Most men – at least the ones I know – have a special space they call their own, whether it’s a basement with a flat screen TV, a peaceful office, a garage with a never-ending supply of tools or even a motorcycle for joyriding. Most often deemed the “man cave,” men designate a household area as their space and let the testosterone flow.

The man cave is where men can truly be themselves – loud, macho and simple. Crude even. The cave provides a kind of vacation from chaotic life. I hesitate to say, but this includes a nagging wife, barking dog and screaming kids. It’s true: the man cave is the key to every man’s sanity.

Google “man cave” and variations of the same idea appear on the screen: extravagant rooms with pool tables and home theaters, ideas for masculine decoration and videos outlining the tools and techniques for building the ultimate man cave.

What if the idea of a macho space was created for something usually marketed toward women? Chrysler has done just that with the “man van,” a special (manly) version of the Dodge Grand Caravan.

Chrysler's "Man Van" prototype

Rumored to hit dealerships within the next couple of months, the man van will feature a slightly sportier look with a snazzy black-and-gray interior trim accented with hot-colored stitching on the seats and steering wheel. Besides an effort to make many old vehicles feel new because of sluggish sales, Chrysler hopes to help men overcome the highly feminine stigma surrounding the minivan. With the man van, dads can feel more comfortable toting the kids to school or picking up groceries.

Beyond the cool factor of the man van, what’s even more interesting is the fact that Chrysler is marketing a minivan for men. With most minivans focused on sliding doors, the driving experience and convenience, Chrysler’s man van is the first of its kind in the marketplace with others not far behind. Honda Motor Co. is already planning to launch a sleeker “athletic” design for the Odyssey.

Looking back at our “Missing Males White Paper,” which states that males are virtually ignored in the household marketplace in terms of product development and marketing, the man van goes beyond the norm. Will it gain the attention of the modern-day man? Or will it be seen as joke? I personally see the man van as a bit cheesy, but hope this could be the start of more household product marketing geared toward men.

Although Chrysler and Dodge have declined to comment on the man van, dealers of Chrysler have said that the man van will turn heads. For the minivan-driving man, the man van is just what he needs to claim his on-the-go space.

Many companies can, quite easily, describe their brand and what it stands for.  These descriptions, however, can become too long to be effective.  Is it possible to describe your brand in less than a minute? What about 30 seconds? In a post discussing the importance of keeping your “elevator pitch” short and sweet, Michael Gass provides a few tips for selling your most valuable assets here.

I gave my two cents a couple months ago when asked to be a guest blogger on 1-to-1 Media. Here’s my take on the challenge:

The Right Elevator Pitch Gives Your Brand a Lift

The average elevator ride is 30 seconds. Even in the Empire State Building it is possible to ride from the lobby to the 80th floor in 45 seconds. That’s plenty of time to send a quick message on your iPhone or finish half of the overpriced, large nonfat, no whip, caramel latte. But is it enough time to deliver a strong, concise brand pitch to a potential business partner? It should be.

Whether you’re trying to promote your brand, interest a customer in your services, or grab the attention of a reporter, having a strong elevator pitch is critical to a company’s success. Like its name implies, an elevator pitch can be delivered in the time it takes to share an elevator ride with a prospect. For this reason it’s important to not think of your pitch as a traditional speech resulting in a signed contract and round of applause. Instead, it serves as an engaging jumpstart for an ongoing dialogue of indefinite length. Then, the quality of your compelling content can close the deal for you.

Below are five tips for creating an effective elevator hook:

Include the three pitch essentials:
It must contain the benefit that is most important to your audience, be specifically tailored to meet the needs and solve the pain points for your audience, and contain emotional appeal, since emotion is often remembered even when intellectual information and facts have been forgotten.

Determine your unique selling proposition:
Competition is inevitable for every company. Separating your brand from the pack is what creates the bulk of the hook. “I own a marketing company” doesn’t hold a candle to “I own a marketing company that has more than 20 years of proven success in positioning homebuilding and remodeling products as industry leaders.” Don’t be afraid to let them know how and why you are different, and why your unique capabilities will turn into an opportunity for them.

Embrace simplicity:
Avoid the Walt Whitman approach to writing and keep it simple. Time is precious, both yours and your audience’s, so respect that and only hit the highlights.

Keep it fresh:
Even after the perfect pitch is developed, your job is not over. Savvy businesses grow and change, and your pitch must follow suit. As your audience’s needs and expectations change, make sure you change the way you speak about your business. The language of your pitch, your approach, and what you choose to highlight for a particular audience must change over time.

