BADitude

Is the quest for search engine optimization making your brand “generic?”

2011-05-17T17:05:00.003-04:00

By Steve Fodor

Is it more important for your brand to be found by search engines, or to portray your brand in a way that makes it stand out? The answer, of course, is both. But the quest for writing SEO-friendly headlines and content may be diminishing your brand’s unique position and point of view.

The foundation of successful marketing communications is telling a compelling story about your brand based on information about the consumer. It’s about understanding the emotional experience the consumer or end-user is seeking, and then crafting a story about how your brand delivers an experience that no other competing brand can match.

In today’s data-driven, online media environment, storytelling and consumer information is often interpreted as meaning “cookie data” rather than understanding and responding to the emotional experience a consumer is seeking. Copywriters and content creators are challenged with creating headlines and content comprised of SEO-powered words, often at the expense of creative storytelling.

No one knew how to tell a brand story based on emotional appeal better than advertising legend David Ogilvy, in my humble opinion. Consider some of his more exceptional brand storytelling efforts. “At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock.” With that headline, Rolls-Royce owned the experience of “uncompromising luxury and quality” without having to pound a list of SEO-powered benefit words into the readers’ heads. The readers reach the conclusion about the brand themselves. For SEO purposes, that ad for Rolls-Royce might need to say, “Luxury cars, exceptional quality from Rolls-Royce.” That might make the message more SEO-friendly, but the story loses a lot of its appeal. Or take Dove Soap. “Darling, I’m having the most extraordinary experience” was the headline of a Dove soap ad from Ogilvy. That tells an emotionally-driven, experiential brand story in a much more interesting way than, “Germ-free, moisturizing soap for sensitive skin,” which is probably how someone would do an online search.

Some in the business of marketing content creation believe the “art” of crafting a brand message has been lost because of today’s online, data-driven media environment. The quest for search engine optimization has forced developers of marketing messages to focus on keywords and cookie data rather than creative storytelling, often portraying brands in more “generic” ways. Perhaps. But the true art of branding and storytelling is balancing creativity and consumer-based content creation with the rules of being found online. A task that’s much easier said than done. After all, if it doesn’t sell, it ain’t creative.

Advertising Creative Credit:David Ogilvy

The New Four “Ps” of Marketing

2011-05-17T16:55:00.005-04:00

By Brad Smith

Remember from Marketing 101 the basics of the marketing craft – the Four Ps?

Product, Price, Promotion and Place (distribution)? I hope they still teach this. They’re as relevant today as they ever were.

But time marches on. Enter the age of technology and its impact on the third P. (That’s Promotion for those of you keeping score at home). With the almighty website as the hub of all things promotional, a whole new set of four Ps is taking shape.

Platforms – PC, Phone and Pad

What technologies will prospects and customers use to access your website in the future? While no one knows when, it’s pretty clear that there are two new emerging platforms that are likely to outpace the Personal Computer in the not too distant future – the Phone and the Pad.

Some reports say that over half of the Internet access will be from smart phones by 2015. Some say 2013. Some people say next year. Then there are the new pads, or tablet computers, a new space all of the major computer manufacturers are jumping into fast.

So what’s the savvy company to do? Invest now in the reconstruction of the crown jewel of their marketing ─ their website ─ to maximize visitor experience in all three major platforms. Why wait? Every visitor to your website who can’t read it on their Droid or iPhone is a lost prospect. They’ve branded you as “old” and they probably won’t be back.

For starters, make sure your site can resize for smaller screens by using “Cascading Style Sheets” (CSS) programming. Depending on the platform, the CSS will resize elements within your site and display your page accordingly. Things you want easily seen, like your navigation buttons, are automatically resized to maximize navigation legibility and functionality on all three platforms.

If your platform of choice has an “i” in front of it, as in iPad or IPhone, forget about picking up Flash technology. Reason enough not to use it on your website. Programming and code can replace much of the wow-factor of Flash (as well as some other alternatives).

There’s much more to consider (isn’t there always?). But the whole point is to prepare your marketing efforts now to work well for you for the longest time period possible.

Don’t Procrastinate. Be a Player in your industry. Envision the Possiblities that new technologies can give your company. All by all means, Profit from the new 4Ps.

Flickr Photo Credit: issyeyre

Integrated Communications Still Vital for B2B Marketers.

2011-05-10T11:24:00.002-04:00

By Steve Fodor

Business-to-business companies are dedicating more and more marketing funds to online marketing, SEO strategies and social mediums like Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube. Some in the industrial marketing sector have even coined the term “SMO” (social media optimization) which refers to the integration of social media and search engine optimization.

But even though the media landscape has changed dramatically in just a few short years, should B2B industrial companies put all or even most of their marketing efforts into just SEO or SMO strategies? There’s no doubt that investments in SEO, SMO and content development strategies will help more customers and prospects find your Web site, but consider these media usage statistics before you put all of your eggs in the online basket.

More than 50 percent of companies today are blocking access to social media in the workplace. Why? It has to do with productivity. A recent study showed that up to two hours per day per employee are lost due to social media, and 87 percent of employees said they had “no clear business reason” for using social media in the workplace.

A 2010 study from Palo Alto Networks, a network security firm, revealed that at least 88 percent of traffic on social media sites like Facebook and LinkedIn comes from users simply reading their own personal pages. That’s a lot of checking to see if anyone has “liked” my latest status update.

Please don’t get me wrong here. I am all for B2B industrial marketers utilizing online video and social media marketing to develop thought leadership positioning and for raising search engine rankings. But, I also believe that the usage habits and true role of social media marketing is still being defined for B2B marketers. I still have yet to see a bona fide case study with a measureable ROI for social media marketing in the B2B space.

Social media, online marketing and content development strategies most definitely have their place in the marketing mix for B2B industrial companies. But it’s estimated that 75 to 80 percent of people find Web sites through “other” marketing mediums like print, direct mail, and personal contact (i.e. – trade shows). No matter how much things change, an integrated marketing communications strategy is still vital.

Flickr Photo Credit: ivanpw

Boosting Online Presence for B2B Marketers on a Budget.

2011-05-03T11:09:00.003-04:00

By Steve Fodor.

I don’t pretend to know everything, but I know one thing to be true: B2B marketers today need to boost their online presence with less funds, fewer people and in an ever-increasingly cluttered online environment.

What’s the point of having invested in a Web site if it does not get found? Or if it doesn’t sell? Content development strategies continue to grow as a way for increasing SEO and telling a brand story. And it’s a great strategy, if you have the time, people and resources to do it. A recent study points out that 60% of B2B companies have no marketing staff dedicated to content development, and 24% of companies have only one person dedicated to the task.

So what to do? A colleague of mine and I were discussing this dilemma the other day. The problem we’re trying to solve is: how can we create greater online presence for a client with minimal funds and not enough resources to really implement a content development strategy? Here’s some food for thought.

Give your Web site a “call to action.” - So many Web sites are basically, well, online brochures. If I come to the site once, I’ve seen about everything there is to see. Your Web site…regardless of industry… must first and foremost sell your products or services. Call-to-action specials, sweepstakes, promotions and “new” items that are available should be seen in a big and bold way. It’s easy and relatively inexpensive to frequently feature new items and promotions with calls to action on your home page.

Better yet, create micro sites for specific promotions. – Adding micro sites to support specific product or service specials and/or new promotions puts new content out there to be found, and can be created at a fraction of the cost of a new Web site.

Expand your presence through promotion on third-party e-newsletters. – Third party e-newsletters are often overlooked when developing online media strategies. But, just about every industry has online newsletters authored by credible industry experts. They usually are opt-in (meaning people actually request the content) and present promotional opportunities at a fraction of the cost of other more “mainstream” venues. In our experience, we’ve actually seen some online newsletters perform better than established publication Web sites.

These are a few ideas a B2B marketer can do today and on a relatively small budget to boost online presence. We call making the most of available marketing funds our Industrial-Strength Marketing® approach. Having been in business since 1985 and working exclusively with B2B marketers, we know that just throwing money at a marketing problem is not always possible (or advisable). We have a few more Industrial-Strength ideas to share. If you’ve got a few, let us know.

Flickr Photo Credit:28 misguided souls

The need for content is driving marketing.

2011-04-22T10:53:00.002-04:00

By Steve Fodor.

“The biggest challenge is the mentality shift within marketing organizations. Marketing execs are always in the mind set of selling product. But we need to think and act like magazine editors. This type of thinking and approach is new.”

That’s not a quote from me, although I agree with it 100 percent. It’s a quote from an article titled, “Content needs drive organizational changes.”

Developing content that customers and prospects are seeking has become the new lifeblood of marketing. The need for content development is the result of the changing paradigm of sales. It used to be that the media controlled information and sales took the form of “going out and hunting.” Now, marketers can control information, bypass the media and invite prospects in through SEO strategies.

Sounds, easy, right? Well, apparently not.

Over the last few months, I’ve seen, heard and read about two very BIG NEEDS in the marketing world. First is the need for tighter alignment between sales and marketing. One source cited that only eight percent of companies feel that marketing departments are in touch with customers. Second is the need for developing relevant content that meets the unmet information needs of customers and prospects. Personally, I think these two needs are really one in the same.

Developing content in the form of Web site copy, blogs, videos and white papers takes time, talent and, most of all, people dedicated to the task. Companies typically look for content development insights by monitoring key words and search phrases and through Web analytics. But, here’s another suggested method for determining the direction of your content development strategy: know thy customer. Whatever happened to good, old-fashioned field research where marketing people actually went out into the field, talked to end-users and the distribution channel and asked questions? Or (and don’t make a gasping sound here) actually interviewed field sales and customer service for content development topics? After all, sales and customer service are on the front lines. And, judging by the two biggest marketing needs I keep hearing over and over again, I would suggest it’s a sensible place to start.

We call our roll-up-your-sleeves process of getting out into the field to identify unmet information needs and then creating and delivering desired content “Sales Diagnostics.”

What’s your strategy for developing content?

Flickr Photo Credit: MatthewRad

Politics and Media.

2011-04-19T17:43:00.005-04:00

By Steve Fodor

I’m writing this at 9:45 a.m. on April 7, 2011. Other than getting up for coffee, I haven’t left my desk.

As usual per my morning routine, I checked on some news sources via the internet. I also reviewed my professional groups on LinkedIn and a few trade publications.

This morning, I’ve come to the conclusion that politics and the changing media environment are alike. Why’s that? Because both so-called “new” and “old” marketing mediums are desperately vying for attention and legitimacy the way politicians do.

As I’m writing this, we are one day away from the federal government shutting down because of budget disagreements. I’ve seen and heard all the politicians shift blame and proclaim there is no viable solution or point of view other than “their own.”

I’ve also read the following this morning regarding marketing and media:

Traditional, interruption-based marketing is dead (pro “new” media)

Print advertising is still relevant (pro “old” media)

Spending on inbound marketing should be three times as much as outbound marketing (pro “new” media)

Nine out of 10 adults average 43 minutes reading the publication of their choice (pro “old” media)

The average budget spent on social media and company blogs has doubled from 2008 to 2011 (pro “new” media)

Can anyone provide a real case history with a real ROI on marketing via social media (pro “old” media)

It seems like the back and forth battle of “I’m right, you’re wrong” among politicians is similar to the back and forth battle for relevancy among marketing mediums. Both politicians and marketing mediums are working very hard these days to confirm their relevancy and imply that they provide the “best” solution.

Politics and media are alike. What you hear from any one of them is usually slanted and based on furthering their particular agenda. We have a two-party system in this county because there is no one “best” solution. Integrated points of view benefit society as a whole. And just as we have a two-party system to create integration, a sound marketing and media strategy is most often based on an integrated approach, as well.

Do you agree?

Flickr Photo Credit: DWallis

You’re still right, David Ogilvy.

2011-04-04T15:10:00.002-04:00

By Steve Fodor.

I decided to go into advertising when I was introduced to David Ogilvy. Not literally introduced. I read his book, Ogilvy On Advertising, during my younger, more impressionable years.

Now, though I say David Ogilvy created quite an impression on me, I don’t really have much in common with the man. He was suave and referred to as a “gentleman with brains.” I’m, well, not referred to in that way. I don’t smoke a pipe or drive a Rolls Royce or own a chateau in France, either.

How would David Ogilvy, a man who arguably knew more about crafting and creating brand appeal than any other adman to don a grey flannel suit, fair in today’s world? Would his principles and techniques for creating “advertising that sells” persuade today’s information-intensive buyers?

