Last week I spoke at Signal P&G, an event put on by P&G and Federated Media that brought a variety of tech thinkers (from Google, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc.) to the birth place of brand management to talk about the future of marketing.
Margo Georgiadis from Google shared an insight that struck me in particular: “mobile is the new end cap“.
It reminded me of a concept I’d once heard from another Googler, Jim Lecinski, about the “Zero Moment of Truth” (available as an ebook). A.G. Lafley from P&G famously coined the “First Moment of Truth” as the 3-7 seconds when a shopper choses an item from the store shelf.
Many brands try to stand out at the First Moment of Truth by shouting louder. The Point-of-Sale toolkit is about interrupting people’s attention as they walk by the shelf: shelf talkers, banner signage, floor graphics, tear pads, decal clings, info boxes, etc.
The concept of the Zero Moment of Truth comes earlier, when consumers decide their opinion of brands before they ever step into a store. While in the store, mobile devices continues to drive purchase decisions. This isn’t just for large ticket items, but for everyday products too.
Influencing the Zero Moment of Truth requires a different mindset. It’s not about shouting. It’s about engagement. As consumers search, read reviews, or ask their networks, the brands that rise to the top are the ones that will succeed. Shouting at the shelf won’t necessarily change their mind.
I like this observation in the “Zero Moment of Truth” ebook from former OfficeMax CMO, Bob Thacker:
“Engagement with the customer today isn’t just pouring a message down on their head and hoping they get wet.
It really is understanding that you must be present in a conversation when they want to have it, not when you want to.
Pre-shopping before buying has become a huge, huge part of customer behavior. In the past, it was pretty much confined to big-ticket items like cars, or expensive electronics or homes. Now people engage in discovery before shopping on very small things.
It’s crossed all categories of shopping behavior. It’s just the way people buy today.”
(Marketoonist Monday: I’m giving away a signed print of this week’s cartoon. Just share an insightful comment to this week’s post. I’ll pick one comment at 5:00 PST on Monday. Thanks!)
barak says
June 2, 2013 at 11:08 pmwe’re on it :- ) http://rassak.com/work/san_francisco_mobile_design_and_development_team_creates_enhanced_retail_experience_demo_for_shopper_marketing_expo/4262/
Rod J says
June 3, 2013 at 5:14 amI came across an idea the other day which speaks volumes.
We need to Create Space to have a conversation.
Creating space is a wonderful idea for human interactions and marketing interactions
Hov G says
June 3, 2013 at 5:32 amA conversation, even in a cross-media message, establishes rapport and builds trust with the audience. Conversation with the audience has been a long-standing concept in effective writing across all communication genres. It is the cornerstone of William Zinsser’s classic “On Writing Well,” which I have students read in a Professional Communications class I teach at Farmingdale State College. Without conversation we are just shouting at the wind.
Barbara Moroch says
June 3, 2013 at 5:55 amIndeed, the days of traditional selling are over. Advertising 101 rules used to dictate that in order for your ad to be effective, you had to “ask for the sale” or “tell the consumer what you want them to do.”
Today, it’s about consistency of presence — on social media in particular. It’s about providing useful messages or “giving” the consumer something of value without asking for the sale. The idea being that they will remember you when the time comes.
This is a HUGE paradigm shift and David Ogilvy is probably twirling in his grave but the fact remains. It’s all about engagement rather than encouragement to act.
DSprogis says
June 3, 2013 at 6:09 amI believe Bob Thacker is correct, shoppers engage in pre-shopping discovery because discovery has been made so much easier through the web. In fact, pre-shopping discovery is built into the web shopping experience – witness Amazon’s consumer-driven star ratings. This suggests that the end-cap, itself, has lost value because it’s no longer about which brand shouts the loudest, it’s about which brand delivers the most value.
That Margo Georgiadis is suggesting that mobile is the “new end cap” seems to be missing the point. The end cap was about “shouting” whereas consumers expect mobile to be about on-the-spot discovery.
If Google forces mobile into the “new end cap” then it will be doing customers a disservice and they will reject it. Consumers want to use their phones to scan products and get comparative results. Ideally, they want to make their shopping list at home and have the phone suggest the most efficient route through the three stores and 12 isles they must visit to minimize their time and maximize their value. That’s not the same as a “new end cap”.
Tom says
June 3, 2013 at 6:44 amHow true. Amazon’s bar code scanner app is one of my most used apps. I look up reviews on All Music or Amazon to decide if I want to buy a $4.99 bargain bin CD.
John says
June 3, 2013 at 7:13 am(o:
I SHOULD WIN THE SIGNED PRINT BECAUSE I SHOUTED THE LOUDEST.
Being noticed is important. The “smiley” made you smile. (Extensive testing told me that it would.)
Bill Carlson says
June 3, 2013 at 10:47 amWith all due respect to Barbara’s views, “engagement rather than encouragement to act” is entertainment, not marketing.
We have new tools that allow that to become a more interactive experience in some cases, and that changes tone but not intent. I am very much an advocate of the idea that we need (Barbara’s words) “consistency of presence” across all of the tools we use and consumer touchpoints should include “providing useful messages or “giving” the consumer something of value without asking for the sale.”
