Tag: Brand Awareness

Trending from G/L: Building a soccer brand from scratch with LAFC

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Building a soccer brand from scratch with LAFC

Advertising

Soccer is continuing to grow at a rapid pace in the United States. More than 25 million viewers saw the United States defeat Japan in the Women’s World Cup this past summer. There are more than four million registered players at all ages throughout the country. And Major League Soccer, the country’s biggest professional league, has expanded from 10 teams in 2004 to 20 this season.

That expansion will continue with Atlanta joining the league in 2017 and a new Los Angeles club joining the mix in 2018. Franchises in Miami and Minneapolis are also on the horizon. MLS Commissioner Don Garber even visited St. Louis earlier this year, although no expansion into the Gateway City is imminent.

Los Angeles is an interesting case, which is back in the spotlight this week. The new team officially announced that their name will be Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), which was the placeholder name dating back to the team’s initial announcement last year. While many MLS clubs have American-style names such as the Chicago Fire, the Portland Timbers and the Los Angeles Galaxy, many of the expansion sides have opted for the more traditional soccer naming and branding, including Real Salt Lake, Toronto FC and New York City FC.

Interestingly enough, while the Galaxy was one of the ten founding MLS clubs when the league began in 1996, this is the first season LA has been back to one team. A previous LA-based team, Chivas USA, was formed in 2005 and ceased operations last year, paving the way for LAFC. Chivas USA, which was owned for a time by Chivas de Guadalajara in Mexico, failed primarily because it failed to attract a significant Hispanic audience, which was the club’s key target.

Now LAFC, despite being just under three years away from their first game, is hitting the ground running early on their marketing efforts.

Their key demographic: Millennials.

Already, the club is stating their intentions to distinguish the team from what’s already out there, according to Rich Orosco, the club’s head of marketing for culture and community:

“They don’t want to be talked at,” Orosco says of millennials who, studies show, are 16% more interested in soccer than any other U.S. demographic. “So from Day 1 that’s all we’re doing. We’re opening up a dialogue with this exact fan base: ‘Let’s talk about this.’

These insights are certainly important. And having a defined target audience is a critical part of any brand launch. However, there has already been some blowback on the organization for their approach. One Twitter feed is aimed directly at the club’s attempts to win over young fans.

The seed of this discontent probably comes from how terms like millennials (or hipsters for that matter) can be used to produce widespread misconceptions. Our Mary Sawyer looked closely at this disconnect in a post last month:

And as Mary says in that post:

“The key is to know your facts but to tailor your approach – no matter the age group – to accurately reflect opinions and behaviors to make your marketing relevant and meaningful.”

Whether LAFC will be a hit with the Angelino youths remains to be seen. Regardless, whether you’re discussing a soccer brand, a consumer product or a business-to-business message, having a targeted approach based on research and data is the best way to plan for success.

What are your thoughts on LAFC’s approach to building a soccer brand? Think they’re doing it the right way or are they casting too broad of a net? Let us know your thoughts!

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Trending from G/L: Will You Be My Emoji Marketing Brand Bae?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Will You Be My Emoji Marketing Brand Bae?

Advertising

In the advertising and marketing world, we speak constantly about our desire to connect with our target audience. We strive to create words, videos and experience that resonate with the people we’re trying to reach. We make every effort to make it mean something.

But in this quest to communicate with people, some brands end up missing the mark. The message comes off as forced. They use the wrong emoji (gasp!).

Ah yes, emojis. Our trusted friend and mortal enemy rolled into one crying sleeping smile…or something.

A recent article expresses some of the biggest concerns with emoji marketing:

But, you know what I see? Desperate brands.

Brands looking at the short-term game instead of the long-term play.

Brand that are so desperate to connect with younger audiences they’ll do virtually anything.

Like creating an entire news release out of emojis.

So yeah, like with any trend, some brands took it too far. But does that mean that the entire “trend” is dead? Nope.

The biggest issue with emoji marketing is how they’re used. If you’re a consumer-facing brand with a younger digitally savvy audience, then it might make sense. If you’re a more business-to-business brand communicating through traditional marketing channels, then there may be other options to consider.

Here’s a good overview of how emoji marketing works and some more in-depth insights:

We all want authentic communication from those we speak to both online and off.

Defining your social media voice and tone—then staying true to it no matter what communication changes come and go—can help keep that authenticity strong.

And, like with any kind of marketing, when it’s done well, it can make a splash. Domino’s tweet ordering is one example that definitely makes sense for their brand.

Emoji Marketing

What are some examples of emoji marketing that hit the mark? Or, in your opinion, what are some icons that fell flat? Feel free to send us a note with your thoughts!

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Trending from G/L: Are Craft Sodas about to pop?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Are Craft Sodas about to pop?

Advertising

Because the world needs more snobs, Pepsi is planning to launch a line of craft sodas called “Stubborn Soda”—but wait there’s more—it will be dispensed from pub-reminiscent taps. Flavors include black cherry with tarragon, classic root beer, lemon berry acai, pineapple cream, agave vanilla cream, and orange hibiscus, which I’m pretty sure is a flower.

