Pure Thinking

Is Your Message, Your Brand, Getting Through The Clutter?

Quick! What is the name of your favorite restaurant? We'll get to this in a minute.

Okay, now on with the blog. The picture above is from a seminar I have done on all aspects of marketing. The idea focuses around a dart board, where the most outer rings are traditional mass media, expensive marketing, we go through the rings and other modes of marketing, as they get less expensive, more effective, until we hit the bulls-eye: Word of Mouth Marketing.

Why the picture? "Somewhere between 254 and 5,000 is a number that represents just how many commercial messages an average consumer gets each day" - Advertising Age, April 2, 2007. That was before the explosion of social media.

To really achieve your marketing goals and help get through the clutter make sure they are SMART; Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Results oriented, Time Specific. You should also think about where your customers go to get information.

My favorite ad of all time is in the most outer ring of the dart board; Super Bowl Commercials! That ad is the Apple Macintosh 1984 ad. It was edited a bit and used in the Hillary Clinton campaign in the 2008 election cycle. 

Most companies can't afford a super bowl ad, let alone any TV commercials. BUT, can you leverage local TV stations for their "Best of" contests they have? Does it make sense with your goals?

As we move from the outer ring we go through national and local print advertising, radio, direct mail, trade shows. 

Closer to the bulls-eye you have websites, micro sites, banner ads, SEO, blogs, and email marketing. Regarding email marketing, one of my favorite books on marketing is Seth Godin's Permission Marketing. It is great for email marketing but a good read to be a successful marketer.

The first ring outside of the bulls-eye in my mind is social media. The rise of popularity of twitter, facebook, and LinkedIn really helps the SMART marketer leverage word of mouth. In a future blog I'll talk about how the combination of email marketing and social media can be extremely powerful.

Bulls-eye: Word of Mouth; your friends, clients, peers, and associations talking about you and recommending you and your company. PR through people writing about you in articles and blogs, customer testimonials.

Back to your favorite restaurant. Why is it your favorite? Have you told other people about it? Word of mouth is powerful isn't it.

How can you leverage aspects of marketing that make sense to help you achieve your SMART goals and help you promote your word of mouth?

By the way. Click here to learn about my favorite restaurant. Turn on your speakers.

John Meyer @johndmeyer

Happy Anniversary Pure Brand Communications

Friday was Pure Brand Communications 7 year anniversary! 

What were some of the highlights of 2003?

• Nobody was "friending" anyone on Facebook as it would not exist for another year.
• Nobody was making calls on iPhones or reading books on iPads as it would be  a few more years for that technology.
• Lance Armstrong won his 5th Tour De France
• Do not call lists were started.
• Toyota overtakes Chrysler to get the number three slot in US car sales.
• Arnold Schwarzenegger was elected Governor of California
• The Matrix Reloaded was one of the popular movies of the year.
• Gregg and Dan started Pure Brand Communications and a year later Larry would join them.

Congratulations to the team at Pure Brand Communications. By following the Pure manifesto, as well as being creative, smart, and energetic, the team has successfully helped many clients be famous for who they are.

Happy Anniversary!

John Meyer

@johndmeyer

Duuuuude, that brainstorm was like...totally rad man!

Brainstorming sessions are a fairly well known idea in a variety of industries and occupations; however, the way that a brainstorm is facilitated can drastically influence the quality of idea and outcome. 

A bad brainstorm can feel much like a middle school locker room, complete with apprehension, humiliation, and a general unwillingness to participate.

On the flip side, a good brainstorm has the capacity to shape a new project into the next award winning campaign or idea.

I recently stumbled across an article by Robert Sutton written for Bloomberg Businessweek in which he outlines eight tips for better brainstorming.  Check out the article here.

In essence, brainstorming should be a comfortable, warm environment in which people feel completely free to bounce new ideas, get creative, and build off of past experiences or work.

Brainstorm sessions are also a great way to tap into your team’s diverse resources and backgrounds.  I can guarantee you that each individual you work with comes with a unique set of talents, hobbies and passions which can lead to some pretty awesome creative thinking.

Be sure to go read the article above and start thinking about your own creative process.  How do brainstorming sessions happen at your company?  Leave us your thoughts in the comments.

