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Why Can’t Politicians Brand Themselves?

Posted By: Mark Beebe Category: Branding Advertising Agencies| Mark Beebe| Social Media Marketing Agency| Stevens & Tate| Stevens & Tate advertising

30 Apr 2012

The other day I watched an Old Navy spot. They have used those spots to get a jingle inside your head with dancers, moving cameras, vibrant colors and of course driving home what they are selling. They completely understand the relationship between visual and hearing.

Then I looked at the marketing dollars that are spent on this election year. How can politician marketing not change the standard mud slinging commercials and re-invent themselves in a positive light with a killer sound track? Why have political commercials stayed the same for over 40 years? The “brand” of each candidate seems to be fighting for their life. It is believed that the consumer only wants the sensationalism of individuals fighting each other and whoever has the better argument typically wins.

But what if….each commercial was a competitive advantage for that candidate? That its truth and inventiveness would go viral and be viewed on YouTube, posted on Twitter and Facebook and Americans wanted to get involved again? Wait a minute. I just described every product commercial on television today. This is nothing new. Over three million people “like” Old Navy on Facebook. It’s a clothing store, but that many people like the image of what it represents. So if there is one simple lesson out of this, why can’t human beings have that feel-good brand and make watching political commercials worth watching? It’s not hard and to me, you have a better chance to win.

In 2010, researches believe approximately $4 Billion was spent on the midterm election. 2008’s Presidential Election cost over $1.7 Billion not including other elections, and likely topped over $5 Billion. The off years such as 2009 tend to lag significantly behind at around $2 Billion. This is a marketing lesson of what it takes to be “liked.”

”Three words: Vice President Oprah.”
—the #1 item from Barack Obama’s Top Ten Campaign Promises, which he presented on the Letterman show

Hospitality Advertising: Mobile Counts

23 Apr 2012

Hotels, airlines, and online travel agencies take note: if you do not have iOS and Android apps already, or a web presence optimized for those devices, a segment of travelers is passing you over. Fully 51% of smart phone owners get their travel information on those devices. The data comes from comScore, the digital measurement provider, from its Travel Advisor report. Nearly one in five smart phone owners used the phones to book air travel and hotel reservations. But booking is only part of the picture, said Mark Donovan, comScore’s SVP of mobile research, who called the phones an “essential companion for travelers.”

“Smart phones have really stepped in to meet a variety of needs for travelers, such as coordination of schedules, locations, trip itineraries and transactions. With more than half of all smartphone users now engaging with travel content, there has never been a better opportunity for suppliers and [online travel agencies] OTAs to invest in their mobile strategies to provide a great experience and win loyalty from their customers.”

Compared to the average smartphone owner, the mobile traveler fits the early-technology-adopter demographic of being younger and male. About 62% of mobile travelers are male, and more than three quarters of them between 18 and 44. About half of them reside in households earning $75,000 plus.

B2B Advertising Uses Digital Channels to Boost Brands

Posted By: Stevens & Tate Category: B2B Ad agencies| Stevens & Tate| b2b advertising agency| business to business advertising

16 Apr 2012

It’s easy to make sense of the current digital marketing universe. Marketers are enamored of email marketing as a means to accomplishing most of their goals, including garnering leads and enhancing the company brand, with social media marketing not far behind as a marketer favorite.

According to a new study by BtoB, “Online Marketing: The Next Frontier of Email, Display, Search & Social,” email is used by 88% of marketers surveyed and ranked as their No. 1 form of digital outreach. Social media, used by 80% of companies, ranked No. 2.

While email often is considered a direct marketing tool, marketers are overwhelmingly focused on branding as a competitive differentiator, according to the study: 51% said their brands provide a powerful way to distinguish their companies from their competitors, and 91% said they currently are making an effort to increase the value of their brands online.

Eighty-eight percent said they use email as a branding channel. This finding indicates a marketing disconnect, said Russ Glass, CEO of business targeting and ad network company Bizo Inc., which co-sponsored the study.

Private Label Package Design Builds Loyalty for Retailers

Posted By: Stevens & Tate Category: Stevens & Tate| design and packaging| package design firm| packaging design| private label design advertising

9 Apr 2012

Thanks to their increasing allure for shoppers, private-label brands—a.k.a. “house, “store,” and “own” brands—have become big business for retailers. The Private Label Manufacturers Association (PLMA [New York, NY]) says that over the past decade, annual sales of private-label products have risen by 40% in supermarkets and by 96% in drug chains, reaching more than $100 billion in 2010.
Private-label brands are the stars of the show—and prime moneymakers on the shelves—at Sunflower Farmers Market (Boulder, CO, Phoenix, AZ), a network of full-service grocery stores in the Southwest. “Whenever we introduce a private-label item, it skyrockets straight to the top of its category,” says Daniel Sinclair, director of private label for the 36-store chain, where the inventory includes a mix of house and national brands.

Milk Pep Launches New Marketing Strategy

Posted By: Stevens & Tate Category: Food retail advertising| Food retail marketing| retail marketing

2 Apr 2012

The Milk Processor Education Program has launched two new multiyear marketing campaigns, one focusing on milk’s important role at breakfast, the other promoting chocolate milk as a post-workout beverage, along with a new website www.gotmilksales.org designed exclusively for retailers.

