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With

compliments
ENGAGING MARKETING MINDS VOL. 3, ISSUE 3 of Willow
Printing
Group

The fall of the story


Why the right brain
ignites success

INSIDE THE FALL OF JOSEPH A. MICHELLI ON BUILDING THE


THE STORY THE MERCEDES-BENZ WAY PERFECT BRAND
VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 1
Up Front Publishers Letter

FISH OR CUT BAIT

A
ccording to the Winterbury Group, your message, and it shows that you are investing in the relation-
almost half ($27.3 billion) of the the $59.5 ship and not merely trolling for bites.
billion spent in digital advertising in 2015 Our cover story, "Stoking Creativity," is focused on the kind of
was dedicated to search engine market- thinking needed to make hard decisions and elevate your brand.
ing. Another $24.9 billion was spent on Our second feature, "The Fall of the Story," delves into the unwant-
display advertising, which means that ed content that is clogging up our lives and lowering the value of
over $52 billion of the total spend was some brands out there. Both stories remind us that in these noisy
used on vehicles that dont necessarily times, we need to focus on using channels and tactics that help us
conjure up images of high quality. build our brands. Enjoy.
The idea that digital advertising is the path to the consumer Warmest wishes,
these days is odd. Consider the number of marketers that toss out
an endless amount of content just so their search results escalate.
While many of them may believe in the constancy of the social
post and the perceived low
cost of social marketing, EVERY CHANNEL IS JEFF EKSTEIN
these strategies may be CRITICAL THESE Publisher
cheapening their brands as DAYS, BUT BEING A
a result. TRUE RIGHT-BRAINED
Permission-based mar- MARKETER AFFORDS
keting respects the fact that YOU THE ABILITY TO

In This Issue
we as consumers dont want RETHINK ALL
brands invading our lives OF THEM.
and making unnecessary
noise. There are numerous
brands that have made their
name on mass appeal, but the organizations that endeavour to 06 Stoking creativity
Why the right brain
achieve a more sophisticated persona demand a deeper connec-
ignites success
tion and a more intimate way to engage. By Michael J. Pallerino
Every channel is critical these days, but being a true right-
10 The fall of the story
brained marketer affords you the ability to rethink all of them. Marketing is a house
Print, for example, still is the only vehicle that can literally touch of cards without
us. It lets your clients know that you put a little extra time into compelling content
By Charles Lunan
14 Trending with...
PUBLISHER EDITORIAL & CREATIVE DIRECTION
Jeff Ekstein Brought to you by: Willow Printing Group. Bestselling author
Willow Printing Group (aka Willow) is pleased
Joseph A. Michelli
MANAGING EDITOR to bring you connect, a bi-monthly publication 15 What's your story
Linda Whitehead created by and for marketing minds.
Survey shows goals
Wed love to hear your feedback on this publica- 03 Publishers letter of content creation
ART DIRECTION tion! Call us at 905-660-1515 ext. 224, email our Fish or cut bait
Brandon Clark publisher Jeff Ekstein at jeff@willowprint.com or
visit us at www.willowprint.com 04 The Inbox
This issue of Connect is printed on Endurance 100lb Silk Text available
from Unisource Canada.

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 3


News | Updates | Statistics

The Culture eats strategy for breakfast.

Inbox
Culture is everything.
Culture is the brand."
Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank on the importance culture plays in the success of
your company and your brand
INSIGHTS
STUCK ON YOU
Survey shows the importance of customer experiences
ince the days of the Mad Men, brand awareness has been the most
important objective on a marketing to-do list. But according to
Salesforces State of Marketing survey, things are methodically
shifting toward customer engagement. The study, which surveyed
nearly 4,000 marketing leaders worldwide, shows that 88 percent of
marketing teams are starting to view the customer journey as the
most critical goal to the success of their overall marketing strategies. Heres a look
at what todays marketers deem as their top priority:

Brand awareness

Higher levels of
customer engagement

Social media engagement

Other

4 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


UP ALL NIGHT WITH DATA
Technology. Sensitive budgets. Silos. Pick an area, any
area, and todays marketers will tell you how long it keeps
them up at night. The biggest nightmare of all? According
to Dun & Bradstreets The B2B Marketing Data Report
2016, 75 percent of more than 500 B2B marketers
surveyed say its finding accurate and complete data
to achieve their marketing objectives. Crucial pieces of
missing data that most often are missing include revenue
(87 percent), employee (86 percent) and industry
information (77 percent).

