Once a Day Marketing: June 2016

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Home Builders Association of Central NM Focuses on Their Brand (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys radio show podcast: Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys, we discussed branding and marketing of a regional home builders association.

Joining us on the show was John Garcia, Executive Vice President for the Home Builders Association of Central New Mexico (HBA). John brings a wealth of experience to the Association including his former roles as Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development and Tourism as well as a foundation in the hospitality industry.

The HBA is a local organization that partners with other similar organizations around the state such as the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association. They have 712 members including custom home builders, remodelers and larger scale builders. The mission of the HBA is to be a trusted resource to the community.

The HBA has two markets: members and the public. HBA offers members assistance in understanding the regulatory environment and provides education and an insurance program. They also offer opportunities for members to give back to the community. When starting a building project, consumers can look to the HBA for guidance around which type of providers they will need to accomplish their goals.

To raise awareness of the HBA, they host a Parade of Home in the Spring and Fall which thousands of individuals attend to look for exciting and innovative design ideas. This year the HBA partnered with KOAT-TV to be celebrity judges at the Parade of Homes resulting in a great response from consumers and increased traffic.

John shared that it is important to select the right partner because everything they do reflects on your brand. When considering partners or buying advertising, they follow specified criteria to maintain alignment with their brand and mission.

HBA is now moving more into social media in response to the Millennial segment of their market. To build a social media presence, one of the platforms HBA selected was Houzz. HBA was able to partner with them and is seeing traffic generated from this outlet.

John’s tip to businesses working to build their brands: When you hand write a thank you note to someone it makes a lasting impression and they will likely keep that note.

Enjoy the show.

Once a Day Marketing™ inspires clients to brand bold. 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 (MDT) streaming live on SantaFe.com KVSF 101.5 FM.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Leverage Google to Build Your Brand (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing how to enhance your brand using Google.

Google is a powerful resource for building the reputation and reach of a brand. The key to using Google in building your brand is to leverage its power as more than just a search engine. Google is a tool that can distribute your marketing message to your target audience.

Google owns YouTube, the online video site as well as Google+ social media network. Google+ integrates social media with search marketing to assist companies in developing their online presence. Having a Google+ site for your company and posting appropriate material is an important component of enhancing search engine optimization (SEO). An additional Google+ tool called Hangout, is a video conferencing feature.

When placing ads on search advertising, one best practice is to understand where your customer is in the buying/research process and ensure you are placing the appropriate content in front of them. Google ads can be targeted to individuals who have visited your website or to people in a particular physical location.

Google encourages a good customer experience from their advertisers. If a positive customer experience is not provided it will result in a lower Google+ score and increased advertising cost. Conversely, you can drive the cost of advertising down by enhancing the online customer experience.

Evaluate whether or not it’s time to begin or enhance your Google marketing.

Once a Day Marketing™ inspires clients to brand bold. 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.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Firing Up the Branding of the Zozobra Event (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys radio show podcast: A Very Hot Brand: Zozobra

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys, we discussed branding and marketing of an iconic Santa Fe, New Mexico event.

Joining us on the show was Ray Sandoval, the Event Coordinator for The Burning of Zozobra event. For those of you unfamiliar with annual ritual, it is the burning of a 50-foot effigy call Zozobra or Old Man Gloom. The short version of the legend says that he is burned to dispel darkness and despair so people can enjoy a great Fiesta celebration.

The Burning of Zozobra is a unique cultural event staged annually by the Kiwanis Club of Santa Fe on the Friday before Labor Day. This year is the 92^ndBurning and is the exciting and fiery kick-off to the historic Fiestas de Santa Fe. Net proceeds from Zozobra go back into the community. The Kiwanis Club supports numerous child-focused organizations in Santa Fe.

