Once a Day Marketing: May 2015

Tuesday, May 26, 2015

Creating Brand Love (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing the importance of customers loving your brand.

The Beatles once sang "All you need is love." This is certainly true when it comes to brands. If customers love a brand they will be loyal, seek it out repeatedly over the competition and tell their friends all about it.

Starbucks, Disney and In-N-Out Burger are three brands that feel the love from their customers. Starbucks customers lineup to purchase that next brewed coffee, latte or Mocha Frappuccino; Disney fans are setting attendance records at Disney theme parks despite increase in ticket prices and a slow economy; In-N-Out Burger lovers will use Google maps to plan routes that pass by the restaurant just so they can grab a Double Double, chocolate shake and fries.

This brand love doesn’t happen by accident. Starbucks, Disney, In-N-Out Burger and other major brands work hard to create a memorable and rewarding experience for each and every customer. They understand the importance of creating the emotional bond with the customers that keeps them coming back again and again.

Whether customers love your brand or not there is always room for improvement. Use the 7Ps of Marketing to enhance your brand and make it a bit easier for your customers to love.

Once a Day Marketing™ positions brands to become #1 in the minds of target customers. Visit our website at www.onceadaymarketing.com. Contact James Glover at (505) 501-1330 or email glover@onceadaymarketing.com. Listen to Ask Those Branding Guys™ every Monday at 11:00am (MT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Branding The Big Texan Steak Ranch (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: The Big Texan Steak Ranch

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed branding strategy for a well-known restaurant.

Today Those Branding Guys celebrated their 100^th show. We received numerous congratulatory calls and visits leading to several impromptu branding discussions with the Oregon Ducks, Bishop’s Lodge, Santa Fe Brewing Company and Dapwood Furniture just to name a few.

Joining us on our 100^th episode was Bobby Lee, owner of world-famous The Big Texan Steak Ranch on Interstate 40 in Amarillo, Texas. The Big Texan was founded in 1960 to provide visitors to the Texas panhandle a flavor of the west. The 600 seat restaurant is focused on providing a unique dining experience for all of their guests.

Bobby shared that highway billboards advertising a free 72-oz steak have worked well over the years to attract customers and build the brand. Patrons are awarded with the 72-oz steak as long as they can eat all of it, including trimmings, in an hour or less. Contestants are seated on a stage to engage other guests to cheer them on as they attempt to win the free streak. An average of five people per day make the attempt.

This Texas-sized challenge has provided extensive, earned media coverage when contests, such as the recent steak-eating event with Molly Schuyler, who consumed three 72-oz steaks in under 30 minutes, generated millions of impressions world-wide via Time, CNN and Huffington Post. The Big Texan events are timed strategically to maximize media coverage.

Restaurant traffic has increased steadily over the past 15 years and they are considering how to modernize and expand capacity to meet demand.

Bobby’s key to success - the food and your service are the most important elements in your marketing. When you excel at providing that to travelers, combined with the western environment and experience, it leads to the words every business wants to hear “I’ll be back.”

Enjoy the show.

Monday, May 18, 2015

Enhancing Your Brand With Technology (Knowledge)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing how embracing technology can enhance all aspects of your brand.

Although technology can mean various things depending on who you ask, we are focusing on technology tools and how we use them. These tools encompass everything from your car telling you it needs an oil change through monitoring the types of visits to your website and all things in between.

Using technology/social media platforms are essential channels to promote your brand. A key element of using new channels is to monitor the metrics and ensuring you are able to determine the impact to sales (positive or negative). Technology is a top Google Ad Word along with innovation and entrepreneurship, demonstrating strong consumer interest.

The proliferation of apps and emerging tech trends such as the wearable technology are advances that enable businesses to interact with customers on a personal level, share coupons they may find relevant or even greeting them with an artificial intelligence Avatar to enhance their shopping experience.

The critical take away is that each business should consider how to use technology to enhance all facets of its brand. You know your competition is!

Once a Day Marketing™ positions brands to become #1 in the minds of target customers. Visit our website at www.onceadaymarketing.com. Contact James Glover at (505) 501-1330 or email glover@onceadaymarketing.com. Listen to Those Branding Guys™ every Monday at 11:00am (MT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

Tuesday, May 12, 2015

Branding a Business News Publication (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Albuquerque Business First Publisher Ian Anderson

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed branding strategy for a business news publication.

Joining us on the show was Ian Anderson, Publisher of Albuquerque Business First newspaper. The focus of Albuquerque Business First is on local business news, economic development, entrepreneurship and other news impacting the area economy.

