TrackTown USA: Eugene, OR Delivers on Its Promise (Strategic Tuesday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re continuing our series on the marketing and branding at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.  Today we are going to talk about TrackTown USA which is the brand of Eugene Oregon, the host of the trials.

When you hear a community boasting TrackTown USA what comes to mind?  It should be all about track and field and a culture that supports it.  We are going to take a look at Eugene, Oregon and how they have created a very distinctive brand and maintained it over the last several decades.

Elements that comprise the TrackTown USA brand for Eugene Oregon include a great running history.  The University of Oregon has boasted many great track coaches and athletic performances over the years.  Coach Bill Bowerman worked with Steve Prefontaine, one of the all time best runners in the history of track and field.  His work with Prefontaine inspired Bowerman to cofound the predecessor company of Nike with Phil knight.  So, Nike has its roots in Eugene Oregon.

Another unique element of Eugene is Hayward Field, the site of the US Track and Field Championship.  It is the largest dedicated track venue in all of the United States.  Countless track and field records have been set at Hayward Field.  Just last week Ashton Eaton on the US decathlon team set the world record there.  Numerous events gravitate to Eugene because of the moniker TrackTown USA.

The Eugene community embraces the sport of Track and Field.  Close to 2,000 volunteers came out to support the Olympic Trials.  There are numerous, well used running trails everywhere in town.  TrackTown USA /Eugene Oregon has a running culture second to none.

When you have a brand and it creates certain expectations in the marketplace, you better deliver on the promise.  In the case of Eugene, Oregon as TrackTown USA it certainly is delivering and perhaps even exceeding expectations.  Now take a look at your brand and customer expectations.  How is your brand doing?

Be sure to join us tomorrow when I discuss if the US Olympic Trials did a good job on the 7Ps of Marketing.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Brand Dominance: Nike at US Olympic Track & Field Trials (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Smart Monday, and we are going to spend the entire week looking at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.  I had the opportunity to be in Eugene, Oregon and saw amazing branding and marketing going on everywhere I turned.

Today I want to talk about brand dominance and in particular Nike, who dominated the category for shoes and athletic equipment at the US Olympic Trials.  The definition of brand dominance is when only one brand comes to mind in a particular category.  During the Olympic Trials that was Nike and their presence was everywhere on the field, on the athletes, you name it, the Nike logo was present.

There is a long history between the Olympic Trials, Track Town USA (Eugene, Oregon), the famous runner Steve Prefontaine and the birth of Nike.  All of that is related to the brand dominance Nike enjoys in Eugene.

Let’s take a look at brand dominance by Nike at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials.  First, everywhere you went you saw the Nike logo.  They were sponsoring athletes but more importantly they were sponsoring many of the top winning athletes.  Frequently a competitor earning a spot to go to London to represent the United States was someone sponsored by Nike.  Athletes were wearing Nike gear.  Even the volunteers, of which I was one, were wearing Nike gear.  My hat, raincoat and T-shirt were all produced by Nike.

Every time there was a replay of a great run, throw or jump on the scoreboard in the stadium, Hayward Field, the Nike logo was there for all to see.  Nike also dominated the Fanfest area with their Camp Victory.  As visitors came in there was a large Nike store and all of the activities there for them to enjoy as an attendee at the Olympic Trials and were sponsored by Nike.  Even today’s NY Times has an article about Nike, Track Town USA and the Olympic Trials.

There are very few companies that you can really call brand dominant.  But in the case of Nike, especially at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials, it was certainly brand dominance.  It has taken Nike over 40 years to create their brand dominance.  I want you to think about the category where you compete and what you can do to move toward brand dominance.

Be sure to join me tomorrow when we continue our series looking at the US Olympic Track and Field Trials and the exceptional branding and marketing going on.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Inbound Marketing Case Study: Day 150 (Digital Friday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Digital Friday and I am going to share the Once a Day Marketing case study on Day 150.

The primary approach to create brand awareness for Once a Day Marketing has been inbound marketing or social media marketing.  The goal is to pull customers in rather than push our message out to them.

Generating brand recognition for Once a Day Marketing, which didn’t exist at the beginning of the year, is also a top priority along with establishing additional networking connections and creating lead flow and new business.

Results over the last 150 days:

·         3,400 YouTube view - up 125% in the past 75 days

·         60 YouTube views/day – up from the initial 5 per day

·         Viewed in 45 state and 85 countries – up 112% in the past 75 days

·         1,225 LinkedIn connections – up 65%

·         925 twitter followers – up 54%

Our viewers are specifically seeking out branding and marketing support, which aligns with our target audience.

On January 1, 2012 the names Once a Day Marketing, James Glover and That Branding Guy were nowhere to be seen on the front page of Google search results.  Now you will find those on page one.  Searches of the 7Ps of marketing also return page one results.  Our themes such as Smart Monday, Strategic Tuesday are also surfacing on the front page of Google as well as many of the other search engines.

I am extremely pleased with the results of our social media inbound marketing campaign over the last 150 days.  We have put in a great deal of time developing our brand using these tools, close to 400 hours.  You will have to devote the resources whether it is money or time to be successful.  Inbound marketing will deliver results and if you are you are committed.  I highly recommend it.

That concludes Digital Friday.  Join us next week for Smart Monday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Product Watch: Tracking Your Competition (Recon Thursday/Product)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Recon Thursday and we’re going to discuss taking a close look at your competitor’s products to identify opportunities for you to raise the bar.

