Once a Day Marketing: August 2015

Monday, August 31, 2015

Is Your Brand Held in High Regard? (Knowledge)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are looking at an essential component of brand stature.

The Y&R Brand Asset Model addresses brand stature and brand strength, two critical components of a Power Brand. (I recommend you take a moment to study more about the Y&R Brand Asset Model.)

Esteem is the key component of a power brand that assess whether or not the brand is held in high regard by customers and/or potential customers; the higher the esteem, the greater the Brand's stature. Like personal reputation, the more positive the brand reputation the better it is liked or even loved by customers. This is the emotional side of branding.

The second component of brand stature is knowledge. Are consumers knowledgeable about your product? Are you enabling them to truly understand what your brand is all about and what it stands for?

To determine brand stature you don’t necessarily have to go through the steps that Y&R did. You do want to consider the esteem multiplied by the knowledge; the higher the score the higher your brand stature.

A good target goal would be to have high esteem and perhaps lower customer knowledge about your product. From a marketing perspective, you can always build that knowledge. Alternately, if customers have a lot of knowledge about your product but don’t hold your product in high regard then you have a different marketing challenge. You will have to help them understand why there should be a greater appreciation for your product or service.

It is important to understand brand stature so you can focus your marketing message to enhance the weaker component: esteem or customer knowledge. If anyone of those areas is low, strengthen that component to strengthen your brand equity.

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 streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Woodstock Photographer Still Rockin' & Rollin' (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Photographer Lisa Law

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed maintaining a brand across five decades.

Joining us on the show was Lisa Law, legendary Rock n’ Roll Photographer. Lisa’s brand has been growing and evolving for nearly 50 years. She likes to think of herself as a historian of the Sixties. Everywhere Lisa went, including Woodstock, she documented the experiences; her photos grew into a collection of thousands of negatives.

Lisa created the Flashing on the Sixties movie and book from these experiences and photos, she has taken what is considered by many to be the most famous photograph of Bob Dylan and her work hangs in the Smithsonian. Lisa leverages her fame and her social media following to share her message and raise awareness for the many worthy causes she supports.

In addition to annual participation in the Santa Fe Fiesta Historical/Hysterical Parade, Lisa is championing creation of a Museum of the Sixties. She would like to start the museum here in Santa Fe to display her photos and Wavy Gravy’s art along with other material. Lisa feels there is renewed interest in the Sixties among the younger generations. As a first step, a small show will be created in Santa Fe which could potentially grow into a traveling exhibit.

The tip Lisa shared to enhance your brand is to keep at it. Lisa is heavily involved in the community and donates her work and time extensively; this continues to keep her brand top of mind with her audience.

Enjoy the podcast.

Monday, August 24, 2015

Business Name: A Big Part of the Brand (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are looking at brand naming conventions.

When I mention Apple, Nike, Google and Amazon, what comes to mind? Of course, you instantly conjure up thoughts of amazing products and services offered by these top-notch brands. The reason: these four companies are branding experts who know how to create impressions that ensure you understand the benefits of their brand and keep them top of mind. They are branding 24/7/365 to ensure they remain global household names.

If these companies hadn't spent so much energy and resources branding you might have actually first thought of: a piece of fruit (apple), a Greek goddess (Nike), the math value 10¹⁰⁰ (google), or a large river in South America (Amazon). This is evidence that any name will work for a brand if you are willing to put sufficient branding and marketing muscle behind it.

When selecting a name for your company, a descriptive name for what the company is all about, such as Once a Day Marketing™, ensures customers understand the goal of the business; in this case to help clients market every single day. We could have selected Glover Consulting or XYZ Enterprises but neither of those names quickly informs customers of the services we offer. This type of naming convention makes branding a little easier, instead of spending time generating an understanding of the brand, you can spend that time with customers.

Other attributes of a great name include it being easy to spell and remember. This is especially true in regard to customers entering your business name into a search engine. A challenging naming convention is going to make it difficult for a small business to become top of mind with customers who are already thinking of brands with large marketing budgets.

