Posted by Jaci Russo
Tune in every Monday at 5:25pm to KPEL 96.5 for another exciting episode of Brand Buzz. Today's topic is the Branding Power of Collateral materials.
A mainstay of direct marketing, collateral materials are the most important tools for B2B companies. Whether it is a standard like trifold brochures and pocket folders or one of the newer incarnations like pURLs and interactive pdfs, collateral materials are the best way to deliver your message and establish your brand in a B2B world.
If you market your products and services to the masses, then mass media is for you. If, however, you tend to have a very niche audience then you will want to talk directly to them.
Tune in to KPEL 96.5 (www.kpel965.com) today at 5:25pm and we will answer these question and many more. Also, be sure to download the Free Brand eBook: Branding with Collateral to learn more.
Please subscribe to Razor Branding Blog by clicking the subscribe link on the top left hand side of the page. You can elect to receive Razor Branding Blog either via email or RSS reader.
Posted by Jaci Russo
London Businessman, Thomas Smith, wrote a guide called Successful Advertising in 1885. His writings established the Theory of Frequency that is still applicable today.
- The first time a man looks at an advertisement, he does not see it.
- The second time, he does not notice it.
- The third time, he is conscious of its existence.
- The fourth time, he faintly remembers having seen it before.
- The fifth time, he reads it.
- The sixth time, he turns up his nose at it.
- The seventh time, he reads it through and says, “Oh brother!”
- The eighth time, he says, “Here’s that confounded thing again!”
- The ninth time, he wonders if it amounts to anything.
- The tenth time, he asks his neighbor if he has tried it.
- The eleventh time, he wonders how the advertiser makes it pay.
- The twelfth time, he thinks it must be a good thing.
- The thirteenth time, he thinks perhaps it might be worth something.
- The fourteenth time, he remembers wanting such a thing a long time.
- The fifteenth time, he is tantalized because he cannot afford to buy it.
- The sixteenth time, he thinks he will buy it some day.
- The seventeenth time, he makes a memorandum to buy it.
- The eighteenth time, he swears at his poverty.
- The nineteenth time, he counts his money carefully.
- The twentieth time he sees the ad, he buys what it is offering.
- Thomas Smith, London, l885
One of the reasons why radio advertising and cable tv ads are so effective is the ability to reach a niche audience with a high frequency for a reasonable budget. Of course, playing the same ad over and over again won't be effective - it will mostly be annoying. They key is to be sure you are building your brand. For this to be effective, you have to focus on your consumer and make an emotional connection with them. The message and positioning is key to ensuring that the ad resonates and connects.
To learn more about the power of frequency in advertising, download the ebook on How to Build Your Brand Through Radio.
Posted by Jaci Russo
4food is a quick service restaurant concept that is launching in New York in September. Sure, it's burgers. But with a twist.
The biggest difference is the food. They are super focused on healthy natural food, you can check out their Credo to learn more about the do's and don'ts of how healthy the food is. But its not just the ingredients that make the difference. The 4food burger isn't shaped like anyone else. The meat pattie is built like a donut and the center is filled with a scoop of vegetable goodness.
Inside the restaurant is a large interactive screen that displays whenever someone checks in via Foursquare or Tweets about the restaurant. Another great interactive consumer experience is the ordering method. As Rex Sorgatz from 4food explains,
"People will be encouraged to create their orders online. Customers who create accounts on the 4Food.com website will be given simple customization offers that can produce millions of outcomes. Once a food choice is created, the customer can schedule a pick-up time. If the customer chooses to name their creation ("The Yoko Ono Burger"), they can market it and receive $.25 in store credit for every customized burger they sell."
Who doesn't want their name on a menu item - it's the ultimate status symbol. By empowering consumers to become brand advocates and spread the word they will be able to build their word of mouth quickly and make it easy for consumers to market to their circle of influence.
If you want to learn how you can use social media to build your brand, feel free to download the ebook.
Posted by Jaci Russo
It has long been a custom for companies to gift celebrities with their products in the hopes that there will be a picture of it that will make the press. This approach to 'free pr' has generated an entire business of gift bags at awards shows and gift suites during press junkets.