Consider these two thoughts from Mr. Ogilvy…

“I run the risk of being denounced by the idiots who hold that any advertising technique which has been in use for more than two years is ipso facto obsolete.” David Ogilvy uttered this quote in 1953 when TV was changing how society lives and interacts with media. I interpret David Ogilvy as implying that it’s the message, not the medium or the communication tactics, that sell. Without a well-crafted message that connects with the audience you’re trying to persuade, the medium is, well, irrelevant.

“Body copy is seldom read by more than 10 percent of the people. But that 10 percent consists of prospects – people interested enough in what you’re selling to take the trouble to read about it. Don’t be afraid to write long copy. It actually attracts more readers than short copy.” I recently had a discussion with someone who insisted that today’s viewers of Web sites, blogs and social media don’t take the time to read long copy. This person insisted that today’s consumer will only read “short, bullet-point” text. I would contend that today’s viewers of Web sites, blogs and social media are actually seeking even more information, and long copy (provided it is of relevance to the reader) will be appreciated and read more than “bullet points” that don’t really tell a story.

Media will keep changing. How we communicate with one another will keep evolving. But we’re still in the business of trying to persuade human beings through well-crafted messages. I think you’re still right, Mr. Ogilvy.

Photo Credit: www.advertisinghalloffame.org

Another case for direct mail.

2011-03-31T10:24:00.006-04:00

By Steve Fodor

Pick up any trade magazine from the marketing world and you’ll read about how social media is the “latest and greatest,” even in the B2B world. A recent conversation on LinkedIn even asked, “Is social media overtaking marketing?” No doubt, social media presents B2B and B2C marketers with dynamic venues for optimizing search results and developing conversations with customers.

But, even in the new media world, “old” and proven communications venues still have their place. I’ve always been a fan of direct mail…done right. I’m not of fan of postcards and letters that are not personalized or do not have a relevant offering (I’m also not a fan of push email, either, for the same reasons). Direct mail, when done right, is engaging. Human beings are tactile creatures and direct mail can involve the senses. Direct mail can be read in a more passive environment, which is especially advantageous if you’re selling a technical or information-intensive product or service. Direct mail can (and should be) entertaining and visually interesting. And, with creative use of different paper stocks and printing techniques (remember printing?), direct mail can create brand ambience.

I opened my mailbox the other night and found a nice direct mail piece from a financial planning organization. Actually, the mailing was addressed to my wife, but I was so intrigued by a three-dimensional direct mail piece that I had to open it to see what it was. It’s engaging. It’s interactive. It presents information in a way that’s easy to understand and makes good use of a three-dimensional visual device (the spinning wheel). All in all, it delivers an effective and informative marketing message that got my attention.

Another good use of direct mail is something we did for one of our B2B clients (see photo above). It’s for a new kind of slip -resistant flooring that’s applicable in the trucking industry, as well as many other industries. The marketing challenge is that the product is “alien,” according to the marketing manager. With our help, we put together a targeted mailing list, an engaging three-dimensional mailer that tells the story, and these are being mailed to select prospects with a follow-up call for a personal visit.

We see social media continuing to evolve in the B2B marketing world. It’s a big part of what we do and we’re working with clients to expand how they use and think about social media to tell their brand stories. But, don’t overlook the power of so-called “old school” mediums. The right tool used in the right situation will still work wonders, no matter how old it is.

Photo Credit: Badertscher Communications

Just what do marketing people really do?

2011-03-31T09:51:00.002-04:00

By Steve Fodor

Do a Google search on “bringing marketing and sales together” and you’ll get a plethora of content. Sales and marketing working in sync seems to be on the minds of a lot of folks these days, begging the question, just what do marketing people really do?

Forrester Research conducted a study of B2B companies recently and found that only eight percent reported “tight alignment” between sales and marketing. Forrester Research noted that “too often, marketing does not have a deep enough understanding of the buyer’s needs because they don’t have enough interaction with buyers themselves.”

Having spent most of the past 20 years of my life in the agency business working for clients looking to create stronger brand connections with customers, I have to say these findings about sales and marketing do not surprise me. I have on a number of occasions tried to get insights into why customers buy or don’t buy by going through marketing only to hear, “we’re too busy to get out in the field and learn about our customers.” On another occasion, when working as a district sales manager for a safety products company and attending a sales meeting, I was flabbergasted when the marketing director said during her presentation that she “wasn’t aware” of a new marketing communications campaign that was launched by a primary competitor (at that moment, I could see the gap between sales and marketing getting even bigger).

I’ve always been of the opinion that marketing starts with understanding the customer. If marketing people are not out in the field talking with customers about how they get information, how they would like to get information, and what type of information they find most useful, what’s the point of marketing? We call the process of understanding how B2B customers make purchasing decisions and how they would like and need to be communicated with Sales Diagnostics ^TM. There’s nothing “magical” about it. Sales Diagnostics is the process of getting out into the field to meet with end-users and channel members to uncover their needs, and then develop sales and communications strategies to meet those needs. Yet, apparently, from all the recent uproar over the disconnect between sales and marketing, it sounds as though a lot of marketing departments are not partaking in this seemingly simple task. It seems more like a lot of marketing people are staying busy in meetings talking about everything except customers’ needs.

Agree? Have a different point of view on how to bring sales and marketing together? Let us know.

Flickr Photo Credit: HIRAOKA, Yasunobu

An “education” in developing a marketing message.

2011-03-16T10:34:00.002-04:00

By Steve Fodor

In a posting about a year ago, I said that I don’t believe in focus groups as a research methodology for developing a marketing message strategy. And I still don’t. Focus groups are great for learning about opinions, but are often of little value for finding that emotional “hook” for a message that will connect with your target audience.

For finding and developing a message strategy that will connect with customers, we utilize a technique we call Benefit Galvanizing ^TM. It takes place in a one-on-one setting where a subject is presented with various benefit “statements” that cover a gamut of topics and potential message approaches. Respondents are asked to “react” to each statement (an emotional response) and then rank each statement from most favorable to least favorable (a rational processing of information). That’s precisely how the brain processes information, and it’s why the most effective and memorable marketing messages connect first on an emotional level and then present rational reasons (support).

Recently, we got to practice what we preach. Our local United Way in Marion County, Ohio came to us for help in developing a marketing message to promote education in our community. Though we specialize in business-to-business marketing communications, we’ve been more than glad to help the United Way of Marion County on many occasions over our 25 years in business. Developing a marketing message to promote education is kind of a broad and ambiguous challenge. We needed to find that emotional “hook” that would make a marketing campaign get noticed and connect with students and parents on an emotional level. We’ve always heard things like, “If you don’t work hard at school, you’ll never get a good job.” Or, “If you want a big house and a cool car, you need to work hard in school.”

To some degree, there’s truth in these things we’ve always been told about education. Why, then, don’t more students and parents listen to this seemingly sage advice? Because they’re tuning it out. It’s not connecting. It’s lacking that emotional “hook.” What we found through our Benefit Galvanizing message research is that students and parents really see education as a possession that will provide value over the course of their lives. An education is something no one can ever take away. Education represents hope in an ever-increasingly uncertain world. It’s so much more than just getting “a good job” or obtaining personal possessions. Really, education is something that’s yours. For life.

We’re about to launch this campaign in Marion, Ohio. As far as we know, Marion, Ohio is the only community to combine both programmatic and marketing strategies to help improve educational performance. This is an incredibly worthy cause, and we’re proud to be associated with it.

Education. Yours. For Life. is copyright and logo is registered trademark of Badertscher Communications, Inc.

Marketing technical products is not necessarily “rocket science.”

2011-03-07T18:15:00.003-05:00

By Steve Fodor

“You only have one chance to make a first impression.” I don’t know who originally said that, but it’s one of my favorite quotes because it’s true in life…and in marketing. Especially when marketing highly technical products.

As a marketing communications and public relations firm specializing in business-to-business message and content development, we work with clients who make and market highly technical products. Sometimes we have to “push back” a little when our clients get too wrapped up in their own products’ technological features. Will technological features alone really capture the attention of an engineer or buyer of technological products?

It is true that engineers will use three-or four-word long tail phrases when searching online for a product solution. Engineers (as a breed, if you will) are information junkies. They usually have a precise set of criteria in mind when they conduct a search. But, just because engineers are information junkies doesn’t mean they’re not people, too, with emotions like humor, empathy and intrigue. The temptation when creating content for marketing technical products is to create content that reads like a technical “white paper.” That may make you, the marketer, “feel good,” but not necessarily the buyer. Your first impression on a potential buyer is what they will remember and be captivated by, be it content presented in a blog, an online ad, online video or via social media. If you don’t captivate your audience with a memorable and interesting message presentation, all that technical data you’ve worked to create in the “technical library section” of your Web site may not even get seen by the engineering audience you’re trying to reach and motivate.

Even though the mediums for marketing communications have dramatically evolved and changed, the classic selling model for business-to-business marketing still holds true: interest from a buyer leads to a quest for more information, ultimately resulting in a feeling of trust which leads to a sale. Unfortunately, far too many marketers overlook that first and most critical step: create interest. If you don’t make an interesting and memorable first impression on your Web site or in any of your other content development and marketing communications strategies, you may never get to that second step with a buyer: the quest for more information. You do only have one chance to make a first impression when marketing technical products to engineers. Make it an interesting and memorable one.

Flickr PhotoCredit:cliff1066

It’s the Message, Not the Media. (Don’t Let Social Media Take Undue Credit)

2011-02-15T11:29:00.010-05:00

by Brad Smith

Recent headline: “Egyptian Revolution takes just 18 days thanks to social media.”

True, but not entirely. If you take this at face value, you’re missing the big picture. Communication, not the conduit, is what’s to thank. The message delivered, not the media channel, is what made it all possible.

By way of example, think about the message that galvanized the American Revolution. It took years to come to fruition at a time when messages were passed on by word of mouth or printed on pamphlets (on scarce printing presses) and delivered by riders on horseback up and down the east coast…over and over again, for years on end. Imagine what Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and Thomas Paine could have accomplished in short order if they’d been able to take their message to the majority of the colonists almost instantaneously. Imagine if their words, thoughts and ideas had been pushed out to friends and passed along on Facebook and Twitter. We’d have booted King George in weeks, not years. Because of the message, not the media.

Point is, it’s not social media that’s solely changing the world as we know it. Behind this new stardom is the real power – the power of communication. The power of capturing with clarity a compelling idea(s) and delivering it to a mass audience with the intent of spurring them on to action. Social media may get the message out a whole lot faster, but if the message isn’t poignant, it’s as moving as what Lady Gaga had for breakfast this morning.

But wait just a minute. Isn’t that message thing the essence of branding? Isn’t that what I’ve been doing my entire career? Isn’t that what I’ve been calling “marketing communications” all of these years?

So the essence of marketing really hasn’t changed. When you’re thinking about your own marcomm efforts, think message first, and media second. Or to paraphrase using today’s parlance, it’s the content that counts.

I used to think of “mass communications” as TV, radio and newspaper. Now it’s time to add one more. The new shining star in mass communications is called “social media.”

Feel free to use it – it’s practically free. But don’t forget the message – it’s more important than the media, no matter what the price.

Flickr Photo Credit: colindunn

Snow & Steady

2011-02-01T13:13:00.007-05:00

By Steve Badertscher

While driving, um… make that “sliding” into work today, I was thinking “arrive alive” on more than one occasion. Today’s icy road conditions had me convinced I was actually auditioning for a role in an upcoming episode of Ice Road Truckers instead of making the commute to the office. While scanning through radio channels in an effort to catch a weather report, I heard an interesting statement. I’ll get back to that statement shortly.

But first, let me say driving in snow is something we Ohioans learn to do at an early age. We also learn to shovel sidewalks, scrape ice off of windshields, shovel driveways, etc. Don’t get me wrong, snow also provides us with the opportunity to learn how to do fun things such as building snow men, sled riding, snow skiing, etc. Depending on your outlook, and skill level, driving falls somewhere in the middle between pain and pleasure.

Learning to drive in snow takes patience and practice. There is plenty of practical advice available that is helpful, too. But it takes time to learn and memorize a set of detailed instructions that need to become second nature in quick order if you plan to spend winters driving in the Buckeye state.

