Tag Archive for: branding

Paying for brand ambassadors: worth it or not?

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In our last blog post we touched upon how your employees were your best brand ambassadors. However, many brands also pay high profile celebrities to endorse their products and/or services such as Brumby’s, who has recently announced its partnership with Matthew Hayden.

While many brands have successfully leveraged a celebrity relationship to their benefit, a large number have failed to engage their core consumer with the new ‘face’ of their business.

Why so?

Brand ambassadors must be picked carefully. Just because someone is famous doesn’t mean your target consumer will instantly warm to them. What’s key here is to ensure your brand ambassador is relevant to your products and services and, in turn, your customer.

The main aim of having a celebrity brand ambassador on board is to transfer the equity of said person to your business, resulting in enhanced preference and a heightened perceived credibility for your brand. They should be instantly recognisable and aligned with your proposition.

Target has recently demonstrated a great re-positioning campaign using the services of fashion guru, Gok Wan. This has worked brilliantly for them as Gok is well-known – and, importantly, liked – by consumers from all walks of life. He is neither too ‘fashion-forward’ nor hyper-critical, meaning the average Target customer feels assured that he – and therefore Target  –  really does have their best fashion interests at heart.

Linking with a public figure who is known for their brilliant charity or community work can also be an effective way to ‘piggy-back’ your messaging. Our client, Poolwerx, recently did exactly that, joining forces with Kids Alive founder, Laurie Lawrence, to promote swimming pool safety this summer. You can see more about that here.

Of course, it can go horribly wrong. Affiliating yourself fully with a celebrity means that if they fall from a great height, so do you. Think Kate Moss and the cocaine scandal – hugely embarrassing for the likes of Chanel and Burberry.

On the flipside, some great crisis PR can rescue your brand and even turn a disaster into a success. Rimmel stuck by Moss and some have argued that it actually boosted its profile and helped Moss obtain even greater international appeal. Her rock ‘n’ roll goddess status certainly didn’t take a hit – it just added to her ‘bad girl’ persona, which Rimmel evidently thrived upon.

But in truth, does anyone really want their brand to be associated with such negative connotations, regardless of the outcome?

In summary, there is certainly a place for celebrities in marketing and PR campaigns. Just be sure to choose someone who will reflect your company’s ethos and values, and who will bring more than just their name to your brand.

Why businesses should consider outsourcing PR

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When it comes to marketing your business, there are a number of specialist areas that need to be looked at including graphic design, marketing and public relations. Whilst you might be able to do the basics in-house, there is expertise attached to these specialist areas. Here are a few reasons why it’s worth investing in your PR rather than DIY-ing it:

1)      We’ve got years of experience and expertise: chances are we’ve done it all before, we’ve written the press releases, we’ve done the media training, we’ve spoken to the journalists, we’ve pitched the stories – we’re doing the job day in, day out, for a varied client list.

2)      We can bring something new to the table: coming from an outside perspective we can put forward new ideas, different ways of doing things and challenge the way you do things ‘just because’. We’re there to make your business grow so we can grow too.

3)      You can get results without another ‘mouth to feed’: the breadth of our experience means that we are often more cost-effective than it would be to get the person/ people necessary in-house to cover all the tasks we can undertake.

4)      We can react fast: if something needs turning around quickly, if you need more hands on deck, an outsourced company should have the extra resource and capability to turn that around for you.

5)      We can help upskill your team: working closely side-by-side should mean that your in-house team learns more and more about PR and what it can achieve for your business.

Outsourcing is an investment and it’s important to weigh up the pros and cons before taking that step otherwise you may end up resenting the company that is working for you, rather than using them to their maximum potential and allowing them to work with you and integrate with your team.

The best time to get in the PR experts is if you’re running out of ideas, if you don’t want to make a long-term commitment initially and dip your toe in the water, if your in-house marketing team is overworked, if your head office and marketing function is overseas, if you’re a start-up business and focussed on the core business, if you want to inject fresh ideas and new skills.

