Tag: Brand Awareness

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications Wins New Business and Awards

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications Wins New Business and Awards

Branding

The year 2016 has been busy for Geile/Leon Marketing Communications so far as we proudly work with our great long-term clients and welcome a pair of terrific new clients – LCN, an industry leader in door control and Upper Iowa University, a private institution of higher education.

LCN Products, of Carmel, Ind., is an international brand of door closers and hardware that specializes in safety and security challenges. For LCN, G/L is providing strategic planning, marketing, branding and new product introduction services.

For Upper Iowa University, located in Fayette, Iowa, G/L is developing a strategic positioning and branding program that will be the basis for the institution’s future marketing and communications.

“We’ve thoroughly enjoyed working with our newest clients primarily because they’re great organizations to work with,” said Tim Leon, President and Lead Strategist at Geile/Leon Marketing Communications. “It’s our goal that every new client we bring on is the beginning of a long, productive partnership that will make both organizations stronger now and long into the future.”

And, while we don’t work for awards, it has been gratifying this year to be recognized for our efforts.

For instance, we are very pleased to have been named in the Small Business Monthly’s annual reader survey as one of the best businesses in the area. Readers named us as one of the Top 5 Marketing Firms in St. Louis.

The St. Louis Business Journal lists St. Louis advertising, marketing and public relations firms by number of employees. We’re in the Top 30 this year… not the biggest of the firms, but we’re proud of the capabilities we have to offer. Our clients know that we have most of the capabilities of much larger firms, but provide them unparalleled service, creativity and attention.

Have any questions about what we’re working on? Shoot us a note anytime:

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Behind the Scenes: Product Videos for Major Retailers (with Lincoln Electric)

Dan Diveley
VP of Business Development

Behind the Scenes: Product Videos for Major Retailers (with Lincoln Electric)

Advertising

Product videos on retailer sites lead to greater sales. I’m guessing that’s why retailers like Home Depot®, Lowe’s®, Northern® Tool and others are encouraging their suppliers to provide video and other assets. We recently had the opportunity to jump in the retail video phenomenon for our client, Lincoln Electric, a major manufacturer of welding products and related accessories.

We work with Lincoln Electric’s WTCA division, the retail side of the business. We produced several product videos, 360° videos and more than 150 still photographs which will be posted on a variety of retailer sites, big box stores, farm/ranch dealers, etc.

While my agency has produced many videos and TV spots throughout our 27 years, this was our first where the director and videographer weren’t able to directly watch the shot without eye protection.

I got a chuckle out of seeing our team in welding helmets as they directed the shots.

Lincoln Electric

Our client sells through a variety of retail outlets but not all carry the same helmets, clothing and equipment. So while shooting the videos, we had to keep track of the clothes and other items used by the talent so each video contained only the products sold by each retailer.

Welding is one of those specializations where a true welder would be quick to catch any discrepancies regarding technique, skill level or applications that a novice welder like me would not notice. So we sourced a professional welder who now teaches high schoolers the skills of the trade. Our clients at Lincoln Electric were so impressed with him and his knowledge that they donated helmets and gloves to the school as a way to help his students. Thank you Lincoln Electric!

 

lincoln electric

Alongside the product videos, we produced 25 360° videos that allow customers a view of the entire product. It’s amazing what requirements retailers have for these. Some are actual videos and others are up to 27 still shots stitched together. To accomplish these, our videographer, Steve Parisi from Frame Four Studios, built a turntable strong enough to hold the equipment, some which weigh hundreds of pounds.

PortaTorch – Lincoln Electric

To view more examples in this series, visit Retail Product Videos.

This was an amazing project for a great client that appreciates quality work. If you are needing videos to support your retail or distribution sales, please give me a call – Dan Diveley, 314-727-5850 or email me at [email protected] or fill out the form below.

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Trending from G/L: Colgate shows LGBTQ support with #SmileWithPride

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Colgate shows LGBTQ support with #SmileWithPride

Branding

It seems to be a recent trend that brands are showing their support for the LGBTQ community and this time, this minty brand took a new spin on it.

Check out Colgate’s “Smile With Pride” ad at the link included.

 

LGBTQ

Most of us have been in this kind of situation. You’re making the move to a new place and you’re unsure of the culture of the neighborhood. Will you be able to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar from the neighbors? Will they be willing to watch your dog when you’re on vacation? Most importantly, will you get along?