For example, I found the following detailed information in an article titled “Driving in Snow and Ice” from The Weather Channel site, www.weather.com

Driving safely on icy roads

Decrease your speed and leave yourself plenty of room to stop. You should allow at least three times more space than usual between you and the car in front of you.
Brake gently to avoid skidding. If your wheels start to lock up, ease off the brake.
Turn on your lights to increase your visibility to other motorists.
Keep your lights and windshield clean.
Use low gears to keep traction, especially on hills.
Don't use cruise control or overdrive on icy roads.
Be especially careful on bridges, overpasses and infrequently traveled roads, which will freeze first. Even at temperatures above freezing, if the conditions are wet, you might encounter ice in shady areas or on exposed roadways like bridges.
Don't pass snow plows and sanding trucks. The drivers have limited visibility, and you're likely to find the road in front of them worse than the road behind.
Don't assume your vehicle can handle all conditions. Even four-wheel and front-wheel drive vehicles can encounter trouble on winter roads.

If your rear wheels skid...

Take your foot off the accelerator.
Steer in the direction you want the front wheels to go. If your rear wheels are sliding left, steer left. If they're sliding right, steer right.
If your rear wheels start sliding the other way as you recover, ease the steering wheel toward that side. You might have to steer left and right a few times to get your vehicle completely under control.
If you have standard brakes, pump them gently.
If you have anti-lock brakes (ABS), do not pump the brakes. Apply steady pressure to the brakes. You will feel the brakes pulse — this is normal.

If your front wheels skid...

Take your foot off the gas and shift to neutral, but don't try to steer immediately.
As the wheels skid sideways, they will slow the vehicle and traction will return. As it does, steer in the direction you want to go. Then put the transmission in "drive" or release the clutch, and accelerate gently.

Some very good detailed advice indeed! Every point made is a good one. However, if I’m an inexperienced driver attempting to navigate through snow for the very first time, this check list might seem a bit overwhelming.

This brings me back to the statement I heard on the radio. It summed up the 16 detailed points made above in one memorable concept. It communicated all of that information in one sentence. And here it is:

“Drive like you have a cup of coffee sitting on your dashboard.”

Simple? Yes! More importantly, memorable? Absolutely!

It’s also a great example of the way you should look at your advertising messages. We still see way too many B2B marketers trying to list every detailed bullet point in their advertising at the expense of having their key message or selling proposition being missed or overlooked.

So sit back with a nice steaming hot cup ‘o joe today and think about how you might boil your complex advertising messages down into one simple, memorable concept. And if you need a hand in that, I’ll gladly put down the snow shovel to assist you!

Flickr Photo Credit: Melissa Gray

Why a blog strategy for vertical, business-to-business marketing?

2011-01-19T13:24:00.004-05:00

by Steve Fodor

“Our markets are vertical. We know most of the prospect companies by name. Why should we bother with a blog strategy?”

As a marketing communications firm that specializes in business-to-business marketing, search engine optimization and public relations, we sometimes hear comments like these. Why, if you’re marketing to a well-defined, vertical segment, would you undertake a blog strategy? Three reasons come to mind.

First, for search engine optimization. Just because your market segment(s) may be relatively small does not mean you should discount the importance of search engine page rankings. Blogs help perform the critical function of improving organic page rankings. Blogs in tandem with other mediums and targeted user groups (like those found through LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter) add even more to search engine optimization.

Second, blogs provide a thought leadership position for your brand. Industrial marketers need to think like publishers and generate content (in written as well as video format) that customers and prospects are seeking. If requests from customers and prospects usually start with “give us a price bid,” you’re probably missing opportunities to explain through a blog strategy the true value you offer: intelligence about your product or category that makes your customers look like heroes.

And third, to become a curator of information for your market segment(s). The Internet continues to be populated with more and more content. So much content, in fact, that finding exactly what’s needed through a simple Google search can sometimes produce an overwhelming amount of information. Wouldn’t it be better for customers and prospects to think of your brand as the only place they need to go to get the answers they’re seeking?

Yet another reason for a implementing a blog strategy crosses over to direct sales. Do your sales efforts consist of continually following up with prospects while nurturing them from prospects to customers? If so, salespeople can e-mail prospects the links to relevant blogs as a way to continue the nurturing process and reinforce a thought leadership position.

If you’re marketing to vertical, business-to-business market segments, a blogging strategy presents a targeted, cost-efficient way to improve search engine optimization, nurture selling efforts and elevate the perceived value of your brand above just a “product offering at a price.” Of course, developing relevant content for a blogging strategy takes time and resources, some research, and an understanding of the unmet information needs of your target audience. And that’s exactly how we are helping business-to-business marketers today.

Flickr Photo Credit:digitalrob70

Web Sites and Reese's Cups

2011-01-07T17:19:00.005-05:00

by Steve Fodor

Remember the old jingle for Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups? “Two great things that go great together.”

We’ve embarked on a new client relationship here at Badertscher Communications that has made that jingle run through my head (aside from making me crave the taste of peanut butter and chocolate together).

We have an assignment to develop a new Web site for a new client. So what, you may say. Well, the reason this assignment is particularly sweet is because we’re working in seamless collaboration with the client’s network administrator. It’s almost like he’s a part of our staff on this new assignment. We’re able to do what we do best – create and promote a new Web site design and brand presence for a client. And the client’s network administrator can do what he does best – build a Web site platform with the latest content management tools. The result will be a new Web site that allows our client to be a curator of information and content…with the benefits of cost and time savings.

The reason we’re so jazzed about this relationship is because we see it as a prime example of the way client-agency relationships are evolving for the better. Agencies are content developers. Or, said another way, agencies are expert at bringing a brand story to life with words, pictures, sounds and designs. Though most full-services agencies (ourselves included) have Web developers on staff, an agency’s culture is usually driven by creativity and content development. Many clients, on the other hand, have invested in information technology and in people that can manage all the technological “back end” stuff of Web sites and content management. When an agency can marry its talents and expertise with the talents and expertise of the client’s people, a working arrangement develops where brand stories can be developed and told with more creative excitement.

Economically, times are still tough. Many companies have put off updating their online presence or have deferred new content development strategies because of costs. But, when an agency and client can work closely together and focus on doing what each does best, something pretty sweet can develop. Actually, that’s exactly the way we like to work here.

Flickr Photo Credit: kimberlykv

Politics as Unusual

2010-10-29T16:57:00.010-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

I can’t wait for next Tuesday to come and go. And it has nothing to do with who wins or loses, but everything to do with ending the madness of political advertising for awhile. The sheer volume of political ads has been annoying, at best. But what I’ve noticed with each passing year is how negative, bitter and untruthful the messages have become. While watching a ball game the other evening I was subjected to dozens of consecutive commercials, none of which ever mentioned one redeeming quality about the candidate sponsoring the spot…only negative accusations and spins about their opponent’s shortcomings.

I started thinking, how different things would be if companies took that approach to their advertising? Instead of touting your safety advancements and track record as an auto maker, for example, Volvo might dredge up a compromising and unflattering photo of a top level executive at Toyota, and add a few strategic sound bites (taken out of context, of course) that when edited together proclaim “safety is an expensive proposition and cuts into our profit margins” and attribute it to him. That video might dissolve into a gruesome photo from a crash scene of their competitor’s car all mangled up with large graphics touting the number of drivers/passengers killed while driving the competitor’s car that year, etc. Taking the tone of current political ads, there probably would be some reference made to Pearl Harbor.

Sickening? Yes. Absurd? You betcha. But I guess that is the same way I feel about the vast majority of the current political “advertisements” (A better description would be propaganda).

What’s your take on this?

Flickr Photo Credit: Theresa Thompson

What’s Your Reputation Worth?

2010-04-30T16:34:00.005-04:00

by Steve Fodor

When you get right down to it, all you have in life are your word and your reputation. Hopefully, both are seen in a positive light by people you associate with.

With all the Wall Street distrust and fallout, Tiger Woods and Toyota publicity in recent months, company reputation has become a popular topic in corporate boardrooms. I read recently that The Reputation Institute, a private consulting firm, conducted nearly 25,000 online interviews asking people their perceptions regarding the reputations of the nation’s largest (by revenue) 150 companies. The survey measured factors such as products and services, innovation, corporate citizenship and leadership. Respondents were asked to provide rankings on a scale from 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest or best score.

To be honest, the results were not too surprising to me. Brands like Johnson & Johnson, Walt Disney, UPS and Kraft Foods were at the top of the list. I’m not surprised because these are brands that invest heavily in promoting their brand image. I’ve also always had great experiences with these top brands. Also of little surprise, financial institutions and large banks were scraping the bottom of the barrel in terms of perceived reputation.

What I did find interesting, though, was a statistic put forth by The Reputation Institute regarding their study. “When reputations improve by five points, consumer recommendations hike by 6.5 percent,” according to The Reputation Institute. “Get more people talking about your products and company, and you can bet you’ll improve your bottom line.”

I’ve always believed in the value of brand investment, public relations, and developing strategies to improve how your brand is perceived versus only focusing on selling products and services at a price. And when combined with a social media marketing program, consumer recommendations that promote your company’s reputation can add even more to your bottom line. I’m just glad that The Reputation Institute did this study and put some quantitative support to what good marketers have always known to be true.

Flickr Photo Credit: Rob Young

Old Media Marketing for New Media

2010-03-16T17:53:00.004-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Media in any form is just a tool to deliver a message. Audiences, regardless of the medium, will not be persuaded unless your message is motivating in some way. New social mediums have such tremendous applications. But, I still think the marketing messages in these new mediums could learn some tricks from the “old dogs” like print.

Before you jump to the allure of a social media strategy, think about how you need to craft your message. Here are some thought starters:

Put a face on your brand – People do not relate to faceless bureaucracies. People relate to people with likable personalities. That’s how people relate to brands, too. Testimonials from customers or from employees can bring your brand to life in social media video applications and give your brand a unique appeal.

Demonstrations sell – If your product has some unique functionality or features, social media video applications can be almost like a trade show demonstration, 24/7. Think about production values, music, lighting and how to tell your story with words, pictures and entertainment. It’s usually difficult to hold a viewer’s attention for very long, so think about telling your story with multiple, segmented videos that are singular in focus.

Brand empathy – Brand loyalty comes from a demonstration of understanding. When a brand demonstrates that “it knows what you’re going through,” you’re more inclined to see that brand in a more credible light. This is especially true for B2B marketers, where selling propositions need to be framed into a business case. White papers on your Web site and blogs are great ways to provide branded content, demonstrate a focused customer understanding and add credibility to your brand proposition.

Promise a reward – Sweepstakes, trial offers, contests, free trials. All are great techniques for generating leads. Not only do these sorts of things promote sales, they provide ways to measure online banner advertising, Twitter and Facebook campaigns so you can learn and adjust your message and media over time.

For many, the allure of social media is that the media is “free.” That’s especially appealing in today’s economy. But “free” doesn’t mean that you can skip the thought process and generate messages without a strategic foundation or a brand vision. If you don’t give thought to your message strategy in the so-called “free” social media space, you’ll get just what you paid for.

Flickr Photo Credits: me'nthedogs

What's the Role of Advertising?

2010-02-22T17:01:00.002-05:00

by Steve Fodor

I was participating in a discussion group on one of the social networks recently. The discussion was on B2B print advertising and a lot of good comments and points of view were shared. One participant’s question, though, kind of stuck out to me.

This participant was lamenting over the fact of how he never sees any good examples of print advertising in trade journals. He followed his comment with this question: “Is the purpose of a good ad to drive sales or increase brand awareness?”

Now, the reason I say this kind of “stuck with me” is because I would respond to that question with this question: Aren’t sales pretty much dependent on brand awareness? If your brand awareness is low or nothing, how can you expect to drive sales? Or, more specifically, how can you expect to drive sales that deliver a higher margin if your brand has no perceived value other than price, especially in B2B marketing where the purchase decisions are not simple “impulse” buys? And I would say this applies to any medium, not just print advertising.

What’s the role of advertising? I don’t even like that question. I’d rather ask, what’s the role of marketing? Because if you’re only looking at your marketing situation in terms of a medium, or a tactic, I’d suggest that you may not have a grasp on your brand’s position in the marketplace. How is your brand perceived? What is your brand’s awareness? What is your brand awareness and understanding relative to your competition? How does your target audience gather information to make decisions? What information sources do they trust? What branded content solutions can you develop to fulfill the unmet information needs of your target audience?

So, is the purpose of a good ad to drive sales or increase brand awareness? Yes to both. And I would also suggest that you better go back and do some homework on your marketing situation and your brand’s marketing and message strategy. Advertising alone is not a marketing strategy. It’s only a medium to deliver a message.

