Posts Tagged ‘marketing strategy

14
Mar
13

Vine’s six-second video new to social, provides marketing opportunity

By Mark Plumb 4 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Marketing, Social Media, Twitter and Vine
Tags: , , , , , , ,

GAP Vine TwitterTwitter, which currently claims around 500 million total users, recently launched the new video platform called Vine.  This platform allows users to share videos. In social media terms, think of Vine as a combination of Instagram and YouTube.

Vine allows users to create looping videos for friends and family, but the recording time must be six seconds in duration.

According to cognitive research, as humans we can comfortably process 2-3 words and one image per second. A Vine video of 18 words and five images should be your maximum. A six-second video is comparable to Twitter’s required 140 characters or less for a tweet.  Currently, Vine is free, but only available for the iPhone. However, it is making a large splash with fans. In just one weekend, more than 100,000 videos were uploaded to Twitter via Vine.

Many businesses are jumping on this six-second-video-clip bandwagon and are utilizing the tool for marketing purposes. Companies, such as GAP, Topshop and Threadless are using Vine as a platform to shoot short video clips of behind-the-scenes action. We expect to see teasers of larger marketing and promotional campaigns on Vine.

Vine also helps companies to drive traffic to other social media channels by including an essential call-to-action at the end of the video, such as “follow me to Twitter” or “like our Facebook page”. If done well, these clips should emotionally connect to the story, which is a vital component of marketing. Another brilliant marketing aspect of Vine videos is the endless looping, and repetition is key in increasing awareness of a brand or product.

For marketing endeavors, Vine can be a great tool to drive traffic, promote a product, etc., so long as the video includes a call-to-action in the end of the six- second clip.

Will your company be joining Vine to leverage marketing efforts? Do you think Vine will be better over time like fine wine or simply another in a line of social media apps that decline?

A huge thank you to Sarah Shepard for her research and contribution to this blog.

Share your thoughts about Vine with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

04
Mar
13

Top 10 Things We Learned at the IFA Conference (Part 2)

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Business Strategies, Communications, Franchise, Franchising, IFA, Marketing, Millennials, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, PR, Public Relations and Social Media
Tags: , , , , , , , ,

In Part 1 of our Top 10 list, we shared franchise industry insights Tracy and I learned at the International Franchise Association (IFA) 2013 conference in Las Vegas. Today, we are rounding out our list with the marketing takeaways.

Kate Upton says that Carl's Jr. sandwich is spicyOne of the strategic marketing concepts that we thought was astute came from Andrew Pudzer, CEO of CKE Restaurants, describing the Carl’s Jr and Hardee’s ‘Young Hungry Guys’ target market. Andrew discussed at great length the Aspirational target market vs. Direct target market. This has manifested itself into a regular SuperBowl ad with some of the ‘it’ girls of the day. Last year’s ad was one of the most talked about after the big game and featured Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover girl Kate Upton. You might think we mentioned this to give us a reason to feature Kate Upton in our blog, you might be right.

Here are the five marketing takeaways from IFA 2013:

1. 25 – 29% of ALL Internet traffic comes from a mobile device. The percentage is continually increasing. Businesses that choose to ignore creating a mobile optimized site or developing a mobile app are going to be in trouble. Consider this: if you gave a bad experience to 1 out of 4 prospects, would you fix the problem?

2.  SEO Killer: less than 1% of franchise business listings are accurate in the top three search engines (Google, Bing and Yahoo). It may be as simple as inconsistencies across business locations. I searched “UPS Store” and found these four results on the first page:

        • theupsstore.com                       –>  Thornton, CO
        • theupsstorelocal.com/2579      –>   Denver, CO (7th & Broadway)
        • shipgeorgetown.com                –>  Georgetown, TX
        • fsups.net                                  –>  Tallahassee, FL

3.  The overwhelming majority of franchisors we’ve met do not have the patience for social media. They keep talking about wanting some old school reactions instead of engagement, sharing or interactions. This attitude must change or Millennials will focus on brands that understand.A lack of consistency with the URLs means a more generic search like “package shipping” won’t include UPS Store locations. In fact, the search returned a US Post Office, 2 FedEX office locations and 1 DHL location.