Are you paying close attention to what your competitors are selling?  Do you know which of their products are selling the best?  Which products aren’t moving very fast?  Which products they are not offering at all?  Knowing the answer to these questions will allow you to spot gaps in a competitors offering.  You may be able to fill these by enhancing existing products or adding new products to your product line to surpass your competition.

Let’s revisit our taco stand on the plaza.  Suppose you are operating the stand and a customer comes up and asks if you have gluten free tortillas.  They mention that the restaurant across the street didn’t and they thought you might.  You have to apologize to the customer and tell them you don’t have any gluten free tortillas.  That customer leaves and doesn’t buy from either of you.

The lesson learned is to take note of the customer need and buy gluten free tortillas to have on hand at the taco stand.  Put up a big sign so the next time somebody comes up and asks if you have gluten free tortillas, you are able to say of course, how may I help you?

Take that same approach when you look at your competitors products to see if there are other opportunities that you can leverage to improve your product and attract some of their customers.

You can see that it is a very good idea to have a thorough understanding of the products your competitor offers.  That enables you to develop strategies to enhance your own products and consider how you can fill customer needs that competitors are missing.  Once you’ve enhanced your product mix, make sure you tell your customers because that will distinguish and differential you from the competition.

That concludes Recon Thursday.  Be sure to stop by tomorrow for Digital Friday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Advertising Deals: Seek and You Shall Find (Action Wednesday/Promotion)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Action Wednesday and I want you to know there has never been a better time to promote your business.

The economic rebound is not here yet.  There are still many people and businesses trying to sustain themselves in the slow economy.  One of the things businesses are doing is cutting back on their spending.  In particular, they are cutting back on their advertising, which means that the advertising channels are hungry for your business.

Your action item today is to look at the various service providers and advertising channels.  Start with the content providers, businesses that produce videos, design websites, and create social media marketing and print.  Those companies have probably seen a decline in their business and are willing to negotiate on the development of content for you.

Traditional advertising channels such as radio, TV and print have seen slower business as well and may be willing to negotiate a better deal with you.  They may increase the reach, frequency or size of the placement for the same dollars.  You will receive a larger presence for your advertising with same spend.

Even in slow times it’s very important to continue to promote your business.  When your customer is finally thinking about spending money you want to make sure they are also thinking about you.  Take advantage of the deals that various channels are offering and explore new advertising channels as well.  If your competition has slowed advertising, you will be in a good position to gain additional mind share in the marketplace.  When the economy finally turns around, you will be in a much better position to capture more market share as well.

Thank you joining us for Action Wednesday.  Be sure to tune in tomorrow for Recon Thursday.  To discuss an online or face-to-face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

Talentism: Best People = Best Brands (Strategic Tuesday/People)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Strategic Tuesday and we’re going to talk about a topic I call Talentism, or how having the best people makes the best brands.

Talentism is my term for the highly trained, valuable personnel in your company.  People are critical to the success of your organization and your brand.  We know that often good people are scare in the marketplace.

Even though the economic rebound isn’t quit here yet, it is coming fast.  Having the right people in your organization is going to be key to the success of your company.  Talentism, or having the right people, is even more important than monetary capital because if you don’t have the right people your business may lose competitive position.

With the inevitable turn around in the economy, you should be aware that your best people may soon have more opportunities outside your company.  This is the time to develop a strategy to retain those that you want to keep.

In addition to determining how to retain and train your best employees, also consider when you should manage out the under-performers.  Lastly, give thought to how you are going to recruit people to grow your business.  As the economy gets stronger and businesses are all vying for resources, it will become increasing difficult to hire talent people.

Talentism can have a positive benefit for your organization in that it could become part of your brand.  If you do seek the best talent and keep the best talent, as those employees interact with your customers that is going to be a very positive reflection on your brand.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.

The Soul of the Brand Defined (Smart Monday/Positioning)

Hello, I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing.  Today is Smart Monday, the beginning of a new week, and today we are going to look at the soul of a brand.

Have you ever heard the expression an old soul?  That describes someone who is wise beyond their years, has strong emotional stability and seems to have greater understanding of the world around them.  Perhaps the kind of person you like to be around.  On the other side of the spectrum, you may encounter someone who lacks depth of character and not feel any connection with them.  You may not want to associate with that type of person.

Think about the people in your life, the personality of friends that you have gravitated to.  There is something about them that you like, that something is there soul.  Now think about yourself, how do you relate to the world around you, whether it is a first time encounter or people you’ve known for a long time?  What is your own soul?

The attributes we like about people are their core values.  The same applies to a company’s brand.  What are their characteristics?  Are they good, caring, helpful, adventurous or tough?  What makes the brand appealing?

We like to see positive values in the people we associate with, and we also like to see those things in the companies and the brands we associate with.  The soul of a brand is the company’s guiding principles and they are the reason we care and connect with that brand.  If values that are important to the customer are not there, there is no connection.

Take a look at the core values of your own brand, your own brand’s soul.  Do you like what you see?  If you do, then share that with your potential customers.  If not, then work to change those values and then share what the soul of your brand is all about.  People that are drawn to those values will find you.

That concludes Smart Monday.  Join us tomorrow for Strategic Tuesday.  To discuss an online or face to face service engagement and enhance the marketing and branding for your organization, contact James Glover: (505) 501-1330 or onceadaymarketing@gmail.com.  I’m Jim Glover, That Branding Guy, for Once a Day Marketing and we’ll see you next time.