One of my favorite branding practices is "borrowed glory". The theory, proven true time and time again, that if a consumer has an emotional connection to a product then they will develop an emotional connection to another product that is connected to it. If an athlete wears a particular shoe then I will wear it also to play just as well. Borrowed Glory is the basis of celebrity endorsements.
Why bother, you might ask? The value of one photo of a fashion forward celebrity wearing a specific designer can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in free publicity and that can equal millions of dollars in sales. Hence the number one question at awards shows is not "how do you feel about this nomination" but "Who are you wearing".
Along comes Jersey Shore, a train wreck of a reality tv show on MTV. The female lead 'Snooki' has been seen everywhere with a Coach bag and then all of a sudden starting wearing bags from other designers. Is she now on the list of celebrities worth gifting to? Not so much. As the New York Observer explains,
"Here's the deal: Remember how Snooki, drunk or sober, was never seen without that Coach bag dangling from the crook of her arm? Snooki and her Coach were as synonymous as The Situation and his six-pack. But then the winds of change started blowing on Jersey Shore. Every photograph of Guido-huntin' Snooki showed her toting a new designer purse. Why the sudden disloyalty? Was she trading up? Was she vomiting into her purses and then randomly replacing them? The answer is much more intriguing.
Allegedly, the anxious folks at these various luxury houses are all aggressively gifting our gal Snookums with free bags. No surprise, right? But here's the shocker: They are not sending her their own bags. They are sending her each other's bags! Competitors' bags!"
This is Reverse Borrowed Glory and I think it's brand new. I've never heard of a company sending a competitor's product to a celebrity in the hopes to pre-emptively connect the two and make the competitor look bad. That is both genius and dirty pool all at the same time. I think we might have to amend our ebook on the New Rules of PR to include a chapter on this new practice.
Posted by Jaci Russo
Tune in every Monday at 5:25pm to KPEL 96.5 (listen online at www.kpel965.com) for another exciting episode of Brand Buzz. Today's topic is the Branding Power of Print.
The demise of newspapers and magazines have been predicted for years - including a few posts in this blog. Yet, they are still here, and in the case of magazines their subscription levels are actually increasing.
The publications that are still focused on quality are drawing a niche crowd interested in a particular subject.
In today's fast paced lifestyle, people are looking for opportunities to find a quiet moment and read something with depth that can't be consumed in just 200 words.
This insight provides the opportunity for an emotional connection with readers. Giving consumers the information they are seeking will provide a way to change the conversation.
This doesn't mean you can educate in your ad. Use the nature of the publication to drive awareness for your company/product while connecting emotionally with the reader.
Why? How has this once dying media begun a turn around? And more importantly how can your brand benefit?
Tune in to KPEL 96.5 (www.kpel965.com) today at 5:25pm and we will answer these question and many more. Also, be sure to download the Free Brand eBook: Branding Through Print to learn more.
Please subscribe to Razor Branding Blog by clicking the subscribe link on the top left hand side of the page. You can elect to receive Razor Branding Blog either via email or RSS reader.
Please join our Facebook page at:
Brand Buzz
KPEL
Jaci Russo
Or you can follow us on Twitter at:
KPEL
Jaci Russo
Brand Buzz is now available via podcast any time. If you would like to listen to previous episodes, you can get them here and listen on your computer or your ipod. Clicking the link will open itunes and take you to the podcast.
Posted by Jaci Russo
Forbes ranked the 20 best ever social media campiagns. The judges looked at the success of the campaign as well as the creativity and quality of the execution.
Their choice for #1 - Blair Witch Project. An independent movie that was made for a little over $20,000 and went on to gross over $250,000,000.
The list of winners is dversified and utilizes different social media tools in a variety of ways. The underlying theme throughout - strict adherence to the message. The tactics were heavily focused on the target consumer and the branding message clearly resonated.
Take a look at the winners of Forbes 20 best ever social media campaigns:
- “The Blair Witch Project”
- Blendtec: ill It Blend?
- Old Spice: “Smell Like a Man, Man.”
- Burger King: “Subservient Chicken”
- Pepsi Refresh
- VW: “Fun Theory”
- OfficeMax: “Elf Yourself”
- Evian: “Roller Babies
- Ikea: “Facebook Showroom”
- Hotmail
- Whopper Sacrifice
- Target: “Bullseye Gives”
- Vitaminwater
- Smirnoff: “Tea Par-tay”
- The Dark Knight: Why So Serious?