Equally important point, do not hire interns or entry level newbies to “do” your social media. Being a digital native does not make someone a social media expert or marketer.

4. Google is working with the IFA to make Google more franchise-friendly. This is a important development for concepts that are not brick and mortar.

5. We’ve heard of success across different franchise systems using a retargeting program. Retargeting keeps track of people who visit your site and displays your retargeting ads to them as they visit other sites online. Every time your prospect sees your ad as it follow them, your brand gains traction and more recognition. This Kate Upton Carl's Jr.has resulted in higher click-through rates and increased conversions.

All interesting stuff you say, but we know you want more Kate Upton. OK, we get it.

Let us know if you think we missed something. Share your thoughts about IFA with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

12
Feb
13

More than Social Media: Marketing to Millennials

By Mark Plumb 7 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Baby Boomers, Business Strategies, Communications, Marketing, Millennials, mobile marketing, Reputation, Social Media and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Millennials: They are mobileWhile attending an emergency preparedness workshop last week, there was a robust discussion regarding the role of social media in an emergency. There were two groups of people that discounted social media.

  • First, there were those people that reside in rural areas. They argued that cellular coverage was spotty, 3G and 4G networks virtually non-existent. They needed a more reliable communication method in an emergency.
  • Second, was a distinct generational gap – the Baby Boomers in the room (born before 1964) were unanimous in denouncing the importance of social media.

Interestingly, there was a group of Millennials (born after 1984) in the workshop who were unanimous in stating the power of social media. Full disclosure: I am in Generation X (1965-1984), and in this workshop the Gen Xers were divided about the importance of social media.

The generational gap became an interesting discussion among the small group of marketing professionals. The following are the differences I see in marketing to Boomers v. Millennials.

Category

Baby Boomers

Millennials
Advertising Method Unwelcomed Interruption Engagement
Advertising Content Features and Benefits Sincere Authenticity
Desired Response Reaction Share/Interaction
Desired Result Repeat Users Engaged Participants
Expectations Big Promises Personal Gestures
Marketing Success Consumer Co-creator
Never Return Broken Promise Corporate Shill


Marketers have figured out how to position their products and services to the Baby Boomers. However, for many, it is a new frontier in marketing to Millennials. Here are a few tips:

  • Tablets are currency to the MillennialsCompanies must develop a participation strategy in order to engage Millennials. This is not a quick fix; patience, consistency and long-term commitment are key factors to success.
  • Companies must provide a way to make Millennials look good to their peers. All you need to do is look at the way Apple markets products. The white earbuds of an iPod became an iconic symbol. If you had the earbuds, you were identified as part of the inner circle.
  • Millennials strongly desire to be part of the solution supporting a greater cause. They favor employers who actively support charitable organizations and they purchase products and services from companies that are active with altruistic endeavors.
  • Mobile presence is no longer negotiable if you are targeting Millennials. It is not just access by smartphone; they are also using tablets and gaining knowledge about your company through mobile apps.

All in all, if you want success in marketing to Millennials, you should seriously consider utilizing these four tips. Even better, when combining these tips with a reward program that provides genuine value as compensation for loyalty, you have a winning formula. Because what Millennial doesn’t like ‘free’ compensation.

Let us know your thoughts on marketing to Millennials. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

31
Jan
13

Is the Volkswagen SuperBowl Ad Racist?

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, commercials, Communications and Super Bowl
Tags: , , ,

Watch thisGet in. Get Happy. What is your first reaction? 

Sit with that reaction for a minute. 

On this morning’s Today Show, check out the following exchange: (we are using a transcript rather than a video because NBC will likely have us remove the video)

Here is our transcript from Matt Lauer interviewing Ad Critic Barbara Lippert. Lippert was with Adweek for more than 20 years before leaving for mediapost.com

Matt Lauer: Barbara, first reaction when you see the ad?

