Existing Assets used for Brand Boosts

Everyone can agree that hard work goes a long way towards achieving success. Simply doing the right thing also does wonders for the public persona of individuals or companies – and doing the right thing often doesn’t require hard work. 

Nothing seems to topple perceptions of corporate greed than stories of companies using existing assets to help others. In this post, I want to share a few examples of companies putting aside their sales goals to do the right thing.

Anheuser-Busch | Water in Crisis 

The severe flooding in Houston brought about by Hurricane Harvey has created the ultimate irony: water all around but not one drop is potable. Anheuser-Busch paused their normal production at a facility in Georgia to create thousands of cans of water to distribute in Houston.

Anheuser-Busch sends more than 500K cans of water to victims of #Harvey: https://t.co/7q6WTDlD53 Details on Channel 2 this AM. pic.twitter.com/ja7AdlEovv

— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) August 28, 2017

The media has (rightfully) praised the brewer for doing the right thing but this is actually a common practice for Anheuser-Busch. They provided similar assistance during the peak of the water crisis in Flint, Michigan. 

Was it hard for Anheuser-Busch to do the right thing in these cases? Probably not – they already had the supply of water for their normal production and the specialized cans didn’t require a lot of graphic design or ink. At most, transporting the cans of water would be the pain point but in dire situations, I imagine there are groups or individuals willing to take on that burden.

Panera Bread | Day-End Dough-Nation 

Across the country, Panera Bread serves hundreds of thousands of customers each day. But, that’s often not enough as many of their locations have baked goods remaining unsold on a daily basis. These leftovers could be sold the following day but at the risk of violating health codes or serving food that is lower than Panera’s standards. Instead, Panera partners with area shelters and charities to provide this unsold food to those that need it most.

Is it hard for Panera Bread to do the right thing? Again, probably not. The alternative to this program is hauling all of this food to a dumpster. People from all walks of life can appreciate efforts to reduce waste and the above video shows that there are plenty of groups willing to take (and transport) this food. 

By the way, click here to register your group for a Day-End Dough-Nation. 

Sports Apparel of Losing Teams | Donations to 3rd World Countries 

These days, as soon as the final whistle blows on major sporting events, the victors are quickly clad in the official champion’s gear. From hats to t-shirts, this gear features the logos of the winning team. Details such as these can’t be simply whipped up in an instant, right? Well, apparel companies plan for both outcomes for the games. But the losing team’s versions never see the light of day – at least not in the USA. 

Here’s a video that explains what happens to the loser’s gear:

I don’t know how the destination of the loser’s gear is determined but, the apparel companies that follow the practice are definitely doing the right thing. Is this difficult to accomplish? I’d say “no” again. The items feature date and location-sensitive printing and, let’s face it, no fan of the losing team wants to wear a “false” shirt. The people that come into possession of these clothes probably have no tie-in to the teams and value them more for what they are – quality clothing. 

Here’s an article that details just how tricky the agreements between apparel companies and sports leagues can be. 

Doesn't it seem that when companies do the right thing, they also receive a favorable Brand boost? In today’s world, we can sure use more stories of companies putting financial gain aside in order to help others. Are you aware of similar examples? If so, let me know in the comments section or tell me on Twitter! 

Thanks for reading! 

{Top image: Courtesy}

Three Reasons Why Companies Need to Communicate

Corporate communications can take many forms and have just as many intended targets. Even though there are numerous reasons why some companies don't communicate - ranging from unfamiliarity with the ways to communicate to lacking manpower dedicated to delivering messages - there's no doubt about the importance that communications play in a company's success.

After a lot of thought, I've put together the following list that describes the top-3 reasons why companies need to communicate.

1) Put Your Information Where It Can Be Found

As I've stated many times on this blog, I feel the basic principal of marketing is getting your message of front of your targets. That notion has more weight than ever, given the way people prefer to find information for themselves in today's digital world. At the very least, make an explanation of your company's services available on a website. Tracks to that website should be laid in the form of Search Engine Optimization (SEO), email blasts, social media posts and traditional advertising. People want learn more about what you offer. Put your info where it can be found.