Ray has been working to manage the Zozobra brand, with the goal of remaining true to Zozobra’s roots, since he assumed the role of Event Coordinator. He first worked to update the narrative of the Zozobra story, created a logo and ensured that both were used consistently. Ray is also focused on keeping the event fresh. In the ten years leading up to the 100^th anniversary, each year celebrates a different decade in Zozobra history, the 1940’s will be featured this year.

One of the tie-ins the event has created is virtual Zozobra. This allows people from around the world to write down a gloom and submit it online. The event team prints them out and they are burned along with all of the other glooms.

Ray shared that the Zozobra website has recently been updated to be very interactive and include enticing video. It is a critical piece in their marketing strategy and all messaging drives visitors there. Social media has enabled people from the US and numerous countries to learn about the event and attend in person. The east and west coast markets have been specifically targeted.

Ray’s tip for business working to improve their brands: Create a plan; all tasks should support your plan, if they don’t, stop those and focus on items that will drive your plan forward.

Enjoy the show.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Visual Appeal - a Key Brand Element (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing importance making your brand look great.

The city of San Antonio is running an advertising campaign that makes their community look wonderful and inviting. The appealing visual images are exciting, depict people have a great time and create very positive impressions about the San Antonio brand. They understand that physical evidence or visual cues are one of 7Ps of Marketing and that powerful imagery builds a strong brand in the minds of target customers.

In addition, San Antonio has done an exemplary job integrating video, print and social media marketing. The look and feel of each type of media is consistent and tied together with the same visual cue.

Is your company creating appealing visuals across all aspects of that brand that will enhance its stature and likeability similar to San Antonio?

What your customers see about your brand is one aspect of physical evidence. It includes such aspects as your logo, the design of your website and the graphics used in promotional material. It also relates to the physical appearance of your storefront or office and the clothing styles or uniforms worn by employees. Even correspondence with a customer is part of physical evidence. That proposal you prepare to bid on future work should look great as should the invoice sent after the project is complete.

Strategically review all visual aspects of your brand and ask yourself if there is a way to enhance the physical appearance. Remember you never have a second chance to make a first impression and what customers see representing your brand sets the tone for future engagement.

Lastly, don’t forget about delivering on the brand promise. All those positive images are creating expectations on the part of your customers!

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Branding a Unique Radio Station (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys radio show podcast: KBAC 98.1 Radio Free 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 branding and marketing of successful radio station.

Joining us on the show was Ira Gordon – Founder and Program Manager of Radio Free Santa Fe – KBAC 98.1; one of our sister stations at Hutton Broadcasting here in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Ira created Radio Free Santa Fe 1995. After reviewing the competitive landscape and the needs of the Santa Fe market, Ira and his team selected the adult album alternative (AAA) listener as their target customer. The station focuses on unique music not available elsewhere and does not repeat songs during the day. KBAC frequently features artists coming through town live on the air directly from the studio. All of these are unique differentiators that set the station apart.

Ira keeps programming fresh by rotating songs frequently. His philosophy is to stay in their middle ground with occasional direction changes along the way. To stay on the leading edge of the right kind of music, Ira relies on intuition and his years of experience when going through the 60 albums he receives each week. He likes to research, discover new artists and is open to suggestions from listeners.

Ira shared that technology also allows established DJs to create their show and share it nationwide such as the programming we hear on satellite radio. As radio stations reduce the number of DJs technology also enables them to start their own online stations and see if they are able to build a following.

Those branding guys talked about radio in general and how it is still a great, relevant medium for advertising because listeners tend to stick with the station through commercials.

Radio fun facts:

Radio is the leading reach platform – 93% of people listen to radio
Nearly 75% of Gen X listens to radio at work
The top format is Country
66 million of Millennials use radio each week
265 million Americans listen to the radio 6+ times a week

Enjoy the show.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Leverage the Right Distribution Channels (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing importance of understanding product distribution and selecting the right channels for your company.

