Last weekend I was at a craft show – an annual outing where I sell beaded jewelry that I design and “dabble at” throughout the year. Unlike previous shows, this year I sold hardly any ear rings, usually a high demand item both because of their uniqueness and low price I think (I have to be honest with myself!). This year I sold Continue reading “What Do Your Customers Want?”
Category: Marketing and Branding
Travelers’ Branding Campaign Works
Travelers’ well-known logo – a red umbrella – remains a key element of its new branding campaign which launched last year. I first learned of the campaign recently when friends told me about some wonderful commercials with a dog that was intent on protecting its bone from real and imagined risks. The message: Continue reading “Travelers’ Branding Campaign Works”
It’s Not Always About Location
Location. Location. Location.
Traditional marketing wisdom would lead one to believe that where a business is located makes a difference. And that makes logical sense, most of the time. A recent experience, though, suggests that location can be trumped by other things – Continue reading “It’s Not Always About Location”
Should You Be Using Social Media?
This is a question that is on the minds of many these days. You can’t turn on the television or radio, open a newspaper or talk to a colleague, friend or family member without *someone* talking about “social media” – Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc.
Not surprisingly, these discussions lead to thoughts of: “Am I missing out?” “Is my business missing out? Well, maybe. But… Continue reading “Should You Be Using Social Media?”
Yes, Price Matters – Duh!
You can talk all you want about the “value proposition” and about how consumers don’t *really* make purchase decisions based on price, but when it gets right down to it, guess what – they do. Don’t you?
All else being equal (ALL ELSE BEING EQUAL in the opinion of the consumer, whose opinion is the only opinion that counts), price matters. Of course it does. Why would Continue reading “Yes, Price Matters – Duh!”
Crossing the Line Between PR and Marketing
There’s a raging – and quite interesting – debate taking place in a LinkedIn forum I participate in on the relationship between PR and marketing. I’ve found it especially interesting since I recently was engaged in the same debate while teaching PR courses at a local university.
Surprisingly to me, there is a group that believes quite strongly that PR *is not* part of marketing. That it is a separate and distinctly different function within an organization. That’s “crazy talk” to me – Continue reading “Crossing the Line Between PR and Marketing”
Overpromise – Under-deliver?
Apparently KFC’s recent launch of a grilled chicken sandwich so exceeded expectations that KFC ended up damaging relations with consumers, the media and franchisees, according to a recent item in Public Relations Tactics (a PRSA publication). Continue reading “Overpromise – Under-deliver?”
Pay for Performance – Good Idea, or Not…
I just read a piece in The Economist about a movement to pay advertising agencies for value, not hours, and how this trend is catching on. Currently, the American Association of Advertising Agencies estimates that about 10 percent of compensation agreements are value-based, according to this article. (Not sure that figure supports the suggestion that this is a trend that is “taking off”…)
Anyway, my initial reaction in reading this was: “Well, why not? Why should agencies just be paid for being “creative,” and racking up what can be enormous fees? Continue reading “Pay for Performance – Good Idea, or Not…”
Think Carefully About Suboptimizing Your Brand!
One of the keys to establishing a strong and meaningful brand is consistency. A surefire way to become inconsistent is by “suboptimizing” your brand by focusing on the parts, rather than the whole. Or, in other words, by having a tough time deciding “who you want to be.” Continue reading “Think Carefully About Suboptimizing Your Brand!”
Your Best Customers Are Your Best Customers
We’ve all heard it before, but somehow in our ongoing quest to add *new* customers, we have a tendency to forgot to focus attention on the ones we already have.
Datran Media, an e-mail services company, recently asked marketers to rank what advertising goals they considered most important for 2009. The results were: Continue reading “Your Best Customers Are Your Best Customers”