Practice makes perfect:
The perfect concise, emotional, unique, and simple pitch is created. Congratulations! Now it’s time to practice it. Distribute the pitch to your entire team. It’s a great brand refresher for everyone. Since each pitch should be unique, memorizing the pitch is often not the best approach, but knowing the key messages inside and out ensures brand consistency and effectiveness.

This form of pitch is an ace in your pocket, and one of the most versatile messaging tools a company can have. Next time you find yourself in an elevator with a prospective client, instead of passing the time idling, you will be ready.

Marketing home products through olfactories

What do you think of when you smell chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven? What about freshly cut roses?

We all link memories, places or people to certain scents, and they’re different for everyone. Not just in perfumes and colognes, smells occur everywhere. They’re in subways, schools, restaurants and stores. Although it’s no secret that marketers use the five senses to increase their bottom line, scent’s role has changed, showing up in many unexpected places including jewelry, hotels and even bubbles.

It used to be that fragrances had their place in beautiful glass bottles atop a striking vanity. Think about Chanel No. 5, which was initially introduced in 1921. Called “the world’s most legendary fragrance,” most women today wear it because their mothers and grandmothers chose it as their perfume of choice. Many don’t realize that the way you smell is very much another form of expression much like clothing or art. It has been said that you can tell a lot by what kind of music a person listens to or with whom they spend their time. This holds true for scent, too.

The idea that something as simple as perfume can contribute to an identity translates into more than just people. Smells are memorable. They create adventure, change experiences, and express creativity. With that said, many companies are incorporating smell into their products to create experiences that keep customers coming back for more.

Scent in places: Retail locations are increasingly promoting aromas just as much as the products or apparel they sell. Abercrombie & Fitch is an example: If you’ve been to any mall housing one of these teen clothing stores, you can smell it from a mile away. Not only does it promote the company’s signature fragrances, but customers leave with a familiar and tantalizing scent. Anthropologie and West Elm also advertise their collection of scents by burning candles that may be purchased in the store.

Hotels are also catching on, including W Hotel, Westin, and At Four Points by Sheraton, infusing their lobbies with scents intended to make guests feel more comfortable. For example, Sheraton’s Welcoming Warmth aroma was designed “to make guests feel like they belong the moment they enter the hotel.” And because olfactory senses are closely tied to memory, guests will likely recognize a signature scent and immediately recall said hotel.

W Hotel candle

It’s no wonder that scent has become an important role in creating a brand.

Scent in product: Scent is an essential factor when it comes to personal hygiene products.  Taking this success to the next level are some manufacturers who hide scents in unexpected places.

Erica Weiner is doing just that with her Vinaigrette Perfume Locket Necklace. The beautifully crafted locket necklace looks like an antique, but there’s a catch. Each locket is filled with one of two D.S. & Durga oils. Created to mimic 18^th to 19^th century solutions to unpleasant city smells, these necklaces are one of a kind.

In a similar way, Francis Kurkdjian took a childhood activity and transformed it into something more. With his 7-year-old niece as inspiration, Kurkdjian fused three different scents – cold mint, cut grass, and pear – into bubbles. His goal: to pique children’s interest in their sense of smell.

Research has shown that the right smell can definitely bring in the cash. Many are starting to catch on, and scents are being used as sales tools in many retail operations around the world, from magazines to coffee shops. Whether the goal is to set the mood or to drive customers to buy a specific product, scents will create memorable experiences while infusing businesses with the sweet smell of success.

Sources:
http://www.foodarts.com/Foodarts/FA_Feature/0,4041,129,00.html
http://www.trendcentral.com/WebApps/App/SnapShots/Article.aspx?ArticleId=7860

How Marketing Home Products Benefits from Integrated Efforts

Is it PR, or is it advertising? Or marketing? Or communications?

At Kleber & Associates, we combine these efforts into what’s called Integrated Marketing Communications (IMC). When marketing home products, one must be cohesive and thorough.

Because the landscape of communication has changed (think texting, Twitter and iPhones), so has the way we do business.

Integrated Marketing Communications doesn’t have a universal definition, but its overall gist is a holistic approach to marketing in which all aspects of communication come together to form cohesive and unified messages. IMC is designed to align stakeholders in such a way that they feel everything is connected…from PR to advertising to promotion and direct marketing.