Place is one of the 7Ps of Marketing and includes the channels are you currently leveraging to make your product available to customers and potential customers. Direct sales, a retail environment, selling products online, using distributors or mailing catalogs are all viable distributions methods. If your business is B2B trade shows may also be a primary focus. There are many outlets to sell your product. The question of course is where are the right places to be?

Here are a few questions to consider when evaluating all the ways your customers can buy your product:

What channels do you customers prefer when purchasing your product?
Are you distributing through as many channels as you should be?
Which channels are working well and which aren’t?
Is it time to make changes?
Should distribution channels or added and/or deleted?

Monitor results by distribution method to ensure customers are finding your product where are seeking it and you are achieving the results you expect. If a particular channel is working for you, then keep selling product through it. If another channel has poor results, consider reducing volume or closing it altogether.

Research what your competitors are doing. You may be able to identify an interesting practice that you can emulate. Remember to search from a broader perspective as well, there may be a company doing something creative with respect to how they are pushing their products through a channel and you can do the same thing.

Lastly, if you don’t know, ask your customers which distribution methods best meet their needs. Again, the goal is to be where they want to find your product, not necessarily in the channel that you prefer.

Once a Day Marketing™ inspires clients to brand bold. 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.

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Branding DeLorean Motor Company (Strategy)

Listen to our featured Ask Those Branding Guys radio show podcast: DeLorean Motor Company

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. On our radio show Ask Those Branding Guys, we discussed branding and marketing of an iconic brand that is making a comeback.

Joining us on the show was James Espey – Vice President of DeLorean Motor Company. DeLorean Motor Company acquired the name, logo and remaining DeLorean parts about 20 years ago and is making the DeLorean automobile available once again. The car is updated with many of the options expected today including Bluetooth, audio system and heated seats. The exterior will remain the classic and "timeless" body style of the original model. Cars are being distributed directly from the company in Texas with several regional dealers.

John DeLorean, the creator of the car, grew up in a poor part of Detroit and was a self-made man. He worked for several of the large automobile manufacturers and in 1974 he set a goal to build a sports car of his own that was more ethical that anything being produced at the time. Many of the ideas for the design were John’s such as the gull-wing doors and stainless steel body.

Espey shared that DeLorean intends to keep production low, perhaps 50 cars per year. This maintains high quality and an adequate supply of parts. At the same time the limited quantities create a sense of exclusivity among consumers. Demand for the DeLorean is strong in advance of the first cars coming off assembly line in 2017.

DeLorean’s biggest branding challenge is to keep the focus on the car, which has been over shadowed by the Back to the Future movies. DeLorean takes a “time machine” to car shows where it is easily one of the most recognizable automobiles. Younger patrons and fans of the movie learn the DeLorean is a real car that it is available today.

Social media has been very successful for DeLorean due in part to the likeability of the brand, tremendous brand awareness and the tie to good memories from an older market.

Espey’s branding tip for others getting started in business: Don’t forget your company history and where you came from. If you are a new company, keep in mind that you are creating that history now.

Enjoy the show.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Build Your Brand: Encourage Online Customer Interaction (Strategy)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing™. Today we are discussing importance of building an online community with your customers.

Now more than ever it is vital to connect with your customers online. Customers and potential customers want to learn about your business, employees and products. Creating an online community can provide followers with insights into all aspects of your company and allow you to make an emotional connection. It can also be a means of communicating product information as well as specials and exclusive offers.

Once you establish a community on a platform like Facebook, you can promote it in clever ways such as stickers on packaging that invite customers to participate. Remember to be consistent. If you do decide to create online interaction with followers post something relevant that will resonate with your audience on a daily basis.

Responding to comments is another vital component of online interactions. Whether positive or negative, ensure you acknowledge customer comments and follow-up as necessary.

As you review your overall marketing campaign, evaluate the plan you have in place to entice your customers to interact with your brand through digital channels and technologies. Consider offering incentives and benefits to encourage customers to interact with your company through available digital channels.

Each new exchange is a great opportunity to build and strengthen your relationship with customers and fuel future sales.