2) Explain Yourself

Communicating what your company offers is just the first step. You can also benefit from telling your story or history and giving customers a way to identify with your company. Regular blog posts are great ways to explain how your services can be used in everyday situations. Think about this: the communications that helped curious people discover your company can work in tandem with future communications to help them learn additional benefits of your services.

3) Show That Your Company Wants to Work

The first two reasons why your company needs to communicate pertained to explaining that your company can do something. It's extremely important that your company also communicates that it wants to something. If a potential customer is wavering when deciding to use your service, telling them that you actually want to do the work that will make their life better, easier and more charmed will go a long way towards securing their patronage.

These three reasons could be great topics for individual blog posts - and I might just do that. Here's a question for you as I work on those...would it be fair to say that you could apply these three reasons why companies need to communicate to why personal brands need to communicate???

The Great Insurance Advertisement Boom

For as many types of businesses that have existed over the centuries, business leaders have held just as many opinions on the value of advertising. Equally numerous are the factors that influence decisions to advertise, including a company’s industry, market and need to increase or maintain sales.

Companies that supply desirable products within a competitive industry will seemingly always need advertising. All companies will stray from that need to varying degrees, which makes it difficult to develop a concrete advertising formula. This is a good thing, as it keeps people like me employed.

Insurance (health, auto, home, etc.) is a product that we all need but we don’t like to spend a lot of time researching our options within this industry. Our priority level for this research is so low that we often don’t realize the immense size of the insurance industry. But take notice of all the insurance advertising around you on a daily basis and you’ll quickly realize the national players within the insurance industry are spending ad money like breweries and automobile manufacturers.

According to this July 2013 AdvertisingAge article, Geico benefited from $921 million in measured media spending, making it the 5th most advertised megabrand from all industries in 2012. Oh to have a marketing budget that size!!

Let's take a look at advertising practices from five of the big-time players in this curious industry. Hopefully, this collection of information and samples will help you realize your awareness of insurance advertising (or lack thereof).

GEICO

Backed by Warren Buffet, Geico utilizes a unique marketing approach by featuring multiple characters within mini-campaigns that...really don't promote insurance. This post from The Financial Brand covers this concept more in-depth. Strategy be darned, Geico covers all the bases extremely well. There’s no excuse for having never seen this clip from the popular “Happier Than” campaigns.

FARMERS INSURANCE

Farmers Insurance has been making a very strong push with their video ads that are used on television and as pre-roll advertisements. Noticing their increased activity actually prompted me to write this post. This post on ClickZ by Matt Kapko highlights Farmers' smart use of a familiar jingle at the end of each of their video ads.

Being a huge golf nut, I really enjoy the Dick Fowler, PI campaign that Farmers kicked off this month.

AFLAC

Everyone knows the duck. We've all been keeping up with the Aflac duck's injury rehab through a series of TV ads that have been running throughout 2013, featured here in a nice collection on Adweek.com.

Included in Aflac's advertising muscle is a very sophisticated website that contains pages and pages of information. If the high quality of their TV ads for insurance didn't bring up a concern about overkill, this advanced website might do the trick.

Now that college football is back, we'll be seeing the Aflac duck posing trivia questions and appearing in ads like these during games this fall.

ALLSTATE

The company that reminds you about the unsuspected impact of Mayhem is barely holding on to the #2 spot in the national ranking of car insurers, as explained in this article from ChicagoBusiness.com. But Allstate is maintaining a steady presence thanks to advertising and sponsorships. As with Aflac, Allstate ramps up their game during college football season (no pun intended). I love how the Allstate “Good Hands” logo is smartly positioned to maximize impressions during games.

STATE FARM

The #1 car insurer in the country mixes some of the quirky techniques examined above with more traditional advertising tactics. State Farm's recent video ads feature actual State Farm agents, just like the one seen in the following ad.

Like Farmers, State Farm utilizes a familiar jingle and celebrity endorsements from popular athletes. This New York Times article explains how the partnership between State Farm and the NBA's Chris Paul came to be.

If for no other reason, this intense advertising competition within the insurance industry exists because...everyone else is doing it. In all seriousness, I think this clamoring for your attention stems from a point that I made earlier in this post. The company that becomes our insurance provider doesn't receive the same level of consideration that is used when we are deciding on which smartphone or laptop to purchase. Given this notion, it makes sense for these insurance companies to make every effort to be in front of you as often as possible with an amusing (not boring) advertisement.

