by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 26, 2014 | Agency, Latest
Are you a believer in the necessity of a true blue in-house corporate marketing team, or do you prefer working with easy-going agency types? How different do you think is the kind of creative developed by the people who sit closest to the source, versus those looking in from the outside? And is there a benefit to collaboration? Having experienced working for both sides, it is my opinion that it is always best to mix things up.
There are definite benefits to having marketing experts on-site: in-depth product knowledge and understanding of corporate brands; access to merchandising teams and approving authority; ability to facilitate quick turnaround… and when you’re really under pressure to meet a deadline, you can just stand behind your writer or designer and direct… but please don’t. No one appreciates that and I promise you, it won’t make the process go any faster!
Corporate marketers from experience and proximity know better what senior management is looking for and what is most likely to be rubber-stamped. And there is no doubt that the trend toward in-house resources is growing, mainly because of the need for cost saving. But there are ways to maintain brand integrity and still get interesting, strategic creative without sacrificing the whole budget. And sometimes it really does take input from key creative people from elsewhere to be able to steer a company in a better direction.
Outside agencies naturally come armed with a broader perspective on current trends
simply from having worked with so many different types of clients, and on a wide variety of projects. They are true innovators because their jobs depend on it. If an ad agency offered their clients the same cookie-cutter ideas they certainly wouldn’t be in business for long.
Ultimately, understanding first what the strengths are of the in-house marketers, and then looking toward an agency to supplement whatever might be lacking, is the best way to utilize resources. For example, if you have a great strategic corporate team, but lack the production capability, than that’s what you need to look for in an agency. Marketing with a mind to bring varied experiences and skill-sets to the party allows for everyone to mix and mingle to collective advantage.
by Hilary Smith | Feb 24, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
What comes to mind when you think of podcasting? Do you imagine a vengeful geek complaining about the newest tech gadget failing to meet his standards? Or is it a comic book nerd narrating his newest fiction novel?
Thanks to the innovative design and distribution of the iPod, what was once reserved for technical individuals with the financial means to hire an expert, podcasting has now moved on to become more mainstream. In fact, it can even play a part in a business’s marketing strategy. Using programs like Audacity and investing in a quality microphone are all you really need. The rest depends on whether you, as a voice of your brand, are able to offer value to the audience.
Image Courtesy of MCPierce.blogspot.com
How can podcasting help grow a business?
It all really comes down to how your can retain the attention of your target audience. In an ideal world, podcasts are able to create brand fanatics. A podcast is a simple way of placing ideas and expertise that will help establish a brand as an authority.The more time you can get your audience to spend with your content, the more authority you’ll have as a content marketer. This is why podcasting is often viewed as a viable content marketing strategy, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s right for every business.
If you build it, they might come…
Unlike most marketing strategies, podcasting isn’t all about acquiring massive amounts of traffic or new clients. With podcasting, you are about providing your target audience with an alternative means of gaining access to your content. After all, not everyone has the time to read a blog or watch YouTube videos. Over time, it’s possible that listeners will become loyal customers. If you’re all about the numbers, then podcasting may not be the best strategy for your business.
Furthermore, offering a podcast involves much more work than simply reading a script. In order for your podcast to gain even the smallest amount of traction, it is crucial that you’re able to translate your enthusiasm and command for your niche through nothing more than a microphone.
What do you hope to get out of podcasting?
As mentioned before, if your primary goal of podcasting is to drive traffic, then this might not be the best solution for you. Instead, a brand will want to utilize podcasting as a VIP offering. Providing your subscribers with a behind-the-scenes-look at your business will do a great deal to help build those relationships you want with your customers.
While there are some who might say that podcasting can benefit every business, it really all depends on whether the format is aligned with your brand’s marketing goals. It’s true that written content will always be the bread-and-butter of a successful content strategy, but if it happens to work for your goals, creating at least occasional podcasts or audiocasts can be a simple way to generate guest content in a quick-turnaround format.
Overall, in addition to serving as great training tools, podcasts also help you reach new audiences. And in the tech-savvy world we live in today, subscribers can easily access them through their mobile device, which is good news if a business is trying to launch a new product. Additionally, depending on what kind of angle they have, podcasts also offer a higher level of customer support and may even reduce the amount of support calls.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 21, 2014 | Latest, Marketing
Canada the good. Canada the polite. Canada the humble. Well, since the last winter Olympics… a subtle change has occurred in the Canadian persona. Since the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, Canada has been evolving its persona…still really nice, but a little more edgy. It took the Vancouver Winter Olympics for the world to stop and take notice that Canada does contribute a lot to the world and not only with its steady supply of Canadian comedians! Dare I call it patriotism… that word that has for many Canadians negative associations?
It wasn’t so long ago Canada was the quiet country, the large gentle giant… ever so apologetic and well… nice.
Somehow, somewhere, it has become cool to be a Canadian. It has to become hip to carry the icon Maple Leaf…so perfect for a brand signature. And it all began with hosting the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. That forum gave Canada an opportunity to present itself authentically. What most didn’t realize was that Canada would take world by surprise… and yes that includes Canadians! The only difference between us Canadians and the rest of the world is that we always knew that we didn’t live in igloos!
