Open Letter to Drew Brees (Lifetime Value vs ROI)

The New Orleans Saints  vs Drew Brees contract negotiation is a perfect metaphor for my frustration with marketing right now. This post is a rally call for marketers and brands to work on Lifetime Value instead of ROI.

The ROI limitation 

As Brees’ current $60M/6 yr contract ends, both sides are at an impasse because of a $6.25M overspend on the NEW contract.  Let’s look at the latest numbers reported by ESPN:

• Brees demand:   $20.5M X 5 yrs  =  $102.5M
• Saints offer: $19.25M X 5 yrs = $96.25M 

I’ve been here before, and I know right now that  no President, CEO, CFO, CMO would entertain a marketing plan to ‘overspend’  by 6%, (and if you were having a really bad day could trigger a request for  a 6% underspend!). So here’s an innovation for Brees....combine contracts, current ($60M)  + new ($102.5M) AND change the story:

Lifetime Value Rocks!

1. Brees should reframe his discussion as LIFETIME VALUE, and use different language.  He MUST avoid referencing ‘current’ or ‘new’ contracts .  These contracts do not impact what he delivers to the Saints.  
2. He needs to go in right now and TELL THE STORY that he’s only asking for $14.8M a year.  
3. He should use these words in every statement “My lifetime playing and leadership value to the Saints is $162.5M over 11 years”. 

The lifetime value story is TRUE.  Marketers must be brave enough to tell this story about their strategies and plans. Those that do will be seen as leaders, and marketing will be rewarded as a respected growth driver for the business…..

Those that don’t, well you know who you are. Enjoy fighting with your ROI tools that still wont make the calculation work for you!

B E A U T I F U L

I grew up listening to BBC Radio One. It’s a brand with a special place in my heart, the station that unleashed my passion for music.  Driven by a public service mandate, BBC must create content for a diverse, multicultural and international audience.  The brand must fight to stay relevant in the area of a fragmented and technologically savvy audience .  

I’m so thankful that they’ve found a way to build a beautiful, simple and dare I say iconic mobile interface.  By understanding their  equity,  they have transformed today’s complex station portfolio into an intuitive interactive consumer experience. Eye catching design, dramatic colours and logical layout. Beautiful.  Check it out from your smartphone here.

Be Contagious

I love this little booklet of the 10 Rules of Engagement, placed by Weber Shandwick in the Global Issue of Advertising Age. Simple, believable, fun and focused, it caught my attention and completely interrupted my reading...... 

No surprises  - eg 'Rule 2' is a reminder that brands co-create their message as they no longer own it. 'Rule 10' 'Hire Us' is a call to action, but, hey ! It did its job by getting Weber front of mind in a sea of agencies.... 

Nice work in raising the bar. I might get back to reading Ad Age at some stage, but inspiring me with simple pictures and simple ideas successfully nixed the impact of every other ad in this issue.

P.S.....anyone else notice perhaps an homage to JCP's latest logo/US campaign ?

Creating magic....with tin foil (aluminum wrap)

Yes! tin foil (as we call it in the UK) or aluminum wrap ads can be emotive and memorable.  This ad has been bugging me for a few days, because its simple storyline has a cinematic, dramatic air that leaves me expecting many more adventures from these characters.  I love the sense of adventure and the fact they are trying to capture the audience's hearts and minds with a playful sense of wonder and fantasy.

Kudos to the folks at Reynolds (and Euro RSCG/Chicago) for focusing on the right-brain, for using imagination, for great storytelling, for championing inspiration. I hope they take an extreme journey on this whimsical 'magic' theme.....and steer clear of tired, obvious, and functional performance messaging.  

Go crazy -  create a cartoon, give the characters more stories, create kids books and continue to push the envelope. You are on to something, and I might just feel connected to your brand, an emotional territory that your competition dare not claim. 

The Art of Marketing (#TAOM) - Quotes that provoke ACTION

I get it.

You’re too busy to read a full recap of what the speakers had to say at the art of Marketing Chicago conference today.

So… here are 10 bite sized quotes that provoke action:  my notes and via Twitter #TAOM.

Why Marketers should be artists

1. "commodity is just a marketer that has given up"  - Seth Godin

2. "competence is no longer a scarce commodity" - Seth Godin   

What consumers want

3. "…we use our wealth to get weirder, we use wealth to be more like ourselves" -  Seth Godin

4. (pt 1) "Give a shit first, then maybe consumers will be interested in you”  

5. (pt 2) "..yes and they [customers] talk back now, we have to respect that via good cop marketing" – Gary Vaynerchuk

Leadership in 2012  

6. "lead with generosity, intimacy, candor and accountability" -  Keith Ferrazzi

7. It's Critical to shift from "Stumbling into intimacy" to a relationship strategy. Consider what are you ‘selling’ vs what people are ‘buying’ -  "Ask how can I serve you" - Keith Ferrazzi

8. "Do exactly what I tell you" is the 'Factory' model that no longer works – Seth Godin

Digital stuff…….  

 9. all a ‘bounce rate’ tells you is that "I came, I puked, and then left" - Avinash Kaushik

10. "do you work on a brand that has the right to be on the home page of your smart phone ?” -  Mitch Joel

P.S. Im saving @avinash’s salacious quotes for a deep dive post, and will leave you with the thought, that a book called: Puke.Boom.Orgasm.Awesome is in his destiny.