Best Use of Google+ Pages by Brands

Google+ is making up a lot of lost ground in the social media world and its presence is growing by the day as more people migrate from Facebook. Brands are noticing this growth and although Google+ is still a strange and unfamiliar place for some, there are some brands that are off to a great start. Here are a few examples of the best use of Google+ pages by brands.

FOOD NETWORK (3,328,087 +1’s)

I love to eat but I’m not a foodie by any stretch of the imagination. I don’t cook and I never watch Food Network programming on television. I’m only familiar with Food Network’s Google+ page because I needed to add to my list of pages that I was following during my early days of Google+. But Food Network’s Google+ page has become one of my favorite pages!

What the Food Network page does right:

• Does a great job of posting attention-getting photos
• Takes full advantage of the large cover photo space to promote Food Network programming

PBS (947,022 +1’s)

I keep track of PBS on other social media outlets and, for the most part, all of their messages remain constant across the board. However, it seems to me that PBS’s liberal side is shown a little more freely on occasion through the PBS Google+ page. But that’s not why I consider this page to be so entertaining.

What the PBS page does right:

• Shares video clips from the wide range of PBS programming
• “Stirs the pot” by asking questions and interacting with PBS followers

ROLLING STONE (957,452 +1’s) 

The Rolling Stone Google+ page is probably the magazine’s best use of social media to show that Rolling Stone is about more than just music. I may not always agree with the writers and editors but from a brand standpoint, the Rolling Stone Google+ page really gets it.

What the Rolling Stone page does right:

• Features lots of great photography from covers and concerts in posts
• Doesn’t skimp on the content; mounds of links back to their web articles (past and recent)

BONUS! 

He doesn’t have a page per se but with 723,783 followers, Marques Brownlee is doing wonders for his personal brand with his Google+ profile. Never heard of Brownlee? Me neither – until I came across his profile much the same way I discovered Food Network’s Google+ page. I’m about as much of a techie as I am a foodie but I’m really impressed with MKBHD’s passion for sharing his knowledge about the latest phones, tablets and other technology.

What Marques Brownlee does right:

• Posts extremely well-made product review videos from his YouTube channel
• He’s not all business; his techie humor comes into play frequently

I can’t wait to see how these and other brands take the use of Google+ pages to the next level. Thanks for reading and please be sure to let me know your favorite Google+ pages in the comments!

 (PS - I wrote an entire post about Google+ and almost forgot to ask you to add me to your circles!)

Corporate Blogs Done Right

Corporate blogs are great tools that companies can use to connect with customers. The stories shared through corporate blogs can even give consumers new ways to use your product, which is always a good thing. In this post, I want to brag on a few of my favorite corporate blogs and explain what they do well.

Hootsuite

We are all familiar with Hootsuite by now. Often viewed as the leader in social media management tools, the Hootsuite blog does a great job of continuously sharing examples of why we need their product. The bloggers at Hootsuite get an A+ for consistency (multiple posts each day) and for blogging about relevant examples of social media techniques. Hootsuite’s posts about their educational resources are very helpful too.

Infomedia

Infomedia is a Birmingham-based marketing firm that specializes in web communications. They cover all the bases – from web development to e-commerce to digital consulting. When supplying such a visible product, it’s important to have examples on hand, right? Infomedia does just that with their interesting company blog. Multiple Infomedia employees contribute to the blog where they share their opinions and expertise. Visit the Infomedia blog for help with spotting social media trends or to understand how a particular web marketing tool will benefit your company – plus much more.

Pillsbury

Food: it’s a basic necessity and a culture. Recipes are the tools of the trade and we always like to hear about new twists on old favorites. Pillbury features a weekly series of their favorite food obsessions. These obsessions include a list of ingredients, preparation details, nutritional info and more – all for a different dish, dessert or drink that you can try each day of the week. Best of all (and this is soooo smart), Pillsbury features posts by The Makers, six food bloggers that share ideas and stories to make your next meal really stand out.

I hope this post has helped you think of new blogging ideas. Do you have a favorite corporate blog? I’d love to check it out – leave me a link in the comments! As always, thanks for reading.

