| |
| |
|
Marketing Information |
|
|
|
Contrarian Marketing at Benettons
Perhaps, with apologies to Dale Carnegie, we should call this article: "How to make enemies AND influence people." The subject: United Colors of Benetton's campaign to promote its clothing, using photos and stories about death row prisoners in the U.S. It's what journalist James Bone of the Times of London called the "latest in a string of deliberately provocative campaigns". In an age when most advertisers try their hardest to avoid offending anyone, this company takes a clearly contrarian approach. A cynic might call it a cheap trick to get attention and free media coverage (like this article). But, Benetton has run campaigns like this for quite some time, and important communication lessons come out of them, regardless of how we feel about the subject matter. Let's start with focus. Obviously, if the company willingly offends the moral sensibilities of many potential customers, it must focus on a particular part of the market, specifically people with liberal social and political attitudes. In marketing terms, that suggests Benetton segments with psychographic criteria. Psychographics refers to the lifestyles, values, and attitudes of consumers, including social and political viewpoints. Given that it has run campaigns like this one for some 20 years, we have to believe that Benetton knows this segment well and focuses on it intently. Turning to positioning, just about every other clothing company uses warm and fuzzy advertising themes. Advertising that makes you feel good about yourself because you look good, which makes you attractive to others, and therefore popular, and all of that should satisfy some of your important goals. Benetton, on the other hand, apparently wants its customers to feel good about themselves because they have a social conscience, because they feel moral outrage about one of the hot-button issues of our time. This positions the company very distinctively. While no end of warm and fuzzy strategies may get mixed up in consumer minds, Benetton has a clear and unequivocal position that won't be mistaken or soon forgotten. Diversity is the next issue: we who live in North America sometimes forget other large markets exist beyond our immediate borders. Benetton, an Italian company, probably recognizes those markets. Voters in all major industrialized countries, except the U.S., have rejected the death penalty since World War II. That includes people in the powerful economies of Western Europe. So, from Benetton's bottom-line perspective, it can afford to offend some potential American customers as it builds or maintains markets in Europe and Asia. Not that Benetton has been reticent to offend Europeans either. Another recent ad campaign showed a nun and priest kissing, which raised many hackles among European consumers. As you can imagine, this contrarian strategy could backfire easily, if used by a firm with that couldn't carry it off well. To succeed with it, you need to know your marketing and markets very well indeed. In summary, a contrarian positioning strategy like Benetton's, one that might offend some potential customers while increasing the loyalty of others, presents a high-risk, and possibly high-reward, option. Robert F. Abbott writes and publishes Abbott's Communication Letter. Learn how you can use communication to help achieve your goals, by reading articles or subscribing to this ad-supported newsletter. An excellent resource for leaders and managers, at: http://www.communication-newsletter.com
MORE RESOURCES:
Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Postcard Direct Mail Marketing Tips And Ideas Postcards are perhaps the least expensive way of reaching a large number of people with your sales message. Although they have their drawbacks, they are cost-effective at attracting new customers. Shopping Comes Back To The Community THE GREAT BRITISH TRADITION OF STREET MARKETS IS UPHELD AT STREETTRADERSUNITED.COMHammer Force Ltd, a Croydon-based online service provider offers people who enjoy an alternative to impersonal shopping malls a chance to access a site which lists more than 708 UK markets, arranged by region in an easy-to-use format. Direct Marketing - Brand Identity Guru Tips If your company doesn't have a direct marketing program in place, a direct marketing agency can create one for you. A direct marketing company provides small to very large customizable ranges of business-to-business and business-to-consumer direct marketing options sure to fit your needs. Using a Marketing Calendar Template Owning a small business isn't easy, especially if you are running it alone. Between moving products, taking orders, paying bills, and taking care of family, it is easy to lose track of everything you need to do. Small Business Marketing Tip - Focus on a Niche or Target Market I think selling and marketing today often feels a bit like talking to a brick wall and that in interesting metaphor to help grasp the importance of niche marketing especially when it comes to small business marketing. Imagine for a moment that you are attacking that brick wall with a hammer, randomly hitting it everywhere. Five New 5 Ps! NO! When I say "5 P's", I'm not talking about the big 5 P's of marketing everyone's familiar with.Here I'm NOT referring to Product, Price, Place, Promotion and Package!But I'm talking about the FRESHEST 5 P's I believe will be extra useful for your websites and newsletters. 