Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα brand strategy. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων
Εμφάνιση αναρτήσεων με ετικέτα brand strategy. Εμφάνιση όλων των αναρτήσεων

Πέμπτη 7 Ιουνίου 2012

Brand Strategy: Differentiating An Airline

Remarkably, even though Song Airlines (Delta’s high-touch low-cost subsidiary) was folded back into Delta in Mid 2006, I still get several comments each month from former customers and employees about what a great brand it was. As the creator of the airline, and builder of the brand, I am at once gratified by their fondness yet disappointed that the airline became a casualty of bankruptcy and the need to economize – maintaining two independent airline brands and workforces was more expensive than one, and austerity was the rule of the day.

Σάββατο 2 Ιουνίου 2012

Ten technology trends that are already reshaping your business

As social media matures, apps proliferate and new enterprise platforms appear everyday, it’s almost impossible to track with all the changes let alone integrate them into your company. With that in mind I felt it might be useful to distill and  isolate ten trends that are reshaping the social business marketplace as we speak.

1. The future web is being re-built around people.

2. Consumers now expect real time, personalized and seamless engagement.

Παρασκευή 1 Ιουνίου 2012

Shopping around? It's a matter of trust

Whether shopping for jeans, a suitcase or insurance, consumers are spoilt for choice these days. So how do we decide where to spend our money? More than ever, it's a matter of trust.

Building a trustworthy business is vital given consumers seek out reliable brands in response to ongoing economic instability.

But building trust isn't as easy as it sounds. The recent Brand Asset Valuator report found that trust in insurance, retail, utilities and financial services has declined more than 20 per cent in the past couple of years. This has been blamed on constant price hikes, poor customer service and confusing offers.

Πέμπτη 24 Μαΐου 2012

Is Bidding on Trademarked Brands a Viable SEM Tactic?

The rationale behind bidding on trademarked brands is something like this: if I bid on my competitor’s name than my company’s PPC ad will show up in any branded searches for my competitor. Since my competitor and I are going after the same target audience, this is good way to piggyback on the brand value of my competition and drive targeted leads to my own site. Full disclosure, bidding on a competitor’s brand for my own PPC campaign is an SEM tactic that I once tested. I tried it out for a month or two, but I quickly realized a few very important things. First, when someone is searching directly for a brand they are just about ready to pull the trigger and convert. My lowly PPC is probably not going to be enough of a deterrent to tear them away from that other company, so it’s really not a cost effective way to use my PPC budget.

A great brand: utter consistency yet with ongoing change

It has been a while since I last wrote about branding, about the tripartite relationship between customer, business and staff, and the need for consistency in an ever changing world.

During the time that has passed I have been considering various potential case studies of a business that I believe to demonstrate the essential elements of creating a great brand.

Here they are again:
  •     Brilliant customer focus – but don’t just deliver what they want, stay ahead by thinking of what they don’t even realise they want yet
  •     Brilliant staff engagement – your people have to understand what you are doing and why if they are to be proud of you and deliver the experience you dream of
  •     Consistency – consistent does not mean staying the same, but it does mean being strongly recognisable in order to build instant recognition and association in your prospect’s mind

Σάββατο 19 Μαΐου 2012

Entering (vs. creating) new categories—get the timing right

Creating a new category or subcategory using substantial or transformational innovation is difficult, can be diverting, and involves the ultimate risk that it may not work in the marketplace. Many firms explicitly or implicitly avoid innovating new categories or subcategories because of these risks and because they want to focus on existing product markets. Their strategy is to allow small firms to innovate and prove the new category or subcategory has traction. They then enter the category or subcategory by acquisition or by creating a competitive offering.

Brands on Facebook: Advertising Is Optional

Marketers From GNC to P&G Weigh in on Social-Platform Strategy

But do they need to advertise as well? That's the question facing brands -- as well as investors --as Facebook prepares for its anticipated $100 billion IPO on Friday.
The Facebook ideal goes something like this: a brand builds a presence there and cultivates a fan base. That fan base spreads the word about the product. When brands want more impact, or to reach non-fans, they advertise.
But the reality is that much of what brands spend on Facebook isn't going into its coffers. A Facebook presence is must-have for brands. Facebook advertising, on the other hand, is not. General Motors showed that by telling the Wall Street Journal earlier this week that it's pulling the plug on all Facebook advertising -- $10 million of it -- even as it spends another $30 million building and maintaining a Facebook presence for its various car makes and models.

