by Miriam Hara | Aug 6, 2013 | Business Success, Design, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
In today’s corporate environment the vertical integration of all marketing facets is fast becoming the norm. The adage of “wearing many hats” that was once synonymous only with entrepreneurship, is no longer. Corporate marketing is increasingly becoming, in their own corporate space, a marketing hub for their brands, services or products.
If you’ve been following our blog 3H hoopla, you know that I have posted many times about the changes in technology and what that has meant to the advertising and creative field. Today I’m going to focus my perspective on what those changes have meant to corporations. Technological advancements, in terms of today’s computer and software systems, have allowed corporations to get “a handle” on their creative. Desktop publishing has given way to more sophisticated marketing and creative departments. Many corporate businesses have full internal marketing and creative departments, staffed with art directors, creative directors and graphic designers. Needless to say, this also means there is a greater need for full internet connectivity and monitoring of the way the corporation presents themselves to their target audience online, requiring a merging of the IT department with the evolved marketing department.
Over two decades after the launch of desktop publishing and the worldwide web, the business world is “a buzz” with social media.
Today’s corporate marketing departments are now finding themselves having to contend with all the social media platforms: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram, to name just a few! Although the social media channel is nothing new, its platforms are relatively unchartered territory for corporate marketing. Many don’t know how to use them effectively, or evaluate and monitor their use.
As a result, many corporate marketing departments are becoming entrepreneurial adding yet another hat, social media to the number of hats they are currently wearing. Unlike entrepreneurs however, budgets are the not the motivating factor in initially taking on social media as a DIY (“do it yourself”) initiative. What ever the motivation is, it isn’t too long before corporate marketing is faced with the fact that to really run and maintain any social media property effectively, it takes a lot of time, focus, energy and knowledge.
Corporations are vertically integrating their creative needs and now, their social media needs.
On a theoretical level it all makes sense. At the surface, staffing for social media simply involves a good command of the English language with a strong understanding of social media properties. Right? Corporate businesses can now “own” all the layers of marketing, from product development, brand management, creative development, design and execution and now social media. The motivation of control and “owning” the brand voice is a real concern, but there are creative professionals and agencies that can be outsourced to provide this service seamlessly.
All this to say, social media isn’t a layer of marketing to be taken lightly. Social media entails strategy, investigation, monitoring, writing and engagement on a continuous (24-7) basis. At this point of the life cycle of Social Media, does it make sense for corporations to spread their resources too thin by including social media into their marketing layers? What are your thoughts on this, I’d like to hear about them.
by Miriam Hara | Aug 3, 2013 | Business Success, Latest, Marketing, Social Media
At the risk of stating the obvious, social Media is social. It’s social and because it needs to be interactive it’s high maintenance. It’s a new way of networking….for brands and businesses. As such, there should be a considerable amount of investment earmarked to be successful in this arena. The definition of social media differs from every business’ perspective. For some it’s Facebook and Twitter, others it’s LinkedIn or Google+, or YouTube and Pinterest…. to name only a few. Regardless of perspective, social media impact on brands and business is building significant momentum. It has grown and there’s no sign of that momentum capping any time soon.
You already know that if you are managing a brand, a business, local or international, you must find and exercise your voice within this channel. Now that you have your space in the social media environment, you can now exercise social media influence. Building a solid community is a must. It’s important that you create a community that is relevant for your brand and business.
Here’s a short list of what you should consider when establishing a social media presence for your brand or business:
1) Determine the why. Understand why your brand or business needs to be in the social media space. And no, you guessed it, “because everyone else is there” isn’t enough of a good reason. It’ll help if you write the pros and cons of participating in this channel. Note, I did say participate. Social Media isn’t complacent.
2) Establish goals. Don’t just go at it! Is it important to build a 10,000 strong community? If s,o understand why it’s important. Establishing how your brand or business will define success in this channel is important to get future support and budget allocation towards this channel.
3) Be strategic. Don’t go for broke! If you can’t do all the properties, then just do 1 or 2 very well. Social Media demands time… and each property you engage in, needs attention and initiatives to build a community. Investigate the different properties (ie: Facebook, Pinterest, podcast, blogging), and understand how each of them can or can not benefit your brand and business. Like with every advertising budget, understanding the efficiencies of a property and its associated costs will offer direction on what to do and not do .