Barbara Lippert: I was shocked. Didn’t anyone look at this? This is so racist. My problem with it is that there’s no link to Volkswagen. Its a German car and they are showing happy people because they have black accents. And maybe Jamaicans didn’t find it offensive for a Jamaican Beer or something, but it’s just saying that black people are happy.

Matt Lauer: I take a completely different view of it. I have to be honest with you. I thought if you buy this car, it puts you in a happy place and what’s happier than all the memories we have on being on beautiful islands on island time? That’s the way i took it.

Go back to your initial reaction when you saw the ad. Whose opinion do you more closely align with Barbara or Matt?

Here is my opinion and analysis:

This is a funny ad delivered using obvious parody. When you first hear the Jamaican voice in the elevator, you have an image in your head of the person saying those words. When the person is revealed to be a 6’5″ clean-cut white guy, you now have the tension that makes this ad effective. You are engaged as your mind shifts its paradigm. Then, you are treated to funny vignettes, which engages you emotionally. The hero in this ad is the Volkswagen. When the main character drives his Volkswagen, it makes him happy.

With all due respect Ms. Lippert, you are seeking to be offended from something that is not offensive. In fact, I am stunned that your claim of a racist ad is based on your phrase “black accents.” Jamaica is a country, it is a culture. It is NOT a race. To address the people who could be most sensitive to the tone and content of the ad, Volkswagen Marketing Officer, Tim Mahoney, said Volkswagen conducted research including interviewing more than 100 Jamaicans to ensure the ads were not offensive to the country and culture of Jamaica. Well done, Tim!

So, what do you think? Has Volkswagen produced a racist ad?  If so, please comment below. 

15
Jan
13

Mobile Marketing Predictions for 2013

By Mark Plumb 1 Comment
Categories: Advertising, Communications, Marketing, Mobile advertising, mobile marketing, Predictions and Social Media
Tags: , , , ,

Mobile MarketingThe biggest change in mobile marketing last year was the push notification. Sadly, many business owners couldn’t get out of their own way and have started abusing push notification with non-critical updates. It likely started out of desperation, hoping a constant barrage of info will lead to consumer action.  Unfortunately, for push notification abusers that action is usually to uninstall the app. As a reminder, the best practice is to push info that is relevant to the user and focused on meeting their needs.

With the combination of improved near field communications and business owners punished for push-spam (is that a new term? if so…trademark!) we have compiled our list of mobile marketing predictions for 2013.

Mobile Coupons

2013 will see an increase in mobile coupons. For the business owner, mobile coupons are quicker, cheaper, flexible, convenient and always with your customer. Candidly speaking, doesn’t that sound like marketing perfection? With the improvement of near field communications, you can be timely as well. Imagine sending a 15 percent coupon for today’s special to one of your customers, at lunchtime when they walk within 1,000 feet of your front door. OK, now that is marketing perfection.

Loyalty Marketing

Mobile users will demand an overhaul in loyalty marketing. For example, Denver-based Tokyo Joe’s has an addict card for loyal customers. Buy 12 entrees and the 13th is free. I carry around a punch card for what amounts to a 9 percent discount the 7th time my wife and I go to Tokyo Joe’s. What would really be beneficial is if the loyalty card was tied to my phone. It can be a Tokyo Joe’s app or an aggregator app for loyalty programs like Foursquare.

Not only do I want to combine these programs, I also want to streamline my apps. For this blog, I checked the last time I opened a sample of 20 apps. Five of them were only opened once. If the app doesn’t provide me regular benefits, I’ll quickly become app-athetic. (is that a new term? if so…trademark!).

Social Action

The final mobile marketing prediction is a huge increase in apps adding social action widgets similar to the Facebook “like” button. Social sharing is the equivalent of electronic word of mouth marketing. As businesses get better at forging relationships with their customers in social environments, they will be able to run a sophisticated SCRM program (social customer relationship management).

