B2BBlog

Dave Miscavige

2005-09-04T20:43:00.000-07:00

I have to say I am so impressed by Mr. David Miscavige and the humanitarian work he does every day.

The Scientology religion is dedicated to helping others. Mr. Miscavige and the Sea Organization and Churches of Scientology and their staff are selfless in their dedication to doing something to improving society.

I know this can seem unreal in an age where everywhere you turn people are just in it for themselves, but there are some true humanitarians and humanitarian efforts and when they come on the scene people do support them. Just look at the impact Live8 had last summer.

Well, Scientology is one such movement. It's taken a bad rap on the Internet, but maybe that's because we step on some vested interests toes (how much income would Eli Lilly lose if the $1,000,000 they "donated" in SSRIs for the victims of the most recent disaster went unused because people had real and effective solutions they could use to rebuild their lives instead of pharma to forget about it).

Scientology Volunteer Ministers are down in shelters working 20-hour shifts to help the Katrina refugees, and they are in the streets of New Orleans looking for survivors, and helping in any way they can.

This is the kind of selfless action Mr. Miscavige inspires, and that's why I admire him, and others like him, who have not sold out to the materialism of the 21st Century.

Psychiatry is a Pseudoscience

2005-07-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

Here's a great message from Citizens Commission on Human Rights president, Jan Eastgate, that puts the "Post Partum Depression" controversy in the right perspective and shows that psychiatric practice is based on pseudo-science.

For nearly 30 years I’ve worked with women who have been abused by psychiatry, including those diagnosed with “post partum depression” (PPD). I’ve documented horror stories of past “miracle cures” for PPD where psychosurgery mutilated their brains or electroshock wiped out their memory of the birth of their child. Today, mind-altering drugs are passed off as a solution for depression that can follow a traumatic labor. Brooke Shields suffered a grueling labor and was promised that the antidepressant she was prescribed was non-addictive and safe. She was lied to.

The Physicians Desk Reference lists these side effects: agitation, amnesia, confusion, mood swings, nightmares, insomnia, hallucinations, hostility, and psychosis. The FDA warns of suicidal thoughts. Withdrawal effects indicate addiction, a fact that ABC’s Primetime Live exposed last year was suppressed by drug manufacturers.

As for claims that PPD results from a “chemical imbalance” that mind-altering drugs can supposedly correct, the weight of medical opinion shows that there is no way to even determine a “normal balance,” let alone how to correct one. Just more lies.

None of this diminishes the fact that new moms can go through hell and can become desperate. Women may experience drastic drops in hormone levels after the birth of a child that can deliver a major shock to their body. Iron deficiency may also be a problem. But they need medical, not psychiatric help.

There are many alternatives but psychiatrists, defending a more than $14 billion a year psychiatric drug industry, would prefer women didn’t know about them. That’s information worth warning others about—and something about which Tom Cruise has thankfully raised the alarm bell.

Newsies Take to The Net

2004-11-05T07:40:00.000-08:00

From E-Marketer

Loyal newspaper readers in the US are increasingly turning to the Internet for news, shopping research and information.
Yesterday, Yahoo! released the results of its "Newspaper Loyalist" study, which indicates that 72% of people who regularly read the newspaper go online daily, and 50% go online each day specifically for timely news and information.
Faulkner Focus conducted an ethnographic study of 22 adults, ages 18 to 49, in New York and San Francisco who read the newspaper at least three times per week. Deemed "newspaper loyalists," these people were interviewed while reading their newspaper and accessing the Internet at home, in the park or during their commute to work. The qualitative findings were then elaborated on and quantified with research from Ipsos-Insight based on an online panel of 1,182 participants from six major cities in the US.
While newspaper loyalists are avid Net users, only 42% read a daily newspaper. Yahoo! notes that with the choice and personalization of media today, the consumer is in total control. One person who participated in the study noted, "I kind of like holding the paper, and I like reading the paper. But I definitely use the Internet for more in-depth things."
Yahoo! found that the relationship between print and online for newspaper loyalists is something online retailers and marketers will want to note. Over one-half of newspaper loyalists say they go online to research a product mentioned in a newspaper circular. In fact, over 50% say they have been conducting shopping research online and buying offline for the past three years.
Addressing the idea of simultaneous media usage, BIGresearch recently reportied that over 63% of US consumers simultaneously watch TV while they are online, and nearly 60% listen to the radio while they are online.
The Yahoo! study adds to the BIGresearch findings by revealing that not only do consumers use different media at the same time, they also use different types of media in conjunction with others. Today's media is best served to its audience with an understanding of how one outlet can complement another, rather than how they should compete.

