NJ TRANSIT ANNOUNCES NEW ‘INCIDENT-BASED’ REWARDS PROGRAM

– MiseryPlus launched in aftermath of fare increases and service cuts –

Newark, NJ, April 28, 2015 — New Jersey Transit, long known as one of the country’s worst commuter lines, today announced a revolutionary, incident-based rewards program aimed to surprise and delight new and long-term riders. The announcement comes in the wake of a nine percent fare hike and a significant cut in service.

Called MiseryPlus, the incident-based awards system is the first of its kind, according to John Senior, Jr., chief marketing officer of the embattled system.

“Most rewards programs are based on mileage or hotel stays,” said Senior. “But, we know our riders detest every minute of their NJT experience, so why not celebrate those who have suffered the most?” said Mr. Senior.

MiseryPlus will have three, incident-based rewards levels:

– Platinum: In order to achieve the platinum level, a rider will have had to experience more than 1,000 delays of an hour or more.

– Gold: Riders who can credibly claim having waited in a standing-room-only Penn Station corridor 500 times or more qualify.
– Rust: the first 250 riders who can produce doctor’s notes verifying they contracted a bacterial infection as a direct result of using the trains’ “Black Hole of Calcutta” restrooms qualify.

As for the actual rewards:

– MiseryPlus Platinum level riders will receive an all-expense-paid V.I.P weekend tour of Camden, NJ. “Camden is at its best in fall. Talk about romantic,” observed Senior.

– Gold members will be feted to a sumptuous, five-course meal at the Newark Penn Station Blimpie’s on St. Patrick’s Day. “St. Patty’s Day is always hellish on NJT thanks to our indifferent conductors who allow hordes of stone cold drunk teens to run up and down the aisle way unfettered. So, we thought we’d allow Gold members and the hooligans to get to know one another a little better over a hot dog and beer at 7:25am,” chuckled Senior.

– And, MiseryPlus Rust-level members will receive a guided tour of Rahway State Prison that will include one-on-one interaction with the inmates. “North Jersey Coast Line riders pass the prison every day without ever knowing the human side of the story. We think they’ll really bond with the guys during their full-day incarceration. I mean immersion,” Senior said.

The MiseryPlus awards program takes effect at midnight, May 1. Participation is limited solely to verified NJT riders.

New Jersey Transit is consistently rated as one of the country’s most hellacious transit systems. And, Transportation World has named NJT’s conductors as the worst of any commuter railroad in the country for seven years in a row. NJT believes in delivering on its decades-old tagline: “Getting you there (eventually).”

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I’m just as excited as any long-suffering New York Mets fan by the team’s meteoric start. Their 10-3 record is the best in the National League, and the team’s best start since 1985.

Amazin’ isn’t it? Yes, but this franchise is notorious for perpetually losing. And when they do field a great team, the Mets are also hampered by the memories of some classic, late season collapses.

So far, the Mets are the talk of the town. And, they’re actually drawing large crowds to the usually vacant CitiField. It’s interesting to note that baseball, and sports in general, seem exempt from conventional wisdom when it comes to image and reputation.

There’s no way paying customers would remain loyal to any business that, year-in and year-out, produced an inferior product. Ah, but with loyal Mets fans, hope springs eternal each spring.  And, I share that hope. But, I also have an ingrained fear that, by June, we’ll all be saying, “Same old Mets.”

Ted Jenkins’ recent blog on wsj.com posed a fascinating idea that, unfortunately, makes very little sense. He says the very best gift to give a newborn is his or her own domain name and Twitter handle !?!?!

Jenkins argues that, like their parents do today, children will one day need to establish their personal brand identity. And, if the parents of Tiny Tony buy www.tinytony.com and a Twitter handle such as @TinyTony, the little tyke will be set for life, says Jenkins. That’s because, if Tony happens to become a Hollywood movie star, sports sensation or billionaire businessman, he won’t have to pay big bucks to someone who has already claimed it.