Flickr Photo Credit:Beverly & Pack

Don't Shoot the Messenger.

2010-02-15T13:09:00.003-05:00

by Steve Fodor.

I’ve been participating in a lot of discussions lately on social media and its benefits to the marketing mix. I’ve seen and heard points of view ranging from “it’s a panacea to our marketing issues” to “it has no applications and it’s stupid” and just about everything else in between.

What also has intrigued me is how many people are saying that “traditional advertising simply does not work.” I’m not so sure about that.

Traditional advertising is just another tool in the marketing mix. Just like social media, direct mail, e-mail, outdoor, radio – whatever – it’s not necessarily the medium’s fault if you did not see positive results from your marketing effort. I would contend that it’s your message. Media in any form is simply the messenger that delivers your brand’s proposition to the intended target audience, regardless of their age, position or social class. How you craft that message within the medium will determine your success or failure.

I watched some of the Super Bowl last weekend. And like many of my colleagues in the communications business, I was rather disappointed with the quality of the advertising messages I saw. There were many that seemed trite, tried too hard to be funny and were just plain dumb. I see a lot more advertising messages in consumer and trade publications that try to “pound” a long list benefits into the reader's head without having any real or unique point of view.

Great advertising should make your audience feel about your brand the way you feel about your best friends in life. Advertising should connect with commonalities and shared interests. It should present useful information. It should talk “with” instead of “to” people. It should respect people’s intelligence. It shouldn’t be boastful or condescending. And, if done effectively, advertising should let the reader or viewer reach a positive conclusion about your brand without having to pound benefits alone into their heads.

If you’ve tried advertising before with disappointing results, I’d suggest that you may not have an advertising problem. Rather, I would suggest that you may have a brand problem.

Flickr Photo Credit: Sir Mildred Pierce

What's It Worth to You?

2010-02-11T11:48:00.007-05:00

by Brad Smith

I recently had an experience I’d like to share. I got a call from the guy who mans the trade show booth for a small division of one of our clients. He wanted to get some new graphics done for his display. After I showed him that what he had in mind was way too much information for a small display, and how to simplify the messages and content, he said:

“Looks great. Get me a price we can live with and we’ll go from there.”

Wait a minute. Let’s put things in perspective here.

What’s the value of making a good first impression?

What’s the value of communicating a professional image?

What’s the value of standing out in a sea of small trade show booths?

What’s the value of having a potential customer stop at your booth, versus walking on by?

What’s the value of making a sale? And the future value of repeat business?

What’s the value of the lost sale? How do you put a value on business you don’t get?

What’s the value of the booth visual, versus the cost to the company to rent the space, send a person to the show, pay him, feed him and put him in a hotel for three days?

I’ll bet you’re thinking this client thought the price was too high. His boss, twice removed from the process but still the one making the ultimate buying decision, said “Sounds really out of sight for such a small project.”

Small?

Only in that it’s probably the smallest expense of attending this particular show.

Small? So’s the Nike swoosh.

Flickr Photo Credit: johnhallassoc

What Clients Expect From Their Agency

2010-02-05T15:20:00.009-05:00

by Steve Fodor.

Another insightful article in BtoB magazine has captured my interest. In a special report, BtoB offers a list of the top attributes clients look for when selecting an agency partner. Here they are, with my own additional considerations for anyone looking for the right agency.

Ability to be flexible and work with tighter budgets.
Everybody needs to do more with less. But ask the agency to explain their process for quickly and efficiently developing customer insights. If the agency can’t give you an answer, or gives you an answer that requires a Ph.D. to understand, they may not be a good fit for you.

Understanding of the client’s core business needs.
I think it’s more critical to ask, “How would the agency go about understanding a client’s core business needs.” Solving business needs requires collaboration between agency and client.

Industry and B-to-B experience.
It may be more revealing to ask an agency, “Do you consider yourselves B-to-B specialists, B-to-C, retail, or a combination? Often, B-to-B clients, especially if their budgets are not “huge,” are treated like “unwanted stepchildren” by the agency. Find out what the agency does best and is passionate about.

Creativity in developing integrated marketing campaigns.
Can’t add anything to that. Creative thinking is what agencies are about.

Social media skills.
I’d ask the agency, “How would you develop a social media strategy that’s effective for our customers and our particular segment?”

Access to global resources.
If you need to develop an integrated global or multi-national campaign, this is important.

Good cultural fit, not just with senior executives.
I interpret this to be about agency size, as well. You don’t want to feel like a “little fish in a big pond.”

Responsive and effective account management.
I’d rather ask to meet your key contact at the agency and interview them. What kind of business experience does he or she have?

Proven method for measuring ROI.
I’ve been asked this before and my response is typically, “What do you need to accomplish?” Have clear campaign needs and goals established before you talk to an agency.

Experience in providing thought-leadership content and events.
Again, I think it’s equally important to ask how an agency would go about developing thought-leadership content. Do they have a strategic process? Or are they going to regurgitate and re-purpose content?

Selecting an agency is a big decision with many qualitative factors. I hope this has helped define your criteria even more.

Flickr Photo Credit: boliston

Brand Experience Trumps Selling Efforts.

2010-02-01T15:02:00.003-05:00

by Steve Fodor

Remember the famous McGraw Hill ad from about 30 years ago? The one with the grumpy, old man saying, “I don’t know you. I don’t know your company. I don’t know what you stand for. Now, what was it you wanted to sell me?”

I had an experience today that reminded me how true that ad's message is.

Without getting into naming names, I saw an ad for an online Internet marketing degree from a seemingly-reputable university. The ad intrigued me enough to request more information. I filled in the required fields on the request form. One of the fields was for my phone number, which should have made me suspicious. Almost instantly, a PDF was downloaded to my computer and I looked forward to reading more information on obtaining a certified degree in Internet marketing.

Now, what happened next is still hard for me to believe. And I’m not exaggerating. Within 15 seconds of filling out the request for more information, the phone rang. It was a representative from the university. She talked very fast. I laughed and said, “I haven’t even had a chance to look at the information.” Her reply was, “I’m here to give you more information.” I said, “I can’t talk now.” Her snapped reply was, “Well, I’m here to schedule a time with you.”

My whole brand experience here went from interest to inquiry to experience to brand rejection in less than 60 seconds!

Savvy marketers understand that brand experience is the product of integrated marketing efforts, starting with publicity to create interest and extending through personal selling efforts. All of a brand’s touch points with a customer.

I guess that grumpy, old man in the McGraw Hill ad is still right. Even though we have so many new tools to interact with customers today, you still have to earn a customer's trust before they’ll consider your brand’s proposition. Understanding the customer’s buying process and their information needs will always trump efforts to “just close the sale.” Yet, I’m frequently amazed at how many marketers don’t make the effort to understand what their customer’s information needs are or decision-making process is.

"We Don't Need to Hire a Marketing Firm."

2010-01-22T16:25:00.006-05:00

by Steve Fodor

I had the opportunity to discuss a new Web site project with a client recently. During our conversation, I heard something that I hear quite often: “We tried to manage our site ourselves. We gave it to our IT person. But, building content for the site kind of lost focus over time.”

The truth is, you can manage your Web site and social media programs yourself without the help of a marketing firm. There’s no “secret magic” for creating a branded presence with today’s plethora of new media venues. In the end, though, media (meaning social media, Web sites, blogs, publicity and paid media) is just a collection of tools. It is up to people to make real impact with these tools. A carpenter may own a wonderful collection of tools and even know how to use them. But a skilled carpenter may not be the best resource for designing a building.

Creating a positive brand perception comes from generating valued content for your audience. If you’re not generating branded content that is of real value, your brand perception won’t be of much value either.

A marketing firm can (and should) add value to your branded content efforts by:

1. Developing a message strategy for your brand.

2. Interacting with and researching your audience and the media serving your audience to identify trending topics.

3. Creating and managing an editorial calendar.

4. Writing, posting and managing relevant, branded content.

5. Monitoring and responding to audience interaction with your branded content.

Most of all, credible marketing firms are expert communicators. They are staffed by people with journalistic and marketing backgrounds that know how to research and communicate relevant content that will serve as a catalyst for your brand. Credible marketing firms not only understand and own the right collection of tools. They have the people and the expertise to design and build brands with those tools.

It’s not enough to have “quantity” be your branded content strategy. There’s enough clutter out there. Quality and relevance of branded content wins over quantity. Ask yourself this question: If you don’t have the people on staff with the time, dedication and expertise to manage your branded content strategies, are you really conducting your marketing efforts with the utmost efficiency?

The More Things Change...

2010-01-06T15:17:00.004-05:00

by Steve Fodor

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

I just read an article about branded content. How marketers communicate with customers, go to market and increase brand loyalty has changed dramatically in just the last year. In fact, 32% of marketing communications budgets were dedicated to branded content in 2009. That’s a heck of a lot of blogging, Facebook interaction, YouTube videos and other forms of branded content.

You could say branded content is the new face of public relations. The media dynamic has changed. You now can go straight to end users without the media controlling your message. That opens endless possibilities. But, it also sacrifices the implied endorsement from reputable editors and media.

So what’s the key to branded content as a marketing strategy? If I had the answer to that, I’d be out fishing now instead of working for a living. But one thing always stands out in everything I read about branded content: your content has to be valued information that customers desire and not just a sales pitch. In other words, you must become a valued information provider and not just a product purveyor to elevate your brand above commodity status. And the only way to do that is to employ good, old-fashioned research to determine what information your customers and prospects need. In marketing “buzzword-speak” that means determining latent needs (there…now I can justify spending money on marketing books prior to the Amazon Kindle).

Even though the media dynamic has literally been turned upside down in recent years, that’s why I say “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” If you don’t understand your customer and if you can’t differentiate your brand beyond product features and price, you’re always going to be a commodity. Branded content has now become the most visible “face” of your brand. Think about that. And think about who is handling the face of your brand. Do they really understand how to generate valued content?

An Office is a Terrible Place From Which to View the World.

2009-07-28T12:41:00.002-04:00

by Brad Smith

With over 30 years experience in B2B advertising, I feel pretty comfortable talking with most B2B audiences. And I consider myself a fair and impartial judge of how a certain message will be received and processed by various B2B audiences.

Did I say that, or am I just repeating what clients have told me over the years? Probably.

Which leads me to my story. We developed four conceptual ads for a new client recently, and we felt pretty good about them. All of them. But which ad would resonate best with our target audience?

We felt we knew, but we took the time to do a little investigating. We took the ads out and sat down with the owner of a company in the industry we were trying to persuade. We showed him the ad layouts and reviewed the text. We watched him react to the different ways we communicated the client’s main product benefits.

It wasn’t a sophisticated research survey. The results weren’t even projectable. But we came away confident we now knew which concept would work the hardest.

My point here is that no matter how long you’ve been doing your job, never presume to know how your markets will receive your ad. If you have the time (notice I didn’t say “if you have the budget”), leave the comfortable confines of your workspace and venture out into the real world. You may be pleasantly surprised by what you learn.

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

Branding, Bald Guys and Bluetooth

2009-07-02T10:36:00.005-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

My colleague Brad Smith wrote a blog a little while back (Thursday, May 21 to be exact) describing an ad that made a lasting impression on him. It was about McGraw Hill Magazine's classic "Man in the Chair" ad created in the late 1950s. That particular ad has always been on my Top 10 list, as well.

That memorable "Man in the Chair" ad was brought to life -- literally -- with a live staging event at the June 2009 Conference of the Business Marketing Association (BMA). Be sure to watch the entire video as a little twist was added to demonstrate how the timeless message is still relevant in today's social media savvy world.

It's "Ugly" But I Love It

2009-06-23T14:41:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

Two things I love – fishing and great advertising.

This is another example I show people when they ask me, “What’s your idea of great advertising?”

I love this spot for Ugly Stik fishing rods. Truly, Ugly Stik lives up to its claim as “America’s most popular fishing rod.” And the positioning line they’ve stayed true to, “America’s strongest, most sensitive rod” sums up the product’s core advantage.

But what’s great about this spot? They resisted the temptation to focus on product features in a literal sense. All the benefits of durability, dependability and long lasting are implied and you, the viewer, make that connection yourself. The literal benefits are elevated into an entertaining story of how the “typical” fisherman feels about fishing. It’s empathetic, humorous and fun to watch. The folks at Ugly Stik (Shakespeare Fishing Tackle) “hook” you with emotional interest and then “reel you in” with the rational payoff (strength and sensitivity).

