Reinventing Your Brand
November 24, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
I have previously discussed how important it is for a brand to strive to be different from its competition, not simply “better”. And I just reviewed a case study this morning that bolstered my belief in this principle. The perspective came from Jim Stengel, the former marketing head of Procter and Gamble, when he spoke at the Association of National Advertisers this past month. In his exhortation Stengel described how P&G’s Old Spice product had been stagnant for years, and had been consistently been losing market share to Axe for years.
But Old Spice has recently made a strong surge and has been robbing consumers from Axe like never before. So what h has Old Spice done to trigger the momentum shift? Stengel says the keys to success were two actions: Deep introspection, Switching ad agencies And what did P&G discover when they analyzed their brand? They realized they had no true market image, Old Spice needed a new image. Unless you have been hiding under a rock you have seen the result of Old Spice’s evolution.
I have placed an image from one of their latest commercials, Old Spice has successfully become the “older brother”of American males 14-25. This strategy and brand positioning has reborn the Old Spice product, and most importantly translated into market share ownership for Old Spice. So if you are looking to take market share from a competitor, do not look outside for your solution, take a page from the Procter and Gamble playbook, and look inside.
How to Achieve the “Cool” Factor for Your Company
November 19, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
I am sitting at a hipster themed coffee shop at the moment writing this post, and one question is dominating my thoughts:
What makes a brand have the “cool” factor?
The answer is that there are many ways to make a product or brand “cool”, the secret sauce is maintaining a laser focus on your objectives. Know thyself, know thy audience You can ask any marketing executive, “Cool” is a fickle and many times a cruel master. What I have discovered is that the top prerequisite for a brand establishing a sleek public image is to fully understand its target audience.
Let us take the case study of Apple and the iPhone. The iPhone has undoubtedly set the precedent for the “cool” factor as it relates to technology. It has achieved international mass market appeal and revolutionized the mobile industry. From day one Apple marketed the iPhone as the first mobile phone that had the full suite of features previously only available on traditional computers.
But the best marketing campaign in the world will not create the “cool” factor by itself, it takes a solid product offering. And the iPhone delivered (and then some). The device gave consumers:
- An unbelievable user experience
- Innovative hardware performance (touchscreen, Wii- like controls, etc.)
- Infinite functionally possibilities (the app store)
Also, Apple has successfully created an entire ecosystem that did not exist only a few short years ago with users, developers and advertisers seamlessly interacting together. And it is the combination of all these factors that create the “cool” factor for products. Put simply, the secret sauce of effective brand marketing is to never lose sight of type audience. If you can successfully maintain your focus on the pulse of your target consumer, you will consistently achieve the “cool” factor.
How to Market in Tough Economic Times
November 11, 2008 by OA Group · 1 Comment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Garrison Fairfield
Garrison.Fairfield@TricorPR.com
How to Market in Tough Economic Times
LUBBOCK, TX (November 12, 2008) – When the economy gets down, the down get blogging! With the current state of the economy, it is critical that businesses begin analyzing the manner in which they reach their customers. There is a wide array of marketing options available to businesses today, however many of them will not generate the return on investment necessary for a company to remain profitable.
So with the wide variety of marketing options, what is the best approach to advertise your business? Corporate blogging has emerged as a proven method to:
- Increase Leads & Sales
- Generate Consumer Awareness
- Supply a Value Added Service to Retain Existing Clients
- Position Your Company as the Expert in the Marketplace
One of the most effective ways of attracting new customers is a corporate website, however the typical company site is not successful because it is not updated regularly and there is very little useful information to keep consumers coming back consistently.
That is where BlogSpur comes in; with its staff of writers which is made up of Venture Capitalist analysts, professional journalists, SEO specialists, and executives from a wide array of industries, BlogSpur creates a blog for its clients and posts industry-relevant articles on a daily basis. The posts are white labeled and credit the client with the authorship, thus positioning them as an expert source of information in their respective industry.
Allison Davis, BlogSpur’s VP of Sales had this to say, “The time to start becoming an industry expert is right now. By leveraging BlogSpur’s technology and industry expertise, businesses can drive high quality web traffic to their sites along with supplying an informative service to its pre-existing customer base.”
