For many businesses, excepting retail, the holidays can be a black hole for marketing efforts. At a time when most people are focused on holiday event planning and shopping, marketing is often put on hold until a time when prospective customers are less preoccupied. However, by writing off marketing during the holiday season, your business may be missing a great opportunity to creatively connect with prospective clients. Here are six fun and innovate ways to market during the holidays.
1. Tie your work into the season.
Almost every profession can be tied to an end-of-year/new year’s theme. Take time to think about what aspects of your business are seaonal and what people need from you during the holidays. For example, if you’re in the accounting business, place emphasis on how best to handle holiday bugdeting or how to financially plan for the upcoming year.
2. Let people buy gift certificates for your product or service.
Everyone will be giving gifts – why not let them give a loved one the gift of your service? Take a clue from the packages that other similar product producers/businesses are selling, then take time to come up with an affordable bundle of solutions that you could make available this holiday season.
3. Give holiday cards and gifts
The office holiday card is a classic for a reason – cards and gifts are a fun, creative way to have your business noticed during the holidays. Come up with a unique, well-designed, and possibly humorous theme for the cards, then review your client list and choose small, meaningful gifts for key clients. Taking the time to send out a well thought-out card and/or a personally appropriate gift will mean a lot to clients, referral partners, and prospects alike.
4. Compile an end-of-year or “what’s up next” report
This is a great way not only to do a little bragging on your company’s accomplishments, but to let clients and prospects know what’s new for them in your business as well. Highlight successes of the past year, and then share information about a new product, an upcoming workshop, an added service, or a strategic new alliance you’ve made. During the holiday season, everyone is filled with expectations for the new year – let your businesses’ novelties be a part of that excitement.
5. Throw a business party
While you might not sign tons of new clients during a holiday party, it’s still a great way to network while focusing on the spirit of the season. When the holidays are over, you’ll have warm memories with new and old contacts that you can translate into a conversation about furthering that relationship.
6. Create time-sensitive offers
People notice and respond to deadlines, and the year’s end is a perfect time to build these into your service. Take the end of the year as a natural time to communicate to prospective clients that now is the time to get on board, before prices go up or because exciting new products or services are available for the first time. You can also connect this technique to the product packages you’ve created for gift certificates.
With these tips, you’ll be ready to have some creative fun with your marketing. After all, everyone is in the holiday spirit, and it is the perfect time to focus on relationships, both at home and in business. Your clients, old and new, will thank you for it. For further help with creating and championing your brand at any time of the year, contact Holy Cow Branding, the experts in internal and external communication.
Last night, I couldn’t sleep. This isn’t an uncommon experience. I leave the warmth and comfort of my bed to lay on the couch hoping the drone of the television will lull me to sleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes not so much. It does, however, save me from wanting to poke my husband, who is slumbering soundly, with a blunt object.
Anyhow, last night is when I came up with the idea of climbing on my soap box. There are so many things in life that make you ask, “What are they thinking?” that I decided I would use this as an outlet. Topic of choice from last night: Late Night Television.
I ask you… who cares? They all follow the same format: cheesy band, big “look at me” introduction, live audience, interviewing the rich and famous. Where is the key differentiator? Are viewers so numb that they don’t care? What about the advertisers who are throwing millions toward supporting the programs?
Like anyone else out there, I appreciate humor; I occasionally enjoy living vicariously through the lives of the troubled actors; but I am over everything being so completely formulaic. Band? Check. Sitting duck host in a snazzy suit? Check. Famous girl in a too-short skirt? Check. Let’s roll it out. We’ll make millions.
What are your thoughts about this rant? Do you have another you’d like to share? I promise… I have more!
I had this video sent to me today, and I thought it had a profound message. What is amazing is that it was created by Harding College in 1948. I don’t know about you, but I am all for the free enterprise system.
I admit it. I am a sucker for a non-profit. I sit on boards, participate in advisory capacities, donate time and anything else I can do to support people who are in the trenches. Working with non-profits is such a great way to feel like I am using my talents to make a difference in some small way.