While Jenkins is clearly thinking ahead, he’s not looking at the big picture. We’ve seen countless digital tools and social media destinations wax and wane in popularity in just the past five years alone. It boggles the mind to think what sort of online environment might face Tiny Tony when he sets forth to conquer the world. The odds are good that LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook and their ilk will be long gone (having been replaced by faster, cooler experiences). And, Tony’s parents would be stuck paying the monthly domain fees in perpetuity. As one Journal reader quipped, “Buying a domain name for your child today would be like my dad buying me a CB radio when I was a kid.”

On a related subject, should you believe Tiny Tony, Toni or Tammy deserve their own domain names now, be sure to create a fairly complex password that can’t easily be breached. The best password advice I’ve heard comes from the infamous Edward Snowden, who recently explained his thinking in this whimsical, PG-13 rated clip from the John Oliver Show.

I’ll bet Snowdon would approve of TinyTonyTugsaTiger. I’d like to see a hacker crack that password.

If you scanned the front page of yesterday’s New York Times, tuned in one of the major TV news programs or surfed the web, you’d think that golf is a white hot game at the moment.

But, you’d be dead wrong. In fact, golfing is facing its own Oldsmobile crisis. Why? Because most golfers are either Baby Boomers or members of the Greatest Generation. And very few Millennials are even paying attention to it. Want bottom-line proof? The industry lost a net 400,000 players last year, according to the National Golf Foundation. Any business losing 400,000 customers annually needs to fix what’s broke post haste.

It’s especially ironic that golf doesn’t resonate with young people since Jordan Spieth, the winner of Sunday’s Masters Tournament, is only 21. And, according to The Times, the top ranked woman golfer is 17. And, three of the top five men in the new world rankings will be under 28. So, what gives?

Yahoo Sport’s Jay Busbee had this to say, “Golf’s in a lot of trouble. It’s expensive and takes too long.” And that combination is pure poison when trying to attract Millennials. Busbee went on to add, “Because most young people don’t have the disposable income and/or free time and/or desire to spend 6+ hours on an expensive golf course. And the rules of golf — and there are so many, so many – don’t mesh well with the Millennial mindset.”

There’s lots of talk about building shorter, nine-hole golf courses and re-positioning the sport as a young, family-friendly game. Good luck with that strategy. Unless the industry does something truly dramatic to attract younger players, I think golf will become a fringe sport within 20 years. And, unfortunately, there are no Mulligans when it comes to salvaging a game or re-positioning a brand.

Industry consultant Robb High recently blasted out a promotional e-mail entitled, “Client retention mistake #6: believing the agency’s “great work” will be respected by a new CMO.”

In the memo, High said, “53 percent of agency reviews are triggered by a change in the C-suite, so the likelihood the incumbent agency will be replaced is frighteningly high.” He added that, when the CMO of an agency’s largest client is replaced, it’s one of the “scariest moments” in an agency’s life. To which I say, amen brother.

We’ve been on both sides of what many refer to as “the new sheriff in town scenario.” We’ve been invited to pitch a new piece of business because of a previous relationship with the sheriff. And, we’ve also watched helplessly as one of our accounts is put up for bid after a direct client report leaves (or is asked to leave). The latter scenario once happened with what was, at the time, our largest account. And, as High states, it was easily one of the scarier moments in our 20-year history.

High argues the best strategy to combat the new sheriff syndrome is maintaining an aggressive new business pipeline. That is so true. And, frankly, it’s something we’ve struggled to perfect over our 20-year history. We’re now using a number of software systems that help us identify prospects in our sweet spot as well as those where we may have only one degree of separation. I must say it’s been working quite well. Both our new business and client retention rates have improved significantly.

New business is the lifeblood of an agency. That’s because, like baseball managers, we’re hired to be fired. It could be a month, a decade or longer, but the ax will fall.