Along with the articles being shown on your site, BlogSpur’s social media team pushes out each article across all the most popular online social distribution points. This results in increased traffic to your site and helps to create a solid Internet presence for your website.
If a company is looking to keep marketing costs at a minimum while still maintaining strong consumer awareness, BlogSpur can offer a key solution during this difficult economic time.
To learn more about BlogSpur, Inc., please contact Garrison Fairfield at Garrison.Fairfield@TricorPR.com.
About BlogSpur, Inc.
BlogSpur is a ROI minded marketing firm that helps businesses get quantitative results. The BlogSpur Service enables companies to: Be positioned as experts in their industry, Drive quality web traffic to their websites, Increase leads and sales, and Provide a value added service to the marketplace. BlogSpur, Inc. is a subsidiary of OAG, an International digital creative and advertising agency. For more information, please visit: http://www.BlogSpur.com.
Reverse Merger Blog
November 8, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
We are very excited to now be working with the official Reverse Merger Blog. ReverseMergerBlog.com is run by David Feldman, a leading expert on reverse mergers and corporate law. Feldman has literally written the book on reverse mergers:
OAG recently re-designed the blog’s user interface and the new site went live this past week. We are highly-anticipating great results in working with David Feldman and the Reverse Merger Blog team!
See a screenshot of the new layout below:
Become Different
November 6, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
If you are in the advertising industry, the past few years have offered some great examples of effective branding. I’m talking, of course, about the presidential election and the lessons it has taught the marketing sector. Regardless your political viewpoint, the race between President-elect Obama and Senator Mccain has been a prime illustration of how to establish market dominance. Let’s look back at the race the same way we would review a client case study.
The Problem
A new market participant (Obama) was looking to enter a industry (presidency) that no other peer (African American) has been successful in (winning).
Solution
Develop a hyper-focused marketing message, offering a solution to a wide range of audiences. The message will be distributed with a multi-platform approach, including: TV, Internet, Social Media, PR, ‘Guerilla’ marketing, along with several other mediums.
Result
Ubiquitous brand awareness and expert positioning, resulting in making history.
In reviewing the marketing campaign, one key component stuck out to me:
Obama never wavered in his message of ‘change’. While Mccain altered the focus of his campaign several times, resulting in a lackluster apeal to the nation. If you are looking to establish consumer awareness for your brand it is vital that you stay consistent with your message.
In case you doubt this hypothesis, look at the following phrases:
- Just Do It
- The Ultimate Driving Machine
- I’m Lovin’ It
I didn’t have to say: Nike, BMW, and McDonalds; because the simple mention of their slogans (message) conjured not only their names, but also the way you feel about the company. This is the way it works in my mind:
Just Do It > Nike > Athleticism
Ultimate Driving Machine > BMW > Luxury & Performance
I’m Lovin’ It > McDonalds > Fast Food
How have these brands implanted these pavlovian responses in my mind?They have ‘pushed’ their message to me across a variety of mediums for decades, and this is the key: they have never wavered from the message.
Traditional vs. Digital
October 28, 2008 by OA Group · 1 Comment
There has been an ongoing debate for the past decade regarding which marketing medium provided advertisers with the best return on investment: traditional vs. digital. Traditional media buying would include: television, radio, newspaper, et al. Digital marketing includes: search engine marketing, banner ads, rich media and the newcomer streaming media. The truth of the matter is that I’ve seen both mechanism generate great and terrible results, it’s my experience that everything boils down to execution ultimately. However I want to briefly discuss each option.
Traditional Media
Traditional marketing has been around for ages and is thus a well established marketing machine. It has been attacked lately with the advent of TiVo and Satellite radio, however it remains a bastion of brand safe advertising distribution. There is very little fraud in traditional media, which enables a fairly worry free environment for clients. With the positives in mind it is also important to understand the drawbacks:
- Archaic analytic reporting;
- High level of risk;
- Lack of control.
- It is cost prohibitive for small businesses.
Digital Marketing
Digital, or online, advertising has been the fastest growing industry in the past decade and has birthed global corporate giants like Google and Yahoo! It addresses many of the negatives of traditional marketing, such as:
- Full analytics reporting, you know exactly when and where your ads have been displayed.
