Jul
30

How To Get Mindshare Again and Again

I like the commercials being put out by Apple. I like them well enough that I watch them rather than changing channels. I’m not in the market for a Mac. But due to the fact that I am willing to watch their commercials, it is more likely that I will hear something at some point that is compelling to me.

So how do you ensure that I hear a message about your product when I need to? By being sure that I am willing to listen to your message even when I don’t need it.

Want to know some sites that I read regularly, and derive value from? Well, let me through out some of the less obvious ones:
Jason Alba at Jibber Jobber

Rob Merrill at UtahTechJobs

Yahoo

There are lots of others, but I wanted to throw these three out. Looking at these you might ask yourself why I am interested in help finding a job… I’m not. But that’s the key… I am reading the sites because I derive value and enjoyment from them… even though I am not in the market for their products or services. Both Jibber Jobber and Utah Tech Jobs talk about relationships, and their importance, and say it in unique ways that resonate.

What about Yahoo? Everyone is all about Google now. Don’t get me wrong, I love google, and I use Google… but everyone now and then I like to search on Yahoo because it shows me other cool stuff. I derive other value than just searching.

That’s the key to keep people coming back again and again. Sure, you want them to hear you or see you when they are looking for exactly the value proposition that you are calling out. But give them more than that. Build relationships with people, even if they are not your target. One day they might be, or they might know someone who is.

This is true in every industry. If you develop materials use to build buildings, then put on free events once or twice a year where local builders can come and hear all of the cool news tips/tricks/products about building. Make it an event that people will want to come to even if they are not in the market for your product. Give them value and they will keep coming back. Then, they will already be there, and know you when they are in the market for what you offer.

Marketing need to do more than just shove their value points down my throat. They need to make me smile, or think. Otherwise I have already hit another webpage, deleted the email, or changed channels.

Posted in Advertising, Marketing

Jul
26

The World Needs More Genuine Advertizing

I Just HAD to pass along this tidbit from the main Twelve Horses Blog:

This hilarious parody, entitled “The Couple”, pokes fun at the disconnect that currently exists between traditional advertising and today’s consumers.

There is definitely a need for change within the industry as advertisers continue to view their audience as a statistic or dollar opportunity instead of forging meaningful relationships that will benefit all those involved.

“You’re saying you love me but you’re not behaving like you love me. It’s not genuine.”

The world needs more genuine advertising.

Posted in Events

Jul
23

Content that Connects

When putting together Marketing content, the brass ring we all reach for is the real connection.  Something that grabs the reader/watcher/consumer, and sucks them in.  One of the hardest parts of trying to do this can be realizing what you are really selling.

That may sound odd, but think for a moment.  What do Mountain Dew commercials sell?  If your answer was soda pop you would be wrong.  The commercials are selling hip, and young, and edgy.  They are selling risk taking.  you will never see a Mountain Dew commercial do a taste test against another soda because they are not selling great taste.  They know that their consumer wants to feel a little cooler, a little freer, and when they grab a Dew instead of a Sprite they do.

Similarly, if your product is high quality pasta dinners in freezer bags that you can pull out and warm up in minutes you have to ask yourself what you are really selling.  It’s not pasta, peas or baby carrots.  The real reasons people buy, the real deliverable is a happy family, a happy spouse, the appearance of being on top of things.  That is the message your adds and pictures should convey.

Don’t be too wordy in your message.  Make the pictures, the colors, the flow, and the mood of your add invoke an empathic response from the consumer as much as you can.

Ask yourself the normal marketing questions: What are my key value propositions; what differentiates me from my competitors; but also ask yourself:  What does the consumer of this content like to believe about them self.  If you have a product for sales and marketing people make it look professional if appropriate, but also make it look aggressive, edgy, hip, energetic.  Sales and Marketing people love to believe this about themselves.  It’s what they want to feel, what they want to convey.

Who is your market?  What are you really selling?  What should your customers feel like after they benefit from you and what you have to offer?

Posted in Advertising, Marketing

Jul
19

Time… Never Enough Of It

So I just got back from vacation in Norway for two weeks (wonderful experience BTW), and was completely slammed with stuff that needed to be done. Once I spent a week mowing through the backlog, I am now three weeks out from when I last wrote anything for this blog. It got me to thinking…

Have you ever noticed that the things that are never really a fire, never really urgent, seem to be the ones that sneak up later and bite you in the butt? Things like exercise, spending time with you kids, telling your spouse how much they mean to you.

