Genius Marketing

By Sharee Morse

 

Recently I was able to preview the 2012 London Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – first hand! The countdown to the Summer Games is winding quickly, and construction continues in preparation for everything the Games will bring to London.

 

First impression is that the Olympic Park is massive. As you step off the tube stop for the Park and Olympic Stadium, you immediately see an enormous red steel “something.” Is it a venue for an event? Is it a partially built structure? What is it?

This large red steel structure is the ArcelorMittal “Orbit.”

I was so proud to learn that this sculpture has strong ties to Northwest Indiana with ArcelorMittal locations in Burns Harbor and East Chicago. Our own office staff has several family members who work at our local ArcelorMittal plants. It is beyond fun and that Northwest Indiana is represented across the ocean for something as significant as the Olympic Games. It’s genius marketing at work.

This public art is a landmark sculpture showcasing the versatility and strength of steel. And, oh yes, it’s showcasing ArcelorMittal, the world’s leading steel company that is present in more than 60 countries. What a genius marketing move for the steel company. This sculpture will be a legacy symbol for London 2012 as well as a regenerating East London. The Orbit will also bring in revenue as it will be a ticketed visitor attraction. The world will get to know the ArcelorMittal brand as a result of this unique venture with the Olympic Games.

Go ArcelorMittal and Go Team USA!

Shirt Design Appears on TV

By Zac Neulieb

Outside of Morse & Company we all lead pretty normal lives, taking a break from saving the world from bad advertising. My nights usually consist of two things: food and tv - pretty run-of-the-mill schedule, right? TV tastes run the gamut too – from reality shows about housewives and the exorbitant amounts of money they think they have to what’s happening around this third rock from the sun we call Earth to men dressed in drag competing against one another. One show I like to indulge in is a little gem on the MTV Canada/LOGO channel aptly named, 1 Girl 5 Gays.

Let me paint a picture for you: 1 girl, an MTV Canada personality named Aliya-Jasmine Sovani, and 5 gay guys sit around in a circle and are posed questions about life. The questions range in a “what would you rather do” scenario to more deep insights such as what it is like growing up and living as a gay man in our current day society. They are all from Toronto, one of the most gay-friendly cities in the world, and you have all shades of gay represented on the show which shows true in their interactions with one another.

Through the wonders of social media I’ve come to befriend a panelist, Mike Yerxa (yurk-sa), and our love for one particular contestant on LOGO Channels’s, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has spanned hundreds of miles (or kilometers if you’re Canadian), birthing an opportunity for me to design a t-shirt for our much beloved drag queen contestant, Sharon Needles (clever name, no?). He needed an illustration for a shirt he was going to have printed at one of those express shirt print shops to wear for a taping of an upcoming episode of 1 Girl 5 Gays. Inspired and thrilled at the opportunity, I drew up this illustration of Ms. Needles for Mr. Yerxa to print out and wear. 

 

He was so delighted with what I had designed for him that he took a picture of it to share with his growing fan base before the taping of the show. Well, a couple of weeks later the episode with him and the shirt aired on MTV Canada and is now in line to air on LOGO, a sister station of MTV global. It’s quite the exciting experience to see something you’ve designed on the television we all seemingly worship after work. Plus, Mike’s a great guy and has credited me each time he’s mentioned the shirt, indirectly creating a buzz around the design. Who knows, maybe Sharon Needles (who ended up winning the whole competition) will want the design? 

 A boy can dream.

 

Look for the episode to air in a couple weeks on LOGO. New episodes air on Tuesdays at 11/10c or you can check the show and full episodes out on their website, www.logotv.com.

Social Media: Build by Engaging Personality

Social Media – the key word here is “social.” Being social means engaging in conversations, interacting with your target audience, and listening to what others have to say.  Your audience wants to know about your brand’s personality.

Brands such as Progressive and All State have taken the idea of an engaging personality to a higher level. These insurance giants have distinct characters they use as part of their advertising campaigns and they have included the characters as key strategies within their social media efforts.

