Marketing With Attitude

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While once limited to Trade Shows and Retailers, Banners and Displays are now everywhere you turn. They are lightweight, inexpensive, easy to setup, and can be made to fit any environment. If you find people in an organized group you are going to find a banner or color poster. Why? Because display advertising is a great way to present your message visually while providing needed information. Maybe it’s just what you need to bring everything together for your next event or campaign!

So, when should you use display advertising?  Anytime you want to:

Banners are everywhere!

• promote a product or idea
• provide directions to a location
• share information
• display but only for a short term project
• present an idea visually and in large format

Banners and displays are ubiquitous at the bank, fast food restaurants, and at the car dealership, so you might be thinking they are a little too commercial for your needs. However, if you design with your message in mind, instead of the product, you can use displays to add power in just about any marketing situation. We especially like them for:

• Fundraising Events
• Open Houses
• Building Lobbies
• Seminars
• Networking Meetings
• Local Sports Games

Used creatively, banners are very versatile without being expensive. Consider combining multiple display items to provide a complete message. For example, one series of outdoor sail signs might say “price” while the next says “service” and the next says “quality” and the last one would say “C’mon In!.”

How should you choose which banner or display is for you? Here are the questions you should ask yourself:

• How long do I want to keep the display up?
• Will I want to change out the graphics without changing the hardware?
• What conditions will the display be set up in?
• What are the shipping requirements?
• What kind of warranty should I get?

One of the keys to display advertising is selecting the correct display and hardware. So what are some options?

• Vinyl banners using grommets
• Retractable banner stands
• Pop up booths for events
• Fabric Wind Signs and other outdoor signs
• Mounted Posters that can be put on easels
• Window Displays using suction cups

Finally, when considering the expense, calculate your ROI by how many impressions you can get vs. the upfront cost of the hardware. Basically, hardware + graphics cost per event/# of attendees or visitors per event. Avoid letting the upfront cost be your only determining factor. As an example, we have a client that invested in display mounting for their public meeting room. The group is advised of the sizes of the displays and they can bring their graphic panels and quickly insert them without having to worry about the hardware. With dozens of meetings per year the hardware was quickly paid for and the meeting planners were happy.

So, as you are considering how to make the best impression at your next event, consider adding display graphics. They are really a wonderful way to draw your audience in to your message, excite them about being there, and create a cohesive energy to your promotion.

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I had the pleasure last night of attending the AMA-DC 80th gala and awards celebration. The keynote speaker was Andy Stefanovich.  His book is on Innovation, titled Look at More, and is an Inc. best seller.  I loved his perspective on Marketing, and while I can’t do justice to his storytelling, here are my takeaways that you might want to keep in mind as you look at how you are branding your company:

Don’t be a Speaker, be a Conversationalist – In a conversation you are talking about what is going on in your mind, not presenting.  You should approach your Marketing the same way.  What is interesting to you? Who are you?

Create Purposeful Disruptions – Marketing is about changing people’s perspectives – a child looks at the world from a completely different frame of reference than you do, or your parents or friends do.  Find a way to change the way people look at your product.

Get Personal – people don’t want to know what you do, they want to know who you are.

It’s just life! – Every day things happen, good things, bad things, have some fun.  Read the Elephant and Piggie series by Mo Willems.  He makes all his clients read them to understand how you can have different perspectives on the same thing.

Don’t create “stuff,” create beauty! What do you deeply believe in?  This is powerful.  Figure out what you believe in to the core and then invite the world to participate.  Your job as a marketer is to capture the moment and give it to other people.

Marketers have a very important job – lots of people make things, handle money, marketers create the environment on how the world is viewed.

That’s it – I’ve got to go now, I’ve got some reading to catch up on!

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You hear that Social Media is the answer to all your marketing problems, but your boss says it only works B2C and you’re a B2B business.  He/she and won’t spend the money unless you can demonstrate ROI.

A recent article in DMA  suggests 9 out of 10 B2B companies are using Social Media.  While that may be true, most of my clients, who are B2B or nonprofit, don’t seem to have embraced the concept yet.  They tend to think that social media = a website, a newsletter, and a Facebook page.  In B2B, with anemic click-throughs and analytics  its hard to get any more in your budget.

I can attest that even B2B’s do attract new customers from their Social Media efforts.  Here’s a list of the pros that you might not have considered.  I think they are compelling.

1. Top-of-Mind – If you were the last company they heard from then you will be the company your customers think of first.
2. Credibility – When you provide valuable information to help your customers, without any request for payback, it is inferred that your products and services will also have value.
3. Relationship – Social media is a personal medium.  You build a relationship with your customer, even if he or she works within a corporate structure.
4. Call to Action - Social media encourages people to go to your website, participate in your events, and moves them closer to becoming your customer.
5. Shareablity – It’s easy for one person to share with someone else that you might be the solution to their problem.
6. Understanding your customers -  ”Following” your customers helps you learn about their needs and concerns.  To follow them you have to participate in both directions.
7. Bridging the generational gap - If you’re only working with Boomers then your customers are fading away.  Your potential new customers in Gen Y are using Social media to do business and wouldn’t think of buying from someone that isn’t in the space.

