Archive for the ‘Branding’ Category
How much does a house cost? A car? A doggie in the window? If you were going by averages, the answers are simple: $235,000, $16,400 and $249. Yet we know that averages don’t tell the whole story. Although a new Mercedes or old Rolls Royce might be five times the cost of a new Chevrolet, to say that any of these is not ‘worth it,’ ignores the reality that perceived value depends on one’s needs, wants, credit limits and perhaps a dozen other factors. Like your income.
Yet, many believe that there’s an easy answer to questions related to marketing budgets. How much is a logo? What percentage of revenue should you spend on advertising? On a marketing plan? On PR? Again the averages are easy: $5,000, 3%, $8,000 and $2,500 a month. So there you have it. Marketing budgets for everyone… until you consider unique circumstances like your form of business, the growth rate of your market, how fast you want to grow, competitive environment, product or service and…your budget. So many businesses want great marketing, but have come to believe that it’s not ‘worth it,’ when the truth of the matter is, they just don’t know what’s appropriate for their business.
You can get fine marketing for $5,000 a year, just like you can get a fine car for $5,000. Fine brochures or Web sites can be developed for $1,000. But, such budgets may not accomplish your goals. Further, many confuse marketing infrastructure, generally one-time costs like corporate identity, branding, market planning and design, with ongoing costs such as advertising, public relations or direct marketing. Some costs are investments like the selling price of a house or car, which need to be amortized over several years. Others are ongoing expenses, much like fuel, maintenance costs and insurance.
Further, people sometimes confuse a medium with a message. We often hear that ‘advertising doesn’t work.’ Or ‘we tried seminars and didn’t get any business from them.’ Does this mean that advertising and seminars are ineffective? Or could it be the content, message or target audience are wrong? Maximizing your marketing depends on good strategy and branding as well as solid tactics.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Tuesday, June 23rd, 2009
Branding, Marketing, Pittsburgh, Public Relations, Sales No Comments
Sometimes even great brands can take on a life of their own. See what happens when Green meets Guinness. And, check out the article on using G.O.L.D. methods to engage your customers.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Tuesday, March 17th, 2009
Branding, Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
Andy Warhol laid claim to the democratization of fame. Now that social networks like Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn and MySpace have given everyone their “15 minutes” and more, it’s become a new game: managing your role as media moguls. As everyone with a Web site and blog becomes their own media outlet, there’s now a gazillion markets of one.
Branding evolved as a way to capitalize on the power of the mass market. Because so few had access to the masses, it was realistic to create mega brands through advertising on a few media channels. Large companies could actually convince us how great they and their products were. Now, everyone’s in the media business and familiar with the Immutable Laws of Marketing and influencing consumers has moved quickly from direct to influencer-based.
Critics have always filled an important role in popular culture, helping consumers navigate the miasma of options of just about every product there is. Rating systems like Zagat’s Guide, Wine Advocate and Consumer Reports helped institutionalize the role of ‘experts.’ Now, every consumer is a critic, able to get their opinion distributed, and able to have an effect.
Blogs are now the center of a new form of evaluation of everything from sites to journalism itself, helping recreate a tribal society where we interact in real time with members of affinity groups. Traditional brands have become less effective as a new genre of “Blink” consumers decide what products and services to buy, not because they love the brand but because they heard about it from their social network or were trained to use it by the provider. As markets splinter into subgroups, affinity groups, niches and market segments, branding has become a custom business, dependant on managing perceptions through networks.
The implication for branding is clear. Brands need to be geared more toward helping people make choices, not about making claims. Differentiation has become a job of education and training. Apple stores aren’t staffed by sales people. They’re consultants, helping consumers navigate and use their products better. It’s become instruction-based sales, so that each customer is now ‘trained’ to use a particular platform. Getting thumbs up from blogmiesters also requires more attention to these ‘influencers.’ Bloggers are the new press. These armchair media moguls need to be treated like they matter. Because they do.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Wednesday, March 11th, 2009
Branding, Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
The products that change lives are actually brands. Dan illustrates the strong association we have with brands and how to develop that same bond with your customers. Click here to watch the video.
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Wednesday, March 4th, 2009
Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Pittsburgh No Comments
Dan Droz is Chairman and CEO of Droz & Associates: Marketing, Branding, Design, Public Relations, Advertising, Web Design, Interactive Marketing for Pittsburgh and surrounding regions.
Monday, February 9th, 2009
Branding, Design, Marketing, Pittsburgh, Public Relations, Sales No Comments