Consider our “Four P’s of Integrated Marketing Communication”:

• Plan: Like any strategy, you and your team should designate specific goals and tactics as you prepare to integrate your marketing efforts.
• Participate: Try to strip away titles like “PR-like object” or “creative execution.” All members of your team should be focused on one thing: what’s best for the audience. Therefore, you should all be thinking of ways to effectively overlay all promotions, advertising, PR and marketing.
• Pass On: Keep everyone informed. All the time. Share information in a way that keeps all of the team in the loop.
• Promote: Sell back the results of integration by promoting the metrics of its success.

When planned and executed well, IMC fosters cooperation, lower costs, better internal communication, personal growth and innovation. As your team collaborates to blend traditional PR efforts with traditional advertising and social media, your team has the chance to learn more, sharpen their skills and think more strategically. Not to mention the time and money saved when it comes to printing duplicates and e-mail threads!

Stakeholders appreciate it, too. Imagine receiving a clear set of messages with one voice that encompasses your entire campaign.

MMC Learning puts it nicely:

“IMC wraps communications around customers and helps them move through the various stages of the buying process. The organization simultaneously consolidates its image, develops a dialogue and nurtures its relationship with customers.”

In the end, it’s really all about togetherness. And doesn’t that sound nice?

Why Your Brand is Your Promise

You know the story. When two or more businesspeople care about each other and want to work together…they start a company. When it comes to naming it, there can be some discrepancy, but eventually a name is decided upon. Then comes the logo and a tagline. Then a customer base. And as the business grows, it develops more than a name…it develops a brand.

It’s true for us in the home and building channel: Our brand is our promise. It’s our personality and reputation. It’s how we do business and how we come across on the phone, online or in a conference room. It’s even how our employees behave out of the office.

Your logo, employees, activities, press releases, Web site copy, tagline and tweets are all parts of your company’s personality that should convey a consistent message.

Remember that it’s not just about posting a mission statement all over the place. Mission statements are great, but should serve as words to live by in order for their messages to receive merit.

A great way to start? Introduce employees to the company handbook from the get-go to give them a clear understanding of the company culture. From there, everything and everyone should promote the company with these set values and goals in mind.

It’s not an easy task, but if your organization’s members perform and communicate in ways that are aligned with your brand promise, customers will notice that consistent personality. You have the opportunity to be labeled in a good way: reliable, genuine and true.

What does your company stand for, and how are its messages carried out? Share your thoughts here, or tweet me @stevekleber.

Recently, K&A created a “Marketing to Hispanic Americans White Paper” in order to define the group that is continuing to grow in influence in the home and commercial building products sector. Our goals were to get to know this audience – not just demographically – but to understand their perceptions and behaviors to make home products’ marketing programs more relevant and efficient, and thereby, more successful, for our client partners.

As our team embarked upon this research, the question “are Hispanic Americans a race or ethnic group” frequently arose. After much discussion, we settled on the latter, and further defined this group:

“ . . .  with origins in Latin America and Spain and for which are often divided into sub-groups including Mexican Americans, Puerto Rican Americans, Cuban Americans, Dominican Americans, Central Americans and South Americans, among others.”

Recently, I came across an article in MediaPost (one of my favorite publications for research information), written by Juan Tornoe who authors the blog “Hispanic Trending,” which spoke to our agency debate about the identity of Hispanic Americans.

“The Latino community is nothing short of a genetic kaleidoscope,” he said in the article “What Race Are Hispanics?”

He further pointed out that even the U.S. Census Bureau states “Hispanics can be of any race, any ancestry, any country of origin.” And that the most important thing to remember is that by identifying Hispanic Americans as an ethnic group doesn’t pigeonhole them as a particular race, or set of standards that they can’t move away from, yet “defines a particular outlook in life, a state of mind, a way to interpret and respond to outside situations and stimuli.”

The bottom line is that Hispanic Americans are a diverse ethnic group of individuals with similar heritages, state of minds and outlooks on life. Despite the race versus ethnic group debate, they continue to be a vital component of the success equation for home and building products manufacturers and marketers.

For more information about Marketing to Hispanic Americans, e-mail Steve Kleber at sk@kleberandassociates.com or tweet him at @stevekleber for a complimentary, advance copy. Click here to view Tornoe’s complete MediaPost article “What Race Are Hispanics?”

Our diverse population makes the ‘average American’ increasingly harder to define.  Witnessing this shift, marketers have turned away from mass marketing in favor of niche marketing, which consists of a tailored approach to smaller, more targeted markets and attitudinal groups. For those who market home products, we must understand the desires of our audiences and determine how media segmentation can be used to address different groups.

