New marketing stats revealed during Advertising Week XIII showed some amazing findings regarding Social Media, Mobile and even Television Networks. Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Google, and Snapshot for example, are growing significantly on mobile devices. The data regarding Television was compelling as well:

Via adweek.com

There was also no shortage of numbers revealed during the New York event affirming the impact of television—and yet, even the networks are embracing mobile more than ever.The ad business, noted Carolyn Everson, Facebook’s vp of global marketing solutions, isn’t just getting into the game. “The shift to mobile,” she said, “has already bodybuilding-life.com happened.”

Advertising Week XII Reveals Amazing Marketing Stats

Without a doubt, these marketing stats prove that the only thing that is certain these days…is change. In times like these it’s more important than ever to stay on top of the latest trends. That includes doing what it takes to successfully market your product or service online and on mobile.

Tips to Staying On Top with New Media

Millennials are driving much of the growth in the overall economy. They spend their time across a lot of different kinds of media, so to reach them effectively consider being a jack-of-all-trades.

To start, you need a strong, diversified advertising plan. This plan should include a mix of traditional advertising, along with some ‘new’ media. Then you combine this with some engaging online marketing programs and popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Instagram.

This will give you a recipe for success in the ‘new’ marketing and media landscape that consumers live in today. And then when the latest marketing stats are released, you will find yourself leading the trend – instead of being somewhere in the back, or left behind.

As customers rely more on the internet to find out information about products or services and to make their purchases – it’s more important than ever for a Small Business to have a website that will help build credibility and convert a higher percentage of visitors to customers. Therefore website redesign is one of the most important things a small business can do to help succeed in business.

Building a website that converts users into leads is much harder. Ryan Landis, the owner of KitchenBuilders.net, came to us wanting just that a new website that brought in more leads. Fast forward two months and we ended up building a site that increased leads upwards of 57%. Thats over twice as many leads monthly that they receive all because of a website redesign.

The one thing you’ll notice when you visit the KitchenBuilders.net contact page is that we kept the form as simple as possible. The only two mandatory form fields are the name and email. We even made each service a check box to save the user from having to write it out. The reason why we did this is because research has found that there is an inverse correlation to the amount of form fields and conversion rate. The less fields you have, the higher your conversions will be.

When designing your new site’s forms, think about only the information that is absolutely necessary for you to collect the moment the user becomes a lead. Remember, you can always collect additional information later on.

Read The Full Story Here

Website redesign can be the most effective way to increase brand awareness, online sales and new customer acquisition. Simply following a few of the most successful improvement tips can mean the difference between success and failure.

1. Create a brand.
2. Simplify your forms.
3. Create very clear call to actions.
4. Make sure it loads fast.
5. Make the content easy to read.

Lastly, remember to seek the help and guidance from a professional web designer and enjoy the journey. Working with the right professional can lead to more customers and better brand awareness for your Small Business.

With few constants we find ourselves dependent on simple things that give us a sense of stability. Even though the average person is exposed to upwards of 5,000 brand messages per day, the consistency of those brands give us a sense of normalcy. So when that changes too, we don’t like it.

Last week Google unveiled its redesigned, mobile-friendly logo, which updates the font from a crisp, sharply defined san serif wordmark, to a blockier, rounded sans-serif. Despite its cutesy introductory animation on Google’s homepage, the new logo made me uneasy. On some days it’s my one constant, and while that sad fact should probably unsettle me more than the subtle logo alteration, Googles move threw me nonetheless.

Despite its cutesy introductory animation on Google’s homepage, the new logo made me uneasy. Both at work and outside it, I’m dependent on Google’s search-engine. On some days it’s my one constant, and while that sad fact should probably unsettle me more than the subtle logo alteration, Google’s move threw me nonetheless. I wasn’t alone. “I hate it,” my friend announced over Gchat. “It looks like the scribbling of a child.”

An informal Ad Age poll showed that most readers were also against the shift, and the reaction on social media – which, to be fair, tilts toward negative reviews – was decidedly underwhelmed.

Check out the full story here…

Ahh, change. It’s often a four letter word (Actually it’s six letters, but work with me). Unless someone is a seasoned designer, experienced marketer or advertising pro chances are they won’t be able to express exactly why they do or don’t like a new logo design. They just know how they feel when they see it. More correctly stated, “When they don’t see the logo they have become accustomed to seeing.”

Need a New Logo or Logo Redesign?

If you are looking to have a new logo created – or perhaps just want to update your existing logo – consider working with someone who specializes in logo design or logo redesigns. They will be able to help you avoid many of the pitfalls that come with branding or re-branding your company or product.

