It's a Mixed Up, Mashed Up World. Lady Gaga, Marketing Genius

Lady Gaga is a music-industry phenomenon.  Her rise from backroom songwriter to global superstar has been both swift and dramatic and she is now one of the most-wanted acts in the world. So how did she do it, and why do people go gaga over Gaga?

It's a personal view, but I believe Lady Gaga could be one of the greatest marketing projects of the 21st century.  Why?  Well let's take a look at the component parts of the Gaga brand:

1.  The Music.  
This is what it's all about, right? The music has to be good?  Well, Lady Gaga's music is unlikely to win a Mercury Prize, but it's popular, it's poppy, and most of all it's familiar.  The similarities between her songs and those of some of the most popular artists of the last few decades have been commented on at length.  Consumers liked that stuff before - so they're likely to like it again.  Gaga has created a sound that is inclusive and accessible; this maximises her market.

2. The Look.

Source: Domain Barnyard*

The music industry is obsessed with image, and so is Gaga.  Not conventionally beautiful (by the exacting standards the industry normally applies to its young female stars), Gaga had to create something that would  differentiate her from the crowd of skinny blond ballad belters.  So, she has whipped up a dramatic persona, constructed from a composite of her influencers (Bowie, Madonna, Mercury etc.) that is designed to both shock and intrigue.  Her face is disguised by heavy make-up, headpieces and dramatic hairstyles, and her clothing has become an art project for designers and artists from around the world (the dress made of raw meat, anyone?).  She is a walking, talking, writhing, art gallery and advertising billboard.


3.  The Performance.
The elaborate stage sets and dramatic performances Gaga creates on stage are carefully constructed to shock and create a spectacle.  In fact 'spectacle' is at the heart of what she does.  Creating a hyper-real performance that is so bad it's good is a hugely successful tactic, because we are always wondering what will happen next.  Gaga has tapped into the fact that the music industry is no longer just a music industry; it's a fully integrated 'entertainment' industry and the balance between the music and the performance as the 'product' has shifted.  The music is less important to the pop audience than it was.  The whole package of music, image, and most importantly the performance (and the experience that goes with it) are where consumers perceive the value.

4.  The Attitude.
By cultivating an aura of detachment or otherness, and being rude or diva-ish to interviewers she is perceived as mysterious and temperamental 'artiste'.  Whether this is true or not, it is the result of carefully choreographed and constructed PR onslaught that has the press continually wanting more.  Gaga is able to command media coverage because she knows what the press want, and what they will write about.

So, there you have it, the Gaga 'product' de-constructed.   Gaga has captured the Zeitgeist - the insatiable appetite for sensation, and is providing it in spades.  Brand Gaga is giving consumers exactly what they want from their superstars, and making a fortune in the process.  That's what I call good marketing.

Lady Gaga, I take my (not particularly elaborate) hat off to you.  You are a marketing genius.

*Under Creative Commons licence

CAP Code - to doff or not to doff, that is the question

I've just been working on my latest column for the South Wales Evening Post, and as part of my research have done a quick straw poll of some of the small and micro-businesses I work with to find out how much they know about the CAP code.

Not a lot is the short (and somewhat worrying) answer.

So if you think the CAP code is some form of head-wear etiquette you may need to read this...

Earlier this year the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), the self regulating body of the UK's advertising industry, gained new powers as part of its online remit.  Not only does its Committee of Advertising Practice (CAP - yes, this is where the cap comes into it) code apply to online and offline advertising, but it also applies to the marketing communications messages you publish on your company web site and on any non-paid online media such as social networking sites (like Twitter and Facebook) over which you have control.

This has huge implications for businesses as it means your web site and social media communications need to adhere to the same strict standards in terms of claims made about product benefits, environmental performance etc as all mainstream advertising.