Value of the #1 position in marketing

2004-10-19T08:12:00.000-07:00

The paid music download industry again illustrates the advantage of getting out of the gate early to establish that #1 position.

According to a new NPD Group study Apple still dominates the US market with a dominating 70% of sales in the paid music downloading industry. Napster follows Apple with 11%. MusicMatch, RealNetwork and Wal-Mart, all currently have 6%. Wal-Mart, one of the newest players, has captured an acceptable share of the market with their discounted $0.88 downloads ($0.10 less than the others) and their well known brand name.

Stay tuned (pun intended) to see if a discount player can erode Apples #1 position.

Consumer use of Internet Research

2004-10-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

Consumers are using the Internet for research before they buy and it is big bucks.
The Dieringer Research Group reports in a multi-channel consumer behavior study that American consumers spent $1.00 online for every $1.70 they spent offline after conducting online research.

In total, $181 billion in offline and $106 billion in purchases were made after consumers had conducted online research.

In addition, the percentage of offline purchases influenced by online research has grown faster than online purchases. Consumer online sales rose by 14% from 2003 to 2004, while Internet-influenced offline sales increased 31% in the same period.

Used car buyers are using the Internet

2004-09-29T11:32:00.000-07:00

According to a J.D. Power study, more used car buyers are using the Internet. In fact they are using the Internet even more than newspaper cliassified ads. More than 50% of used car buyers use the Net to help search--up 7% from 2003. Some 85% said it influenced their pricing.

$50 Billion In Advertising Wasted

2004-09-23T21:55:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe or is it? The Advertising Research Foundation recent review of media studies found that a cool $50 billion of advertising has been wasted. Sort of gives shotgun marketing a whole new meaning. This represents slightly less than 20% of the $266 billion spent on advertising. The two biggest causes of wasted advertising budgets was wrong message and wrong timing. The conclusion--test before you run ads. A better idea would be to do proper market research in the beginning which might just find that no one even wanted the product to start with. Anyway, back to the media buying starting gate.

Customer services is not rocket science

2004-09-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

According to a joint Kelly Services and Purdue University study, a whopping 92% of American consumers form an image of a business based on their experiences using its contact or support center.

This same report also found that 63% of consumers will stop using a company's products or services based on a negative contact/support center experience.

If a company is losing market share, I would look first at cusotmer service. Sometime the fixes are very simple but make a big difference.

Car buying on the Internet

2004-09-16T10:11:00.000-07:00

According to J.D. Power and Associates, half of all car buyers say the internet affected their purchase in 2003, up 10% from 2002. The car buyers first look at independent auto sites, such as Consumer Reports or advertising-supported auto publications. However, an increasing proportion - now up to 40% - look first to manufacturer sites.

A similar proportion, 39 percent rated the automaker sites as useful, up from 2002's 36 percent. Readers rated costs and invoice information the most important site feature, along with vehicle options and reliability ratings. Readers also increasingly seek trade-in values as a potentially important piece of information.

More than one in five buyers reported that the internet affected their choice of dealer, up from one in six in 2002.

What journalists expect - a wake up call

2004-09-05T18:19:00.000-07:00

According to a Vocus survey of more than 1,000 journalists on how they perceive and use corporate Web sites and online newsrooms, there is a divide between what corporations do and what journalists want.

