Viva’s Blog: 7 Tips to Improve Your 2018 Marketing Plan

Without customers, your business will die. Without marketing, customers and prospects may not be aware of how you can help them. Without a really smart marketing plan, how can you ensure your marketing activities are reaching the right people, delivering the right message, and using the right media approach to achieve your business objectives? Incorporate these tips into your marketing planning process and you’re more likely to reach your goals.  Tip #1: Start with your business goals. Marketing’s job…

Viva’s Blog: Are you data-rich but insights poor?

Great data is crucial to understanding your customer. However, data alone won’t result in a win for your brand. Data are the raw materials needed to produce insights, the heart of effective advertising. It’s insights that enable you to develop messaging to create an emotional connection with your customer.  So, once you have the data to develop insights, how do you determine if the insights are GREAT? Here are examples of companies that have used data to…

Viva’s Blog: Customers crave simplicity: Do you deliver?

Consumers today have more choices than ever and are bombarded by sophisticated solutions to their problems. However, no matter how advanced technology becomes, customers prefer simple solutions. According to the newly released Global Brand Simplicity Index study: Simplicity earns a premium: 64% of consumers are willing to pay more for simpler experiences. Simplicity builds loyalty: 69% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand because it’s simple. HAPPY BELLY GETS IT Familiar with Happy Belly,…

Western Reserve Historical Society Selects Viva La Brand

Northeast Ohio’s collector and preserver of national, regional and local history hires Cleveland-based brand and marketing strategy firm. CLEVELAND, OH – July 17, 2017– Western Reserve Historical Society (WRHS), the resource for history, artifacts, archives and events for Cleveland, Akron and all of Northeast Ohio, has selected Viva La Brand to let the community know about the multi-million dollar, “Cleveland Starts Here®”, exhibit and online portal presented by the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Foundation….

Viva’s Blog: Why Snapstreak is a thing

No one likes losing things. Especially when you’ve worked on them every day for a year and a half. That’s how Gen Z’s (the iGeneration or Post-Millennials) feel about keeping their Snapstreaks alive. A Snapstreak is when you send snaps (videos and photos which self-destruct a few seconds after a person views them) back and forth with a friend for consecutive days. The longer you go without breaking the chain of communication, the longer the streak. To…

Viva’s Blog: Learn from Antonio Vazquez (Who?)

Antonio Vazquez is a guide for Spain’s Sevilla Bike Tour Company. While “guide” may be his title, he’s really a master marketer. Lesson #1 from Antonio:  PASSION MATTERS You don’t have to be passionate about your product, service or company to market it, but it helps a lot. Just like you don’t have to love the game of basketball to be a good player, it is almost impossible to be a superstar without passion. Passion is the…

A Cheat Sheet for Hiring Your Next Marketing Professional

Hiring for your marketing team is hard. It’s easier to assess the quality of a candidate for an accounting, sales or IT position. Engineers have to be great at math; marketers give you a bunch of words. That’s why Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh offers new hires $3,000 to leave the company. After the company’s intense four-week training program and a week on the job, Zappos makes what it calls “the offer,” $3,000 to leave the…

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:…

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…

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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