http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php en saidk@phirebranding.com Copyright 2011 2011-05-06T15:21:28+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/first_ask._then_listen/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/first_ask._then_listen/#When:15:21:28Z A fundamental rule of communication is to first demonstrate that you are a good listener. This holds true in all human relations, be it with friends, family, co workers, etc. Listening builds trust, and improves your message and makes audiences more receptive. Yet this basic rule is often neglected by marketers. With the digital age, there are now a plethora of opportunities for marketers to give voice to customers. At Phire, we start all of our engagements with clients by first listening. We listen to their internal team members. We listen to what their competitors are doing. But perhaps most importantly, we listen to their customers. Our primary tool in gathering customer input is through online surveys. The benefits of giving voice to customers through surveys include gathering critical data to drive strategic recommendations, segmenting audiences into more manageable groups, but most importantly engaging them in the process (making them a part of the dialogue), in other words, asking then LISTENING. Developing effective surveys are largely dependent on specifics related to the unique situation and challenge at hand. A few key things that universally apply: Define business and research objectives and goals. Specifically state exactly what you hope to gather from the survey. Keep this top mind during question development and analysis. Ask the right questions. All questions should be developed with the purpose of delivering on objectives and goals. “If you do not ask the right questions, you do not get the right answers. … Only the inquiring mind solves problems.” -- Edward Hodnett Keep it simple and succinct. Attention is a tenuous thing. Be disciplined in only asking the most necessary questions. Clearly state to your audiences the purpose of the survey and what is in it for them. Regardless of the situation, always remember that you are talking to humans. Resist the urge to be too technical. Speak simply and concise. Allow for audience segmentation if possible. Your data will be more useful if you allow for sorting/organizing based on defined criteria. Incentivize. We generally find that response rates increase by 5-10% when we incentivize surveys. This is often as simple as a “chance to win” a small monetary amount, as little as $200. My favorite survey that we’ve created was for Boyne Resorts. They had an extremely diverse audience, including skiers, golfers, and families interested in water parks. We sent an online survey to their database of 60,000+ customers, and received an amazing 10% return. The data revealed shared characteristics across audiences, including an active lifestyle and “challenge me” mentality, as well as a desire to escape up north. We used this data to create their new brand tagline; “What are you up for?” as well as a strategic resort marketing campaign. The brand and campaign have been extremely successful, in large part due to asking and listening to the customer. We have developed surveys for numerous clients, both consumer facing and business-to-business, with one common result; it leads to better, more effective and creative work, with a happier client and engaged customers. Beyond the initial online survey, social networking (Facebook and especially Twitter) are great ways to continue to give customers voice in your brand dialogue.   2011-05-06T15:21:28+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_polk/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_polk/#When:22:28:11Z We proudly announce the launch of a new website for R.L. Polk, the world's leading automotive intelligence company. The process was one that touched the very foundation of the company, repositioning the organization from an inward, product-centric company, to an outward, solutions-driven, customer-centric organization, freely sharing information. We invite you to take a look. B-to-B, Design, Interactive, New Account, New Work, News, Website Launch 2011-04-10T22:28:11+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/lets._get._real/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/lets._get._real/#When:19:15:15Z This post will be short and to the point. The best marketers in the world are highly skeptical of its effects. Let me repeat myself. The best marketers in the world are highly skeptical of its effects. That leads to working harder. Learning more. Thinking differently. Building empathy. Studying their audience inside and out in order to gain that extra insight into the moment of decision. Not to change the world. But to take on the Herculian task of nudging someone's decision slightly in their favor. I’m so tired of all the “rah-rah” social media marketing stars that claim it all works brilliantly. It doesn’t. They are preaching to the choir of “rah-rah” marketers, and hearing more “rah-rah” feedback leading to a lot of rah-rah blah-blah-blah. Actual consumers out there are inundated. Tired. They don’t care about your product. They don’t like advertising as much as we do. They don’t study award books. They don't attend the seminars that you do. They don't read the books, blogs or white papers that we all do. They don’t listen or watch advertising with a critic's eye/ear. They just think it's all in the way of their day and their life. That’s the real world. Bottom line: the more you understand this reality, the better the results will be. The more you come to grips with the pains/lack of interest of the audience, the better you can legitimately relate to them. And give them something of actual value. And change their minds. Or… you can be blindly optimistic and keep gulping the Kool-Aid. I choose to be real. And therefore, effective. 