Weight Watchers marketing mistake - the momentum plan

Weight Watchers: The Momentum Plan

What a dumb name.

Weight Watchers has a program called “The Momentum Plan”.

Why is that a dumb name?
Because as any high school physics student knows, momentum is equal to mass times velocity. That means you can increase momentum by increasing your mass (weight) or velocity (speed) or both.

In layman’s thinking momentum is usually associated with continuously moving forward. Ships come to mind. A super tanker has much more momentum than a tug boat even if they are both moving at the same speed – because the super tanker has more bulk. More bulk (even if that bulk is dead weight) means more momentum. For that reason the super tanker takes more time and distance to steer. Inflexible companies are often compared to the super tanker. Momentum is not necessarily desirable.

Picture Fat Albert, of The Bill Cosby Kids Cartoon show, striding slowly down the street. Now imagine Jughead, of Archie Comics, walking beside him at the same speed. If Fat Albert weighs in at 300 lbs and Jughead tips the scales at 100 lbs – Fat Albert has three times the momentum of Jughead.

Fat Albert has more momentum because he weights more than Jughead. Now imagine them both sitting in a chair. Velocity is zero. Fat Albert has more momentum than Jughead because it is more difficult to push him out of the chair than it is to move Fat Albert. Is that the picture that Weight Watchers is trying to paint?

One of the rules of modern marketing is to put the benefits in the headline. For example, SlimFast is a better headline that Weight Watchers. People want to be slim. They don’t want to watch their weight.

You might ask, “Why has Weight Watchers been so successful as a business?” Because they were one of, if not the first in the “weight loss” business. And when you are the first in your market you tend to be the market leader until you mess up a lot. The first in any field enjoys a head start on the competition. But that might not be enough.

Make enough mistakes and you get bypassed by smarter runners. Look at how Toyota bypassed General Motors and Hyundai is sprinting through the pack. General Motors still has more momentum because it has more bulk – more assets, more employees and more debt than the leaner car companies. And when GM crashes the momentum it has will leave a huge crater of destruction. Is that the image that Weight Watchers is trying to create in the minds of its prospects?

What is Weight Watchers suggesting with their “The Momentum Plan”? Are they saying that you will have more momentum with this plan? You just keep moving at the same pace and keep adding mass so that you have more momentum just like Fat Albert (Hey, hey hey!).

Do the customers of Weight Watchers really want more momentum?

George Torok
Marketing Speaker
Marketing Expert

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Power Marketing Tips 24: Pick your crowd carefully

Power Marketing Tips 24

Pick your crowd carefully

What do you think your associates are saying about you?
The people, companies and groups that you are connected with say a lot about you. And it's not necessarily what they say in words. It's more about what being associated with them says about you.

"When the character of a man is not clear to you, look at his friends."
Japanese Proverb

If we don't know you then our first impressions will likely be determined by the company you keep.

If we don't know you well our opinion of you is influenced by who you associate with.

Even when we think we know you our opinion can be swayed by our opinion of the people around you.

This works both ways. Some connections lift you up and some put you down.

Clients
Your clients speak to your credibility.Are you bragging about your impressive clients? If your clients are well known then drop their names into conversations. If the company names are not well known then mention the industry. Of course be sure to get and publish testimonials from them - whether they are known or not.

Suppliers
If you are a reseller, then your product lines and suppliers can lend you credibility. This is one reason for the power behind franchises.This is why IT consultants are proud to boast that they are certified by Microsoft, SAP or Cisco. Meanwhile no one admits that they were audited by Anderson.

Memberships
Your certifications, awards and memberships send messages about you. It talks about the things you value and the institutions that respect you. Being a member of a group that is known for high ethical standards or leading edge education can help your own image. The events you attend showcase the type of people with whom you want to be associated.

Community
Your community work and support for charities reflect your character and community values. Sponsoring these groups suggests that you care and therefore might be a decent person to do business with.
Everybody is watching and judging you and your crowd. Pick your crowd carefully.

George Torok
Power Marketing

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Secrets of Power Marketing - Book Review

Secrets of Power Marketing

Peter Urs Bender and George Torok

Reviewed by Kirsten Cowan

Another installment from public speaking whiz Peter Urs Bender, this time with the adept co-operation of speaker and educator George Torok. Expanding on the themes of Secrets of Power Presentations and Leadership From Within, this new release focuses on marketing your business. Secrets of Power Marketing seeks to apply the techniques and methods of the first two books in a practical way to the project of marketing ones business. The result is a lively book, with a streak of practicality that reveals itself in an impatience with hoity-toity notions of marketing that have little impact on the bottom line.

Of particular interest to HotLink readers is the comprehensive "Strategy Three" dealing with media relations. Included in this category is self-published media such as newsletters, and timely insights on getting the most out of the "New Media". Torok and Bender have a clear understanding of the effect a media spot, especially a media interview or article, can have on your marketing plan. As with all their strategies, advice is clear, no-nonsense and effective.

A great feature of Secrets of Power Marketing, which it shares with Bender's previous works, is the plethora of ideas it provides, lists of them, which can be tailored to your specific needs. Appendix A; "101 Power Marketing Ideas," is an army of catch-phrases, concepts, tags, lead-ins and inspirations, ready to leap into action at the reader's behest.

The characteristic charm and accessibility readers expect from Peter Urs Bender is here in droves, with pithy quotes, anecdotes illustrating key ideas and charts and tables depicting multi- layered concepts.

Secrets of Power Marketing is not for everyone. Its brashness may not suit the more cultivated type of business, and the forthrightness of its marketing style is definitely tailored to small or individually owned businesses. The graphics, always somewhat enigmatic in Bender's books, are truly mysterious in this attempt. Nonetheless, the boundless enthusiasm and obviously field-tested wisdom of Bender and Torok make Secrets of Power Marketing a worthwhile investment for any organization.

Reprinted from The Sources HotLink

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