Q2 Marketing Blog» Q2 Marketing Blog – Technology Marketing, Public Relations, Brand Consulting

Bank of America + History Channel = Brilliant Marketing Concept

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Fri, 07 May 2010 16:29:10 +0000

I’m very impressed with how Bank of America is using their spots on the History Channel’s new, “America, the Story of Us” series.

This is a case study in marketing integration with user experience. It’s a great example of how advertisers can get through our filters and circumvent our aversion to be sold.

Far and away, the most effective marketing and advertising integrates itself into our experiences. Read this branding case study article here.

AdFreak’s 25 Most Epic Ads that Aren’t 1984

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 06 May 2010 17:21:14 +0000

AdFreak, and AdWeek blog has listed their 25 Most Epic Ads That Aren’t 1984. Not a reference to Orwell, they’re intentionally omitting Apple’s 1984 spot, designating it in a class by itself. These are international, diverse and….eclectic.

Enjoy: http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/the-25-most-epic-ads-that-arent-1984.html

Report: Online Ad Revenue Reaches Record High $6.3 Billion in Q4 ’09

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:46:40 +0000

The online ad marketing had it’s best quarter ever in Q4 09, according to a report from the Internet Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC).

This record $6.3 billion in revenues speaks to the worst of the ad slump behind us, according to PwC’s David Silverman.

Other highlights of the report:

Search and display advertising is still the largest overall interactive advertising spend. Search revenues comprise 47% of the total spending.
Digital video in particular is strong, with an almost 39% increase from 2008 to 2009.
Based on data from PwC from 2005 to 2009 in tv, radio, newspapers, consumers magazines and Internet, the Internet’s share of combined ad revenue more than doubled from 8% to 17%.

Find out more at http://www.iab.net/about_the_iab/recent_press_releases/press_release_archive/press_release/pr-040710

Traditional Ad Revenue to Decline, Online Spending to Double

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 20:14:46 +0000

BIA/Kelsey has released the results of its U.S. Local Media Annual Forecast (2009-2014). Though local advertising is anticipated to increase modestly over the next four years, online ad spending is predicted to double. Read more about the survey:

http://www.bia.com/pr220210.asp

Domino’s Marketing Tactic–Our Pizza Sucked

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 14:34:40 +0000

It’s not that often that I get excited about B2C marketing. I spend too much time living B2B and B2G. But I”m always a big believer in direct approaches. What Domino’s Pizza is going is pretty incredible. You may have caught their new TV commercials in between fast forwards on your DVR.

Watch their video where Domino’s really beats their pizza up.

Read the Bnet interview with Russell J. Weiner, Domino’s chief marketing officer.

5 steps to successful and measurable white paper marketing

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 01:12:03 +0000

In technology marketing, the virtues of white papers are well known. But the deployment strategy too often goes off course. When this falls short, measurable results are sure to follow.

A successful white paper distribution strategy really only requires five steps:

1. A marketable topic that provides important content to potential buyers.

Just because your engineers are excited about a technology doesn’t mean this topic will generate enthusiastic readers. Research your topic and make sure you’re really filling a market niche and supplying needed content. If this step is not dead on, how can the program be successful?

2. Structure and content that delivers on the promise of valuable information.

This step can do one of two things. It can build on the credibility of the company that develops the white paper. Or it can damage your company’s credibility if the reader goes to the trouble to download your data, only to find the information is poorly organized, badly written, and/or hopefully week on good content. There’s a middle ground in there too, but that falls short of motivating the prospect to do business with you.

3. Visual appeal that contributes to the positive perception the reader has of the company.

White papers are marketing pieces and should fit with the overall corporate brand. Charts, graphs, screen captures and other visual depictions should be handled by an experienced graphic designer, as should all parts of the white paper. Not everyone who can design a white paper should design a white paper. After all, you want this document to be read by your audience. Visuals are important.

4. A distribution strategy of reaching potential buyers, customers, etc.

Writing the white paper is the easy part. Really. As difficult as it can be to extract important information out of your subject matter experts and convince your C-suite and peers that you’re not giving away trade secrets at every turn, the most difficult part of any white paper strategy is distribution. Take the time and allocate the budget to do this step properly. Before you embark on developing the white papers, research white paper search and syndication services like bnet, techtarget, knowledgestorm and more, as well as more niche-focused services. Also consider the white paper as a pull to an advertising or direct mail campaign.

Also, determine how you will continue to nurture those leads once they are in your pipeline.

5. Benchmarking and measurement methods to determine and define success.

Before you begin, determine what success looks like. Realistically. Is it the number of qualified downloads, qualified additions to your marketing database, inbound leads, search engine optimization, synergy with a PR program, etc.?

The Quickest Ways to Generate Leads-3 & 4

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Thu, 21 May 2009 12:04:45 +0000

Keeping the pipeline full and opportunities moving through it has gotten increasily difficult for almost everybody. I talk wtih sales people and leaders all the time in industries as diverse as technology, marketing, professional services, advertising, financial, healthcare and more. They’re all pretty much saying the same thing. Chances are, these are the same things being said within your organization.

We may not be able to unilaterally market our hemisphere out of a lingering recession, but we can put some programs in place to begin developing and nurturing leads–today. Let’s explore two more of the five fastest wasy to generate leads. Read about the first two of the fastest ways to generate leads here.

