Spirituality is on the Rise

Posted by Rahna on December 29, 2008 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

I love to get proof of trends that I sense, and so, I am heartened by an article that appeared in MediaPost’s Online Daily that talked about how spirituality was of greater interest this holiday season. According to someone from on-line advertising company Kontera, “Santa letter” ranked at the top of the most clicked-on holiday keywords for 2008, followed by “Christmas wish list,” “Christmas spirit,” “secret Santa,” “gift idea,” “Christmas decoration,” “Christmas stocking,” “Christmas,” “Christmas Party,” and “gift.” In 2007, “Christmas present” topped the 2007 list, followed by “advent calendar,” “secret Santa,” “Christmas shopping,” “Christmas gifts,” “Christmas necklace,” “unique Christmas gift idea,” “holiday gift guide,” “Christmas gift,” and “Christmas gift for her.” 

The article explained that, “Kontera’s technology finds the most clicked-on keyword terms and ranks and matches them to the most relevant contextual ads, content, and information.”  Using technology on search terms, we are seeing a shift away from crass consumerism to a more spiritually-motivated purchase pattern. The article discusses how more people were really thinking about what they wanted to get for someone and how they were going to create meaningful moments over the holidays, rather than just buying the latest “soon-to-be found-in-the-unfinished-part-of-the-basement, never-even-opened-out-of-the-box” gift of the season.  Even thought this increased thoughtfulness may have been born out of economic necessity, I’m delighted to see the shift.   

This is a shift in consumer thinking that every marketer needs to be aware of.   What are you creating in your company that is adding to the emotional value of your customers’ lives?  Are you helping to create meaningful experiences, or create more harmony for them?  What is it about your product or service that enriches their lives?  Answer this question clearly, and you will thrive in this new economy!

‘Tis the Season to Elf Yourself

Posted by Rahna on December 15, 2008 under Consumer Engagement, Strategy | Be the First to Comment

Okay, I love clever, funny pass-a-long emails just as much as the next person, but as a responsible digital branding expert focused on helping companies create relevant on-line engagement,  I am struggling to see the relevance between Office Max and Elf Yourself.  If you’ve never seen this fun holiday application (which is almost as good as the classic elf bowling), you can see a recent Elf Yourself dance done using my lovely family at http://elfyourself.jibjab.com/view/8RBn5ALLcMBFlwxvYvJb (notice my husband’s grimace—that is truly how he would look if he were forced to dance like that!).

Definitely, there are pure impressions that Office Max will get just because so many people will elf themselves this holiday season….but where’s the relevance?  The dance could be done in an office, distributing office products, or sponsored by a musical group, with specific music behind, or anything more relevant.  It just feels like gratuitous exposure that was done for the raw numbers but wasn’t thought through to the finer details…a real missed opportunity!

If you work at Office Max and are reading this, please let me know how same store sales are doing versus year ago (or whenever you weren’t involved with Elf Yourself)!  I’m dying to know.

It’s ALWAYS About Understanding Your Consumer

Posted by Rahna on December 11, 2008 under Consumer Engagement, Consumer Research, Strategy, Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

I read an interesting article by Morgan Steward on Email Insider that commented and compared two different panels hosted by two Email Insider Summits (one in May and one in December).  The panel from May provided insights into how college students use email and the one in December highlighted  moms usage.  The writer provides a synopsis of the differences between the two target groups that should be noted by marketers…basically, college kids (who have the luxury of time) are looking for interactivity, connectedness, and engagement, while time-starved moms are looking for facts, structure and streamlined communications.  Steward surmises, “Seems to me that in all the conversations we have about being relevant or about the influence of social media on email, we need to acknowledge that there is a fork in the road. Moms’ use of email (and the Web in general) is incredibly utilitarian, while students use of the Internet is incredibly interactive.”