The code applies to any communications that are directly related to the promotion of goods and services for sale, so it does not apply to things like press releases, but it does apply to the general information about your products and services on your web pages.  There are detailed sections within the code on key areas such as claims about health and beauty benefits and advertising aimed at the young and vulnerable, but the key principles are that advertisers need to make sure they are not making statements that could be considered misleading or making claims not backed up by suitable evidence.

This lack of awareness about the changes is particularly likely to affect small businesses who may not be working with agencies who would be aware of the new rules.  So, if you are a UK business owner and you have a web site and/or use other forms of online media to promote your goods and services I'd recommend a web site and communications review to ensure you are compliant with the code, as any complaints made against you could, if upheld, result in one or more of a range of sanctions from the ASA.

You can find out more about the CAP code here.

The Peregrine and the Pigeon: The paradox of control (and our attempts to achieve it)

Peregrine falcons are stunning creatures - the fastest birds in the sky, and consummate hunters.  They are, however, very rare (the RSPB estimates just 1042 breeding pairs in the UK, mostly in the north and west of the country, including my home patch - Pembrokeshire).

Knowing where Peregrines nest is a privilege and an honour with a high level of responsibility attached.  Why?  Because Peregrines are rare, precious and under threat from humans who will stop at nothing to kill them (despite the fact that the birds are afforded the highest level of legal protection possible through Schedule 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981)). Why would humans want to kill these wonderful animals?  Well, amongst other reasons, it's because Peregrines kill pigeons.  Now I know what you're thinking, pigeons are extremely common (and thought of by many as vermin), why would that be a problem? Well to you and I it might not, but to the pigeon fancier, the Peregrine is the ultimate airborne threat to their valuable birds.

So how can just a few thousand falcons across the whole of the UK really present a threat to racing pigeons?  And why would pigeon fanciers go to such lengths to kill them?  The reasons are social and economic.  Racing pigeons can be extremely valuable because they can make their owners lots of money - and because value is placed upon them by the people involved in the sport.  Just as top flight football players are valued, bought and sold on the basis of their performance, so are pigeons. Now I'm sure that the vast majority of pigeon racers would never consider taking such action, but unfortunately there are a small minority who actively seek out and try to kill Peregrines or prevent them from breeding by destroying their eggs.*

What does this have to do with business?  Well, I see these attempts to control a small and widely dispersed population as futile attempts to gain control over something which is uncontrollable and at the mercy of chance.  Putting so much effort into something for which you cannot guarantee a result or reward is something that managers who are intent on maintaining control above all else often seem bent on doing.  They attempt to micro-manage or waste effort planning for events which are so unlikely they may never happen.

Forward planning can be very useful, and trying to maintain control by sticking to the plan may make you feel better, but times change and a single chance happening (an accident on the M1, or a freak weather event for example) could change everything for your business.  You can't control the weather or your competitors' actions any more than you can control whether your pigeon happens to be in the same airspace as a hungry Peregrine. Herein lies the paradox of control; we want it, but the more things we try to control the further we get from being 'present' in our business, and able to react to opportunities and threats as they arise.

So, no matter what your pigeons, possessions, or plans are worth, consider this: sometimes it's better to be aware of the possibilities and how you might react to them, but to accept that you cannot control everything, and just get on with doing the best job you can.

Oh, and don't kill Peregrines (ever).


Sources:
*Data on Peregrines and the threats to them is from the RSPB: http://www.rspb.org.uk

Why the Happiness Project makes me sad...

Today's news is full of the admirable endeavours of a group who promote an approach to becoming happier that they believe will dramatically improve our sense of well-being.  Of course we all want to be happy, but is spending time trying to be happy by following a prescribed regime of random acts of kindness and meditation really going to get you there?

For me this seems an obvious reaction to a secular, or more specifically a post-religious society.  Those who cannot rationalise traditional religious beliefs still seek meaning in their lives and in doing so are drawn to alternatives that promise the same comfort. Even the methods (service to others, contemplation) are consistent with the approaches and teachings of many of the major religions.