Vocus reports that "their expectations and the value they place on what you offer in your online newsroom have increased significantly. Journalists are now expecting to find much more information on your Web site - and they find it USEFUL when provided...In nearly every category of information, journalists placed a higher value on online availability than did the PR professionals surveyed. "

High Speed Internet Access

2004-09-03T06:58:00.000-07:00

Hotels are scrambling to provide high-speed Intenet connections in their rooms. There are some 50% of the rooms now wired--nearly double three years ago.

The "2004 Lodging Survey," from the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA), Internet connectivity is rapidly becoming a stadard amenity in guest rooms across the USA.

The numbers:

The percentage of hotels offering cable or satellite television increased from 69% in 1998 to a near blanket coverage of 98% in 2004,
High-speed Internet connectivity jumped from 23% in 2001 to 50% this year.
In higher-priced rooms, a 88% of luxury chain hotels now offer high-speed Internet access in guest rooms, 75% of upper upscale hotels, 73% of upscale hotels, and 54% of mid-scale hotels with food and beverage.

Thus marketers should include Internet campaigns as part of their mix.

Advertising messages

2004-08-31T13:32:00.000-07:00

Being a strong advocate of public relations and publicty to sell products and create brands, I wanted to pass on this news for those who still believe in advertising:

A recent study by Yankelovich Partners found that 65% of people in the US now feel "constantly bombarded" by advertising messages, while 59% feel that advertisements have very little relevance to them.

There are many PR tools avaialble now that can do a much better job incuding blogs, eNewsletters, optimized press releases, online media rooms, link strategies and so on.

2004-08-26T12:47:00.000-07:00

The influence of the Internet, especially for public relations, just continues to expand.

According to a recent study by the Pew Research Center 36 percent ofAmericans now prefer a take on the news that reflects their own politics. Among conservatives, that viewpoint is even more pronounced, at 43 percent (compared with a third of moderates and liberals).

Over the last 4 years, according to the same Pew Center study the proportion of people who log on for political news has increased sharply—from 39 percent to 54 percent.

I'm not sure how the newspapers will survive.

Internet Use - Searching

2004-08-18T12:06:00.000-07:00

The use of searching online remains one of the most popular actvities on the Internet. According to the Pew Internet & American Life Project "they use search engines one or two times per week or more, including 23% who use them several times per day". This means marketers need to adjust their web sites so that they offer information that people are looking for. Now, this is not to say that you want to be come an enclyclopedia for everthing under the sun -- in fact you want to be as narrow as possible in your offerings as that is what people are searching for. They want specifics not corporate hype. Think of your search for travel--do you want the facts or a lot of hype about a vacation special that you would never take. Once you have attracted them, then your site needs to be inviting enough for them to look further. People do not go to your home page and read the whole site. Be smart and fix your web site for increased sales and profits.

Humor In Marketing

2004-07-27T12:25:00.000-07:00

Humor in Marketing…
by Doug Hay

A friend told me I was getting too serious, so I set out to find some humor in marketing. This is what I found in my market research:
The Circus:
If the circus is coming to town and you paint a sign saying, "Circus is coming to Fairgrounds Sunday," that's Advertising. If you put the sign on the back of an elephant and walk him through town, that's a Promotion.
If the elephant walks through the Mayor's flowerbed, that's Publicity. If you can get the Mayor to laugh about it, that's Public Relations. And, if you planned the whole thing, that's Marketing! --Author Unknown
What marketing really is…
You see a stunning girl at a club. You go up to her and say, "I'm a great cook. How about a meal?"That's Direct Marketing.
You're at a party with a bunch of friends and see a beautiful girl. You give your buddy 5 bucks; he goes up to her, points to you and says, "He's a great cook."That's Advertising.
You see an exceedingly attractive girl at a club. You go up to her and somehow get her private, unlisted telephone number. The next day you call, chat her up and say, "Hi, I'm a great cook."That's Telemarketing.
You go to a pub and you see an attractive girl across the room. You stand straight, you smooth talk her, you open the door for the ladies, you smile like a dream, you set an atmosphere around you playing the gentleman and then you walk right up to the girl and say, "Hi, I am a great cook, how about a meal?"That's Hard Selling.
You're at a club and see a gorgeous girl. You get up and throw your shoulders back; you walk up to her and buy her a drink. You open the door for her, hold her arm-in-arm, lay down over a puddle, offer her a ride, and then say, "By the way, I’m a great cook."That's Public Relations.
You're at a party and see a beautiful woman. You talk her into going home with your friend. That's a Sales Rep.
You're on your way to a dance when you realize that there could be beautiful women in all these apartments you're passing. So you climb onto the roof of a house across the street and yell at the top of your lungs, "I'm a fantastic cook!" That's Spam.
You go to a dance and see an attractive girl across the room. You recognize her. You walk up to her, refresh her memory and get her to smile and giggle and then suggest, "Hi, I am a great cook, how about it?"That's Customer Relations.
You're at a party and see a beautiful woman. Your friend can't satisfy her so he calls you. That's Tech Support.
You're at a bar and see a striking girl. She strolls over to you and says, “I hear you're a fantastic cook."That's Brand Recognition.

