by Lisa Wedmann | Mar 8, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Creative, Design, Latest
Adrien Gagnon, the Quebec Natural Health Products provider for over 60 years, found themselves losing their market, their leadership and their relationship with Quebecers. As such, they needed to reposition their brand to the Quebecer of today, providing a contemporary and youthful image. With our understanding of the regional market differences in Quebec, we were able to create a strategy that will speak to the Quebecer to re-establish Adrien Gagnon as a leader in health and wellness.
The first step in this process was to re-brand their logo and their positioning
Here’s how:
Positioning Statement
Adrien Gagnon is all about health and wellness. The goal for the new tagline was to create a simple message that would ultimately speak volumes for the brand. As a health and wellness company, «santé vous-bien» (“Be Well”) or Take Care of You, was the positioning statement that speaks best to what Adrien Gagnon is about. PLUS, the french tagline includes a fun play on words. The French word for health << santé>> and feel << sentez >> sound the same phonetically…so it was a natural.
Logo
The redesign of the logo was kept simple, peaceful and tranquil. We used 2 leaves in the corner of their name to represent wellness while keeping Adrien Gagnon’s name bold with a healthy green colour.
The 2 colours are representative of heritage (dark green) and growth (light green) illustrating the credibility and new stance that is now Adrien Gagnon. This new vibrant logo speaks to Adrien Gagnon’s health and wellness values and positions the company and young and vibrant.
From concept development, graphic design to positioning statements, we deliver solid re-branding strategies that are sure to embody your brand values and get your brand noticed!
by Jenna Elberson | Mar 8, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Latest, Social Media
The “Trend”. More brands are turning to social media to reach more of their customers through trending, they are not realizing the impact 1 tiny misspell or mistake can make.
Already in 2013 we have seen many social media fails. While they bring in a good laugh for the public, for the brands or companies it can be hugely embarrassing and worse.
Some of the biggest mishaps of 2012 were awarded with a SUXORZ awards at the New York social media show. Yes, just like the Razzies which are awarded for the worst movies of the year, prizes are now awarded for #socialmediafails!
Here are just a few of the recipients…
Belvedere Vodka
Belvedere thought it would be great to throw their hat into the meme ring. But when your fans mistake your “meme” as a promotion for rape an apology just doesn’t cut it.
Credit: SUXORZ
Tip: Think it through. When attempting a comical ad piece, think about your audience and what your brand is trying to convey. Ask yourself what is the goal of this promotion and go from there.
Susan Boyle
They say any press is good press. For Susan Boyle, her trending hashtag was the talk of twitter (and won her an award). #Susanalbumparty was one of the top trending topics last year. If you can’t see why… look harder.
Tip: Pick more than 1 hashtag option. When thinking of trending a topic, pick a few options to find the perfect fit for your campaign or promotion. Proof read twice, then a third time, even five times. Then have a group of people review them to. Fresh eyes are always helpful. The goal is to choose a hash tag that is legible and easy to understand.
McDonald’s
Look before you leap should be the motto for all social media campaigns. McDonald’s attempted to engage their followers by asking for heartwarming stories with the trending hash tag #McDStories. The hashtag quickly trended with negative stories and backlash and the campaign was pulled after 2 hours.
Tip: Understand that people like to complain more than praise. Tread carefully when asking for feedback or any type of response on Facebook, Twitter or Google+. Word spreads quickly in the age of social media.
Know of any other social media snafus. Please share them here!
by Lisa Wedmann | Mar 6, 2013 | Branding, Business Success, Interactive, Latest
In this business, we all want to keep our clients happy. Yet in this busy, fast paced go go go world, one key component is lacking – listening!
Instead of hearing what our clients are saying, we are so eager to “sell” our latest idea, fix a problem or answer a question, that we interrupt, ramble on and miss important knowledge and insights.
Listening is THE only way to provide a client with great ideas and plans. Yet instead of hearing what our clients are saying, our brain is busy rushing ahead preparing answers and plans.
Here are a few tips to help listen to clients.
Keep an open mind
Don’t go into a meeting with pre-conceived ideas about what is going to happen. Yes, prepare an agenda. Yes, do the necessary research. And then, let the meeting happen.
Listen with intent
Actively listen to what your client is saying. Don’t jump in, or worse, interrupt. Provide answers when necessary. Remember, the goal is to keep the conversation going and lead to a plan of action.
Talk Less Than You Listen
Be present and be quiet. Yes, ask questions. Yes, provide answers. But let your clients speak, without interruptions.
Ask open ended questions
When asking questions, the aim is to get your client to share. Avoid simple yes and no questions. Instead, ask questions that will get you client to open up and share important insights.
It’s not personal
The client is always first… even when they are wrong! Understand that this is part of business…any business not only the advertising business. It’s hard to sit in a meeting and have your latest ad torn apart after hours of work.
As tough as it can be, remember it’s not personal – this is business. Don’t get upset, interrupt, or get defensive. Hear what the client is saying and let them get it out.
Get off email
When a client sends an email expressing a concern, get it off email – quickly. Pick up the phone, or set up a meeting to talk it out. Then listen. This will lead to a solution quicker than having multiple emails going back and forth. It’s so easy today to “duck” facing issues personally… but just because you can, doesn’t mean it’s the right approach to use.
Communication with clients is a two-way street. We do need to be persuasive “sales” people. But in order to achieve success, to obtain the “go ahead” or buy in that we want, we need to listen first.
by Jenna Elberson | Feb 11, 2013 | Advertising, Business Success, Creative, Design, Latest, Social Media
Marketing is essential for any business, and it’s a field that’s constantly researched, analyzed, and developed by professionals. In general, there are lots of marketing activities you can do on your own to save money, such as posting flyers around town or designing business cards. There are others, however, that are best left to the experts, and here are five of them.