Book Rec
Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems
and Test New Ideas in Just Five Days
By Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky & Braden Kowitz

ou face tough questions every day:


Where do you focus your efforts? How
do you start? What will your idea look
like in real life? How many meetings
does it take before you can be sure
you have the right solution?
The formula rests in a strategy
created by three partners from
Google Ventures called the sprint. No matter what size
The percent of salespeople who think marketers spend your business is, co-authors Jake Knapp, John Zeratsky and
most of their time on branding/events, rather than Braden Kowitz will walk you through the one-week sprint
directly increasing the lead pipeline, according to the process they used at Google Ventures to help startups.
Crack the Code of Sales & Marketing Alignment On Monday you map out your process, on Tuesday you
survey from InsideView and Demand Gen Report. sketch out competing solutions, on Wednesday you pick
the winning strategy, on Thursday you create a realistic
Interestingly, 26 percent of the marketers surveyed
prototype, and on Friday you test your idea with your
believe salespeople are a bunch of mavericks.
target customers. Together, they have executed more than
The survey was based on data from 995 sales and
one hundred sprints with companies in mobile, e-com-
marketing professionals based in the United States, merce, healthcare, finance, and more.
most of whom work for B2B companies. This practical guide to answering critical business
questions is for anyone with a big opportunity, problem or
idea who needs answers today.

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 5


Why the right brain
ignites success

6 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


BY MICHAEL J. PALLERINO

Imagination is everything. It is the


preview of lifes coming attractions.
ALBERT EINSTEIN

ark Donnolo doesnt believe that thinking outside


of the box inspires creativity. Creativity often is
perceived to be about breaking through boundaries
and replacing familiarity with innovation. But saying
this to highly effecti e employees is like offerin
vegetables to a pack of wolves its the wrong context.
The managing partner of SalesGlobe, which helps companies
connect their sales strategies to their bottom lines, says that when you
take away your employees box, which represents tried-and-true pro-
cesses and technical specs, you inadvertently create a major constraint
not being able to conduct business in a way that is familiar to them.
Rather than promoting new thinking by creating an "outside of the
box" environment, Donnolo recommends identifying a companys
creativity need boosting functional creativity, which has constraints,
but is targeted toward an issue or objective, or artistic creativity, which
has minimal or no constraints and is targeted toward expression.
Take, for example, the notion of coaching sales reps to think like
artists. Using a right-brain approach helps them address the needs of
todays customer. This much we know when it comes to sales,
organizations always are looking for an edge. Its how they
differentiate themselves from their competitors and win deals.
Unfortunately, Donnolo admits that sales organizations too
often develop strategies and solutions that repeat the same old
practices. That do-what-has-been-done-before approach can leave
them vulnerable in todays ultra-competitive business climate.
When it comes to strategies, salespeople usually veer toward one of
two extremes operating analytically or by the seat of their pants,
says Donnolo, who also wrote The Innovative Sale, which examines
how to integrate the right-brain aptitude for innovation with the
left-brain affinity for logic and process.
As sales organizations develop solutions for their businesses, they
certainly have plenty of left-brain models, Donnolo says. But these
models dont help us to innovate. Salespeople can build upon their
natural intuitive abilities with a right-brain model a creative process
to develop better customer solutions and sales strategies.