Afterword:

You can fool all the people all the time if the advertising is right and the budget is big enough. - Joseph E. Levine

Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising. - Mark Twain

If you think advertising doesn't work, consider the millions of Americans that now think yogurt tastes good. - Joe L. Whitley

Publicity is what you pray for

2004-07-19T06:05:00.000-07:00

There is the adage “Advertising is what you pay for, publicity is what you pray for.” Or said another way: advertising is what you pay for but publicity is free. In addition, publicity (such as articles in newspapers or magazines) in the media is worth ten times the cost of advertising as it is more credible.

Hang this on your refrigerator: Publicity is part of public relations and public relations (PR) is a key component of an overall marketing campaign. PR is a low cost alternative to other forms of promotion such as newspaper, magazine, radio or TV advertising. PR is more credibility but does not necessarily replace advertising. Brands are built from PR not advertising. Advertising is used to support the brand once PR has established it.
Here are five do-it-yourself PR actions:

1.      The expert. The media loves to quote “experts”. If you are successful in business, then you are an expert. Your years of experience and/or education really do count. Realize this and exploit it.
2.      Press release. You can write a press release on your company or a featured product. Getting it published is called publicity. Remember these are “news releases” so should have news content. If you just plug a product, you will not get any pickup. Basically a press release is an invitation to a journalist (newspapers and magazines) or producer (radio and TV) to call you for an interview. Smaller papers may print what you send them. Make it interesting! You can get them distributed for free or a small donation at www.prweb.com. They even have tips on writing a release.
3.      Newsletters. This is one of my favorite PR tools. A newsletter is more believable than any flier or brochure as promotion immediately conjures up the image of “they are trying to sell me something” and it lands quickly in the garbage. A newsletter provides useful information—it is educational. The best newsletter would be one that the audience can’t wait for the next for the next installment plus they forward it their friends and associates. These can be printed and mailed or sent as an email. Keeping adding them to your web site—this also enhances your web “content” which is constantly reviewed by the web search engines.
4.      Articles. You can take your newsletters and turn them into “articles” that you can offer for free to various publications and web sites.
5.      Speaker. Become a speaker at local clubs (Rotary, etc.), Chambers of Commerce and networking groups. Pick subjects that you are an expert in and deliver a passionate and interesting talk. Collect business cards of everyone who could be a prospect for your business. Follow up with phone calls or emails. Add them to your database for newsletters.
Once you get a PR campaign going, it becomes much easier as one part can feed another. E.g. once you get a newsletter written, then you have something to offer the media when doing a press release. Include your newsletters on your web site and use them in sales kits.

PR is not a quick fix but done consistently with long term goals in mind it will pay big dividends. Use PR to prosper and expand!

This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact:
Mr. Hay founded Expansion Plus where he is now CEO and Senior Creative Director. Expansion Plus are marketing and public relations consultants with special focus on market research, surveys, media planning, public relations, Internet marketing and advertising campaigns. Doug has held senior management positions in marketing, sales and business development at large and small organizations in the US and abroad. He is a top-performing professional with proven abilities gained through four decades of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, public relations, sales and management. Doug can be reached at 818-285-6786,   email:dough@expansionplus.com. www.expansionplus.com


© Copyright 2004 Douglas A. Hay. All Rights Reserved.