- Quicksilver: “Dynamic Surfing”
- Cadbury: Gorilla
- BMW: “1 Series Graffit Contest”
- Bing/Farmville
- CareerBuilder: Monk-e-Mail
Building your brand through social media can be difficult. It's easy to lose site of the message by becoming too focused on the tactic. Download this free ebook on Branding through Social Media to learn more about building an emotional connection with your consumers.
Posted by Jaci Russo
No matter what you call our current economic state - depression, recession, or slowdown - it is affecting all businesses. No matter who you blame for the current economy - government, big business, capitalism, or over inflated CEO salaries - every company runs the risk of being permanently altered. Consumers are watching every dollar they spend that much more carefully and the how much they are willing to pay for your product is completely dependent on your brand.
The perceived value and the actual shareholder value are completely controlled by the brand. The brand will protect your value in a slow economy and it can drive growth for your product.
Consumers are scared. They are scared to spend. They are scared to commit. Their insecurity is an even bigger brake than whatever began to slow the economy in the first place. The question becomes should they stick with the products they know or find a "better" option. Change is scary. And it does translate into rational decisions.
You have to focus on retaining those customers as they look for a better choice while also attracting new consumers to you. The temptation is to cut back on your advertising "to save money" and cut prices to appeal to consumers with a wandering eye. This might help in the short term, but it is definitely a recipe for disaster down the road. The damage to the brand could be irrevocable.
If you examine previous economic downturns, you will see that that there are companies who invested in their brands during economic hard times and not only retained their core audience but actually increased share. They were able to emerge stronger in the end and keep their market growth.
You must invest in brand building to win market share. If you don't see your consumers as an appreciating asset then your brand will become devalued and begin a long slide backwards.
It's a lot easier to grow sales during good times. Consumers have more money to spend and are willing to take risks on an untried product or company. They are willing to take risks. But when the economy is slow, consumers are looking for the "best value". Their spending habits change dramatically and they turn a critical eye towards the cost and the potential benefits of every purchase - no matter how small. Unless the consumer has an emotional connection to the product and they feel it is the best choice then they will move to the safer option. If you aren't the 'best value' or the 'safer option' then your product won't even be considered.
If you don't provide a clear value in the hearts and minds of consumers then you will be eliminated as an option when they begin to cut their spending. Branding is more necessary now than when times are good and sales are easy. Strong brands are built over time when promises are kept and consumers' expectations are exceeded.
Economic downturns can be the best time to build a brand. If you can connect emotionally now and really establish the bond then you will gain customers for life. As weaker companies fade, consumers that are looking to change - looking for a better solution - will turn to the company that is making the effort. They will not see the company that has cut the budget and is hiding under covers riding out the storm. You can steal your competitors' consumers.
Following the U.S. Stock Market crash of 1987, Nike tripled its marketing spend and emerged from the recession with profits nine times higher than going in. Taco Bell and Pizza Hut also took advantage of this recession, promoting themselves heavily, while the market leader McDonald’s, cut back. This investment paid off by significantly narrowing McDonald’s category lead. A recession must be viewed as an opportunity to reassess and strengthen the brand to drive the most value—spend smarter not harder.
Decisions should be focused on spending wisely, but too often companies do nothing at all. A company’s typical reaction to a slowing economy is to cut back and wait things out. Ironically, those companies end up damaging their most valuable assets—their brands. Conventional wisdom suggests that in times of recession it is better to tighten the belt and cut marketing and branding expenditures. However, when companies cut their outreach, they also begin to cut the ties that bond consumers to those brands. For smart companies, opportunity beckons.
If you wonder how much you should spend, download the free ebook on how to plan your ad budget.
A downturn represents less money in consumers’ pockets and more careful consumption habits. A slimmer budget means companies must be more effective with their branding efforts. Determine what is excess or even damaging to your brand and shed it. Use your focus and resources to strengthen your position in the market and in consumers’ eyes. As you see your competitors cutting back, recognize that now is the time to strike. If funds are too tight to make an all-out attack, cut less than your competitors. Remember, in a recession both your dollar and your message go farther.
While difficult economic conditions may be trying, it is important to stress that investing and spending are not one in the same. A company can make a significant investment with minimal spend.
There are many ways to achieve great impact with minimal or even reduced costs:
* In a recession, more effective employees can make the difference between success and failure. Implementing an internal program that encourages employees to “live the brand” brings a company together by providing clarity. This simple effort can boost employee morale and ensure that their efforts stay focused and on-brand.
* Instead of spending on typical sales promotion, spend on engagement. Exploring and exploiting different sensory inputs can lead to innovative brand signals that are less costly to implement than traditional advertising. Look for the low hanging fruit. Ask the question: “Where and how can the brand effectively get the message out?” Bang for the buck is everything.
* Negotiate! Your dollar buys more in a bad economy. You may find that you are able to negotiate longer payment terms, volume discounts or other benefits. In times of recession, most partners and vendors are open to discussion. Leverage your position properly and you could find a tight budget buys big budget returns.
* Leverage relationships and explore co-branding initiatives. Companies are cutting costs at every turn. Co-branding can reduce marketing costs while extending the brands reach by allowing unrelated brands to split the costs of marketing while gaining the competitive advantage of cross-brand endorsement.
* Price slashing may sound simple and logical, but it is a sure way to give up ground to competitors who may be more aggressive during the downturn. Price isn’t merely a reflection of quality, it’s also an indicator of it. It’s easy to rationalize that: “it drives business,” and “consumers are struggling and need the help,” but steep discounts tend to attract price-driven shoppers who aren’t likely to be loyal to your brand.
* Cement a value-based position with consumers, not a position of low price. If you can find a way to reduce costs–while maintaining quality–and you can permanently pass that price reduction on to the consumer, your brand equity will grow now and after the economy eventually rights itself. Whether in good times or bad, if you can provide enhanced value to consumers, you’re doing the right thing.
While a recession may feel like the worst time to be a marketer, it may be the best time to build brands.
When consumers trust your brand, they don’t contemplate their purchase decisions—they buy.
Posted by Jaci Russo
Tune in every Monday at 5:25pm to KPEL 96.5 (www.kpel965.com) for another exciting episode of Brand Buzz. Today's topic is the Power of Websites for Branding.
Your website is the most powerful tool in your arsenal. Think about the role it plays in the life of your consumer. 98% of all purchases are made after research online (Inc. Magazine, Jan. 2010). So 98% of the time, your consumers are going to your website to check you out. Long before they ever talk to a salesperson or visit your office or sample your product...they are already making a decision about whether or not you are worth it.
Does your website serve as your best salesperson on their best day?
Does your website answer the consumer's questions before they are asked?
Does your website provide vital information to you? Do you know who has visited? Not just how many clicks - but the name and email address of the people who check out your site.
Everyone wants to be on the first page of Google - do you know how to get there without paying for it?
Tune in to KPEL 96.5 (www.kpel965.com) today at 5:25pm and we will answer these question and many more. Also, be sure to download the Free Brand eBook: Power of Websites for Branding to learn more.
Brand Buzz is now available via podcast any time. If you would like to listen to previous episodes, you can get them here and listen on your computer or your ipod.
Please join our Facebook page at:
Brand Buzz
KPEL
Jaci Russo
Or you can follow us on Twitter at:
KPEL
Jaci Russo
Feel free to contact us if you have questions for the show. If you haven't already, please click on the subscribe link on the top left hand side of the page to receive the Razor Branding Blog either via email or RSS reader to receive daily updates and information regarding branding.
Posted by Jaci Russo
Advertising is less effective than it used to be. No doubt about it. I'm sure you remember the good old days when you could run an ad in the newspaper or on tv and immediately see a jump in sales. Those days are gone forever. The question is, why? What changed and more importantly what are we going to do about it.
Technology seems to be the reason most people believe is responsible for the change. The advent of these new technologies have changed consumer habits and that has caused traditional media to lose its potency.
Radio station salespeople attribute the decline in their listenership to CDs, iPods, satellite radio and other listening distractions. While it's true that in some markets radio listenership has declined in vehicles, it is still strong in homes and stores, and has even increased with listening at work. Overall, combined listening is only down about 5%. But the results from radio advertising is down much more.