- With performance based campaigns, there is little to no risk at stake.
- You have full control over the campaign.
- Companies of any size can advertise online, due to little to no minimum advertising buys.
It may sound like I am one sided in this debate, and it is true, I believe very strongly in the power of digital marketing; however it is also paramount to remember that the key to a successful marketing campaign is matching the right message to the right audience. Contact us and we can help create a marketing plan that matches your needs.
What’s Your Marketing Risk IQ?
October 23, 2008 by OA Group · 1 Comment
What's Your Marketing Risk IQ?
Marketing is a risk intensive endeavor, there is a wide ranging risk vs. reward matrix which can bring even the most innovative experts to their knees. So why am I telling you this? It’s because I want to describe the OAG marketing mechanisms and illustrate how they each minimize risk while simultaneously maximizing the reward. Below is a basic walk-through of each service:
1. BlogSpur
The BlogSpur service is a multi-faceted social media marketing service produces long term results with minimal risk. The OAG Social Media and Search Engine Specialists dramatically increase a brand’s online web presence through blog postings and social media syndication. The fees are minimal compared to hiring a blogger and the service produces industry leading results.
2. AdSpur
AdSpur is a performance based marketing service. This means there is little to no risk for you as an advertiser. You only pay when you receive an order, lead or visitor.
If you are looking for your company to receive online or offline press exposure, a strong PR push is required. This does have a higher risk compared to the BlogSpur and AdSpur services since the fees are higher and there are no guaranteed results. However the rewards are potentially exponential. Several companies such as Facebook and YouTube built their businesses purely on a solid public relations and press outreach strategy.
In the current economic condition of the nation, it is key to make every penny of your marketing dollar count, so choose wisely and let us help you create a marketing solution that fits your situation.
RIP-IT Sporting Goods
October 15, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
OAG created and manages the RIP-IT Sporting Goods blog through the BlogSpur service, this social media marketing tool allows for RIP-IT to dramatically increase their web presence and consumer awareness.
Swingaway
October 15, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
SwingAway has been utilizing the BlogSpur and AdSpur programs and have seen traffic increases and overall web presence ubiquity.
About SwingAway:
SwingAway is committed to continue to make the very best Baseball/ Softball Hitting Systems and Hitting Accessories in the entire market. We remain proud that we make the only Hitting machine on this planet that actually makes our customer’s better hitters, thus better ball players. Just ask any of our Major League Customers. Guaranteed
When the SwingAway was introduced to Professional Baseball in 1996, there was a tremendous BUZZZ… around the League. This machine was perfected with the guidance of Lou Piniella, Lee Elia and Jay Buhner all with the Seattle Mariners, as the Head Coach, the Head Hitting Coach and as an All Star Player respectively.
Today, more Pro Players use the SwingAway than ever before. It is the Only established, recognized and accepted hitting training machine in the MLB. Today’s players grew up training on the SwingAway. Many of today’s professional players started training on the SwingAway in High School, College, the Minor Leagues and finally in to the Big Leagues. Pro Players now just expect a SwingAway to be available for them to train and practice with at every stadium.
We receive numerous calls each month from former MLB Players; Many of them are Legends of the Game. However the most surprising is the calls former MLB Pitchers who want to purchase a SwingAway System for their children. This re- enforces the fact that our SwingAway really works to make players of all age’s better hitter’s thus better baseball and softball players. We as a company are extremely proud to continue to be successful in doing something Real Good for the Game of Baseball.
Vintage Filings
October 15, 2008 by OA Group · Leave a Comment
PR Newswire’s Vintage Filings division is the fastest growing EDGAR filings agent in the U.S. We provide you with superior customer service, transparent pricing and quick turnaround time. Let us provide you with worry-free filing for ALL of your financial documents.
Find out for yourself why 3,000+ public companies trust Vintage with their filing needs:
• No weekend or overnight fees
• True 24/7 personalized service
• Dedicated account management
• Transparent billing
• Full typesetting & financial printing services
Vintage Filings is utilizing the BlogSpur program with great success. Since launching, Vintage Filings has been increasing their web presence and search engine ranking.
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