All I Need to Know About Marketing, I Can Learn From Lady Gaga

Love her or loathe her, let’s face it—Lady Gaga is a genius when it comes to marketing herself. Always relevant and provocative, she’s constantly being talked about, and isn’t that what you want for your brand, whether it’s a client or your personal brand? Here’s how you can claim a little Gaga magic for yourself.

Have an Opinion

Lady Gaga isn’t exactly shy when it comes to speaking her mind about issues she feels strongly about, which keeps her in the public eye. Don’t be namby-pamby—pick a side and speak up. This will help you focus on who you want to eventually evangelize your brand. As a freelance copywriter, this is something I struggle with – I don’t want to piss people off since I’m ultimately looking for a permanent gig.

Social Media is Your Friend

Lady Gaga has done an amazing job driving loyalty with social media—she has more than 5 million fans on Twitter and 14 million Facebook fans. Even better is the way she directly messages her friends on a timely basis. Can’t you do the same?

Be Different

Be different, but selectively so, and make sure people know about it. However, there’s an art to doing this: a writing teacher I had in high school would constantly tell us, “show me, don’t tell me.” In other words, rather than blathering on about how great you are, live it and let people discover it for themselves.

There’s Nothing Wrong with Commerce

Let’s be honest—poverty sucks. It took me a while to figure this out: making money while plying your trade is not a sin. It’s actually kind of the point of working. When I first started freelancing, I was almost embarrassed to ask for a living wage from clients because I was afraid that I would drive away clients by asking for a decent rate. Turns out I did, but I only seemed to scare off the bad clients.

Kiss Their Three Heads and Tuck Them in at Night

Lady Gaga’s fans are called Little Monsters and they even have their own official greeting/gang sign. Even Oprah knows it. So how are you connecting with your fans? What are you doing to add value beyond the initial transaction?

Don’t be Afraid to Piss People Off

You can’t please everyone, right? Someone isn’t going to like you because your rate is just outside of their price range, or they don’t like your approach to concepting, or whatever. Lady Gaga realizes that the people she ticks off probably aren’t her fan base, anyway, and she’s okay with that. Trying to please everyone is exhausting and it eats up the time you should be spending on work.

Have the Right People on Your Side

Lady Gaga has a long string of celebrity supporters. You also need your own star-studded entourage who will sing your praises, let you know about job openings, and maybe even throw some business your way every now and then. Of course, this has to be a give-and-take relationship. Very few people will flat-out worship you if there’s nothing in it for them.

Produce Great Work. Always

Even if you’re not a pop music fan, Lady Gaga writes amazingly good songs. She doesn’t produce a huge amount of them, but what she does produce is flawless. This is how you should run your business—take on work selectively and don’t take on so much that your finished product isn’t your best work.

Stop Shooting Fish in a Barrel

The Gaga brand is very calculated and deliberate, thanks to her talented team of publicists. Team Gaga didn’t do anything revolutionary – they simply took the tools that work today and used them to their advantage within the parameters that define her brand’s attributes. In other words, figure out who and what you/your brand want(s) to be when you/it grow(s) up and act accordingly.

Genuine Influence? Or Sheer Ego?

I’ve been following Fast Company’s Influence Project with great interest, primarily because I’m still trying to figure out exactly what it is they’re trying to accomplish. I get the whole point of using your social media influence to generate quantitative data that proves that people listen to what you say. However, this project leaves me scratching my head, despite their intentions of creating a viral campaign.

Never heard of the project? Here is how Fast Company explains it:

About the Project
We started with a simple question: Who are the most influential people online right now?

That’s what The Influence Project is designed to answer. By participating, you will have your picture appear in the November issue of Fast Company magazine as part of an amazing photo spread. The more influence you demonstrate, the bigger your picture will be.

You may discover that you’re more influential than you think.

Influence is not only about having the most friends or followers. Real influence is about being able to affect the behavior of those you interact with, to get others in your social network to act on a suggestion or recommendation. When you post a link or recommend a site, how many people actually bother to check it out? And what’s the likelihood of those people then forwarding it on? How far does your influence spread?