It would have been so easy to fall into the trap of explaining how Ugly Stiks are made, their proprietary processes and the like. I can also imagine some very trite and obvious creative executions playing on the “strong yet sensitive” positioning line. And Ugly Stiks do have some distinct product advantages (trust me…I research fishing poles). But this spot is a great example of understanding the customer in more than just demographic terms. This spot demonstrates an understanding of how the typical, recreational fisherman feels and how fishing fits into their life.

It doesn’t matter if you like to fish. And it doesn’t matter if you’re selling consumer products or industrial goods and services in the business-to-business world. No matter what, the principle of understanding your target audience as human beings first is the foundation of creating effective communications in any medium. I commend the good folks who have made the Ugly Stik brand such a strong one. Enjoy the 30-second clip.

Honesty is the Best Policy

2009-06-18T13:27:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I was in a meeting with a new client yesterday and I had what I would call a very refreshing experience.

You never know how things are going to go with a new client. It’s sort of like being on a first date and you don’t really know the other person yet. You think to yourself, “If I say this, will I offend them? Or will they think I’m too forward?”

Well, this particular client asked me what I thought about some of their current marketing materials (Yikes…now I was on the spot. And my boss was with me, too.) Well, I gave them a very honest, respectful and professional opinion. Their materials were written in a very literal, “one-dimensional” way. They did a good job of explaining the “what,” but did not translate information into a customer benefit. They used a lot of common, over-used terms like “value” and “quality.” In other words, there was room for improvement to give this brand some personality and make it connect with customers in more meaningful ways.

I spoke my mind. I was respectful, yet honest. And I qualified everything I said with past experience and examples.

After my pontification, our new client said, with a smile on his face, “Thank you for being honest. We need someone to keep us in check.”

New clients are hard to come by, especially in today’s economy. And if you’re in the agency business, the last thing you want to do is say or do something that will sour a relationship. But honesty, respect and trust are the foundation of any good business relationship. Clients will respect you a whole lot more when you lead by example and share your knowledge in a way that is not condescending. And the more I think about it, that’s true for just about anything in life.

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

'Holy Schnike' -- It's Brand Equity

2009-06-11T20:00:00.006-04:00

by Steve Fodor

It’s a long story, but I have the movie “Tommy Boy” running through my mind. Especially the line from the movie when Tommy (Chris Farley) says to a customer, “You can get a good look at a T-bone steak by sticking your head up a bull’s (rear end), but wouldn’t you rather take a butcher’s word for it?”

I’m thinking about this line from “Tommy Boy” because I’ve had yet another person comment that they can develop marketing communications as well as a proven and recognized agency (“proven” and “recognized” are the key words there). And you know what, in some cases that may be true.

I once heard that “brand equity is no different than home equity.” Brand image is the most valuable asset a company has. And, just like a home – many people’s most valuable asset – you can only go so far with “Do-It-Yourself” know-how. Sometimes you need to hire an expert. Someone with a proven track record. Someone who knows how to get it right the first time. Someone you can trust because they’ve done many other successful home improvement jobs. Because it’s more expensive to redo a job done wrong.

I see both good and bad marketing communications done in-house by companies. And I also see both good and bad creative work from a lot of agencies, too. The point is, your brand needs to be updated, maintained and presented in its most positive light. And, from my point of view, real creativity means knowing how to develop a strong message – on a budget.

You only have one chance to make a first impression. Making a good first impression and “saving a few pennies.” That reminds me of another great scene from “Tommy Boy.” Enjoy the video clip!

Tommy Boy sales training

Video Credit: video.google.com

Live For Today?

2009-06-09T15:29:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I heard an interview on National Public Radio recently (yes, I’m a late night, talk radio junkie). Philip Delves-Broughton, an English journalist who attended Harvard Business School, was interviewed about his recent book, “What They Teach You at Harvard Business School.”

There were many interesting points discussed during the 20-minute interview. However, the most interesting point I took away was how the curriculum at Harvard, from the author’s point of view, focuses on business strategies for achieving short-term, immediate gains versus long-term, sustained performance.

Interesting, in light of where the economy is today, and why it’s that way.

It got me thinking about the value of a brand. A brand’s value is not just measured in short-term awareness and sales. It’s measured in real dollars over time. In sales that last decades, not months. In why people will pay more for your brand versus a seemingly similar product at a lower price.

I once heard a “brand” defined as, “the process of creating a constellation of values for forging a strong bond with customers to create loyalty.” Wow. To me, that sounds like investing time and energy to understand why people purchase something for reasons that go beyond price. It’s hard to resist the urge to “live for today” and focus on short-term sales and promotions. Especially in today’s economy. But, in the long run, successful brands always command higher margins. And, in return, strong brands are rewarded with greater customer loyalty, ultimately lowering the cost-per-sale and delivering a greater return on investment over time.

I wonder if they teach that at Harvard?

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

B2B versus B2C?

2009-06-08T14:44:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

Having worked in both worlds, I get asked this question a lot: What’s different about business-to-business marketing communications versus business-to-consumer?

Well, “nothing and everything” is usually my reply.

By “everything is different,” I mean that B2B usually means shaping your selling proposition into a business case. What kind of cost savings? What kind of productivity is achieved? B2B also requires a more in-depth understanding of selling scenarios. Selling through channel members or distributors and the need for push strategies, pull strategies…or usually a combination of both. And creating B2B marketing communications, I’ve found, requires a greater understanding of a product’s technical aspects.

Business-to-consumer marketing communications are generally more life-style appeal. Personal gratification is often at the root of a B2C selling proposition. How will this product make you feel? Will this make you the “hero” to your friends and family?

What’s the same about B2B and B2C marketing communications? To be effective and memorable, both recognize that you’re speaking first to people. Industrial buyers do not stop being people with emotions between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. They still must be drawn in by an emotional appeal, and then presented a rational case for considering your product or service. The same is true when talking to private consumers.

Whether you’re marketing to housewives, product engineers, home improvement DIY folks, or chief financial officers, you need to understand how your product impacts their lives – be they private lives or professional lives. If you don’t understand how to connect with the emotional drivers, your brand will be “replaceable” when price is equal.

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

Seeking Perfection

2009-06-05T16:28:00.005-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

I received an e-mail from my son’s teacher the other day informing me that one of his projects was late and still needed to be turned in before the end of the grading period or there would be grave consequences. (Not grave as in the cemetery variety, although judging by his mother’s reaction to this news that was a distinct possibility.)

When I inquired as to why the project in question had landed him in this predicament, he assured me that he had completed it…he just hadn’t turned it in yet.

At the risk of sounding somewhat dad-like, the next words out of my mouth were “And why not?”

Because, he explained, he just didn’t feel it was perfect yet.

On a dad-like roll, I pulled out the old “No one is perfect…that’s why pencils have erasers” quote. Unfortunately the old quote didn’t have quite the impact I had intended as he reminded me that we were discussing a multimedia project, which is created using a mouse and a keyboard, not a pencil. (Okay, that’s why laptops have a delete key, then!)

Nevertheless, I was able to get through to him that turning in an almost perfect project and receiving a B+ was a much better alternative to turning in nothing and being given a big, fat zero. He finally saw the wisdom in that and turned the project in the very next day (and I didn’t even have to mention the mom factor in the equation). I’m also happy to report he was rewarded with an A for his efforts.

Do you find yourself facing a similar situation where seeking perfection sometimes freezes you into doing nothing? I know I do.

But maybe we just need to remind ourselves every now and then that there are some jobs in life where perfection matters, like brain surgery, bomb detonating and parachute folding...

And there are other jobs where good enough is enough, like yard mowing, grocery bagging – and blog writing.

As an agency, we always like to strive for perfection, but what we do is part craft and part science, so mistakes are going to happen. Fortunately, when we do make a mistake in advertising, nobody dies in our arms.

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

The Value of Information

2009-06-04T15:18:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

My colleague, Brad Smith, recently posted some interesting information on banner ad click-thru rates we’ve tracked for a client. Two online versions of publications were used: one a traditional, editorially focused publication, the other a tabloid “shopper” publication with minimal editorial.

Interestingly, the editorially focused online publication outperformed the “shopper” publication by as much as 15 to one on banner ad click-thrus to the client’s Web site.

I’m not going to conclude that the “shopper” publication has no value. But, rather, the value of the editorial publication is the information it provides. Information is what engages people. How do I do my job better? How can I learn more? Don’t just tell me about product features. Tell me how it fits into my life or how to do my job better.

Information – or, I should say, valuable information – is becoming more of a commodity. I read recently that Facebook usage has increased from 1.7 billion minutes to 13 billion minutes over the last year. That’s a 665 percent increase. Twitter usage has increased 3,712 percent over the last year. Nielsen Online reports time spent on social networking and blogging sites has grown at three times the rate of overall Internet growth. And these aren’t all just kids with nothing better to do. The growth from the 35 to 64 age group is double that of under 18.

With so much information out there, so many distractions and so many new media usage trends, content truly is king in today’s information-intensive world. Think about what you’re saying to customers, be it in-person, on your Web site or in your advertising. Are you increasing your perceived brand value by providing information that’s of value…or are you just adding to the clutter?

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

What Kind of Trade Publication Works Best for Banner Ads?

2009-06-03T17:13:00.004-04:00

by Brad Smith

We’ve been tracking the response rates for a client’s banner ads – electronic ads – placed on trade publication Web sites and e-newsletters. Simply put, we’re keeping track of the number of times readers “click-thru” to the client’s Web site directly from these ads.

Curiously, we have two publications in the same space that have delivered dramatically different results. One is what I call a “shopper” – a tabloid-size product-oriented magazine with minimal editorial – mostly ads and news releases. The other is the more traditional trade publication, with in-depth articles covering a broad variety of industry topics. Guess which pub has pulled the most click-thrus?

The traditional magazine’s Web site is outperforming the shopper 3:1. Their e-newsletter is out performing the shopper Web site 15:1.

Why? Good question. Both are viable, valuable assets to the media mix. However, I think the readers, who a good percentage of the time are the same people, approach these two types of trade publications with very different expectations.

The shopper is approached with an “I can find out about new products to make my job easier” mentality. That’s a quick read. Readers approach the more traditional publication with an “I can find out how to use new products and learn new ideas about my profession.” That’s a more in-depth read.

I conclude that the perceived image of the magazine is naturally extended to the electronic versions from the same source. When you’re online you are looking for information – for content – and the more in-depth, the better.

That’s my thinking as to why electronic banner advertising through the traditional magazine’s newsletter outperformed the product-oriented tabloid’s Web site. Does this conclusion stand up in your opinion?

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

The Media is NOT the Message

2009-05-29T12:50:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

In reviewing a recent issue of Business-To-Business magazine, I was struck by the fact that just about every feature article covered how various marketers are utilizing social media in their marketing mix.

Wow, just think how much things have changed in just the last two or three years! There are so many new media venues for creating a dialogue about your brand with customers and prospects. What’s even more exciting is that these new marketing venues are still evolving.

But, then I was struck by one other article in this same issue. The title of the article, sandwiched between all the other articles explaining new uses of social media, was: “Emotional marketing triggers right response.” It was refreshing (to me, anyway) to read about how critical message tone is in marketing communications. Brands, after all, are like people. You like people because of how they act. How they treat you. Their personalities. Their shared empathy with you. And people associate themselves with brands the same way they associate with people they like and respect.

Tone in marketing communications is what expresses your brand’s personality. And though all the new and emerging social media venues can and do create more personal dialogues and relationships with customers, you must always manage the tone of your marketing communications.

All the new media options today present tremendous opportunities to reach out to more people, create new relationships and expand the reach and exposure for your brand. But regardless of how many new media options there are, or how cost-efficient they are, the media is not the message in creating brand loyalty. If your brand message lacks the right attitude or tone, more media just makes more noise.

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

Advertising or Public Relations?

2009-05-28T10:05:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I’ve had the good fortune to work on both sides of the street in this debate. There always seems to be two kinds of people: Advertising and Public Relations people. PR people think advertising is a waste of money. Advertising people think PR is a substitute for not having enough advertising dollars. I even once heard someone say, “The difference between advertising and PR is that you pay for advertising and you pray for PR.”

Well, there’s some truth in that statement. With advertising, you have complete control over where and how many times your message is seen. You also have control over exactly what your message is. I don’t buy the argument that “advertising is not credible.” If you feel this way about advertising, I would suggest that you have a brand problem; not an advertising problem.