Is it Time for Businesses and Brands to Fight Back with Social Media?

Here's the thing about social media for brands: it's unfair. Chalk it up to "keyboard courage", entitled mindsets or other societal flaws but social media doesn't really work the same way for businesses as it does for individuals. And that’s not fair.

Imagine if an unsatisfied grocery shopper jumped on top of a check-out stand and loudly voiced their opinion about that grocery store’s lacking selection of paper towels. The store would defend itself by calling security to escort this person out of the building and silence the negativity, right? Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way in the realm of social media. In the Twitterverse, that unhappy shopper can launch attack after attack against that grocery store, whose only option is to respond with kind Tweets in an attempt to smooth things over.

"Gurus" are quick to point out that social media allows companies to have a more personal approach when engaging with customers. This is very true and the general consensus when responding to negative comments is to be anything but defensive.

But how did we get to this point? In the real world, the grocery store doesn't have to tolerate that irate person. In a real-life scenario, that person may even be viewed by onlookers as a little nutty. But online, that same person is hailed as a trailblazing hero and often recruits others in her campaign against the poor grocery store.

The customer is always right but at what point do businesses and brands start their defense? Can businesses and brands ever do such a thing?

Let's look at a recent tweet from Spectrum (formerly Charter?). Cable companies in general are notorious for their customer service. But here's an example of a company trying to be friendly, only to have a keyboard warrior throw a wet blanket on the effort.

so you can tweet this shit but ya cn't tweet when your service is out? Get your priorities str8 and spare me the I'm sorry.

— NYCArmyVet (@NYCArmyVet2) June 28, 2017

The Best Features of Facebook

Welcome to the second part of the blog series in which I share what I feel are the best features of Twitter, Facebook and Google+. You can read my thoughts about Twitter here.

Let’s move on to Facebook. Since I’m only discussing positive features of Facebook, this will not be a very long post. Facebook is the most widely-used social media outlet used on the planet and this achievement directly influences my following thoughts.

Best Features || Personal Standpoint

• Widely Used – Everyone uses Facebook, even that kid you haven’t seen since he left your school after third grade. If you want to be in the loop, Facebook is the place to be.
• Family Matters – Facebook is everything we love about family reunions, just without the travel time and awkward conversations with Aunt Sue’s son*. Keep up with relatives from across the country via their status updates. (* - that would be me)

Best Features || Business Standpoint

• Widely Used – Facebook’s popularity plays right into the first rule of marketing: get your message where the people are.
• Fan Familiarity – Your company’s Facebook Fans are very familiar with contest tabs and rarely hesitate to share your page if it increases their chances to win. Facebook contests are surefire ways to build on established loyalty while showing potential to gain new fans.

I’m sure I’m overlooking most of Facebook’s other great features. Let me know what I've missed by leaving a comment below. Thanks for visiting and please come back next week for the series finale. We’ll talk about Google+ and it will be a longer post, if you catch my drift!

Advertisements on Building Exteriors

I have an odd appreciation of the unheralded aspects of advertising: the actual devises used to relay messages. What's that old saying about not being able to see the forest for the trees? Well, I unconsciously look past, over and around marketing messages to examine the tools advertisers use to deliver said marketing message.

I was recently reminded about my quirky habit when watching the following scene that was filmed in Shanghai for the latest James Bond film, Skyfall.


That's beautiful cinematography! Here are the immediate thoughts I had during the first time I viewed this scene:

• I wonder if those ads are for the company that resides in each of those buildings or can any company pay to feature their ads on any building?
• Every vertical surface seems to be covered in lights.
• How effective are these huge advertisements?
• Can an advertisement be so big and so flashy that no one notices it?

I can’t read the text in these signs from the Shanghai scene so these building advertisements may be more like the Las Vegas strip (promoting the buildings/casino on which they’re located) than Times Square (promoting various products and services). Repeated views of this clip make me wonder why more places in America aren't heavily saturated with advertisements that consume the entire side of a building.