This is the type of influence we’re looking for. We want to find the most influential person online.

Who knows? It might even be you.

So how does this work? You constantly email and tweet your followers, as well as update your status, urging them to clink a specific link that contains your photo. Simple enough, right? I don’t know about you, but doesn’t this constitute spamming?

Fast Company considers being able to affect the behavior of those with whom you interact to be real influence. Last time I checked, influence was based on trust and deliberate connections, not spam and “noise.”

Here’s a thought, Fast Company, rather than urging people to exercise their influence by annoying their friends with pointless spam designed only to drive people to the Fast Company website, how about using it for something worthwhile, like raising awareness of an issue or encouraging people to “do good” on a local basis? To me, that’s what real influence is about.

Attack of the Lollipop Head

Over the weekend, a story caught my eye and I can’t stop thinking about it – Extra TV ran a segment about a recent ad for Ralph Lauren, in which a basically skeletal model is depicted as having a head larger than her pelvis, thanks to some questionable photoshopping. Immediately, this threw me into an uproar – as a woman, this ad offends me, but what upset me more than anything is Ralph Lauren’s rather lame statement: “For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Excuse me? They didn’t know that this had been done? I have worked in retail marketing and nothing went to press without several rounds of approvals, and that was at a furniture manufacturer in the midwest. They’re trying to tell me that an iconic international brand like Ralph Lauren would print something without final approval? I don’t think so.

Over the weekend, a story caught my eye and I can’t stop thinking about it – Extra TV ran a segment about a recent ad for Ralph Lauren, in which a basically skeletal model is depicted as having a head larger than her pelvis, thanks to some questionable photoshopping. Immediately, this threw me into an uproar – as a woman, this ad offends me, but what upset me more than anything is Ralph Lauren’s rather lame statement:

“For over 42 years we have built a brand based on quality and integrity. After further investigation, we have learned that we are responsible for the poor imaging and retouching that resulted in a very distorted image of a woman’s body. We have addressed the problem and going forward will take every precaution to ensure that the caliber of our artwork represents our brand appropriately.”

Excuse me? They didn’t know that this had been done? I have worked in retail marketing and nothing went to press without several rounds of approvals, and that was at a furniture manufacturer in the midwest. They’re trying to tell me that an iconic international brand like Ralph Lauren would print something without final approval? I don’t think so.

Will Tweet for Food

From time to time, I like to point out grassroots marketing efforts, particularly because of the degree of authenticity. Those who know me well know that I am also involved in a group called Tastecasting, which combines two of my favorite things – dining out and social media. Check us out here, especially if you’re interested in starting a chapter in your city.

Defining Average

The 2010 Census is sure to bring surprises to marketers – the “average” American consumer is no more. As demographics expert Peter Francese writes for Advertising Age, “The average American has been replaced by a complex, multidimensional society that defies simplistic labeling.” Though official data won’t be released until April, 2011, we do know some of the preliminary findings: diversity statistics are widely varied by demographic group, the American household is extremely varied (married couples without kids are the prevalent type, followed by single people), and the population is shifting toward the southern and western portions of the country.

Happy Monday (and Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian readers)

Finally, here are a couple of spots that have been making me laugh lately. Bud Light does a genius job drawing parallels between an uncomfortable breakup and selecting a beer, which Geico presents a talking pothole that is eerily reminiscent of how I imagine Britney Spears sounds like. Enjoy!

Photoshop is our Friend, Right?

Just when I was ready to give Microsoft kudos for taking the high road in its advertising, they go and do something stupid. Let me start by saying that I get the point of global advertising and the fact that you will probably need to adjust your ad to fit the markets in which it is running, but that still is not an excuse for sloppiness.

The original image, which ran in the US, showed an Asian man, a black man, and a white woman around a conference table. However, in the version running in Poland, the same photo appeared with a white man’s head pasted over the black man. If you look closely, you’ll notice that the photoshopping was a tad sloppy – the black man’s hand is still there. Microsoft has since apologized and taken down the photo.