2011-03-13T19:15:15+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/cliff_keen_tv/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/cliff_keen_tv/#When:01:05:43Z Can you create two national-level spots with little equipment and virtually no production dollars? We say yes. Shot with an SLR. Edited in house. Music royalty free. Voice over from us. See them on Versus and the Big Ten Network. Now imagine what we could do with a few bucks. Many thanks to the volunteer "actors". To the U of M facilities folks. And to some incredible sunlight coming through the windows. In the dead of winter.       2011-03-07T01:05:43+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/building_demand_for_demand/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/building_demand_for_demand/#When:14:13:11Z Recently, I was introduced to a study regarding the stock market. It proved a simple, yet revolutionary concept: stocks are more about picking what others deem as popular rather than choosing your own preference. The experiment went like this: Three videos were shown to thousands of participants. The videos consisted of cute animals. The participants were split into two groups: those that selected their OWN preference for cutest video, and those that were asked to predict what EVERYONE ELSE would choose. From Group A, a video of a kitten received 54% of the votes. 76% of Group B predicted that the kitten would be selected. The difference isn’t contradictory – in fact it’s predictable. But the difference in the groups creates an artificial (yet very real) 22% difference. In other words, if those videos were stocks, the kitten video would increase 22% more than the market dictates because people and institutions buy stocks based on predicting other people’s decisions – not their own. This 22% spread explains why bubbles occur in the stock market, and how manias happen. When you pick based on other’s opinions, you get a skewed view of demand – and a very real momentum is created. Demand builds demand as popularity skews the decision making process. All this got me to thinking: how does this relate to brand demand? After all, it is our job to create demand, and build a buzz that helps inflate preference. In other words, we take your video and make it the cutest in order to get preference AND build demand for demand. Why do people drink Coke vs. Pepsi? I’d be willing to bet that there is a major percentage spread of people that drink it because others do. Why do people choose the bigger, more well-known brand vs. a lesser known one? Because they want to be on the winning team, making the most popular decision. It’s human nature. Demand creates inflated demand. Brand differentiation and dominance helps create demand for demand. How does this get applied in real world? Sometimes ROI is not the point - pure dominance is the point. The brand with the largest presence doesn’t beat out #2 by small margin. The small margin creates an artificially larger margin created by perception, which is why you rarely see #1 and #2 as close competitors. Brand dominance creates demand for demand, with translates to market dominance. In other words, it’s time to be the cuter kitty.   Advertising, B-to-B, B-to-C, Design, Opinion 2011-01-17T14:13:11+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/Campaign_thinking_brand_thinking/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/Campaign_thinking_brand_thinking/#When:16:50:14Z There is a fundamental issue that keeps coming up in our industry. We’ve heard it from potential clients. We’ve seen it time and time again in the marketplace. And brands continue to paint themselves in a corner by not understanding the sometimes subtle, sometimes stark difference between building a brand and executing a campaign. The basic premise is this: your brand transcends any initiative or moment in time. It is the foundation for which a campaign is launched, but the reverse should never be true. A campaign, built in a vacuum, might be perfectly effective for a time, but creates brand chaos if not built as part of the larger brand story. We find that the “older school” the agency, the more likely they will approach any assignment through campaign thinking first. How will you know? Breaking it down simplistically: Campaign thinking: Reacts to your latest initiative without regard to brand foundation. Brand thinking: Takes the long view. Includes never-wavering brand values. It creates your position in the marketplace that you are committed to staking.   Campaign thinking: What’s hot right now. How can I best take advantage? This is appropriate, but can never be at the risk of becoming your brand. Brand thinking: What will always be relevant. What are you going to be in 5 years, 10 years? Is it accommodating?   Campaign thinking: A new tagline every media budget cycle. Brand thinking: A tagline that will last 10-plus years.   Campaign thinking: Starting from scratch every year. Advertising the latest feature. Brand thinking: Creating a community, building a fan base. Communicating a customer-centric thought.   