Viva’s Blog: 8 Marketing Mistakes to Avoid in 2017

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:…

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Dec 2016

By Laura SheridanBlog

West Hartford day school engages Viva La Brand

WEST HARTFORD – This month, Solomon Schechter Day School of Greater Hartford (SSDS) is rolling out a new logo and website designed to more fully engage parents, students, and alumni and to attract new enrollment. The idea to consider rebranding for the school, which was founded in 1971 and offers a dual Judaic and general studies curriculum from preschool through eighth grade, was first raised two years ago, when Head of School Andrea Kasper had just…

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Nov 2016

By Laura SheridanPress

Full-service v. speciality agencies: Which one reigns supreme? Laura Sheridan, President of Viva La Brand, is asked to comment

As published in thedrum.com by Lisa Lacy: Like precious snowflakes, each brand and agency is different, so – spoiler alert – there isn’t a definitive across-the-board answer about whether it is best to work with full-service or specialty agencies. In fact, like so many things in life, with the necessary caveats, of course, the ideal arrangement, broadly speaking, may lie in a healthy compromise between the two — or what I’d like to call the…

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Oct 2016

By Laura SheridanPress

Mars Electric Selects Marketing Strategy Firm, Viva La Brand

Mars Electric engages Cleveland-based brand and marketing strategy consulting firm. CLEVELAND, OH – August 10, 2016 – Mars Electric, a leading independent wholesale distributor of lighting, gear and electrical supplies, has selected Viva La Brand as its marketing strategy firm. A third generation service business, Mars Electric has eleven branches across Northeast Ohio with the variety of inventory contractors need to quickly complete a job. “We engaged Viva La Brand to help us understand our customers’…

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Aug 2016

By Laura SheridanPress

Viva’s Blog: What color is your hammock?

Meditation hammocks. Sensory deprivation pods. These are the latest meditation practices gaining traction from coast to coast. Why are yoga studios and five-star spas like Miraval Resort in Arizona adding meditation hammocks and wellness centers offering sensory deprivation pods? What can marketers learn from them? Learning #1: Listen. Fitness studios converted yoga rooms into meditation centers because they listened to their members quip about stress and lack of “me time”. Their members didn’t ask, “Where are your hammocks?”…

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Mar 2016

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: The real winner of the Super Bowl

Q: What costs $166,000 per second and can either catapult results or ruin you? A: A thirty-second commercial during this year’s Super Bowl. You’d think business executives who spend that much on airtime would nail making a winner ad. It’s not that easy. What does it take to make an effective ad? Below are some tips. Rate this year’s ads and pick the real game winner. #1: Don’t say it. Show it. Wix.com, the web-site company, launched its first Super…

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Feb 2016

By Laura SheridanBlog

Crain’s Cleveland Business feature article by Laura Sheridan: Why niche marketers win

You have great products or services but your results are disappointing. Is marketing the problem? Are you trying to be all things to all people? Is your messaging resonating with customers? Is your target audience seeing your advertising? Are you targeting a mass audience when niche marketing is the answer? Even successful companies that sell products with mass appeal often started by selling to a discrete audience. Case in point: the rolling suitcase. Northwest Airlines…

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Sep 2015

By Laura SheridanPress

Viva’s Blog: Gamification: Time to play?

Gamification, the use of game mechanics and design techniques to motivate people to achieve a particular goal or task, has emerged as a powerful marketing tool. Savvy business leaders use it as a customer acquisition and retention tool as well as a workplace solution to train employees, encourage collaboration and drive innovation. The power of gamification is huge as it addresses major trends: the coming of age of Generation Y (the generation born in the…

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May 2014

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: Measure twice, cut once

Most of us are familiar with the English proverb, “Measure twice, cut once,” which applied to double checking measurements before cutting something to prevent wasting material. Once you’ve cut a piece of wood and you find that it’s too short, it’s pretty hard to fix. The same principle applies to hiring marketing resources. In the past year, we’ve worked with three companies that have hired marketing resources that they later discovered were “professionals” incapable of…

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May 2012

By Laura SheridanBlog

advertising strategy