Making a List

by Steve Badertscher

Are you in the habit of making a list? I have recently started to do this since the advent of creating our agency blog. Actually I make several every day, which I guess technically qualifies as lists, plural. I’ve found my lists are always a good starting point for inspiration when sitting down with pen in hand to write my blog (I know it’s more efficient to sit at the keyboard and type away, but we all have our vices).

Having said that, there are also lists that you make, not by what you physically write on paper, but by the virtue of who you are and what you do.

For example, in the “who you are” category, there are the “A” lists for extravagant celebrity parties (or at least so I’ve been told as I’ve personally never actually been on one of those lists). There are also traditional Christmas card lists, both business and personal, and who doesn’t feel good to be included on those lists of the people you like and admire (oh, and family too). And of course there is the proverbial “excrement” list, which we all try to avoid by trying not to offend people.

Now in the “what you do” category, there is the business listing list, categorized alphabetically under your industry heading in the local chamber of commerce directory. And there is the short list, which in the case of seeking new business, you hope your unique skills and qualifications land your company name among the final few.

Finally, there is a particular list that we were especially happy to have been included on this week. It's kind of a "who you are" and "what you do" combo list. It is BtoB magazine’s Top Agencies List. It’s an honor the magazine bestows upon the “best of the best” in business-to-business advertising. We feel fortunate to have once again been named one of the top agencies in America. Although we’re one of the smallest, we’re listed right there amongst all the big boys in our industry. It is the sixth time we’ve been able to celebrate this honor in recent years, and we never tire of being included. In fact, it’s one of our favorite lists to make.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/spcummings/

Fly Fishing and Marketing Communications Planning

by Steve Fodor

I was in a meeting with a client recently who said, “Marketing is like fishing. I’m going to keep throwing bait into the water until I find out what they’re biting on.”

Being a serious fly fisherman myself, I bit my tongue and replied, “Well, you shouldn’t be fishing. You should be catching.” What I was implying is that any serious fisherman devotes effort into understanding the environment they’re fishing in. What are the predominant food sources? Where is the structure that will harbor the biggest fish? What weather conditions may impact the mood of the fish?

In other words, successful fishermen do their homework so their time on the water is more productive. Yet, when it comes to planning marketing messages, so many organizations neglect their homework and, consequently, their marketing messages are far less effective. “Laundry lists” of tactics get generated before thinking about what the message should really be.

“Planning” is one of those words that we should embrace. Yet it often sends shivers up the spines of marketing executives as they envision three-day-long workshops, buzzword-spewing consultants and hefty price tags.

Planning for marketing communications -- meaning what should our message be and how can we most efficiently communicate with our audience -- really starts with answering a few simple questions:

· What do we want our audience to think, feel and do?
· Why doesn’t our audience currently think, feel or do what we desire?
· How does selecting a product offering in our category affect the lives of our audience?
· Why would they buy from us vs. someone else?
· What funds are available for communicating with our audience?

Oversimplified? Perhaps. But if you’re charged with creating and implementing the communications program for your company or organization, start with these questions. And don’t cheat yourself with simple answers. Think long and hard. Share these questions with your colleagues. After giving it some thought and some well-invested time, you’ll be thinking in terms of creating a powerful message based on emotional motivations rather than generating a “laundry list” of tactics.

Photo Credit: Trish Fodor

B2B Marcomm Agency Selection -- The Painful Learning Curve

by Brad Smith

“I’m not happy with my marketing communications agency, but I don’t have the time and energy to select and hire a new one – and then spend months training them.”

How often have I heard that? Seriously, too often.

So what does experience count for? From an agency perspective, and with the benefit of 30 or so years of 20-20 hindsight, I put the value percentages like this:

65% of a B2B agency’s experience can be put to use by just about any B2B client.

15% is new experience – learning specifically about the client’s company, products and services. This is something the best agencies approach with an energetic gusto, so the learning curve should be short.

20% of our experience is relative to a client’s specific market(s) or industry(s). That’s really valuable, because this is where clients experience the most painful learning curve. Or teaching curve, if you will.

