We’re in the thick of the planning season. Here are eight tips to enhance your marketing plan. Tip #1: Know thy customer.It’s easy to post on social media. It’s hard to deeply understand your customers to ensure you’re posting where and what they care about. It’s easy to spend money on ads. It’s hard to create a value proposition that differentiates your brand in a relevant, compelling, and meaningful way. It all starts with understanding your…
What do IKEA and Madewell have in common? They both adjusted their strategy to embrace evolving consumer trends. Understanding customer preferences, even when at first glance they appear to be bad for your brand, is key to winning. Here are two brand success stories about bold marketers that used the latest consumer trends to guide their business strategy. CASE-IN-POINT #1: IKEA & IKEA Hacking Last August, a 31-year old executive assistant was sick of her “cheap…
Victoria’s Secret ditched its supermodels for role models. Angels are out, trailblazers are in. The lingerie brand had been criticized for a lack of inclusivity and its slow response to consumer attitudes. Bold moves were required to change their trajectory. There’s a lot to learn from the lingerie retailer’s makeover. Lesson #1: New marketing talent may be required.Victoria’s Secret hired a new CEO in November along with three other new executives to help turn the…
Consumers are more skeptical of paid advertising than ever before. According to a study commissioned by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, 94% of consumers don’t trust ads. Ouch. New ad-less platforms have emerged that let consumers directly control the content they absorb and let creators connect directly with their audiences. And, they’re incredibly popular right now. These platforms are all about sharing knowledge, educating others and learning together. They present a huge opportunity for…
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…
We’re back at it. Providing you with a preview of this year’s Super Bowl ads that are likely to generate the most buzz, and arming you with fun insider knowledge on how the sausage was made. THE PREVIEW: It was a challenging year for advertisers to decide how to play due to COVID-19. Unlike sales of commercials for past Super Bowls, this year’s ad inventory didn’t sell out until January 27th. Celebs including Mindy Kaling, Jimmy…
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…
We’re all shifting our sights from surviving the coronavirus pandemic to charting new courses through it. Data shows that 84% of people plan to maintain the routines they adopted during COVID even after the crisis. Smart business people understand that the consumer insights they depended on when making marketing decisions pre-COVID may no longer hold true. Research on customer behavior is essential. Consider that according to research conducted by Goodques, 74% of people say that…
As a company’s meet-and-greet function, marketing’s job is to support your sales goals by identifying, engaging and help converting consumers into long-term customers. This role has been upended by COVID-19. We’ve all had to rethink our strategies in an era of homebound customers, social distancing, and an unpredictable path ahead. New trends are emerging. Fast movers win. Here are a few of Viva’s favorites. TREND: Changing your messaging (even when it’s been around for a long…
Marketing in the COVID-19 WorldPart 3: Re-engage Welcome to the third entry in Viva’s 3-part series, “Marketing in the COVID-19 World”, designed to help decision makers navigate these choppy waters. The first installment, Part 1: Adjust, focused on the adjustments marketers must make to weather the storm. We talked about ensuring your brand messages and marketing add value, not noise. Part 2: Plan addressed the importance of starting the marketing planning process with new, post-COVID business goals, and then building a program to…