Internet Marketing

2004-07-11T09:28:00.000-07:00

I noticed over the past few years that Internet Marketing has come into its own. There are relatively inexpensive techniques available to any sized business that can increase sales and the bottom line. Just like a "main street" store, a web site is just a listing until it is promoted and made to come alive.

A tale of two hamburger stands

2004-07-04T16:50:00.000-07:00

Two entrepreneurs have an idea to open a fast food restaurant selling hamburgers. There seems to be a lot of hamburgers sold and they want a share of the market.
However, they are not sure how could one possibly compete with the mega giants such as McDonalds with some $30 billion in sales and a huge advertising budget.
This is the tale of two different hamburger stands.
The first entrepreneur, John Dumb, buys a choice piece of land and builds a fast food restaurant spending $750,000. With that investment he realizes that he had better figure out some advertising real quick. He calls a friend of his who does graphic design at home and together they work out an ad to promote their “new” $.99 hamburger.
They get a big sign saying, “Best hamburgers in town only $.99” He hires staff, buys food and starts selling $.99 hamburgers. The curious come in buy the $.99 burgers and a few become regular customers.
Business is brisk at the beginning but begins to fall off. He is not making money so he cuts the price to $.79 thinking he will bring in more customers. But he continues to lose even more money. The rest is too painful to even report. He is bankrupt in 6 months.
_________________________
The second entrepreneur, Joe Smarts, has more marketing savvy and hires a marketing consultant that actually knows how to market a product. He gives them the assignment to research the hamburger market and come up with a strategy and a campaign before he invests any money.
The initial research into the market determines that:
· McDonald's Corp.'s share of the hamburger market dipped last year
· The #2 hamburger chain, Burger King, also saw its market share decline. (The company is apparently being auctioned off by its U.K. parent. One wonders if the hamburger business is not so good or the English don’t know how to market an American fast-food meal?)
· No. 3 hamburger chain, Wendy’s, increased its market share for the fifth straight year.
· It seems like #1 and #2 are competing on price.
· Wendy's is increasing its market share without discounting core items.
· Two smaller players also increased market share: Jack in the Box, #4 in the pecking order, and Sonic Corp, the nation's largest chain of drive-ins.
· Some of the burger chains are using fillers like soy.
Further research and surveys find that the public “go buttons” are:
1. They want to eat a healthier meal but don’t have time to cook
2. They want the convenience of fast food
3. Price was to be reasonable but was not a major factor
This data gives a strategy to position (brand) the company differently than the others through price and quality of the food. I.e. One way to make a healthier hamburger is to grill it rather than fry it.
Checking on how the big boys do it finds that:
· McDonalds fries their hamburgers and is losing market share.
· Burger King grills their hamburgers but apparently uses a Microwave to warm them up. Also losing market share.
· McDonalds and Burger King are fighting the market share battle over price.
· Wendy's has an adult menu that they don’t discount and they are increasing market share.
The strategy is now shaping up. The positioning for the new hamburger stand is opposite of the big guys—develop an “adult” burger that is both big and healthy. It is 100% real beef. Charge $3.95 for it. Decorate the restaurant like a 50’s diner completely unlike the chain stores with their plastic seats and plastic food.
Before any investment in made, a final survey is done on the target audience—teenagers and adults. They love the idea and further said that they are real tired of small burgers with no taste.
Then the restaurant is built with a menu featuring “big burgers that are 100% beef and grilled to order just like dad does them on the Barbeque.”
Public relations, with articles placed in local papers and a burger tasting contest, is used to launch the campaign—then followed by advertising. It is a howling success.
Know before you go by getting scientific market research completed prior to working out the strategy or campaign.
Update: Although this article was “invented” several years ago to demonstrate a marketing concept, it seems like a strategy like this worked. Consumers made the Six Dollar Burger™ (it actually costs around $3.95) from Carl’s Jr. hamburger chain (and sister company Hardee’s) a hit. It even won an industry award. They also added a low carb version of it.