I see where many companies are embracing Corporate Social Responsibility, but I also see where other companies just can’t seem to wrap their mind around how to do it, especially when it comes to allocating funds that just aren’t there this year.
What these companies are missing is that it isn’t always about the money. It’s about volunteering time. Providing gifts in kind. Participating in the events. Promoting the cause. It’s easy to do, very grassroots… and fun! Here are a couple of things we have going on right now:
Light The Night
On Saturday, I’ve worked with Lea-Ann Berst from Sleddogg Marketing Management and Mary Margaret Harris from Capital Bank to pull together a team of walkers for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’sLight-the-Night walk. I am so excited about this because we have worked to increase awareness of the event, build relationships with business professionals and help fund cancer research… all in one fell swoop. I will be walking for my dad and my uncle, who both died from cancer, for my friends Becky and Suzanne who are currently battling cancer and for all of those who have lost someone dear to them, too.
On a more upbeat note, I recently joined the Assistance League of Raleigh’s Advisory Council. We are sponsoring one of their signature events, Festival of Trees. We’ve helped them put together their invitation package… Here’s a sneak peek:
Festival of Trees 2009
Don’t be afraid. Jump right in. A little bit of support goes a long way in the eyes of a non-profit!
Nearly everyone has heard the buzz about HBO’s new hit series True Blood, now in its second season. The show is based on the idea that vampires, living in secrecy until now, have “come out of the coffin” after the invention of a synthetic blood beverage makes it possible for them to live among humans peacefully. The show boasted an impressive 7.8 million viewers in its first season, and 12.1 million viewers tuned in for the start of the second season, spurring critics to project that this may just be the most-watched show on HBO since The Sopranos and Sex and the City. But how did HBO, a network that rivals such as Showtime had started referring to as “HB-Over,” manage to draw so many viewers for True Blood? The answer lies in the innovative, extensive, and bizarre advertising campaign that HBO launched to promote the show.
Beginning in May of 2008, HBO started working with six different creative agencies on a massive launch of ads across every sector of the media, making this the most extensive advertising project HBO has ever undertaken. The twist is these ads are directed not to viewers, but to vampires. Print ads from big-name brands such as Ecko, BMW’s Mini Cooper, Harley-Davidson, Gillette, Geico, and Monster feature popular “human” products marketed toward a vampire audience, such as cologne with the tagline “attract a human” or a motorcycle that claims to “outrun the sun.” Viral videos posted to YouTube and designed to look like newscasts cover current events involving vampires while a blog, BloodCopy.com, discusses the challenges and successes of the vampire/human integration via discussions, user comments, and videos all seemingly posted by vampires. HBO has also set up extremely realistic websites for the show’s conceptual anchor product, TruBlood; the American Vampire League (AVL), a national vampire organization featured on the show; and a dating site, LoveBitten.net, that matches vampires and human for dating compatibility. All three sites are interactive—web users can purchase a case of the TruBlood beverage online, click a button to add themselves to the number of AVL supporters, or fill out a dating profile replete with odd fields such as “blood type” and “nighttime availability.”
This type of highly realistic, interactive, and convincing ad campaign is what is known as an A.R.G., or Alternate Reality Game. The point of an A.R.G. is to create a fictional, but seemingly realistic scenario (in this case, the idea that vampires live among us), and then immerse the target audience into this “game” by having them follow ‘updates’, solve a ‘mystery’, or contribute and interact in some way with the advertising. The planners behind the A.R.G., by releasing a series of curiosity-piquing and meticulously plotted interactive advertising techniques, turn advertising into a form of entertainment for the audience. This particular A.R.G., engineered by the creative agency Campfire, is designed to play along “that fine line of fully disrupting someone’s experience and at the same time immersing them in your experience,” according to Zach Enterlin, the vice president of advertising and promotions for HBO. Ty Montague, the chief creative officer at WPP Group’s JWT and a many-time Campfire collaborator, says that an A.R.G. is “a very cool new way to do marketing. Any time you can make the marketing literally an entertainment experience, you’re a step ahead.”
