent, builders have increased work on multi-unit complexes by 21 percent above last year’s figures.

Why should marketers care? Because we could be witnessing one of the most drastic consumer lifestyle shifts in several generations.

Under the assumption that many will continue to wait out the economy before jumping back into the housing market, the question becomes how long will they wait and will they wait long enough that a new segment of adult renters emerge?

Take those in their ’40s who sold or faced foreclosure, possibly due to a job loss. At what point will they feel both their employment and the housing market are stable enough to reinvest … and, by that time, will it give them adequate equity before retirement?

Should we continue to see growth in the rental segment, marketers may be looking at the emergence of a strong new demographic. Home-improvement industry aside, would this group of older renters invest differently, spend fluid assets more readily, or feel less hesitant to relocate and reject the concept of roots?

This may be the most important — and lasting — legacy of the economic crisis. Smart marketers would be well served to closely monitor this trend when reviewing their own consumer profiles.

For a while now, most people have recognized the dominant purchasing power of women. Whether you’re looking at single moms or dual incomes, there is no argument women have taken over purchasing decisions right down to the once testosterone-fueled territory of automobile sales. Here are a few girl power statistics you might not realize:

• Women are the majority users of social networking, spending 30 percent more time on these sites than men.
• Mobile social network usage is 55 percent female.
• Sites like Zappos, Groupon and Etsy all have a majority of female customers. (Wow! Groupon cites 77 percent female users.)

Great! Go after the gals, right? Before you rush out there, take a look at these stats as well:

• 59 percent of women feel misunderstood by food marketers.
• 66 percent of women feel misunderstood by health-care marketers.
• 74 percent of women feel misunderstood by automotive marketers.
• 84 percent of women feel misunderstood by investment marketers.

When it comes, not only to marketing, but also to your research design, make sure you’re listening to the ladies.

Marketers are masters at jargon. Seriously, we try and create a catch phrase, buzz word or acronym for everything. It’s almost equivalent to an MBA to coin a cliché. read more »

Hanging out at food trailers and not even sure why? Know that it’s more chic to serve birthday pie this year? You’re a recipient of food marketing.
read more »

Two-for-one steaks at a high-end restaurant? Sounds like a great deal.

I pay $50 for $100 of lawn services so I’m not mowing when it’s 100 degrees? Nice!

A 50-percent discount on spa services my wife can use when I’m watching the NCAA tournament? Why, that’s brilliant!
read more »