The talented people in our agency have been hard at work planning and preparing for an event this coming Friday – KGO Radio 810 Girls’ Night Out.  We had the privilege of working with KGO again this year to develop the event website, print and banner ads and printed program.  What a great time we are all having!

The event consists of a night of mingling with the KGO Radio personalities, informative classes, food and wine tasting, health and beauty demo’s, music and dancing.

As one of the sponsors we supplied the businesses exhibiting with these fun marketing ideas and tips to help them get the most from the event and make it a success.

I’d like to share these tips with you as well for use at your next event, tradeshow or exhibit:

1.  Leave a lasting impression with giveaways—business cards, brochures, pens, magnets, and other items that has your name, website, phone number and logo on it.  Everyone there expects to take home some goodies.

2.  Have literature on your product or service?  Use display racks or plastic holders to show your flyers, handouts, coupons, brochures, etc.

3.  How about Gift Certificates? If you can offer them, there’s nothing better than getting a deal when they “cash in” their certificate.  And it brings them in your store or in contact with you.  Hopefully they’ll come back again.

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Unless you’ve been hiding away on a deserted tropical island, you have probably heard some talk recently about the “new” Old Spice Man.  The nightly television newscasters are talking about him, women are calling in to their local radio stations to find out how to meet him and he has been the topic of the day across many internet sites.  Why all this buzz about a brand, that until recently was, well… old?

Talk about the power of utilizing social media to drive word of mouth and help reinvent a brand.

Acting on an off-the-wall idea of creating instant buzz by responding in real time to consumers questions/comments with short videos, Procter & Gamble produced funny YouTube videos about Old Spice.  The team leveraged Twitter, Facebook, Reddit and blogs sending out invitations to ask questions of The Old Spice Man.

As people responded, their comments were pulled in and tracked and those who had interesting questions or were high-profile users on social networks were responded to directly in real time with a personalized short video featuring the dashing shirtless actor and former football player Isaiah Mustafa.  Over 200 videos were posted to YouTube over the course of two days and featured everything from a marriage proposal to messages to celebrities.

Check out this one which includes the real-life marriage proposal:

You can see all of the videos here.

It turned out to be a huge success.  Old Spice received over 83 million YouTube video views and grew their Facebook fan base by 616K all in the the course of two days.

I love it when a campaign goes viral.   But what, besides a touch of good luck, makes a campaign like this so successful?  When a campaign becomes an overnight sensation, it’s always beneficial to look back at what worked and why.  Here are a few take-aways and tips from this campaign that can be applied in making other social media campaigns a success:

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Imagine walking into a restaurant, creating and naming your own meal using an online application, ordering it on an iPad and then sharing it with your entire social network.  I came across this story in the Wall Street Journal about a new restaurant chain that plans to do just that and had to share.

On July 6th, the New York City burger chain, 4food, will open its first of 11 planned locations where they will leverage the use of social media and web-based technologies to engage customers on a whole new level.  The restaurant describes themselves as the new socially networked counter culture.  And I think the idea is ingenious!

Customers have the option to receive personalized meal recommendations based on lifestyle and health goals entered into an online application. Or they can create custom meals, name and brand their creation and market it to their friends on Facebook and Twitter, right from the restaurant. When ordering from home, customers can create commercials on YouTube as well.

The custom meal creations and commercials will then be featured on a 240-square-foot media wall at the restaurant that will also stream Foursquare check-ins and tweets.  Every time someone else orders one of the custom made creations, the creator receives a 25-cent store credit in their 4food account to be use toward future purchases.

The restaurant itself looks quite a bit like an Apple store and seating resembles bleachers and communal tables, emphasizing the idea of social networks and staff will take orders on iPads. Below are a couple of renderings to give you a look inside:

4Food is banking on the idea that by engaging customers through social media and getting them involved in the product development process, they will be inclined to spread positive word of mouth about the restaurant and about their own creations as they market them to friends in their social networks.  The concept is a great one and if their food tastes as good, I believe they will have a winning combination.