What I find sad is that the volume of attention and interest this project is gaining suggests that we are all unhappy. Is this the case?  Or could it be that we don't recognise happiness when we are living it because we're too busy being happy to think about it?  It bothers me that happiness is seen as a goal not an experience; always in the future.  If you have to think about happiness as something you move towards, how can you experience it in the here and now?

For me, one of the the key factors that affects our perceptions of our own happiness is comparison with others.  Our society is now such that we have a view (even if just through the media) of how the other half live.  We are encouraged to 'aspire' to be more successful, beautiful or rich.  If there's always someone in your sights who has more of these things than you, and you are told often enough that the things they have will make you happy, it would be unsurprising if you became conditioned to believe it.

Don't get me wrong, I commend the happiness project for its rejection of materialism, but I'm not sure it's going to solve the problem of self consciousness.  In my view we need to forget about trying to be happy and get on with it.   Neither existential guilt nor an accumulation of wealth and status will make you happy.  Forgetting what everyone else is doing and being present in every moment of your life just might.

For all my preaching I also have to admit my hypocrisy. In reality, it's something I am very bad at.  So, to snap me out of my ennui I keep a small clipping from a magazine on my noticeboard that reminds me when I need to wake up and live my life.  It's a sublime quotation from The Nice and the Good by Iris Murdoch, and I can't say it any better, so I'll let Iris have the last word:

'Happiness is a matter of one's most ordinary everyday mode of consciousness being busy and lively and unconcerned with self.  To be damned is for one's everyday mode of consciousness to be unremitting agonising preoccupation with self'

What's in your house? Time to declutter your online life

This weekend I've been spring cleaning.  Sorting through all the clutter, and getting rid of all the things I really don't need around me.  Whenever I do this I think of this wonderfully pithy quotation from the poet and Arts & Crafts pioneer,  William Morris:

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”

I try to live by this, but it's not easy, particularly in a world where we not only have the physical clutter that accumulates to deal with - but also a whole new class of clutter.  The endless onslaught of information that builds in the inboxes, twitter feeds and timelines of our online lives.

If you're at home, or in your office, take a look around.  If you followed Morris's precept is there anything you would get rid of?*

Now think about your online life - what value are you getting from the emails, tweets, status updates?  Is it time for a declutter?

What if we re-wrote Morris's statement for our online lives:

'Have nothing in your online life you do not know to be __________ or believe to be ___________.'

What words would you use to fill in the gaps?  Useful? Entertaining? Social? Effective?  Efficient? Productive? Innovative? Creative? Interesting? Amusing?  The words you put in those gaps will depend on your approach to the web.  Try it.  Work out what's important to you online. You might surprise yourself.

On this basis, is there anything you need to get rid of?  Do you need to follow all those people on Twitter?  Do you read any of those email newsletters you've subscribed to?  is the breadth of your networks preventing your from really connecting with important people?  Is the good stuff getting buried amongst the rants of those with an axe to grind?

I'm planning to apply my version of the Morris principle to my online life over the next month. I'll let you know how I get on...


*Whether Morris intended this to apply to people is unclear, although I think it has its merits...

Is it OK to 'guilt trip' your customers for a good cause?

Yesterday, after a long day at work, I visited a local convenience store to pick up some shopping on my way home.  This store is part of a national chain and prides itself on its ethical approach to business (yes, you know the one).  Dashing in after work I didn't have a bag with me and I as I queued a feeling of dread came over me. I knew what was coming, and found myself seriously considering going somewhere else to avoid the embarrassment of the interrogation from the cashier.

In this particular chain, it seems that part of the standard script for staff at the till is now - 'have you brought your own bags with you?' A phrase that strikes a guilty fear to the heart of some of us hypocrites who try to be good but are simply very forgetful (yes that's my excuse!).  If you answer no to this question the follow up is 'would you like a bag for life for 10p?'  There is only one answer to this question for a decent human being; and this is pressure selling at its best.

