by IMC | Oct 18, 2012 | Blog, Branding, Celebrity Power, Marketing Mix
Celebrity spokespeople such as Lance Armstrong can lose their hero status. Advertisers such as Nike then race to drop them. However, that does not mean that the marketing mix will no longer include a celebrity presence.
Sure, there is a risk that the sports icon or film star will become involved in a scandal. However, their instant ability to draw attention to a brand, product, service, or cause is too powerful to overlook.
It was artist Andy Warhol who connected the dots. Warhol saw that society had come to frame experience in terms of familiar images such as Jackie Kennedy. Marketers took it from there. They recognized that even hinting at one of those familiar images in their promotions would get the right kinds of attention.
No, celebrity spokespeople are not going away. Instead marketers likely will construct campaigns in which there are also other props such as fictional characters, contests, special events, and partnerships. That “hedges” their promotional investments in case the celebrity falls from grace.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, invites you for a complimentary consultation for Marketing, Partnerships, Public Relations, Special Events, and Social Media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Oct 15, 2012 | Blog, Marketing Mix
Opportunity is in the air as the economy moves from The Great Recession to recovery. You can feel it, smell it, and practically taste it.
So, how can you ensure you will be able to maximize this potential for your business? We at Image Marketing Consultants call that “Making your own luck.” Here are 3 tips on making yourself very successful as you shift from hard times to post recession.
Amateurs copy, geniuses steal. The late Steve Jobs saw the potential in Xerox’s graphical interface operating system. Xerox did not, at least not to the point of scaling it up for widespread distribution. Jobs, very legally, took the best of those features and incorporated them in the Mac. The rest is history. Survey what’s out there that you can make part of your own enterprise. The number-one mistake in leadership is priding oneself on total innovation.
Timing is everything. Your business can’t be ahead of the times. And it can’t lag trends. Put your finger on the pulse of the marketplace, then make your moves. All the world is watching new head of Yahoo Marissa Mayer to see if she is in tune with consumer demand.
Failure is a teacher, not a setback. Companies not failing are not taking enough risks. The trick is to reverse engineer what doesn’t work for the lessons it contains. Remember most things don’t pan out.
Luck comes to those who are alert to what’s going down in the external world and who know their businesses well enough to align them with developments.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, invites you to complimentary consultations for marketing, public relations, partnerships, special events, and social media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Oct 11, 2012 | Blog, Marketing Mix
It’s not exactly morning in America when it comes to the economy. But there are clear signs of recovery.
Today, for instance, the Labor Department reports a 30,000 drop last week in filings for unemployment. The challenge for organizations in marketing and fundraising is to pace their initiatives during this period of transition. Here are 3 tips from Image Marketing Consultants.
Listen to the marketplace. There are no set formulas any more about price points, how to add value, and when to phase out of an unprofitable account. Therefore, this is the time to become re-acquainted with the dynamics of the market segments you focus on. Tools for that range from simply getting conversations going to having a brief low-cost survey.
Take inventory of your successes and failures. Most of you learned a lot and quickly during hard times. Now it’s time to analyze the lessons and figure out how to apply them to your changing situation. The sad reality is that too many of you choose to close the door on mistakes made and waste what can be derived from that brutal experience.
Experiment. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. There’s plenty of wisdom in that convential thinking. Unless you try out fresh strategies and tactics you will never know which could be game-changers in your organization. Figure out the level of risk you are comfortable with and then make the commmitment to experiment with a few ideas.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, invites you to a complimentary consultation about your marketing, partnerships, public relations, special events, and social media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868,
by IMC | Oct 4, 2012 | Blog, Credibility, Marketing Mix, Tactics
As the presidential debate referee Jim Lehrer, reports influential NEW YORK Magazine, delivered a performance which was not “inspired.” In this media era, with so much brilliant content competing for attention, no one can afford to put themselves out there as “uninspired.” That lack of an investment of thought, energy, and emotion has become a crime against the human attention span.
So, how can you ensure your communications will be inspired? Here are 3 tips from Image Marketing Consultants.
