Lindstrom advocates Smell-o-Vision to beat recession

Martin Lindstrom, self-styled marketing guru and author of last year’s Buyology, is hyping up his quasi-scientific NeuroMarketing research, ahead of an appearance in Dubai in April.

Lindstrom has very generously deigned to provide the Great Unwashed Masses with some top tips for clients on how to survive the recession through more effective marketing – including, slightly bizarrely, an apparent exhortation to experiment with marketing through the sense of smell.

The marketing guru’s final point of 10 states: “Don’t spend money on a flashy new logo – you’re not going to need it in five years time. Instead, spend the money on making your marketing communications adverts appeal to more than one of the senses (the sense of smell is far more effective than sight!)”

Er.

Now if we were feeling generous, we could conclude that Lindstrom just mentioned smell as one illustrative example, and could be referring to any of the other three senses. But it’s much more amusing to imagine whiffy adverts, as experienced in days of yore.

(You can find all 10 of Lindstrom’s top tips down the bottom of the page. Please, try to contain yourselves until then. We know it’s tough.)

As for Lindstrom’s much-hyped brain-scan research, which cost $7 million, according to the press release, we learn that most of what marketers are doing is, in fact, pretty much futile.

“The findings are predicted to revolutionise the advertising and marketing industries. According to the findings, the majority of the $600bn global advertising spend is currently wasted, TV commercials are 'dead in the water' and product placement is completely off-track,” stated the press release.

“For the first time in history, the application of neuroscience and Lindstrom's findings will accurately predict what budgets are wasted and what products will fail,” it went on.

The cynic in us would suggest that, if this really were the case – that Lindstrom and his researchers had cracked the secret of deciphering the human mind and its myriad interactions and contradictions – the first response wouldn’t be to find out what makes people buy a particular brand of breakfast cereal.

Too cynical?

Anyway, apparently it’s great – and the secrets can all be YOURS come April (or, presumably, whenever you get round to picking up Buyology.

AdNation will try to bring you all the thrills, spills and general excitement when the show hits Dubai. If they let us in, that is...

Lindstrom’s top tips for marketing during the economic downturn:

1- Don't cut your prices - research shows that by discounting your brand during a recession it will take you 7 years to recover to your original price level.

2- Focus on your brand strengths (real not imagined!), and emphasise heritage and classic/traditional values - while the crisis is on people tend to hark back to the memories of the good old days.

3- Do exploit the fact that your competitors may have shrunk their advertising spending - you can rapidly win back mind share as well if you have the courage to act now. Then rely on your operations and product teams to keep you ahead long-term.

4- Brands that invest in marketing during a recession tend to gain market share when the recession ends. It might seem wrong to splash out on a new ad campaign when you are cutting staff, but if the message is right and the campaign is well executed, the investment will pay off in the long run.

5- Bundle up: instead of cutting prices on your top brands, offer something for free as an add-on to your core (non-discounted) brand. So if you happen to sell bags, don't discount your bags but throw in a free keyring instead.

6- Create strategic alliances with matching products or brands. If you happen to sell jewellery, then team up with the local flower store. Let the flower store promote your jewellery and ensure you're promoting their flowers whenever a couple comes to you to buy an engagement ring, for example. The result? You double your reach and marketing budget - for next to nothing.

7- Play on the practical dimensions of your brand. Does the product you sell last longer or stay fresher, or can they be used for multiple purposes (for example, if you sell jackets, can you turn them inside out and suddenly have a second colour option)? During recessions consumers are practical - make your brand practical too.

8- Make your agency more accountable for strategic decisions as well as costs. Take advantage of the economic downturn to make your agencies work and think harder for their fees.

9- The overriding influence of the global ad agency or mother brand in campaigns is over. Local agencies and marketing teams within the organisation must have an increasing influence on marketing strategy to ensure campaigns speak directly to their consumers - so listen to them!

10- Don't spend money on a flashy new logo - you're not going to need it in five years time. Instead, spend the money on making your marketing communications adverts appeal to more than one of the senses (the sense of smell is far more effective than sight!).