I’m often asked by clients how to communicate news, good and bad, to employees, customers, and partners. The answer can be summarized in one sentence: be honest, and true to who you are. Two recent events are great examples of the power of being candid with your stakeholders. Real Life Example #1: The NFL When Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field a couple of weeks ago during Monday Night Football, National Football League executives…
Now’s a great time to reflect on the past 11 months and evaluate the impact of your marketing on your business results. Patterns may reveal themselves about your team or your clients. What worked and what didn’t? Here’s a checklist to help you evaluate your marketing’s effectiveness and plan for a successful 2023. MARKETING CHECKLIST #1: Marketing Team Do you have the right internal talent in the right positions to accomplish your goals for 2023? If…
Tom Brady wins again. The Weeknd flies solo. And, advertisers blow a lot of cash. There’s a lot to learn from this year’s Super Bowl. JEEP So much went wrong with Jeep’s two-minute ballad to the world. It started with attempting to tout a message of unity via the use of Christian imagery and the sentiment of peace in the wake of the January 6th Capitol raid. Viewers didn’t buy it. Then, yesterday, it was…
Tip #1: Engage your marketing talent.Employers are struggling to keep their employees engaged. According to a Gallup poll, in 2020, the overall percentage of engaged workers in the US is 36%. That means 64% of workers aren’t feeling it. The takeawayThink differently. Provide your associates with opportunities to jumpstart their creative juices. How about offering employees a grocery budget for a rotating team member cooking demonstration? Have you tried playing board games virtually or staging…
COVID-19 has changed consumer behavior. At-home working, at-home entertainment and at-home dining have necessitated a change in shopping and buying that many analysts predict will remain for the long term. Maintaining the same marketing strategies that worked prior to the pandemic likely won’t yield the same results going forward. If you’re committed to building long-term relationships with your customers, then you must pause and ask: What can we do to ensure our brand stays relevant…
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…
Kicking off your 2019 marketing planning? Here are 10 key considerations: #1: Identify the “job” you’re doing for your customers. If you don’t know, conduct research. Gather the data you’ll need to develop messaging, pick media types, and create content that’s relevant and valuable to your customer. Drafting a marketing plan without understanding your customer is like buying shoes for a friend without knowing their taste, size and plan for wearing the shoes. Clay Christensen,…
Cleveland-based brand and marketing strategy powerhouse celebrates its 11th anniversary by reflecting on its growing list of purposeful clients. Viva La Brand, the Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing strategy and ad agency search firm, is starting its 12th year by reflecting on the work it has done with clients large and small across a huge variety of industries. “Kicking off our 12th year in business is a great time to salute our amazing clients who have enabled us…
No one likes losing things. Especially when you’ve worked on them every day for a year and a half. That’s how Gen Z’s (the iGeneration or Post-Millennials) feel about keeping their Snapstreaks alive. A Snapstreak is when you send snaps (videos and photos which self-destruct a few seconds after a person views them) back and forth with a friend for consecutive days. The longer you go without breaking the chain of communication, the longer the streak. To…
Viva’s Blog: 8 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2017 ‘Tis the season for resolutions. Which of these 8 marketing mistakes do you resolve to avoid in 2017? Mistake #1: Focusing on your product. It’s not about what you’re selling but rather the job you’re doing for your customers. Clayton M. Christensen, Harvard Business School Professor extraordinaire and author of multiple business best-sellers, believes that the secret to winning the innovation game is for executives to ask:…