--
Geoff Renstrom
Twitter: @savestheclash

If A Picture Is Worth 1000 Words, How Much Is A Brand Worth?

More importantly, how much is a successful brand worth and how did it become successful? Think of some successful brands; Apple, Chipotle, Starbucks, Kleenex, Virgin Atlantic. How much do you think their brands are worth? Then think of the marketing world's most famous brand flop; the Edsel.

What are all these companies selling? A product? A personality? An experience? Has the name taken over the meaning of another word?

I've seen way too many companies start selling their product without any kind of analysis of what their brand is. It makes it a whole lot easier to create an amazing marketing and PR campaign when you have a brand positioning statement to promote your product/company.

It's amazing how a little work upfront on a brand analysis will help the entire company get excited about a campaign to market and sell your product.

What are your current clients saying about you? other stakeholders of the company? What about clients you'd like to have? and former clients? What type of internal review have you done? What are your goals for the brand? Who are your true customers? Why would they want to be a customer? What is the core feeling or benefit from being your customer?

Once you have that figured out you will have a much better understanding for a brand positioning statement and then you can dramatically tell your brands story.

Why did the Edsel fail? Marketers say it was the Ford corporate culture and its failure to understand the American consumer. 

Are you doing your homework to understand your customer? Are you planning for a successful brand?

Is your brand, or more importantly the marketing for your brand, an Apple or an Edsel?

 Good luck with your brand.

John Meyer

@johndmeyer

To blog or not to blog...

...that is the question. Personally, I'm not much of a blogger. I've tried and it's just not my thing. I have my own blog and it hasn't had an entry in probably six months. And that was more of a rant then anything else, and I think the therapeutic endeavor paid off once I spilled the angst that was building up over the years. Not only that, it was number one on a Google search and had maybe three comments over the course of six months or more. Kinda makes you feel like you're talking to a wall.

So this morning I was approached to write a blog today and was kinda caught off guard, hence, the subject matter of Forced Blogging. I never heard that term before I Googled it today, but there it was in plain english. Maybe I'm going out on a limb bringing up this subject in an inappropriate forum, but it would be interesting to get other comments on this subject from people who feel the same as I do. I know when I was active on my own blog I definitely had to force myself to blog.

At work, I feel I can spend my time doing something more productive with down time, like brushing up on or learning all this new technology and programs I'm now expected to master in one or two sittings to stay current in this overwhelming digital age. I'm not a designer and I'm not a copywriter, nor do I purport to be either. I do production. And I'm sure anyone reading this doesn't want to hear about how I was having technical issues uploading those images to our email marketing server and how I was able to come up with a workaround.

The truth is, in a heavily PR influenced environment I think that you should have some blogging skills if that is your area of expertise. These folks are used to keeping their finger on the pulse and typing up news releases, reports, new business proposals, tweeting, and whatever else it is that they do (apparently blogging is one). But for some of us it's more like going back to school and having to write an essay for your homework assignment. Sorry, but that's how I feel and this is my blog post, right?

Now, if it were my sole job to blog I would have many secret resources I could use. I would always have my feelers out for the next coolest thing, I would be a hipster. Or if I were trying to drive folks to a website with meta-data and keywords to get higher on the search engines that would be one thing. But the truth is, to be totally original in a blog post you have to be passionate about a subject which, for me, might be more of a log about say, my fly-fishing experiences or snowboarding trips, of which I would say there are probably waaaay to many of to begin with. 

That being said, I still think in the future I can hopefully post one or two interesting topics from time to time since it's something that I now know is expected of me. My only other real question is, how many hats can one employee wear anyway? But that may be a topic for another post, if they let me...

The Only Brand That Matters, or, How Punk Rock and PR Mix

    Way back in 1978, The Clash proclaimed themselves “the only band that matters,” a bold and decisive statement, that many (including myself) would argue is still true today.  Growing up, I ate, slept, and breathed music and like many kids before me, and hopefully many to come, punk rock saved my life.  I know, I know, extremely cliché. However, looking back on my experiences, the argument can be made that a movement like punk really can have a lasting impact.