I think marketing can often fall into this same trap. Sure, you market when you have a new product release, or some new flashy doodad that you want to make sure everyone knows about. But if you have not laid a consistent groundwork, you can find yourself stepping out onto your balcony to cry your exciting news out to…
no one… no one is there, because no one knows or cares who you are.

Posted in Events

Jun
27

Challenges That Make Us Stronger

As I’m sure you can tell from my blog, I tend to think a fair amount about communicating.  But really, communication is a means to an end, and then end is: relationships.  I really think that our relationships are what ground us.

In this vein, a dear friend of mine is taking an opportunity at another company at the end of this week.  Though I’m very sad for myself, I wish him this best of luck, and know that it will be a wonderful growing experience for him.

It has really made me reflect back however, on situations like this.  Wherever I have worked, there have always been times when either through my moving on, or through other changes, that I have had to part ways with talented people.  Almost always however, this has brought new color, and new life to the friendship.  As they and I both continue to learn more, we continue to interact, and bring even broader insight to each other.

There have also been many situations like this with customer.  I cannot tell you how many times we have panicked to find out that a key point of contact is leaving one of our customers.  There is often some initial pain, as new people have filled those roles, and have either needed to be brought up to speed, or sometimes have initially questioned the relationship between the two companies (it seems that many people like to be seen as decisive, and change making as soon as they are put into a position.)  But fast forward a year down the road, and almost without fail we have found ourselves working very closely and happily with these new people, and converting them from skeptics to advocates.  Additionally, we very often find that the previous advocate who has moved on is calling us from a new capacity in their new employer, and wanting to leverage us again.

It seems like so much of business is this way.  It is so often the biggest challenges that truly make us rise to the occasion.

Never burn a bridge, and don’t despair… there is no such thing as an end… just changes and new beginnings.

The forest that never suffers fire becomes weak and old.   Capitalize on the change.

Posted in Events

Jun
25

Marketing through HR

Your brand is your livelihood.  As such, we all strive so hard to ensure that our messaging supports our brand, and that our brand inspires at an emotional level.  Are we using the right colors?  The right pictures?  What does our website convey?  How do people feel when they read it?  It seems that to really stay consistent to our brand, we need to evaluate every aspect of our company and ask ourselves how it relates to our marketing, to the message we are trying to send.

As such, what could possibly be more important than who we employ?

Every interaction with customers is reinforcement of your brand.  What image are you trying to convey  about your company?  Guru’s?  Cutting edge?  Savvy and seasoned?  Or just barely good enough not to get fired, inexpensive, and quite frankly not very pleased to be dealing with you?

With unemployment as low as it is it takes an extra effort to find the right people.  No longer will an ad in the paper yield hundreds of resumes, any one of which would be a great fit.  But don’t give in to the temptation to hire “good enough”, or to save a few bucks, since the person you really wanted is more expensive than they were a few years ago.  If the people on your team have a fire in their belly your customers will see it when they meet them, and hear it when they deal with them.

Make your brand infectious.  It’s the smartest marketing you can do.

Posted in Advertising, Marketing

Jun
22

When to go Mobile

There are lots of ways to market your products and services, but one that I want to touch on today is Mobile. When does it make sense to use mobile devices form marketing, and when is it too much hassle, and too much money for little return?

A while back we wrote up a White Paper on SMS and some of its applications. But for those in the mood for a more “bite-sized” read, let me sum up my thoughts here.

The real value of Mobile (other than being hip and cool), come down to TLR:

Time
Location
Relevance

Mobile allows you to leverage the ability to deliver content right now, regardless of location (or more often times, due to location) and thus be more relevant. Let’s look at a few examples:

Retail Stores

As a large retailer, I can have a sign at the entrance to my store that states “To get info on great deals today, text the department number to 12345″ followed by a list of department numbers. Now, as I walk into my favorite store, I can send a text, and get back info, or even coupons to my phone that tell me of great deals in the electronics department, or whatever department I am interested in. This allows a store to leverage location, and deliver content right now, which is the appropriate time, in order to make in relevant. Sure an emailed coupon during the weekend is nice, but will I remember it when I go to the store next?