Let us know your mobile marketing prediction for 2013, and if you think this will be the year of fully integrated mobile marketing. Share your thoughts with us on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow @Weise_Ideas on Twitter.

25
Sep
12

Top Ten Things We Learned at SHSMD 2012

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Health and Wellness, Health care marketing, healthcare, healthcare marketing, Hospital, Marketing and SHSMD
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Attendees of SHSMD2012 are back at their home locations plotting a return to Chicago in 2013, attempting to sync their Poken and wondering if they missed anything from Saturday morning’s keynote, Thomas Goetz (he only spoke to about 20% of the audience Ari Fleisher had on Thursday). While everyone will have their personal take-aways, Tracy Weise, Jay Weise and I developed a top ten list of things we learned in Philadelphia.

1. Hospitals and all medical facilities are overturning every rock for ideas, actionable plans to reduce readmission rates. The most effective tactic so far is educating the family of a patient and allowing the pressure of a loved one to encourage post-hospital stay behavior.

2. Awesome description of the difference between the nuance of healthcare system and service line marketing: The healthcare system branding creates a promise, the service line marketing delivers on the promise created.

3. The overwhelming majority of attendees were unconcerned about outcome of Presidential election as it relates to healthcare reform. Some things are in place and will stay in place; other things will change regardless of who wins.

4. Acceptance of the “must do” strategies in the American Hospital Association report:

    • Increase Hospital-Physician alignment
    • Improve the quality of patient safety
    • Make advancements in hospital efficiency
    • Develop an integrated information system

5. In a session that included an interactive questionnaire, Lack of strategy, lack of time and lack of staff were the biggest reasons offered for not implementing a robust social media plan. However, an argument can be made that there is still a lack of knowledge about social media in the healthcare marketing community.

    • Only 1.1% of the 1,300 SHSMD2012 attendees checked into the SHSMD 2012 Conference using the location based social media platform foursquare
    • Only 6.2% of the attendees tweeted using the hashtag ‘#SHSMD12’

This begs the question, why are healthcare marketing experts reluctant to embrace an important ‘patient experience’ tool?

6. Web 2.0 and social media are working for patient acquisition: There were two case studies, Mayo Clinic and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital with tangible results and the programs were replicable.

7. It is massively important to incorporate a disciplined planning approach to service lines prior to budget season, otherwise you’ll budget before you plan and back into the programs you can afford. At the same time you must engage physicians in the planning process and they must see action otherwise you’ll never get buy-in in future years.

8. Nobody really knows what the ACO landscape will look like, if any so called expert tells you otherwise, they don’t know what they are talking about. They may fool you, but don’t let them make a fool out of you.

9. The quantitative data to effectively manage your medical facility is available, be sure to incorporate qualitative data from physicians to complete the story.  Be sure to deep dive into data analysis if the results are contrary to the generally held opinions of hospital leadership, otherwise you have an uphill battle trying to change minds.

10. Best Quotes from SHSMD2012 – if you said any of these, you know who you are:

    • Overheard at the end of concurrent sessions on day 1: “I am ready to nap dangerously.”
    • In a session when the presenter was making a transition from social media to anal reconstruction surgery, “Before we dive into bowel movements…”
    • In a session responding to a question about strategies, objectives and tactics: “People have a harder time with strategies because they are squishy.”
    • In the exhibit hall, “Hospitals are concerned about patient tracking after they leave the hospital, but why has the term out migration been replaced with leakage.”

Want to find out more about what we learned at SHSMD 2012? Give us a call. Want to add to this list, share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise_Ideas.

30
Aug
12

Google and Improved SEO: Possible Projects Post Panda and Penguin

By Mark Plumb 4 Comments
Categories: Google, Marketing, Search engine, SEO, Social Media and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , ,

As the world’s leading search engine, Google wields a lot of power. One of the things we like best about Google’s mission is they want to provide the best search experience possible, they want users to get the information they are looking to receive.