Photo courtesy of ChinaYourWay.org

I recall reading about a big concern that billboard companies had during the development of the US interstate highway system. In an unauthorized biography about Ted Turner, it was explained that original ordinances were not going to allow the installation of billboards along interstates. Obviously, that holdout didn't last but it does speak to our country’s unwritten requirement of "tasteful" displays of advertising - a requirement that other countries may not have.

I've looked around for uses of massive advertisements on buildings only to find that this method is probably too costly to be relied on more frequently. This method’s level of "tastefulness" may come into play too. However, I did find video of local uses of building advertisements.

First, the Coca-Cola® Company draped their headquarters in Atlanta for a well-done illumination to celebrate their 125th anniversary. Can you imagine the size of those projectors??

More locally, the Regions building in downtown Birmingham helped promote the Regions Tradition golf tournament by getting creative with their office lights at night.

Before I conclude, please be sure to check out this interesting page that describes the many different display signs (and identifies their owners) on Times Square.

Can you think of any other great examples of advertisements on buildings in the United States? If so, point me in the right direction in the comments section. Thanks!

Now I Know When Indiana Turns 200

Car tags (or plates) in the State of Alabama used to be so uniform that it was easy to spot cars from another state. In fact, it was almost like a nice surprise to see a different car tag every so often. But these days, drivers in the State of Alabama have so many options from which to choose that the normal, standard-issue tag is the new oddity.

I spotted a tag a few weeks ago while driving in Birmingham that I've never seen. It was an Indiana tag that acknowledged the Hoosier State’s upcoming bicentennial. For me, it's perfectly feasible to think of car tags as an extension of a school or cause's marketing campaign. I give the folks behind the promotion of the bicentennial celebration an "A+". Here’s why:

IT PROMPTED ME TO TAKE AN ACTION

The Indiana bicentennial tag features a lovely color scheme and “200” in a font so large it prompted me to go online and learn more about Indiana's founding and more about their bicentennial celebration. This is the core goal of any marketing effort.

NEXT-LEVEL CAMPAIGN PLANNING

I spotted this tag in the year 2013. Indiana’s bicentennial won't occur until 2016. Given that car tag designs usually change every four years, the marketers of the bicentennial had to act fast. And because there’s only so much working room on a car tag, I image that these marketers had plot the base concept and finalize the logo at an even faster pace. Planning marketing campaigns of any length is difficult but this is next-level planning!

THEY GOT THE BALL ROLLING

Politicians also change every four years (well, some do). When the concept of this bicentennial campaign kicked off in December of 2011, it was one of the last acts of the then-Governor of Indiana. There’s always a chance that the current Governor and other officials may not be in office during the bicentennial year of 2016. But even though the Indiana Bicentennial Commission’s website is not yet filled with information about upcoming events, the marketers behind this campaign have already done enough that no politician would dare scrap the program. In the world of marketing, sometimes creating job security is half the job!

Kudos to the Hoosier State and the people doing such a great job promoting the bicentennial! I’ll be sure to check in often to learn about what’s new with the campaign.

BONUS: It seems like they know a thing or two about design in Indiana.

Ramco is a Real Company and So Are Their Products

You know about pre-roll videos, right? For consumers, pre-roll videos are the annoying online commercials that play before news clips or music videos. For advertisers, they’re great marketing tools that force numerous impressions on target audiences.

While recently scanning the depths of YouTube for interesting and relevant videos to share on my employer’s social media outlets, the first glorious seconds of the following Ramco sales video pre-rolled one of the videos I selected to watch:

Like most pre-roll videos on YouTube, I had the opportunity to skip this ad after the first five seconds passed. But I couldn't turn away. Here are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I watched this video:

• Yes! A new parody video featuring grainy film from the 90’s!
• Wait…what’s the joke here?
• This is running really long to be a viral video.
• I’m going to give it a few more minutes – this reveal is going to be AWESOME!
• This is totally a trailer for the next Terminator movie.  Arnold Schwarzenegger will be on screen in 3…2…1…
• Hmm…Maybe I should search “Ramco” just to see if this is a real company.

Yup!  Ramco is indeed a real company and they make arguably the finest parts washers in the business. I say ‘arguably’ because I don’t want to unjustly overlook any other parts washer manufacturers that may exist. I didn't know Ramco existed before seeing this video. But if Ramco is flexing this much marketing muscle, I take that as a good indication that the parts washing industry is much bigger than I ever fathomed. Like…it exists.

