Is Julia Gillard a marketer?

So how would you rate our new Prime Minister as a marketer?

If you are locked in as a voter for either of the major parties, you could easily be biased. But if you look at the PM from a marketing point of view exclusively, how would you rate her?

Is her marketing of herself and her party going to be a positive in getting her to The Lodge?

Well, obviously, it's impossible to know for sure. My instinctive answer is that yes, I think she would make a good marketer.

For starters, her sense of humour would be a good thing around the office. Every marketer has failures at some stage, so being able to laugh is very much a bonus.

But let's look at some tried and true criteria.

1. Does she have a marketing personality with flair and drive?
2. Does she walk in the shoes of her customers?
3. Does she understand numbers?
4. Can she present well and communicate effectively?
5. Is she innovative in her thinking?

(When students achieve their Master of Marketing at Monash, and I see them pick up the certificate they have worked so hard for, I sometimes ask myself these questions. In the Monash scenario, my theory is that if you have your Masters and you can tick off all those five questions, there is no reason why you can't have a wonderfully successful marketing career).

So now, how do we rate Julia Gillard? If circumstances were different, would you give her a role in your marketing department?

Obviously, I don't know her personally, but from what I have read and from what I have seen in the media, I suspect most of us would say she rates fairly well against these marketing criteria.

My brief answers to the five questions above would be:

1. Yes, absolutely.
2. Yes - I think most people would say she talks in a language that they easily understand. She certainly seems to be concerned for ordinary Australians (however, I suspect that for thoughtful people, what she really stands for is not yet obvious).
3. Not 100% sure on this, but she obviously got the numbers right regarding her 'ascension' to the top job!
4. Yes, absolutely (my guess is that we are no longer distracted by the sound of the voice, which is grating when you first hear it).
5. Yes, probably – being the first PM in 60 years to not move into The Lodge was a simple day-one example.

You might feel my answers are simplistic. That's OK. Probably everyone will have their own perception of such a public figure.

If you'd like to put forward your own ideas on JG as a marketer, please go to 'Post a comment' now.

Update on Sorrento

Some readers of The Scoop may remember my comments around this time last year about the traders in the Victorian holiday town of Sorrento and their extraordinary lack of customer service. Well, I can give you an update: nothing has changed.

Around 6pm on Monday 28 December, we went to a place called “The Baths” to order take away fish and chips for four. And what were we told? “There’s a wait of 90 minutes on fish and chips.”

While the town is packed with holiday makers, most of the shops still close at 5pm! I went to the main street supermarket “Stringers” on one occasion, and stood in a queue of 17 people waiting to buy milk and a newspaper.

People put up with a main street of traders who are mostly living in a different century because everyone is there to take it easy. The traders in Sorrento have their way of doing things. If you want to buy from them, you do business their way, and when it suits them.

Did you have an interesting marketing or customer service experience from your time away over the holiday period?


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Getting better all the time

Let’s not kid ourselves.

The downturn is real. Most of us know someone who has been thrown out of work. In our own marketing departments, we all know how tough it has been to make budget.

But we need to be informed and accurate.

There are concrete signs that recovery is on the way. Just look at this selection of news pieces that have appeared in Australian media since 9 June 2009.

Property market on the up and up
Chris Vedelago 21 June 2009

“MELBOURNE'S property market appears to be headed towards a strong recovery as conditions begin to mirror the heady days of the 2007 property boom.

The auction clearance rate surged to 86 per cent this past week to hit its second highest level on record, according to the Real Estate Institute of Victoria.

The volume of private sale transactions has also risen to a record high, with 15,354 properties selling this year to date compared to 15,060 in the boom year of 2007.”

Recovery hopes get big boost
Angela Monaghan 14 June 2009

“BETTER than expected economic data from China is likely to raise hopes that the world's largest emerging economy could help to drag the rest of the world out of recession.

China's National Bureau of Statistics said on Friday that industrial output jumped 8.9 per cent last month, compared with a 7.3 per cent rise in April, and higher than a median forecast of 7.5 per cent growth.