____________________________________________________________
This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact:
Mr. Hay founded Expansion Plus where he is now CEO and Senior Creative Director. Expansion Plus are marketing and public relations consultants with special focus on market research, surveys, media planning, public relations, Internet marketing and advertising campaigns. Doug has held senior management positions in marketing, sales and business development at large and small organizations in the US and abroad. He is a top-performing professional with proven abilities gained through four decades of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, public relations, sales and management. Doug can be reached at 818-285-6786, email: dough@expansionplus.com. www.expansionplus.com

© Copyright 2004 Douglas A. Hay. All Rights Reserved.

To subscribe go to: http://www.expansionplus.com/marketing_tips/index.html

To unsubscribe, please reply with unsubscribe in the subject line.

10 Ways to Increase Your Subscriber List

2004-06-27T09:46:00.000-07:00

Marketing Tips:
10 Ways to increase your subscriber list
by Doug Hay

One of the most effective ways to promote a business is to send them an email newsletter—just like this one. Or you can print, and mail it which is more expensive as you have the printing and postage costs. A newsletter has many advantages as a marketing tool:
- It has more credibility than advertising or other forms of promotion such as a brochure as it is educational not a sales pitch. It falls into the realm of public relations.
- The newsletters cost nothing to send as email.
- The newsletters can be printed hard copy to include in sales presentations.
- Newsletters can be edited and turned into news releases (articles) to be sent to the media to get publicity.
Of course, you need email addresses to send the newsletter. Here are ten ways to increase your subscriber list:
1. Content, content, content! The content of your newsletter is the key to expanding your list of subscribers. You want to create an “idea virus” that others will be so interested in the content that they can’t wait for the next issue and will want to forward it to their friends and assocaites. Make your content timely and interesting. In our over communicated society your message has to be worthwile enough to spend time to read. Keep in mind that business owners and managers are most often trying to increase sales and profits. What can you write that will help them do that?
2. Offer a free subscription to your newletter on your web site. Have the link to the subscription page on all your web pages. Make it simple and easy to enroll. The free subscription is the “front end” of your offer. The “back end” is the readers becoming interested in buying your product or service.
3. Make it a practice to collect identities in all your business dealings. Collect business cards when you attend lunch or a networking event. Send them an email to confirm your meeting and invite them to subscribe to your newsletter. Provide the link to your web site like this one: http://www.expansionplus.com/marketing_tips/index.html
4. Get free mailing lists, write letters or send personal emails to them and use the free newsletter as your offer. E.g. you could contact your trade association, Chamber of Commerce or networking group and get their mailing list. As your budget permits, rent mailing lists but ensure that they target your demographic.
5. Encourage your subscribers to forward it to others. Use wording something like this: “Please feel free to forward this to your friends and associates by selecting the forward button on your e-mail.”
6. Publishing schedule. Keep a regular schedule of publication. If you are offering a monthly newsletter, then make it monthly.
7. Add your free subsciption information to your email signature. E.g. “Free newsletter available at www.expansionplus.com”
8. Offer free reprint rights for your newsletter to others which will get it published in other newsletters or articles. I use this wording ”This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact: …”
9. List integrigty. Have a privacy policy and enforce it.
10. Add the newsletters to your web site which increases the content and will help improve search engine rankings. With more people coming to your web site, they are good prospects to enroll.
Keep increasing the subscriber list of prospects and of course stay in touch with them through regular newsletters and other mailings. This is not a quick fix to generate fast sales but it will eventually develop good quaility prospects. By the time they call you they will already know you through your writings which is a great start in developing trust with your prospect.

This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact:
Mr. Hay founded Expansion Plus where he is now CEO and Senior Creative Director. Expansion Plus are marketing and public relations consultants with special focus on market research, surveys, media planning, public relations, Internet marketing and advertising campaigns. Doug has held senior management positions in marketing, sales and business development at large and small organizations in the US and abroad. He is a top-performing professional with proven abilities gained through four decades of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, public relations, sales and management. Doug can be reached at 818-285-6786, email: dough@expansionplus.com. www.expansionplus.com

© Copyright 2004 Douglas A. Hay. All Rights Reserved.