Public relations, on the other hand, does carry implied credibility because it’s the word of the media; not a paid advertiser. Public relations can change perceptions. PR can launch new products that may seem “unbelievable” if launched with advertising alone. PR can motivate public concern and participation in a cause. And, perhaps its most valuable role, PR can “manage” the public perception of your company’s brand.

There’s no “one” answer to the question of advertising or PR as a marketing strategy, though I get asked the question of “which strategy should we use” quite a lot. It’s even worse to think or say that, “we have a small budget, so we can only do PR.” Having worked on both sides of the street, I can say with experience it’s ideal to use both in your marketing mix to support a clearly defined and meaningful brand message.

There’s no one, simple answer to defining your marketing mix. But, a carpenter always has more than one tool in their tool box. A good carpenter knows which tool to use and when.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lamees-y/

Moving at the Speed of Life

2009-05-27T08:59:00.015-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

If you're like me, everything seems to be moving at warp speed during this time of year. Softball games here, baseball games there, helping the kids cram for final exams, and an endless list of graduation parties and weddings to attend, not to mention balancing all of that with the flurry of activity at work. (Which reminds me, there's also a few blog posts waiting to be written.) It brings to mind one of my mom's favorite little sayings: "The hurrier I go, the behinder I get."

Well, I took a few minutes between all of those activities to watch this video I ran across on YouTube recently. I don't know if it helped me relax any from the current hectic pace, but it sure made me reflect on some of the reasons I feel like someone's constantly pressing the hyperspace button on the game of life. It contains some truly staggering facts and statistics that I'm sure you'll find fascinating. Enjoy!

Credit: Opening video at Radio Ink Convergence conference.

I Don't Believe Focus Groups

2009-05-26T16:47:00.004-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I don’t believe them. And I don’t believe in them.

Quite a bold and definitive statement coming from a person that makes his living helping companies figure out their most effective marketing communications messages.

Actually, focus groups do have their place in the world of research. But not for defining marketing messages. Here’s why I say that.

Focus groups, by their nature, force rational responses. They typically last about an hour. And the respondents are asked a series of questions. Each respondent gets to comment. And around the room the moderator goes, asking each respondent to explain why they feel that way about a topic. The respondents are being asked to rationalize why they think or feel a certain way.

Though valuable for gaining perceptions into opinions, that’s not the way people respond to a marketing message.

Human beings are motivated by emotions first, then by rational thought. Biologically, it’s how the brain processes information. Scientific research has proven that emotion stimulates the mind 3,000 times faster than rational thought.

Yet, what do most marketing communications vehicles (in any medium) seem to focus on? Rational benefits. Price. Product features. The old “hammer” approach of pounding a longer list of benefits into people’s heads.

I’m not suggesting that marketing communications should be void of product features and price. But ask yourself this question: If your brand, or product, ceased to exist today, how would it affect your customers’ lives? What would they be missing in their daily lives or jobs if you were gone today? When you can answer that, you’re on the path to discovering the true emotional benefit your brand or product provides. And, ultimately, a much stronger position in customers’ minds.

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

"We Have To Get Three Quotes"

2009-05-22T08:34:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I’ve worked on a lot of request for proposals (RFP’s) for marketing communications in my career. Our firm just completed one recently that was “typical” in the sense that they were going to “get three price quotes.”

Why is it that “three quotes” seems to be a magic number? And why approach it from a price standpoint in the first place? It seems to me that you would determine what marketing funds you have available, and then ask a qualified marketing firm…”If you were in our situation with these available marketing funds, what would you do?” That puts the emphasis on creativity, business thinking, marketing strategy and understanding how to “do more with less.” Aren’t those really more valuable for successful marketing than price alone?

Maybe it’s the general economic climate today. Even though the recession of 2008/2009 has been the worst economic downturn since 1929, brands still need to be maintained. Customer relationships need to be developed. And sales lead generation programs still need to be implemented. And even though marketing budgets have been reduced, that doesn’t mean you have to find the “least expensive quote” to work on your marketing program. You need to find the most qualified resource that knows how to make every available marketing dollar work harder…and smarter.

In the long-run, isn’t that the most cost-efficient approach?

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

Are the Rules of Advertising Made to be Broken?

2009-05-21T08:47:00.002-04:00

by Brad Smith

As students of our own craft, most of us associated with the advertising industry can tell you about an ad that made a lasting impression on them. As a Certified Business Communicatior, one of my favorites is an old B-2-B McGraw-Hill Magazines ad from, I guess, the late 1950s. Which means it was made before I went to school.

It shows a picture of a grumpy old purchasing agent who says:

“I don’t know who you are.
I don’t know your company.
I don’t know your company’s products.
I don’t know what your company stands for.
I don’t know your company’s customers.
I don’t know your company’s record.
I don’t know your company’s reputation.

Now – what was it you wanted to sell me?”

MORAL: Sales start before your salesman calls – with business publication
advertising.

That’s it. The visual works with the body copy. The message couldn’t be clearer.

So what’s missing?

No headline. Everyone knows you can’t have an ad without a headline, right!

Oh yea. And the logo is in the TOP left corner, too. Can you imagine?

So just follow the number one advertising rule, and you won’t break any rules of advertising: create advertising that works.

Less Is More

2009-05-20T08:04:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

This almost always happens when reviewing initial advertising concepts. Several concepts get reviewed. There’s always one that generates an immediate reaction from the client and the account manager. You can see it on their faces and they say, “Yea…that’s the one.”

Great! They reacted to an ad they way the audience would. “Got it in the first few seconds and I had a positive reaction.” Typically, that’s about all the time the reader is going to give you to make an impression with an ad.

Then, a few days go by and the temptation to ask, “What if the ad said this, too? And what if…?” and so on. All of a sudden, the copy gets much, much longer. The headline even changes to become more literal. Now, an ad concept that evoked an immediate emotional response starts to read like a full-line product brochure.

An ad is one element in the marketing communications mix. An ad positions the appeal of your brand. It delivers that emotional impact and lets the reader make the connection themselves – without pounding a long list of features and benefits into their heads. That’s what Web sites, brochures and salespeople are for.

Less copy is often more when you want the reader to make that connection themselves in their own minds.

I read a story recently about Ernest Hemingway, my favorite author. While sitting in a bar, Hemingway was challenged by another bar patron to write a complete story in six words or less. After finishing his drink, Hemingway wrote: For sale. Baby shoes. Never worn. In six words, Hemingway told a story covering an entire life and evoked interest. Bar patrons began to beg Hemingway for more of the story. They were drawn in and wanted to know more. “Buy it when it’s published,” Hemingway said.

An ad should be so simple, yet effective at generating interest and emotions.

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

Combining Old and New Technology with Great Results

2009-05-18T14:34:00.006-04:00

by Brad Smith

I’ve been around this business long enough to remember typesetting, typewriters, keylines, stat machines and the smell of magic markers. But what I miss the most are the old-fashioned artistic skills of the art director who used a pencil or markers to sketch out an idea and turn it into a piece of art we called a layout.

Today’s layouts are done on computer, and they look so close to the finished product that sometimes we (and our clients) forget they’re concepts. They aren’t “comps,” they’re “comp-letes.”

Have clients driven this expectation, or do we not give clients enough credit to think they can use their imagination? Frankly, I’m not sure.

But I do know we recently had a great experience combining the old technology of “pencil rough layouts” with the new technology of “GoToMeeting.”

In a sign of the current economy, we had a firm, tight ad development budget. So, as usual, we noodled through some ideas and developed copy for a few ad concepts. But instead of multiple computer comp layouts, we created pencil rough layouts. Then instead of driving to the client’s office, we presented these concepts to their marketing staff via the Internet.

The results? Travel time was eliminated. Creative and account service time was reduced. The client was involved earlier in the concept stage. Pros and cons were exchanged. Everybody was excited and enthusiastic. And a firm direction was agreed upon and then executed. Budget objectives were achieved.

The new good old ways. Maybe we’re on to something here.

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

What Are My Salespeople Saying Out In The Field?

2009-05-15T14:01:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

If you’re a sales manager with a remote sales force or selling through independent reps, you’ve probably asked yourself this question.

Think about it. You invest money (a lot, sometimes) in creating a consistent brand message. Yet, the salespeople in the field are often where the sale lives or dies. If what salespeople do and say is inconsistent with the message and image you’re trying to portray in other marketing communications, you’re defeating your own purpose.

It’s impossible to have complete control over what a sales force says while out in the field. And, as a sales manager, you don’t necessarily want to control their every word, unless micromanagement is your sole source of entertainment.

But here are two simple, “no-brainer” and low-cost ways to help get some consistency of message that you can use today.

First, give salespeople e-mail “templates.” Create e-mail templates for use in obtaining an appointment, for thanking a prospect for a first visit, for presenting a quote, and whatever scenarios you need. Create these templates as YOU would like your sales force to present your brand image.

Second, create “questions to ask” worksheets or selling guides for salespeople to use. It’s difficult to evolve to a solutions-based selling approach if salespeople only know how to ask, “Do you want to buy anything today?” What information do they need to obtain in the first sales call to make a value-based sale possible?

These two, simple things won’t fix all the issues associated with managing a remote sales force. But, they will begin to give salespeople some tools to make their sales efforts more consistent with your marketing efforts.

I’ve worked with many business-to-business clients who have remote sales forces. Simple selling tools like these seem so “obvious.” Yet I’m amazed how frequently the obvious things get overlooked.

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

The Twouble With Twitter

2009-05-14T14:35:00.000-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

First off, let me say that I agree with everything in Steve Fodor's blog post yesterday, especially the title (I kid, I kid). Actually I do concur with his views about Twitter as a B2B marketing tool, especially the fact that the verdict is still out. Truth be told, the "real" reason I have a little smirk on my face every time he mentions Twitter is because images from this YouTube video start running through my head. Oh, that and the fact that his cat has over 200 followers.

My Boss Thinks I'm a Twit

2009-05-13T13:57:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

Whenever I mention Twitter as a marketing venue, my boss does a little smirk and I sense apprehension on his part.

I really can’t disagree with that sense of apprehension because I share it myself. Over the brief course of the last six months or so, here’s a small sampling of what I’ve read and heard regarding Twitter as a marketing tool:

“Twitter has jumped from early adopter oddity to mainstream sensation.”

“Twitter is fast becoming a go-to tactic for business-to-business and business-to-consumer marketers.”

“As of February 2009, there are over 7 million users on Twitter, an increase of over 1,300% from a year before.”

“Over 60% of new Twitter users will drop out and cease participation in 30 days.”

What’s the verdict? I’ll give you a very definite “maybe” at this point. It’s still being defined. Some use it as a research tool. I’ve heard of some “Tweeting” at trade shows, saying “what’s going on in our booth.” Some companies let customer service representatives interact with customers via Twitter, creating new avenues for relationship building. It’s “speculative” at best to measure viewership with Twitter. And it does not tie in with search engine optimization programs as do blogging and keyword search strategies.

I’m not dismissing Twitter (hey, my cat has over 200 followers). How we use all new social media is evolving. How we define these new mediums as marketing tools is limited only to our creativity. The possibilities are endless and, I’m sure, will become even more defined and measureable over time. So keep your eyes, ears and Twitter accounts open and see what evolves over the next six months.
Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/scobleizer/

Judging Marketing Creative -- The Power of the First Impression

2009-05-12T16:42:00.003-04:00

by Brad Smith

One of the hardest things an account manager is asked to do is the same thing we turn right around and ask our clients to do – judge the agency’s creative efforts.

Take an ad, for example. At this agency the presentation of an ad is preceded with a review of the situation, the audience and the objective(s) of the ad. Given today’s market characteristics, who is the audience we want to communicate with, and what do we want them to do after reading our ad?

So we create an ad from the perspective of the audience, and then we ask our clients to put themselves in the audiences’ shoes and evaluate/judge the power of the concept and its ability to do the job we’ve all agreed upon.

And then there’s the presentation, and that magic moment of the first impression. The client sees the concept – the headline and the visual (the text is read later). Will it grab my prospect’s attention and interest? Will they get it? Is this the way my company should be portrayed?

This is an emotional judgment. Combined with an intellectual business decision. When you’re judging the creative, never forget that first impression…because it’s the first impression your prospects will likely have, too.

The tendency is to start to over analyze. To try and improve. To start the “what if we changed this” thinking.

Don’t do it. Trust your emotional instincts. Remember the power of your first impression.

It took a brave client to approve “Just Do It” as a positioning statement. Or “Got Milk?” as a campaign theme, using famous people with a white moustache as a visual. Or “Lemon” as a headline for a car manufacturer’s ad.

