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Kistle podcast on communications research

Posted by Bob Brin on October 31, 2007 at 8:41 AM

In this podcast for IABC, our very own research enthusiast David Kistle previews his talk at the IABC/Cision Research & Measurement conference in New York, November 11/14-16. He discusses communications research whys and gives us the short story on a case history he'll share at the conference. David's interview with Shel Holtz is the last half of the podcast so you can just slide the bar on your player to jump to it (not to neglect the first half of the interview about going green).

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Moving from left to right brain in branding

Posted by Bob Brin on October 19, 2007 at 9:05 AM

There are branding firms that are right-brain dominant and those that are left-brain dominant. Of course, you want a team that's cross-dominant, simply because both your strategy and creative have to be equally on target. The most effective team should have individuals who are left or right-brain oriented. And you need the whole team involved in the entire process. You never know when a lefty will come up with the killer creative idea.

The process has to involve more than a "deep think" and then a handoff to a designer. I often refer to "articulation before art" because it emphasizes the need to get the branding down in writing before any design begins. Brand creative is not simply design or artwork. There is a transitional phase that we call brand expression -- that stage in the branding process when you begin to interpret the brand promise and architecture in a much more expressive way. That means developing both a verbal and visual palette. Thinking of it as a palette is important because the objective, as the effort shifts to a right-brained exercise, is to begin gathering an array of both words and graphics before any actual identity design begins. They don't have to work individually yet because we're just globbing them on the palette before we begin layering them together on one canvas.

For example, possible expressions or interpretations of the same brand architecture may be very human . . . another organic . . . .and another playful and high energy. Then with testing, you can see which direction is most expressive of the brand. The palette then becomes an array of words, images, colors and possibly fonts that creative team can use to paint the final picture of your organization's brand identity.

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Courier Baggage for just trying to be green (and apparently a little too red)

Posted by Bob Brin on October 17, 2007 at 3:52 PM

Messenger Bag trend pacer Timbuk2 doesn't take itself too seriously, or legal spankings from the likes of Target Corporation. The San Francisco-based company sent out an e-mail that very cleverly says, "Excuse Us!!" (for using RootPhi's Lamitron material made from recycled plastic, including Target shopping bags). Sometimes the Target logo can surface in the material.

We say, Hey, Target, don't shoot the messenger. Go with it. Work with Timbuk2 to create a special Target line and make hay or another type of green on being green.

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Marketing via the stars

Posted by Bob Brin on October 17, 2007 at 12:04 PM

The job of the online marketer is to be in many right places at the right time. We've spent a lot of time agonizing over how to identify leads that come in from the Web. In the end it doesn't matter. You have to be there (wherever there is). In search engines, in online publications, in press releases and so on.

What I like to tell clients is: "We can't make the stars align, but we can connect the dots into a constellation that leads the Web traveler back to you. That doesn't mean litter Web space with banner ads and trashy search engine practices. It does, however, mean getting a presence on many relevant sites, directories, etc. through good PR, search marketing, blog efforts and by having a solid site that radiates your brand.

We recently landed a great client prospect who saw us on the Web first. He then asked a friend about the firm, who highly recommended us. Many times the dominoes tumble in reverse -- someone refers a prospect to us and then the prospect checks us out on the Web site. Who cares whether the Web effort makes the score or gets an assist. Just make sure your brand is consistent anyway they find you.

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But All The Cool Kids Are Doing It!

Posted by Jason Swartz on October 11, 2007 at 5:26 PM

Let’s face it. Sometimes using social media as a marketing tool is not worth a company’s time. If your company is considering implementing a social media strategy, I recommend asking three important questions before doing so:

1.) Is your target audience heavily involved in the social medium you’re looking to use (e.g. MySpace, FaceBook, Digg, Blogs, etc.)? - If your audience doesn’t spend a significant amount of time on the social media scene, it’s probably not worth your time. This may sound a little, “Marketing 101,” but not surprisingly, we see this again and again.

2.) Do you offer something interesting that will make people want to share it? - Many companies think they can create a MySpace page, have a cup of coffee and watch as the friend requests overload their inbox. However, if your primary message is too “salesy” and doesn’t provide anything all that interesting, chances are no one will care, let along share it with their friends. WOMMA (The Word of Mouth Marketing Association) defines word of mouth marketing as: “Giving people a reason to talk about your products and services and making it easier for that conversation to take place.” With that definition, who would have guessed this company would only have 1 friend on MySpace (which happens to be Tom, the creator, who “friends” you by default when you sign up for an account)?

3.) If social media does make sense for your company, do you have the time and resources to keep it up to date? – Companies will often invest in a social media campaign, get it up and running, then leave it alone until it becomes more lonely and depressed than social. Keeping content fresh, interacting with your audience and adding new ideas is what will keep them engaged.

Much like high school, being cool can have its drawbacks too.

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