Branding: An interesting look at the quest to uncover a brand's DNA.

Remember the documentary filmmaker (Morgan Spurlock) who who ate nothing but McDonald's for 30 days in an effort to see what the side effects were on his health? This is a TED talk discussing another one Spurlock's ventures from a few years ago on branding and brand marketing. 

Morgan Spurlock: The Greatest TED Talk Ever Sold. 

The Importance of Social Media and Content Marketing

What’s a company’s magic formula for popular social media presence? It’s actually pretty simple: content to inform the customer, plus social connection to humanize the brand.
Of course, each business must navigate its own balance of the two but content marketing does not need to be a puzzle. Jay Baer writes in his article “11 Big Myths About Social Media and Content Marketing” that “content is fire. Social media is gasoline. Use social to drive awareness of your content more so than awareness of your company.” Awareness of your content will translate to greater popularity and brand recognition. 

So how does a company produce quality content?  According to the Content Marketing Institute the essence of content marketing is “the belief that if we, as businesses, deliver consistent, ongoing valuable information to buyers, they ultimately reward us with their business and loyalty.” That means engaging the customers in an ongoing conversation that does not hinge on the sell or the pitch. In the same way that conversation builds friendships, conversation with the customer builds trust and affinity. Here’s your fire.

Now for the gasoline. There is an incredible opportunity for content marketing through social media to humanize your brand and build that loyalty. Valerie Buckingham makes the point in her article “Four Tips for Authentic Online Engagement” that businesses can run into problems when they adhere too strictly to brand guidelines and rely solely on an omniscient company voice. She suggests too instead “imbue your social channels with the many unique individuals who work for the company.” By realizing the benefit of individual voices, the company’s social presence won’t become monotone.

  In his book Social Media Marketing: The Next Generation of Business Engagement David Evans writes, “[in] business…taking [online] collaboration into the internal workings of the organization is at the heart of social business.” By including customers in collaboration through social media exchange, they become part of the brand formation. Given the fast-paced communication culture and the decreasing rate of brand loyalty, it is essential for companies to engage the customer at their level of interest. Social media and content marketing is the right way for companies to get a spark roaring.  

Additional Reading: 

http://www.convinceandconvert.com/social-media-strategy/11-big-myths-about-social-media-and-content-marketing/

http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/what-is-content-marketing/

http://mashable.com/2012/03/27/tips-for-authentic-online-engagement/

Social Media Marketing

The social media universe mimics that of our own and is always expanding. New platforms seem to pop up everyday giving each media-savvy business a unique opportunity to present the cyber-community with their brand. Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram provide just that chance. Success with these distinct media formats is simply a matter of getting acquainted with the different features and implementing a personalized, brand-specific approach.

 Instagram is a popular photo and video-sharing mobile-based app that was acquired by Facebook in 2012. Instagram is a friendlier format because unlike Facebook, there is no algorithm to dictate what appears on followers’ newsfeed.

There are 20 filters available to enhance the aesthetic of the image. Each post should include a brief caption containing hashtags to include the post in a trending theme. The most successful posts are those that are most relevant to both your brand and your potential customers. Photos and videos that share an interesting or inspiring story will help attract your target market. 

Check out the blog: Instagram for Business offering tips, brand spotlights, API examples and news from Instagram HQ.

For more specific, helpful tips read Debbie Hemley’s article 26 Tips for Using Instagram for Business at Social Media Examiner and Eric Ho’s How To Use Intagram To Promote Your Brand at Elite Daily. 

 

Pinterest is a pinboard-style photo-sharing website that businesses can use to their advantage. To entice other Pinterest users to pin your images, include a mix of product photos and non-sales photos across your boards. If you have a company blog, share images from those posts. If you come across a cool image you think your target market would like to see, pin that too!

To get started, set up your Pinterest account in the Pinterest Business Section and fill in the applicable details about your business. Create boards for certain categories of images, for instance “the great outdoors” or “delicious delicacies ”, and get pinning!

For more advise, read Mark Macdonald’s article Why and How You Should be on Pinterest, Even if You Haven't Joined Yet on Shopify and Jason DeMers’ How to Use Pinterest in Your Online Marketing Initiative at Huff Post.

YouTube is a video-sharing website with massive viewership – over 6 billion hours of video are watched each month on YouTube. Savvy businesses use YouTube to their advantage by uploading videos that provide a clear picture of the product or service you are offering. Each video should include a link to your website and contact information.

YouTube is a useful tool for creating awareness of your brand. This strategy does not focus on a particular video or service, but is an ongoing effort to promote the entirety of your brand concept. YouTube can also be used to advertise particular products or promote retail stores. These should be both informative and entertaining. Companies can use YouTube to extend product and customer support by addressing customer problems and frequently asked questions. Training videos can also uploaded for staff.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=owGykVbfgUE (example of successful brand awareness campaign)

Listen to your audience and you will gain a greater viewership.  

Read on at Using YouTube to Build Your Brand, Authority and Business and Using YouTube for Your Business

  

Interactive Retail Environments

According to USA Today’s article Touch-screens create online shopping experience at store, “to enhance the in-store shopping experience…. retailers are looking for ways to bring the convenience, selection and ability for product comparison of the online world.” More than ever before consumers demonstrate a preference for browsing, searching and sharing in a digital environment.