In fact, I think it’s *because* there are so many touchpoints these days that we need to dilute how often we drive a “call to action.” But the point is that every touchpoint should be considered an opportunity to close a sale. And this would be truest when the consumer is in the aisle with their smartphone in hand, searching for info…
Let’s not forget that the purpose of brand/consumer engagement is to move a consumer toward a purchase. It would be great if “they will remember you when the time comes” but I wouldn’t bet on that — so we do indeed still need (regularly, but with restraint) to “ask for the sale” and “tell the consumer what you want them to do.”
Larry Burns says
June 3, 2013 at 10:50 amA couple of thoughts … 1st one thing adding context to my laughter – every person in your marketoon appear to be smiling at their device. That would be a marvelous outcome IF it were true –in fact as I witness, daily if not hourly, by observing people around me interact with device(s), that while smiling does occur it’s frequency is not actually very high. (That is an entirely different rant about ease of use, horrid interruption tactics and other forms of mobile abuse, etc.)
“It’s not about shouting. It’s about engagement.” I agree with that statement with all my fiber … however one person’s engagement is likely another person’s annoying distraction – yes? So, given that each human is by definition absolutely unique – no other being has our particular mix of genetics and experiences – I think in order to reach the “Holy Grail” of marketing in the 21st century what “engagement” requires is that marketers think about treating customers in a true one BY one fashion which is very easy to say & not at all simple to execute.
When marketers speak of engagement what we really seek is Merriam-Webster’s “3b : emotional involvement or commitment” or simply put some sense of actual FEELING for the brand. Well, let’s be obscenely simplistic and agree that what part of a human seeks in life is simple recognition that they exist and are in some way important. How can a brand ever hope to meet that basic need? We need to move towards that lofty goal by finding ways to create abilities (or making sincere attempts) to treat me as ME, since I am a singularly unique individual in this mass of billions.
Stealing from some writing of my own … “To me, our overall marketing challenge can be thought of in very simple, human terms – if I am next in line, if I arrive at your site, if I get your message on a device of MINE, if I open a note from you, if I give you MY time and attention than I expect your total attention. I want you to take care of ME, and when I’m done, you can take care of the next person. You need to treat ME with respect, as an individual and most importantly, as someone you know matters to your business. “I-marketing” is today’s reality – pure and simple.”
The realities in the inertia of today’s marketing spend coupled with decades of supporting research about persuasion all suggest it will take generations to fully change our models even as people change ever more rapidly. So, in the meantime I’ll continue to support your quest to recognize and portray the humor in our industries efforts – it’s never boring and always amusing to attempt to figure people out with a goal of helping them to try, buy, or use this or that brand. Again thanks for your perspective – it remains important and welcomed
Jennifer S Nelson says
June 3, 2013 at 1:28 pmI KNOW the real point was about real brand engagement with consumers, but I can’t help but get stuck on your jumping off point:
Perhaps it’s just ’cause I missed the full context, but I don’t get how mobile is the new end cap. End cap: grabs consumer’s attention, offers something at a low price trying to short circuit their active thinking/engagement decision making so as to avoid deep recall of the prior moments of truth (consumer’s actual experience with that brand) and gets people to buy it if they have even the remotest inclination to buy that brand or category. That’s why they are valuable retail placements. Mobile: how it works (impacts consumers), what it’s value is(to retailer or manufacturer) is evolving, and quite uncertain.
Now lets be clear, I’m not saying mobile isn’t valuable. It is now (even if we can’t exactly quantify it very well) – and most importantly – as delivery models of how people access goods and services is rapidly evolving, mobile is probably the MOST important marketing capabilities a manufacturer should be building now. Why it is so important? Just imagine about 10 years out… here’s just one version:
Retailers (even CPG!) have stores that are showrooms more than conventional stores – consumers interact via mobile platforms on the fly (integrated into your google glass, perhaps) and have it all ready to be delivered out of micro-regionalized warehouses withing hours. Manufacturing companies can be at the mercy of what the retailers figure out to make these kind things a reality, or they can step up and build the future that benefits them disproportionately by building capabilities and partnering with retailers for consumer friendly, engaging experiences that make them both win.
Okay, sorry for the non-sequiter, but you really got me going with that one!
JC says
June 3, 2013 at 4:14 pmA conversation involves listening and responding in kind.
If marketers want their customers to engage their brands, the marketers need to engage the customer right back.
Sarabjeet says
June 4, 2013 at 7:51 amI’m not so sure about views aired here. I think marketing is still about the basics-they havent really changed. True, the consumer is much more aware now, and it is difficult for brands/companies to deceive the consumer as they earlier could. The only thing that has changed really, is that information is easily available.
Do consumers really want to be continually engaged? Sometimes, sure, but always? Why does every brand need to be high involvement for the consumer?
In my view, all online is, is another distribution channel-one where two way information flow is possible. There were companies who were excellent marketeers back when distribution channels and information flow were more ‘traditional’ in nature, but somewhere along the line, they had great products that truly made a difference to the people who used those products and solved fundamental problems in their daily lives.
I think most brands/companies have lost that touch these days and marketing is relegated to a position akin to a hawker shouting at a fish market. The consumer doesn’t care about how loudly you shout or how eloquently you shout, at the end of the day when they go back home, they need to be able to have good fish!
Mike says
June 4, 2013 at 9:30 amSarabjeet nailed it.
tomfishburne says
June 23, 2013 at 8:43 pmHi all,
Really great debate this week. This week’s print goes to Sarabjeet. Many thanks!
-Tom