But if you choose to go down the path of outsourcing you must be very clear about the objectives and how you will measure success, i.e. what the desired outcome is. It’s important for you to meet the team who would be working on your ‘account’ – you should get on with them and they should have the enthusiasm and skills necessary to deliver.

The best PR agency-client relationships are partnerships where the business is open and honest with the PR consultancy – being up front about business objectives, praising good work, working alongside the agency team and keeping them informed of everything happening in your business.

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Five ways to maximize your agency spend

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Spending hard-earned money to hire a creative or public relations agency is a big decision for many small business or franchise owners. If you are paying someone else to help you build your business (especially when you might not be paying yourself) you need to make sure you are getting your money’s worth.

Here are five ways to ensure you are getting the most out of your agency spend.

1)      Get your agency to manage the liaisons and marketing collateral with designers. There are some good designers out there but there are also many who will chew up your precious time and consistently fail to deliver. Agencies only use designers they can rely on as their livelihood depends upon it. Agencies are also skilled at handling erratic creative types, so give them the brief, then hand over the responsibility to save time and money. Don’t attempt to do your own logo unless you are a graphic designer.

2)      Let your agency be creative. You hired an agency to help you build your brand, obtain publicity and to generate awareness. Agency staff  know what they are talking about and are results and service orientated. Trust them to do their job to help deliver you the best outcome. If you aren’t going to let them have any creative reign, don’t hire them in the first place.

3)      Attend agency functions and events. If your agency puts on an event to show gratitude for your business make sure you turn up with an open-mind and ample business cards. Agency events, whether social or educational, provide excellent opportunities to network with other results-orientated businesses and can be a great way to expand your network. It can also be a great opportunity to learn something new and enhance your skills.

4)      Be open to new ideas.  What’s the point in hiring people to help you grow your brand if you are going to shut down everything they say? Some of the best ideas have come out of agencies. Listen and give them a chance to prove their worth.

5)      Get your agency to negotiate media buying and advertising for you. As well as having strong relationships with designers, most agencies will also have excellent relationships with advertising representatives. This means they have more power when negotiating deals and know how much they can push ad reps to obtain maximum value.

Wrap up 2010 with thoughtful presents to build your presence

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Christmas is known as a time of giving and showing goodwill. A fantastic way to show you care about the people you have worked with all year is by sending them a simple Christmas present or a Thank You card. In today’s world of cyberspace it’s rare we send a card or a gift to someone through traditional mail. E-cards, Facebook messages and even Christmas texts are sadly all too common.

Sending traditional ‘snail mail’ presents or cards are often overlooked as relationship builders, yet if  used wisely they can help retain clients and show your suppliers you care. Relationships go a long way in this business and while some will argue a client will never stay just because you sent them a gift, a client that feels valued, knows the agency cares and who has a personal relationship with the team will find it much harder to sever the ties.

Before you send anything you should conduct a little bit of research – notice what your clients or suppliers eat and drink at functions, listen to comments about interests outside the office and pay attention to how they react to criticism or compliments.

Our top presents for suppliers or clients:

Fruit can make a refreshing change

1)      Chocolates (you’ll know their favourites from your preliminary research)

2)      Well packaged alcohol (as above)

3)      Quality gourmet hampers or fruit baskets

4)      Gift vouchers

5)      Flowers (if they aren’t allergic – again find out their favourites before hand)

Stay away from:

1)      Heavily perfumed products

2)      Foul smelling food items such as blue cheese or items with garlic

3)      Anything that could smash or leak in the delivery process

4)      ‘Joke’ presents – any item that could be misconstrued and taken offensively

5)      Cheesy photos of your team

Source: Bad Humour articles

Think class not crass

As for choosing cards, our general rule is to stay away from comedy, flirtatious words or the cards with music or voiceovers inside.

Select cards that look professional but still have an element of style that matches your business personality.