Nothing Like a Public Health Scare to Move Products
Thanks to the H1N1 coverage, antibacterial products are flying off of store shelves as kids head back to school. As you’ll recall, Swine Flu coverage peaked in the spring, but quickly died down in May when the virus did not prove to be as deadly as previously thought. Thanks to google searches for products effective against H1N1, now that kids are heading back to school, supply lists around the country are including antibacterial wipes, gels, etc, from Lysol and Chlorox. Wonder where I can get a deal on surgical masks?

A Classic Cautionary Tale

I’ve always been a big fan of PSA’s, after school specials, and the like, and this PSA from the Gwent Police Department is an extremely disturbing and graphic depiction of why texting and driving is a bad idea. (Warning: not safe for viewing by children)

Die Fail Whale, Die!

If you spend any kind of twitter, then you know the Fail Whale: the eponymous whale that lets you know when twitter is having issues. This is especially frustrating when you’re in the middle of a conversation, promoting your latest project, or trying to track down an old friend. To vent your frustration, Andrew Conn has graced us with a Flash game that lets you take out your frustration.

Speaking of Twitter…

If you’re tired of having to do detective work every time you receive a follow request, then Twimailer is for you. Once you sign up, you will receive an email from Twimailer with a the potential follower’s user name, avatar, bio, and recent tweets, as well as links that will allow you to follow or block the user.

So What Should I Write About?
I think by now we’ve cleared the question of whether or not your company should blog, so next comes the Big Hairy Question of what you should write about. I’m asked this all the time by my clients, who are terrified of blogging because all they know are spreadsheets. Remember, blogging is about building relationships, so here’s a list to help you get started.

• Check your inbox. What are people talking about? Are there any questions you can answer?
• Comment on someone else’s blog. What blogs are you reading? Do you have an opinion about what they’re saying?
• Offer advice. Most of the time, people read blogs because they’re looking for ideas and advice to help solve their own problems. Are there any services that you can offer to help solve these problems?
• What have you been up to? Can you offer behind-the-scenes stories or insights?
• Comment on the state of the union. Are there any new developments in your field? Can you discuss real-world applications?
• Photos and videos are absolutely priceless. People love to see the proverbial “man behind the curtain” at work. Be transparent and let your clients in on what you really do.
• E-books are incredibly valuable when you offer something that your readers can’t get anywhere else, plus they are a natural blog entry.
• Share your presentations with your readers. Have someone video your latest presentation or upload your slides on slideshare and let your readers get a feel for what you presented.
• Be the News. A blog is a great place to announce the latest developments at your company – new hires, awards, new developments, technology updates, etc.
• Dialog is the New Black. Use your blog to generate debate and/or discussion with your readers. This will help spark future topics, as well as generate reader loyalty.

So Much for What we Leaned in College
Remember the basic advertising classes we took in college and they beat into our heads what differentiates a good spot from a bad one – clear call to action, make your product memorable, etc? The latest spot for Chi Chi’s Salsa breaks those rules, but still works because it’s clever, repetitive, and funny as hell. Plus, if you’re a dork like me, you’ll imitate the robot in the ad for days. Enjoy it here.

A Little Burst of Happiness

Now that the 4th of July holiday weekend is over, it’s time to get back to the business of life, in general. But, before we get back to work, I wanted to share the following with you – a commercial for the Columbus Zoo, which was recently named the best zoo in the country (after years of being #2) by USA Travel Guide. The choreography and the lyrics are an absolute riot and I can’t help but laugh every time I see the spot on TV. Enjoy!

Anyone Else Not See This Coming?

Imagine for a moment that you’re a 16 year-old boy named Zack Johnson. Now imagine that you wake up one morning, only to find that your “guy parts” have been replaced by “girl parts.” Believe it or not, this is actually a stealth viral campaign for P&G’s Tampax tampons. The campaign is anchored around a video-rich blog and even a twitter account. Despite the marketers not knowing at this point how the campaign will end, they do say they’re pleased with young Mr. Johnson’s sudden popularity.

