Recently, while flying my favorite airline and reading my favorite in-flight magazine I came across an article in which the chairman/president/CEO shared what he LUVed about his company. As I read, I found many similarities between his sentiments and my own for Canyon, so I was inspired to share the four things I LUV most (and you will too).
LUV is going the extra mile for customers. If you’re not already a client of Canyon, give us a chance to show you our exceptional client service. We pride ourselves on not only providing excellent service but also partnering and getting to know our clients on a personal level. I feel so strongly about this, I’ve previously blogged about it.
LUV is letting bags fly free. While we can’t control your bags, we have special differentiators that separate us from our competition. Find out more here.
LUV is having fun. Having fun is something we’re highly skilled at. Grilled cheese-athons, themed Halloween parties, baseball games and tailgates. How does this benefit our clients? Because when people have fun and truly LUV their jobs, it shows in their work.
These are just four reasons I LUV being a Canyonite. And, since I LUV giving things away, be the first to comment on this post and we’ll make you customized luggage tags for your next trip.
For many B2B marketers, a lot of emphasis is placed on making the company logo a visual extension of the brand. Consistently applying your logo to all your marketing helps to build visual brand identification, but few marketers think about what characteristics of the brand exist beyond the logo. I’m talking about brand personality and personas.
Many marketers understand what brand personality is, but not many take the time to define a set of personas for the organization, or use them when developing marketing communications strategies. Well-known companies have brand personas that stem from inherent attributes of what their brands have been historically, and what they need to be in order to meet the expectations of their customers. For example, Harley Davidson’s persona is free, independent, rugged, American, laid-back and powerful. Jack In The Box’s persona is uncommon, sarcastic and funny.
Defining brand personas can have many practical uses for your marketing program. Here are few ways brand personas can help your next campaign:
Personas give people a reason to like your brand and products.
They help define your brand as hip, strong, young, cocky or any characteristic that will help you connect with target audiences.
Brand personality contributes to the style and tone of your creative.
Those character attributes can be parlayed into social media marketing by guiding your company’s ‘voice’ on twitter and other social media tools.
What personas exist for your brand? Want some fun tips on how to get started?
So, tell me which word—“we” or “you”—makes a stronger statement in B2B advertising, web copy or direct mail? That’s right; “you” is the best approach for drawing your customers to your message. That’s who is being addressed and that’s who will ultimately buy your product. So, give all your headlines and copy the “you” treatment for maximum effectiveness.
A few strong “you” headlines:
IBM: “What if your supply chain saw what you needed before you did?” Two “yous” and a “your” in a question.
Panasonic Toughbook: “In your world, your computer should be your fortress.” Packs three “yours” in a short, punchy headline.
Scottrade: “No one has more vested interest in you, than you.” Two “you” references in an intriguing statement.
Compare those with these national advertisers’ much weaker “we” statements:
“We turn business problems into wireless solutions.” Huh? What’s in it for me?
“We speak car. And apparently quite well.” If you’re trying to impress me…
My colleague Emily just wrote a great post about not bashing your competition but what about intentionally bashing yourself or your own brand? This week Domino’s Pizza unveiled a new ad campaign that takes quite a jab at its own product.
My question is: Is it ever a good idea to bash your own brand?
Rebranding can be a challenging project for any company, but the strategy behind a rebrand is often more important than the ‘new and improved’ image. While Domino’s Pizza’s ad agency is known for making bold statements, I wonder what focus group research, if any, was done to determine that customers were unhappy with its pizza. Domino’s Pizza’s ads give the impression that Twitter was an important source of customer feedback. With the rebrand, Domino’s has tried to off-set its own harsh critics with less-obvious tactics designed to show the favorability of its new product.
What do you think of Domino’s Pizza’s marketing direction? Will customers internalize too many former negative qualities that Domino’s is bringing to light or will customers embrace the new product?
The BCS National Championship game last night was gut-wrenching. Texas fans were on the edge of their seats; waiting to see if the Longhorns could pull through with freshman Garret Gilbert running the show after Colt McCoy hurt his passing shoulder on the Longhorns’ first drive. And while I was on pins and needles throughout the game, it was for a completely different reason. I was waiting for the post-game interview with Colt McCoy.
I like college football—Go Devils—but, in all honesty, my favorite part is what the losing QB says after the game. It’s the most profound moment that really shows what kind of person he is and what type of spokesperson he will be.
Colt McCoy is a class act. He kept his composure, answered the reporters questions, and, most importantly, he congratulated Alabama on its victory, calling them “a tremendous football team”—twice.
In contrast, I remember Matt Leinart’s post-game interview after the BCS title game where USC played Texas. Leinart commented that despite the Trojans’ loss to Texas, “I still think we’re a better football team. They just made the plays in the end.” All I can really say about that is TACKY!
There is truly a stark comparison between McCoy’s and Leinart’s interviews. So, what can B2B marketers learn from this? It’s simple: bad-mouthing your competition (even in the most perceivably judicious manner) just won’t make you look good. And, of course, great media training goes a long way.