3. Speaking Gigs. Secure speaking engagements for your executives, technical people and other relevant and qualified experts. Large conferences and tradeshows will begin accepting abstracts for presenters at least nine months in advance. Not exactly a quick way to generate leads. But the sooner you start looking for these opportunities, the sooner you will have executives lined up. And stay plugged into good events so your executives can be reached out to for regional events that don’t take as long to plan. Remember, some people come to tradeshows to evaluate and buy.

In addition to major conferences, contact chambers of commerce, relevant associations and other business organizations to see about being added to their calendar for a more imminent event. There are a multitude of such organizations in most metropolitan areas in the United States. If the audience is a fit and includes some well qualified potentials, this can be a powerful initiative. If the topic and content are good, this builds and fosters credibility that will move your organization to the short list of service providers or vendors.

4. White Papers. Do you have valuable, current white papers that fit with the strategic direction of your organization? Even if you don’t have finely polished papers, you probably do have components of good white papers circulating in your proposals, internal documents, client deliverables, etc. We know that nailing down your subject matter experts to develop white papers can be a challenge. But it’s worth it. White papers can be important for promoting to your marketing database, as well as to the rest of the prospect world. And if you use a white paper distribution service, you’ll build valuable credibility and leverage Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for your key services and products.

10 tips for finding the perfecting marketing agency–part 2

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Tue, 05 May 2009 15:22:04 +0000

How do you choose the perfect marketing or PR agency for your company? Read on for some advice. And be sure to check out the four essential ingredients you’ll need before selecting a marketing agency.

The first three tips from part one were:

1. Delivery commitment

2. Seeing the big picture.

3. What’s the ROI?

Now on to 4 and 5….

4. Order up. No good agency will be content to simply follow orders. If the agency is tuned to your business objectives, they’ll want to do their part to help steer you to your goal. (And if they’re good, of course they’ll be tuned to your business objectives.)

Among the most sought-after strengths of a marketing firm are their creative prowess and innovative ideas. If you want their best, you’ll need to give them some freedom. Even the best agencies and creative pros will become apathetic and slip into order-taker mode if they believe their ideas aren’t being heard. This isn’t good for them—or for you.

5. Birds of a feather. You’ll want your agency to have a track record serving businesses like yours. If you’re selling to government, they must know that market. If you need to reach female consumers, your agency must have demonstrable expertise there. Find out where they’re strong and the difference they have made for those brands. If you’re looking for full service, find an agency that can and has delivered.

Check back soon for the rest of the five tips!

Six Principles of Brilliant Branding from Starbucks’ John Moore

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 16:16:25 +0000

Build a business that’s profitable, makes employees and customers happy and you don’t need to worry about branding. Branding will take care of itself.

These aren’t sentiments you’d expect from a marketer, must less John Moore, who designed and implemented marketing programs for Starbucks Coffee for eight years. But he’s pretty much an authority.

I attended his presentation before Accelerent last week. Special thanks to Brad Powell of JX2 Professional Software Services for the invitation. In his talk, Moore espoused six principles worth consideration—if not embracing—by marketers everywhere. Because he’s a heck of a wordsmith, some of his phrases are repeated here verbatim, or at least close to it. Here are the first three of his six principles:

1. The more obvious you are, the more original you appear…and vice versa. And here’s something particularly compelling for some in the tech marketing world. There’s no such thing as a dull product category. There are only dull brands.

He stressed the importance of earning opinions from your customers. A way to do that: unconventional names for your cup sizes. By taking something common and making it uncommon, you make your customers feel special, citing loyal customers who speak Starbuckian.

2. Be careful when defying your “circle of expectations.” The more obvious you are, the smaller the circle gets. Starbucks’ mark in the sand, as defined by Moore:

· bold coffee (this isn’t Folgers!)

· high quality beans

· not cheap

· non-traditional marketing consisting of locations as billboards and patrons carrying the distinctive cup

· comfortable stores

· engaged employees–another part of the Starbucks experience

The point is that the smaller the circle, the more effective the brand. Starbucks tried milder coffee, cheap coffee, salads, ice cream and other brainstorms that Moore said were unsuccessful because they were outside the circle.

3. If you want to earn customer loyalty, first earn employee loyalty. Your competitors can replicate your products and programs, but they can’t replicate your corporate culture.

Check back later this week for more on Moore’s six principles….

Ten tips for choosing the perfect ad agency

Becky Sheetz-Runkle — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 20:08:18 +0000

Looking to land a marketing or PR agency? Or maybe you’re considering the options and looking for alternatives to the agency or agencies you already have? Here are some fundamentals for making the best choice.

But first, if you haven’t already, read the four essential ingredients you’ll need before selecting a marketing agency.

And now, for the first 3 tips for securing the perfect marketing agency for you:

1. Commitment to delivery. Agencies sometimes lack structure. Everyone you talk with is going to tell you they hit their clients’ deadlines. To get to the real issue, ask their references about their track record in hitting deadlines.

2. Seeing the big picture. Your account manager should have a firm grasp of your business objectives. The agency methodology should be more about helping you reach your goals than creating award-winning pieces. They must understand how and why you want to impact your audience.

3. What’s the ROI? The agency needs to be able to demonstrate return on projects like yours. If you’re looking at web marketing, what’s the agency done and how has it impacted their clients? If they’re trying to sell you on direct marketing, what’s their track record? How have they measured past success and how will they do it for you? A formal measurement methodology in plain English is a huge plus.

Check back soon for the rest of the ten tips for selecting the perfect marketing agency.