Here was my response: Marketers need to remember that e-mail is simply another medium, another way to deliver their message.  The differences shown between college kids and moms is merely indicative of the multitudinous ways that the medium is used.  The visual is not a fork in the road…the image that comes to my mind resembles the myriad computer cables that snake under the floor of the stock exchange!  There are as many ways to use e-mail as there are consumer groups that use the medium.  Just think of the television.  Most providers offer over 600 channels from which to choose…not two.  Marketers need to look at their messages and find out how best to convey their message to their audiences, on HGTV, ESPN or Nickelodeon, in fifteen second spots or thirty minute infomercials.  Email, just like television, is just the medium.   The marketer’s job, AS ALWAYS, is to understand their consumer–their media consumption habits and desires so that they can deliver their message in the most impactful, compelling manner possible.

At the end of the article, Steward re-poses a good question posed by someone at the Email Insider Summit: “Have we even really scratched the surface?”

If you are involved in email marketing, evaluate your data.  Email stats can be tracked in order to give you information…for free!  What messages or offers are getting response?  What patterns can you find that can help you further segment your lists? In short, what can you do to understand your consumer?

Speaking at the CTREIA Holiday Party

Posted by Rahna on December 8, 2008 under Personal Branding | Read the First Comment

On Wednesday, I will be speaking briefly at the Connecticut Real Estate Investor’s Association Holiday Party about the need (especially in this economy!) for everyone to spend some time focusing on their own personal brand.  Anyone who knows me knows that I feel passionately about this topic, and I wanted to get this message out to this crowd.  After over twenty years of applying the principles of marketing to brands like LEGO and Miracle-Gro, I have found that you can also apply those principles to people—with amazing results.  If you become clear about what unique talents you have to bring to any situation, you will strengthen your career opportunities—no matter whether you are a solopreneur or whether you work for a Fortune 500 company.  If you spend some time in 2009 focusing on your own personal brand, you will see a profound impact on the business opportunities that you attract and how others view you.

 

Everyone who attends the holiday party will receive my new CD called Signature for Success: The Seven Success Principles of Personal Branding.  I’m really excited about this program.  Holly and I have been working on developing several different information vehicles to get this message out.  There will be more to come in the coming months, but in the meantime, if you would like more information on this, check out the programs section of www.beacon-marketing.com.  You can also contact me directly at Rahna@beacon-marketing.com or by calling 860-254-5907.

1 + 1 = 3

Posted by Rahna on December 4, 2008 under Uncategorized | Be the First to Comment

Today, I talked with a client who wanted to hire me as a sounding board for development of his marketing plan for the coming year.  He has a basic plan, but would like to “test” the ideas and strengthen the thinking to make sure the plan is supercharged.  It’s a smart idea.  He’s a marketing department of one, and realizes the power of the old adage that “two heads are better than one.” 

 

How many times do we forget to bring others into our process, to seek help and advice from others?  Brainstorming works because the collective consciousness of many ideas, building one on top of another, brings a richness that one person alone cannot bring.  Mastermind teams are used in all areas of business, and I highly encourage them!

 

Who can you bring on that will enhance your thinking and stretch the boundaries of your brain? 

The Jolly Old Smoker

Posted by Rahna on December 1, 2008 under Strategy | Be the First to Comment

“Santa was a smoker!”  my son gasped. 

This is the comment that I overheard from my eleven year old this morning as he and my eight year old daughter were reading the Christmas classic “The Night before Christmas.”   

It made me chuckle and it made me realize how you have to stay abreast of the time.  You have to stay relevant.  Any depiction of Santa now with a pipe clenched in his teeth and a wreath of smoke around his head is simply not politically correct.  However, the use of reindeer power is very green and better today than ever before.   

So what you’re doing with your business to make sure that you don’t have any relics in your marketing efforts?  Are your communications politically correct?  If someone were developing a tagline today or designing your mascot, is there anything they would change?  Make sure you review your communications on a regular basis to be sure that they are abreast of the times.