However, there has been controversy over the extreme realism that is vital to the A.R.G. campaign. The BloodCopy blog created problems for Gawker Media, a network of commercial blogs, when the Gawker advertising and HBO contrived to make BloodCopy appear to be Gawker editorial property rather than an advertorial. Gawker rep Gabriel Snyder wrote a rather scathing article discussing the foul-up, in which he proclaimed, “What’s advertising should be called advertising and what’s edit should be called edit. It hurts both to blur the distinction.” Likewise, some posts from visitors to the BloodCopy blog express outrage at the campaign’s deception while vowing never to tune into the show. Some equate HBO’s deceptive blog and ads with Columbia Broadcasting’s infamous radio adaptation of H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds on Halloween, 1938 (the radio show played a series of phony news broadcasts as a way of telling Wells’ story of an alien invasion).
So which is it? Is an A.R.G. a fun and innovative way to advertise a product, or a deceptive method that violates that all-important, unspoken rule of advertising to always tell the truth? HBO defends their marketing and actions by stating that vampires are not real, so people shouldn’t take the ads at face value. “Considering that it’s clearly stated that a vampire is writing this blog, the faux aspect of it really isn’t hidden,” an HBO representative stated on the matter. Clearly, such an unusual form of advertising can create controversy and confusion among the target audience. But part of the experience of the A.R.G. is the confusion between the real and the fantastic, and controversy often helps to create hype, which is the point of advertising in the first place. So as long as you observe the proper ethics, why not have a little fun with your advertising while entertaining your audience as well?
Have you ever searched for a product or service online to find more information? Have you ever found a product online, but the Web site for the product didn’t work, or the page had dead ends and no useful information?
Take a moment to try and accomplish these few tasks:
www.Amazon.com
TRY: See whether Enya has released an album recently. Supposing you then are interested in purchasing one of Enya’s albums, try to sample the tracks to find out whether you’ll like it. Finally, find out how much it would cost to purchase it.
http://www.sharonhillinternational.com TRY: See when Sharon’s next event is. Try to find a pod cast that goes over the proper etiquette for interviewing someone over a meal.
http://terraserver-usa.com/ TRY: Type in your address or current location, and see if digital images of your location will come up. How old is the image of your location? Has the site loaded quickly? Can you find background information about the site?
Keeping in mind that a usable site is one in which users can achieve their goals quickly, pleasantly and with no trouble, some useful questions to ask might be:
Did you achieve the goal, find it wasn’t possible or simply give up?
Did you find it difficult to achieve the goal?
How long did it take to complete the task?
At any point did you become frustrated, even when it worked okay?
Web Users Have Lower Tolerance If your business has a Web site, it is crucial that it is easy to understand and rewarding for visitors. Today’s more-experienced Web users have less tolerance of difficult navigation or impulsively designed Web sites. The Web makes it very easy for a frustrated user to simply go to another site to find what he or she is looking for, for example:
If a web site is difficult to use, people leave.
If the homepage fails to clearly state what a company offers and what users can do on the site, people leave.
If users get lost on a Web site, they leave.
If a Web site’s information is hard to read or doesn’t answer users’ key questions, they leave.
Notice a pattern here? There is nothing more frustrating than a site that is difficult to navigate or has out-of-date information. Something that is true about all online users is that they go on Web sites with an intention. Usually, they are exploring for some type of information. If customers cannot find the information they need, to them, the information does not exist. Therefore, it is essential that a Web site support visitors who are searching for information.
We’re not talking about the finicky little things that professional Web designers worry about, the minor coding issues, or the debate over whether a site should use CSS or plain HTML. We’re talking about being aware of the things that commonly agitate users. That means companies need to work with Web designers and usability experts to make sure these situations are avoided at all costs.
Online Credibility is Key Building trust and credibility is very important when trying to build a brand and grow as a company. In order to gain the trust of users and become a credible source, it is imperative that your Web site and company appear credible and reliable. Users are going to consider your company credible based on the information and design of your site.
