Magazine covers that sell: “Best of” topics and Jennifer Aniston. Those that don’t: “Green” and Paris Hilton (are we really surprised?).

Debi — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 01:37:14 +0000

According to a study by GfK MRI and reported by Advertising Age, “‘Green’ coverage, negative emotions and, surprisingly, celebrity scandals are more likely to hurt than help” magazine circulation. The research reviewed various topics on 11,161 magazine covers between May 2006 and April 2010. Advertising Age added that “The economy, beach bodies, and ‘best of’ treatments all help magazines draw bigger audiences than usual.” The surprise for me was the low interest in ‘green’ edit given that it seems” everyone” is going “green” these days.

The article also noted a story about Vanity Fair’s Editor in Chief Graydon Carter placing Paris Hilton on the cover in 2005 and a smart aleck accusing him of using the heiress like “newsstand crack.” My how times have changed… Who would have thought Paris Hilton would become a magazine cover “don’t.” Okay, well, I’ll reserve comment…

So, which public figures still “sell” covers?

Jennifer Aniston
George W. Bush
Barack Obama

As previously noted, other topics that sell include:

The economy
Beach bodies (surprised?)
“Best of” topics (I mean who does love the ‘best of’ anything?)

And for the betterment of society (that’s my commentary), what’s out is the aforementioned Ms. Hilton and former MTV reality star Lauren Conrad. It’s looks like there is hope for humanity and the future of magazines after all.

Find the full article at AdAge.com

Another Smashing Success!

Debi — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 00:25:02 +0000

Forget ribbons, we cut burgers!

Here are just two TV features of many we garnered for Smashburger’s second restaurant opening here in the Sacramento region. We opened the first in March 2010 in Citrus Heights and a second recently in Folsom. Be on the lookout for a third opening soon in Roseville! Meanwhile, these video clips should wet your appetite.

KCRA 3/31/10:

Fox40 3/29/10:

When Press Releases Go Bad: 5 Things to Avoid When Drafting a Press Release

Debi — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 22:26:24 +0000

I just received this article via BurrellesLuce Newsletter (check it out here).

It’s true, a lot of the information found below is fairly obvious, but an oh-so-good reminder, because quite frankly, PR pros tend to get a little lazy now and then…

So the next time you send out a press release, just take a quick gander at these five tips:

1. Un-newsworthy releases. Let’s face it, to the company, brand, or organization that generates it, any “news” could be worthy of a press release. While it is perfectly acceptable to add all types of releases to your online press center, where you can optimize it for search, it may not be necessary for every piece to hit the wire — especially if it’s of little value to your audience. If you are crafting and sending a release just so you have something to show or to remain in front of eyeballs, you may want to think twice. Chances are that you’re only diminishing your credibility for when there is something worth announcing. (Keep in mind the story of the boy who cried “wolf.”)

2. Lack of intrigue. If a release doesn’t excite or spark some form of interest, who is going to bother to read it, let alone act on it? With the increasingly shorter news cycle and abundance of content available to readers, it is imperative that you create a piece that draws attention (in a good way) without being over the top. Otherwise, you’re just adding to the clutter and noise. One good way to measure your impact is to include a call to action in your release. [oh, you'll want to keep reading...]

3. Ineffective communication. Audiences want to know that they are more than just commodities and that you truly care about forming relationships with them. If you are merely looking to push out your information, you may want to think twice before sending out that standard release across social media. Lou Hoffman, Ishmael’s Corner , sums up relationship-building between PR and the media by saying, “If the PR profession jumped on this bandwagon, we would go a long way toward resolving what the warden in Cool Hand Luke called, ‘a failure to communicate.’”

4. A boilerplate that is longer than the release. Not surprisingly, the Bad Pitch Blog dedicates a whole category to boiler plates, illustrating how these “gems” can easily run amuck in a press release. Their advice: “So what’s the magic formula for boilerplates? No magic, just brevity. Describe your company in one or two sentences and throw in its URL for more information. Done.”

5. Too much or not enough information. Knowing how much information to include in your release is something of an art. Yet, it is still easily achievable, particularly if you know a thing or two about your audience. “You need to get a sense for when people are saturated with information about your idea and are no longer listening. This needs to become second nature to you and you need to trust this sense explicitly,” says Steve Spalding in a Splitting an Atom post entitled, Six Ways to Pitch without People Hating You.

While there is really no guarantee as to how people will react to your release, following these basic guidelines can help point you in the direction of media success.

Via: BurrellesLuce

Stop talking about customer service and start living it!

Debi — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 02:31:41 +0000

I wrote a post praising Zappos‘ customer service ( Zappos: The Nordstrom of Customer Service?) and that was before I read this:The 10 Reasons “I love Zappos” issue via www.gaspetal.com.

Customer service can make or break a brand and it all starts at the top - CEO’s listen up!

How much more evidence do you need to join the “Social Media Revolution”? But do it right!