I am on a mission.  A mission to become the mayor of my neighborhood Starbucks!  The mayor?  Yep, that’s right.

I recently downloaded an up-and-coming mobile application on my phone called Foursquare.  Although you may not have heard of Foursquare yet (they are an early stage start-up), you are sure to soon. They are growing at a tremendous rate, so much so, they just hired a number of staffers to keep up with the landslide of inquiries from marketers interested in participating.  And for good reason, it’s a unique and exciting application, with many potential marketing opportunities.

Foursquare defines their mobile application as a cross between a friend-finder, a social city-guide, and a game that encourages users to explore their neighborhoods and rewards them for doing so.   Users can search for nearby businesses, earn points for checking in (telling Foursquare where they are) when they visit each location, win mayorships, unlock badges and access specials for trying new places and revisiting their favorites.

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Every month I receive an email from one of my favorite local deli’s introducing their latest sandwich or salad. In each of these emails they include a link to their Facebook page, with the statement “Join us on Facebook”. Although I receive this email monthly and read it in its entirety, I’ve never clicked through to their Facebook page… until today. Why now?  Because this time next to their Facebook link was the statement “Join us on Facebook, the first 500 people to become a fan and post a comment will receive a free cookie”.  I love their cookies, how can I resist!?

I clicked through, signed up and made a comment about their wonderful wheat germ chocolate chip cookies and minutes later received a message with a certificate for a free cookie on my next visit.  Can’t wait! Not only am I a happy camper, but the deli gained a new Facebook fan (along with at least 499 others today) and another way to stay in touch and build a relationship with their customers.

The greatest reason by far that people friend a company on Facebook is to receive special offers and promotions, I am certainly one of those people.  According to eMarketer, almost two-thirds of those friending a brand are looking for promotions and special offers. Coupons remain a leading driver of brand interactions in social networks and learning about sales and new products is also a strong motivator for people to interact with companies in social media.

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Think back to the last time someone did something nice for you.  How did it make you feel?  Maybe it brightened your day, made you want to return the favor, tell someone about it, or pay it forward and do something nice for someone else.  When we reach out and make an effort to help another, we leave our mark, set a great example and can truly make an impact.

The same can be said in business and developing a positive brand image.  Goodwill is an invaluable asset that can define a company’s reputation and market position.  Statistics show that today’s consumers would much rather associate themselves and do business with companies whose values match their own and those that are truly looking out for the common good.

Of course, as consumers, we all know that companies are in business to make money.  But it’s those that go the extra mile, take that extra step to connect with their customers values that we are drawn to.  Customers are attracted to companies that can demonstrate that they are in it for more than just meeting monthly sales goals.  They want to align themselves with companies that stand for something they believe in and feel good about.

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I am a firm believer in the age old saying “Actions Speak Louder than Words”.   Words are wonderful, powerful, and communicate much, but without actions behind them, to back them up, they mean nothing.

In this era of on-line communication with platforms like Facebook, Twitter and email, it’s very easy to make verbal statements, put our marketing message out there and think it’s enough.  A wise marketing guru (the founder of our agency actually… do I get extra points??) likes to share the following analogy, and I’ve always found it to provide clarity…

Try placing a piece of string on the table and pushing it across to the other side. It bends and turns in many different directions, never quite getting there. But if you pull that string, it straightens out, moving in the exact direction you want it to go.  In much the same way, our words are the push, but our actions are the pull.  You can push your marketing message out there, but it takes pull to provide direction and assure your customers arrive and remain on your side of the table.

Nice words, a nice message, they will give your customers a sense of satisfaction, but it’s acting on those words that buys their loyalty.  Yes, you want a satisfied customer, but more than that, you want a loyal customer.  One that buys from you again and again and advocates for your brand by telling others and encouraging them to buy.

So how do you build loyalty?  By building trust. Through actions that consistently meet the needs and expectations of your customers, showing them they are valued much more than for just the immediate sale.  Whatever you promise, you must deliver.