So how do you judge an agency’s creative concepts? How brave should you be – or have you been? Let me know what you think, and share an experience or two.

Nike "Swoosh" symbol and "Just Do It" slogan are trademarks of Nike Corporation

Stand For Something

2009-05-11T12:52:00.002-04:00

by Steve Fodor

A colleague of mine likes to say, “If you needed to have brain surgery done, you wouldn’t go to a general practice doctor.”

The same is true when it comes to positioning your business and how you go to market. If you don’t stand for something specific and own it, or, if you try to be too broad in your positioning, you end up standing for nothing in the minds of prospects and customers.

Positioning is the discipline of making trade-offs. And I say “discipline” because it is hard to focus your marketing message and positioning. But, as Bill Cosby once said, “The surest way to fail is to try to be all things to all people.”

Defining what you do best (or the two or three things you do best and can own) requires you to take a hard look at yourself and have insight into what the unmet needs are in your category. What makes you unique? Will this motivate customers? Will this render the competition helpless? Not only is this a critical business strategy, but think about how people find information today. In many cases, their first avenue is to enter some words into Google. If you’re not presenting your information in a specific, well-defined and positioned way, you’re probably not going to be high on the search page.

Today’s consumers and buyers have way, way more choices than they did just a decade ago. If you don’t stand for something specific, own a relevant position and stand out in a unique way, you’re just another commodity. And if you’re a commodity, you’ll always be forced to compete on price. That’s not the most enjoyable position to own.

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

Do You Really Need A New Brochure?

2009-05-08T10:18:00.004-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I read something interesting in Business-To-Business magazine recently. Over 70% of industrial buyers view white papers as the most credible source of information for their purchasing decisions. Even more, they prefer information they can download from a Web site.

At first I was surprised by this statistic. I’ve always viewed the “stand-by” full-line product brochure as a necessity for anyone selling in the B2B, industrial world. But, with a new generation of decision makers entering the work force, I guess this isn’t such a surprise.

People (be them consumers or industrial buyers) want information on their terms. In a world of commodity products, decisions are often made based on “who makes it the most convenient for me to purchase” and “who gives me a feeling of more control over my purchasing situation.”

Selling tools for today’s new generation of decision makers must be created to meet their information needs, not the seller’s. Think about all the new alternatives to the standard, printed brochure. There are DVDs, social media venues, opt-in e-mail and others that present information in a more dynamic and convenient format than a printed brochure. Not to mention that some of these options are more flexible and less costly than a printed piece.

Ultimately, it comes down to understanding the information needs of your customer. How do they use information? What is their decision-making process? Where do they go for information? What do they consider the most credible sources for information?

Understand what customers want and how they want to be communicated with. Gee, what a novel marketing concept.

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

Working With An Ad Agency And The "Seven-Year Itch"

2009-05-07T15:49:00.005-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I’ve always heard that an agency/client relationship is a lot like a marriage. And most marriages that fail do so, on average, in about seven years. It goes something like this.

1. Year one – the honeymoon phase.

2. Year two – you start to notice little “quirks” about each other, but it’s no big deal.

3. Year three – you begin to take each other for granted.

4. Year four – you start to ignore each other.

5. Year five – tensions grow and you begin to argue…a lot.

6. Year six – you start to realize you made a bad decision.

7. Year seven – you get the “itch” to find another partner.

When do most marriages and agency/client relationships go bad? Year three.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841708@N00/

The Value of a Big Idea

2009-05-06T09:34:00.003-04:00

by Steve Fodor

People often ask me, “What’s your favorite ad of all time?” Well, I have several, but one in particular stands out.

I love this ad (at right) for Volkswagen done by Arnold Communications and DDB Worldwide in 1979. Why? It’s simple and extendable. It makes the point by letting the reader reach the conclusion themselves, not by pounding a list of benefits into the reader’s head. Even the look of the ad says “simple” and “out of the ordinary” – Volkswagen brand attributes from my point of view. And the ad is timely, and timeless. It was developed during the oil embargo in the late 1970s. But it’s just as relevant today. What more could you ask for from an ad?

Whenever I show this ad as my favorite, people look at me and say, “Give me a black marker and a piece of paper and I could do that ad in about 30 seconds. Probably could draw the picture better, too.”

The value of a big idea and creativity is priceless. It’s much more than pretty pictures and execution alone.

Spring Has Sprung (And So Should You)

2009-05-05T00:10:00.005-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

While enjoying a cup of coffee on my patio yesterday, I really was in awe of the beauty that can be seen in all of God’s creation. It was evident in every direction I turned.

Living on a wooded lot, the first thing I noticed was that the trees are filling in and budding. My rapidly growing grass is currently a thick, lush green. Even the dandelions seem to have some redeeming qualities these days. It also seemed as if the animals have a little more pep in their step as the squirrels scurry from branch to branch and the birds serenade them with warbling reminiscent of a Disney movie soundtrack.

Beyond just recounting what a beautiful evening it was, it also reinforced that now is the perfect time to capture outdoor marketing communications visuals.

Our agency will be shooting footage over the next couple of weeks for a video we are creating to promote Marion, Ohio. This is the prime time of the year in the Midwest for capturing nature at its best. There will be a window between now and mid-June when the grass will be lush green, the skies will be crystal blue (when it’s not raining!) and most every flowering plant will be colorful and in bloom.

So if you have old photos of your facilities that need to be updated due to an expansion, now would be the time to schedule shooting new images, whether you need video or stills. Or if the most current annual report photo of your plant has a parking lot full of cars produced pre-1970, now might be a good time to remedy that for the future.

Also, if you need to update outdoor video footage for your training or product videos, shooting now while the grass isn’t brown, the trees aren’t bare or the snow isn’t flying (been there, done that) leaves a much better impression of your company.

Spring has officially sprung, and you should too. Schedule that outdoor video or photo shoot today. This current window of great scenery is something you should take full advantage of.

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

A (New) Case For Direct Mail

2009-05-04T10:40:00.012-04:00

by Steve Fodor

Unless you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you’ve experienced the explosion of e-mail and mobile marketing. It’s revolutionized marketers’ abilities to cost-efficiently communicate with more customers, create conversations and engage with a brand’s target audience.

But, to quote an old cliché, “If the only tool you have is a hammer, you see every problem as a nail.”

I still love direct mail for what it can do…and for what e-mail and mobile marketing cannot do (yet, anyway.)

Here are a few (and certainly by no means all) considerations for making direct mail part of your marketing mix:

· Recipients can take more time. How aggravating is it to open an e-mail and see that it’s a l-o-n-g one? If you have a technical or highly involved sale, direct mail can deliver a “complex” story in a more passive environment than an e-mail in-box. Adding a personalized letter with related elements (brochure, white paper, DVD, etc.) can increase readership as much as 45%.

· Credibility. Spam has made even so-called “junk” mail from the post office more credible. Privacy issues and fear of opening or responding are less prevalent with direct mail. Credibility is vital if you’re marketing a high-end/high-ticket product.

· Human beings are tactile creatures. Direct mail allows you to touch, feel and interact with the medium. Paper stocks and certain type fonts can create a “feeling,” or ambience, for your brand. Adding a dimensional feature to direct mail can elevate its perceived importance. You’re curious to see if there’s something “good” in there. This can be especially relevant if your selling proposition is based on emotional appeal. And the more senses we humans use to process information, the more likely we are to remember that information.

I could go on and on about the pros and cons of direct mail vs. e-mail. The point is, think about what you’re selling, the brand impression you need to make and what you require from a medium to deliver your message in a creative and memorable way. Let that drive your media selection. Not just cost per exposure.

Send me an e-mail if you agree.

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

What It Means To Be A "Big" Advertising Agency Brand

2009-05-01T22:57:00.001-04:00

by Steve Fodor.

I’ve worked in the advertising business for over 20 years now. During that time, I’ve worked for big agencies in Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. I’ve worked for agencies that handled major consumer brands and positioned themselves as “one-stop shops” and that have won countless creative awards.

I used to think that “bigger was always better” and you had to be in a big city to be “big-time” in advertising and marketing.

But I see the world differently today. I’ve come to realize that what you stand for is far more important than how big you are or how many accolades hang on your wall.
Twenty years ago, I never thought that I would end up working for an ad agency in, of all places, Marion, Ohio. Marion is a Midwestern manufacturing town. We’re going through some “rust belt” changes. It’s not a big city by any means. The people are nice and have humble values. And I work for a smaller agency now that does one thing: Business-to-business, industrial marketing. We’ve even been recognized six times as a “Top U.S. agency” by Business-To-Business magazine.

I guess in today’s world, it really doesn’t matter how big you are or where you’re located. It matters more that you know what you’re good at and that you make it your mission to work hard and do the best you can. It matters that you have fun at what you do, that you like the people you work with and that you share common values.

Dare I say it: Size doesn’t really matter (sorry, Viagra). What matters is that people respect you because you respect them and that you go to work every day with the intent of doing your best at what you’re good at. That’s your brand, after all.

It took me twenty years to realize that.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/a2gemma/

Spending Limits Are Like Speed Limits

2009-04-30T15:47:00.000-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

When asking your agency to develop the most cost-effective marketing communications campaign, the most critical word in that request is cost. As we like to say around here, “We are very good at what we do, but we’re not very good at guessing.” Let me explain.

When we are asked to develop a media plan for a new marketing communications program for example, one of the most important things to establish is a realistic budget. When given a budget figure at the outset, our account manager, creative director and media planner use it as a parameter when brainstorming creative media strategies, from which they subsequently develop a formal proposal that works within that agreed upon amount to present to the client. We don’t like surprises and neither do our clients.

We approach media planning, much like the other disciplines of our business, with a “get the most bang for your buck” perspective. In other words, we spend our client’s money the way we’d spend our own…very frugally. What we all want to avoid is spending several days developing what is thought to be a very effective plan utilizing every dollar to its fullest, only to find out when presenting it to the client that they only have a fraction of the proposed budget amount to work with.

With that being said, we think the best way to approach establishing (and communicating) budget limits with your agency is to think of them as “spending limits.” And spending limits are similar to speed limits.

For example, if you want someone to travel 25 miles per hour in your neighborhood, don’t post a speed limit sign that reads 35 mph with the hope that drivers realize children live in the area and will travel 25 mph. And consequently, drivers (read: agencies) shouldn’t ignore a speed limit stating 25 mph because they would much rather be driving 35 mph to get where they’re going faster. Another thing we like to say around here is, “Say what you mean and mean what you say.”

Post the limits. Obey the limits!

It really is that simple with communicating budgets, too.

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

Position is Important in Poker -- How about B2B E-Advertising? (Part 3)

2009-04-29T21:36:00.000-04:00

by Brad Smith

There’s an important factor to consider before placing a B2B electronic banner ad – the same factor you should consider before placing a bet in a poker game. Position.

In poker, position is king. If you’re the last to act -- the last person to make the decision to fold, call or raise -- you’re in the strongest position. By the betting choices your opponents make, every other player at the table has to communicate to you something about the value of their hand before the action gets to you. I like to play from the best position.

When placing a B2B electronic banner ad, you also have to consider position. Is your ad at the top of the electronic newsletter, in the middle or the bottom? Are you on the B2B trade publication’s Web site homepage, or on an interior “subject” page (example – the “trailer” page of a “trucking” Web site)?

Is the top the best performing position? How about a top vertical leaderboard on the side? Remember, with B2B e-advertising you can measure performance in the number of times a prospect clicked on your banner ad.

Do the positions at the top of the screen get the most attention and readership? Apparently not – in the recent campaign we’ve been tracking for one of our clients, the highest responses, in two separate markets, have been from trade publication e-newsletters – and our ad has been at the bottom or middle positions. In both cases, these ads have been positioned below the electronic “fold” so to speak. If your results have been similar or different, I’d like to hear from you.

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

Do B2B Banner Ad Results Mirror the Value of the Trade Publication Host? (Part 2)

2009-04-28T11:17:00.007-04:00

by Brad Smith

As I covered in my last blog, we recently ran some electronic banner ads for a client, not to only sell more product, but also to learn more about the effectiveness of this relatively new B2B media option. We tracked the Web site hits that came from each banner ad we ran.

And in the back of my mind, I was thinking the tracking results could shed some light on the perceived reader value of the publications involved. After all, the “content” used on a B2B magazine’s Web site or e-newsletter often comes from the magazine itself, and is often put together by the same journalists.