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 7


Whether or not you
can be creative depends on whether
or not you choose to, or if you are empowered to act on
those things you would do differently. MARK MONTINI, CEO, PROMIO

The process begins by defining the An idea that is developed and on those things you would do differently.
specific sales challenge and considering put into action is more important Everyone has the ability to be creative
all the current solutions, including what than an idea that exists only but being creative is determined by
competitors are doing or the way someone as an idea. Edward de Bono whether or not you act.
used to do it. Once the tried-and-true The simplest approach to stoking From a leadership perspective, its
ideas have been acknowledged, Donnolo the fires of creativity is to find strategies about providing an environment where
says its time to step out of your comfort that take you beyond those been-there- your employees are empowered to act on
zone and consider unrelated ideas how done-that approaches. And most times, their creativity. And that means building
problems are solved in other industries, in that process is harder than it has to be. a culture that embraces cleverness and
other cultures, in other periods of history. Mark Montini, CEO of marketing-tech- the mistakes that come with it.
This is the discovery phase, and its nology company Promio, believes that One of Montinis friends works for
what most people skip when they go creativity can be simply defined as a company that regularly rewards
through a typical brainstorming session, approaching something from a unique employees who advocated concepts that
Donnolo says. Most jump straight to the perspective. Think about it, and you will ultimately failed. In addition to handing
final stage application, where tried-and- agree with Montini when he says that out rewards for achievement in various
true ideas usually are plugged in. Every there isnt a person alive who doesnt areas, it also presents awards for the best
couple of weeks, I get calls from clients see several things daily they would do ideas that didn't succeed in the end.
asking how companies in their industry differently. It can be as simple as how to It really illustrated that the company
implement cross-selling or how they speed up the line at the local Starbucks valued creativity and fully embraced the
motivate their sales teams. But they dont or as profound as a new brand position reality that failure is the primary risk
really want to know how other companies for a large corporation. Montini says. If you build a culture of
are doing it. They want to know what to Everyone is creative, every day, fear, youll find that the status quo reigns.
do, because right before they called me, Montini says. Whether or not you can be In my opinion, management/process
they were grasping for solutions and creative depends on whether or not you and creativity are mutually exclusive.
replicating the status quo. choose to, or if you are empowered to act Creativity comes from empowerment

8 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


When it comes to
and management/process, by definition, Creativity is the production of an
is about providing clear direction and idea, solution or product that is novel and strategies, sales-
control. So, trying to manage creativity useful, Vincent says. It can be a very
people usually veer
requires stifling it. positive force. Creativity is a skill that
Montini believes leaders should cast can be learned similar to mathematics toward one of two extremes
a vision that provides the framework to or logic. While some people may have a
operating analytically or by the
make creativity productive. If employees natural propensity for creative thought,
know the company values inventive ideas people can learn the underlying skills for seat of their pants.
and is willing to accept the mistakes that creative thought. MARK DONNOLO, MANAGING PARTNER,
result from it, they will feel empowered Tapping in to the creative vein is why SALESGLOBE
to be creative. At the end of the day, cre- companies like Google and IDEO have
ativity from one inspires creativity from been able to inspire the masses. Organi-
others, and the end result are solutions zations recognize the power and potential
that have tremendous impact. of creativity, Vincent says. Research
has consistently found that leadership
Creativity is the soul of the behaviours affect employee creativity.
true scholar. Nnamdi Azikiwe The trick is to know how to appropriate-
Just how important is creativity to the ly manage and avoid micro-managing.
success of a business? Lynne Vincent, While leaders are undeniably important,
assistant professor of management at they will not be successful unless they
Syracuse Universitys Martin J. Whitman have employees with relevant skills,
School of Management, says that two- knowledge and abilities.
thirds of Fortune 100 companies mention
creativity or innovation in their mission
or vision statements.