As the search engine optimization (SEO) world continues to learn about Google’s ever-changing algorithms, there are do’s and don’ts of SEO that Google rewards and penalizes. Ultimately, you should align with Google’s goal of providing the best experience for your customers and clients. The combination of fresh, relevant content, high quality links and trusted authority are still your best SEO options.

The most recent Google product updates had significant impact on SEO. Panda focused on high quality content. Sites leveraging content produced by “content farms” like about.com had their organic search rankings negatively impacted. Sites that produced relevant, high quality content were rewarded.  Penguin focused on off-site SEO, most notably links. Sites that were link spammers (the most common tactic is to reply to blogs with links in the reply) or sites that purchased links in hopes of higher rankings were negatively impacted.

We thought it would be interesting to predict some other possible projects for Google. Here is our list (with the pre-requisite animal starting with the letter P):

Puppy – As social media becomes more important in search results, preference will be given to other Google products like Google+ and YouTube. Some of the wisdom behind the importance of social media in SEO relates to my friends recommendations. If they like it, I’ll like it. If they read it, I’ll read it. These recommendations are coming from a source I trust.

Pit Bull – This project should come on the heels of Puppy. An individual’s social media reputation will play a large role in the credibility of what they share and how much they share. One of the reasons we like reading unbiased journalist reports is the credibility behind the words. How much credibility can you attach to the recommendations of FireBreath919?

Piranha – The combination of Social, Local and Mobile (SoLoMo) will be a major driver to SEO. This will incorporate a swarm of social media and location based services like: Google Places, Yelp, Groupon, Living Social and Foursquare to offer a very tailored search for mobile devices.

Porcupine – As Google Analytics keeps delivering “not provided” as a term used to search a site under the cloak of protecting privacy, this will become a revenue opportunity for Google. Are you willing to pay a monthly fee to see what people are searching to find your site? If you pay that fee, will your SEO improve because you’re providing better content or because you are simply paying that fee? This prickly project might be a longer-term, but clearly on the radar.

Let us know if you see other projects on Google’s horizon. Want to add to this list, share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise_Ideas.

10
Jul
12

Franchise Marketing – Craving an Upgrade: Quiznos Launches a New Campaign

By Bre Wolta 3 Comments
Categories: Advertising, Business growth, Business Strategies, Franchise and Quiznos
Tags: , ,

Higher prices, higher quality: the Quiznos new philosophy.

In an effort to boost sales, Quiznos is going back to their roots: “high-quality, great tasting food.”

Gone are the days of the $3 Sammies and $4 Torpedoes which were directed solely toward consumer value. They are pushing away from competing by lowering prices, and focusing on their customers’ taste buds. They are creating a craving to come to Quiznos and, more importantly, to come back and come back often. This is serving as an important marketing strategy for the Quiznos future.

The new menu is quality driven. It features more fresh seasonal veggies, natural chicken, savory steak, premium cheeses and even lobster and seafood salad. A menu that ensures a feeling of fresh culinary food, with a price that compliments the quality.

With nutrition education more prevalent than ever, now is the perfect time to give people the quality food they know they should be eating. When healthy meets delicious, people will pay for it.

Franchisees are feeling the love as well. They are now receiving a partial rebate on supply costs of the enhanced ingredients; a program to promote the company’s growth and keep their franchisees on board with the new direction.

Tell us what you think about Quiznos new direction. Is it Mmmmmmm…Good? Share your thoughts here or on Facebook at Weise Communications and follow us on Twitter at @Weise Ideas.

 

03
Jul
12

Top Ten Keys to Radio Advertising – Part 1

By Mark Plumb Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Radio and Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , ,

Radio advertisingWe’ve seen increased interest in clients considering radio advertising as part of their integrated marketing mix. Radio is an affordable advertising outlet. Since radio is genre segmented, you are able to target your audience effectively based on interests. It is hard to beat the value of a well-produced radio campaign in terms of delivering a targeted, impactful message to a wide audience.