Campaign thinking: Traditional agency thinking: find a way to reinvent (and thus re-invoice) every year. Brand thinking: New agency standard: Stewardship. Finding a way to simplify and clarify over time.   Campaign thinking: Reacting to competitors, treating them as moving targets. Brand thinking: Transcending your competitors. Inventing a new language. Creating a new standard and living up to it.   Campaign thinking: RFP/spec work/creative shoot out. Brand thinking: Gathering voice of customer. Testing. Being patient. Crafting a solution based on information.   Campaign thinking: Media-specific application. Brand thinking: Transcends media choices. Applicable to any.   You get the idea. But don’t get me wrong - the two ways of thinking are not mutually exclusive. Brand thinking still requires highly creative campaigns, but it insists that you do so in a manner that is consistent, informed, and will fit into a larger dialogue. At least that’s our thinking.   Advertising, B-to-B, B-to-C, Community, Opinion, Sharing 2010-10-26T16:50:14+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/rebranding_covisint/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/rebranding_covisint/#When:19:44:09Z Covisint, a Compuware company, is built around the distribution and dissemination of information within a secure ecosystem (cloud) environment. Initially conceived to service the Big Three in automotive, the company is now owned by Compuware and is working to extend beyond its automotive roots and into additional verticals such as health care, government, and financial services. In the healthcare space, Covisint provides healthcare IT on a software-as-a-service model to exchange information and provide real-time access to this information across the healthcare industry. We were engaged with the goal of better articulating their confusing and complicated story, while putting systems in place to allow them to grow quickly in new vertical markets. We developed a new brand platform that was a more accurate and compelling description of what they provide, then set to work organizing and creating systems from their multi-layered product/solution portfolio. We worked to strip away layers, and convert this highly technical, inward focused company into one that is more welcoming and inviting to end users and easy to understand. Once the new brand framework was established, we worked with their internal team to establish a more consistent and compelling sales system, which could be executed in a more repeatable manner by their vast sales teams across all verticals. We also assisted in the development of a new website and various communication materials. Below are some samples of our work.                   2010-07-29T19:44:09+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/when_internal_thinking_drives_external_communications/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/when_internal_thinking_drives_external_communications/#When:13:09:44Z It’s a common problem. A company that has been around for decades inevitably creates sophisticated internal processes. Has an increased number of internal meetings. Has more and more layers of internal review. What used to be simple tasks become individuals. And then entire departments. Time moves faster. What used to get solved through customer contact now takes place in conference calls, cross country flights, and the simple need to get things done. People get caught up in their own worlds, their own quotas, their own needs. Mistakes in the past have led to increased internal scrutiny and decreased risk taking. This necessary and natural process affects all of your external communications. Your marketing efforts may have become infected with this internal thinking, and you may not even realize it. Here are five major symptoms to gauge whether this has happened to you: 1.       Your communications are more feature driven than benefit driven.   It’s simple. Features are about you. Benefits are about your audience. Most communications are mistakenly feature driven. Unfortunately, on one cares how the toaster makes toast. They want toast.   2.       Your campaigns feel the need to include the kitchen sink.   There are so many ads with so much copy and so many potential customers with so little time. But internally-influenced copy feels the need to include all the facets of everything that we all collectively deemed important. But your customers will care about one thing said well, not a dozen things said haphazardly.   3.       What used to be conversational “ad-speak” has been replaced by technical “attorney speak”.   I can spot when copy has been either scrubbed or influenced by attorneys a mile away. They make no claims whatsoever – not even mild ones. They are long-winded, mostly with clarifications. And they deliver emotion about as well effectively as a politician on the campaign trail.   4.       You have more than two layers of brand you feel the need to promote.   Brand within a brand within a brand. The classic internally focused issue. Brand the company. Brand the division. Brand the product. Brand the technology. Brand the process. Make nothing connect and nothing sticky, but make all departments feel represented. The most interesting part to me is that these companies can’t even tell you what all this stuff is. “What do we call that technology again?” And you want your customer to give a rat’s hiney?   5.       There is not a single engaging reason for being.   