One of my colleagues in the promotional products business – which is a B2B industry – hasn’t made a sales call in years, yet she has grown her business exponentially through Facebook and Twitter.  What she understood is that social media is a participatory process.   All too often, I see B2B companies that start down the road, can’t justify the expense within a quarter or two, and move their resources to something else.  Then they complain that “social media doesn’t work for us.”  Well, its working for others and they are passing you by.

Pat

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There, you’re reading!  And all I had to do was ask.  This blog is about “calls to action” and if you continue reading I’ll give you a great list of “calls to action” and a test to see if your copy is being as effective as it can be.

I think most people are really afraid of sounding as if they are selling a vacuum cleaner on late night TV.  Once they tell me how great their product and service is, they assume I won’t be able to resist the call, click, or order.  Sorry, at best, 10% of the people who read your copy will take the next step.  If you want to get better results, you have to issue a call to action.

Here’s the test.  Take a look at your website, your ad copy, your direct mail and your marketing materials.  Count the number of “calls to action”.  (Hint:  look for verbs).  To help, here’s a list of some of the more successful ones by category.

 #1 – For all the reasons I just outlined:

• Reply today.
• Sign up online at.
• Register and for further information.
• Send in your application today!
• For more details call.
• Call to schedule an appointment.
• Respond promptly.
• Get it now!
• See it in action!
• I invite you to…

#2 – Free stuff

• Request your free quote today.
• Learn more at.
• Download (send for) our free brochure.
• Try it free!
• Order now and receive a free gift.
• Get more information.
• Call our experts for a free consultation.
• Send for our free catalog.
• Call (order) now and receive free shipping.
• This offer comes with a Money Back Guarantee, call today.
• Use this coupon today!

#3 – Scarcity

• Limited Availability.
• Order now, while supplies last.
• First 100 callers receive.
• Special introductory offer.

#4 – Time parameters

• Expires this month.
• Act quickly.
• Reserve your spot now.
• Sign up now, while you still can.
• Join now.
• Start now.
• I urge you to act at once.
• For a short time only.
• In a hurry? Call.

How did you do?  Did you realize that “click here” and “add to shopping cart” are calls to action!  Every page should have at least one, 2-3 is average, and 4-5 is probably ideal when you count the really subtle ones (eg. expires 12/31/2012).    

Your product information will get your prospects interested.  Still most people who are inclined toward your product like and want direction on what to do next.  That moment doesn’t last very long.  If they can’t figure it out, they’ll leave your page, or put away your literature.  You have to make the next step obvious and easy.

Good news is that now, with so much customer interaction taking place through websites, measurement tools such as Google Analytics can track your hits.  You can see what works and what doesn’t.   With Analytics you can really see and track the effectiveness of your calls to action on your websites. 

What fits for your business is your decision, there is a line you want to avoid crossing if you don’t want to sound like a huckster.   In general, avoid the “buy now” hard sell. 

Would you like some help in analyzing your current program? Call me today for a free consultation and review of your marketing materials! Act now, I still have a few slots left in September but they are going fast.

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The fastest way to go out of business is to stop getting new clients while losing old ones.  It’s simply too hard to get new ones these days.  So, just a quick note to point out that in the promotional marketplace, its clearance season.  If you held off your physical advertising based on cost, you can get some good quality items to promote your business without breaking the budget.

Most promotional merchandise for the Spring and Summer was ordered last Fall and made in Asia for delivery in January/February.  Now, manufacturers are taking delivery on Fall/Winter merchandise, and looking at the items that didn’t sell and are still sitting in inventory.  Some items just didn’t sell well, but items that are heavily discounted include things like BPA free water bottles, beach towels and board games.  Outdoor stuff may seem obvious since summer is halfway through, but also techy items that might use solar power, and earphones will be discounted.

This is also a good time to be thinking about pre-ordering to take advantage of holiday discounts.  Manufacturers of calendars and holiday cards do deep discounts now to gain economies of scale.  I know, you are probably saying that you are busy with your back to school marketing and cold weather event planning, but why not get a step ahead of your competition.  Set your goals for 2012 and work with your advertising company to see if you can’t save significantly on next year’s business builders by ordering now.

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Do you send printing work offshore?  Still think you are getting a deal? We are seeing that this may be starting to change.  It is no longer a given that it is less expensive to print offshore.  In fact:

A January 2010 survey by the consulting firm Grant Thornton found that 44 percent of responders felt they got no benefit from going overseas, while another 7 percent believed that offshoring had actually caused them harm.”

I first started sending printing work to Asia about 8 years.  For 4-color printing, particularly book printing, it saved a ton of money.  Savings could be as much as 60%.  Here are the primary reasons that offshore printing became so dominant:

• Labor cost – pennies on the dollar.
• Paper costs – European companies have been dumping excess paper anywhere but the US since 9/11.
• Regulation – factories have fewer regulations about pollution, safety, etc.
• Equipment – as the US market collapsed huge amounts of press equipment were sold overseas at very low costs.

