The End of Faceless Brands?

The fastest growing segment of today’s generation is ecstatic over technology and they rely on it to perform their everyday routine, even to upgrade their work and elevate their status for themselves. They are armed with BlackBerrys, cellphones, laptops, notebook and other high-tech gadgets. They are plugged-in 24 hours a day, 7 times a week. They prefer to communicate through e-mail, express themselves through blogging, Facebook, Twitter and text messaging rather than face-to-face contact. They would even prefer webinars and online technology against traditional lecture-based presentations. They are into constant communication, exchange ideas and share experiences.

Social and viral marketing is increasingly effective towards consumer’s needs and wants. Consumers are now demanding for fast and effective ways on how to fulfill their desires, rummage and immediate concerns. Therefore, nowadays you see a lot of brands and products popping out of these social networking sites. There are links to everything that the consumer may think of possible. Products and brands have their advertisement posted over the internet and search engines. Everything is fast-paced and within the reach of the consumers.

Brands can’t afford to be faceless. Consumers need a real person they can relate to. They need a brand that can cope up to their expectations. Someone or something that can possibly enter their personal space like ads they see on their Facebook or Twitter account. They prefer fast interactive phase of communication in fulfilling their wants and needs. Gone are the days that consumers will just buy the idea of having a good figure, a form or a celebrity endorser to make them believe in the product. Consumers now are intelligent enough to know which the real thing is and which is not. For me, a face that the consumers are into right now is the brand equity and the brand promise that is fulfilled and experienced by the consumers themselves. And these experiences are the viral marketing that the consumers are contagiously spreading, good and bad.

No matter how effective the advertising is executed, it is actually the “moments of truth” that will determine the value of the brand. The experience on each “touchpoint” will verify effectively the marketer’s campaign or the success of the integrated marketing communications. For example, no matter how great the advertising campaign of SM Malls are, if at the actual mall you will find security guards that are impolite or cashiers that are slow and do not have a pleasing personality or even if you have trouble parking your car, then all the good ad campaign is over. What’s left is a bad experience for the consumer. A bad reputation for the brand, a bad face that the consumers remember.

Marketing is about fulfilling the needs and wants of the consumers. The face that a consumer wants is something that will fulfill the brand promise. The face of a good brand equity. Advertising is the most effective tool to connect with your segment, your target and the position you may want to instill in the consumer’s mind, but it is the moment of truth on the very first touchpoint’s experience that will determine a brand.

" Nescafe Samalamig "

.. Nescafe did a good job of product diversification via its “NESCAFE SAMALAMiG”. Who would imagine drinking and enjoying Nescafe on season that there is the least demand on it? At times when the Philippines was on its hottest temperature recorded, they made coffee a drinking frenzy.
Coffee drinking is ideally enjoyed on cold seasons and rainy days. As early as June, when rain begins to pour and up until January. Coffee is supposed to warm your body temperature or somehow relieve you from the rain and cold weather.
“Nescafe Samalamig” campaign made a pervasive strong impact on the market. The idea of having a coffee on summer times where indeed it is scorching hot clicked. Ice-cold coffee was deliciously offered to the market. Nescafe – “Sagot sa Init” was a huge success. They cover almost all forms and types of advertising. They put their campaign on major newspapers like Philipppine Star. The campaign was posted also on blogspots like Manila life blogspot, mavic events blogspot, etc. You may even hear its jingle on AM and FM radio. On TV, it was promoted on ASAP XV, introduced in a segment by Toni Gonzaga and John Lloyd Cruz, with a song number from Nina, Rachelle Anne Go and Sheryn Regis. Marketing campaign was also saturated thru posters, banners, tarpaulin and buntings on major supermarkets, malls, transit ads, waiting sheds, convenience stores, retail stores and markets. They even tapped a music genre – Reggae, via one of its TV Infomercial. The TV commercial has various phases. It has a drama effect depicting an incoming clash between two different groups. One has a “bolo” on his hand and the other has nothing. Only to found out that it will be used to crash the ice and make the refreshing “black iced coffee” to the tune of “samalamig, samalamig”. Other infomercials are quick and easy ways on how to make and enjoy iced coffee treats like coffee with cream and sago / gulaman, coffee with iced tea, coffee with berries and more. One impressive aspect in the campaign is their website - http://www.nestle.com.ph/nescafe/samalamig/ . The website offers its followers an interactive venue wherein they can download Nescafe Samalamig’s cool summer treats like very berry coffee, Nescafe frost, yummy yema coffee, go go sago, chocoffee, coffee banana cooler and lots more. The iced coffee recipes are even ranked as to how the consumers like it. The site even highlighted Filipino ingenuity thru the vlog of Poreyn Gerry, a foreigner who claims to be Pinoy at heart. Each vlog ends at instructional recipes of Nescafe Iced treats. Another treat of the site is that it is linked to your favourite sites wherein followers can bookmark and share it to your E-mail, Digg, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, Google, Delicious, and many more. Mind you, It is also printable. Moreso, the website boasts of its Essay Writing and Photo Contest wherein consumers may upload their picture taken while enjoying their Nescafe Samalamig. It must of course go with a short essay on why and how did they enjoyed their iced coffee treats.
I must really say that Nescafe Samalamig campaign is pervasively excellent. It covered almost all medium of advertising possible. The recall is indeed retainable. Its catchy, unique and executed brilliantly without sacrificing the brand’s core values..