Debi — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 16:33:25 +0000

Social media should without a doubt be a part of your overall marketing strategy. Key word here is STRATEGY. Time and time again, we see companies letting interns or “a young person with a facebook account” manage their brands online. “Manage their brand…?” Fortune 500 companies pay good money to very talented marketing professionals to manage their brands, yet smaller companies who need to build their brands put their brands into the hands of someone with a myspace account. Managing your brand in the social media space is just as important (if not more important) as managing it via a national or international public relations or multi-million dollar advertising campaign.

Yes, social media is free, but to incorporate it into your branding strategy successfully requires skilled human capital!

iPhone4 - I’m finally making the leap…

Debi — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:39:08 +0000

If you’re wondering whether or not you want the new iPhone, well, watch this video. This phone is amazing! I’m dumping my Blackberry for this phone!

Want more ‘friends’ and ‘followers?’

Debi — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 17:27:43 +0000

Friday, June 4, 2010

Target your social media efforts by going for quality over quantity

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Dunkin’ Donuts has 80 percent fewer Facebook and Twitter followers than Starbucks. So it is losing the social media game, right? Well, it depends on your definition of social media success.

If your goal is to be like Ashton Kutcher (he was the first to reach the 1 million “follower” mark on Twitter, even before CNN), then I guess you could consider your social media program a success. However, my recommendation is to focus on quality over quantity.

Besides, what do those 1 million followers really represent for a celebrity? More movies? More money? Or was it simply a bunch of people experimenting with a new medium who now have inactive accounts?

After all, according to a recent Nielsen Online data study, 60 percent of Twitter users quit after a month.

From a business perspective, the question you want to ask yourself is, does having more “followers/friends” equate to having more business and more brand equity? If you want to use social media effectively, then stop “selling” and be more “social.”

Be authentic

The biggest mistake marketers and small businesses make when trying to market their businesses is trying to use social media the same way they do traditional media. Social media is not traditional media and should not be treated the same way.

Television and radio use a “hard sell” approach. It’s one way and directional: “buy me” now. Social media is “social,” meaning people need to be engaged to want and to learn about your product, service or other information. You can, and in most cases, should, use it as an integral part of your marketing campaign, but don’t treat it as a traditional marketing tool.

Social media is about engagement. It’s bi-directional. It’s about providing value. It’s about being authentic. If all you do is tweet about what’s on sale, promotions and the number of “friends/followers” you want, buy an ad because social media is not the place for the “hard sell.”

You want followers that want to follow you. You want followers who are truly engaged in your brand and are following you because of the value you bring to their lives. If you’re wondering what kind of social media marketer you are, take this brief quiz (answer yes or no): See article at the Sacramento Business Journal

• I mostly tweet or post sales and promotional information.

• I rarely, if ever, retweet.

• I follow everyone.

• I ask for “followers” and/or “friends,” “fans,” etc.

• I rarely comment and/or post online other than information about my own products and/or services.

• I let an intern or “young person who ‘gets’ social media” handle my social media marketing.

• I rarely respond to comments (good or bad) made about my business.

If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, you need to take another look at your social media marketing efforts.

Engage your audience

With social media, people have to actually like you and want to be connected to you. That is the power of adding social media to your integrated marketing efforts — authentic connection to your audience. And that is something you cannot buy.

According to a recent study by Vivaldi-Lightspeed, even though Dunkin’ Donuts has far fewer Facebook and Twitter “followers” than Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts fans were 35 percent more likely to recommend the brand. Starbucks spends a lot of time “telling” its followers about the superiority of its brand while Dunkin’ Donuts spends more time on promotions that are meaningful to its customers.

When it comes to social media, stop asking for “friends” and become one instead. Are you truly engaging with your audience? Are you providing something of value … to them? When you answer “yes” to those two questions, you’ll be amazed at the quality AND quantity of your “friends” and “followers.”

See article at Sacramento Business Journal

Debi Hammond is president and chief executive officer of Sacramento-based Merlot Marketing Inc. Reach her at debi@merlotmarketing.com.

Thrilled to be named one of Sacramento’s 40 Under 40!

Debi — Wed, 05 May 2010 15:15:42 +0000

The Sacramento Business Journal received close to 400 entries, narrowed it down to 100 finalists and named its 2010 class of 40 Under 40 leading business professionals.

A judging panel selected the 40 honorees based on their leadership, entrepreneurship, creativity, accomplishments and community involvement. The event, held at one of Sacramento’s newest eateries - Cafeteria - was sold out. I was humbled to be named among so many talented “young” people. So who are these talented and driven individuals?

See all 40!

To Reach Your Customers, Be Where They Are

Debi — Fri, 02 Apr 2010 21:06:15 +0000

Online Marketing is Here to Stay, it’s Time to get in on the Action

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

Albert Einstein said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Still, so many companies continue to market their businesses the same way — traditionally. That’s not to say traditional marketing is dead, though according to Joseph Jaffe, author of “Life After the 30-Second Spot” and “Join the Conversation,” marketers must adapt to the brave new world of the Internet, social media and social networking, consumer-generated content, blogs, videocasts and podcasts by joining in the meaningful conversations that are happening online.