4) Engage Regularly! There’s a rhythm to any social media property you choose to take part in. You must walk the talk. Too many brands and businesses have a Facebook Page and don’t post regularly (and that is the key). That’s why you must not only intend to post consistently… you must plan it. If you don’t, then save yours business money; don’t be on Facebook! Same goes with having a Business Page on LinkedIn and not leveraging it. If you decide to create a forum, or blog, of newsletter, but don’t regularly post… then what’s the point? Social Media isn’t about observing, it’s about engaging!
5) Set Initiatives and Budgets. Have a realistic plan… and stick to it. It’s important to earmark funds to build momentum to set up a worthwhile community for your brand or business. It takes effort, time and dollars to build “critical mass” in order for your brand to get social!
Marketers know that social media is a staple in the new media subset and should be considered as much an advertising channel as billboards, TV, print, radio and direct mail– with the distinctive advantage of enabling a continuous dialogue flow with a brand’s market… providing information, insights and influence. To my point of view, high maintenance or not, social media for brands and business is no longer a nice to have, but a need to have.
by Miriam Hara | Aug 1, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Latest, Marketing
During the course of my marketing career, I have seen many brands change their marketing strategy, marketing direction and marketing definition on an annual basis or even worse, more often than that! For those of us who have professed the art of marketing, it becomes second nature – even an unconscious behaviour – to resist jumping ship when the water gets rough. It’s crucial for a marketer to support a marketing strategy, position, a brand persona or brand style. A marketer has to stay focused on the chosen strategic direction, even when there’s a storm brewing – and stay the course.
There’s always a new idea, a new marketing strategy or a different approach available for a brand to take.
It may not be wrong, but the true question should be: Is it right for the brand at this time? Marketing is all about putting a stake in the sand. This doesn’t mean being rigid. In fact, for a brand to grow it must be fluid, it must evolve and move in a certain direction. At the same time, a marketer must allow for seamless transitions that will add to its positioning.
There are a few behaviours you can count on when you roll out a brand marketing initiative and determine your marketing strategy. It doesn’t matter if its packaging design (or redesign), an advertising campaign, product positioning or a marketing concept – here are a couple of things you can be sure of:
- Everyone is entitled to their opinion. Respectfully though, not everyone’s opinion should have equal weight.
- Many people, including colleagues, don’t like change. Just as everyone has an opinion, most resist change and will sometimes criticize what’s new or different. Change often makes people uncomfortable.
For any marketer to put a stake in the sand with their marketing strategy, and stand behind it when the going gets tough, they must do their marketing homework beforehand. Here’s how:
- Investigate! Know your market. Know who plays in your market. Know what competitive brands are out there, and what marketing strategies they use. Get out there and do store checks, get price comparisons, look at promotional initiatives, and say yes, even to a one-time Nielsen three-year trend of the market category and segment you are considering.
- Evaluate what you have now. Don’t assume it is wrong. Do your research. Talk to your target audience. Get their take on your brand and on your brand’s positioning. It doesn’t matter what you think, it matters how your brand communicates with its audience. Say yes to market research! It’s well worth the investment. (Notice I didn’t say cost!)
- Quantify the potential. Know what marketing strategy works and what doesn’t. Measure it on a scale that will allow you to accurately assess your marketing stance.
After you do your homework, you can launch your marketing initiative stocked with objective, “non-personalized” rationales. This will give you the tools you need to ward off those nay-sayers and the ones that resist change! Furthermore, you need to wait it out. It’s amazing how with a little time, a revolutionary idea, or funky package can become comfortable and the good old standby!
by Lisa Wedmann | Jul 26, 2013 | Advertising, Business Success, Creative, Latest, Marketing, Objective
Quick… Pop Quiz
Answer the two following questions with the first answer that jumps in your mind.
- Who is the most creative person you know?
- Who is the most objective person you know?
Now think of those two people joined into one brain. Kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde but they are both nice.
On the one side you have the creative person, full of original thoughts and insights, willing to try and experiment with new and innovative ideas.
On the other side, you have objective Judge Judy. Straight and by the book. Judgments are objective, based on facts and not influenced by personal feelings in the courtroom.