More than anything, this is the issue. No one wants to let go of their message. Sales wants an immediate price/value message. Engineering wants a feature message. Marketing wants a new message altogether. Executives want a “see all we’re doing” message. HR wants a “this is a great place to work” message. By even trying to balance all of these messages, you’re missing it. Your customers don’t care about any of the above.   The cure? It’s simple, but can be difficult. It’s about listening to the needs – the true needs – of your customers. Not just that one big customer, but all of them. Understand from their point of view what makes you different/special/meaningful. Then build on it in a simple, concise way over and over. The brands that are commonly known universally as the ones who “get it” have always understood this. But it must always be seen through the eyes of your customer. Always. 2010-06-07T13:09:44+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/phire_branding_wins_19_awards/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/phire_branding_wins_19_awards/#When:01:48:38Z We are proud to announce a very successful night at this year's Addy Awards. Nineteen awards in all, we were lucky enough to win in numerous categories and in a variety of vertical markets. The Addy winners will move on to compete at Districts for further consideration. We'd like to thank everyone who helped put together a wonderful awards celebration this year. But most of all, we'd like to thank our clients for allowing us/helping us/working with us to let us do what we do. Results for the 2010 Ann Arbor Ad Club Addy Awards competition include: JUDGES’ CHOICE Phire Branding Company Clancy’s Fancy Brand Relaunch JUDGES’ CHOICE Phire Branding Company Ann Arbor Summer Festival Campaign ADDY Phire Branding Company INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Websites, Consumer Flash, Products Clancy’s Website ADDY Phire Branding Company MIXED/MULTIPLE MEDIA: Consumer, Regional / National Clancy’s Fancy Brand Relaunch ADDY Phire Branding Company SALES PROMOTION: Packaging, Campaign Clancy’s Fancy Packaging ADDY Phire Branding Company INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Websites, B-to-B Flash, Services Pitney Bowes Marketing Solutions ADDY Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING INDUSTRY SELF-PROMOTION: Creative Services and Industry Suppliers, Interactive Phire Branding Company Website ADDY Phire Branding Company OUT-OF-HOME: Campaign, Out-of-Home, Campaign Flint Journal Outdoor ADDY Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING FOR THE ARTS & SCIENCES: Collateral, Brochure / Sales Kit Ann Arbor Summer Festival Brochure ADDY Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING FOR THE ARTS & SCIENCES: Campaign, Mixed / Multiple Media Campaign Ann Arbor Summer Festival Campaign Silver Phire Branding Company SALES PROMOTION: Product or Service Sales Presentation, Catalog Merillat Masterpiece Catalog Silver Phire Branding Company SALES PROMOTION: Product or Service Sales Presentation, Sales Kits or Product Information Sheets Clancy’s Fancy Sales Brochure Silver Phire Branding Company INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Websites, B-to-B HTML/Other, Services Second To None Silver Phire Branding Company INTERACTIVE MEDIA: Websites, Consumer HTML/Other, Products Dale Earnhardt Website Silver Phire Branding Company TELEVISION: Cinema Advertising, In-Theatre Commercials or Slides Clancy’s Fancy Cinema   Silver Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING FOR THE ARTS & SCIENCES: Broadcast/Electronic, Interactive Ann Arbor Summer Festival Website Silver Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING INDUSTRY SELF-PROMOTION: Creative Services and Industry Suppliers, Collateral Phire Branding Company Book Silver Phire Branding Company ADVERTISING INDUSTRY SELF-PROMOTION: Campaign, Single Medium Campaign Phire Branding Company Advertising Silver Phire Branding Company MIXED/MULTIPLE MEDIA: Consumer, Local Be Saline Campaign   Advertising, Awards, B-to-B, B-to-C, Community, Design, Interactive, News 2010-02-24T01:48:38+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_dale_earnhardt_inc/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_dale_earnhardt_inc/#When:22:00:47Z Phire announces the launch of a comprehensive website for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Working closely with the Earnhardt family and licensing partners, we were able to bring the Dale Earnhardt experience forward into a brand new experience. Starting with a survey of DEI employees, a web survey of 60,000+ fans, this site represents the Dale experience. Complete with CMS, a fully-functioning integrated store, videos, and more, we are helping give #3 a home on the web that's truly worthy. www.daleearnhardt.com. The site officially launched on 12.31.09. B-to-C, Design, Interactive, New Work, Website Launch 2010-01-29T22:00:47+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/phire_helps_merillat_quality_and_denova_at_ibs/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/phire_helps_merillat_quality_and_denova_at_ibs/#When:22:34:26Z At this year's International Builder Show, we helped three brands of the Masco Builder Cabinet Group make a big splash with a clean, interactive, powerful experience that was true to their exciting new offerings. With touch screens everywhere, evolved and cohesive brand messaging throughout, we led the look, feel, messaging, and many of the technical elements within the show. It also included live Social Media, Polls, and analytics throughout. We led collaboration with 3 other agencies and several vendors. The result was one their most successful shows ever - with a dramatic improvement over last year's leads and overall attention.         