Marketing Phrases, How Important Are They?

When you hear phrases like, “March Madness,” or “Win or Go Home,” most people know exactly what you’re referring to. This media technique is not only used for sporting events but in product marketing as well. When you hear things like, “where’s the beef,” you automatically think, Wendy’s restaurant! You “think” Wendy’s restaurant but does it actually make you want to go out and have Wendy’s? How important is phrase marketing to corporations or events involving corporations? I would say it is very important. Simply because you may not run out and buy the item at this moment but every time you hear a certain phrase, these companies know you’re thinking about them. Slogans have the ability to incite many emotions in the life of the consumer. Whether it’s fear, humor or love, they all have the same objectives and goals. The slogan calls your attention, hopefully all of your attention, to one company or organization. For example, the phrase, “click it or ticket,” is designed to invoke fear of being killed if you do not wear your seatbelt or at the very least, a pretty expensive ticket. Whereas the slogan, “stay thirsty my friends,” invokes a fantasy of being part of an elite group who live life by their own terms.

Slogans and marketing phrases have limitless possibilities if they capture the essence of the event or organization. In other words, a marketing specialist should consider the company’s goals, the nature of the event, and the audience they are trying to attract. In marketing to older generations it may be wise to use a phrase that represents some type of nostalgia for them. On the other hand, if your audience were mostly teenagers it would be wise to consider more tech savvy phrases. One great example is the phrase Apple used when introducing its IPod. "A thousand songs in your pocket," wasn’t just a catch phrase but a literal statement that caught the attention of millions of consumers. Another example is the phrase "grown folks music." Every time my mother hears this phrase she knows this is music she can listen to, and according to her, “actually understand what they’re saying!”

Slogans, catch phrases and cliché’ quotes; whatever marketing technique and strategy works for your organization will be an investment worth perfecting. The ability to reside in the minds of your consumers every time they hear your phrase is one of the most important and profitable aspects to marketing your brand. Trust me, “Just Do It.” I bet you didn’t think of your business when I wrote that, you thought about Nike, if only for a moment. 

Are You Being Watched?

Have you ever had the feeling that you are being watched?  If you have, it's probably because you are.  Most people are aware that their activity online is being monitored by companies looking to advertise their products to interested parties, but what about at sporting events?  Advancements in technology is making it more probable that companies can monitor the facial expressions and behaviors of fans while they're watching their favorite teams play. According to Sean Gregory, arenas are already armed with cameras that allow teams to know the strengths and weaknesses of their players, prospects and opponents, but what happens when you turn the camera towards the fans?

Imagine having the capability to read the behaviors of each and every fan and then cater your marketing  strategies to those behaviors. The possibilities would be endless. In other words, different sports organizations will have the ability to increase every level of fan engagement.  Die hard fans will have the ability to interact with their favorite teams while opportunistic fans can be entertained through social media and picture sharing of their sporting event. In essence this is exactly how marketing executives use information gathered online to market certain products to different individuals.

According to Marlene Cimons, advertising agencies have already adopted the concept of studying human behavior in order to market their products directly to their target audience. They may not be monitoring behavior through hidden cameras but they are definitely "watching" the different websites visited to monitor the interests of future consumers.  I have definitely noticed the similarities in ads that seem to "pop up" whenever I'm browsing the Internet.  It's almost as if they know the items I've bought and the sites I frequent, regardless of whether I buy anything or not.

It is not unreasonable to think that sports organizations are doing the same things online with the addition of using cameras to monitor fan behavior in the actual arenas.  Now, if I decide to go to a football game, it would be pretty obvious that I have no idea what is happening during the game.  Usually, I'm on Facebook or posting pictures on Instagram showing I'm at the game but not necessarily into the game.  Those behaviors would not be hard to read, whereas if I was at a Miami Heat game, my behavior is completely different and I am fully engaged in the entire game.  Having the ability to read fan behavior gives the sports organization vital information on what and who to market to.

Aaron Kahlow suggests in his blog that organizations should be more adept to ask consumers what they want rather than telling them what they want.  Kahlow also suggests tailoring emails to target a specific fan base. I agree with this statement because most people don't want or need news letters and will usually delete the email before it's opened.  You definitely want to avoid sending so much junk to the fans that they also begin to skip over deals and promotions because they're deleting emails before opening them.

As consumers, we are definitely being watched.  I just hope corporations, organizations and even the government understand that there is a fine line between monitoring behavior for marketing purposes and infringing on consumer privacy.

Press Credentials....Denied!

In the world of Professional Sports, the media is considered a friend. After all, how would they distribute their victories and defeats to millions of fans all over the world? This only becomes a problem when certain members of the media are deemed detrimental to the reputation of different sports entities, right?  If so, who makes this determination and what would cause a sports owner to go so far as to deny credentials to the press? If it were as easy as avoiding negative press or trying to control what viewers see, the owners would simply form alliances with media personalities and limit their coverage to them. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy.  Whether it’s a sports fan, owner or sponsor, in most cases they want the coverage of their association to be as objective and fair as possible. So what warrants the denial of press credentials?

In an article written by Glenn Davis, he suggests that a denied press pass is justified in certain instances, such as in the case of the Miami Heat and Scott Raab. Scott Raab wasn’t denied a press-pass simply because of his hatred of LeBron James, but it was his lack of decorum when expressing that hatred toward the super star on twitter. After all, Adrian Wojnarowski wasn’t denied a press pass and he has also been extremely critical of LeBron James. I guess the old saying is true, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it.”

In the case of Josh Gross, Loretta Hunt and Jeff Sherwood, the lack of decorum was definitely on the other foot. Despite the tumultuous history between Dana White and Gross, Hunt and Sherwood, the denying of their press credentials seemed unwarranted. It seems as if the denial was based more on personal reasons rather than questionable media coverage. Here’s the video of the attack on Loretta Hunt and nothing about it gives any reason why her press credentials were denied except the fact the he definitely does not like Loretta Hunt. I guess with anything concerning the media, the facts have to be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. It is also imperative to think before you speak or react, because anger has a way of lowering your Intelligence Quotient (IQ) and making you look incredibly ignorant.