The point is that you can no longer rely on traditional media alone to tell your story. Marketing has to be truly integrated. And quite frankly, marketing has changed. People no longer want to be sold to by companies; they want to be connected and compelled to buy in a more personal and meaningful way.

In “Join the Conversation,” Jaffe writes that today’s consumers are active participants in the advertising process. They are no longer simply silent targets and sitting ducks for one-way communication.

The advertising industry is changing rapidly, yet so many companies seem to have their heads in the sand — especially when it comes to incorporating social media into their marketing mix. They seem to think that if they stick their head in the sand, no one will notice them.

Well, my philosophy is that if you stick your head in the sand, everyone will notice you because you’re sharing your most undesirable end.

Not sure if your customers are really online? Let me share a few statistics with you.

• Facebook: More than 200 million people use Facebook. “If it were a country, it would be the fourth most-populated country in the world,” according to its chief executive officer, Mark Zuckerberg. Additionally, the fastest-growing demographic on Facebook is women over the age of 55. I can vouch for this statistic, especially after receiving an e-mail from my 65-year-old mother stating that she had just signed up for “Spacebook.”

• Twitter: Twitter grew a massive 1,928 percent in the U.S. from June 2008 to June 2009 — reaching 21 million unique visitors monthly, according to a survey by Compete.com.

• GenerationY: It’s estimated that as of this year, GenY will outnumber baby boomers. More than 96 percent of GenYers have joined a social network, according to Grunwald Associates LLC.

How can you ignore that kind of audience? A lot of companies say “my business is too niche” for Facebook or other social networking sites. My response is, What do you think makes up a nation? A state? A city? It is their communities — large, small and micro. Facebook and other online communities are similar in that they are made up of just that, large, small and micro communities.

Social media is the way we communicate and connect today. In fact, one-third of adults age 30 and older now post to sites such as Facebook and Twitter at least once a week, according to a January report from Forrester Research.

And it’s not just consumers. Merlot Marketing recently conducted a national survey of media professionals’ use of social media tools and found that the most popular social media tools used professionally were Linkedin, at 53.1 percent, blogs, at 51 percent, and Twitter, at almost 47 percent.

Really, what you should be asking yourself is, who isn’t online? Everyone from CEOs and celebrities to the president of the United States of America are online. So the question is, are you?

If it’s your job to communicate and connect with your audience via marketing, why wouldn’t you use social media? If you want different results you need to start doing things differently.

I’ll look forward to seeing your brand online.

Debi Hammond is president and chief executive officer of Sacramento-based Merlot Marketing Inc. Reach her at debi@merlotmarketing.com

See the entire article at the Sacramento Business Journal online.

A company’s brand is its greatest asset

Debi — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 04:19:06 +0000

Friday, February 05, 2010

Start with a marketing strategy to ensure branding success

Sacramento Business Journal – by Debi Hammond, Contributing writer, Marketing

“Any damn fool can put on a deal, but it takes genius, faith and perseverance to create a brand.”

This quote by David Ogilvy is quite pithy and poignant and perfectly sums up the importance and value of a brand. For those who are not familiar with Ogilvy, he is an advertising industry icon who wrote the book “Ogilvy on Advertising.”

So, why should we care about what some ad executive says about a brand? What is it about a brand that is so important?

Well, first, a brand is a company’s greatest asset. I know what you’re thinking; my assets include equipment, products and intellectual property. To a certain extent that is correct, but your greatest asset is indeed your brand. Just look at The Coca-Cola Co., Microsoft Corp., McDonald’s and The Walt Disney Co. Their brands are valued in the billions. Yet, in some cases, their products or services are basically no different than their competitors’. What did Amazon buy when it bought Zappos.com for $800 million? It was definitely more than the company’s assets. It was the Zappos brand and everything for which that brand stood.

Want to build your brand? First you must start with strategy. Too often companies rely on marketing tactics in an effort to build their brand, but starting with tactics is like taking the “ready, fire, aim” approach. To borrow from Ogilvy, any damn fool can do that.

A true marketing campaign must start with a strategic brand blueprint. This brand blueprint is not your logo, corporate Pantone Matching System color, ad campaign or style guide. It’s a messaging platform that clearly defines your brand essence, personality, promise, positioning and tone. If you are not clear what your brand truly stands for, and if it’s not outlined in such a way that your employees and everyone who comes into contact with your brand either understands or experiences, then it’s time to take another look at your company’s greatest asset.

The brochure, radio spots, ad campaigns and billboards are all tactical elements that should be reflective of your brand strategy. So, ask yourself, what is your brand strategy? What is it that your company owns in the mind of your customer? What is it that you want to own in the mind of your customer? If you haven’t asked yourself these questions, or more importantly, if you can’t answer them, stop spending time and money on the tactics and invest in your greatest asset, your brand.

Debi Hammond is president and chief executive officer of Sacramento-based Merlot Marketing Inc. Reach her at debi@merlotmarketing.com.