You can also get creative with gifts and provide something memorable and different. We give boxes of cherries to clients because they are not typical and it is something they can share with their team or take home for the family.

Merry Christmas!

Treading the minefield of Xmas office functions: tips on how to party ‘professionally’ this silly season

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OK so it’s that time of year again – office parties and business networking events a plenty along with the flow of alcohol. Love them or hate them, corporate Christmas parties are an integrated part of business life and perfect for cementing relationships with your clients and associates, as well as being a chance to source new leads and expand your network. However, before you get into the reindeer outfits and knock back the egg-nog, there are a few (PR) partying rules you should follow. An alcohol-fuelled Christmas party is not a good enough reason to throw your professionalism out the window. So if you are serious about setting the bar and keeping your career alive, follow our top PR partying tips:

1) Drive to the party.This way you won’t be able to get drunk as you will have to drive home. You might also become the knight in shining armour as you will be able to drop off any drunk colleagues (or even clients) if necessary.

2) Eat before hand and at the event (if possible). Even if there is only mini-cocktail sausages or deep fried spring rolls, something is better than nothing. If you are running the event, don’t be a scrooge, supply some food!

3) View the party as a time to secure relationships and potentially network with suppliers or clients. Touch base with all of the key people but try not to hassle the boss or Managing Director too much as their job is to also network with their team.

4) Dress appropriately (no boobs, tank tops or thongs visible – and we are not just referring to footwear here).

5) Keep the business talk to a minimum. There’s nothing worse than someone pushing their products on you when all you want to do is enjoy a vino and have a laugh with your colleagues. Have a few topics on hand to make conversation and keep it light.ie. football scores, latest news that day, fun industry stories

6) Balance the timing – don’t leave too early and don’t be the last person there. You want to make an impression and have fun but at the same time you don’t want to be known as the drunk hanger-on. It’s easy to become known as a drinker and this can affect your professional reputation.

7) Have fun. People are more relaxed at this time of year so it’s ok to have a laugh – just don’t make a joke at someone else’s expense. That’s a definite no-no.

Good photography pays in PR

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A while ago we discussed the importance of having appropriate photographs for press purposes (visit our previous blog here). Having a quality photo ready for media purposes can often make the difference between securing a full page feature or receiving a small mention in an article. Keeping journalists happy is our number one job so having the right tools to do this will enhance the results generated.

The only challenge we face in selling the idea to clients is that professional photos come at a price however, there are a myriad of ways to use the images and ensure you get the most value from a shoot.

Save on creative design

Purchasing photos for business use from sites such as iStock can be a nightmare. Royalty fees are often excessive (depending on the medium) and you can be charged per use making it an extremely expensive exercise.  The other danger is you are not guaranteed exclusive use of a photo and other brands could share your ‘unique’ identity. Hiring a photographer to take shots of events, staff, services, products or property will actually save you money in the long run and ensure any images will be better suited to bring your brand to life.

Fake paparazzi at events

Even a hint of free publicity is enough to make any CEO or businessperson smile. Though they aren’t ‘real’ paparazzi, professional photographers at your event will make guests feel special. Send the pictures onto the media later for post-publicity or use the images for future invites/ marketing materials. They can also be used to populate your social media sites.

Brilliant branding

Don’t make the mistake of cheapening your brand by using inferior product images in catalogues or other marketing materials.

A picture can tell a thousand words so make sure your product pictures don’t say ‘average’. A good branding photograph will often convey a ‘mood’ to build a strong emotional connection to your product.

Poor branding, poor positioning, boring, unprofessional

Shot 1: Does this make you want to buy this product?

 

Shot 2: Does this make you want to buy the product?

For more detailed information on photographs and a full list of official commercial photographers, visit http://www.aipp.com.au/

Going places… understanding Location-based Services and Geo-tagging in social media

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 Social media continues to get bigger and new ways to use the medium are being introduced at a rapid rate.