That’s Gotta Hurt

In a textbook example of a well-executed attack ad, in “True Stories,” Best Buy calls out Walmart by name for its lackluster customer service. In the spot, an actual customer service rep recalls talking to a frustrated customer who called her from a Walmart because the associate there couldn’t answer his question about a TV. Granted, Walmart is attempting to bridge the void left by Circuit City’s closing by offering more upscale electronics at Walmart price points, kudos to Best Buy for differentiating itself in a way that is meaningful to consumers. Watch the spot here.

Whose Way is it Now?
Don’t get me wrong – I love Wendy’s and have for a long time. But what I do not love is their advertising. Maybe it’s because they went through their Golden Age of creativity with their “Where’s the Beef?” campaign in the 80′s and then hung their collective hat on the head of beloved founder Dave Thomas in the 90′s with “Dave’s Way.” However, the chain’s current approach to advertising has me confounded.

This spot bothers me in so many ways from a creative and marketing standpoint, and is truly indicative of the organization’s problems – inconsistent product quality, skyrocketing prices, and schitzophrenic advertising. I really feel that it’s time for Wendy’s to take a simpler approach and go back to the basics of value and quality.

Cannes, Schmannes
I know the advertising world is getting excited for Cannes and there are predictions flying that CP+B will take home a ton of Lions, I can’t help but yawn. Read why here.

All Hail the Queen

KFC is experiencing what can only be described as Hurricane Oprah. The identity-challenged brand has re-launched its grilled chicken product, which didn’t sell too well a few years ago (“Rotisserie Gold,” anyone?) by using Oprah as its pitch person, offering a coupon for a free 2-piece meal on its website. The deal runs through May 19th (but it is not redeemable on Mothers Day) and has already overwhelmed the fast feeder. Restaurants were not prepared for the onslaught and have had to turn away scores of customers. Ouch. Will the Yum Brands-owned chain be able to maintain the hype once the campaign is over? Stay tuned.

McYawn

McDonald’s has launched its ad blitz for the McCafe line of gourmet coffees. As I’ve already said, I think this venture will be a huge McFlop for the fast feeder and the latest spot proves it. I get their point. Really, I do. They’re trying to show how wrapping one’s swine flu-infested paws around a McCafe can elevate even the most mundane of experiences, such as cubicle-dwelling at work. However, I am a firm believer that iconic brands should stick to what they’re known for, especially in today’s economy, where brand loyalty is key.

The Shudder Heard Round the Ad World

If ever there was a time when I questioned my decision to become a writer, this would be it. Work is scarce and I’m constantly bombarded by opportunities to become one of those annoying people who hand out samples in front of Walmart, so now is the time for action. Enter Lawson Clarke. The former Arnold creative has unleashed his own site on the unsuspecting public to showcase both his work and his sense of humor. Inspired by Burt Reynolds (and, frankly, who isn’t?), the hirsute Clarke lounges nude on a bearskin rug, naughty parts cleverly concealed by a well-placed TV showing a shot of the White House and playing the national anthem. I’m not sure what else is on the site because I was entranced by the waving American flag, but give it a look, if you dare.

Riddle Me This

In a massive PR campaign, former NFL star Michael Vick is attempting to rehab his image in the wake of the dogfighting scandal. He has even gone so far as to discuss endorsing animal rights group PETA in an attempt to get in the public’s good graces. So, here’s my question: how credible of a spokesman is Michael Vick expected to be against animal cruelty? Seriously.

Keepin’ It Real

It’s no secret – I’m a huge fan of grassroots marketing and, for that reason, Crimson Cup is my new purveyor of choice of my favorite legal drug – coffee. I recently had the privilege of attending my first Coffee Cuppers Club meeting, of which I learned via twitter. In addition to slurping coffee grounds and meeting new people, I also got to meet one of the roast masters and learn about what makes a good cup of coffee. No pressure and no sales tactics, just an enjoyable afternoon that helped me put a face to the brand and personally identify with it. Cheers!

What Are You Doing This Weekend?