Today’s post is by Jackie Kolek

Last week I was asked to attend my daughter’s Girl Scout Troop meeting as the “snack and stay” mom.   The girls were preparing for a Girl Scout Cookie sale in front of the local Shack Shake, so I was asked to come in and talk about marketing.  I felt like I know a little about that subject, so was delighted to come in and talk to them.  What was even cooler is that this group of 9-year olds was earning their “Customer Insights” patch.  Customer Insights is one of two Cookie Business patches that they can earn, the other being the “Cookie CEO” patch.   The Girl Scouts have come a long way since I was a Brownie and we went bowling and decorated Christmas trees in an old folks’ home.

In order to earn this patch, the scouts had to do what every good marketer should; listen to their audiences.  The scouts were first asked to think about who their customers could be (a grandparent, neighbor, businessperson, etc.), how they would sell to them (over the phone, at a booth, going door-to-door) and what type of customer they might be (nut allergy, elderly, doesn’t like chocolate).  This exercise really got the girls thinking about what motivates their potential customers, how best to reach them and what might prevent them from buying cookies.

The next step was a visit to the local grocery store.  During the on-site visit, the girls were asked to interview shoppers in the cookie aisle.  What were they buying, who they were buying them for, what they liked and didn’t like.  Mostly importantly, they needed to ask shoppers who were not buying cookies why not?  Hearing people say no to cookies is a part of selling.   The girls are taught to use each “no” to learn more about customers.

Armed with this insight, the girls developed a marketing plan.  Ours was simple; most of the local troops had finished their sales so we would position our sale as a “last chance” before all the cookies were gone. We also created messaging about how buying Girl Scout cookies helps fund activities, like sending a girl who could not afford it to camp.  And one smart little scout suggested that people would buy from them because they were cute, so pigtails were a must.  We created flyers and “blinged out” signs with our messages to attract potential buyers.  Each girl asked their parents and siblings to spread the word via social media.

The result was a very successful sale.  The girls had a blast and sold out of every type of cookie.  I’m extremely impressed that the Girl Scouts have embraced the concept of understanding your audience and is educating girls about the importance of audience insights.  Not only are the Girl Scouts benefitting by increasing cookie sales, they are creating an army of savvy business leaders.  After being part of this experience, I’m happy to say my daughter is one smart cookie.

Having been in the PR business since William Henry Harrison sat in the Oval Office (however briefly), I thought I’d seen every twist and permutation in the mating ritual otherwise known a new business pitching.

Then, along came ABC Widgets. They were in the midst of a search, didn’t like any agency they’d seen to date, had heard good things about my favorite firm and asked if we’d be interested. We were.

The Widget PR folk asked for an initial call. During the call, we answered all of their questions and, when the subject of potential conflicts came up, we said we didn’t see any (with the possible exception of the XYZ Doodad Company). Widget folk said not to worry. Doodad wasn’t a conflict. At the end of the call, they invited us to meet the decision-making team within a few days’ time.

To do so, we’d have to quickly assemble a team, prepare a presentation (that, naturally, had to include a few creative ideas) and drive to NoSuchPlace, Delaware.

We did so. From the get-go, it was obvious the Widgets types dug our act. As we whipped through the preso and nailed one question after another, we brought up the Doodad case study, thinking it would address many of their challenges. When we finished, one of the senior decision-makers said, “You represent Doodad?” We shook our heads affirmatively.

We then proceeded to answer a few questions about how we’d staff the Widget account and adjourned the meeting. There was no question we’d nailed it. The PR folk even told us so and said we’d be hearing from them the next day.

We heard from them the next day. The call began something like this, “Steve, we love your team, but the Doodad conflict is a real problem. Does Doodad know you’re pitching us?” they asked. “No,” I said. “Since we didn’t think it was a conflict and you didn’t either, we never asked.” The Widget folk asked us to ask.

We did. As expected the Doodad types had no issue with our also representing ABC Widgets. I was psyched and sent the Widget folk a quick e-mail, figuring we’d sealed the deal.

Later that day, a call came from the Widget PR folk. One of them said, “We appreciate the hustle, the interest and the ideas but, frankly, the Doodad conflict is too big a hurdle. We’re going with someone else.”

And, that was that. We’d virtually won an account one day only to be told the next that we’d lost because of a conflict the PROSPECT initially told us was NOT a problem.

There ought to be a law.