What’s your problem?

All great marketing solutions start with a well and accurately defined problem and a correct diagnosis of the course of action that needs to be followed. So I thought I’d talk a little about this to kick the new year off in a back to basics style.
There is a very basic diagnostic tool I want to share with you that works a treat at the very start of a project and ensures that you are directing your efforts in the right and most profitable direction.

It involves asking whether you think the real problem that needs to be solved, the blockage that needs to be opened up, is a product, brand or communications problem.

And the starting point is to scrutinise the product, service or occasionally business – to ask whether the problem lies at the product level.

Πέμπτη 17 Μαΐου 2012

Writing brand overviews to attract more visitors

2 examples of a technique to use for retail SEO.

Advice to create quality content is a recurring theme from Google. It’s the recommendation every time someone raises a complaint about their latest algorithm. It’s also what Matt Cutts recommends in response to almost any question from the broad brush, like ‘What’s the best way to rank higher” to narrow focus such as ‘how do we avoid duplicate content’.
If you have already created well-written content on your site describing your products and services, and cracked the keyword conundrum, (appropriate use in page titles and headings, not too many, not too few, plus a smattering of synonyms) you may be wondering what else you can do. One approach is to look carefully at your product pages; earlier this week on Smart Insights, Jimmy McCann showed 5 tips for optimising product pages to avoid the duplicate content red card and I’ve also written about this giving examples of SEO copywriting for product pages.

The Brand Called You


The best brands always try to do the right thing, so that their reputations will remain unsullied. But beyond that they grow, evolve and get better with time, while maintaining their special qualities from the past.
We all have a personal brand with social, cultural, intellectual, and personal needs that may not necessarily be addressed in our daily work. Address these needs and you begin to improve your brand. Here is my agenda for building your brand.
  • Join and participate in community and professional organizations
  • Generate media coverage about your brand
  • Stay in touch, or renew old ties with friends, family and business associates
Let’s examine how each one improves your brand.

Κυριακή 13 Μαΐου 2012

The Future of Branding: Three Brand-Management Lessons From Silicon Valley

I have recently been in Silicon Valley and San Francisco meeting with a variety of CMOs and marketing directors, as well as many branding and marketing agencies.

Silicon Valley is incredibly dynamic and forward-thinking when it comes to software and technology across every industry sector. One of our own clients, Varian, is located there. They are at the forefront of life sciences, pioneering breakthrough proton-therapy equipment for cancer patients that enables 3-D targeting of tumors coupled with software-assisted dosage regulation.
All this innovative thinking is rubbing off on some marketers and agencies there. And it has highlighted in my mind what the main drivers of a strong brand strategy and good brand management will be in the coming years.

1. User Interface (UI) and User Experience (UX)


Παρασκευή 4 Μαΐου 2012

An essential guide for brands on Tumblr


Blogging platform Tumblr has exploded in the last year. According to the company, it boasts 20 billion posts and 50 million blogs. Those numbers continue to rise every day.

As Tumblr blogs such as “Texts from Hillary” and “Kim Jong Il Looking at Things” going viral and making national headlines, it’s likely that the platform’s popularity will continue to grow.

Some brands have already taken note and set up shop on Tumblr. Fashion companies, for example, have set the standard in how Tumblr should be used to support the lifestyle branding mentality. Media companies have also trickled there to share content with legions of followers.

Πέμπτη 26 Απριλίου 2012

Transforming Cold Calls to Sales

To convert cold calls to sales, you must be organized and track your results. Use a simple CRM and sales tracking app like Base to manage your sales pipeline.

Years ago, I learned sales is a “numbers game”. Many prospects need to be contacted because only a small percentage will fall through the sales funnel to become actual clients.
On my first job, I was instructed to do a minimum of 100 cold calls per week in order to make my numbers at the end of the month.