Retail sales in China rose 15.2 per cent in the year to May, following a 14.8 per cent increase in April, which was also ahead of forecasts.

They were the latest signs to suggest that the Government's $585 billion stimulus was working.”

Consumer confidence records 22-year bounce
By Online business reporter Michael Janda - 10 June 2009

“Consumer confidence has recorded its largest bounce in 22 years after the news last week that Australia had avoided a technical recession - two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

The widely watched Westpac - Melbourne Institute consumer sentiment index surged 12.7 per cent between May and June and now stands at 100 - meaning there are as many optimists as there are pessimists.

The bank's chief economist, Bill Evans, says the size of the increase is surprising and is the second largest bounce in the survey's 35 year history.”

Worst of financial crisis over, says bank
Peter Martin 9 June 2009

“THE only international organisation to foresee the global financial crisis says the worst of it has probably passed.

The Swiss-based Bank for International Settlements says "glimmers of hope" are sparking a "rebound of risk appetite among investors", pushing up borrowing by more than a quarter so far this year.

"The key economic indicators remain at depressed levels," the bank says in its latest quarterly report. "But investors are focused instead on incipient signs that economic conditions are deteriorating less rapidly than before, while intensified policy actions to counter the crisis have helped bolster confidence."

In Australia, the latest Dun & Bradstreet survey found businesses more positive with expected sales, profits and employment all improving from a low base.”

Business confidence back on the up and up
Glenn Dyer 9 June 2009 - Crikey

“Australian business confidence has surged to its highest level in well over a year, thanks, it seems, to the effects of the free-spending federal budget, the stockmarket and commodity rally and last week's better than expected growth figures.

The ANZ's job ads series for May fell 0.2%, the lowest fall for months. And several major international financial oversight groups have expressed cautious optimism that the worst of the global crunch is over.

The better business confidence came in the latest monthly survey of business conditions and confidence from the National Australian Bank.”

Downturn set to leave us - sooner than you think

Despite what some politicians are saying, there is now plenty of strong evidence that Australia is turning around.

We all know the economy was in great shape before this downturn. Now it seems, we are leading the way out of it.

The Reserve Bank Governor, Glenn Stevens, says that China’s economic recovery is "real" and could bring an Australian recovery within months.

In the strongest sign yet that officials believe the economic tide is turning, Stevens said on 19 May 2009 that developments in China and Australia were "consistent with the view that a recovery will get under way towards the end of the year".

Backing this view, here are two quotes from the latest board minutes from the Reserve Bank of Australia (26 May 2009):

· “In the case of the Australian economy ... there are signs that the economic stimulus is supporting demand.”
· “Overall, the Australian economy is likely to record better outcomes than most other advanced economies in 2009 and 2010, reflecting the healthy state of the domestic banking system and effectiveness of the macroeconomic policy stimulus to date."

It seems that the very conservative Reserve Bank is becoming increasingly bullish.

Also on 26 May, an international business confidence survey of some 7500 business people in 24 nations announced that Australia was rated as the number one country for coming out of the downturn in good shape.

The survey conducted in April was aimed at gauging business sentiment and what impact the economic downturn has had on businesses globally.

Australian businesspeople appeared relatively unaffected, according to the poll conducted for Servcorp, a provider of virtual and serviced offices that operates in 61 nations. Interestingly, the survey found that it was pessimistic media reports that were named as the number one concern among Australian businesses.

"I think the doom and gloom reports that Australians hear every day are harmful to Australian businesses and hold them back from seeing opportunities,” said Servcorp executive director Taine Moufarrige.

And there is good news from the US too. On 26 May, Associated Press in New York reported that consumer confidence rebounded in May – soaring to the highest level since last September – as more shoppers are feeling the worst of the recession is behind them.

The US “Consumer Confidence Index”, which had dramatically increased in April, zoomed past economists' expectations to 54.9 from a revised 40.8 in April.

The reading marks the highest point in eight months when the level was 61.4. The levels are also closer to the year-ago reading of 58.1.