In the 10^th Annual Edelman Trust Barometer survey, customer service and product quality outweighed all other business efforts in building trust. Participants in the study listed the following, from most to least impactful, as the things that matter most in building their trust in a company:

1. Service & product quality

2. Leadership can be trusted

3. Company treats its employees well

4. Provides value for the money

5. Stays within the spirit & letter of the law

6. Strong financial future

7. Frequent communication about the state of its business

8. Innovates new products, services or ideas

9. Creates & maintains local jobs

10. Gives time, money or resources to public good

11. Strong commitment to protect the environment

Don’t just tell customers how good your company is and that you understand their needs.  Prove it to them by finding and incorporating actionable ways of showing you mean what you say.  Make sure your customers really get what’s promised.  Keep the focus on providing great customer experience through excellent product and service quality. Remember loyalty and trust can’t be bought, they must be earned.  And earning is an action!

This weekend was all about gardening.  Pulling out the overgrown weeds and preparing the soil for planting.  I have been eagerly awaiting this time of year, so I can try my hand at planting some fruit trees.  We only have room in our yard for two trees, so I planned on planting two orange trees, assuring our house is stocked with plenty of oranges.

But when I got to the local nursery to pick out the trees, they said I’d have much better luck if I planted just one orange tree along with a lemon tree.  The pollen from one tree is delivered to the flower of the other type of tree, yielding much better results and yes, more fruit.  It’s called cross-pollination!

As I planted my fruit trees, I began to consider the concept of cross-pollination and how that idea can be applied to a company’s on-line marketing outreach as well. Particularly in maximizing brand exposure and increasing reach across each segment of the marketing mix.

Consumers engage in a number of online activities, and they have different preferences and tastes. It’s wise to provide several options for customers to be in communication with your company, but use each of these touch points as an opportunity to cross-pollinate and reinforce another aspect of your outreach. Get as much mileage as you can from every contact with a customer.

Marketing Profs provides a helpful list of  popular strategies that companies can use to maximize their digital-marketing mix.  As you read through the following list, consider how you might begin to incorporate a few of these:

- Use e-newsletters to announce new LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter feeds, directing readers to social-networking websites for   signup.

- Use Twitter to link followers to your latest blog post to fuel interest and re-tweets.

- Include an option to join the company’s social networks in the e-newsletter registration section.

- Use the sidebar on your e-newsletter to list all company social-networking profiles, and use those profiles to gather e-newsletter signups.

- Invite customers to participate in YouTube viral-marketing video contests that show real consumers using and enjoying your products or solutions.

- Read and respond to comments within social networks, developing newsletter or blog articles around topics readers discuss the most.

- Launch a regular Q&A section in your company’s e-newsletter that specifically addresses reader questions across all social-networking platforms.

- Include a link to your Help forum or YouTube video tutorial within purchase-confirmation emails.

- Include a social-bookmark console on product pages in case readers want to share your website or products with others.

- Join relevant LinkedIn and Facebook groups, assigning knowledgeable representatives within your company to answer questions, thus positioning your company as a valuable industry resource.

Think of all the different places you interact with customers and prospects and take every opportunity to cross-pollinate your marketing efforts.  Each of these actions builds your contact database, deepens the relationship with your prospects and brings them one step closer to the buying decision.  Your tree will be full of fruit, ripe for the picking!

Have you ever found yourself wishing that your print ad could reach out, grab your customers and reel them in… literally?

In traditional marketing campaigns, such as print, outdoor, radio, and TV, the ability to gauge and track customer response has been limited.  These campaigns have primarily been one-way marketing tools, and even though including website URLs and phone numbers help to create a call to action, marketers are still often left feeling uncertain about the results and without a direct connection to potential customers.

With the rise of the mobile phone (91% of the U.S. population are using mobile phones), these traditional marketing tools can now be turned into lead generating opportunities.

Text coupons allow a marketer to reach a potential customer directly, on their mobile phone, and at their request.

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