Knock, knock. Whos there? Creativity


In his book, The Innovative Sale, Mark Donnolo shows how a left-brained thinking process helps generate right-brain innovation.
Donnolo says companies need the structure of such a method to address the range of variables that challenge constraints such as
time, product, price and organizational capabilities, among others. Here are some actionable ideas that can help push you into a
phase of discovering new ideas:

Get comfortable with feeling lost. Assemble the right team. Grow with the flow.
Push beyond what you know. Define roles and include alternative views. Dont rush the process. Be patient and
allow ideas to evolve.
Combine unrelated ideas. Collaborate as an individual.
Find parallels from different sources. Avoid group thinking. Ask the right questions.
Questions are more powerful than
Become a student of history. Understand other perspectives. statements. Use them intentionally.
The past is a great source of parallels. Embrace diversity on your team.
Be persistent. Dont be dissuaded by
Produce an abundance of ideas. Get comfortable with criticism. doubt. The best innovators encounter
Think broadly beyond the status quo. Expect the skeptics to divert you. resistance.

Think in divergent directions. Dont accept the accepted. Check degrees of change.
Include variety in your ideas. Push beyond and ask why. Understand how your idea will fit with
and enhance the current state.
Know that less is more. Walk away from the problem.
Bring your solution to its essence. Allow your mind to create new
combinations and epiphany moments.

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 9


Marketing is a house of cards without compelling content
BY CHARLES LUNAN

lack of true content is killing the reputation


of content marketing. That's the view of
Joe Pulizzi, who is hearing more griping from
the small business owners and executives
attending his content marketing classes.
They complain that their email newsletters, blogs and
Facebook pages are not getting enough traction. When
the complaints came up at a workshop a few months ago,
an exasperated Pulizzi asked his audience how their
content was different. He was greeted with silence.
With a little prodding, one vendor said it had posted coupons Pulizzi has written two books on the topic and CMIs site is
on Facebook, another vendor had shared content with 300 of its chock full of great content about content marketing, which it
dealers, and a third posted an article that was intentionally generic describes as a strategic marketing approach focused on creating
to avoid giving away his advice. He told them that until they and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract
became serious about creating original, compelling content, and retain a clearly defined audience and, ultimately, to drive
theyd be better off spending their money on advertising. profitable customer action.
When done correctly, Pulizzi argues content marketing
establishes an aura of authority and trust that are at the core
Its hard to find a bigger content marketing evangelist than Pulizzi, of any brand promise and can help brands own their media
who founded the Content Marketing Institute (CMI) in the late 2000s channels, rather than rent them through advertising. In his
after deciding he could help global brands do a much better job with 2015 book, Content Inc., Pulizzi argues that finding and filling
their marketing. Today, CMI offers content marketing education and information voids online can help startup companies stake out
training, produces the Content Marketing World Conference and leadership positions in fast-moving markets before they even ship
Expo, publishes CCO [Chief Content Officer] magazine and offers its their first product. The problem is that 99 percent of marketers
Content Marketing Master Class through a nationwide seminar series. are not generating distinctive content.

10 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 11
"Somewhere along the line," Pulizzi wrote in a blog post earlier
this year, we marketers became infatuated with the tools and less
concerned about what we put inside them. This, my friends, has
got to change.

The objective of storytelling


is to earn trust. People buy
products they think align with the
people they want to be.
KRISTIN CARPENTER-OGDEN, FOUNDER & CEO,
VERDE BRAND COMMUNICATIONS