TEAM CASE INCIDENT - A Virtual Team at T.A. Stearns

I must say that the group of Tom Andrews, Cy Crane, Marge Dector and Megan Harris is a “TEAM”. Although having different personalities and personal interests, their profession and career is on working towards the company’s thrust – providing superior and high quality advice on individual tax preparation thru state-of-the-art computer databases and analysis tools. Tom Andrews, a tax lawyer and has worked on the program for 6 years, was a former hockey player who works out in his farm, enjoys hunting and fishing in his spare time. Cy Crane, a computer science graduate and tax accountant, is married with two children who also enjoys biking and fishing. Marge Dector, a tax lawyer, is married with two children who enjoys golf and skiing. Megan Harris, a tax accountant, is single and works out of her apartment. The four member team is always exchanging e-mail messages and their communication is always constant despite guests and family functions. They would even go to Tom’s farm to discuss and converse work related matters while bringing with them their kids and family.
All these four member team of Stearns are employees on salary but they are negotiated separately and secretly with the management. In fact, they were told that they could even work wherever they opted to. They would just have to check in regularly during every workday. Having that clear work arrangement, I believe that each has his own rights to do other things. It is just important that the work is precisely done and in accordance with the company’s policies and mission / vision. Regarding Cy’s innovation in macro, its secrecy to the company is just right. Anyways, both the productivity and quality went up for the management.
Dave Regan, is an effective team leader because he was able to pick-up the innovation despite its secrecy. He wondered how the production time had gone down a bit and that he also accidentally read the email message of Marge to Cy. Having that situation, Dave was able to talk to Cy and responsible enough to told him of his action because bottom line is, Dave would still be accountable to his boss. Dave will now have to report to his boss everything that has transpired to avoid secrecy and promote transparency.

GROUPS - Case Incident on Role Conflict Among Telephone Service Employees

>>> One of group properties is role. Roles are significant in shaping the organization’s thrust and productivity. Role conflict arises when an employee believes that the role demands are incompatible with the position itself. With the case incident on role conflict among telephone service employees, it is very evident that there is a discrepancy between what the customers want from the service employees and what the management is demanding from the service employees.
As telephone service employees, the management requires them to have as many calls as possible per day and to attend each call as short as possible. The conflict arises when as a service employee, they believe that it is their role demand to give optimum quality assistance. Having direct contact with customers, optimum quality assistance requires the service employees to give undivided attention. Employees demand that to have quality service, they should provide much time as possible to be able to give solutions to their concerns and inquiries. They should not consider limiting time in providing quality service. From the management point-of-view, maximizing profit is to attend to more calls as possible which may also mean shorter time allotment per customer. The end result is obviously against the welfare of employees. It obviously gives them too much pressure balancing quality service and management job quotas. Having these results, job satisfaction may not be met.
To resolve the conflict, the management must reconsider making a study on telephone service time allotment and productivity thru sales output. It may start with a monthly evaluation on several aspects like monetary sales, customer feedback, sales transaction flow and including revising the spiels that are used by the telephone service employees. The management must do comparative monthly sales output while at the same time putting emphasis on important aspects and steps of the sales transaction process or flow. During the sales transaction flow, make a study as to which part mostly consumes time. Is it during the probing part? the opening part? the product presentation part? the trial closing part? the closing part? Also, take into consideration the cost of the product that is being sold. Is it a premium product or not? Does a 10 dollar product sales consume more than 30 minutes of the time? Sales quota must consider employee’s welfare and benefits for job satisfaction but still maintaining consistent quality service.