Companies with a professional look, such as UncommonGoods.com have done just that. They have built a site for an online store that does not have a brick-and-morter store, but once users visit it’s site, the perception of UncommonGoods is as a reliable and reputible company. They offer the right information at the right time, whether related to the product, shipping, Web site security or privacy; their design is predictable and allows the users to have control of what information they are looking for.
Perception is Reality
Perception is, if a company can’t keep up with their Web site, how can we expect them to keep up with their product/service? Having users frustrated with a non-user-friendly Web site could lead to a negative reputation and image. In order to make sure your Web site is user-friendly, check out the usability checklist below. It covers topics from design to simple navigation tips that can be applied to any Web project.
Create an Active Navigation
Main navigation is easily identifiable
Links are consistent & easy to identify
Navigation labels are clear & concise
Check links to make sure they are connected to the correct source, and not broken
Content and Language
Use language to create a casual environment
Deliver the right information at the right time; sort it by priority
Make sure the language you are using on your Web site is user-friendly, and creates a comfortable environment for the users
Major headings are clear & descriptive
URLs are meaningful & user-friendly
Main copy is concise & explanatory
Design
Keep it simple
Make the structure of your website predictable
Font size/spacing is easy to read and is consistent throughout
Draw attention to key items of interest
Utilizing Space and Group Like Elements
Make sure all the information offered on your site is organized into like groups and easy to find
Take advantage of the space available, but don’t overfill it, too much information is just as bad as not enough
Be Accessible
Make sure your site load-time is reasonable
Users will get confused, lost and eventually need help; the length of time a user is confused can be the difference between a user who will come back and one who won’t
Cross-link pages to make movement throughout the site easier
When your Web site has a high degree of usability, your visitors will have a more gratifying experience and will be more inclined to do business with your company instead of with your competition. A more user-friendly site will also acquire more traffic and more repeat visitors, which transforms the company into a reliable resource with a reputable name!
Recently, I had the opportunity to give a commencement speech. Although I have spoken regularly about my industry, this was a first for me. I never really pegged myself to be a motivational speaker. And, truth be told, I’ve been more like the person who says, “Pshaw! Who needs motivational speaking?”
Shortly after agreeing to give the presentation to the 2009 graduating class at the School of Communication Arts, I received a call that went something like this:
“Lorana, we are so glad you are coming to speak to our graduates. We are so excited. We just know you’ll be wonderful.”
(Of course, my head is swelling and I’m telling everyone who will listen that I am famous).
Then… “So, I need to know what your topic is. Right now. I have to get it approved by my boss. No, you can’t have more time. Tell me now.”
Okay. I may be exaggerating. It didn’t really go like that. But I did have to come up with a topic out of thin air. That’s when I came up with “The Meaning of Life.” I figured I should be able to come up with something fun to go along with that.
I tend to be a bit of a procrastinator when it comes to doing things for myself. So, of course, I waited until the last minute to pull the final pieces of my presentation together. But, let me tell you, delivering that speech was one of the most exciting things I have ever done. I was charged! The audience was engaged. It was fun. And, more importantly, I actually delivered a message with meaning to it.
The underlying message was that it is important to bring meaning to the lives of others. To share your knowledge, your experience and your joys. And, don’t ever forget the people who helped get you to where you are. That’s something I think we all need to remember.
What is brand integration? For many, it traditionally meant product placement, which includes showing a brand name product in a feature film, television program, or other medium not typically thought of as an advertisement. Like many other marketing strategies, product integration has also evolved with all the changes in technology.
Advertisers have paid for placements as far back as the earliest days of film. Many of the placements that most cite as the biggest success stories, are Ray-Ban in “Risky Business” and Federal Expressin the 2000 film “Cast Away.” These placements were thought up by writers or filmmakers and didn’t cost the brands any placement fees or promotional dollars. And considered by far the most successful product integration of all time was Reese’s Pieces in the blockbuster classic “E.T.”