So if you’re tasked with hiring a marketing communications agency, be aware that great marketing strategy, and great creative, starts with a great understanding of your audience.

Let me know if you see the numbers adding up this way.

Flickr Photo Credit: (cwPhotography) http://www.flickr.com/photos/lipsss/

Show, Don't Tell

by Steve Badertscher

There is a church in our community well known for their unique Easter tradition. That is, they celebrate the events surrounding the crucifixion in a very dramatic and memorable way. During Holy Week, many churches incorporate clever wording on their message boards to remind us that Jesus died for us. This particular church draws attention to the events of the crucifixion on an entirely different level. Let me explain.

According to scripture, following his death, Jesus’ body was removed from the cross and buried in a rock-hewn tomb. And on the third day, Jesus rose again from the dead. So to dramatically tell the story of the historic event, the church reenacts this scene in the front yard of their church. For 3 days and 3 nights, two congregation members dress as Roman soldiers, complete with helmets and spears, and stand guard at the huge stone covering the entrance of the symbolic tomb they have created.

What captures your attention is the fact that these two “soldiers” are live human beings who painstakingly stand vigil not only during the day, but throughout the night as well. All while “dressed” in the attire of the period (read: no Carhartts). Anyone who has experienced April weather in Ohio knows that the days are often cold (and the nights even colder), especially when it’s raining. Often times 30 mile per hour winds accompany the rain (or sleet). Ironically, the inclement weather adds to the dramatic impact of the event, as you can’t help but have empathy for the wet, shivering soldiers. (Love thine enemies?)

And when the stone is rolled away and the guards are conspicuously absent in front of the empty tomb on Easter morning, it visually punctuates the message to every passerby that “He is risen” in a way words can not.

Observing this awesome display this past week somehow made me think about how marketing communications messages could be delivered with similar impact. Not being delivered by Roman soldiers, per say, but by being visually dynamic. By showing the story.

How about you?

Are there ways to better demonstrate what you’re trying to communicate on your Web site via video versus just writing about it? In other words, show the prospect what you’re trying to communicate as opposed to telling them.

For example, could you demonstrate that your product gets the work done in half the time of your competition by showing split-screen video comparisons in real time? Instead of talking about your product being tough and impact resistant, could you demonstrate the same by having trade show attendees throw baseballs at your product samples on the trade show floor?

The next time you need to tell a prospect something, think of potential ways you might demonstrate the information visually, instead. Show, don’t tell. It might just have more impact.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/frield/

Benefits in Advertising (or, I wish Aristotle was the copywriter)

by Steve Fodor

Did you ever see an ad and ask yourself, “What were they thinking?”

I saw an ad recently for a fishing reel (big surprise coming from me.) The name of the company, ironically, is U.S. Reel. The headline in the ad reads, “Designed in the Midwest and Manufactured in the Far East.” I showed the ad to a few of my colleagues and they had the same “what were they thinking” reaction I did.

How can “Manufactured in the Far East” be a customer benefit when one of the biggest issues facing our economy is the loss of U.S. jobs to low-cost, overseas labor? Maybe the people at U.S. Reel thought this message implied quality (designed in the U.S.) and affordability (made in the Far East.) Maybe that’s the logic behind that headline. But it sure isn’t the emotional reaction I had to their ad.

The point is: It doesn’t matter if you like your advertising. It only matters if your customers do.

Ranking benefits with customers is not hard or even a terribly expensive thing to do. Having worked with many companies on their advertising messages, people often think that message research and confirmation involves a long and expensive series of focus groups. Focus groups can be of value. But, by their nature, they tend to generally produce rationalized responses from customers. There are other research methods that can quickly get at both the rational and emotional responses to advertising benefits.

Now, someone reading this might say, “Well, you remembered the ad, the headline, the company and even the implied benefit. The ad did its job.” Yes, I remember everything about the rational benefits of the ad. Even some of the specific product features. But what I remember more is the emotional reaction I had to this ad. As Aristotle once said, “You persuade people through their emotions. Not their intellect.”

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/albany_tim/