Viva’s Blog: Stop fighting your customers!

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…

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Aug 2021

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: [Marketing Trends] New Ad-Less Platforms

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…

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Apr 2021

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: Learn from these Super Bowl ad fumbles

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…

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Feb 2021

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: 6 Year-end Marketing Tips

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…

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Dec 2020

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: Your customer has changed. Have you?

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…

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Oct 2020

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva La Brand Celebrates 13th Anniversary

Companies and organizations from Seattle to Connecticut have retained Viva La Brand for rebranding and to optimize their marketing. CLEVELAND, OH – September 29, 2020 – Viva La Brand, the Cleveland, Ohio-based marketing strategy and ad agency search firm, is starting its 14th year helping clients use marketing to help achieve their business goals. “Clients from around the country are engaging Viva La Brand because of our approach, which they associate with midwestern values….

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Sep 2020

By Laura SheridanPress

Be Well Solutions Retains Brand Strategy Firm Viva La Brand

CLEVELAND, OH – July 13, 2020 – Viva La Brand, the brand & marketing strategy and ad agency search firm was selected to help Be Well Solutions provide their current and prospective clients with turnkey wellness programs. “We’re honored to work with Be Well Solutions – a company devoted to one purpose – helping employers build a resilient workforce. Our first project has been to help develop and share a Toolkit with programs to…

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Jul 2020

By Laura SheridanPress

Viva’s Blog: Marketing in the COVID-19 World – Part 3: Re-engage

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…

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May 2020

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: Marketing in the COVID-19 World – Part 1: Adjust

Welcome to the first entry in Viva’s 3-part series, “Marketing in the COVID-19 World”, designed to help decision makers navigate these choppy waters. This first installment focuses on the adjustments B2B and DTC marketers must make to weather the storm. Part 1: ADJUSTJust like we are adjusting to the new reality of staying home, marketers must adjust to the role their brands play in a customer’s life at home. Marketers must adapt how they lead their teams, speak to…

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Apr 2020

By Laura SheridanBlog

Viva’s Blog: Focus on your brand while you hunker down.

Given the state of the world, now’s not the time to double down on a new digital campaign. It’s not the time to try to convince people to try a new product or to “like” you on Facebook. Use this time to be introspective. Conduct a brand audit. What is a brand audit?It’s an evaluation of how your brand is performing compared to your goals and uncovers how your brand is positioned in the market. It allows…

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Mar 2020

By Laura SheridanBlog

brand strategy