Posts Tagged ‘creating buzz’

Ibuzz

For the past month or so it seems like almost everyone I know was either pre-ordering or standing in line for the new Iphone4. The new phone claims to be a vast improvement from the old one. New features include a better battery life, thinner phone, not 1 but 2 cameras, and the ability to record HD videos. Sure some of these features are impressive but at the end of the day it’s only a cell phone.

Being that I’m a PC user and that I have a Droid phone any devoted Apple fan reading this is probably saying “She just doesn’t get it.” Perhaps it is the age old PC versus Mac battle that prohibits me from running to Apple’s website every time they drop a new product. Despite my tech preferences, working at a company that focuses on strategy & communications means I definitely have noticed that Apple does a fantastic job at creating buzz for their brand. I think a huge part of the company’s success is their clean design and sleek communications. Everything from their website, to their television ads, down to their packaging is always consistent and simple. Like I stated before the Iphone4 is just a cell phone but Apple makes us feel like it is a part of life as we know it. It doesn’t just have longer battery life; it has longer battery life so we can talk to our grandmothers longer. The phone doesn’t just shoot HD movies; it vividly captures your child’s first steps.

You don’t have to be selling an expensive high tech gadget to get people talking about your brand. Take into consideration banks.  They all do the same thing and give or take, offer the same services.  With campaigns geared towards the convenience of having the most ATMs available across the U.S. or telling us how savings accounts are how dreams start, banks are also selling us lifestyle versus financial services.

Whether it’s a new product or service you are launching just remember using strategic marketing geared towards your targets lifestyle and pairing it with beautiful design will always get you good buzz.

Honk If You Love Effective Marketing

Every morning for the past week and a half on my commute to work I notice a person dressed up like the Statue of Liberty dancing on the corner of Lawrence and Western (Chicago). This person usually has a sign that says ‘Honk if you love Liberty” or something to that effect.

Immediately my first thought was “it is too cold to have these poor employees out here on the street.” My next thought was “this is a terrible marketing campaign.” I could easily think of a few reasons why it was not an effective plan.

1.There is no way to track the campaign’s success
The employees who are out in the street do nothing but simply dance around and hold up the mentioned sign. Lawrence & Western is a busy intersection so when a car honks there is no real way of telling if it was because of traffic or whether they truly love Liberty Tax Services.

2. There is no strong call to action
Liberty Tax Services committed a common mistake which is to roll out what they think is a great campaign with no call to action. Let’s say someone in their car was driving by and loved the idea of the dancing Statue of Liberty. They honk their horn and drive off smiling. What if that person went home and wanted to know more about the company behind this campaign? How would they find you with no URL or phone number on your sign?

3. A single layer campaign
The Statue of Liberties focus all their energy on shaking their signs and trying to get the attention of people in their cars. Several mornings I have found myself standing shoulder to shoulder with one of these employees waiting for the traffic light to change. There currently is no interaction with pedestrians. Having a handout for foot traffic would cover all bases and get them better results.

Had the good people of Liberty Tax Services taken the time to map out a strategic AND creative marketing campaign they could have had wonderful results. Granted some could argue their goal was merely to get noticed. To that I say well done and congratulations! You just got featured in my blog!

A Little Goes a Long Way

It’s pretty rare not to meet someone who doesn’t love chocolate. I mean what’s not to love about the sweet confection? It can, however, be enjoyed in different ways. There is your run-of-the-mill candy bar available at any store; satisfying yes, forgettable always. Then there is the pure quality and intense taste of a specialty piece of dark chocolate. Having a higher concentration of cacao, dark chocolate is so rich that it only takes a small bit to cure even your biggest cravings.

Much like a little piece of dark chocolate, concentrated marketing efforts pack a mighty punch. Whenever you have an exciting new business endeavor many offers and seemingly exciting opportunities will come your way.  It is important to take time and really map out which of these opportunities are the ones worth following.  You will find yourself with many propositions that at first seem good but you will soon find out are not effective and are a waste of time.  Mapping out a marketing campaign and only concentrating on a few smaller  efforts that strategically incorporate your message and effectively deliver it to your target audience will help you not only reduce the risk of wasting your time and money but also help you measure your success and ROI easily. Saving money and insuring success sounds like a sweet deal to me.