B-to-B, B-to-C, Design, Interactive, New Work, Sharing 2010-01-22T22:34:26+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/website_launch_pitney_bowes/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/website_launch_pitney_bowes/#When:23:21:25Z We're proud to announce the launch of a new website for Pitney Bowes Marketing Solutions. The site is complete with a Flash homepage navigation function, and is fully Content Management System driven. We think it does a nice job of showing a corporate B-to-B entity in a clean, fresh light. Click on the image to see the site. B-to-B, Design, Interactive, New Work, Website Launch 2009-12-11T23:21:25+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/emergence_and_marketing/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/emergence_and_marketing/#When:15:14:25Z Marketing seems simple. But in all reality, it’s an extremely complex system of pushing, pulling, experiences, word of mouth, face-to-face, sights, sounds, feelings. Put on top of this the fact that all of these transactions are highly personal, and are multiplied across a large population. To think that you can control this is futile, but these complex systems generally form fairly straightforward and trackable patterns. In comes the theory of emergence. A simple explanation of emergence is that an emergent behavior or emergent property can appear when a number of simple agents operate in an environment, forming more complex behaviors as a collective. You begin to discern patterns based on the big picture of the complexity. In marketing, human behavior differs greatly individually, but the sum total of activity and movement can become predictable and repeatable. What can be learned from emergence theory when applied to marketing? You need a few key things to help ensure success: You need to learn as much as possible from as large a sampling as possible before you begin. The purpose of truly good surveys is to discern trends and patterns through disparate answers. Therefore, individual answers are meaningless, but the sum total is the true guide.   Crafting a communications plan must cover enough venues to create multiple paths to the same conclusion. Since people act individually, you cannot assume that even a successful campaign worked to engage enough people for a sustained effect. Instead, there have to be enough points of contact to create a tapestry of communications in order to connect this complex world of individuals.   There needs to be some heavy-duty analytics available to take in all the information. With so much happening so quickly, emergent systems are hard to predict. But through today’s technology, they can be relatively simple to track. There will be no two success stories that will happen in exactly the same way. However, there will arise patterns that appear as trends, and therefore can be replicated and expanded. Many organizations fall prey to the “one resounding success” syndrome, where they try to replicate lightning in a bottle by looking at a success sampling of one. This may prove to be disastrous because the overall pattern may differ greatly from the one experience. The next potential success may be out there, ready to capture. But it may look entirely different from the previous. And there may be several in between, somewhere in the complexity of how people live, decide, and purchase. Advertising, Opinion 2009-10-28T15:14:25+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_launched_for_second_to_none/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/new_website_launched_for_second_to_none/#When:21:30:36Z We proudly announce the launch of a new website for Second To None, a leading mystery shopping organization. The website has some very cool new features, including a robust situational analysis with many opportunities to capture data. The site is now available at www.second-to-none.com. B-to-B, Design, Interactive, New Work, Website Launch 2009-10-08T21:30:36+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/the_ultimate_marketing_trend/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/the_ultimate_marketing_trend/#When:19:44:15Z There is a single word that describes where marketing has been going for decades. Personalization. Advertising, at its peak, was all about mass. Buy a spot on one of the three networks, and you’re talking to everyone – for better or worse. You had a captive audience. People would even have to stand up to change the channel, so they didn’t bother. Then along came cable. Then more channels. And more channels. Each more specific than the last. A channel for home improvement. A channel for arts. A channel for pets. An arts channel for pets. Etc. Then Tivo. And on demand. Etc. Each more fragmenting then the last. Print has gone the same way. There is a magazine about literally anything. Don’t believe me? Check this list out. Then came the internet, 1.0. A way to instantly break down interests into specific pages. There were hundreds of thousands. It got as specific as you needed it to get. Whenever and wherever. Then came the internet, 2.0. A way to claim your own homes and requests on the web, allowing advertisers to speak to you directly by interests. You can contact the advertisers and request things directly and ignore everything else. Now, comes mobile. The ability to