With data showing breakfast at home is an $8.9 billion growth opportunity, with 51 percent of daily milk consumption occurring during the morning hours, the multifaceted Breakfast at Home campaign provides retailers with a long-term strategy to own this meal-at-home occasion and build customer loyalty.

MilkPEP will support this effort with the “The Breakfast Project,” a national umbrella campaign that encourages consumers to enjoy a breakfast-at-home routine that includes milk. “The Breakfast Project is the cornerstone of the occasion-based strategy to drive volume and value. It is an ongoing campaign to keep the milk and breakfast conversation flowing all year long,” said Julie Buric, MilkPEP VP of marketing. “Retailers can leverage this multiyear campaign by using it as the centerpiece of their Breakfast at Home promotional activities.”

Vivien Godfrey, MilkPEP’s CEO, shed further light on the integrated campaign during an event held earlier this week New York City. “Retailers have really done well [recapturing sales] with the dinner day-part. But again, we want to help retailers own the breakfast period. We can provide them with ideas about how they can do milk promotions and we will also offer coupons to support the effort.

“Milk is a catalyst for a shopping trip,” continued Godfrey, adding that the average basket size doubles from $27 to $59 per customer when milk is purchased.”

Social Media for Senior Living

12 Mar 2012

Every senior living community offers a unique blend of people, environment, activity, culture, and energy. Senior living advertising does not have to remain in traditional media. Marketing for seniors can be done on the internet, and its a great way to allow your community personality to shine. Whether you’re an active adult retirement community, an assisted living residence, a CCRC, or a skilled nursing facility, social media tools (like Facebook, Twitter, and blogs) and community platforms (like Groupsite.com and Ning) can help you put your physical community’s style and personality on display to the world.

But, they can also help you do a whole lot more. Here are just some of the many things these social media tools can help your organization do:

1. Set yourself apart from the competition. Most senior living companies are not yet using social media, but the ones who are will have a leg up as social media goes mainstream.

2. Expand your online reach and drive traffic to your website. Google now uses a social media index in its search algorithm. A senior living company with little or no social media presence is increasingly irrelevant to Google.

3. Engage prospects, nurture leads, and drive sales. Social media tools allow you to have a 2-way conversation with the people you are trying to attract – seniors and their adult children.

4. Publish company news as it happens and create buzz for community news, activities and events. Now anyone in your organization can post information to your website in real-time, keeping content relevant, fresh, and sharable.

5. Post information about jobs and recruit top talent. Job seekers are increasingly using social media as a way to find jobs and connect with companies in the senior living and long-term care industries.

6. Gain new business insights and stay on top of best practices. Everyday, senior living professionals from around the country share their thoughts and experiences via Twitter, Facebook, and other online communities.

7. Build better relationships. Build your professional network, develop relationships with potential partners, connect with new referral sources, and enhance existing relationships.

8. Provide a platform for word-of-mouth. Allow your best residents/families to share their love for you with the world. Give them a place to post information, perspectives, stories, and tips.

9. Provide support. Help residents and family members get the answers and support they need in a faster, more efficient way.

10. Share best practices. Share knowledge and insights across your organization in real time and keep that knowledge stored forever in a searchable database. Provide a place to capture and exchange knowledge and information – positioning your company as an experienced expert and trusted resource.

Do You Truly Know Your Competitive Advantage?

1 Mar 2012

In business-to-business advertising, it’s essential your messaging distinguishes your company, products and/or services from the competition. That’s because when advertising in trade publications or on industry-specific business websites, your ad is likely to be seen next to or around the ads of your competitors. When targeting the same audience, what will make your ad—and therefore your company—memorable?

The best way to differentiate your business-to-business advertising is to focus your messaging on what truly sets your company apart…your competitive advantage. It seems simple enough, but surprisingly, many companies don’t really understand their competitive advantage or don’t exploit it.

What exactly is a competitive advantage? It’s the one thing…or few things…that you can claim that none of your competitors can. It’s objective, supported by facts, and preferably quantifiable. It also should be sustainable—meaning you will be able to claim it not only today but also in the future. For example, we marketed one Midwestern resort to groups with the message “It’s A Shore Thing” promoting the fact that the resort was positioned on the shores of the lake and has a marina to appeal to water enthusiasts. No other local resorts have this combination of amenities. The message is sustainable, as well, unless or until a new lakeside resort is built.

Stevens & Tate recently launched a business-to-business advertising campaign focusing on supply chain synchronization. For the North American division, we worked with the client to pinpoint exactly what set the company apart from other supply chain organizations competing for the same business. The result was seven key advantages—not just great service, or quality work, or length of time in business. While all are important strengths, none of these are true competitive advantages.

In short, your competitive advantage is the differentiator that makes your company special. It’s not just an opinion or even worse, a cliché…like “good value.”

Stevens & Tate Marketing specializes in diving deep into its clients’ businesses to uncover their true competitive advantages. To learn more, visit our website at www.Stevens-Tate.com.

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Hospitality Advertising: Mobile Counts

B2B Advertising Uses Digital Channels to Boost Brands

Private Label Package Design Builds Loyalty for Retailers

Milk Pep Launches New Marketing Strategy

Do You Truly Know Your Competitive Advantage?

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