Broadcast and Cable TV stations have lost share of audience to DVDs, TiVo and Satellite TV. But if you combine the households with Satellite TV and TiVO it's less than 20%, yet the tv audience is down more than 30%
Newspaper has probably been hit the hardest. Subscriptions to traditional newspapers are down over 50%. They are losing their audience to the online editions of their own papers as well as the other ways to consume news which are much faster than the printed newspaper that arrives the next day.
So, is technology to blame?
Is it the fault of the new technologies for stealing the attention of the audience? No.
Is it the fault of the traditional media for not being able to hold on to their audience and providing enough to keep them? No.
It's the fault of the advertisers. It's the clients and, in some cases, the ad agencies, for creating ads that aren't compelling.
Advertisers waste their time turning off the consumer by talking about themselves instead of connecting with the consumer by talking about the consumer. Advertisers who focus on themselves, their product, their sale, their company will not be able to compel a consumer to care.
The audience has dwindled. If anything there are more consumers than ever before and new ones being born each minute. But they have more choices than ever before. If you are focused on empty promises and talking about yourself you can't build a brand.
So how do you do it differently?
1. Know your consumer. Know what they care about it. Know what pain your are solving.
2. Make sure your message is real. It's something that will connect with them and that you can deliver consistently.
3. Focus on one thing. If you are promising everything and the kitchen sink then it will ring false.
4. Don't be a commodity. If you think the only way you can win their hearts is through their pocketbook then give it up. People pick a product because they have an emotional connection to it and believe it's "the best". Not because it's the cheapest.
5. Be about the benefits - not the features. Don't list the specs for your product, they can get that information online if they want it. Give them the experience.
If your message connects with the consumer then they won't change the channel. They will want to know more. They will want to connect with you on every level. They will become your brand advocates.
Don't blame their media - focus on your message. Relevance is better than repetition every day.
Posted by Jaci Russo
You can have the greatest ad with the strongest emotional appeal, yet there is no way your ad will connect with every one of your consumers. Ads are very subjective – like music or art – and certain styles and messages will be loved by some and the exact same ad will be hated by others. That is a great problem to have. If your ads are not loved by some and hated by others then your ads will not be very powerful. If they have been created with the intent to appeal to everyone then they will actually appeal to no one.
Different people prefer different things. No one is the same. And no one ad can appeal to everyone. By watering down the message, by making the ad mainstream, by writing the ad so that it doesn’t offend anyone – there is no way the ad can be strong enough to connect with anyone.
In his book Air, Water and Places, Hippocrates determined there are 4 kinds of people – Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic. Modern psychology refers to them as Expressive, Amiable, Driver and Analytical. We like to use advertising terms to describe them – Headline, Body Copy, Illustration and Logo:
- Headline – skims the headlines, doesn’t read the details, makes rapid decisions and quickly assesses the situation, very focused and driven – no time to waste
- Body Copy – needs all the details, researches for extra information, reads the fine print, occasionally suffers from analysis paralysis
- Illustration – wants to look good, needs to know how its going to make them look, usually very focused on awards and recognition, likes the newest, best, brightest
- Logo – team buy-in is important, wants to make sure that no one’s feelings are hurt, very focused on “we”
So there is no way that one ad can appeal to each of these types of people. If you try to create an ad that will appeal equally to each one then you will most definitely connect with none of them. You can’t make a song that appeals equally to country, rock, pop and rap lovers – if you Frankenstein a song with equal parts of each it will be awful. If you make a movie to appeal to the fans of romantic comedies, cartoons, horror, action and documentaries then it will be terrible. The biggest cause of most advertising failure is trying to appeal to everyone.
You have to be very targeted with the message, style and delivery so that the spot will connect with a very specific type of audience. You will know you have succeeded when some people love the spot and others hate it. By creating a series of very different ads that connect to very different types of people, then, and only then, could you appeal to everyone.
When we talk about branding, the focus is on creating an emotional connection with the consumer. That is what will drive them to respond. If your ad doesn't connect with them then they will not respond to it. I'm sure you've heard the adage that "half of your advertising is wasted, you just don't know which half". I think that comes from creating ads that only appeal to half of your audience. Change it up. Create ads that connect with different people in different way and in different media. Then you can get a better return for your investment.