Here’s an example of the results in one market segment served by three magazines. The numbers evaluation – circulation to key audiences and ad rates – is fairly close on these books. The more subjective comparison is the value of the editorial to our key audiences. (And since the content is the reason our client's prospects read the magazine in the first place, you could argue this is the key criteria. And a better way to gauge media value than artificial and often nebulous ad space rates.)

Publication 1 e-newsletter – 80 hits
Publication 2 Web site – 30 hits
Publication 3 Web site and e-newsletter – 0 hits

Guess who isn’t going to be on the media schedule next year? Think this is a fair evaluation method of a trade magazine’s perceived editorial value?

Key Words: Evaluation method of a trade magazine’s perceived editorial value. Tracking website hits from banner ads, Do B2B Banner Ad Results Mirror the Value of the Trade Publication Host.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/lenore-m/

A New Adage to Guide B2B Banner Ad Placement (Part 1)

2009-04-27T13:40:00.005-04:00

by Brad Smith

Copy:
My Mom’s favorite adage is “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” Well, here’s my new adage for B2B banner advertising – “It’s not what you say, it’s where you say it.”

We recently created an electronic ad campaign for a client as one of several vehicles to help introduce a revolutionary new product. Since seeing is believing, we wanted to drive traffic to the client's Web site to view a video of the product in action.

The side benefit to this was linking each electronic ad to a separate Web landing page. Of course these were actually multiple identical versions of the same page, set up solely for the purpose of measuring the hits or “click-thrus” from each banner ad.

Banner ads were placed on B2B publication Web sites and in the opt-in e-newsletters many trade publications offer. This was repeated in three different market segments.

The results of tracking after two months – of all the click-thrus received, 82% came from the e-newsletters.

Are you surprised? Are you seeing the same or different results? Let me know.

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

Can You Discount Price and Increase Brand Loyalty?

2009-04-24T10:39:00.004-04:00

by Steve Fodor

That’s a balancing act marketers struggle with. Marketers struggle even more given today’s economy when discounting has become a means of survival to generate sales traffic. “If we discount, will we ever be able to raise prices (and our margins) again without sacrificing brand loyalty?”

If you’re wrestling with this question, think about this: Forget about price and think about your customer relationships. I’m of the belief that if you manage customer relationships…and your brand…responsibly, price becomes far less relevant.

I just saw something from Coldwater Creek that reaffirmed this belief. I got a mailer from Coldwater Creek announcing a discount. But instead of the usual “great deals to be had now” tone so many retailers are taking, Coldwater Creek did something different. Their mailer was a simple card with a personal message from the CEO, Dan Griesemer. The message simply said, “We know things aren’t easy. But they can get better when we all pull together. Since you’ve always been a good friend to us, we’ve just reduced many of our regular prices. Thank you.”

In that very simple and understated card, my perception of Coldwater Creek as a brand elevated to new heights. Instead of talking in terms of price, they talked in terms of empathy, understanding and like a real friend. The Coldwater Creek brand took on an even more likable personality in my mind.

I’ll miss this recession when it’s over. I’ve managed to get a lot of great buys on brands that I normally would not have considered because of price. And when the recession ends, so will my temporary relationships with those brands that chose to differentiate themselves on price rather than on brand relationships.

Flickr Photo Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/rwp-roger/3186643427/

Increasing Your Odds of Winning New Customers

2009-04-23T08:45:00.003-04:00

by Brad Smith

Every good poker player has a pretty good grasp of the odds. For example, if you make a bet, some of your opponents will fold. The fewer the opponents, the better your chance of winning.

A marketing example to increase your company’s or your product’s chance of winning is to create a blog (like the one you’re reading now). By doing this you are increasing the odds that potential new customers will find your Web site…and consequently learn more about the advantages your company and products have to offer.

Blogs add “content” to your site, increasing the odds that search engines will direct “word search’ inquiries to your blog/Web site.

“Content” on the Internet is exploding exponentially every day. You need more just to compete. So start a blog. Odds are you’ll have fun, too.

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

Hammer the Benefits

2009-04-22T08:36:00.005-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

A wise advertising creative director once told me, “Nobody buys a hammer to own a hammer…they purchase a hammer to pound in nails.”

I’ve never received better advice to help shape effective advertising messages that really resonate with prospects and end-users. Simply put, it’s a great reminder to focus on benefits, not features. In other words, focus on what the product does for the end-user, not on what the product is.

For example, I love to take photos as a hobby. I particularly enjoy taking photos of sporting events, especially those involving my kids. But when I recently went shopping for a new lens, I didn’t do so with the intent of owning a zoom lens…I wanted to be able to see the grit and determination on my kids’ faces as they edge out their competitors at the finish line of their cross country races in my photos.

Likewise, my teenage son didn’t recently purchase a Jeep Wrangler so he could own a sport utility vehicle…he bought it to enjoy the “top-down, music-up” benefits when the summer weather arrives.

And clients don’t engage our agency’s services because they want to acquire beautiful brochures, advertisements and Web sites (although it is a nice added bonus)…they hire us because they want their sales to increase and the bottom line to improve. In other words, they don’t want tools, they want results.

So whether you’re responsible for crafting your company’s marketing messages or approving the messages that are created, always keep in mind the perspective of your target audience. Remember, your customers don’t want to own your product, they want the resulting benefit of what it will do for them. And once you clearly define and articulate the key benefit that is most important to them, all that’s left to do is hammer it home!

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

Generating Sales Leads In A New World

2009-04-21T11:39:00.004-04:00

by Steve Fodor

I’ve been in business-to-business sales for about 20 years. Recently, I’ve heard and read a lot of information about cold calling as an ineffective lead generation technique.

Given that I started my sales career before voice mail, the Internet, e-mail and social media, I’ve felt that anyone saying “cold calling does not work” was just lazy. It’s hard to pick up the phone and make a 30-second pitch to someone that doesn’t know you.

Lately, though, I’ve become a convert. But let me be clear. Picking up the phone still has its place. There are just so many NEW ways to generate leads.

Even if you live in the world of industrial products and business-to-business selling, here are a few thoughts on lead generation for today’s selling environment.

1. Don’t leave voice mail if you’ve not had a prior conversation – voice mail is mostly a screening tool today. If you can’t reach that person, send them a handwritten note saying you would like to get in touch. Put your Web site on the note. Then call. Now you have something specific to call about. And, a handwritten note gets noticed in today’s e-mail world.

2. Put your sales people on YouTube – If you have a national sales force, think about the presence you could make for your brand if you had all of them on YouTube with well-produced, two-minute videos of why they enjoy selling your product and working with customers. Google and other search engines are the way people find information today. And a strong YouTube presence with the right keywords will increase your brand’s search rate. And don’t forget LinkedIn, Facebook and other popular social media venues.

3. White papers instead of collateral – Sales used to be “here’s my brochure” or “I’ll drop a brochure off.” The world continues to evolve and industrial buyers and decision makers cite that white papers and case histories are far more valuable in making decisions than the good old brochure. Think about creating white papers for your products and services. Put them on your Web site. Announce their presence with push e-mails and search engine optimization strategies. Have your sales people use white papers as “send me something” pieces instead of brochures.

4. Blogging – Again, the Internet continues to replace the phone as a sales tool. Your sales force is an incredibly valuable information asset. Counsel them on how to use blogging as a marketing and sales tool. Set them up with individual blog destinations. Not only will this aid in prospects finding you through online searches, but your sales people will be seen as valued information providers rather than commodity product purveyors.

Yes, sales and sales lead generation techniques have evolved and continue to do so. Hey, I’m an old-school person, too. But there sure are a lot more new and effective ways for generating sales leads today…in addition to good old-fashioned cold-calling.

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

Social Media -- Is It Time To Go "All In"?

2009-04-20T16:01:00.004-04:00

by Brad Smith

Yep, I’m a poker player. My auto license plate reads PKRCHPS.

One of the most powerful plays in Texas Hold’em is the all-in move. It’s also one of the most dangerous. If you’re right, or lucky, you get to play on with more chips…more money. If you lose, you go home. Sometimes when you go for broke, that’s exactly what you achieve.

So is it a gamble to participate in the new social media?

FaceBook. LinkedIn. Twitter. Blogging. YouTube. Etc. Should you be there? Should your clients?

I view these as tools. Valuable tools that can connect you with prospects and drive increased traffic to your Web site.

But they are not the panacea or the answer to everyone’s marketing dreams. They should not receive 100% of your attention or your budget. Social media is not the silver bullet, but should be viewed as one of the many bullets in your marketing communications arsenal.

Like I said, I’m a poker player. That doesn’t mean I’m a gambler. I like poker because it’s a game where you assess and calculate the risks you take. If your chances of winning are too slim, or the rewards aren’t great enough (we call this “pot odds”), then you don’t gamble, you fold. If the potential rewards are in sight, you make an appropriate bet.

So place a bet on social media. But don’t go all in.

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

Making a List

2009-04-17T09:44:00.005-04:00

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

2009-04-16T09:41:00.009-04:00

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

2009-04-15T16:05:00.004-04:00

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

2009-04-14T09:17:00.000-04:00

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)

2009-04-13T15:35:00.000-04:00

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/

The Challenge of Hiring a Marketing Firm

2009-04-10T11:16:00.001-04:00

by Brad Smith

We had a prospective new client visit our agency yesterday and they shared with us the horror stories of their association with their former marketing communications services provider.
This got me thinking about what it must be like on that side of the conference table. Hiring an agency isn’t a simple task. It takes time. But it's better to do it right once than wrong twice. A bad agency decision can set your brand back years. And as we heard yesterday, it can be a very painful and frustrating experience.

These folks were going about the selection process the correct way. They’re going through the discipline and hard work of making a good choice.

First, they’re spending time at prospective agencies doing the important things. Meeting their people. Experiencing their culture. Initiating conversations with people in each department. Seeing how they click. In short, making sure that they like them, and giving the agencies the opportunity to do the same.

Just like in any good relationship, they're probing to gain insight into the company's personality and character. People like to do business with people they like to do business with. (Sure, you can quote me on that).

In short, they are looking for a good fit. And frankly, so are we.

But their investment didn’t stop here. Wisely, they invited us to visit them and take a plant tour. We love those. We’re like proverbial kids in a candy store.

From a potential client’s perspective, pay attention to this visit. How do the agency personnel interact with your people? Do they ask a lot of insightful questions about the company? Are they focused on getting to know you better? Did they send the people you will actually work with, or the people intent on making a sale? Bottom line – can you trust them?

This company will make the choice that’s right for them. We hope it’s us.

If you’ve been through this process, I welcome you to add your perspective and experiences.

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

The Power of the Handwritten Note

2009-04-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

by Steve Badertscher

We’ve been immersing ourselves in all the social media that’s fit to print (and even some that isn’t) here at our firm recently. It is truly quite fascinating...especially the speed at which it is churned out. (Read: Twitter.)

It was while researching my three-hundred and thirty-sixth blog, sandwiched between reading several dozen fractured-sentence e-mails, that something quite remarkable occurred – the mail was delivered. No, it wasn’t just the fact that the postal service delivered my daily dose of snail mail...it was what they delivered – a note acknowledging my birthday.

And not just any note, a handwritten note...from my grandma.

It’s not that I didn’t appreciate the birthday “pings” I received via e-mail, the sentiments posted on the wall of my Facebook page, or the store-bought cards from well-wishers who “cared enough to send the very best.” I did. It’s just that there, juxtaposed amidst the cyber high-fives and envelopes with crisply printed mailing labels, was an actual honest-to-goodness handwritten note.

As soon as I saw the mailing address, I recognized the familiar penmanship. Even though it was shaky, it was still an unmistakably classic, nearly century-old cursive writing style that is an art unto itself. As I opened the envelope to read the card, I thought about how much care I knew she put into sealing it just so. And as I read the message, I imagined how painful it must have been, due to her arthritis, for her to write even a few words, much less several paragraphs expressing how much she wanted to wish me a happy birthday in person, but was unable to travel across the miles, and how much I was loved.

As I finished reading her heartfelt sentiments, I couldn’t help but think that they wouldn’t have had quite the emotional impact if she’d have sent me an e-mail. Or for that matter, a card from the 5 and Dime (as she still calls it).

It was seeing her personality in her pen strokes, and knowing that she made the special effort to put her thoughts in her own words, that set that correspondence apart from any other I received that day...or any day since.

It was the power of the handwritten note. A power that is underutilized in today’s business correspondence.

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