So - here's what happens.  The store sells me a bag for life every time I forget my own.  The bag for life goes in the cupboard.  The store makes 10p.  I feel guilty, and begin to dread going there to be publicly  branded as a waster.

But it doesn't end there...

The cashier follows up the stabbing suggestion that you are ruining the planet with your profligacy with a twist of the knife by asking you if you have one of the store's membership cards.  'No, I don't.  I'm not part of the team.  I am a social pariah,' I feel like saying.  More psychological trickery.  I am now guilty of being wasteful and not participating in society.  Clearly I do not belong here.

So, I now have three choices.

1. Play the game, join the club and carry a 'bag for life' at all times (perhaps I could attach it to my car keys...just for ironic effect), and so be able to hold my head high when buying over packaged intensively produced goods from the ethical retailer in question.

2.  Continue to run the gauntlet of derision every time I shop there and just ignore it.

3.  Shop elsewhere.  Somewhere where I can use a self-service checkout for example, or maybe a friendly local grocer.  Somewhere where no one is going to tut me for forgetting my bags.

These are the decisions consumers make every day - and the decisions it's so difficult to identify and watch out for.  Sometimes we make purchase decisions based on rational thoughts, but often it is our emotions that drive us.  Retailers should not underestimate the social and emotional buttons they push - even if they are for the best of reasons.  There are ways of encouraging shoppers to behave more sustainably, but I don't think the hard sell and the guilt trip are the best in the long run.  Customers will just go elsewhere - and there will always be a competitor waiting who will make them feel a little bit better about themselves.

So, what I'd say to my local store is - if your really want to see a change, ditch the script and give away some bags  for life.  Reward customers for using them, don't punish them for not.

Sometimes the carrot is more effective than the stick...

Penny Power: A penny off fuel has serious PR power

Yesterday's budget was a bit of a PR triumph in my view. Public Relations is the very core of politics - our Prime Minister is, after all, a former PR exectuive himself - so is it any wonder that the spin machine, although perhaps less commented on than during the early days of the last government, was working at full speed in yesterday's announcements?  Of course there's the important business of the economic wellbeing of UK PLC to consider when preparing for such events, but there's also the popularity of the party and public opinon to bear in mind, and this was very much in evidence in Osborne's presentation yesterday. 

A masterclass in public relations, there were surprise gifts for both business and the consumer in the form of a higher than billed cut in corporation tax and the headline winning penny off fuel duty.  Whatever you think about the coalition government, their communications strategies have, in my view been extremely savvy (Andy Coulson's influence, or the PM himself?).

So, what are the top three PR lessons businesses can learn from the first year of our new government?

1.  Underpromise and overdeliver
Delighting your customer by giving that unexpected little bit extra is a winner.  See Rory Sutherlands' brilliant TED talk (below) on why you should sweat the small stuff, for more on why the little extras are what make you stand out from the crowd.



2.  Do the difficult stuff during periods of transition
When everything is changing, people are more likely to accept difficult decisions. In politics it makes sense to do the tough stuff when you can blame the last incumbents and before you're likely to have to win votes.  The latest budget appears surprisingly generous - but only because many of the big cuts had already been announced much earlier.

3.  Be human
Gordon Brown's biggest problem as a leader was his awkwardness in dealing with people.  His actions spoke of a man who was caring and compassionate, but his public persona didn't quite get this across.  David Cameron has that something that enables him to connect with people, and despite being unashamedly posh, he manages to present himself in a very 'human' way.  Appearing on the One Show and taking part in Comic Relief does masterchef recently were master strokes.

Having a cute baby of your own to kiss also helps...

So, there you go.  Under promise, overdeliver, do the difficult stuff during periods of change, and most of all, be human.  A recipe for good PR, and perhaps a recipe for good leadership too?