This week’s grasp has labored for Lou Malnati’s (pizza), Krispy Kreme (doughnuts), and now heads the advertising group at California Pizza Kitchen (again to pizza) — making her profession sound like my dream supply order after a tough Monday.
Hold studying to listen to from Dawn Keller, CMO at California Pizza Kitchen, on why she likes giving shoppers emotional FOMO and learn how to lead the cost on model evolution.
Lesson 1: Drive emotional FOMO.
“Craveable gadgets which can be distinctive and compel shoppers to be irrational are one of the best protection in opposition to competitors, client apathy, or inertia,” says Keller.
For Keller, this pertains to each her menu and her advertising. Her aim is to “drive emotional FOMO” for her shoppers.
Look, I will hand it to you — discussing “craveable merchandise” with the advertising chief for a pizza firm most likely does not sound too relatable to B2B entrepreneurs.
However after I inform Keller that tacky, gooey crust is extra seductive than income attribution reporting, she pushes again: “I really see this in B2B advertising on a regular basis. Emotional FOMO is completely create-able in that world, too — you simply want to indicate what’s potential, and the success tales of different folks.”
She provides, “It is all the identical people, you realize? They’re simply making completely different choices… Like, what to eat, and what software program to make use of for his or her companies.”
When you won’t be promoting garlic knots, there are many B2B attributes which can be insanely “craveable” — like ease of use, time financial savings, and productiveness boosts. Use these plot factors to get all of your soon-to-be shoppers hungering on your choices like they crave a very good mac and cheese.
Lesson 2: Flip damaging moments into an opportunity to indicate up.
Lately, a buyer ordered mac and cheese from CPK — and simply bought cheese.
After she posted the vid on TikTok, CPK responded with a video through which Chef Paul jokingly walks via the steps of correctly making a mac and cheese (emphasis on: Add the mac) after which declares 50% off mac and cheese for all CPK prospects. (For the reason that buyer solely bought 50% of her meal — get it?)
CPK’s TikTok response bought 1.6 million views. Keller was shocked… and thrilled.
“It was mind-blowing to all people [how well it did], however we consider what actually made the distinction was how we confirmed up — in an excellent genuine, humble, self-deprecating manner. It wasn’t corporate-y or stuffy.”
CPK might’ve chosen to disregard the client’s grievance altogether, or they may’ve commented on the video with a generic “I am sorry!” customer support response. As an alternative, they determined to make use of the chance to reframe the narrative into one thing enjoyable and lighthearted.
And as Keller factors out, “We nonetheless bought to strengthen what issues to us — which is that now we have high quality meals, and we care about our visitors. Authenticity and leisure is what will get folks’s consideration… Not simply that you simply’re utilizing socials as an promoting channel.”
We have heard it throughout the board this yr from Greg Fass, Jenna Kutcher, and loads of different Masters in Advertising and marketing, and the purpose holds true: Being genuine and showcasing the human behind your model is a significantly better technique than a elegant advert nowadays.
Lesson 3: Evolve as your shoppers do.
It hasn’t at all times been doughnuts and pizza for Keller, who has additionally held advertising roles at CVS Well being and Staples.
Throughout these roles, she believes one core duty has at all times been to be an “agent of change.”
However folks do not at all times love change, significantly at manufacturers which have existed for 40+ years. So I wished to know: When Keller joined CPK, how did she stability contemporary concepts with out making the group really feel like she was steamrolling the good-ole manner of doing issues?
“I give a number of credit score to Jeff Warne [the CEO of CPK] and my colleagues, who’ve actually incubated this concept that any model that is been round for 40 years has to proceed to evolve and do new, contemporary issues,” Keller tells me.
Happily, she additionally has some phrases of knowledge for advertising leaders who’ve been tasked with progress at an organization that does not embrace change as simply.
“You must convey folks alongside the journey and invite concepts from wherever. Generally, leaders assume good concepts can solely come from new folks. However veterans with deep context can be the originators of one of the best new pondering.”
All people has a task to play, and the extra a change agent can encourage and incentivize contemporary concepts whereas breaking down the partitions of worry or discomfort, the extra seemingly they’re to achieve creating an more and more related model.