To subscribe go to: http://www.expansionplus.com/marketing_tips/index.html

Marketing Tips: Some are born great

2004-06-23T10:32:00.000-07:00

Marketing Tips
"Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some hire public relations officers."- Daniel J. Boorstin
by Doug Hay

From my experince the most successful marketing and public relations campaigns are ones that have a number of coordinated actions. It is unlikely that just one promotional item will result in a continual influx of new customers, satisfied current customers and overall increased profits. So don’t restrict your expansion by limiting your strategies.
If you have not yet attained greatness, then you can probably use some public relations help. In Al and Laura Ries’s recent book, The Fall of Advertising and the Rise of PR, the bestselling authors and marketing strategists of some fame emphasize that “major brands are born with publicity, not advertising”. They present a strong case that the most successful modern brands found this to be true. It seems that an astonishing number of brands, including Palm, Starbucks, the Body Shop, Wal-Mart and Red Bull have been built with virtually no advertising.
The basic premise is that advertising lacks credibility—the crucial factor in brand building. New products should be launched with a PR campaign that provides that much needed integrity. Of course, PR is not usually a fast fix but more likely and preferably a slow build up—thus adequate time is needed to roll out an effective PR campaign. If one is likely enough to have a celebrity (as in movie release publicity), then the publicity can kick in a lot faster as they can garner national media attention and a lot of it. However for the rest of us mortals, we need to plan for adequate time to get the message across in sufficient volume to generate recognition leading to brand awareness, then acceptance.
Once the brand is established, then advertising can be used which is exactly what Wal-Mart does now. They garnered the low price positioning and now use advertising to support that position in the market place. Their advertising campaign works well as it follows exactly the brand positioning (i.e. low prices) created in the publicity campaign. Their getting to the top of the Fortune 500 list and staying there is no accident.
Often, new product launches fail as advertising is tried first—then PR tries to pick up the pieces—wrong sequence, don’t do it. The only exception to this is when you are using direct response advertising like an infomercial—which I consider the most effective form of advertising.
The Internet has substantially changed the way marketing is done—ignore it at your peril. One of most simple and cost effective ways to launch a public relations campaign is by doing email marketing such as a regular newsletter. The newsletter that can contain offers for product sales are hands down better than sending out a brochure. It is also a lot less expensive as there are no printing costs or postage.
So save yourself a lot of money and use newsletters as a key part of your marketing campaign. It is a simple and effective way to keep your name in front of your customers as well as your prospects. Popular newsletters will get passed on to others who then become subscribers—thus ever building your mailing list. I find the newsletters I am most interested in are ones that solve a problem or educate me in an area of strong interest. The bottom line is staying in good communication with your customers-past, present and future.
Finding an efficient way to send your newsletters by email plus keeping your database organized can be a challenge. I recommend a web service like Constant Contact http://cc.roving.com/index.shtml who have this all figured out and it is inexpensive.
So unless you were born great, use PR to build your brand and make your cash register sing.

This article may be reprinted in its entirety provided that the following resource box is left intact:
Mr. Hay founded Expansion Plus where he is now CEO and Senior Creative Director. Expansion Plus are marketing and public relations consultants with special focus on market research, surveys, media planning, public relations, Internet marketing and advertising campaigns. Doug has held senior management positions in marketing, sales and business development at large and small organizations in the US and abroad. He is a top-performing professional with proven abilities gained through four decades of experience in B2B and B2C marketing, public relations, sales and management. Doug can be reached at 818-285-6786, email: dough@expansionplus.com. www.expansionplus.com

© Copyright 2004 Douglas A. Hay. All Rights Reserved.

A New Broom Sweeps Clean

2004-06-03T12:44:00.000-07:00

I now exist! Which is to say I'm coming out of Non-Existence. More on that later. My first entry in this new blog.