In addition, the “Present Situation Index”, which measures how shoppers feel now about the economy, rose to 28.9 from 25.5 last month. But the “Expectations Index”, which measures shoppers' outlook over the next six months, climbed to 72.3 from 51.0 in April.

Last Saturday at Auschwitz

We all know about the horror of cruelty and death at Auschwitz. There is nothing new I can add that you have not heard before.

Today, the site is green and serene. Strangely, it is not horrible to look at. We saw it on a grey day. But our mood was sombre, for you can’t go there without focusing very acutely on what it represents.

I was especially hit by the fact that so many people could have been so cruel for so long. The one million plus deaths were not the act of one mad dictator. It was not a small group of fanatics. The Nazi SS who managed the camp numbered more than 8000 operatives.

The killings lasted day after day for two years. And it was not just the SS that was involved. It included the engineering companies like the one that manufactured the ovens and confirmed that those ovens could burn some 3500 corpses a day. It was the other companies that supplied gas – refined especially for the purpose. It included the doctors who carried out shocking experiments on young girls. And there were hundreds of other organisations involved to keep the dreadful place going.

The size of the camp site is something no film had ever conveyed to me – 191 hectares (Melbourne Zoo is about 20 hectares and Werribee Zoo about120).
At many points, the double lines of wicked electric fence stretch as far as the eye can see.

It was a major life experience to be there. It will remain vivid. I am sure of that.

More than anything else, this horrible death camp stands today as a reminder for us all to be wary of Nazi-type regimes wherever they may arise.

Swine flu here again - will we learn the lessons of 1976?

The media has proved that it loves the threat of a disaster. Panic sells newspapers.

Malaria kills 3,000 people every day, yet it is considered ‘a health problem’ and not worthy of media coverage generally. At time of writing, there are ten confirmed deaths from H1N1 (popularly known as ‘swine flu’).

The warnings coming through now may be justified. And it is possible we have a very serious health issue facing the global community.

However, it was only in 1976 that the US Government very sternly warned that one million Americans were likely to die of swine flu.

In fact, the Great Swine Flu Epidemic of 1976 never took place. The 1976 to 1977 flu season in the US was the most flu-free since records had been kept. The President at the time, Gerald Ford, attempted to gain credit for keeping America safe. But the people knew better. He was kicked out of office.

Worse, countless people suffered paralysis from the vaccine, some ended up as paraplegics and the vaccine itself was blamed for 25 deaths.

More recently than President Ford, in 2005 our dear friend President Bush said two million Americans would die as a result of bird flu!

Now, as fears of swine flu spread, US companies ranging from soap and hand-sanitiser manufacturers to makers of designer face masks are ramping up their marketing efforts. Mostly these companies are pitching prevention messages starring their products.

At the same time, in Sydney, a box of 40 simple surgical masks was selling last week for a cool $130. Apparently, way above above the pre panic price.

Most consumers would say there is something particularly distasteful about price gouging with medical supplies.

In the US, the soap makers, whose ads don’t explicitly mention swine flu, but focus more broadly on germ-fighting, already have a key endorsement. “Frequent hand-washing” is put forward by the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention as the best tip for preventing the spread of swine flu.

However, marketers have to act with care and thoughtfulness.

It’s OK to promote a product during a public-health emergency. But it is how you do it that’s important. It will come across as sleazy and opportunistic if you try to capitalise on fear. If you go out of your way to inform, then that’s a different thing.

The renowned New York branding consultant, Dean Crutchfield, says instead of increasing their ad budgets, marketers should be donating resources to schools and hospitals and creating an aura of goodwill around their brands.

Such an approach would certainly build a better brand image and would more than likely prove to be effective over the longer term.

Corporate help for fire victims

After the bushfires it has been heartening to see the fantastic community efforts taking place.

People everywhere have wanted to help. And not just individuals. The corporate sector has been in there as well.

At Australian Unity, teams of employees have given up free time or used their “community leave day” to help on the ground. This is one young woman’s account of her day sorting and helping distribute much-needed donated goods in Alexandria.