However, even working with someone to create a professional logo design is not a guarantee that everyone will immediately like the new design. They may even write articles or blogs about just how much they and their friends “Hate it!”

But don’t worry, with one more ingredient, “Time”, change will begin to shift in your direction as your logo begins to be accepted as the norm and starts working in your favor.

Snickers Replaces Brand Name with Friendly Insults in Creative Packaging Roll-out

Popular candy brand Snickers continues the trend of personalization by actually replacing it’s very own brand name with new creative packaging that features 21 humorous hunger symptoms.  Continuing with it’s current “You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign – these “Hunger Bars” are meant to be shared with friends who are not quite acting like themselves because they haven’t eaten.

While some bars will retain it’s original packaging, here are some of the names you’ll see emblazoned on the wrapper instead of the familiar “Snickers” logo:

• Drama Mama

• Curmudgeon

• Ornery

• Whiny

• Testy

• Grouchy

• Irritable

• Complainer

• Feisty

• Rebellious

• Princess

• Goofball

• Confused

• Snippy

• Cranky

• Loopy

• Spacey

• Forgetful

• Sleepy

Oh, the hilarity that will ensue when you give one of personalized Snicker bars to someone who really deserves it! Or when someone gives one to you!

Read more via Adweek:

As part of the campaign, the brand has released this online spot from BBDO New York, starring a loopy goofball of a hotline operator who takes calls and dispatches bike messengers to deliver the insulting candy to those in need. A percentage of bars will remain in the original packaging. Print advertising for the campaign launches later this month.

“We believe the new bars will inspire people to not only quickly identify their own symptoms and satisfy their hunger, but give them a new, fun way to call-out friends and family on who they become when they’re hungry, too,” says Snickers brand director Allison Miazga-Bedrick.

https://youtu.be/pT6PlWjuXw0

Extending Your Brand Through Creative Packaging

Bravo to the team at Snickers for taking their marketing strategy and creatively extending it to their packaging in order to better engage consumers. That’s a bold move that many may assume is not possible in their own situations. In reality, there are all kind of ways to achieve similar results – that may or may not involve changing your packaging.

First – Like Snickers, you must partner with a creative marketing company that will take the time to truly understand you, your brand, and your targeted customers. They should also have proven experience; perhaps with brands even larger than yours – to know exactly how to market your product to create the buzz, excitement, and measurable results your brand deserves.

If you’re a Marketing Director at a Community Bank, you probably have a lot of Now What? Moments. Constantly pulled in many directions. Juggling multiple tasks and responsibilities. Not enough staff or resources. You get the idea.

It’s during times like thesea when you must be clear-headed and efficient in your next steps. Sometimes the best thing is to just step back and take a moment to assess your current situation. Then you can consider the best approach and strategic marketing strategies to move forward.

Here are 7 marketing strategies that every community bank could use to help you boost performance, minimize costs, and set your priorities for success:

1. Cross-Selling/Marketing
2. Onboarding
3. Offboarding
4. Referrals
5. Community Engagement
6. Social Media Marketing
7. Content Marketing

Read the full story at thefinancialbrand.com

In addition to these 7 strategies, you should also consider New Account Acquisition strategies like:

• New Resident Mailings
• Digital Advertising
• Targeted Emails
• Data Mining

Getting It All Done

Like anything else, Implementation is Key. While a solid marketing plan is the foundation for success, you also have to successfully implement that plan in order to meet your performance objectives.

So if you have any doubt whether or not your internal team is 100% committed to the goal – or that they have the proven skill-sets needed to develop and consistently execute your community bank marketing strategies, then you owe it to yourself and your Board to bring in skilled partners who will guarantee your marketing success to help.

Advice from mentors like Cuban and Richard Branson mean so much to so many, because they have “been in our shoes”. We can use their experiences as the ultimate sounding board for our own challenges and situations.

Here are 5 of the most important business lessons inspired by these billionaire mentors:

1. Build something that actually solves a problem.
2.Fail fast.
3.Build a great team and you’ll typically end up with a great product or service.
4.Build culture from the start.
5.Don’t be afraid to push the boundaries.

Read the full story Via entrepreneur.com

For an in-depth, behind-the-scenes profile on what it takes to achieve business success on a massive scale, take a look at “Mark Cuban: How I Became a Billionaire” from the Bloomberg Game Changers documentary series:

1. Not having the time or resources to carefully think through everything involved with your business

2. Making critical decisions based solely on “your gut”

3. Losing money on marketing

If this sounds like you, you’ll benefit from reading the 4 four harsh marketing lessons that four other small business learned via entrepreneur.com:

Made a big mistake? Screwed up? Lost money on your marketing? Welcome to my world. This is what it’s like to run a small business.