Many marketers have found telling real peoples stories to be


one of the most potent tools for breaking through what Rutgers
University Marketing Professor Mark Schaefer called overwhelm-
ing information density. In his book, The Content Code, such
stories are original and, therefore, authentic by definition.
The way marketers create and distribute content is constantly
changing, but the basic dynamics of storytelling and their power
to influence have stood the test of time. People still love a good
yarn and, more importantly, they will remember it long after their
memory of product specifications, endorsements and Facebook
promotions fade, Schaefer says.
In helping small active lifestyle brands craft their voices, Verde
Brand Communications CEO Kristin Carpenter-Ogden has found
it particularly useful to start with the founder. Their stories nearly
always follow one of the seven classic heroic themes marketers
have exploited for centuries, such as overcoming giants, naysayers
and scarcity.
Even gear heads rarely remember the weight of every
waterproof-breathable garment they use, what blend of fabrics
it features or what awards it has won, but they can nearly always
recall the story about the sudden mountain storm that inspired
the founder to create the brand.
The challenge for the marketer is to find stories that will evoke
the desired response from the target customer, in a way that is
consistent or enhances a clients existing brand. The objective of
storytelling is to earn trust, says Carpenter-Ogden, whose firm
works with dozens of small active lifestyle brands, including K2,
Keen, Mad River Canoe, Pearl Izumi and Raleigh. "People buy
products they think align with the people they want to be.

Seeing this, and under pressure from Greenpeace, United


Students Against Sweatshops and other activist groups,
a handful of forward-thinking athletic and apparel brands began
incorporating corporate responsibility into their content
marketing strategies in the 2000s.

12 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


Nike, Adidas, Patagonia and Timberland began publishing
annual reports laying out progress they had made against sustain-
ability goals, such as reducing their greenhouse gas emissions, and
use of energy and water to position themselves as leaders with their
environmentally-minded consumers amid growing pressure from
activists. Though fast fashion apparel brands and retailers, including
Wal-Mart Stores, have since launched their own corporate sustain-
ability programs, its unlikely they will gain significant mindshare
with environmentally-minded consumers, even though their efforts
will have a bigger impact due to their larger size.

Finding and filling information


voids online can help startup
companies stake out leadership
positions in fast moving markets before
they even ship their first product.
JOE PULIZZI, FOUNDER, CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE

Athletic and outdoor brands own the space and they continue to
raise the bar. In its annual corporate sustainability report, outdoor
gear retailer REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.) now lists informa-
tion still considered trade secrets by some brands, including a list of
all its overseas factories by name and location, aggregate results of
factory audits, and the percentage of factories they've placed on pro-
bation for failing to meet REIs environmental and labour standards.
Such transparency is fast becoming the new coin of the realm in
a world where more and more middle and upper-class consumers
expect to know not only where their products are made, but how
the workers who made them are treated, what the brand is doing to
lessen their carbon footprint and even what they are doing to bring
manufacturing jobs back to North America.
Staking out a leadership position on sustainability also has creat-
ed a steady stream of content, including stories about Timberlands
work reforesting Haiti and Grand Trunks efforts to begin sourcing
some of its hammocks in the United States.
Founded in 2002 by two surfing buddies to import hammocks
they discovered while surfing in Thailand, Grand Trunk beat a
much larger competitor to begin making nylon sling hammocks in
the United States.
It took the small company several years to piece together a
supply chain capable of delivering hammocks that meet its quality
standards and price points. The OneMade line ultimately will have
to compete on quality and price. In the meantime, however, the
venture has distinguished Grand Trunk in a rapidly growing, but
increasingly crowded market.
Skillful storytelling, that generates compelling content, sure
beats adding to the torrent of "me-too" content that is softening the
content marketing world.

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 13


Interview with Joseph A. Michelli

Trending much higher than the cost of retention,


so why not invest more in the cost in

with... the tools of retention to maximize


that multiplier?

