There's no Stamos in our 'gurt!

There’s no Stamos in our ‘gurt!

Chobani is my favorite Greek yogurt. Ok it's the only yogurt (Greek or otherwise) that I even eat! It's delicious. They offer a variety of flavors in combinations you may not think would taste good together. But they do! And they've just recently begun offering bite sized yogurt - smaller packages of their awesome flavors for those of us that want smaller portions. What a concept! Perfect for snackers like me!

Now you may be asking yourself "Courtney, why the post about yogurt? And what the heck does this have to do with John Stamos?!" Patience young grasshopper...I'm getting to that…

As anyone who watches TV probably knows, there is a Greek yogurt commercial in which two women are eating yogurt in the kitchen and one says to the other that while eating this specific brand of yogurt the next man you lay eyes on will look like John Stamos (the most famous Greek out there. Except for maybe George Stephanopolous....but I digress!) The women proceed to indulge in their yogurt while staring at the doorway to the kitchen. In comes a guy who automatically appears to them as John Stamos. Genius right?! 
Genius until the following happens...

As you can see from the above exchange, I associated John Stamos with Chobani. Because in my head the only Greek yogurt I know and consume is Chobani. As marketers I think we've lost sight of what's important in our advertising. Sure John Stamos is a cool dude to have in your commercial, but if someone doesn't even remember the name of your product, or confuses your product with another brand, then how effective was it to shell out big bucks on a big name celebrity?! I had to Google the phrase "John Stamos yogurt commercial" to find out what brand of yogurt was even in that commercial. Not to mention the fact that this "other" yogurt has an incredibly difficult name to pronounce! Did they learn nothing from Haagen Dazs?! Again I digress...

The point here is to get back to the basics of marketing. Your product should be at the forefront of your messaging. Not John Stamos. Simple things like focusing on your product name, perhaps having it said aloud (by John Stamos) in the commercial, would have helped. We all know that eating yogurt will not cause famous people to suddenly appear in our kitchens (if it did, I would have a stockpile of yogurt in a bunker!) so why not focus on why I would really want to choose your yogurt over another brand. What makes it better? Does it taste better? Is it cheaper? Is it easier to find in my local grocery store? Let us not forget the four P’s of marketing 101 when we start the creative development process. Having extraneous things in your ads can be fun and creative, but can also cloud people's judgment and cause confusion, especially if your product is new to market. Remember the product life cycle people! Your marketing efforts need to coincide with where your product is in the eyes of your consumer. If you are the new kid on the block you need a different approach than brands that have been around the block a bit longer than you have. With all the noise we deal with as consumers, make your product stand out or it will be left in the outer banks of your customer's memory. If your product is easily overshadowed by a celebrity endorsement, how compelling can it really be? 

My apologies to Chobani for confusing them with another brand of 'gurt. I am now über clear that there is no Stamos in yours.

Read my version of this post on MarketingProfs blog as well: Daily Fix

The Rest is Still Unwritten ...

I love this song by Natasha Bedingfield. When I first heard it I didn't care much for it. That's my M-O with most new songs. They have to grow on me in order to earn a spot on my coveted iTunes. This song finally grew on me because it is about just that .... growth. The concept of things being unwritten, or not yet finished, is one that is inspiring to me, especially at this point in my life. I'm no stranger to change, and quite frankly could do without it for a good long while. But I am all about the future and what's to come. For me, I thrive on that. It keeps me up at night. It's the reason I wake up in the morning. It's what powers me through each day. The concept that we, and we alone, are empowered and inspired to create our own destiny is truly awesome.

I happen to be at a weird impasse in my life where I have some major decisions to make. I'll create a nice bulleted list for your viewing pleasure...

• Serious relationship = marriage. RE-marriage that is! Eeeeeeeeek! More on this to come...
• My career. I've been going through a bit of an identity crisis with my career lately. Unemployed confusion from a few years ago led me down a few different paths. At this point I'm struggling with exactly what I want to be when I grow up. (There's that word "grow" again. WTH.) 
• Living arrangements need to change. I can't afford my house. There. I said it out loud on the Internet (so it must be true!) I have been negotiating with my lender for quite some time now and the realization that I just can't pay for this money pit any longer hit me like a ton of bricks the other day. This means more change with a potential sale and move and such. More on this to come as well. Sigh. 
• Age. I will be 35 in April. THIRTY-FIVE! Now those of you already passed this momentous birthday are probably thinking "Waa, waa, waa, come talk to me when you hit 40!" Touche I say. But this is about me right now, and 35 is kind of a big deal for me. I've never been here before and it scares me just a little ... 

All of these things have various meanings for me and my life and the lives my children in one way or another. I have some serious soul searching and figuring out of shiz to do. I have to determine what I want for my future. On one hand it's frightening as all giddy-up. But on the other hand it's pretty darn cool to have that kind of power.

Now don't get me wrong, I do believe in a higher power ('sup G-O-D!) One of my favorites sayings is we plan and God laughs. I find such truth in this saying -- that no matter what we do certain things are just meant to be (or not). And I do believe that no matter how much prep and planning we mere mortals do, there are things that are just beyond our control. But that doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to make plans and create the future that we desire. You can be or do whatever you want (within reason of course), and no one can tell you otherwise. This song spells it out in plain English. It reminds me to continue to write the pages of my book. I kind of like to think that we're all books that are not yet finished.   

The rest is still unwritten (according to my girl Natasha.) So go and write some super awesome kick-ass chapters ya'll. I'll be sure to check back in as I continue to do the same!