This commercial shows the wall of skepticism torn down by a simple smile. This Spanish ad translates to, “Sometimes you just need a smile, sometimes, all your smile needs is Colgate.” Sometimes you just need a smile. Good message, Colgate.

The Colgate ad was the first Mexican ad to feature a gay couple and was put out just weeks after the president of Mexico approved revisions to the constitution for same-sex marriage.

Pride advertising is a chance for brands to express their stance and speak their truth. When brands take a stand and share stories of diversity and equality in their advertising, consumers, especially millennial, appreciate, respond, engage in conversation and spend dollars on the brand.

The fact that this ad is relatable makes it successful. Plus, tugging at the heartstrings always gets people.

For another example of a brand that did it right, check out Honey Maid’s “This Is Wholesome” ad:

Or the Ad Council’s “Love Has No Labels” ad:

But how do these ads measure up with Bud Light’s flashy ad starring Amy Schumer and Seth Rogen at a gay wedding? In this ad, Rogen raises his bottle and says, “Bud Light proudly supports everyone’s right to marry whoever they want.” The whole ad is bold, comical and in your face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiavhnkrZRU

The whole point we’re trying to get to here is that sometimes flashy isn’t best. Show that people in the LGBTQ community are just like us. Don’t say it. Consumers want to relate to a brand and if that means using emotion to elicit a response, then go that route at all costs.

Any other feedback you have on this campaign? Shoot us a note below and we’ll be in touch.

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Top G/L Tips: Tim Leon on Brand Refresh benefits

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

Top G/L Tips: Tim Leon on Brand Refresh benefits

Branding

How is your company’s brand perceived by your target audience? Is it full of life or is time to re-energize it?

In this video, Tim Leon, president of Geile/Leon, shares his 25+ years of experience in helping companies refresh their biggest asset: the brand. He’ll walk you through the key questions that need to be asked, including:

· Why do a brand refresh?
· When does it make the most sense for your brand?
· What are the steps needed to execute it effectively?

Watch the video here:

Have any further questions? Tim is passionate about branding and would be happy to have a conversation. Contact him by phone at 314-727-5850, ext 117, email at [email protected] or use the form below.

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Top G/L Tips: Mary Sawyer on Trade Shows

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Top G/L Tips: Mary Sawyer on Trade Shows

Branding

A Trade Show PR program is a terrific way to generate buzz beyond your booth that extends long past the trade show. And the best part: PR costs very little extra in terms of time and money!

Here are a few tips on how to make it happen. Mary Sawyer, VP of PR at Geile/Leon, shares what she has learned from years of experience helping clients maximize their trade show results.

Are you planning your next big show and looking for new ideas? Mary would love to hear about your plans and offer a few suggestions. Contact her by phone at 314-727-5850, ext 116, email at [email protected] or use the form below.

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Top G/L Tips: Randy Micheletti on New Product Launches

Randy Micheletti
VP, Director of Brand Strategy

Top G/L Tips: Randy Micheletti on New Product Launches

Branding

New products launches are so exciting. But as the saying goes, you only have one chance to get it right!

Here are 6 key steps for successful product launches. Randy Micheletti, VP at Geile/Leon, shares his process to ensure every launch is successful:

Are you working on a product launch? Randy is happy to discuss your goals and make a few recommendations. Contact him by phone at 314-727-5850, ext 110, email at [email protected] or use the form below.

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Trending from G/L: Modern Family gets smart with REALTORS brand integration

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Modern Family gets smart with REALTORS brand integration

Branding

With the value of paid advertising on traditional platforms continuing to decrease, opportunities for brands to find new ways to reach their target are becoming commonplace. One of the big trends over the past year has been the rise of sponsored content and native advertising. Integrating your brand into the content of a media form as the role of digital media has evolved will most certainly continue to rise.

In both news and entertainment programming, brand-crafted messaging is now commonplace. But doing it well isn’t as simple as just creating an ad. It requires the brand itself and the content vehicle working together towards seamless integration. It requires the brand to relinquish control and allow a different set of decision-makers to take the reigns.

A recent integration on the ABC smash hit Modern Family was relatively subtle, but in a good way. The National Association of REALTORS® partnered with the show’s writers to craft the episode’s messaging, and did so without compromising the show’s entertainment value. You can view a clip from the episode here.

While the clip is a minute long, the REALTORS brand doesn’t get mentioned until the very end, and even in doing so, it’s essentially mocked by Sofia Vergara’s Modern Family character. Those are the kind of moments that internal marketing managers have traditionally been horrified of, but it works due to the connection with one of the show’s main protagonists:

With Dunphy, portrayed by actor Ty Burrell, the group sensed an opportunity: a main character on one of television’s most popular comedies who sells real estate.