Nervous anticipation was building amongst the first group of Australian Unity volunteers boarding the bus en route to Alexandra. Whilst each person wanted to “make a difference” and assist the bushfire victims, we didn’t know what to expect or how we would deal with it – after the week’s build up of confronting images, stories of terror, tears and courage.

What greeted us in Alexandra was an overwhelming display of the strength of the human spirit and constant reminders that when it counts most, there are no differences between us. City types rallied with country types, interstate visitors mixed in with teenagers who had lost friends and with weathered elderly locals whose determination and grit stood as leading examples to all of us.

Whilst we were shielded from the direct impact of the fires, and our journey bypassed the central fire zones, our placement at the distribution centre reminded us we were at the hub of where the relief effort had crucial importance to the community.

Warm and heartfelt greetings were followed by serious briefings and we got down to the job of receiving and sorting essential goods. An atmosphere of common purpose and congeniality stayed throughout the day. Our brief was simple – to serve and support. So, the AU team blended in with weary locals and there was a curious mix of raucous laughter, serious quiet conversations and exchanging hugs with strangers – all at the right time, just when it was needed most.

Always present was the spirit of generosity from businesses and the public, with every imaginable food item, clothing and accessories constantly being trucked in, sorted, allocated, boxed and re-distributed. Despite the volume of goods being shifted, care was taken to ensure families and individuals could access fully stocked toiletry bags, food hampers and clothing packs.

A lunch time walk through the eerie quiet of the town, still a smoke filled environment, reinforced the scale of the relief effort taking place. The local football oval and grounds housed a sea of army tents, rows of buses transporting units to fire fronts and an immense array of army tanks, fire engines and equipment. This view was quite at odds with the otherwise peaceful tree lined streets and sleepy village.

Hearing the speeches of gratitude at the day’s end was humbling and touching for our team, who felt, as I do, that we now share a unique bond with this resilient community. We are reassured they will emerge from this disaster with a roadmap for their future, lined with support from both their oldest and newest friends.

Marita Smith
Communications Manager and volunteer
Australian Unity

On customer service, where are we?

After recently spending 30-days in France and Italy, I am wondering about Australian customer service.

Let’s begin with France and let’s begin by putting to bed, once and for all, that old fallacy about the French being rude.

In 2005 I spent a week in Paris and had nothing but positive experiences everywhere I went. I put that down to good luck. I had been indoctrinated to believe that the French were not a welcoming people.

Now the same thing has happened again. Last month I spent a week in Paris and a week driving around the French countryside visiting cities like Dijon, Lyons, Avignon and Nice. Everywhere and on every occasion French traders helped us. They went out of their way to explain, to show and to make things easier.

In Dijon a middle aged woman, noticing my map, ran across the street offering to help. When she realised my French was so abysmal, immediately spoke in broken English and did not go on her way until she was sure we were clear about where we were heading.

But that was not the full story in France. The piece-de-resistance in customer service terms happened on our second day in Paris. At HSBC.

We were about to use an ATM to withdraw money and suddenly got nervous about losing our card. (We’d had a bad experience overseas once before.) We went inside the HSBC branch. The teller was immediately helpful. He explained the steps. Then without hesitation, he offered to come outside and talk us through the process. So there on the streets of central Paris there was an amazing sight: a young male teller, standing with us at an ATM while we completed the transaction.

By contrast, in Australia, before we left, we dutifully informed our bank, Westpac, that we were going to be in France and Italy for a month. They did not bother to tell us that in Europe today, to use a credit card you need a PIN. We found ourselves 15,000 klms from home and not able to use our VISA card. Thanks for nothing Westpac.

In Italy our customer service experience was just as excellent.

In the beautiful ancient northern town of Bergamo, the hotel manager printed train timetables for us, gave us detailed directions and every day had time to share his local knowledge. In big cities like Milan and in smaller towns, traders everywhere went out of their way to answer our questions and help us along the way.

However, it was when we arrived at Prato an authentic Tuscan town near Florence that we experienced a new level of customer service.

We stayed at Ma. Gi. Co., a 200 year old family home that is now a B&B adjacent to the main piazza in this non-tourist walled city.