ATTITUDE - Case Incident on Albertsons Works on Employee Attitudes

>>> Ed Foreman’s motivation and attitude training called The Successful Life Course is indeed a life changing module for the employees and a helpful tool for Albertson’s profitability. The main thrust of the module is aimed at producing a positive attitude for the employees. Waking up as early as 6AM promotes industriousness for every participant. It values time to maximize productivity. Just like the saying “The early bird catches the early worm”. The inspirational hand-out may feed the soul and provides spiritual and morale upliftment. The yoga-like stretching supports the physical attributes of the employees. It gives them inner peace, serenity and tranquillity. Even the marching up a hill chanting “I know I can, I know I can” is helpful in giving them positive outlook in life. The employees’ positive outlook in life is contagious and viral. And this attitude is surely transmittable to the customers, since the employees have a direct contact with them. This positive outlook workplace setting is certainly promotes growth and productivity in the organization.
The 10 million dollars investment on training may indeed look such a costly amount or expense for employees’ training. To further evaluate its effectivity, Albertson’s must make a historical financial study on its annual performance. The analysis must make a study going back at least 3 years prior to the 10 million dollar training investment and at least 3-month sales evaluation for 2 years after the costly motivation and attitude training. Thru this, the management may evaluate effectiveness and usefulness of the 10 million dollar training.
If I were one of Foreman’s attendees of the Successful Life Course, I would feel honoured and grateful. I believe that it would not only help me be a useful member of the organization but most importantly, it would help me as an individual become a better person. The training for attitude and motivation would help me apply everything I have learned to almost all aspects in life. It would create for me a better perspective in life, in how I see things, in how I deal with people, my psychosocial, behavioural and interpersonal.

PERCEPTION - Case Incident on J and J Automotive Sales

>>> Perception is the process by which individuals organize and interpret their sensory impressions in order to give meaning to their environment. Individuals may look at the same thing, but perceive it differently. There are three factors influencing an individual’s perception. First is the perceiver or the individual himself. Second is the target or the object being perceived. And last is the situation or in the context which the perception is made.
In the Case Incident of J and J Automotive Sales, it is evident that the perception of a used-car dealer is seen in two different ways – positive and negative. For whatever reasons, used-car dealer is viewed with such a stigma. I personally hold nothing against used-car dealers but I view them as a stereotype salesman who just keeps on talking and talking and the only concern is to make a sale and get done with it. Then nothing else follows. Their objective is to just sell cars that may sometimes are not functional anymore. They tend to just sugar-coat their talk just to sell second rate cars. But in the case of J and J Automotive Sales, Joe Baum is a passionate used-car dealer. He loves what he is doing despite his family’s negative response to it. Joe Baum, enjoying being his own boss, is a total hands-on businessman. He buys the vehicles, fix up for selling, assists customers in financing and actually working with the customers. He believes that there are a lot of better businessmen out there but his advantage is building a meaningful relationship and endearing trust with his customers.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM) refers to any application or initiative designed to help optimize interactions with customers, suppliers or prospects via one or more touchpoints for the purpose of customer retention or loyalty, customer acquisition that drives growth or increased margin and customer profitability offering the right products at the right time. CRM is about maintaining loyalty with the customers. It is also bridging a link between the salesperson and the customer. It is focused more on the after-sales rather than on the actual-sale. Joe Baum is a perfect sample of a salesman fully utilizing Customer Relationship Management.
I believe that loyalty and trust are two things a salesman is hard to earn from their customers. Despite the stigma of a typical used-car businessman, Joe Baum holds to his conviction that building a relationship is the best tool for any business. Used-car business runs in the blood of Joe. He knows anything and everything about his business. Joe Baum definitely knows how to treat each customer’s perception on used-car business.

Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling

“The state controlling a woman would mean denying her full autonomy and full equality.” -- Ruth Bader Ginsburg

“Breaking Through the Glass Ceiling: Women in Management” is an eye opener for me. The facts presented were astoundingly proofs of discrimination on women. Occupational segregation was rampant causing women to be isolated on feminized occupation such as Nursing and Teaching. The facts also stated that women were put into lower job categories as compared to men causing an uneven and slow progress in elevating women in managerial positions. Moreover, women were excluded in important organizational functions or networks, where mostly comprised of men, which was quite vital for career development. As a result, women were not exposed to be given a chance to lever opportunities and handle demanding job responsibilities that would elevate and further advance their careers. On the other hand, if women were positioned in the top management level, perception or attitude towards them were less important. Also, there were significant earning gaps between men and women. Due to occupational segregation, women were assigned to a lower job position, less time and less significant thus earning a low salary compared to men.

Women in an organization or the business setting might really face various constraints. Sexual harassment, lack of acceptance by the male dominated workforce, discrimination in the aspect of proper training and mentoring, and they might also be subjected to inappropriate language or unwelcomed sexual conduct. Oftentimes, we see women as the weaker sex. We always tend to underestimate their potentials, abilities and skills. Furthermore, women are unfortunate victims of sexual harassment in an organization due to the strong perception of male dominated workforce that women are categorized as a sex object and that they are feeble enough to contend to man’s taunting thoughts. We tend to consign the women on household chores and take care of the children. Men have a propensity that women in an organization has a negative ratio as to mortality or work tenure due to their main responsibility which is maternity, child rearing and general household tasks.

