Companies all over the country are spending money updating their websites.  Unfortunately, they’re putting the proverbial cart before the horse.  Everything you do on your website needs to affect three outcomes:  increase revenue, reduce cost, and improve customer loyalty.  Making your site more attractive won’t accomplish any of these results.  Revamping the messaging will. At Viva La Brand, we’ve developed an efficient process to gather customer insights about our clients’ products and services.  We couple…

First direct to consumer business for America’s leading manufacturer of dessert mints for the hospitality industry:  PartySweets.com. CLEVELAND – December 2, 2009 – Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com), the Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing strategy and ad agency search firm, announces the launch of PartySweets.com, the online store for affordable, personalized favors and themed wrappers with delicious candies inside.  Hospitality Mints (www.hospitalitymints.com), the parent company of PartySweets.com, engaged Viva La Brand in 2008 to evaluate the business opportunity,…

As featured in the November 9, 2009 issue of Crain’s Cleveland Business. By Laura Sheridan Does my company need a LinkedIn profile?  Should I create a fan club on Facebook?  Do I need a blog?  What should I do on Twitter?  Where do I start?  These are the questions most often asked by small business owners about social media marketing. Why is social media the hottest topic in marketing since the color TV?  Consider the…

As businesses struggle to generate a profit, more executives than ever are considering cutting their marketing budgets.  While examining and refocusing spending is smart, some businesses are using the current economic situation to their advantage.  Their secret:  switch to offense and steal market share while competitors are struggling. Here’s how you can spend smarter and improve your marketing results: 1.        Stop spending on marketing activities that you can’t prove work or don’t provide an opportunity…

In just two years, marketing firm has amassed an impressive client list. CLEVELAND – September 14, 2009 – Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com), a Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing strategy and ad agency search firm, is celebrating its second anniversary.  Large and small, global and local companies across a wide range of industries, are realizing the benefit of leveraging outside marketing expertise.  Now more than ever, companies are turning to Viva La Brand to provide marketing expertise and…

As businesses consider cutting back on marketing, Viva La Brand offers suggestions to cut costs without cutting results   CLEVELAND – August 31, 2009 – As businesses struggle to generate a profit, more marketing executives than ever are considering budget cuts.  While reducing spending may be necessary to survive, eliminating the wrong items may be counterproductive. Laura Sheridan, president of Viva La Brand, offers these 5 tips to save money without sacrificing results: 1.       Cut…

CLEVELAND – July 13, 2009 – Pierre’s Ice Cream Company (www.pierres.com) has selected Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com) as its brand strategy firm. Since 1932, Pierre’s has delighted ice cream lovers with their huge assortment of fun frozen treats. Pierre’s president Shelley Roth said “Viva La Brand proved that they are the right partner to help us move the brand forward and put our customers at the heart of everything we do. Their track record of…

CLEVELAND – June 5, 2009 – ABA Insurance Services has hired Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com) to spearhead an advertising agency search for ABA Insurance Services, a professional liability insurance program for community banks. In April of this year, the American Bankers Professional and Fidelity Insurance Company (ABPFIC) announced it would purchase Progressive Insurance’s (www.progressive.com) Professional Liability Group and all of Progressive’s interests in the ABA Sponsored Insurance Program.  As a result, the new entity needs…

CLEVELAND – May 27, 2009 – Viva La Brand (www.vivalabrand.com), the marketing strategy firm, has added SparkBase (www.sparkbase.com) to its impressive client list of market leaders. SparkBase, the technology leader for the processing of private label gift and loyalty cards, has hired Viva La Brand to lead the development of their public relations’ and marketing efforts. “Selecting Viva La Brand was a no-brainer. We’ve built an aggressive organization that’s obsessed with anticipating what our clients…

When you’re launching a new company, researching the market is a must. Here’s how to get started: