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…
[4 minute read] Ready for advertisers’ biggest night of the year? The Super Bowl ads that air on Sunday will go viral, make us laugh, and may even win Emmys. Last year, 111 million viewers watched “the show”. The next biggest event was the Oscars at 33 million. Be in the know on Sunday with these 8 fun facts: Fact #1: A steal at $5 million. A 30-second spot in this year’s edition of the…
[1 minute read] Start 2019 with a bang. Here’s how. #1: Conduct a brand audit. Do your marketing materials focus on what’s important to your customers or to you? #2: Deeply understand your 2018 marketing results What worked from a quantifiable standpoint AND is truly better for your customer? #3: Review your KPIs Are you monitoring the right metrics? Do they directly tie to improving your customer’s experience? #4: Review your budget What are your business goals for…
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,…