For those that haven’t been following the Amazon debacle, allow me to recap: In what Amazon refers to as a “glitch,” last weekend, the online retailer removed from its listings many gay and/or lesbian-themed books by authors such as Gore Vidal, James Baldwin, and Jeanette Winterston, thus prompting a social media frenzy unseen since the “Motrin Moms” firestorm in 2008. Amazon has since responded, calling the incident an “embarassing and ham-fisted cataloging error,” but it was too little, too late. Using tags like “#amazonfail” and “#glitchmyass,” twitter users taught Amazon a valuable lesson: monitor your brand at all times, especially via social media, and especially on weekends. Had Amazon done just that, the company might have responded in a timely fashion, rather than having to do massive damage control, following a weekend of awkward silence.

Do you have a plan in place, should your brand be put in a similar situation? Here are some things to keep in mind:

1. First of all, decide if this is a situation over which you have any control. For example, when a company is faced with content released by disgruntled employees, making a public statement could potentially draw attention to content over which the company has no control.
2. Find out what is being said and by whom. In these types of situations, the marketer needs to know how many people saw the questionable content and how likely they are to be customers, and then react accordingly.
3. You don’t have to have all of the answers all at one time. There is no shame in saying, “we’re aware of the situation. We don’t know how it happened, but we’re dealing with it.” It shows the brand’s human side, provided that a tone of genuine remorse is also conveyed.
4. Don’t draw more attention to the problem than the situation warrants. For example, had  Motrin kept their statements geared toward the twitter users that were specifically discussing the campaign they found offensive, the situation could have been contained, rather than garnering national media attention.
5. Focus on the future and what your company will do in the future to prevent the situation from happening again. Once you convey this information to your customers, learn from your mistakes and move on.

Can I Have a Side of Snot With That?
Domino’s Pizza is learning the hard way how harmful one person with a video camera and a web uplink can be to a brand. A now-former employee and his friend uploaded a series of videos to YouTube, depicting them defiling the very food products they were making for customers (though the co-hort claims they didn’t actually serve the items to customers). Domino’s is not currently planning to make a statement about the videos, however, I’m sure that after viewing a video of a Domino’s employee shoving mozzarella cheese up his nose before putting it on a sandwich will cause at least a few customers to think twice before picking up the phone.

Fast Food Frenzy
Fast feeder Burger King is taking flak for its latest print ad, which features a squat Mexican wrapped in his nation’s flag and standing next to a tall American cowboy. Cultural stereotypes aside, the company is accused of improperly displaying the Mexican flag, which is protected by law. BK plans to scrap the creative and come up with something less offensive for the Texican Whopper.

Speaking of Burger King, in case you missed my post last week, The King is now hawking Sponge Bob Square Pants-themed kids’ meals to the tune of “Baby Got Back,” complete with the creepy ruler singing about his love of square butts and his urge to “get with” Sponge Bob, while scantily-clad women are shakin’ it in the background. Parents will be thrilled to know that the spot (shown here in its HD glory) was made in partnership with Nickelodeon.

Legal Stuff You Should Know
Sure, word-of-mouth advertising and blogs are hot right now, but the Federal Trade Commission may have something to say about it. The FTC is planning to monitor blogs and viral marketing, holding writers and marketers accountable for any false statements about products. At this point, the new policy only applies to bloggers and others who are compensated to promote or review a product.

Image Upgrade

Calling all art nerds: Iconic champagne manufacturer Veuve Clicquot has released its new posters created by French artist Florence Deygas. These represent a shift from the current, more contemporary Global Light campaign for their Rose Collection. Deygas has also created promotional art for Nokia, YSL, Vogue, Fendi, and Lacoste.

I’ll Take a Side of Creepy With That Kids’ Meal

The gang at Crispin Porter + Bogusky is out with the latest Burger King commercial, which is sure to be a bit unsettling to the fast food-loving public. This time, the creepy King statue is hawking Sponge Bob Squarepants kids’ meals to a rewritten version of “Baby Got Back.” Is this meaningful to today’s kids? Probably not. How does this rate in terms of compelling creative? Honestly, the spot gives me the willies, but you be the judge. If nothing else, it’s memorable and will generate online and water cooler buzz for a while.

