Posts Tagged ‘Marketing Communications’

Hopefully something men and women can enjoy together, Kathy Ireland will be on stage at the Indianapolis Home Show on Saturday, January 21. If you are male and grew up in the 80′s, like me, you will likely know that Kathy Ireland was a swimsuit model for Sports Illustrated.

However, what you might not know is she launched her own line, Kathy Ireland Home®. Kathy Ireland Home® works to offer both home solutions and products to make your personal spaces your home. Her products include everything from indoor and outdoor accessories to furniture, fabrics and home décor trimmings such as decorative pillows, clocks and area rugs.

So, could 2012 Indianapolis Home Show tickets be an excellent stocking stuffer for men AND women? I think so. Oh, and don’t wait to buy tickets at the door — buy tickets online and save!

I recently read a story about the demise of PR firms in our local Sunday paper. The article discussed how PR firms need to keep up with times and are slowly closing shop, due in large part because they can’t keep up with new technology and the ever changing marketing world.

We get the “has YOUR business changed?” question a lot and the obvious answer is “yes.”

In fact, to showcase how our business has changed since we started back in 1985 as a PR firm, (and I should note that we are now a marketing communication firm) below are ten marketing tools I have discussed with various clients in various industries in the past 24 hours.

1) SMS Marketing — Remember when you wouldn’t give out your email to any company wishing to sign up for their service? Fast forward ten years and welcome to the world of SMS marketing. Giving out your cell number to any company, giving that company permission to text your phone is a tough call.  Companies engaging in SMS marketing need to make sure your content is relevant, timely and usable to the end user.

2) QR Codes — Are we really that lazy? Yes! When it comes to marketing, automating “calls to action” and saving your potential or existing target audience time can be the difference between gaining and losing a long-term customer.

3) Blogs — SEO. That’s really all there is to say. If you aren’t blogging, start. Content is still king.

4) Video on websites — Yes, the world has changed. We no longer have the time to read 1999 websites with loads of text. Sure content is still king for SEO, but video can be dual- effect of telling your story visually and enhancing SEO.

5) Media Relations  — The Indianapolis Home Show will be kicking off their 90th edition at the Indiana State Fairgrounds in 2012. The show will be bigger and better than before. Stay tuned for more details.

6) Printed Brochures — Printed brochures still can have a powerful effect on potential customers. Sure we live in a digital world, but the sense of touch is still alive and kicking.

7) Customized Demographic Online Banner Advertising — No longer do you have to place a banner on a specific site, hoping the ad will have some impact on your target audience. Are you targeting mothers with babies, making over 75k and living in Zip Code 46220? The solution is customized demographic online banner advertising.

Word of Mouth Marketing — It happens everyday, but how should companies track it.? And what are evangelists and how do companies identify this group? Coles Marketing is one of the only firms in Indiana trained in effective Word of Mouth Marketing. It’s a proven method that yields results for our clients and companies around the world.

9) An On-Hold Greeting — Call it old fashion, but a recorded phone greeting can be the first impression of your company. Whether your recording your message or answering the phone; be polite, informative and enthusiastic.

10) Billboard Advertising — A proven method of branding your company. Be short and grab their attention. Remember the average driver has 3 seconds to take in your message. There is nothing worse than driving by a billboard crammed with information. Save it for a print ad!

As a marketing firm, we have more tools in our toolbox than ever before. I wouldn’t call that “demise,” I  call it “opportunity.” And we certainly couldn’t keep up with these changing times without having a dedicated and talented staff ,working together to keep our clients top of mind.

Yesterday, we discussed how difficult it is to define what we do in one or two sentences. While it may be hard to describe what you do, it’s likely that everyone has a mission statement.  We recently completed a project with Sourwine Real Estate Services. The goal was to put their mission statement into an “elevator speech.”

Click on the video below to view their “elevator speech.” And check out their entire web site, including available office space, by clicking on this link.

One common question among friends, colleagues and potential clients is "what do you do?" You would think it's an easy answer, and in some cases it is. For instance, "I am a plumber" or "I am an electrician" are pretty self explanatory.  But, what about "I am in marketing" or "I am in marketing communications"?  It's sometimes hard to boil our type of business down to one or two sentences. In 1985, Coles Marketing started out as a public relations firm.  As growth occurred and client requests changed, we adapted and grew. Along the way, we added media buying services and a creative department. Recently, I ran across a term that will give you a better understanding of how our business has changed in recent years.

A definition of content marketing is below from Wikipedia.

"Content marketing is an umbrella term encompassing all marketing formats that involve the creation or sharing of content for the purpose of engaging current and potential consumer bases. Content marketing subscribes to the notion that delivering high-quality, relevant and valuable information to prospects and customers drives profitable consumer action. Content marketing has benefits in terms of retaining reader attention and improving brand loyalty."

Wikipedia continues with the following information.

"Many content marketers choose to create new information and share it via any and all media. Content marketing products frequently take the form of custom magazines, print or online newsletters, digital content, websites or microsites, white papers, webcasts/webinars, podcasts, video portals or series, in-person roadshows, roundtables, interactive online, email, events."

So while we maintain our roots as a traditional public relations and advertising firm, gaining credibility and reach for our clients.  We also realize the importance of maintaining and/or retaining brand loyalty. At Coles Marketing, we continue to stay on top of the latest marketing trends and adapt and grow with our clients. And in this ever adapting world, we don't mind adding a couple more sentences to our "what we do" explanation.

Are your e-newsletters stale?  If the answer is yes, you are not alone.  In today’s fast-paced, ever-evolving marketing world it’s a challenge to keep your audience engaged. 

At Coles Marketing Communications, we develop campaigns to keep your audience engaged.  Our philosophy is “content is king,” no matter what the marketing medium. 

As a full service marketing communications company, we have the capability to research, write, design, shoot video, track email campaigns and keep the conversation going after the campaign has been completed.  We recently rolled out a twice a month email campaign to central Indiana golfers, which offers video tips from the Pro and specials to five RN Thompson Golf courses.  The courses include: Ironwood Golf Course, Winding Ridge Golf Course, Smock Golf Course, Southern Dunes Golf Course and Gray Eagle Golf Course.

Readers are engaged with updated material, weekly specials (offering some of the cheapest golf rates in central Indiana) and quality video golf tips from Scott Morris (PGA Pro) to keep golfers on top of their game.

If you’re interested in receiving the newsletter, visit the RN Thompson web site to sign up.