communicate with you based on your interests, your preferences, and your exact location. It all comes to you, as you wish to receive it. Advertising is moving from mass to groups to sub-groups to the ultimate sub-group: you. Who wins? Both consumer and advertiser. You are sharing the information without putting up with the noise or the extra costs. If you’ve seen Minority Report, you've more or less seen where we’re ultimately headed. Your environment literally changing and speaking to you directly. You’ll still be inundated with everything, but now it will be things specific to your likes, taste level, and selected preferences. It was an average movie, but that part was spot on. Personally, I’m excited about the shift. I’ve always been uncomfortable with the idea of “bothering” people. “Interrupting” their life. “Getting in the way” of what they enjoy. In the future, we can have real, meaningful conversations with only the people who may actually care. Creating the ultimate in advertising accountability and efficiency.   2009-09-24T19:44:15+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/marketing_paralysis/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/marketing_paralysis/#When:13:53:06Z There’s too much. As a part of several marketing groups, both in real life and online, I feel for anyone out there who is trying to understand what is going on out here. Just today, I’ve been invited to an AdWord optimization presentation, a website strategy presentation, a how-to on video on the web, a how-to successfully use Twitter seminar. And oh, by the way, I’m writing this at 10am. On a Sunday. It’s enough to overwhelm and confuse me, and I’ve been doing this for quite some time and consider myself pretty darn savvy on this stuff. I occasionally go to some of these presentations, mostly to make sure I’m not missing out on the next big thing. Guess what? 99% of the time, I end up wasting my time. Why? Although things are moving and changing quickly, the basics have always remained the same. The means and the reporting tools are vastly improved, but there are always too many people out there who are trying to say that the means is the message. That has not, is not, and will never be the case. Some of it is helpful. The vast majority is snake oil. I’ve spoken with several prospects recently who are literally doing nothing to market because they don’t know what to do. They believe they should be doing so many things that they don’t know where to begin. They are trapped by paralysis of choice and too many people moving around telling them what to do. My advice? First figure out who you are and who you’re trying to reach. Then create a magnetic brand that will resonate with that specific market. Understand their world and how they (and only they) consume media. Then formulate a plan around what’s best for them. This focused simplicity is counter to what many are saying, but it is in line with the way things have always been. You will be inundated with hundreds of new ways to reach your audience. Over the next many years, there will be new tools and new specialists and industries created. These are just distractions, not strategies. It is just sound, not clear, concise brand resonance. In my opinion, groups talking about the next big thing aren’t really doing much except running around yelling trying to exploit a moment in time. And brands that react to all of the things they could be doing are missing out on the few focused things they should be doing very well. My favorite question in any one of these seminars? “Tell me a success story that you’ve been involved with personally”. Usually its crickets, followed by stuttering, followed by how they increased sales in a local vacuum store (or the equivalent) by 3%. Hey, good stuff. Beware of the empty promise(s) of the next big thing(s). Keep focused on a comprehensive strategy, and stay true to it. And don’t let anyone with a soapbox interrupt that path.   2009-09-14T13:53:06+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/newspapers_advertising/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/newspapers_advertising/#When:16:08:18Z It's no secret that newspapers are having a tough time. But smaller, more focused local papers are finding that their readership loyalty is stronger than ever. We helped Booth Mid-Michigan create an outdoor campaign for each of their cities: Flint, Bay City, and Saginaw. These will help assuage fears and rumors in the community that the papers are disappearing. In fact, they are becoming stronger than ever.             Advertising, B-to-B, B-to-C, New Work, Sharing 2009-08-24T16:08:18+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/the_answer_is_simple/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/the_answer_is_simple/#When:14:29:29Z Nearly every situation and organization we walk into shares a common theme: communications have become more complex, more layered, and the sales process has gotten murky and difficult to manage. The common problem? The company is way too close to the products and services, and the day-to-day operation and politics. More often than not, we are there to simplify. Easier said than done? Absolutely. Stakeholders talk about the reasons why they cannot change using similar language and patterns. Generally, it is people who are so passionate about their one piece of the pie that they fail to see the other pieces and their own individual passions. Our biggest early challenge is getting people to see the big picture and understand the