A recent article in the Wall Street Journal says that successful branding still happens offline. I agree with this by the way. The premise of their argument is that branding doesn’t happen because of a Facebook campaign or because of advertising a brand well. It happens because there is something worth talking about.  A quote from the article stood out to me.

It is important to fight the urge to start your marketing strategy with a particular tool or approach. Instead, start a story that consumers will want to talk about. What are the messages about your brand and category that make you talkworthy?

Advertising campaigns and social media campaigns are simply formal ways of sharing a story that already exists. If that story is not interesting or something that people are passionate about, that is the end of the story. If it is “talkworthy” then the story continues organically, with no respect of marketing channels.

This is why we call ourselves an Idea based ad firm. Tomorrow there will be a new tool. Actually, today there is a new tool. We start with the idea (which is always the centerpiece of the story). We like to help our clients craft their story, build great ideas from them and determine the best way (or ways) to share it. This is a timeless method.

Want to know more? Find Out More

We’ve taken a liking to the popular show Mad Men on AMC. I’ve also really learned a lot as I have gone through the seasons in a short order of time (thanks Netflix). Here are a few things that have resonated with me.

They start with the hook. Good content is the key to all successful marketing campaigns no matter the environment. Instead of starting with the channels through which the brand is marketed, start with the key message that speaks to your audience, then unfold the details from there.

We like the term ad firm more than we used to. Remember when we were kids and we thought traditional advertising was the devil’s work? The fact is, evolving advertising is still essential for businesses. The terrain is changing and your customer’s voice is powerful. Make conversations, but it’s ok to admit that your are reaching out with a message to attract that customer.

“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.” -Don Draper

Everyone is in sales in a consulting firm. Some advertising companies have business development people (and we tried that) but in our business the person introducing you to the company has to understand how they can help you, and then be able to deliver on it. This has been where we saw the most success. Us serving you, before and after the sale.

Advertising has always been about invoking emotion more than about impressions and this never changes. Thats what can make email marketing and social media really pay off. Some feel like impressions is the key (lots of fans/followers) when in fact Social Media and everything else is successful when you can create loyalty because of the meaningful association with the brand.

“Advertising is based on one thing: Happiness. And you know what happiness is? Happiness is the smell of a new car…  It’s freedom from fear. It’s a billboard on the side of the road that screams with reassurance that whatever you’re doing is okay. You are okay.” -Don Draper

Suits are cool if they are cool suits. I once made a pocket square out of an envelope for a blazer. When someone caught me, I tossed it. I guess I need to get some fashion tips from my friend Marcus Hall at ExactTarget.

It’s important to enjoy your work. Don draper once said:

“You came here because we do this better than you and part of that is letting our creatives be unproductive until they are.” -Don Draper

We like to keep the environment comfortable here at redwall LIVE to encourage creativity and innovation. We work really hard but we do it when we are best at it (at night if that is the case). We also play foosball and pranks around the office (see example).

Want to see us in action? Find out more

]]> http://redwalllive.com/what-mad-men-has-taught-us-about-our-ad-firm/feed/ 0 http://redwalllive.com/carrier-ad-kit/ http://redwalllive.com/carrier-ad-kit/#comments Tue, 17 Apr 2012 00:40:11 +0000 Daniel Herndon http://redwalllive.com/?p=3003 We recently completed a full ad kit for the Koch Air, the midwest distribution channel for Carrier Heating and Air. It involved TV, Radio, as well as Mail and Print ad templates. Our concept was to feature a family that will bring a smirk to your face, and bring a warm human element to heating and air. This ad kit will be used for advertising and marketing by all Carrier dealers around Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri.

How can your website be a marketing engine

What services can be moved to the web to improve a business

Marketing Engine. The first is obvious, however sometimes certain things get overlooked. For example, consider a service company that spends a quarter million per year in advertising. This company is interested in capturing leads on the web, so they have invested a third of their budget in optimizing their site for search and buying paid ads on Google (PPC). They’ve designed their site to capture leads from strangers searching the web.