As recently as two years ago, Albuquerque Business First was a weekly print-only publication. They have reconstructed the brand and are now positioned as the breaking news organization when it comes to covering Albuquerque and Santa Fe. The publication has added daily morning and afternoon email editions to complement the weekly paper publication. The electronic news is comprised of 450 - 500 word stories while the weekly paper does deep-dive reporting.

Anderson shared that Albuquerque Business First is providing news the way readers want it. Each platform serves a different purpose and in many instances readership overlaps. The online edition is generating growth in the weekly edition rather than vice versa. Glover commented that the customer centric approach is a key to success for any business.

Anderson was asked to share his perspective on the Albuquerque brand. He noted that there are numerous efforts in place that reflect positively on the city's brand including Innovate ABQ, growing the ecosystem for entrepreneurs and technology accelerators. He feels that the perception of the brand outside of the state is better perhaps than how locals perceive their own brand. Good news for New Mexico.

Enjoy the show.

User Generated Content – Customers Sharing Experiences (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are looking at a way to enhance your brand and business by empowering your customer to share their experiences through User Generated Content.

In previous Once a Day Marketing blogs we've discussed the growth of smart phones with cameras, the popularity of "selfies," social media, and how positive visual cues favorably impact a brand. Leading brands and local merchants are using these trends to create more reach and engagement by enabling clientele to post photos and videos highlighting positive customer moments. This approach is called User Generated Content or UGC.

For example, via Twitter, customers are able to use a merchant’s hashtag to make comments and post photos of their experiences. What a great strategy for both the brand and its patrons. The merchant receives publicity from followers along with user generated content they can post on their website.

Other examples of UGC include such channels as Yelp and TripAdvisor, a travel related photo contest promoted by the New Mexico Tourism Department, and #JoltYourJourney, a unified community-based social media campaign managed by the Farmington Convention & Visitors Bureau.

UGC is here to stay and will continue to grow in the future. UGC gets followers actively engaged with your brand and creates strong endorsements that will drive more fans, reach, frequency and engagement.

UGC is something to think seriously about. What can you do to encourage followers to share customer moments through user generated content?

Friday, May 8, 2015

Branding Properties of a Successful Real Estate Developer (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Luna Santa Fe Development

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed branding strategy for office and mixed use properties.

Joining us on the show was Ken Joseph, developer of The Office Court and new Luna Santa Fe properties. The Office Court brand started in Chicago and expanded to Santa Fe in 1978 where there are three different locations along with one in Denver. The concept is designed for small businesses with spaces of approx. 1,000 feet.

Office Court differentiates through customer service, the experienced staff adds to the ability to maintain customer loyalty and offices that provide windows that open and beautiful landscaping appeal to tenants. Office Court is also flexible, accommodating businesses as they grow and is adapting to the changing working environment through office sharing.

When seeking new tenants, Ken advertises via the internet and commercial data bases. He is having a good experience building brand recognition using radio advertising. Ken believes there is no substitute for a strong network and maintains his real estate connections and makes cold calls to invite new tenants.

Luna Santa Fe is Ken’s newest development and is a mixed use community built on a downtown property with a long history in Santa Fe. The Luna District includes commercial and residential space. It is a high density urban location with 24/7 activity. Ken is working to secure a tenant for the Luna restaurant space and an announcement is expected soon.

Branding challenges include motivating people to change their habits and visit new retail spaces. Luna tenants have been engaged in collaborative marketing efforts to benefit all of the merchants. Ken’s tip for business who would like to strengthen their brand is: work to create opportunities wherever you can. One example is hosting the upcoming Bike & Brew Event, sponsored by Outside Magazine and the New Mexico Brewers Guild.

Enjoy the show.

Monday, May 4, 2015

Move Your Marketing Forward (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are providing you with ideas to ensure that your marketing is ready to move forward.

First look at your brand and make sure you have a clear understanding of what makes your business unique and compelling. You don't want to be just like everyone else. Know how your customers benefit from your offerings and why they should believe you can deliver on your brand promise.

For example, how many times have you heard a claim like "taste great and less filling" and the product or service doesn't live up to your expectations? Be sure to deliver on your brand promise.

Once your refine your brand positioning, develop a marketing action plan to communicate with your customers the benefits they will enjoy using your product or service. In the plan, identify where you will market, what your message will be, the duration of the campaign and the budget of the media placement.

Create messaging that will be relevant and resonate with your customers. Focus on emphasizing the emotional benefits of your brand and how your offering will enhance and improve the lives of your customers.

Lastly, remember you have the entire marketing ecosystem at your disposal which includes print, audio/video, out-of-home, place-based, publicity, direct marketing, mobile, internet, and experiential. Be creative in your approach and use channels where your potential customers are found.