3 Strategies to Market Your Business Even When There's No Money Many small and home based businesses know they need to market and yet, have little or no money to do so. Sadly, many use this as a reason not to market. 15 Ways to Promote eLearning Programs Pre-note: In this article, teleclass is an example used to illustrate one type of eLearning market. The tips work the same for other eLearning programs, including, but not limited to, teleseminars and ecourses. Marketing to Hispanics/Latinos A powerful consumer market with annual spending power exceeding $350 billion, Hispanics-or should that be Latinos?-have become the largest minority group in the United States, and a marketplace well-worth looking into and with plenty to see--once you get the labels straight.Is it "Hispanics" or "Latinos"?Hispanics and Latinos have hotly debated that question for years, and apparently, picking one answer over the other means drawing political, social, and generational lines in the sand. The Seven Keys to Marketing Genius: The Complete Guide to Increasing Your Marketing IQ How smart is your marketing? Do you follow the crowd or set your own standards? People are attracted to innovative leaders, not copycats. Besides, most companies throw thousands of dollars down the drain on ineffective advertising- can your budget afford such waste? Start your education today- follow these seven keys to increase your marketing IQ and outwit your competition. What Does Your Business Card Say About You? - Making A Great First Impression! Interesting article in USA Today that I read this week that I've also read about on Scott Ginsberg's blog. Think about this: What does your business card say about you? If you work in a company that requires you to conform to the corporate standard, obviously you don't have much choice. Word of Mouth Marketing 'Word of Mouth' is still one of the most effectivemarketing techniques, online or offline.Joe arrives at your website and he likes it. Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition or USP Creating Your Unique Selling Proposition"Don't tell them what you do. Tell them what you do for them. The Added Effectiveness of Promotional Products in Your Marketing Plan Recently, I stopped by a new car wash in my town and while preparing to insert my six quarters into the machine to start the cleaning process, the owner came over to me and thanked me for stopping in. He also handed me a pen that had the name and address of the car wash imprinted on it. Getting The Big Picture Series: Part 2-Whats Beneath The Surface? When you take a piece of gold to a pawn shop sometimes they will take a small saw-like tool to scrape the jewelry to find out for sure "What's Beneath The Surface". Sometimes they find pure gold, silver, or tarnished metal. 11 Powerful Marketing Tips Each of these 11 marketing tips is based on a marketing strategy or tactic proven to boost sales. How many are you using?Tip 1: Your customers buy your product or service to feel a certain way after their purchase. Eight Steps To A Great Marketing Plan Step 1: Where Am I Now? Before you decide where you want your marketing plan to take you,you need to find out where you are now. How have you positioned your business in the market? How do your customers see you? You may want to ask some of them for feedback. A Pass / Fail Test for Any New Market If you are considering entering a new target market, with an existing or new product or service, it makes sense to first systematically analyze the market in question via some fundamental market evaluation criteria. It is not only rational but most cost effective to determine if a new market pursuit makes sense for your company before any significant resources are further applied to the effort. Build Your Business Through Networking Here's one of the most important success principles you'll ever learn. It is this: The more people you know and who know you in a favorable way, the more successful you will be in your business or profession. How To Choose a Qualitative Research Market Qualitative research, whether individual interviews, in-homes, focus groups, ethnographies and the like are conducted all over the world, as everyone knows. But how are the markets to be studied selected in the first place?New York, London, Paris, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto, Boston and Dallas are all great places to see first rate entertainment, dine out and by their size, must be great places in which to conduct qualitative research or so the common thinking goes.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