The owner and manager at Ma. Gi. Co. is a vibrant young mum named Simona Cozzi who makes your stay personal and pleasurable with attention to detail that’s second to none.

When we arrived in Prato we were lost. We parked the car and walked the last kilometre through narrow streets. When Simona heard our story, she immediately walked back to the car with us and guided us in to the town. What a great way to start!

From there, the treatment we received just got better and better.

• The breakfast Simona prepared each day was fit for a king.
• When we were planning a short train trip, Simona immediately phoned for the train times.
• When we chose a restaurant for dinner, Simona went to the restaurant to make the booking and stressed that she expected excellence for her guests. The dinner and the service were superb.
• When we talked about buying a coffee machine to bring back to Australia, Simona found out the freight cost for us.

Every day in countless little ways we were treated like royalty. I have never experienced or heard of such customer service in Australia.

A gold medal to HSBC (www.hsbc.com.au) and platinum to Ma. Gi. Co. Remember this B&B for your next Tuscan adventure (www.bbmagico.it)

Macy’s and the US downturn

The US subprime crisis which so far has only mildly touched our economy, has already been very severe in the US. Doom and gloom is everywhere in retail. But, despite the downturn, one major retailer --Macy's -- is still looking to increase its advertising.

On 13 August, Macy's cut its full-year earnings outlook dramatically, but said it will continue to make investments in marketing.

In Australia, retailers generally, with their emphasis on discounting, seem to know very little about marketing. But it’s a different story in the US. In fact, despite the difficult times, Macy’s looks to be expanding its marketing budget.

The retailer is developing a new relationship with the globally renowned customer focus specialist consultancy, Dunnhumby. Macy’s says that over the next twelve months, its marketing plans will be very visible.

As a consumer-insights firm, Dunnhumby has earned a reputation as an expert at accelerating sales through its work with retailers such as Home Depot. For Macy’s, Dunnhumby will be charged with developing customer segmentation models to be applied across the retailer's business.

The stated aim at Macy's is for the company to continue to build a sustainable competitive advantage by having a more complete understanding of customers. The management at Macy’s wants to mould the Macy offering to satisfy each customer's specific needs.

If you are in financial services or professional services marketing, this may not seem very profound. But in a non-marketing organisation, this type of thinking would represent a major step forward.

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“How to Lie with Statistics”

The famous old book “How to Lie with Statistics” had a profound impact on me when I read it as a student, so we would not want to rely on statistics alone. However, the following figures regarding the online channel are worth reflecting on:

• Australians are currently spending 13.7 hours a week surfing the net compared with 13.3 hours watching TV. (Nielsen)
• In 2007, advertisers spent $1.34b on the net which was a 34% increase on 2006. But the spend on TV was $3.8b and in newspapers $3.1b. (Internet Advertising Bureau)
• In March 08, Aussie Homes Loans spent 100% of the company’s media budget on digital advertising. Maybe this is the first such example of a major advertiser going all the way with digital. (Amnesia Group)
• In 2008, 4% of consumers say they trust blogs. In 2007 this was 15%. (Grey)
• 42% of Gen Y use social networking sites. (Grey)
• 26% of Gen Y spend two hours or more a day online. The equivalent figure for people over 63 years is 38%. (Grey)
• While Google might appear to be the only search engine in Australia, in the US, the Google share is about 67%. Yahoo has about 20% of the market and MSN, 6%. (Hitwise)
• Just two weeks ago, Hitwise reported that the launch of Freesat, the free satellite TV service provided by the BBC and ITV in the UK, proved popular with online consumers during its launch week in May. UK Internet traffic to www.freesat.co.uk, the service's online homepage, increased by 627% during the week ending 10 May 2008.

Note: “How to Lie with Statistics” by Darrell Huff first appeared in 1954. It is one of the most widely read statistics books in history, with over one and a half million copies sold in the English-language edition. It is a brief, breezy, illustrated volume outlining the common errors associated with the interpretation of statistics, and how these errors can lead to biased or inaccurate conclusions.