We hope you, your families, and your employees are safe and healthy. What and how we communicate to one another during these incredibly difficult times significantly impacts how we feel and act. We’ve been helping clients with the important messages they’re sharing with employees and customers. If you need help or just an objective third party to review materials, please send me an email at laura@vivalabrand.com. In the meantime, here are tips to ensure your messaging is…
Given the state of the world, now’s not the time to double down on a new digital campaign. It’s not the time to try to convince people to try a new product or to “like” you on Facebook. Use this time to be introspective. Conduct a brand audit. What is a brand audit?It’s an evaluation of how your brand is performing compared to your goals and uncovers how your brand is positioned in the market. It allows…
Super Bowl LIV is rapidly approaching. Advertisers are hustling to finalize their multi-million dollar commercials before February 2nd’s matchup in Miami. There’s a lot to look forward to off the field. Facebook makes its first foray into the media frenzy with an ad starring Sylvester Stallone and Chris Rock, the Bloomberg and Trump campaigns are dropping $10M per spot, and Anheuser-Busch is the largest spender with four 60-second commercials. It’s a lot to track. Viva’s blog is here to…
2019 has been the year of the pivot. When customer demand or the market landscape shifts, brands have to be flexible to survive. Here are three brands that pivoted in 2019 and are succeeding. What can you learn and apply to your business? Pivot #1: Ferrari Earlier this year, Ferrari was named the world’s strongest brand. The Global 500 – the annual report on the world’s strongest brands – announced that the prancing horse company scored 94.8 out of…
November is here and 2020 planning is in full swing. As you develop your marketing plan for 2020, consider the following: Must Do #1: Start with a blank slate. Put this year’s plan and budget away. You’ll eliminate the urge to include a marketing tactic just because you’ve done it before. Immerse yourself in customer insights and results. Surround yourself with wicked smart, creative, customer-obsessed colleagues across the organization. Then, outline a plan for 2020. Accenture is such…
As Brands ramp up their messaging hoping for more interaction with their customers, many consumers are pushing them away. Marketers who deeply understand their customer know that simple is the winning ticket. Avoid making the common marketer’s mistake of including too many messages in one execution. Tell the reader exactly what they need to know. No more. No less. Message before beauty. The signs below are not beautiful. The best feature a design aesthetic that matches the brand. All communicate…
It’s over. Just hours ago, Amazon Prime Day #5 came to a close after selling more than 175 million items, surpassing results for the past Black Friday and Cyber Monday combined. Prime Day started in 2015 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the site’s launch in July 1995. Amazon promised a one-day sales event for the site’s Prime subscribers that would be “one of the biggest deals extravaganzas in the world,” according to then vice president of…
Meet Sunny! Sunny, our first dog ever, arrived on the scene last week. As it turns out, puppies and marketing have a lot in common: both require research, a data-driven strategy, and disciplined execution of that strategy. Marketing Tip #1: Establish trust. Before you can ask a prospect to try your product, visit your website, register for a webinar or schedule a call, you must create trust. Trust is about keeping promises. Communicating openly. Keeping…
Lesson #1: Use photos to connect emotionally. Before Uber shared its mission, business overview and approach in its S-1, the SEC filing signaling its intent to go public, it showcased lifestyle shots of real people using Uber’s platforms throughout their day. The photos emotionally connect the viewer with the brand. Involve the heart, and your message will have a greater impact. Lesson #2: Use data to tell your story. Those six numbers tell a huge…
Over the past nine years, Viva’s Blog has delivered the latest in marketing trends & analysis. 70 blogs later, many of the challenges discussed are still relevant for business leaders. Here are the most popular reads. Which can help your business? How’s your elevator pitch?July 2015You bump into a business associate you haven’t seen in years and she asks you what you’re up to. You open your mouth, pause, try to organize your thoughts, and start…