 In this blog we are going to take a look at (and explain) social media location based services, geo-tagging and the potential these applications have for building brands.

Location-based Services (LBS)

A Location-based Service (LBS) is an information and entertainment application that can be accessed from a smartphone or mobile device. These services are growing in popularity with businesses increasingly using LBS to generate leads and enhance brand awareness.

Geo-tagging

Geo-tagging is a tool that utilises Global Positioning Systems (GPS) in smartphones to assist users to identify a particular place or location. It is used at a local and global level to enable promotion of real-time activities, merchants or locations through social media sites including Twitter and Facebook. Recently geo-tagging has been touted as the next big thing in the social media space.

 Who currently uses Geo-tagging? Anyone who has a smart phone with GPS or has access to the internet and associated social media sites can use geo-tagging. Consumers are using it to let friends know where they are and to get special offers and deals from retailers etc. It is used in gaming applications such as Foursquare, MyTown and Gowalla.

 Businesses are using geo-tagging to offer real-time  promotions or specials and to increase brand awareness.

 FOURSQUARE

What is it?

Foursquare is a location based social network application that incorporates gaming features.

Foursquare defines itself as ‘a mobile application that makes cities easier to use and more interesting to explore. It is a friend-finder, a social city guide and a game that challenges users to experience new things, and rewards them for doing so.’

Foursquare lets users “check in” to a place when they’re there, tell friends where they are and track the history of where they’ve been and who they’ve been there with.

In operation: March 11, 2009

Current number of consumer users: As of August 2010, Foursquare had 3million users worldwide.

Current number of registered users for business: Approximately 15,000

Quick breakdown: Foursquare is a game where users compete for points to win the status of being the ‘mayor’ of a location. It’s a good application for retail businesses as you can incorporate offers and help build customer loyalty

Cost: $0 to join or register a business. Cost of developing an application for a business varies

Best use by a brand we’ve seen so far: Starbucks Coffee

Our verdict: Claim your business name/place now, worth investigating if you have an extensive number of stores and targeting younger generation

FACEBOOK PLACES

What is it?

A location based application for Facebook users that allows users to check themselves or others in from a smartphone

In operation:  August, 2010

Current number of users: Approximately 30 percent of 500 million Facebook users but growing every day

Quick breakdown: Facebook Places allows users to check themselves into locations or places. It also allows friends to check other friends into locations as well. Easy to add locations and incorporate into Facebook business pages.

Cost: $0 for consumers. Businesses can register their location Facebook for free but you will need a business page first.

Best use of a brand we’ve seen: Too early to have any big players – but any business who is already heavily involved in Facebook and has multiple locations will be well placed to take advantage of Places as it grows.

Our verdict: Still in the early stages however, sure to grow with the popularity of Facebook. If businesses start offering incentives and offers to users to ‘check in’ (similar to the Foursquare model) it will gain popularity.

Places is also good for increasing brand awareness and connecting with Facebook users in real time. When people check into areas nearby to your business your listing comes up automatically.

GOWALLA

What is it?

Gowalla is a mobile and web service that gives people a new way to communicate and express themselves through the everyday places and extraordinary settings they enjoy.

Gowalla definition: ‘People can capture and share their spot in the world with friends and family, while discovering new places, events and trips as they go. Gowalla offers businesses, campaigns, and organisations the unique opportunity to reward loyalty, reach new consumers, and to create memorable experiences.’

In operation: March 13, 2009

Current number of users: 340,000

Quick breakdown: Gaming application (similiar to Foursquare) except it is built around obtaining stamps in a virtual passport – global. Users can accumulate points, rewards, discounts and badges. Businesses pay for a service to have their store listed or featured on Gowalla.

Cost: Free for consumers, businesses can get a featured listing from $155 US per day.

Best use of a brand we’ve seen: CNN Money for content distribution

Our verdict: Declining popularity compared to Foursquare, too niche market.