Beginning in 1998, with the arrival of TiVo, advertisers took note at the potential product integration brought to the table. Today, both the advertising and broadcasting industries are gearing themselves up to find innovative ways to maintain their economic status and raising new questions about the boundaries between entertainment, art and commercialism.
With changing technology, viewers are able to fast-forward or skip commercials shown throughout a program. So, advertisers are looking for ways to incorporate their products into shows viewed on many forms of media, such as online at Hulu.com, TV.com, the TV Network’s Web site and iPods. Some of the most recent success stories have been Coke interaction on American Idol,” Sears on “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Verizonon “30Rock,” as well as Apple and Sky Vodka on “Sex and the City.” The difference today is that writers and producers are not incorporating specific brands into shows and movies because they feel it will add more the story, but because TV networks have contracts with specific brands.
I recently had the chance to find out what it is like to be on the other side of product integration. I interviewed Whit Freise, producer-technical consultant, in charge of the product integration within the TNT series “Trust Me.” For “Trust Me,”Friese was limited to the several brands that had already built a relationship with the TNT network by spending millions of dollars each year to advertise during their programs. By using those products, the network is able to maintain a strong bond between the brand and TNT, showing the brands they are valuable to the network. For “Trust Me”, they were contracted with brands, such asDove, Buick, Rolling Rockand Starbucks. Not only did you see these brands heavily incorporated into the shows plot, but if you watched the show without any advanced technology on your TV, during the commercial breaks you also would see advertisements for those same products that were integrated into the show. Talk about GENIUS. Show the target audience your product in use, and then show them a commercial where they can purchase it!
Since the average person interprets what they view on television as reality, which is then perceived as true, advertisers are spending big bucks to get their products seamlessly woven into storylines and reality television. Placing them within the shows makes characters and their activities seem more real, and viewers see a product being used by their favorite characters. If you’re the brand being used, you’re one happy customer!
Today, mass media is all advertising, all the time, and the fear is it will create a generation of pessimistic viewers, who look at everything on the screen as an attempt to sell something. Although, according to John Eggerton of Broadcasting and Cable, the average viewer doesn’t necessarily notice product integration during their favorite programming. The only reason product integration is being scrutinized now is because it has become more noticeable with the rise of reality television. The lack of scripts and focus on “real world” situations easily lends itself to the integration of products and brand names. The question is, are networks integrating so much that it is annoyingly obvious? Are viewers going to find every technologically advanced way to avoid watching commercials because there are already so many in-your-face advertisements while watching a program?
When it comes to boundaries, Friese believes a network’s goal is to produce entertainment and make money. If a show can do both while using product integration rather than puffery, there are no boundaries being crossed. Product integration is not deceptive advertising; it’s a service to a brand. Brands are looking to get their products into shows. If a product fits into the show’s content seamlessly and is not forced, both parties benefit.
Respecting the audience is vital. Choosing brands that have the same value to both the show and its characters is essential. The network is responsible for what is done, said and/or used during their shows, and they have to be willing to take full responsibility if they are scrutinized. Shows are going to start focusing more on the values of a brand, rather than merely using props to fill a set and build a character. Friese used the example that a show may have integrated all Buick automobiles into a show, using each style of car to represent the different types of characters and/or situations. Producers may not linger on the car logo as long, but based on the story line, viewers will know what their favorite characters are driving. With this tactic, product integration is only going to continue to grow.
While product integration dates back to the very first days of both film and television, it has never before had the kind of revenue-generating potential for networks and studios that it has today, nor the potential to change the face of the entertainment industry. Brand integration not only gives brands starring roles in film and television but also attracts advertisers who are willing to spend millions of dollars to produce entertainment.
As an advertiser, I think product integration is a great idea for brands that have the money to invest. Watching a show with product integration gives the characters personality and allows viewers a chance relate to a program. Not to mention, a product can build frequency by having the product advertised before, during and after a program. Although, not all product integration is trying to sell something, some product integration just works best with the story line or character.