What about the rest of that budget? Let’s say the balance is split between a regional cable TV spend and direct mail to past customers. It’s important to reinforce these advertisements with your web site. Every ad should have a call to action (sure, there may be some exceptions). In this case, maybe it is “visit www.our-site.com/special-page to download a coupon for your first visit free”.  In both cases, your site’s visitors are already familiar with you, and they are looking for more info. Driving a call to action to your site allows you to measure your ads effectiveness while driving immediate action for your customers.

Moving Tools to the Web. Your business has a variety of functions, some of which include paper, some include the phone. Recently a client in California – a manufacturers rep – asked us to solve a business problem. They were having trouble tracking their sales people and reporting it to their manufacturer clients. We created the sales check in system, a tool built into their website that their sales people can utilize easily on their ipads. The tool collects data on the back end which is used to generate a report to have a clearer visual of how effective (or ineffective) their sales people are in the field, and furthermore, any trends in customer reaction or request that they can adapt to.

The sales check in system not only made it more clear to the client what they were getting, but it also improved the transparency of the sales reps activity, making them more accountable for success, without feeling overly managed.

You ever think about what you can do with the web to improve your business?

Picture By Blake Dieringer: imagesbyblake.net

Daniel Herndon (redwall LIVE / Forkout.org) Lived in a van for 5 days with Darren Heil (CFI) to tackle just a percentage of their 2010 budget. The Non Profit student mentoring program is moving forward with an expansion into two more schools in January thanks in big part to the traction generated through this campaign with forkout.org – The Giving Engine of redwall LIVE. Without a kick start by having Deep Ripples : Organic Search Marketing and Pet Supplies Plus Indianapolis the event never would have taken place, we didn’t have anything unless it was donated, including food” -Daniel Herndon. People viewed the live event as it happened throughout the 5 days and gave generously. Forkout used a Webcam broadcast and Twitter to broadcast the event in real time, sparking a remarkable groundswell of internet traffic and blog posts.

Donations, Viewers and Supporters watched and communicated with the Forkout team from across the country and even the world including viewers from Scotland, Ireland and the UK.

Twitter saw more than 100 tweets a day from hundreds of users posting updates including the ‘hashtag’ #forkout in the tweet. More than 170 individual donations were made and dozens of blogs and web conversations were posted about the inspiring story.

USA Today Said:

I’d like to cover two areas of distribution – product distribution and marketing channels.

• Product distribution: No matter how good your iPhone is, your sales will always go up if you are on the shelves of Wal Mart, the largest retailer in the world. Most of the items in the dollar store have no marketing, but they sure do sell a ton. There are indeed down sides to having a piss poor brand, but the fact is, when your product is easy to buy, more people buy it.
• Marketing Channels: Even if you create one of the most bland social networks in the world, if you create marketing channels like making it exclusive to college campuses, you will grow faster than if you announce it to the whole world. Similarly, AddressTwo the Small Business CRM knew that they were better off investing in the right marketing channels to build their customer base. While it’s a great product, it is not the best there is. It’s success is from being marketed to the right people, through third party channels. By creating reseller channels with marketing firms, they had their product being sold for them as a value add.

Recently we’ve brought in members that have more experience, and we’ve added new elements, and ultimately increased the size of our team. This makes us a stronger marketing agency. Over the last three years, we’ve had a short list of talented people that have worked with redwall LIVE in a few different roles. We have contractors that we work with every day, that we would not think about leaving. We’ve had tons of interns, several contractors as well as a few full time individuals, all of which have added some value to the company. Some have moved on, and I’m glad to say MOSTLY under positive circumstances. My point is, quality talented people is one thing I would not trade.