When you choose your brand name, give thought to how long the process will take to generate sufficient mindshare with your target audience. Whatever naming convention you use, if it's going to take a lot of work reminding customers what your name is and then the benefits it provides, it might not be the right direction to go.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Branding an Organization That Ignites Startups (Strategy)

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

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed raising awareness for a new organization supporting entrepreneurs.

Joining us on the show were Bonn Macy and Shawn Patrick, Co-Directors of Startup Santa Fe, a public private partnership with the City of Santa Fe and Creative Santa Fe providing access to entrepreneurial resources throughout New Mexico.

Founded in 2015, the goal of the organization is to make entrepreneurs aware of the extensive array of tools and resources available to new businesses starting out in Santa Fe. The investment community and local incubators are also involved in these efforts as well.

Startup Santa Fe provides an entrepreneur access to educational content to assist them in learning the components of a successful business and avoiding common pitfalls at the beginning of their journey. New businesses should come to Startup Santa Fe as soon as they have an idea; it's never too early to seek out the organization.

Startup Santa Fe is also creating a database called "Hatch" that will allow individuals forming a new business to find available resources that match their needs.

One of the challenges in getting the word out about Startup Santa Fe has been reaching their target marketing, which is very fragmented. Glover reminded Bonn and Shawn to create a unique and compelling message and then target their desired audience.

Startup Santa Fe tips for new businesses: 1) leverage the resources that are here to assist and 2) ask any questions that you have.

Enjoy the podcast.

Building Customer Loyalty (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing rewarding your customers with loyalty programs.

The explosion of digital format and social media provides customers access to so many more choices than they had in the past. Once your company likely competed in a small/local market; now you are competing in the global market place.

You work hard to attract the customers that are using your business, are you working just as hard to reward loyal customers who continuously seek out your product or service? The concept of the customer loyalty program is not new. Fred Harvey, who founded his Harvey House chain of restaurants and hotels in 1878, offered such a program to his customers.

There are various program options to let your repeat customers know you appreciate their business. A formal system tracks all the exchanges with your customers and allocates rewards based on predetermined criteria. An informal system is a less complicated, for example, a local restaurant may use a stamp card. Customers present it to be stamped for each purchased meal and are rewarded with a free meal after the designated number of purchased meals.

You can offer all sorts of premiums such as free flights, hotel rooms, meals or discounts. The goal is to keep track of the activities between you and your customers and reward them accordingly.

A well thought out customer loyalty program will ensure your customers feel appreciated. The reward you offer should be something the customer will value such as the examples cited above. In exchange they will be loyal, have a greater appreciation for your brand, and endorse your brand to their family and friends.

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Inside the Branding of the Pac-12 Conference (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Pac-12 CMO Danette Leighton

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we got an inside peek at the branding secrets of one of the big 5 college conferences.

Joining us on the show were Danette Leighton, Chief Marketing Officer of the Pac-12 Conference, and Scott Chisam, coach of UCLA’s first NCAA championship women’s outdoor track and field team (1982). Danette gave a shout out to Coach Chisam for his accomplishments and all he has done for the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 is referred to as the Conference of Champions; this tagline has been earned through the accolades and achievements of their twelve member universities. They are more than just sports teams and have produced Olympic champions across a wide range of sports. Pac-12 teams have included such players as Marcus Mariota, the most recent Heisman winner, who is a wonderful example of the student athletes from this conference.

This is the centennial year of the Pac-12. Founded in Portland, OR in 1915 they have grown over the past 100 years into the Pac-12 Conference of today. This coming academic year will be a celebratory year focusing on the many accomplishments in the rich Pac-12 history branded as "100 Years of Champions."

Leighton shared that under commissioner Larry Scott the Pac-12 has grown into an even more remarkable conference. They have worked extensively to increase the national presence of the brand by paying increased attention to student athletes and creating their own media distribution. All of their efforts have been about making the Pac-12 better while not forgetting their brand pillars: West Coast location, innovation and excellence.