With that in mind, we have created our top ten keys to successful radio advertising. We are separating them into two categories. The first five tips in this blog are related to radio planning, the next five coming out on Thursday will be related to radio advertising execution.

1. Theater of the mind

Radio is an entirely audio medium. it is important to use concepts and words that create imagery to tell a story. A great example is the recent competition held by Frontier Airlines for their new ‘spokesanimal.’ Not only did these ads effectively introduce you to the contestants, listeners were encouraged to vote on line for their favorite and we even able to take part in the unveiling of the winner. (It was Polly the Parrot.)

2. Clever, but not too high brow

You must engage your audience quickly and entertain them. One of the more successful radio ad campaigns we’ve heard is Bud Light’s Real Men of Genius campaign. These ads pseudo-glorify the jobs nobody pays attention to (parking lot flashlight waver) or the bizarre character traits of an eccentric (office party over hugger.) These ads grab attention, entertain, deliver the product information and have an effective jingle. That combination is hard to beat.

3. Action/interaction

Effective radio encourages the audience to take action, we’ve seen some great success with radio remotes. The driving force of the success is the radio personality inviting the listener to a location to interact with the station. These are great additions to community events, health fairs and grand openings.

4. Delicate balance of logical and emotional appeals

When you are trying to persuade an audience to act, you must remember that people react based on emotions, then justify their actions with logic and fact.  If your ad is based on emotion, it will set-off alarms when listeners try to justify logically. Conversely, a logical advertising message with no emotional appeal won’t create enough desire to act by the audience. An effective radio ad will create the right balance between logic and emotion in order to persuade.

5. Radio is a frequency medium

If you buy TV advertising, you are reaching the broadest audience, if you send mail, you can target your message to a specific audience. Radio is the blend, you reach more people that mail, but the listeners have common interests for targeting purposes. In order for radio to be effective, you need to purchase a schedule that will reach a significant portion of your target market enough times to be memorable.

If you have tight budgets, don’t be worried about trying to have some activity in the market over a long period of time. It makes much more sense to focus on a shorter period of time you can own and create memorable messages that encourage action, you’ll get results. Those results can enable the purse strings to loosen up for more budget as you’ll see better ROI.

Come back on Thursday when we reveal the remaining tips focused on executing effective radio ads.

05
Jun
12

Eye Catching Advertising: Scent of a City

By Tracy Weise Leave a Comment
Categories: Advertising, Creative and Uncategorized
Tags: ,

I love traveling to New York City. I have wanted to take the cuisine home with me. I have wanted to bring Broadway home with me. I have even considered bringing the essence of busy city life home with me. The idea of wanting to take the city smell home with me, however, had not yet crossed my mind.

The Scent of Departure, a new collectable line of perfumes designed to bring back the essence of your favorite city in a bottle, does just that. They have created a line of scents that bring your favorite city to life, minus the airport lines.

Regardless if you can wrap your head around the concept, you have to give the company props for an inventive, bizarre yet notable advertising technique. Not only do they offer scents from Paris (scent of arrogance) to Munich (scent of beer) and 18 others in-between, but their packaging looks like an airport baggage tag complete with the airport code of letters that represents the city.

And you can bet your bottom dollar, euro or yen that their 1.7 oz bottle will make it through customs and TSA.

Playing off the “Proust effect,” a phenomenon psychologists use to describe the strong emotional memories that scents evoke, this marketing concept proves that high emotion promotion=sales; Giving you a memento while capitalizing on your trip of a lifetime.

Our suggestions for future scents: Seattle’s coffee, California’s beach bum, New Jersey’s tanning oil and Washington D.C.’s hypocrisy.

Tell us what do you think about bringing home your favorite destination in a bottle. Has this pungent advertising technique left a stench in the air?

Thank you to Bre Wolta, our contributing writer for this article.

« Previous Entries

Share The Side Note

Facebook Twitter More...

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 1,041 other followers

Weise Twitter

Archives

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.

Join 1,041 other followers