Peggy Noonan was writing about political change but it applies to business change.
Almost all revolutionary change inside a business is a battle of internal politics pitting the young versus the old. Young ideas versus old ideas. Younger generation versus the older generation.
Short. Tall. Grande. Venti. And now, Trenta. Starbucks is introducing a 31-ounce cold cup. It’s a ridiculously large size. However, Starbucks would be ridiculous if they didn’t take advantage of a profit-rich upsell opportunity. Right? Ultimately it’s customers who will decide whether or not this is a ridiculous success (or failure). I’m betting customers will decide this is a good thing.
To better understand just how HUGE the Trenta size is, Rob Cockerham has a powerful visual. No explanation is needed. This 40-second visual says everything...
As part of my project work with The Keller Fay Group, I have access to interesting word of mouth (WOM) data on the brands and product categories Americans talk about.
To coincide with the Super Bowl advertising game, Keller Fay plotted out a 2x2 "WOM Opportunity Grid" showing the talkability of product categories. This grid is divided into four quadrants pinpointing which product/service categories are the most mentioned in brand-related conversations happening in America. This grid also layers on where marketers can find the highest concentration of Conversation Catalysts(TM), those Americans who disproportionately drive word of mouth conversations about brands.
The WOM Opportunity sweet spot is clearly in the upper right-hand quadrant where brands in conversational product/service categories get mentioned the most by all Americans and where the highest concentration of Conversation Catalysts(TM) exist. Brands in talkative categories where high levels of influential customers are engaged in conversations, stand the best chance to capitalize on the word of mouth opportunity.
Conversely, the WOM Opportunity sour spot is in the lower left-hand quadrant where fewer brands get mentioned in less conversational product/service categories and where fewer influential consumers exist.
To tie this back to Super Bowl advertising, I had Keller Fay pinpoint where the major product/service categories fall on their WOM Opportunity Grid. >> LEARN MORE
I am not a social media marketing expert. I’m a retail marketer who believes in using really good marketing to connect with customers. That explained, I heard some great advice on creating a super simple Social Media Policy while attending the Blogwell Austin event on Feb. 2.
Andy Sernovitz, CEO at the Social Media Business Council, reminded us of the juvenile sexual innuendo joke where you add “... in bed” at the end of a fortune cookie saying. For example...
That’s funny. It’s also a useful idea, says Andy, to borrow when writing up a company Social Media Policy.
Most businesses, especially big businesses, have corporate conduct guidelines explaining how to behave when on the job. Most, if not all, of these guidelines can be used as the basis for a super simple Social Media Policy. All one has to do is add “... online” at the end of each conduct guideline statement. For example...
Of course, adding “... online” to a company’s existing corporate conduct guideline policy does not cover everything a business needs to concern itself with when designing its Social Media Policy. However, it probably covers most things.
For a much deeper dive into designing a Social Media Policy check out WOMMA’s resources and the resources from SocialMedia.org.
In my post sharing Keller Fay Group data on the Most Talked about Sports Teams in America, Chris Navitimer asked a great question in the comments, “Does most talked about [sports team] automatically lead to [making the] most money?”
Hmm...
Forbes Magazine routinely runs a report of the Most Valuable Sports Franchises based upon revenues, operating income, and stadium deals. While that report doesn’t measure profitability, it does give us a look into how financially valuable sports franchises are.
I took a few minutes to compare the Most Talkable Sports Teams in America with the Most Valuable Sports Teams in America.
Conversely, the New York Yankees and New York Giants are highly valuable financially but their talkable value from 2010 doesn’t match their financial worth.
Of course, this comparison between Talkable & Valuable sports teams is more interesting than conclusive because the financial valuations of sports teams are so reliant on the ability of a stadium to generate significant positive cash and on earning money from television properties. Nevertheless, it's an interesting peek into lesser known dimensions of our favorite American sports teams.