As a consumer, I notice product integration all the time. I often wonder if technology has evolved too much that advertisers are going too far to get their products noticed. Have viewers developed a negative view of the brand or the even the media because advertisers are bombarding programs before, during and after with their product’s information? Has product integration made the television viewing experience bad?
At the end of the day, a show still needs to be entertaining, or no one will watch.
I recently had lunch with some old friends. After a long period of “remember whens” we started talking about what we do at our jobs. I started listing some of the things I do on a daily basis; I update the company blog, check e-mails, research on Twitter, and maintain Facebook pages for clients…
While I was listing, my friend Tim stopped me mid-sentence and asked, “what’s this whole ‘Twitter” thing about?”
As a Gen Y’er, we always want to stay connected. It’s who we are. Gen Y’ers grew up with the internet and cell phones attached to us. I know if I don’t have my cell phone, which has my entire life in it, I’m lost. I know if I don’t check my email and all the social networking sites I belong to, I am probably out of the loop with all my friends. And if I don’t check my Twitter account, I won’t know what is going on within the advertising community, around the world, or even locally.
So how was I going to explain Twitter to a guy who doesn’t really get the Social Networking frezny? “It’s like a Super Target®,” I explained. It’s like going to the grocery store and the mall at the same time; it’s a one-stop shop! When you sign onto Twitter you’re signing onto multiple sources of information, for example
If I want to know what my friends are doing at work, Twitter tells me.
If I want to know what’s going on across the globe, CNN Twitter will keep me up to speed.
If I can’t remember what Ellen Degeneres is doing on her show that day, I can find it on Twitter.
If I am a store owner and I want to let my followers know about an upcoming sale, I can Tweet about it.
If I want to send President Obama a message about Bo, the new first dog, TWITTER LETS ME!
“Twitter is not so much about connecting with your friends, it’s about broadcasting information.” Stan Schroeder explained in an article on Mashable, The Social Networking Guide. It is the ultimate way to connect with companies, organizations and people, while filtering out tweets that are not relevant to you.
As PR, Advertising and Marketing, professionals we can use Twitter as an important tool in our every day work. PR practitioners are now using Twitter as a crisis mangament tool. Using Twitter during a crisis keeps readers updated in real time while using Twitpics to show live footage of a situation as it is happening. One example where we saw Twitter used during a crisis, was when Scott Monty of Ford Motor Company openly “tweeted” about a situation that developed when a Ford Fan Web site announced to the public that Ford was attacking their site. Through a series of Tweets, Monty kept followers of his Twitter account up-to-date. He even asked followers to “retweet” the messages that he posted so that he could reach more of the public. By keeping the Ford Followers on Twitter in touch with what was going on during the crisis, the Ford Motor Company was letting the public know that they care about the situation and want to find a solution to the problem.
Ad agencies are also taking advantage of this fast moving technology by developing focus groups on Twitter. Tweeters can quickly let the public know their opinions of brands, products and services, and companies can quickly search them based on key words/phrases. According to an Article on AdAge by Lee Mikles, “Twitter has been a great tool for us to monitor buzz about products or campaigns for our clients.”
As I explained all of this to my friend, I told him that social networking sites are more than just keeping connected with friends and family. You can know what’s going on at the White House or even with Ashton Kutcher. It’s a one-stop-shop. It’s like when I go to Super Target®, I can get my groceries, household items and the lastest fashion trends all at the same place! For PR, Advertising and Marketing practitioners, social media give us the opportunity to quickly learn about our markets. We have the chance to stay connected with the public, keep up-to-date with current events, gain insight on industry trends and learn more about people’s likes and dislikes. We are being supplied with all the information we could ever ask for. We just need to make sure we use it.
There are several ads from when I was much younger that really stand out. Some of them even make me feel like I am having happy thoughts about growing up. Others were simply great ads. I’ve included several of them below. I’d be interested in hearing which ads stand out from your childhood, as well as which ones you think will be memorable for our children. I’ll be sure to add them to the list.