The Best Ways to Build Restaurant Brand Awareness


Restaurants can build revenue and reinforce their place in the business landscape by building brand awareness among a targeted audience. From using the concept of brand positioning to creating a consistent visual message, there are a myriad of ways restaurant owners can approach brand awareness. Expedite brand recognition by using marketplace positioning, developing a visual presence, creating an advertising and marketing plan and establishing loyalty.

Σάββατο 21 Απριλίου 2012

Brand Building in the Face of Declining Economy: Here are Some Tips

In recession, people check their spending to save money for the other day. This has a direct impact on business organizations. Organizations find it difficult to maintain their growth and existing market share. All effort is directed towards minimizing the damage that recession can cause to business.
Brand building is possible even during an economic slowdown if an organization knows how to go about it. A new product line that offers value for money can work much better than imposing a cut in marketing spends. Businesses need to innovate to get valued by consumers as the brand which they cannot afford to compromise.

Τρίτη 17 Απριλίου 2012

Brands urged to meet rising consumer expectations


Brands urged to meet rising consumer expectations

Fresh research published by Experian Marketing Services has thrown a spotlight on the changing relationship between brands and consumers amidst the proliferation of multi-channel marketing.

Παρασκευή 13 Απριλίου 2012

The Top 5 Personal Branding Mistakes Online

The digital age has made personal branding an extremely important strategic initiative for any professional.Personal brands are now broadcast louder and faster than ever before.You can be proactive and manage your brand effectively, or you can ignore it and let the rest of the world dictate your reputation.
Your digital presence tells a lot about you.Do you know what it’s saying? Here are the Top 5 Personal Branding mistakes that people make online.

Πέμπτη 12 Απριλίου 2012

How Advert Scheduling Can Benefit Your Business

When creating an advertising campaign on Google, the scheduling of an advert can be set by going to the 'Edit Campaign Settings' page and adjusting the scheduling settings to best suit the requirements of your business.
If you're just about to launch an advertising campaign, then the obvious scheduling settings should be adjusted so that it runs every hour of the day, 7 days a week. The reason for applying these settings is because you would not have yet established what hours/days provide your campaign with the most conversions."

Τρίτη 10 Απριλίου 2012

Με «προίκα» 6 εκ. ξεκινά η «Marketing Greece»

Θεσμοθετήθηκε η εταιρία marketing που θα αναλάβει σταδιακά το συνολικό branding της χώρας, μετά την ψήφιση τροπολογίας που κατέθεσαν οι βουλευτές του ΠΑΣΟΚ Δημήτρης Παπουτσής (Καβάλα) και Μιχάλης Παπαδόπουλος (Αχαΐα) στο νομοσχέδιο «Ρυθμίσεις Ηλεκτρονικών Επικοινωνιών, Μεταφορών, Δημοσίων Έργων και άλλες Διατάξεις». Μετά τις τελικές εγκρίσεις του καταστατικού και την υπογραφή της σύμβασης, οι μετοχές θα κατανέμονται σε 70% για τον ιδιωτικό τομέα, δηλαδή αρχικά στον Σύνδεσμο Ελληνικών Τουριστικών Επιχειρήσεων, στον οποίο ανήκει και η πρωτοβουλία για τη δημιουργία της εταιρίας, και 30% για το κράτος.

Can Brands Market on Facebook Without Actually Spending Money on Advertising?

Many Are Using Free Resources to Build a Presence, but the More of Those That Are Used, the More Ads See Growth

Prepping for its 100-day sprint to Tax Day in late 2011, Intuit, the maker of TurboTax, was looking to grow a Facebook fan base of roughly 50,000. It decided to build an app to test users' knowledge of tax-deductible items and then pledged to donate a toy for each person who completed the quiz. It made an investment in the low six figures on "Gaming for Good" that mostly went to charity and added 101,000 fans, according to VP-global media and digital marketing Seth Greenberg.
That story might suggest that it's possible to market on Facebook without allocating many dollars to ads, but Intuit didn't stop there. On Feb. 1, it bought one of the network's pricey "reach blocks" to deliver ads to 50 million users, including a poll about what they'd do with their tax refund. It drove the highly visible "people talking about this" metric to 170,000.