There has been a large change in these areas:

• Labor – labor costs are rising in China and other regions, while US labor is stagnant. 
• Paper – mill capacity has right sized, and the improving economy means utilization is up.  In China, they have put in mills to supply their needs.
• Equipment offshore – Asian printers are putting in new, higher quality presses to replace their old equipment and they have to pay for the investment.
• Equipment here – US suppliers have installed presses and binderies that significantly reduce the amount of required labor.  In make-readies, number of pressmen required, and # impressions per hour, US manufacturers can produce 3-4 times the work with the same labor they used to.
• Shipping cost – the increased cost of oil and therefore shipping has cut into the savings.
• Currency valuation – as the dollar has slipped the cost of goods purchased offshore has increased.
• Capacity – in places like China printing is increasingly supplying local needs.

So if the difference was 40-50% before, I’m now finding that the actual savings when everything is included are in the 15-25% range and if the print job has no handwork it can actually cost more.  The bigger the job the lower the savings percentage. 

Add to this the soft benefits of staying in the US:

• Time – 3 week production instead of 2-3 months
• Quality control
• Consumer and Product Safety
• Made in America label

…and now you have to really question if it is worth sending your work overseas.  One bad experience in ten will wipe out all the savings from going offshore.

Additional References: “Reshoring” http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2010/11/is-reshoring-still-a-reality.html

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Coca-Cola recently conducted a worldwide campaign to encourage local markets in foreign countries to use social media to promote Coke brands.  They sent out three “Happiness Ambassadors” worldwide and followed them as they travelled.  The ambassadors worked with distributors, bottlers and media outlets to build social media communities.  Did they reach you?  Probably not.  Still, there is definitely something we can learn from watching one of the big boys in action:

1. The people at Coke understand how important social media has become and they’d better get there first to maintain their top-of-mind branding position.
2. They claim to have created 650 million “media impressions” – which is pretty darn good, but as a marketer I’m not sure how you measure the impact and ROI. This is tied to #5 below.
3. Relationships matter, even in social media – Coke’s approach recognizes the need to tie in to local communities and local bloggers.  You create relationships first and then they multiply on Twitter and Facebook.  It doesn’t work the other way around.  Your first “friends” or “fans” or “followers” will come from personal relationships.
4. Its about people – the three ambassadors job was to go around the world and connect Coke with “fun”. You still need feet on the street to promote your business.  It’s not enough to just Tweet if you want to build new relationships.
5. Social Media is Public Relations first, and advertising second.  Is Coke that different from other drinks? – Coca-Cola is a mixture of sugar and water and something called 7x - but Coke has become preeminent by making sure that they build the brand first.  They do their advertising in the store aisle.

To me the biggest lesson is that Social Media should be used for creating atmosphere; for telling people about you and your business, not for selling something.  The next time you are tempted to Tweet that you are offering a discount or have a new product, or post your ad on Facebook, it would probably be good to remember how Coke does it.  Talk about how your company is involved in the community, offer topical insight.  Get someone with credibility to talk about how great your product is.  Can’t find anyone like that?  Invent a “Happiness Ambassador.”

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I’ve worked for companies that believe Marketing is nothing more than coming up with a new product for a single customer and deciding everyone else is going to want it as soon as they know about it!  Marketing’s job in this scenario is to provide a really cool sell sheet that lists all the features of the new product and sending it to all their customers and prospects. As a salesman I can assure you it is really hard and depressing to try to sell stuff to people who don’t need it. 

This sort of “push” marketing should be long gone by now, but it isn’t.  Today, with the internet and digital technologies successful marketing is “pulling” people to your ideas, and targeting segments with products and services specifically tailored for them.  So, prompted by a recent discussion on Linked In, here are 10 Things Marketing is NOT:

1. Just creative.  (Marketing involves math and analysis)
2. Promotion (Price, Product and Place are the other 3 “P’s”)
3. Buzz words
4. Branding (Marketing requires measurable results, I don’t even like the concept of “lifetime value”)
5. Advertising, direct mail, e-mail or any single distribution channel (today’s strategy requires integrated use of multiple channels)
6. Having a website
7. Mass message distribution (as opposed to target marketing)
8. Selling (Marketing analysis should define your product so that it meets needs)
9. SEO (may help to reach target markets, but doesn’t create the message)
10. Putting anyone but the customer first

Top marketers today understand that Marketing has to:

• analyze customers and behavior to determine their needs
• advise decision-makers on product development so they make products and services to meet those needs.  
•  design and implement a strategy to attract prospects to the product.
• make sure that your whole company understands how to deliver the product so that it meets those needs
• measuring to know if it is working short-term and long-term. 

So let’s add “we’ve always done it that way” as No. 11 on the list of what Marketing isn’t.