Connecting with your social media community

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With the continuing evolution of the social media sphere, we are finding more and more clients are looking towards social media networks to generate leads and raise awareness about their brand.

However, the way most companies are approaching social media is fast and furious.

You can rush things through to catch up with everyone else but if you haven’t thought your approach through properly you won’t get the desired results.

For some this topic might seem a bit ‘101’ Social Media but we continue to come across businesses that don’t really understand how it works and the power it possesses in influencing a brand positively or negatively.

Social media is a real-time medium that has to be approached differently to other mass-advertising channels. Social media networks are more about the ‘soft sell’ rather than the hard sell – no-one likes being sent hundreds of spam emails or receiving unsolicited telemarketing calls – and your social media community is the same. Blatant advertising material on social media channels is unacceptable as most people have joined for a bit of fun. The exception to this is when it is a specific promotion page and people are aware of this when they sign/ join up/follow.

With this in mind, it is important to have clear objectives for why you want your brand or business to engage in social media. Is your target market reached easily via this channel? It’s not good enough just to be ‘on’ it.

Brands can benefit  from building genuine connections with the market on social media but it needs to be consistent with the overall marketing strategy, which includes integrating above and below the line elements. Social  media requires a a long-term commitment but there are a few things you can do to engage fans quickly and easily. Simple things like asking questions or running specific online promotions through applications are two strategies that encourage engagement.

Roger Federer is one of the biggest sports brands in tennis (and sport in general). Part of the reason he continues to remain popular with both sponsors and fans is through his innovative approach to social media. Roger and his team consistently put in efforts to connect with his Facebook & YouTube fans and this has paid off with his number of Facebook fans recently hitting 4, 811, 836. His comments and videos regularly attract feedback in the thousands. I am sure many of you are aware of his recent video for Gillette, which went viral on the internet

The screen capture below is a great example of a recent post he made calling  for fans to ask him any questions they would like answered. Note: this one post attracted 9, 261 comments and 13, 9223 ‘likes’ – one of his less popular ones!

'The Fed' is a social media ace

 You will notice it actually seems like Roger himself is using this page – it is not all marketing material and this is a key element in its success as a fan page.

As a business owner it’s important to start with the end goal in mind so before doing anything consider what you really want to achieve in the social media sphere then act accordingly. Do research, check what competitors are doing and ensure you are familiar with social media tools so you can truly understand how it works and can be applied for your business.

If your business is already engaging in social media, assess how successful it is and  make sure there are consistent efforts to engage and connect with the online community.

Social media is a powerful communication tool but it is not a one size fits all medium.

Rebranding – soul searching for a company

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The past few months transitioning from LapePhelan to our new identity Ignite PR & Marketing has reaffirmed the power in strong branding and how integral it is in shaping market perception –both internal and external.

The decision to rebrand led me to embark on a ‘soul searching’ mission of sorts.  Firstly to determine why it was necessary, and then what did I want my new brand personality to be and represent.

Some poignant questions had to be answered: what did I want the agency to stand for; how did I want potential clients to feel from being exposed to the brand; how did I want current clients to feel; how did I want staff to be engaged; were my business values represented and aligned; how would I represent the agency’s point of difference?

Put simply, the process involved assessing the four key aspects of any brand- attributes, benefits, values and personality. The culmination of which results in the most potent angle of a brand – the essence – the central purpose and direction for the entire business and everything it does. Here is a simple example of how the brand development process works:

Attributes Benefits Values Personality
Big, leafy structure Provides shelter Kind Motherly
Hard wood trunk Provides building materials Spiritual Undemanding
Turns Co2 to o2 Helps planet breath and function Generous Stoic
Bears food Peaceful Strong Dependable
Green Provides food

ESSENCE = supporter of life

This process takes time but is invaluable in harnessing and unlocking the power and potential of a brand and ultimately your business.

The development of Ignite has not only re-energized me but the business, my team and clients. It was certainly the best path for sparking our growth.

– Trina McColl, MD Ignite PR & Marketing