Archive for March, 2011

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Lesson learned from the Polar Express

Friday, March 25th, 2011

Today marks 3 months since Christmas (and 9 months until next Christmas if you’re counting!).  Many of us will have pushed it out of mind, but not me! 

Over the Christmas holidays, I stumbled on The Polar Express during a bout of channel surfing.  While I’d heard rave reviews about the book – and the movie – I’d never read or seen either.  Seasonal entertainment aside, I was struck by a powerful line from the conductor at the end of the movie when the children are getting back on the train… “the destination doesn’t matter – what matters is that you got on the train”. 

What a powerful lesson for a child!  It’s also a powerful lesson for people and for businesses – a lesson about action, decisiveness, commitment and focus.  I don’t know how many kids would get this message, but it certainly is an important one.  

The conductor’s line triggered a memory I have of a similar situation I experienced in business which resonated similarly with me, and has stayed with me for years.  I often reference it in my own business consulting dealings, especially if someone is stuck or paralyzed, not certain about what to do, or what path to take.  

Here’s the gist of what the consultant had said in relation to the many options and opportunities that a particular business was facing…”It’s as if you’re at an airport looking at the departure board trying to figure out where to go, which plane to get on.  You have all these choices but you have to pick a destination, and just get on that plane.”  He was so right, as was the conductor in The Polar Express. 

Strength of character comes from being decisive and committed, taking action and having a focus.  What you choose may not be perfect, but it’s a starting point that’s for sure.  You won’t succeed if you don’t act.  How many times have you been stuck – personally, in sports, in business?  Remember the next time that you have to get unstuck by picking that flight or getting on the train.  Then, you’ll go places!

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Corporate social responsibility takes a new twist

Friday, March 18th, 2011

Whether or not you’re a hockey fan, it’s almost impossible to not be noticing the uproar surrounding the latest NHL “head shot” injury, and violence in hockey in general.  What I find most fascinating about the current situation is that sponsors are taking a stand and flexing their muscle, in the spirit of corporate social responsibility.  Now that’s a new, and welcome, twist on corporate social responsibility!  While it’s a shame that it has come to this, kudos to Air Canada and other sponsors such as Tim Hortons Inc. and BCE Inc. for lobbying the NHL, and in the case of Air Canada, threatening to withdraw its sponsorship dollars.  

While the arrogant and dismissive response by Gary Bettman indicates he doesn’t believe that this loss of sponsor dollars would harm the NHL, it’s also a signal that he sees the sponsorship as a one-sided affair – with only the NHL calling the shots.  Does he not realize that the sponsorship arrangement any company enters into is a two-way street, which means that sponsors do matter – that they do in fact have a say, a “vote”.   As someone who’s negotiated her share of sponsorships/advertising deals, the “fit” has to be there for it to work.  The sponsorship has to align with a company’s core values and what it stands for, whether it’s positioned as corporate social responsibility or not.  Right now, clearly NHL hockey – and specifically how the game is played (because it has gotten so dangerous with head shot injuries, whether intentional or not) – isn’t seen as the right fit for some companies.  I don’t blame them not wanting to have their brands associated with this kind of “violence” or image. 

In the bigger picture, someone has to take a stand.  Players?  Owners?  Sponsors?  Advertisers?  Ticket holders?  TV Viewers?  Fans in general?  Arguably corporate social responsibility doesn’t only apply to sponsors…it should also apply to the players and their union, the owners (and GMs), the fans, and the league itself.   Air Canada took the first step, but so far it doesn’t seem like it was enough.  Will they ultimately pull the plug?  I guess time will tell.  What I do know is that right now I think of Air Canada in a much more positive light – good for them for taking a stand, whether it works in the end or not.    

What do you think about NHL sponsors taking a stand against violence in hockey under the guise of corporate social responsibility?  If anything, you have to admit it’s a pretty clever angle to play to get heard and have a positive impact amidst all the noise!

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Soft sell vs. hard sell the way to go these days

Friday, March 11th, 2011

Reading about Playtex’s soft sell “informational” approach in the re-launch of its online Mommyville community I had a flash back to my days at Compaq Canada in the early 1990s.  At the time we took a very similar “informational” approach (vs. a product-driven one) for our entry into the consumer marketplace with the Presario.  Like Playtex, Compaq’s U.S. counterpart opted for a more product-driven hard sell approach.  Compaq wasn’t the leading consumer PC brand at the time, unlike Playtex, but the approach paid off in Canada, and the Presario quickly became the #1 consumer PC brand.  You may wonder whether Playtex has as much to gain since it is already the #1 brand in the infant feeding category in Canada, but it also has a long way to fall if it doesn’t take the right approach!  It takes a wise and confident brand/marketer/company to be bold enough to opt for a soft sell vs. a hard sell approach. 

I think we’ve come to see that the hard sell approach often doesn’t work, particularly in this day and age.  People crave information and “peer endorsements” over hard sell approaches from marketers.  When it comes to new and expectant mothers, I’m sure this is particularly true (and even more pronounced than with first-time PC buyers in the early 1990s!).  

I was pleased to read that Playtex took the high-ground with its soft sell approach to providing information and resources – what I called a “category sell” in my Compaq days.  Today it’s also a reflection of simply being part of the conversation (and perhaps being seen as the “go-to” expert).  It ends up being a win:win scenario, I believe.  This may seem like a risky move, but the upside is that it can leave so much room for a positive halo effect on the brand when it comes time for consumers to make their product purchases…who better to turn to than the company that provided all the information and resources they needed/wanted as new or expectant moms who are “hungry” to know they are doing the right thing with and for their baby? 

Perhaps as the #1 infant feeding brand in Canada, Playtex has the luxury of not taking the hard sell approach.  Regardless, I think the move is a wise one, and one that will reflect well on the company – and the brand – and therefore in the end its sales.  Kudos to them!  (We’ll have to see if its U.S. counterpart follows suit!)

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