“He’s now one of America’s best-loved Realtors,” said Elizabeth Mendenhall, incoming president of the association.

As Adweek points out, brand integrations aren’t a new thing, but since this one didn’t focus on a consumer product in particular and more on an organization, it definitely stood out:

“Phil Dunphy is a Realtor—he was written that way by the show’s creators,” which makes the integration seem natural, said Sean McBride, executive vice president, executive creative director at Arnold. “And the amazing character they’ve developed already embodies many of the attributes that are important in a Realtor: He’s honest, he’s helpful, he’s sincere.”

The Modern Family actor himself had this to add:

“I’ve always admired a company that allows themselves to be seen in an imperfect light or allows themselves to be poked fun at,” he said. “That’s the strongest play.”

Overall, well done. One of the big fears about sponsored content is that it will interfere with the programming and it seems like that was avoided here.

Have any questions about helping your brand stand out? Drop us a line and we’ll be happy to chat.

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You’re Never Too Small for Inbound Marketing

Dan Diveley
VP of Business Development

You’re Never Too Small for Inbound Marketing

Advertising

So much has been written about using social media to support inbound marketing. Day-to-day I speak with all size marketers, and I understand that the use of inbound marketing for smaller companies gets a little confusing. Because of this, I thought I’d pass along a real world example that was successful.

I was conducting an interview to prepare for a meeting with a manufacturer who was considering working with Geile/Leon. The prospective client provided me with several distributors to talk to, and all but one were well established in their territories and had a steady line of business generated from the traditional sales process.

One distributor I spoke with told me he contracted to sell this manufacturer’s product line two years ago. His assigned territory had not been a hot sales zone for many years, so in a way it was similar to the challenges of a new market for the manufacturer.

His first year was tough. The manufacturer’s brand wasn’t very well known in the territory—mostly due to a lack of advertising support—so it was up to the distributors to build the brand. Another issue was that there is little difference in quality, cost, and performance of this brand and the other comparable products in this category. He had considered adding more sales people, but worried about adding this additional expense while waiting for sales to grow.

Then, over the Christmas holiday he was talking to his son who was home from college. They discussed the challenges he was facing and his son said, “Most people go online to find stuff, so why don’t you do something to get them to find you?”

This was an epiphany for him – as a small marketer in a very specific business, he didn’t consider this option.

After doing some research, he decided to take the plunge and create an inbound marketing strategy, despite the fact that his distributorship is small, with just one location serving a two state area. With some marketing agency help, an inbound  marketing strategy was outlined that includes:

  • Developing personas of his customers so he had a clear understanding of who he was targeting
  • Using online ads to drive traffic to his site and increase his search placements
  • Incorporating the appropriate social media sites to promote content and interact with the target audience
  • Developing a list of key words and phrases and constantly monitoring how they are performing
  • Creating content (videos, blogs, white papers) about issues important to his target audience
  • Making the website more user-friendly, allowing customers to easily respond to offerings
  • Initiating a sales strategy to turn prospects into customers

After just six months, his new program began to bear fruit. Website visitors increased 300%, while leads from visitors resulted in increased sales – in fact, many of those leads were from companies he hadn’t pursued. And now, thanks to increasing content and improving online traffic, he has reduced his spend on online ads and pay-for-clicks because search engines are listing his site on the first page now.

This is just one example of how success can come from inbound marketing – even if you think your business is too small to benefit from it. If you dive deeper into who your audience truly is and what they are looking for, a strategic digital marketing strategy takes shape.

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Trending from G/L – Selfridges takes stand for body positivity

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L – Selfridges takes stand for body positivity

Advertising

The fashion industry is an incredibly difficult place to differentiate your brand. With so much competition, there are so many different directions to potentially go in. And yet, the beauty standards portrayed throughout the industry in media tend to strive for an ideal of beauty that is somewhat unrealistic for a majority of their audience. Body positivity is something that is discussed, but is oftentimes shuffled off to the side.

One of the first major forays into body positivity from a large brand perspective came from Dove and their Campaign for Natural Beauty. Indeed, Dove took a gamble in promoting the campaign during a Super Bowl ad, hitting audiences on one of the nation’s largest stages. The campaign evolved and had numerous offshoots and viral videos, which elevated the Dove brand to legitimately arguing for a discussion on the way we view ourselves.