Stadiums

Okay, so imagine you own a stadium (or maybe you do, in which case, give me a call )
At one of the game you run a contest on the Jumbotron that allows people to text in to a number for a chance to win an ipod during the game. You reply to all local numbers, and ask them if they would like to receive discounts to future games. For those that agree, you record the numbers.
Next game, if ticket sales are slow, you send a text out to the local fans, who want to hear from you, and offer them 20% a ticket for the next three hours until the game starts. This allows you to leverage the time factor of a game starting in three hours, and location of local residents to deliver very relevant data, and fill up your stadium, or your show, or your event.

Resorts

Ski resorts. By leveraging real-time data, and pushing it to people first thing in the morning, regardless of location (but targeting locals), you can tell everyone that you just had three feet of fresh powder. Then you can ask them if the want a 10% of coupon for a lift pass. Furthermore, ask them if they plan to ski today. If so, then you can further use their phones throughout the day to drive traffic into the clubhouse when it’s slow with discounts on drinks and food.

Mobile is definitely a much more specialized marketing medium, and doesn’t work for everything. But if you can leverage the TLR of your consumers, the payoff can be worth it.

Posted in Advertising, Marketing

Jun
20

Connecting Through Your Web Site

I have heard a lot of different people give ideas on what a web site needs to look like. Often times this advice comes in the form of “If I can’t tell what you do in 6 seconds”, or “If I can’t tell what you do from six feet away form the screen” when I look at the site, then it is wrong. I would put forth however that these types of generalizations stem form the same mindset that asks “who is your target?”

It is important to remember that the way the web is consumed gives you the ability to do two things that may seem contradictory: 1- To reach a broader audience, and 2- to have a more intimate relationship with them. This is due tot he fact that traditional communications, on the phone, through printed collateral, etc. Is a one-size-fits-all. If a web presence is managed correctly it allows it to be consumed in a variety of ways… which can feel more intimate to a variety of audiences.

There are at least four key consumption types to consider when you are working on your web site:

Company Researcher

Many people want to find out about your company quickly. The internet has allowed many small, or smoke-and-mirrors companies to seem bigger than they are. Many people who are considering doing business with you will hit your site and quickly go to two key areas:

1- Press releases / news. You better have new content here at least every few months or it looks like you are not doing anything. Don’t wait six months to put it up either. If you had lots of activity, and then have alull, it looks like your company has fallen on hard times.

2- Management team. People want to see good people with experience.

Product / Service Researcher

Make sure these people can quickly find product details on your site. Don’t overwhelm them initially with data, but have a way for them to get to more information. Give the an overview, but give them a way to get some real meat. To many companies force you to call to really understand what their products and services do.

Snackers

Some of the best ways to get traffic to your site will also product the least patient viewers. Someone who came to you through adwords, Digg, StumbleUpon, Del.icio.us, or similar high traffic social mechanisms have little patience. Hook them instantly, give them a quick call to action or you will lose them. This can be accomplished with landing pages that then lead people into other parts of your site as needed.

Bloggers

Rather you choose to blog or not, you cannot ignore that there is a growing community out there that really wants to get to “know” the company and products they deal with. They want to see that there are real people involved, and see what other real people are saying. You may choose as a company not to blog, but know that you will not be connecting at the intimate level for some of your potential consumers.

So who is your target? If the answer to that is “My targets are…” you will find yourself able to leverage the reach, the realtime feedback, the low costs, and the ability to quickly react that the Web brings. But you also be able to build a more intimate relationship that makes so many of the Web’s social aspects so powerful.

Posted in Advertising, Marketing

Jun
14

Twelve Horses at the ADDY Awards in Reno

Many of you may not know, but Twelve Horses has a few locations. One of which, our Reno location (about 28 35 folks (oops, I blinked)), just knocked the ball out of the park at their local ADDY’s, taking home 3 Gold and 3 Silvers, they then advanced to the District competition. District 14 is comprised of the:

Ad Club of Silicon Valley
AdMark, the Bay Area Advertising & Marketing Association
Advertising Association of Northern Nevada
Fresno Advertising Federation
Sacramento Ad Club

As you can see from this list of groups, there was some stiff competition coming out of California.

In the Interactive Media category our Nevadan Cohorts took home 4 ADDY Silver Awards ”For Excellence in Creativity and Execution” for the following entries:

1. Heavenly Mountain Resort
2. Madrone Empire Ranch, Pacific West Companies
3. Mountain Sports International
4. Tanamera

So needless to say we’re a bit excited.

Posted in Advertising, Marketing