    By the age of 16, I was learning guitar, playing music, and helping to promote bands and shows in the local Boise scene.  Back then, MySpace was new and cool, and sites like PureVolume reigned supreme in the blossoming world of online music.  It seemed only natural that the music I loved, bands I promoted, and scene I was involved in would gravitate towards that type of open, free, and accessible online community.

    It wasn’t until I got to college, and more importantly, when I began taking public relations and journalism classes, that I realized that the sites I was promoting music on were, in fact, social media sites.  The same DIY (Do It Yourself) work ethic that punk rock is built around seemed to be popping up more and more in my projects and classes. It makes sense that sites like Twitter and Facebook are very quickly changing the way that companies communicate in all fields. 

    A start-up, much like a new band, now has the tools to reach millions of people, talk about issues that are important, and provide us with products that impact our lives, all with that same DIY approach.  Ultimately, these companies now have the ability to communicate effectively and become “the only BRAND that matters.”

    Although my Mohawk may be gone, the tattoos, memories, lessons and most importantly the work ethic from punk rock still remains.  They are tools and experiences that I bring to work and school with me every day. 

-Geoff
Twitter: @savestheclash

Beer Wars!

One of our clients, NCM Fathom, recently charged us with helping spread the word about a documentary airing live in theaters next Thursday, Beer Wars. Beer Wars takes viewers through a tour of the U.S. beer industry,  examining the challenges that craft brewers face. When you consider Colorado, we are blessed with several local microbreweries, all competing against one another and beer giant Miller Coors. I imagine successful craft brewers rely heavily on community relations and smart word-of-mouth marketing to stay afloat. Listed below are some of the unique things our state's little guys are doing. What do you think the key is to a craft brewer's success? Is it local philanthropy efforts? Strategic location in and interaction with a college town? Or perhaps something as simple as letting people tour your facility and drink your beer for free?

New Belgium (Fort Collins)

In the beginning, New Belgium embraced a 'green' philosophy - and they've stuck to it. They hold an annual "Tour de Fat, trade your car for a bike" event in multiple cities, keep bikes on site for employee use, and support causes working toward a better environment. They also do tours complete with a free flight of beer. Finally, they've tackled social media, with a beer blog on their web site and frequently updated twitter account. You see Fat Tire everywhere you go, so something must be working.

Great Divide (Denver)

A hop, skip and a homeless shelter away from Pure, Great Divide here in Denver keeps connected with their brewsletter, their blog, and via facebook and twitter. They too offer free tours, free booze at their tap house and draw locals in with beer release events and festival presence. One thing I've found that is working to their advantage is their "beer of the month" campaign in area liquor stores. They send reps to hang out in the beer aisle offering customers $1 off a six pack with a free beer thrown in.

Avery Brewing (Boulder)

Though they are located a bit off the beaten path, Avery offers live music Thursdays and open mic Sundays along with a tasting room to entice area residents. And, as evidenced by the media coverage on their site, they've taken the extra step and secured some good local and national press.

These are just three examples - know of any other good ones?

--Kate

Sport Your College Colors April 3

Colorado ranks in the top five states nationwide for the greatest number of degree holders per capita, yet only one in five Colorado ninth graders will go on to earn a college degree. In support of this year’s College Friday, April 3 people are encouraged to sport their college colors to promote the importance of higher education to Colorado’s youth. Plus it gives you reason to support your school regardless of their performance in the NCAA Tournament.

Smoking Smarties or Mentos Performance Enhancement?

Pick Your Poison

Consumer fascination with candy experimentation continues from the Mentos Geyser Tube to Smoking Smarties. This is the kind of stuff that can even get Willy Wonka excited. Childhood and adult antics have not changed, but the size of their audience has. Gone are the days of getting all revved up on Jolt Cola in the privacy of your neighborhood. These games aren’t new, but the rules of social media are causing brand managers tough choices to embrace, challenge or ignore.  The candy conundrum continues....

 

Before you hit send...

We've all picked up on the most common of PR email blunders  - bombarding reporters with impersonal mass messages, sending releases on topics irrelevant to what they cover - but after reading Josh Bernoff's blog, I realized that our industry still has a lot to learn. According to Josh, a Forrester research analyst, a study of his inbox over a two week period revealed that three-fourths of the PR emails he receives are irrelevant, and that's not even counting the emails trapped in his spam filter. Click here for more on his findings.

--Kate