Let’s not look past this video’s finer features. It’s a well-produced video and it is certainly very informative. But the video quality makes you wonder if Ramco just converted one of their decades-old promotional videos from VHS to a digital format and uploaded it to YouTube. I mean, even the clothing worn by Ramco employees in some of the still shots says “1993 Ramco Company Picnic”.

Knowing that pre-roll videos are tied to cookies and search history (and other elements that a real marketing guru could explain), I wondered why this particular video pre-rolled for me. My only guess is that this video was selected for me because I searched for and viewed a video that featured massive tire-shredding equipment a few days earlier. At the time, I didn’t remember that video and the Ramco video really caught me off guard.

I've poked a lot of fun at the good people at Ramco in this post but I want to close by tipping my hat to their marketing people.  Ramco has all the bases covered: website, Twitter, Facebook,YouTube and even LinkedIn. Ladies and gentlemen, it is your own fault if you find your knowledge of parts washers to be lacking.

Seriously – GREAT JOB RAMCO! Your marketing got my attention for sure!

Et tu, FedEx?

It can be difficult to explain the impact and potential...uh...er...good...social media can do for a company, especially to those that don't work with social media in a business sense. (See? Even that opening sentence was difficult to word!)

I came across this ad from FedEx a few months ago and it seemed to tap into a lot of the frustrations that come with convincing others of the value of social media.

Nice ad, right? I really do like it. But allow me to describe the highs and lows I felt while viewing this commercial for the first time:

• Hope: During the opening scene, the "leader" states a recognition of the contribution social media can have toward growing the company.
• Wind out of sails: The "leader" then states that his teenage son would be in charge of the social media effort, reducing social media to child's play.
• Salt in wound:The final portion of the ad references a hokey online contest, which is apparently social media's biggest strength.

The blows soften a little bit with each viewing. I know the shot-callers at FedEx (and their ad agency) don't truly have such a belittling view of social media. After all, I first saw this ad via a link on Twitter! To borrow a hokey social media phrase, well played! Do you have any tips you rely on for explaining the importance of social media for your company? Or do you feel like Tom Wychowski explaining his people skills when attempting this task?  Let me know in the comments section!

Thanks for stopping by!

ESPN Wants You to Stop Following

I've mentioned that I enjoy observing how big brands communicate. That's especially true for how brands use Twitter. I'll express my appreciation for Twitter in another post - for now, let's take a look at an interesting decision made by ESPN and how they went about implementing a particular change.

Like most mega media companies, ESPN has lots of different Twitter accounts. One that I particularly enjoy following is their account that's dedicated to sharing their college football content. Rather, the account that used to share this content - @CFBLIVE.

On September 3rd, 2012, ESPN began the first steps of shutting this account down. Here's the Tweet that originally caught my attention:

Please unfollow this feed and follow @espncfb. Thank you — ESPN CFB LIVE (@CFBLIVE) March 24, 2013

Tweets that followed this post made no mention of college football.  Rather, all posts encouraged followers to move on. My thoughts:

• ESPN picked an interesting time (the opening weekend of the 2012-'13 season) to make this move.
• What was wrong with this account? Could it be that this Twitter profile name didn't include 'ESPN' in the handle?
• The 140-character limit aside, could ESPN be any more blunt in their request? And why haven't they closed that account?

I won't criticize ESPN much on that last point. The Twitterverse is still uncharted territory for the most part. There's not a lot of examples to go by in a situation like this. ESPN deserves credit for sticking to their plan though, as Tweets from @CFBLIVE continued to redirect followers as recently as last week, although these Tweets are getting less descriptive.

https://twitter.com/CFBLIVE/status/324800275586105344

What are your thoughts? I look forward to reading what you have to say about how ESPN handled this decision in the comments section!

UPDATE 1/25/2014: These embedded Tweets no longer appear nice and formatted because those Tweets have been deleted. It appears that ESPN had second thoughts on dumping the @CFBLive handle and deleted all Tweets that encouraged people to unfollow them. Very interesting!! Additionally, it looks like this feed is now heavy on SEC basketball coverage. Hmm...