Today, I could not be more proud of the people we have on our team. This is a team that I love to brag about. Every one of us has chosen to be a part of this team, in spite of other options. Every one at redwall is passionate about our mission to create, innovate and market amazing businesses. Our hobbies and our jobs have blurred lines. We love creating. We love telling stories. We love building them as well. Thanks for letting us be a part of your story. Here’s to some great people.

Blaise Vincz, Ben Murray, Daniel Herndon, Heather Chapman, Adam Bocik

A marketing campaign failure

1. Good headlines. Copy writers are in demand these days. With the prevalence of  search engine marketing, social media and the importance of creating web content for blogs and more, fresh content is at a premium. The irony of the matter is  that all that content is only as good at the headline that will sell it. The subject line of an email, the tag line on a billboard, it needs to be simple and clear. It must be interesting, spark curiosity and  lead to a clear call to action.

2. Good design. People have been trained to appreciate good design. Even the left brained individual that can’t consciously discern the difference between good and bad, still subconsciously responds to good design even if they don’t know it. My late friend Steve Jobs took this into consideration with all of Apple’s products. They use a minimalist design, with simple use of color and shape. Think of their logo. It stands out, but yet it is extremely simple (todays version is just a white silhouette of an apple with a bite out of it). They have sold a tremendous amount of products by being meticulous about design.

3. Good distribution. In terms of advertising, the earthshaking tag line or catch phrase on an amazingly beautiful ad doesn’t get any response if it is not where the right people see it. Here are some thoughts when it comes to distribution: A terrible product on Walmart‘s shelves (the worlds largest retailer) will sell more than an awesome one in your yard sale. A “perfect” ad in a mens car magazine, selling a product targeted at middle aged women will not likely sell anything. 1000 postcards to strangers will sell fewer products than 100 marketing emails to past customers. My point is, your advertising needs to be put in the right place, your cool interactive campaign needs to be targeted at the right people in the right way. You must practice relationship marketing if your brand is going to be successful.

Consider this ad we designed for an industry magazine. We took all three of the above into consideration when preparing this ad campaign. Allow me to point out a couple points to illustrate.

Simple and clear is powerful. Don’t worry about earthshaking copy, when you just need an earthshaking headline. There is very little question of what the message is here. Think of a a good headline like the tip of a sword – if you are trying to pierce something, you use the tip of the blade first. Giving your audience all the information at once prevents any of it from being received so start with the point.

Contrast can been seen for miles. Consider contrast in two areas: design and message. Contrast in message is using the art of pattern interrupt by deviating from what is expected (we said think small instead of think big for example). Controversy is also a way contrast can get attention. Contrast in design includes choosing colors for backgrounds that make your subject standout. Contrasting design catches the eye (and is pleasing to the eye when done tastefully).

The obvious answer is that you would like to have both. When you hire a creative marketing firm, you are putting your trust in someone because you feel that they provide the “juice” that your company needs. There are a few reasons why you might ultimately hire a marketing company:

1. You need a creative focused team that can provide a right brained look at your business (for branding, marketing campaign ideas, etc.)
2. You need the bandwidth because your team can’t implement and still complete the rest of their jobs.
3. You need some specialized service (social media, mobile apps, commercial production, etc.)

Maybe it’s all of the above. While there may be an emphasis on one over another for a specific project or ongoing need, I would argue that you need a balance of all of the above. That is the makeup of a good marketing team. Here are some tips to ensure that you are working with a team that has all of the above:

1. They know they need to have a creative minded and a functional minded approach.
2. They talk about measurement and achieving ROI
3. They believe in hitting deadlines and backing up their work with results (that your business expreiences the benefit from).
4. They have nice, stylish clothes but they are laundered too.
5. They don’t just talk about “ideas” but also “why”
6. Their staff includes people that know how to use Excel or Illustrator but not always both.

If you really want to get into this, I’d like to convince you that we are a great example of this sort of team. When we write a marketing strategy it talks about how you capture attention as well as how you capture data.