Creative ideas can turn into billions of dollars
Creative originality is valued in advertising and marketing. We create fresh views that draw and keep people’s interest. Just think of Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerman or Bill Gates. They all took a creative approach to their businesses; conducted creative campaigns and turned their ideas into billion dollar empires.
Objective thoughts balance creative ideas
At the same time business must be objective. You can bet that Steve, Mark and Bill were as objective as they were creative. They mixed their creative idea with business objectivity. They asked questions such as who is the market, how big is the market, where the market is headed, how much money can be made. This is objective thinking and the answers are the objective facts that are required to run a successful business.
Inventors need to be both creative and objective
We only have to look at a few examples of Dragon’s Den to understand where creative and objective didn’t always mix. On the television show inventors and entrepreneurs pitch their ideas to a successful business panel. They hope to get money to grow and expand their business.
Many of these inventors, although creative come up with ideas that nobody wants. For example edible greeting cards for dogs or a pair of roller blades you strap to your knees to get from one kneeling job to another fast.
And for that reason they’re out.
by Miriam Hara | Jul 24, 2013 | Advertising, Branding, Latest, Marketing
Sales makes money and marketing spends money. It’s usually said in a snotty way and the person saying it usually acts all superior as if they have the secret to life and anyone who doesn’t understand is low, low down on the food chain. Say what you will, those of us in the advertising and marketing business we understand what’s behind the comment. We know where the truth lies. Let’s clear up a major misconception. Marketing and the advertising it propels gets customers and clients in the door, sales closes the deal. There’s different types of marketing for different types of business. But regardless of what business you’re in, there are considerations that should be part of the equation when you decide to go the do it yourself route.
Cutting Costs: Bring marketing tactics in-house
Since sales generates money, there are times when the marketing support areas feels that they are looked upon as an expense… not an investment. Therefore, the quick and superficial analysis says…cut costs by bringing design and media planning in house. You say the media commission and you don’t have to pay agency premiums of simple design. Bright idea in theory. But not so bright in application. There are two very real impacts to this decisions.
1. In-house marketing doesn’t cut costs
Hard to believe? But time will tell. Consider this.For you accountant types out there… outsourced marketing doesn’t require vacation pay, pensions, statutory holidays, office space, computers….think of the savings!!! All kidding aside… look at it from this perspective. Chances are in house marketing creative staff are not as skilled as specialists in an outside agency. The real aspect of a design is being challenged creatively. That ceases to become an option once they have been working on the same business of over a year. An outside agency works on many business, thereby creating a natural environment of creativity and growth. It wouldn’t be fair to expect your in house marketing creative team to be as nimble. They have little exposure to other creative talents. They must rely on themselves for inspiration. Isolated, tucked away in some remote area, creativity comes hard in this type of situation. Time drags on. And no, a marketing coordinator can’t do the media strategy and planning…nor should they. There’s an artform to strategically choosing which media to go to and what the benefits and results are going to be . A handful of people can’t be experts in graphic design, copywriting, social media, web design, packaging, advertising, television, radio… do I need to go on. In house staff will give their best efforts but their efforts will take longer and they can make costly mistakes.
2. In-house marketing can cost money
Mediocrity becomes the norm. Breakthrough thinking becomes a thing on the past.This will, over time, weaken sales. Unfortunately lack of inspiration, creativity and lack of expertise will slowly destroy your brand. It’s an insidious degradation, hard to detect and even harder to understand. Sales weaken and everyone wonders why. Some will say it’s the economy, the company needs restructuring, let’s burn the sales manager but few will look at their marketing department. Take this recommendation. Rather than try to staff for a department that is a vertical business to your business, take the time to choose the right agency. Agencies provide a new perspective. An outside perspective and will stand and fight for the right solution for your business and brand. Based on expertise and experience that is vast and varied. To make sound analogies and fair business assessments to grow your business. It’s important to choose the right agency for your business. Before you bring your marketing in house find and talk to a few advertising and marketing businesses and discuss your needs.Instead of bringing your marketing in house consider outsourcing your advertising and marketing. Let’s see, you want to know if we can give you a referral? Oh yes… a company called 3H comes to mind. 🙂