We don’t have the time or the resources to carefully think through everything. So we do a lot of things by our gut. Sometimes things turn out OK. Sometimes, well — it’s not so good, especially when it comes to marketing.

But don’t worry. You’re not alone. I hand-picked four of the many winners of a recent marketing contest called the Spark Business Member Casting Call that was sponsored by Capital One Bank (a client of my company, but I am not being compensated to write this) and asked them about a big marketing mistake each made.

Read the Full Story

Around here we call these “Morris Creative“.  Morris Creative is no joke – and can be absolutely horrible to deal with. But if you surround yourself with the right group of people, you can walk away from the experience with a laugh and a valuable lesson-learned.

…But it’s not just fans. Madison Avenue and fellow marketers are watching closely as well:

Why American Pharoah May Be the Most Brand-Friendly Horse Ever | Adweek

If American Pharoah wins the Triple Crown, sponsors will reap a publicity jackpot. Photo: Getty Images

The last time a horse won the Triple Crown—1978, when Affirmed did it—the sports marketing world was a very different place.

In those days, the height of sophistication in sports-centric advertising was watching Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and manager Billy Martin argue about whether Miller Lite was less-filling or tasted great.

In the decades since, omnichannel ad deals, inescapable brand logos, product placements and social media plugs have become the norm, and all are likely to be on tap if American Pharoah wins the Belmont Stakes tomorrow, which would give the two-year-old thoroughbred the elusive-but-coveted Triple Crown distinction

Yesterday, it was revealed that private jet service Wheels Up and beverages brand Monster Energy had inked exclusive deals with American Pharoah’s team: Egyptian-American owner Ahmed Zayat; Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert; and legendary jockey Victory Espinoza.

“Our brand is less than two years old,” Bill Allard, co-founder of Wheels Up, told Adweek. “This was an opportunity for us to seed [our brand] and enabled us to preempt anyone else that was looking to do the same.”

The Triple Crown has become all business.

If American Pharoah wins, it may be marketing gold that sponsors cash in on well beyond the appearances during NBC’s broadcast. The video clips will undoubtedly be played and shared on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube millions of times.

“Thirty-seven years ago, there wasn’t social media,” Allard said. “You can imagine what [a win] will be like on a global basis. It’s an opportunity of lifetime for us.”

The last time a horse won the Triple Crown1978, when Affirmed did it the sports marketing world was a very different place. In those days, the height of sophistication in sports-centric advertising was watching Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and manager Billy Martin argue about whether Miller Lite was less-filling or tasted great.  Via adweek.com

That’s why both the National Basketball Association and the Golden State Warriors must be ecstatic about the fact that they are getting huge worldwide publicity right now, even in countries where basketball is not a huge deal, practically for free, thanks to 2015 MVP Stephen Curry’s two year old daughter Riley Curry.

For days she’s been the top basketball trending tag on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Vine. She’s helped make the Golden State Warriors an internationally known name in places where no one had a clue who they were, something that certainly isn’t hurting merchandise sales ahead of the NBA Finals.

And thanks to content like this it’s not hard to see why:

And advertisers are certainly not above cashing right in on Riley’s new found fame as well.

Maker of the cool Curry One kicks, Under Armour knows how to recognize stars early. (The company locked up Steph before anybody figured he’d take home MVP hardware.) Turns out that Under Armour recognized the star power in Riley even before she grabbed the microphone, too. Read the full story right here… |

Is it OK to use a two year old as a marketing tool? Well, that may be a debate for another time. Although she doesn’t really seem to mind, Riley is a great example of Opportunity Marketing.

No doubt the NBA, the Golden State Warriors and even Under Armour all had very set marketing plans for the Western Conference Finals – but once Riley came along why not make the most of it? They all even got a hand from ESPN ‘bad guy’ Skip Bayliss who criticized Steph allowing his daughter on-stage and disrupting the ‘serious business’ of the  press conference which of course only made the public love her even more!

Sometimes marketing opportunities just present themselves, as was the case here, and the key to making the most of them is a willingness to deviate from the set plan, however long it’s been in place.

This is something that we discuss with our clients all the time, learning how to think outside-the-box of established marketing wisdom and use what works for you – not what some text book says should. And while you may not have an uber cute and sassy toddler to help you market your brand you may have a selling point that is just as unique right under your nose.

You simply have to be willing  to take the time to look for it.