One of the things Danette stressed for success is to hire a team with diverse and complementary skill sets. She believes that all voices matter and is open to the wide variety ideas that are created by the marketing team.

Enjoy the podcast.

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.

Monday, August 10, 2015

Branding Santa Fe School of Cooking (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Santa Fe School of Cooking

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 with the iconic Santa Fe School of Cooking.

Joining us on the show were Nicole Curtis Ammerman, Director of Operations for Santa Fe School of Cooking and her daughter Hailey. Santa Fe School of Cooking was founded 25 years ago by Nicole’s mom Susan and remains a family business. Their mission is to feature local food and support area farmers and agriculture.

Santa Fe School of Cooking has diverse offerings that include cooking classes, a market with private label chile, walking tours and private parties. Nicole shared that 85% of customers are tourists and providing a great experience around New Mexico, Spanish, Mexican, Native American or Contemporary Southwest Cooking is what keeps clients coming back for more.

She discussed the importance of providing product offerings that address the needs of the local Santa Fe market as well. Santa Fe School of Cooking offers special promotions for locals during off-season.

Nicole keeps marketing top of mind and when the School moved to a new location she knew it was key to keep their name in front of customers during the three-month construction. During this time Nicole and Susan attended numerous community events to network and let people know about the new space.

When it comes to advertising Santa Fe School of Cooking is participating in the New Mexico True advertising campaign and enjoys great customer reviews of Trip Advisor, which is the number two generator of flow to the website.

Nicole’s success tip for any business: Be authentic, believe in what you are doing and, no matter what you do, make it the best it can be.

Enjoy the podcast.

Response to Brand Crisis (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys™ radio show podcast: Spanish Market and Dill Communications

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys™, we discussed strategy for brands in crisis as well as branding and marketing for a landmark Santa Fe event.

Joining us on the show was Stefan Dill from Dill Communications sharing with us the importance of having a crisis plan in place should some unforeseen event negatively impact your brand. Recent stories in the news about Donald Trump’s unfortunate comments prompted this conversation.

When crisis hits your business, brand stature drops because unfavorable impressions are being formed in the mind of the public. It's imperative to react to the crisis in a way that restores the image of your brand by taking full responsibility for your company's actions and assuring the public that the situation has been resolved and will not happen again in the future.

During the second half of the show we chatted with David Setford, Executive Director of the Spanish Colonial Arts Society in Santa Fe, New Mexico about current promotion of the annual Spanish Market.

Setford has been focused on energizing and building the momentum of the Spanish Market brand by organizing numerous events in the week leading up to the Market collective called Viva La Cultura. He is overseeing distribution of thousands of updated newsletters and running fresh print advertisement; both targeting a younger audience as well as families to ensure the longevity of the customer base.

Learn more from both of these exciting guests by tuning into our podcast at the link above.

Enjoy the show.

Monday, August 3, 2015

Keeping a Brand Fresh (Strategy)

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

We can’t stress enough how important it is for you to ensure that your brand remains relevant to customers as the market changes. Over time, consumer tastes evolve and a brand may become less appealing to target customers, or be replaced by a competitor's newer product.

For example, the product offered by the traditional game of golf is not attracting the younger audiences; the brand is growing cold. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, disinterest by Millennials is resulting in declining participation and causing both the sporting and retail sides of the business to revise their strategies.

New tactics include encouraging shorter and less expensive 9-hole rounds and offering alternate uses for facilities such as FootGolf. FootGolf is an affordable, family-friendly game played with a soccer ball and is offered at over 300 golf courses around the country.

In response to changes in consumer taste, FritoLay, makers of the old favorite snack Cracker Jack, has created a new product called Cracker Jack’d. Touted as snacks with impact and positioned for the adventurous; the new offering comes in nine flavors with ingredients such as oats and granola. This take-off on the original snack is styled to attract a broader audience to the traditional brand.

Consider what you could and should be doing to keep your brand relevant through new uses for an existing product or introduction of new ones. When your brand is in decline, or just needs to be refreshed, remember to Brand Bold and try new something different.