Canadians were astonished that we could all feel as one. This “showy” display of solidarity – where did this type of patriotism come from? This visible pride of being Canadian? All of a sudden Canadians along with the rest of the world realized that we actually do have a lot to be proud of and not because of our cool fashionable Olympic outfits.
Many Canadians felt that after the Vancouver Olympics ended, we would once again go back to being, well, quiet… That the feeling of pride and solidarity wouldn’t last. But the Vancouver Olympics was just the beginning. In between 2010 and the 2014 Winter Olympics, Canada has increasingly become a strong visual brand. The Canada brand logo is the iconic Maple Leaf (can you get a more single iconic brand visual?), and has become coveted by all.
In Europe and through Asia, a Maple Leaf on backpacks, luggage tags, hats, t-shirts and pins have for the most part guaranteed a friendly smile, a warm reception. Canada now has admittedly a cool factor – something we even acknowledge amongst ourselves… quite unapologetic, I might add.
Today we watch our Olympic Athletes in Sochi and we have awesome brand awareness (oops… country awareness). Canadians more then ever have become vocal… we have become proud without losing our sense of being Canadian. Case in point, Canadian speed skater Gilmore Junio gave up his Winter Olympic spot to his more experienced teammate Denny Morrison in the men’s 1,000-meter race. This was an act of kindness that ended with Morrison winning a silver medal in the event. Listen to the amazing interviews from all of our Canadian athletes. We are winter. Humble. Grateful. Confident. Authentic. We are Canada. Not a bad brand character for a country, when all is said and done.
by Miriam Hara | Feb 16, 2014 | Branding, Creative, Latest
Developing creative for a brand ad, regardless of the medium, is often fraught with many obstacles. The main one being that there are so many people involved in developing brand creative…other than the creative team, at times it becomes impossible to please everyone. That very statement should give all marketing and creative professionals pause. How is it that the creative process and more importantly, creative decisions all boil down to personal preference?
As a marketing brand professional how do you really add value to the creative process?
This really should be a no-brainer as the creative brief should outline all the objectives, character, reasons to believe and tonality. However with the speed of business being what it is today, we often find the creative brief is ditched in an all out effort towards “getting the creative out”. When that happens, much of the creative decisions become based on interpretation and personal preference. While some may argue that being the brand ambassador or manager (herein brand professional) of the said brand allows them the freedom to dictate preference, I would challenge that thought.
Brand and branding is not about individual likes or dislikes. A brand’s life cycle may span over many brand professionals. That being the case, it is important that the brand’s tone, style and voice be maintained. Evolved, for sure, but consistent. More importantly, I believe that the brand professional’s main job is to make sure that the brand attributes and its physical demeanor should be maintained. While I wholeheartedly agree that success is in the details, the creative details should best be left to the creative team. The big picture, the overall impression, the quality, the benefit statements and the appearance of the brand is the responsibility of the brand professional… without question! Thus, total consideration must be given when comments directly touch on these attributes. However not all requests for changes are equal… or relevant. A good way to judge the importance of these considerations is by allocating a mark for each comment directed at “making the creative stronger”. Judgement on if the change will effect the overall delivery should constantly be a forefront of every request to change.
It’s easy to get caught up in the whirlwind of all that is creative. Enthusiasm is always necessary for any creative project to get off the ground… and the creative process initiated. All brand professionals are creative in their own right. However, developing creative and not hindering the creative process is also a skill set that is required to make brand creative to outstanding emotive brand creative.
by Felicitas Ritter | Feb 14, 2014 | Advertising, Latest
Over the last several years, we seem to be focusing more and more on reality for our entertainment. From Survivor to The Real Housewives to Big Brother… apparently voyeurism sells very well. The same trend has also been cropping up over the years in advertising.
The Dove campaign for real beauty was highly successful and original when it first launched in 2004. Since then, we’ve seen many more advertisers following suit using people who appear to be appreciating products in real-life (even if in actuality they may be paid actors). Febreze has filmed people smell testing their products in a variety of disgusting situations since 2011. And in 2013, a Pepsi commercial that received a great deal of attention was one created from a test driving prank at a dealership with Jeff Gordon.
Perhaps this new fascination with reality is in part because we are so interconnected
…through the media, Internet, cell phones – whenever anything of significance happens, we hear about it almost instantaneously. And with the rise of social media, people photographing and posting “selfies” with their favourite things is now very commonplace and popular. It’s also putting a shelf-life on our celebrities who may or may not be able to maintain the images they would like too – which may make using “real” people as spokespersons a safer bet in the long-run.
When one of our athletes wins a medal at the Olympics, there’s an app to give us the download. When Justin Bieber is behaving badly, the Internet erupts with the play-by-play. And whenever Toronto Mayor Rob Ford is set to make his next ethical or political blunder, you can be sure we will all have front-row seats to that action. Once an unfortunate incident has reached Twitter or YouTube proportions, “handling” public perception afterward becomes quite difficult – even with a crisis preparedness plan.
Consumers these days are also far more savvy than once upon a time and not as willing to accept things at face value – they want the dirt and are willing to dig for it. Whether that means getting the latest star gossip, uncovering a government scandal, or wanting to know whether everyday products are organic or eco friendly, truth in life and advertising is what everyone is looking for. What this means for marketers is that branding claims – and spokespeople – better hold up to scrutiny, or the likelihood of uncomfortable revelations is good.