I
Bestselling author
Joseph A. Is the goal to not make your
customers work so hard?
Michelli Yes, businesses are competing in an
increasingly Uber-ized society. Uber
n his latest book, Driven to Delight: Delivering World-Class Customer customers simply pull out their phones,
Experience the Mercedes-Benz Way, bestselling author Joseph A. Michelli, PhD, push the app, and then a car pulls up and
provides an insiders look at the iconic brands approach to creating and takes them where they need to go. They
sustaining customer experiences. The sought-after speaker and organizational get dropped off. No money is exchanged.
consultant has become a globally recognized thought leader in customer Brands are being forced to find ways to
experience design by creating masterful roadmaps that help transform the make their customers entire experience as
relationship between leaders, employees, and the customers they serve. His effortless, frictionless, and yet as personal as
books, which also include The Starbucks Experience, The New Gold Standard, possible. Dont forget how complex life is for
The Zappos Experience, Leading the Starbucks Way and Prescription for your customers. From there, pick apart your
Excellence have all hit No. 1 on The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and USA Today deliverable and figure out how to maximize
bestseller lists. Here are his thoughts on the importance of building customer loyalty today: its ease. Customers leave because brands
dont think through the degree of effort it re-
Is it fair to say that loyal So, what are we doing wrong? quires to do business with them. They dont
customers are hard to hold Companies have great intentions. They provide solutions. They dont simplify every
on to today? want to delight their customers. Some un- touch point. When its not almost effortless,
Yes. After struggling through years of dertake these big service initiatives, only to customers leave. Wouldnt you?
turmoil and uncertainty, the last thing you see their efforts fizzle quickly or never take
need is to take customers for granted. And root. The problem is that their great inten- Isnt it all about your brand
yet, if your company is like many, all your tions are at odds with their culture. When being authentic?
fervent efforts to attract and retain them thats the case, theyre doomed to make cer- Companies must strive to hire people
fall curiously flat. Its not that theyre tain, predictable mistakes. The mistakes are who truly care about customers. And
storming angrily out the door; its that their inevitable. Whats worse is that companies thats just the beginning. Train your
experience with your company is not dont even know theyre making them. employees to connect on a human level.
enthusiastic more ehh, than wow. Its not about scripting, but about help-
Do companies spend too much ing them realize what customers really
COMPANIES MUST time chasing new customers at want and need, and then empowering
the expense of existing ones? them to provide it. While its essential to
STRIVE TO HIRE PEOPLE Too many companies are directing too practice disciplined hiring in the search
WHO TRULY CARE ABOUT much money toward acquisition and for people with emotional intelligence,
hardly any toward retention. The ratio is those capabilities have to be awakened
CUSTOMERS. ITS NOT lopsided. Consider car dealers that spend and reinforced through the training pro-
ABOUT SCRIPTING, BUT huge amounts on commercials that scream cess. Immerse your employees in your
at people to come in. What theyre not brand so they truly understand what
ABOUT HELPING THEM spending money on is employee training its like to be the customer. Collect and
REALIZE WHAT to make sure that once these customers are share stories of customer delight. Touch
in the door, theyll come back. Ive noticed the hearts of team members as well as
CUSTOMERS REALLY companies that are good at acquiring their minds. When you do, theyll genu-
WANT AND NEED, customers often are not good at retaining inely want to serve the customer.
them. The key is to be great at both to
AND THEN EMPOWERING use those youve retained to help with your
THEM TO PROVIDE IT. acquisition curve. A lot of brands miss the
message here. The cost of acquisition is

14 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT VOL.3, ISSUE 3


WHATS YOUR
Before
You
Go

SURVEY SHOWS GOALS OF CONTENT CREATION


ontent. Ask any marketing department, and theyll tell you that the quest for
organic and compelling content is among their top priorities. According to
the 2016 B2B Content Marketing TrendsNorth America from Content
Marketing Institute/MarketingProfs, 82 percent are highly focused on
creating more engaging content. The report surveyed 1,521 B2B marketers
representing a full range of industries, functional areas and company sizes. Following are
some of what marketers say are their top priorities for content creation:

Creating more engaging content


82%
Better understanding of what content
is effective and what isnt 65%
Finding more/better ways to
repurpose content 57%
Creating visual content
51%
Better understanding
of audience 41%
Becoming better
storytellers 41%

VOL.3, ISSUE 3 WILLOW PRINTING GROUP-CONNECT 15


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Physical Communications through Neuroscience, February 2015

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