Are-You –Cool, Inc FAQs
1) What is Are-You-Cool, Inc. (AYC)? AYC, Inc is a hybrid technology/marketing/consumer research company that uses “patent-pending” technology and other methods to identify early-adopters and influencers; and market directly to them.
2) What industries does AYC provide services for? Fashion, Entertainment, Travel, Sports, and consumer products.
3) Does AYC, Inc accept all paying clients within those industries? No. We are very selective of the clients we choose to work with. We only promote products and services we believe in and use. Therefore our acceptance of your company or product as a client is an endorsement of you, as well as a promise to deliver results for your marketing campaign.
4) What “patent-pending” technology does AYC plan to use? A software application called “Cool Coinz” that will be used by potential customers to trade a virtual currency that empowers them to identify “cool” people or products; and be recognized by friends and family as being “cool” themselves. This application and other business methods will be utilized as part of an overall marketing campaign designed to spur grassroots sales, provide consumer research, and create awareness for your brand.
5) What other methods or strategies does AYC plan to employ? There are four cornerstones to our approach to marketing. Once we have identified certain early-adopters and influencers in target demographics, we will employ these four strategies as the foundation of your customized marketing campaign:
I. Direct Product Placement
II. Viral Video Production and Promotion
III. Event Promotion
IV. Twitter/E-mail/Social-Media Outreach
6) What is AYC’s definition of influencers? Other web advertising firms have all used cookie-cutter approaches, and a traditional way of thinking, to market to web users and identify influencers. This “herd mentality” has led to uninspired marketing campaigns, and similarly lackluster results. This has made it more difficult for Fortune 500 companies to divert funds from traditional television and newspaper media buys to spend more on web and social media approaches. Trendy web marketing firms try to more finely target their campaigns to “influencers” who can create a “domino effect” in publicity and sales. They identify “influencers” as people who spend a lot of time surfing the web, posting comments, sharing articles, and uploading videos. Yes, influencers who do these things can create a small degree of impact; however, those who truly create buzz and trends are actually out in the real world, not in front of the computer, and are too busy living life, socializing, and consuming goods to be spending their time in front of the computer. These people who actually go out and do things or buy things, and socialize. The people who have a zest for life and are too busy seeking out adventures, and experiencing things to be sitting in front of a computer. The people who want to be around others instead of alone in front of a computer. We want astronauts not astronomers. Those who vote with their feet and wallets, not with the click of the mouse. They are the true “influencers” of their peers, not some random blogger. People trust friends and family more than they do celebrities or bloggers, or other web marketing, and those are the influencers AYC will identify and market to, while our peers continue this misdirected efforts.
7) What is AYC’s overall marketing philosophy? AYC believes that people are social animals with basic needs and wants. We all purchase things to fulfill a need or to impress others or to fit in. How certain products are adopted by the public while others fail has always fascinated the company’s founder, especially when the compared products are of equal or comparable quality. So if all things are equal, what makes one brand more successful than another? Is Coke inherently better than Pepsi, or Bud better than Miller? We believe brand image, marketing, and a products role/fit in a person’s lifestyle are what make the difference, and we wish to help those products and services, of quality, and value to be heard above the din of competition. We also believe that no TV or print ad can convey taste, smell, or feel; therefore the best way to get people to trust and promote one’s brand is to get the product into the hands of potential customers directly, and let them judge for themselves rather than trust the word of a paid celebrity and gamble their hard-earned money on a product they are not familiar with, and may not like in the end. So we propose that those who have confidence in their products or service, engage our company to distribute said products to specifically identified influencers and early-adopters in order to gain product feedback, brand loyalty (if they enjoy the product), and then become brand advocates who provide personal testimonials to their social peers via word-of-mouth and product usage.
8) Are all influencers created equally? As mentioned in an earlier question, AYC’s definition of an “influencer” is very different from most other advertising or consumer research companies. Their focus is to get the attention of people while they are at their computers, and hope they retain whatever brand message they may have observed (provided the potential customer hasn’t developed a “blind-spot” for banner and side-of-page ads) and follow the advertiser’s wishes when out at stores. Our focus is to identify early adopters and influencers via the web, as a tool, but market to them directly out in the real world. We think that the more powerful forces on the general public’s buying decisions are human emotions like: envy, jealousy, love, hate, and intangibles like peer pressure, cultural trends, mating rituals, etc. Most “cool” people don’t tell their friends what to wear, buy, or eat, but being social animals we tend to emulate and imitate the behavior we see around us and approve of. Therefore, a buying decision for a certain style of clothing may have been made because they saw the outfit a friend wore with a similar sense of style or body-type, not because of a passing ad on the side of a bus or TV show. We want to reach out to that friend with the fashion sense that other friends of theirs want to copy. They are the ones who by the amount of time spent with friends and the power of personality encourage others to behave certain ways in social circles and the marketplace.
9) What else differentiates AYC from other advertising firms? Most firms are focused on “demand fulfillment” meaning they help identify a common need, and how and where to achieve the fulfillment of that demand. For example: “You got a headache, this aspirin will cure it, and you can find it at CVS or Walmart for a low price!” So this abbreviated example of a demand fulfillment ad defines a problem (headache), provides a solution (take this brand of aspirin), and informs the consumer where to achieve fulfillment ( go to CVS, it’s priced at a great value). However, what if your company’s product or service was not a daily essential, but a luxury that if push came to shove you really didn’t need, but just wanted. What turns Justin Beiber from an unknown pop-teen-singer to an obsession that some fans must have every piece of merchandise associated with him or with his picture on it? How did Red Bull get so much market share? How did Silly Bandz become the pre-teen nationwide craze? We believe we know the reasons why and the methods to replicate their successes. We want to help your company achieve “demand creation” where minimal or no demand existed before, as opposed to the more traditional “demand fulfillment” marketing campaigns that any old ad agency can provide.
10) How does AYC compare with companies like Groupon or Living Social? Those companies have been in the news a lot recently because of the success they have had with a traditionally undeserved small business community. They found a way to bring crowd-sourcing (new trend) and coupons (old trend) together. Their model has helped many small businesses, but proved overwhelming or disappointing for others. They are expensive too. They take half of the proceeds of any coupon offering. So if an offer sells for $20 ($40 retail value) the business gets $10 for the product or service they have to redeem to the customer and Groupon gets $10. This has been helpful in getting some people in the door, but it sets false expectations for the business and customers. The business then has to wonder if the person will return and pay regular prices after the introductory price. Some customers may buy a coupon based on price alone, and upon using the product or service is disappointed by the quality, never to return again, disgruntled by the wasted money. Companies that follow the AYC program will see better customer satisfaction and sales growth rates from potential patrons who are grateful by the goodwill gestures made by AYC and its partners. The ones who were satisfied by the free sample will become brand loyalists and advocates to their social peers, and those who happen to dislike the product at least will be grateful for not having paid for it, and therefore have no ax to grind and bad-mouth it to others; as disgruntled customers of Groupon or Living Social might.