A Reason to Get More People to Follow You on Twitter

Note to twitter users: DiGiorno wants you to host a tweet-up, but only if you live in New York, Chicago, or L.A. The frozen pizza giant is reaching out to influential twitter users (ie: those with a massive following) with free flatbread pizzas for their gatherings, in hopes of users spreading the word. Don’t live in one of those cities? Be on the lookout for a DiGiorno onslaught on Yelp and CitySearch starting in August, when the brand plans to target users who are searching for pizza delivery. And it won’t stop at pizza – DiGiorno is also launching a flatbread sandwich that retails for $3.49. Watch your backs, Subway and Quizno’s.

Say What???

I read an article yesterday on Advertising Age, which has me in a huff. The author states that it is a critical misstep to listen to customers too much because they always want lower prices, much to the detriment of brands. The article goes on to cite Saks Fifth Avenue as a case study – they lowered prices as much as 70% during the holiday period, and sales remained flat, anyway, thereby “proving” that the customer is not always right. Hmmmm…the customer is the one spending their money with a particular brand, thus, in a sense, signing employee paychecks, right? The way I see it is that the customer is always right since s/he can always chose to spend her/his money elsewhere. The article also makes an excellent case for perceived value and brand image. Read it here.

What You Should be Doing During a Layoff

So you’ve been handed a ticket to Axeville – population: you. Suddenly, you have all kinds of time on your hands and you’re freaked out, stressed, and possibly a tad angry. Common sense says that your full-time job is now looking for work, but studies show that focusing only on job-hunting tends to a sense of hopelessness and depression, so why not use this time to prepare for the next phase in your life? Quite frankly, when you’re in an interview, the last thing the interviewer wants to hear is that you haven’t done anything with your life since you left your last position, so what’s a job-seeker to do?

1. Learn something. Take a class, start a blog, whatever. Learn to do something that will differentiate you from others in your field, like mastering social media, learning a new software package, or perfecting your presentation skills. A great example of this is Erik, who was laid off last year from his job as a copywriter, despite receiving rave reviews from his boss after consistently delivering on national ad campaigns. Was he bitter that he lost his job? Sure, who wouldn’t be? But he also started a new blog that allows other ad-types to kvetch and share info, as well as job leads.
2. Do something. Ever thought about starting a company or changing fields? What’s stopping you from doing that now? While you’re looking for a new position, this is a perfect time to try something new or even do volunteer work for an organization in your community. Maybe you’ll find your dream job in the process, but you could also find your life’s dream, and, if nothing else, you’ll have one more thing you can talk about in an interview.
3. Try something, especially if it intimidates you. I’m a firm believer that nothing builds character like experience. With that said, who’s to say that this isn’t just as good a time as any to try something – whether it’s freelancing, zip lining, or contacting a lost love? The point is that we can’t grow – as professionals or as human beings – if we don’t expand our horizons beyond the familiar.
4. Talk about something. I admit it – my favorite topic of conversation is me, hence my teenage nickname of “Miss Microphone,” and I can talk about it for hours on end, which isn’t quite what interviewers want to hear. In a nutshell, they want to know who you are, why you’re taking up valuable real estate in their office, and what you can do for them now and in the future – hence, the art of the “elevator pitch.” Figure out what your potential employer needs to hear and edit it down to 30 seconds or less of compelling, hire-me-now rhetoric. Practice it on anyone who is willing to listen, be it the mailman, your child, or an unwitting cashier at the supermarket.
5. Meet someone. Getting a job is no longer about pounding the proverbial pavement and assailing every possible inbox with your resume, though persistence doesn’t hurt. Get off of your couch and out into the world. Meet everyone you can – not everyone will lead to a job, but you’ll also make some great friends along the way.

The experience of being laid off is what you make of it – it can either be a time of self-flagellation and shame or it can be a period of reinvention and renewal. When else will you get this opportunity?