Slow down. In 2009, executive coach Marc Lesser wrote a breakthrough book “Less: Accomplishing More by Doing Less.” He presented compelling evidence that when people and organizations stop trying to be so speedy they produce higher quality work that gets superior results. Focus on just a few things you know you can do well.
Listen. If you open yourself up to what’s happening in your business and outside in the marketplace, you will get an earful. The world is constantly telling you what you need to hear. The challenge is being willing to take in that data, negative as well as positive.
Edit. The most effective communications, such as from Apple, result from continually tossing material which doesn’t seem on the money. What turns out to be final will probably contain very little of the first few drafts.
Inspired communications start with you. You have to let the organization know that you will not tolerate anything less.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, invites you for a complimentary consultation in Marketing, including Advertising, Partnerships, Public Relations, Special Events, and Social Media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Oct 1, 2012 | Blog, Marketing Mix, Partnership, Tactics
In a disruptive era we have to be measuring how our organizations are doing in a lot of different ways. The traditional “vital signs” about sales and profits are no longer enough. We have to develop fresh metrics derived from what the other players are up to, right now.
Even established companies like Kraft, which Blooomberg Business Week reports, had a 4% boost in sales, has to look beyond itself. Today after its North America Grocery split off from its snack division it is listed as a separate company. In that space it has to anticipate the myriad moves which the competition will make. The fundamental of game theory is not to make decisions in isolation but only in reference to what other players are doing or might do. The resilient chief executive officer of News Corp Rupert Murdoch studied game theory when he was at Oxford.
Here are 3 tips from Image Marketing Consultants on how to review your performance:
Listen. The marketplace will let you know in detail what’s okay and not okay. Use your special events, social networking sites, and surveys to be your ear-extenders.
Form partnerships. Together you have more insight on what metrics count and which have become irrelevant.
Hire employees and consultants who aren’t a hand-and-glove fit with your organizational culture. Then ask them daily how they rate your strategies and tactics.
In his management classic “How The Mighty Fall,” Jim Collins cites smugness born of success as the reason why an enterprise begins to decline. Prevent that by developing multiple perspectives for tracking success.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for marketing, partnerships, public relations, special events, and social media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
by IMC | Sep 25, 2012 | Blog, Celebrations, Marketing Mix
Holidays are wonderful platforms for special events. That’s what we at Image Marketing Consultants recommend to our clients.
For example, for Halloween, pet stores might sponsor costume parties for cats and dogs and for Christmas family restaurants could provide children chats with Santa. Those create good feeling about your enterprise, enhance the brand, can attract new business, and give the media a fun reason to cover you.
Yet staging a special event represents an investment of time and money. The first step in succeeding is to have people attend. Here are 3 tips from Image Marketing Consultants.
Blend classic with novel. Everyone loves the ghoulish themes associated with Halloween. But what pulls them to your event and not the one two businesses over is the fresh twist. You could have an expert on the paranormal present a slide show on the history of Halloween.
Provide incentives. Often consumers need that extra push to participate. Here you can partner with another business, creating publicity for both of you. For example, everyone who shows up is eligible for a drawing for a complimentary yoga lesson with the spa down the road. Have those from that business participate in your event.
Promote. If the event is highly visual, you might be able to get the attention of the media. But even if it isn’t, you can leverage your own social media to create excitement. That could include Facebook, tweets, blogging, videos on YouTube, email blasts, podcasting, and webinars. When the event is over some of that material can be sliced and diced and repurposed for other uses. In creating buzz before, during, and after the special event, if you’re partnering, make the promotions a joint effort. That both can increase the impact and stretch both budgets.
Kate Sirignano, founder of Image Marketing Consultants, provides complimentary consultations for Special Events, Partnerships, Social Media, Advertising, Public Relations, and Social Media kate@imagemarketingconsultants.com, 203-404-4868.
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Celebrity spokespeople such as Lance Armstrong can lose their hero status. Advertisers such as Nike then race to drop them. However, that does not mean that the marketing mix will no longer include a celebrity presence.