Review Tracking
Because so many people rely on online reviews to make their purchase decisions, it’s incredibly important that you keep track of what people are saying about your business online. Review tracking can help you stay ahead of the curve in managing your online reputation, but it’s also a time-consuming and tedious process. For the most efficient review tracking, it’s best to outsource the job to a company who has the necessary tools and experience to do it for you.
Mass Mailing
Direct, mass mailings are incredibly effective when compared to other forms of offline marketing, and it’s still an approach that many businesses take and profit from. Mass mailing, however, is just that – massive. When mailing out thousands and thousands of flyers – as you need to do to achieve sufficient results – it is a job best left to another company who specializes in it. They have the printers, machinery, and hands needed so that you don’t have to waste time and suffer from papercuts as you address and stuff every envelope by hand.
Review Moderation
Another job that’s best left to outsourcing is review moderation. Not only do you need a company to track your online reviews and reputation, but you also need a company who can moderate those reviews. For example, they can be on the lookout for damaging, fraudulent reviews, and they can take the necessary steps on your behalf to remove fraudulent reviews from the web. A company who specializes in review moderation can help you maintain a good online reputation.
Television Commercials
Unless you run a video production company, it’s best to leave your television commercials to other professionals. When you run an ad on TV, the quality is highly important. If you run a poorly filmed and poorly edited commercial, it will make your business look of lesser quality. It’s also time-consuming and difficult to create a good commercial if you don’t know what you’re doing – if not impossible. Outsource your TV commercials to a video production company that specializes in creating marketing videos and commercials for businesses like yours
PPC Management
A pay-per-click campaign is an excellent way to boost traffic to your website. It’s quick and efficient, but it also requires a lot of monitoring, maintenance, and strategic planning. An online marketing company that can help run your PPC campaign is a good investment to make. They can help you analyze its effectiveness, do tedious keyword research, make sure your ads look and read as well as they should to earn clicks, and make sure you’re getting the best value.
Garrett Payne is an online review management professional with a special interest in review tracking. Garrett suggests those involved in review management; which tasks are best left to the experts.
by Matina Singh | Feb 1, 2013 | Branding, Interactive, Latest, Social Media
It wasn’t so long ago that when you ran a contest the only way people could enter the contest was to take the time to fill out an entry form and then whether mail it in or drop it off in a ballot box. The Internet has made things easier, but still, the consumer has to find their way to your website. Social Media properties such as Facebook has added a layer of ease to the process: Consumers are already on Facebook engaging and talking to their communities. More importantly, consumers have join in and subscribed to contest and promotional sites such as Red Flag Deals or Contest Forums. If the promotion looks interesting enough, clicking on a link that takes the consumer to a contest landing page and asks them to fill out an online form, isn’t that big a deal.
It doesn’t make any difference what type of business you have; running a contest on Facebook is a powerful and effective approach in building awareness, and engagement as well as generating more followers. As appealing as it may seem, Facebook contests can only be effective if it is properly promoted.
Here are 5 simple ways to get the best out of your Facebook contest:
1. Timeline photo
Your timeline photo can be used to tell people about your contest. Not only is this a ‘premium’ advertising space for your contest, there will also be an update to your fans about the changes of your timeline photo. A well-designed timeline cover is a good alternative to promote your contest.
2. Promoted post
In general, only 16% of your Facebook fans see your wall posts. Facebook enrolled the Promoted Post option, where a specific post can be promoted to reach a higher audience. If you recall that caused quite a stir in the business and corporate communities. However, it is here and the fact is that it can cost as little as $5 to reach your community target to get them engaged.
3. Advocate engagement
Have you noticed a particularly engaging fan that frequently shows support for your brand? Engaging with these fans to participate and promote your contest is an effective way to instantly build buzz. It is a form of word-of-mouth marketing that we all know can be influential.
4. Cross promote
Broadcast your contest on Twitter, Youtube, Pinterest, Linkedin and any other Social Media. Your audience is everywhere, so if you do not promote everywhere else, then your contest is probably not reaching its maximum potential.
5. Choose the prize that fits
Instead of offering some big-ticket prize that doesn’t relate to our business, how about giving away one of your own products? If your business is sevice-based rather than product-based, offer the winner a free month of service. The goal of a contest is to find more people who are interested in your business, not just a prize.
That said, here is a very good examples of a Facebook contest…and how you can leverage the impact and reach of Facebook.
Being Human: The Salman Khan Foundation is a registered charitable trust set up by Salman Khan (famous actor in India) for helping the cause of the underprivileged in two main areas: education and healthcare.
The timeline photo changed before the launch of the contest:
The Teaser Campaign Approach: Get your audience curious by adding some pre-promotion. Here we can clearly see the brand is trying to get engagement from their fans by asking and not telling their consumers what the was coming. They have to wait 4 days to find out….
Build and Leverage the Momentum.
In this case, each day a new count down image was posted. The Foundation got their consumers intrigued and made them come back to see the comment, what was new and that all leads to greater engagement.
The Grand Finalé… The Day of the Draw….
Finally here! A total of 31,416 likes, 1,124 shares and 6,170 comments were received! Fans were encouraged to create an outfit for the celebrity and from those comments a 3 random people would win.
Everyday another Timeline photo was posted promoting the new clothing line of Being Human.
Closing the loop… showcasing the winners:
A perfect end to show that this was not only a promotion stunt but the winners actually got to meet the celebrity.
Do you have a favourite contest that ran or is being run right now? Share with us any other great contests that you have seen on Facebook here. We’d love to know!