And yet, for every positivity-focused campaign like that, there were moments that seemingly moved the needle backwards. An example of that came in 2013 when Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries made additional statements regarding his desire for A&F to be exclusive for the “cool kids” by limiting the sizes their clothes were offered in. Perhaps not so surprisingly, Jeffries stepped down from the company only a year later.

But the struggle for fashion-focused brands to target a wider audience has continued. People with certain body types feel excluded. Runway models continue to show that divide. And being able to tell stories of different body types is a very tricky area for a brand to hit the right tone.

Selfridges, a large British department store, seems to have hit that body positivity message in a short film that produced that focuses less on the products they offer and more on the women who wear them. It’s a very vulnerable look at five women don’t seem to fit the mold of traditional beauty, but speak eloquently on why they’re happy in their own skin.

Again, it’s a very difficult message to tell, but by allowing the women interviewed to be shown in such an uncut fashion allows us to connect with them and feel their personal body positivity. The film’s director has this to say about her inspiration:

“For so long underwear advertising has been dominated by sexualised imagery of women in heightened poses and impossible designs. When in reality, this is worlds apart from the everyday act of putting on your pants and the choices we make in the morning. I hope the film helps to cut through the noise and show amazing women appearing stripped back, as they are, speaking truthfully. All five have achieved great things and for that reason I wanted to go back to basics – finding out how they felt about themselves. I would love people to feel inspired by these women; leaving them more positive and celebratory of their own bodies.”

What did you think about the film? Let us know your thoughts here or via social media and we’d be happy to hear it.

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Winning Habits of B2B Brands

Dave Geile
Creative Director Managing Partner

Winning Habits of B2B Brands

Advertising

In B2B it isn’t always about price to your customers. You need more. In a Buyersphere Report I read recently, it cited several of the strongest attributes of B2B brands and suppliers that win business, and why customers bought from them. I cherry picked the ones we believe strongly in and apply to our own potential new business customers. Here are a few results from the study and my thoughts behind them.

Awareness

The biggest and strongest attribute was simply, “I heard of them.”  Two thirds of buyers polled said they had previous knowledge of the company selected. So get your company out there, and be seen in the right places and in front of the right people. For B2B brands, more than 75% of industrial buyers go to search engines or directly to supplier websites for information. Frankly, I found that number to be surprisingly low. But remember, not every communication you put out needs to sell something. Get people aware of your company philosophy, and tell them “why” you do what you do, not just what and how. Our company operates under a philosophy created by Simon Sinek. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.” You need to give yourself some greater value-added.

Location

Don’t sweat it, nearly 50% of B2B buyers said location was not an issue in their decision to purchase. B2B products are not location dependent. But you be the judge. After pointing that out, it was interesting the study pointed out that nearly 20% of buyers ended up buying from a supplier within a distance of about thirty miles. This may be in support of my last point below, but we try to go see clients on a regular basis, no matter where they are. For me, our product is easy to ship anywhere. We are a brand driven strategic marketing firm. An “Idea Factory” if you will, and those ideas ship nicely in a handy little zip file. But don’t let location get in the way of personal contact.

Quality

The study said that 65% agreed that their chosen supplier simply had the best product or service. Pricing was less of an issue, with nearly 50% agreeing their selected supplier did offer the lowest price. But my marketing experience of the past tells me, you don’t want to be the lowest price. If customers are always shopping you on cost alone, you are just a commodity. You need to have added value, a unique selling proposition, a strong brand and employees who deliver on the brand. Then you can offer the highest value, not the lowest price.

Understanding

This was the fourth most cited reason for awarding business. The study said nearly 60% of buyers said the final selection of the winning supplier was because they understood their needs, and their business, better than the others. So do your homework. Go in with a full grasp and understanding of what your potential customers “pain” is, then take a look at what you have in your portfolio that will fix the problem for them. We have worked in many distribution channels of all types, done new product naming and launching, corporate images and market brand positioning. We have made huge efforts to go deep into B2B brands to find their “why” and their unique selling position.  But even after all this, we will never know our clients business as well as they do, so we don’t act like it. But we do know marketing and brand positioning, and these basic principles apply to most any B2B business.

The human touch

Don’t underestimate it. In a world of digital communication, it can make all the difference. The Buyersphere Study asked respondents about what their most memorable communication during the buying process was. For 88% that communication came from the winning supplier, and most mentioned personal contact even if it was by phone.

Want to help your B2B brands get to the next level? Contact us and we’ll be happy to help.

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