To address this trend, many large-scale companies like Macy’s or Adidas with places of retail or POP environment are building interactive screens to enhance the customer experience. This can take two forms, either kiosks or digital signage. First and foremost businesses must consider the interactive technology’s impact on the bottom line. According to Retail Customer Experience, “it must be curated to specifically meet the needs of the end-users.” With that consideration in mind, those who cannot afford the massive money or space investment of interactive screens have instead opted for tablets. Tablets have the potential to be highly effective customer service tools, by shortening lines and providing an interactive sales experience.  

This form of retailing is concerned with how many different purchasing options the consumer has. Offering the interactive option is essentially offering the customer efficiency and convenience, as well as a highly-personalized experience – which many believe is one of the keys to maximizing brand loyalty.

http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/industries/retail/story/2012-02-07/virtual-shopping/53001974/1

http://www.retailcustomerexperience.com/article/214051/How-tablets-and-touchscreens-are-integral-to-the-in-store-experience

2014 Super Bowl Ads - Recap

So a small confession: I lived in New Mexico and Colorado for several years, and I'm a Broncos fan. Year after year, I tune into the super bowl for the commercials, but this year I actually tuned in to cheer one of my teams on to victory.

While my hopes were dashed in the first few minutes of the game, the commercials were a good consolation. Some were weird, but some where great. And what's up with everyone selling car brands? Bruce Willis is selling Hondas, the Muppets are selling Toyotas, and Bob Dylan selling American-made. An interesting mix of celebs, for sure.

Here's a recap of our votes:

The most strange? And over-reaching? Our vote went to Maserati.

A pretty commercial – nicely written and produced – but we are not sure how we feel about Bob Dylan selling cars ... or Chryslers. 

Our vote for funny? Bud Light (again!) brought a slightly different approach, and fun commercial. 

Last year it was Dodge / "God Made a Farmer," but this year's vote for the commercial that pulled at our heartstrings the most? Budweiser Puppy Love, no question. 

Our all-round favorite? For us Radio Shack did a great job.  

What was your favorite? And tell us your thoughts on our 5 picks? 

Ad Week's Best Ads for 2013

It's that time of year when we take a moment to recap, and enjoy, the creative works of the past year. I'm sharing the list from Ad Week's 2013 Best of list, but I have one to add.

What are some common threads among these ads? And which one(s) spoke to you, and why?


Kmart "Ship My Pants" Agency: Draftfcb, Chicago

Chipotle "The Scarecrow" Agency: CAA Marketing, Los Angeles

Robinsons "Pals" (One of our Kearley favorites, too) Agency: BBH, London

Volvo Trucks "The Epic Split feat." 

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden

Nike "Possibilities" Agency: Wieden + Kennedy, Portland, Ore.

Dick's Sporting Goods "Every Pitch" Agency: Anomaly, New York

Geico "Hump Day" (Funny, and have  you seen the Dallas Mavericks spoof?!)  Agency: The Martin Agency, Richmond, Va.

Guinness "Basketball" (We loved this one!) 
Agency: BBDO, New York

RAM "Farmer" (a crowd pleaser!) 
Agency: The Richards Group, Dallas

Dove "Real Beauty Sketches" (A cool approach - get the tissues)
Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Brazil

And one that didn't make the list that I really love - this one made me snort with laughter. 

Sprint: "The Lizzy & Kim Phone Call"

Agency: Leo Burnett

Click here for the complete article on AdWeek. 

Direct Mail Still Works

We've spent a great deal of time over the last year talking about mobile marketing, social media, and various kind of online campaigns, but one thing we haven't spent much time on here is direct mail.

Guess what? It still works! Very well, in fact.

Over the last year, I've been able to observe direct marketing from the agency perspective as well as from the standpoint of the consumer. From an agency perspective, in recent years, many in the industry have wanted to abandon all traditional media for the perceived, less expensive electronic media (social) channels. However, despite the perception of direct mail vs. electronic channels, we continue to see ROI on direct mail – especially personalized direct mail campaigns – that exceeds goals and delivers results. Consider this auto loan campaign that launched in May for Central Star Credit Union in Wichita, KS and was supported primarily by direct mail:

Auto Loan Promo	Total promo-related loans for month (goal $500K)
May	$ 524,000
June	$ 532,000
July	$ 750,000

From a consumer perspective, my household was heavily marketed TO over the last year. My son graduated from high school this last May with a plan to go to college. Starting his Junior year, there began a sea of direct mail from various colleges and universities looking to recruit him as an incoming Freshman. 

The really interesting thing to me was the number of front-back postcards we received that looked somewhat canned versus the personalized mail we received that was more dynamic. My son was excited to receive mail solicitations, but particularly excited to see his name on the various pieces that were personalized. For a kid who rarely received things via USPS, this was a big deal to him. Ultimately, the university that had both personalized direct mail and a real, live contact person for us to work with through the process won out. Coincidence? Perhaps. It's also a university that has a strong program in his area of interest. However, I feel like there is something strong in the personalized marketing that works hand-in-hand with a real person to follow-up on the other side of the initiative. Something to think about as you ponder direct marketing campaigns in the future.