“Non-Traditional” Households are Taking a Leading Position
The growth of “non-traditional” households requires an appreciation for attitudinal market segmentation that addresses each group’s unique preferences and buying patterns.

Single-sex households and Gayborhoods

• Single-sex relationships, gay communities or gayborhoods, and families with single-sex parents comprise a group with great influence in urban renewal.
• This group’s buying power is expected to hit $2 trillion by the year 2012.
• When reaching out to gay consumers, focus on their enhanced affluence and interest in style, brands, luxury and travel.
• Speak to their individual identity, which is oftentimes ignored by mainstream media and marketing.

Mounting Hispanic Population

• The Hispanic population includes 46 million people with more than $700 billion in spending power.
• Industry insiders say U.S. builders are addressing this niche with home designs that recognize Hispanics’ inclination to house multi-generational families living under one roof.  Recent trends in Hispanic home building include greater numbers of smaller bedrooms, convertible garages, generous parking space and easy indoor-outdoor access.
• Savvy home industry marketers can capitalize on this trend by having a clear understanding of the audience and ensuring messages are culturally relevant.

  (See the link below for our white paper on marketing home products to Hispanic Americans.)

Ruppies . . . Shattering Post-Retirement Stereotypes

• Ruppies, or “retired urban professionals” are 40 million strong, with an estimated $2 trillion in annual spending power.
• Ruppies seek high-density, bustling communities in large cities that make them feel young.
• There is emphasis on accessibility and a continued importance on increased informal space in the home including open space layouts and flexible floor plans.
• Consider media segmentation beyond traditional media outlets. Recent studies reveal that Ruppies are attracted to social media and networking sites.

Young Professionals

• Generation X and Generation Y represent the fastest growing homebuyer segment in the country.
• Renovations are popular among younger generations who see an opportunity to personalize their homes and make a statement.
• When marketing to young professionals, know that they are price-conscious, skeptical and sophisticated in their purchasing decisions.
• Use the Internet and online marketing tactics to target young professionals.

What’s Next for the Housing Market?
Successful marketers are making the shift from broad, generic messaging to pointed, targeted communications.

The pressure of a down economy causes a crucial need to connect with each consumer emotionally. Offer them solutions, avoid stereotyping and look to a personalized marketing approach that serves the needs and desires of each cohort.

In the home and building channel, it is critical to remember that the home represents who we are and how we define ourselves.

K&A’s Marketing Home Products to Hispanic Americans White Paper can be seen here.

Today’s economy has every business executive—including CEOs and CMOs—looking at ways to restrain and curb their annual budget expenditures. If you’re one of these people, you’re expected to do more with less, yet at the same time seize market share and increase company profits. A pretty daunting and overwhelming task, huh?

You are not alone. I’m here to tell you that your marketing and company growth doesn’t have to suffer in the midst of budget cutbacks.

It’s not about spending more on marketing; it’s about smarter marketing.

By taking advantage of every available marketing relationship—with current and prospective customers, the media, industry influencers, colleagues and employees—you leverage opportunities to promote your company to its fullest potential.

Go Digital
Make sure your marketing efforts can multi-task. For example, if you’re sending out a traditional direct mail piece or company newsletter, make sure you put together an e-mail list to send out a blast and e-newsletter in addition to (or as a substitute to) a printed piece.

Update Your Web site
Effective Web sites should:

• Include all information pertinent to your brand
• Be user-friendly and simple to navigate
• Have clear key messages
• Feature compelling, easily accessible information for customers
• Be helpful to the media – Have a press room with up-to-date news releases, company backgrounders, photos, media coverage and contact information
• Have links to your Twitter, LinkedIn, blog and Facebook pages

The Internet is overloaded with meaningless content. Don’t contribute to that trend. Make sure your Web site is relevant, informative and concise. Remember to direct your online visitors to the specific Web pages where you’re providing valuable information and where they can engage in the conversation.

Revolutionize Your PR Strategies
Last, but certainly not least, make certain you’re bringing your traditional PR strategies and tactics to the next level. If pitching a traditional press release, reach out to the media and post it to your Web site’s media room for easy access by journalists. You can also send it out over a newswire service like PR Newswire, Business Wire and PR Web for a minimal fee.

Don’t forget to simultaneously optimize it for the search engines! Distributing an optimized release over the wire increases its “shelf life” and places it into the hands of both your target audience(s) and the public for an extended period. It also makes it easier for journalists to find when embarking on research for a story.