"The day will come when men will recognize woman as his peer, not only at the fireside, but in councils of the nation. Then, and not until then, will there be the perfect comradeship, the ideal union between the sexes that shall result in the highest development of the race." -- Susan B. Anthony

Fortunately, employers nowadays have adapted and started to recognize family-friendly policies that not only benefit the male and female employees but also helping and promoting a better office productivity output. Furthermore, a “capability testing exercise” was formulated to give women an opportunity to compete on equal footing with men and this would further eliminate gender job segregation. Some of its core competencies are communication skills, intellectual skills, relating to people, leading and motivating, resilience and drive, and lastly, political conviction. The competence exercise presented no difference between ratings of male against that of the female. Unfortunately though, due to the economic crisis and employment downsizing, women are opted to pursue self-employment. In view of this, women are aspired to have an autonomy, self-sufficiency and agility. More so, it surely escapes them from the threats of glass ceiling in large corporations and organizations.

“The only way to solve the problem of women’s subordination is to change people’s mindset and to plant the new idea of gender equality into every mind.”
-- Qingrong Ma

Figures of female students enrolled in colleges, universities and higher education is incessantly increasing. In fact, it goes beyond the number of male enrollees for some countries. Obviously, this will enable women to compete fairly for positions of a higher level like those of professionals and managerial ranking. Women nowadays have become aggressive, strong-willed and assertive. They definitely know what they want and would do anything to get it. Actually, tables were turned now. Male spouses are left at home to attend to the household chores while the women are out working. More so, situation happens where women are working overseas (OFW), handling the financials for the family.

This is no simple reform. It really is a revolution. Sex and race because they are easy and visible differences have been the primary ways of organizing human beings into superior and inferior groups and into the cheap labour in which this system still depends. We are talking about a society in which there will be no roles other than those chosen or those earned. We are really talking about humanism.
-- Gloria Steinem

I really believe that we human are born equal regardless of sex, gender and creed. Equality in all aspect is to be implemented. But if we are dealing with work and employment, my only concern is that who will be left at home to attend the needs – behavioral, psychosocial and academic – development of the children. We must bear in mind that at the end of the day, welfare of the family, meaning not just the parents but most importantly the children are to be attended well. Major problem and crisis of the external environment is caused by the unattended minor dilemma coming from the internal environment of the home.

The video below highlights Women Empowerment. The first video is entitled "This Woman's Work" sung by Neo-Soul Artist (my favorite!) Maxwell ; and the next video is entitled "I Am Woman" ....

Organizational Behavior

>>>>> There are 3 dynamics in an organization; psychosocial, behavioral and interpersonal. Videos below are samples of the negative aspects of these dynamics. When one member of an organization lacks strong foundation of his behaviorals, meaning he wasn't thought of how to have sensitivity for the others, be it his superior or his subordinate, he will definitely loose control and would not mind hurting others. For me, it is best to know a person during his unguarded moments; just like the guy who sits on the photocopier and breaks it. Meanwhile, the girl's freaking out is probably caused by uncontrollable anger. Her psychosocial is weak; not minding her rage and angst would be witnessed by her co-workers. Also, just like the guy who hits the copier with his computer. His interpersonal went out of control due to anger, unmindful of his fellow employees in the organization. I believe this also gauges respect for others and how a person sees himself over everyone in the organization.

>>>> The video above shows how anger suddenly explodes and went out of control. I believe that one of the most important variable that affects human behavior in an organization is COMMUNICATION. When one was not able to express himself or he wasn't given a chance to be heard, an accumulation of lack of freedom to convey his thoughts would eventually result to an unfortunate incident like this. I also believe that in communication one must be a listener more than someone who talks a lot. Confinement of unexpressed thoughts and opinions may eventually lead to insanity and uncontrollable anger.
On the other hand, video attached below shows how freedom of expression and respect for diversity produces harmonious, delightful and enjoyable environment in the organization. The synchronized choreography for me, represents coordination of thoughts. Communication for them goes automatic and there is mechanism of ideas and opinion.

>>> Among the variables that affect human behavior in an organization, i believe it is most important to put emphasis on communication. Although communication is a two-way process, it is a requirement that one be a listener more than someone who talks a lot. The video above clearly shows that less implementation on the communication process will lead to an outburst of anger that may be an accumulation of feelings, thoughts or opinions that were not heard, expressed or comprehended. On the other hand, the video below expressed how workers in an organization were harmoniously happy. You could feel how satisfied the workers are. Everyone is cheerful, expressive and enjoying the company of their co-workers. The well choreographed dance steps represent how workers in the organization are well communicated, respected and loved thus creating an accord of happy thoughts and feelings.