greater purpose of the organization. First, we strip away the years of cobwebs: the politics, the outdated reasoning, turn over of people – all the things that lead to an inward-looking organization. Then we talk with customers: the current ones, some prospects, and a few that left. We find out the true pain points vs. the ones that seem to be prevalent from the inside looking out. A common thing that we find is that the company is no longer capable of seeing past the day-to-day tasks. Even mission and vision sessions have diminishing returns almost immediately because of their lack of implementation and tangible results. Unless the outside world sees your reason for being, it really doesn’t matter at all. Too many companies also just go through a cosmetic rebrand. That is, they paint over the cracked paint and think they have made a difference. A true rebrand goes deep: scrapes the old paint off, sands thoroughly, cleans up, and then starts to repaint once again It takes a lot more work, but the result is always cleaner, simpler, more evident to the outside world, and far more sustainable. And it begins to pay dividends right away.   B-to-B, B-to-C, Design, Opinion, Sharing 2009-08-13T14:29:29+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/stop_marketing._start_marking/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/stop_marketing._start_marking/#When:15:32:51Z In the traditional world, marketing has been all about push. Just send out as many things to an audience as possible and hit them until they start paying attention. But people have changed. Now, it’s about creating a brand that makes a mark in someone’s mind so that a customer is drawn to you. You must create a gravitational pull toward your brand – and leaving a solid mark in a potential customer’s mind is the only way to do it. How can this be accomplished? It’s a change of mindset. You must think of your brand as a living entity, capable of conversation and engagement instead of just standing on a soapbox and yelling. It must have the ability to respond, react, answer, and build a relationship. Where do you begin? Make certain you have something important to say. This happens just like any other conversation you have in life – you’d better understand your audience inside and out. Don’t assume they just care about “value” or “quality”. Maybe they care more about intelligence and consistency. Once you begin the conversation, you need to give people a place to respond and engage. This type of communication will help imprint you in their minds, building trust, and gaining entry into your psyche in powerful ways. Once you have this trust with customers, the sale has already been made, and you only have to be available instead of needing to inundate. We call it marking. Which is much more complex and nuanced than marketing. In many ways it’s much more complicated to execute. But once it’s underway, it feels far more natural and empowering to both you and your prospects.   B-to-B, B-to-C, Opinion, Sharing 2009-08-04T15:32:51+00:00 http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/does_your_brand_need_work/ http://www.phirebranding.com/index.php/blog/does_your_brand_need_work/#When:18:03:21Z When a brand let’s itself go, there isn’t a defining moment. It’s a series of almost unseen, unremarkable moments. The best brands in the world can head down a slippery slope quickly if they aren’t cared for on a daily, weekly, monthly, annual basis. Here are some tell-tale signs your brand needs work.   You have no idea what’s on your own company’s website. You haven’t been there in months. You don’t really want to go there right now. You currently present using a 7th generation PowerPoint. You click to see the original author. You don’t recognize the name. You always frame what your company does by first saying “we used to”. You search for your company on Google News and the most recent item is a press release from 2003 announcing that your company hired someone who hasn’t worked there since 2005. You have lost more than 5 consecutive pitches. In at least one of them, you were asked the question, “what makes you different?” You then inadvertently explain why you’re exactly the same, just a little less dynamic or interesting. Your business card was once a proud hand out – 2 sided, thick, uncoated, and well designed. Now, it’s a fourth generation card on a flimsy stock that is glossy and has basic information listed in a font that simply doesn’t belong. You used to get tons of calls to the HR department with people excited to work at your company. Now, those calls are all outbound. Your trade show booth was once a Mecca of activity and excitement. Now, it’s a heavy, overproduced, out-dated monument to the late 90’s. You cut your prices recently. And then again. If you can’t beat ‘em, undersell them. You dreaded waking up and going into work today. And every day. Not due to lack of interest. Just lack of vision and direction. Think this is far-fetched? Maybe a bit. But we’ve been in organizations just like these. It demonstrates the importance of brand creation and stewardship for the bottom line of a company. But even more importantly, what it does for an organization’s Mojo – that intangible ingredient that draws others to you. That indescribable something that gives your company the “it” factor. But it takes work. Commitment. And everyday movement.   Is it worth it? Look through the list, and imagine this is your company. Then you tell us. B-to-B, B-to-C, Opinion 2009-07-23T18:03:21+00:00