Maximize Every Marketing Opportunity
Marketing plays a key role in building up market share while paving the way for future success. So really dissect your marketing efforts. Determine through measurement and thorough analysis what marketing vehicles are working for your company and which ones aren’t. Maximize and leverage every marketing opportunity and relationship, and make your marketing really work for your company.

Seven Ways to retain the best of the best

An effective team is the heart and soul of any successful business. Keeping the best staff and cultivating their talent for long-term growth with your company is a vital component to sustainability and forward motion.

How do you keep your employees content in a tough economy?

(1) Establish an open line of communication
Frequently ask your employees their opinions on the business and work environment. Most importantly, inquire about their professional goals and work/life balance objectives. Employee-retention expert Leigh Branham states that performance coaching and feedback are essential for employees because they answer four questions:

• Where are we going as a company?
• How are we going to get there?
• How do you expect me to contribute?
• How am I doing?

(2) Give praise
Acknowledging the excellence or exceptional effort of your employees doesn’t have to expensive, but it should be recurrent and personalized. Give kudos to an exemplary employee during a company-wide meeting or send an e-mail (or better yet a handwritten note) of gratification.

(3) Let them work in their PJs
Reward employees with the option to telecommute once in a while. Offer a flexible schedule based on an expectation of performance that will alleviate commuting cost or even just the related stress. Rewarding top performers with a level of trust can be a powerful motivator.

(4) Evade burnout
Top performing employees are generally those who stay late, putting in the extra effort to make sure that a major presentation will go just right. Your best players are also most likely to carry the biggest loads and are least likely to complain during crunch times. Insist on giving them time off, and try to staff the busiest times adequately.

(5) Encourage collaboration
Competition among employees can be healthy and stimulating, but it can also be detrimental to the happiness of your most valuable employees. Provide a working environment where your staff can work as a team toward success instead of against one another.

(6) Lighten up
Have a little fun. The workplace doesn’t have to be stressful or silent to achieve profound results. Have a barbeque in the parking lot, send your employees to the movies in the middle of the workday or provide lunch in the conference room where your employees can interact.

(7) Stimulate your staff
Top talent wants to work for top companies which are forward thinking and dynamic. Improving your company profile, recognition, reputation, brand and product offerings shows a commitment to being on the cutting-edge and keeps teams interested and enthused. If you work to elevate your business to the highest standards you will attract and retain quality employees.

Bottom Line

A company that makes the effort to sustain its top performers will experience greater revenue, elevated market share, team spirit and general business success. Today’s pool of employees is gifted. Keeping that talent under your roof is a worthwhile goal.

As one of my earlier blogs points out, the status of the kitchen remodeling market is promising. Below are three proven marketing strategies to capture market share among kitchen remodeling prospects.

Embrace “green”
For manufacturers of kitchen products, create products that mirror the desires of today’s consumers – green is key! Improved energy efficiency and water conservation is a major concern that begins with the kitchen.

According to a study conducted by Moen, consumers rated convenient location, low prices, selection of products and customer service as higher priorities than a firm’s environmental consciousness. BUT the good news for green enthusiasts is that more than half (52 percent) still rated a firm’s eco-consciousness as “very” or “somewhat” important, compared to 32 percent who were neutral and only 16 percent who said this was not very important.

Offer value
While the green movement is clearly growing, one of the key issues with advancing eco-consciousness is the cost associated with going green. Green experts generally estimate that designing a green kitchen will cost approximately 10 percent more than a non-green one.

But the Moen research points out that it’s not just price that drives consumers, but value. Products that conserve water, save energy or provide a healthier living environment offer tangible selling points.

Provide incentives
Although the future of the kitchen remodeling market looks bright, homeowners still want enticement. We’ve heard about prominent builders offering to pay for closing costs, so it comes as no surprise that today’s remodelers and designers are offering their own financing options and creating their own loyalty programs. And it’s not a bad idea — incentives are a great way to make homeowners feel more comfortable during the remodeling process and feel that they are getting added value.

In addition, homeowners have the chance to capitalize on tax breaks such as the Existing Home Retrofit Tax Credit. As kitchen product and service providers, educate yourself on the available tax breaks for homeowners looking to remodel.

The future of the kitchen remodeling market will drive the success of the entire remodeling market. When marketing home products, remember to embrace the eco-friendly movement, offer value and provide incentives to your customers to capitalize on leads and boost your bottom line.