Flo, the Progressive Girl, has close to 4 million likes on Facebook; while All State’s Mayhem is up to almost 1.3 million. Each of these companies has incorporated their respective fictitious characters into solid facebook personalities.

Mayhem’s followers post how he has interrupted their days with unexpected calamities, and he responds – dark humor and all.

A recent Mayhem post – “I'm the annoying radio song drivers scramble to change when they should be watching the road. Who can guess what song I am?” More than 3,880 people responded with their least favorite song.

Flo, the Progressive girl, is sunny and positive – similar to her television persona. She gushes about photos progressive owners have shared and celebrates random events such as National Poetry Month.  By posting photos of Flo in everyday situations, Progressive invites you to believe she is indeed an actual person and not just a public persona.

Progressive and All State understand that interacting with their audiences online is key to increasing brand awareness. They are not simply posting company updates, but are welcoming their followers to share stories, photos and thoughts as well. It is proving to be a successful combination for the two insurance giants.

Not all of us have a Flo or Mayhem to use as our social media personality, but a takeaway is that by combining the same messaging in our social media efforts as we do with other marketing tactics, we can strengthen the conversations with clients.

Your brand is your personality, and it should be visible and relevant whatever the marketing medium you are using to voice the message and engage your clients to be a part of that message.

How social media changed the PR playing field

By Stacey Harris

Ten years ago I presented a workshop on basic public relations strategies for small businesses. The room was filled with realtors, bankers, retailers, restaurateurs, and shop owners. We spent hours discussing useful PR strategies and by the end the consensus was that word of mouth was by far, most effective.

Word of mouth is still among the most effective ways to reach an audience – intentionally or unintentionally. Only in today’s marketplace, it is more commonly referred to as social media.

Social media has infiltrated almost every industry, and its impact is continually being analyzed. Social media channels such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ have changed the way we communicated and share information with our friends.

Remember the commercial for “Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific” shampoo? “He’ll tell two friends. And they’ll tell two friends…” Today is more like “he’ll post to 300 friends, and they’ll post to another 300 and so on.” The speed at which messages move forward has increased dramatically.

We no longer have to wait to call our friends and tell them of the fantastic (or horrible) dinner we had last night. Chances are good that we posted our location, took a photo of our entrée and rated the experience – all before the check was paid.

This instantaneous nature means that PR practitioners need to engage constantly. It also means we need to be proactive in our messages, taking a long-term approach to our conversations via social media and facilitating two-way communication with our customers.

Embracing the advantages that social media provides, will allow us to plan accordingly and in some cases – think crisis communications – react accordingly.

3 Marketing Trends to Try in 2012

With a new year, comes new marketing trend ideas that many businesses will try and implement to keep up with those consumers calling the shots. Marketing needs to move where the customers are consuming information and the best way to do that is to research these trends for 2012 that Morse & Company Advertising knows will take your business to the next level.

Keep up with the new year's trends by:

1. Understanding the Mobile and Tablet World

Since the introduction of the first iPad, tablet interest and usage has skyrocketed, yet, many companies continue to channel much investment into web presence. Expect that to change in 2012. Tap into those who have untethered and have become roaming targets for a whole new field of marketing. Harnessing the power of consumers on-the-go will be key in 2012.

2. Using Facebook Other than to Spy on Old High School Friends

With the amount of time spent on social media now exceeding 23% with 90% of that time spent on Facebook, it has become clear to companies that Facebook is a tangible resource for marketers. Companies need to realize where their customers are really spending their time - and it's not reading the paper any longer. Reallocating resources from traditional media to Facebook will be a huge shift in 2011 spending but definitely the right decision for target marketing.

3. Harness the Power of Influencers

You don't need a Kardashian to get influencers talking about your product. Companies like Klout now assign “influence” scores to web users, allowing marketers insight into who might be most likely to talk about their brand based on how much clout they have in the digital world. Expect companies in 2012 to focus marketing on those customers most likely to be influencers or brand ambassadors to get the right people talking about a product.

It's a new year - experiment! Test these ideas to see if any will work well for your customer group.