Craft Soda

Now, this is an obvious nod to the craft beer market, so let’s head down that road. Craft beer is sort of an arbitrary term, but generally speaking, it’s beer that’s been produced by a microbrewery in less than corporate-sized quantities. Microbreweries generally pride themselves on their ability to concoct personalized takes on established brew styles—like a pale ale or a stout.

So what makes craft sodas…craft?

I find it hard to believe that Pepsi won’t mass-produce these suckers, so the idea of a micro-soda-manufacturer is out of the question. Maybe quality? The Stubborn brand will boast “fair trade certified cane sugar and natural flavors,” so maybe it truly is a step up from the high fructose corn syrupy stuff we’ve been guzzling the past few decades. That being said, Pepsi’s throwback line of cans featured cane sugar, so Stubborn isn’t quite avant-garde enough to be dubbed an innovation in the soft drink industry.

It’s safe to assume Pepsi’s become self-aware of its flagship product’s decline in popularity—and it’s not just Pepsi—I’m talking soda in general. For a while, large soda manufacturers had the all-too-handy diet soda crutch to lean on in times of need. No longer. Diet beverage sales are down more than 20 percent since their peak in 2009 because of health concerns with the zero-calorie beverage’s sketchy chemical makeup.

Instead of launching a ritzier line of soft drinks like Pepsi, Coca-Cola is funding the Global Energy Balance Network—an organization that argues poor diet isn’t to be blamed for rampant obesity. Instead, they advocate the theory that inactivity alone is the main culprit of obesity in America. Really, Coke?

Coca-Cola’s approach may seem massively different than Pepsi’s, but at the end of the day, the soda giants are attempting to broadcast the same message: Soda is still a sensible consumable.

Okay, the soda giants are scrambling, so what? My main point is this:

Just as Pepsi and Coke are doing, mature brands need to make moves. Remaining stagnant and weathering the steady decline of a product in hopes of a chance revival at a later date isn’t sufficient for any sized company let alone the likes of Pepsi and Coca-Cola. Follow the lead of the big guys—they know what they’re doing. Except green-lighting that flower-flavored soda, maybe.

G/L deals with everything from new product launches to mature brand extensions. If you’re dealing with either or anything in between, give us a call. We’ll be happy to answer any questions you’ve got.

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Trending from G/L: Are Facebook’s Office Perks the Height of Company Culture?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Are Facebook’s Office Perks the Height of Company Culture?

Advertising

Out in Silicon Valley, average annual salaries are about $195,000, and even interns tend to pocket $6000 per month. In an arena where money is hardly an object, what’s a company to do to entice sharp minds to join their team?

One word: Perks. And lots of them.

Just take a look at what Facebook has done to create the ideal work environment for their employees:

Let’s whet your appetite with a little food talk, shall we? Gourmet food courts and private chefs can be found across campus, catering to any craving or diet needs imaginable. It’s a feast of kings within your grasp every day, absolutely free.

Of course, what responsible company would offer such variety of delicious flavors without a way to burn off the extra calories? At Facebook, a fully loaded gym and rock-climbing wall provide an outlet to keep employees happy and healthy, complete with an array of fitness and rock-climbing classes. Even the commute across campus allows for a little exercise with a fleet of bikes available for any Facebook employee to pick up and ride on.

For those times when employees hit a mental roadblock, or just need a break from the daily grind, Facebook has artistic outlets to keep those creative juices flowing. Their analogue research lab art studio is available for anyone to pop in and create their own works of art. A music room, complete with guitar amps and a grand piano, is open for anyone looking for a midday jam session. And according to Facebook employees, taking this chance to tune out other distractions can be a huge boon in figuring out challenges in their work lives.

But in today’s highly connected digital age, there may be no greater perk at Facebook than not receiving any flak for being on Facebook all day. It’s all part of the job, keeping a finger on the pulse of this social media empire they’ve created.

Facebook realizes that for their business to succeed, they need to prioritize a company culture of taking care of their own, making Facebook an exciting place to come to work at every morning and grow a lasting career. Obviously, not every company out there can afford such luxuries for their employees. But even stocking the fridge for a beer thirty with the crew or throwing a company-wide luau once in a while can really help rally the troops together, and keep your employees motivated to excel. After all, inspired work flows from inspired individuals.

Drop us a line and tell us what you’re doing to keep that spark going in your company’s culture and keeps your employees coming back for more.

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7 Examples of Horrible Marketing Advice

Luke Smith
Senior Account Executive

7 Examples of Horrible Marketing Advice

Advertising

As marketers, we all want to be innovators and bring the next big idea to our clients to move the needle for their brand(s). But sometimes not all ideas are good ideas. Some marketing ideas do not align with a brand’s creative and messaging strategy, other ideas might not resonate with an audience.

We’ve compiled a list of some less-than-sound (i.e. horrible marketing advice) ideas out there to provide examples of what not to do when it comes to planning your marketing efforts.

1) If you’re trying to build awareness, advertise everywhere you can.

If you’re trying to build buzz or awareness for your new brand/product, it’s important to plan, strategize and understand your audience first. Focus on who will care about your brand and where you can reach them, not how quickly you can reach anyone and everyone. A key step to marketing success is making sure that your messages are targeted and efficient.

2) You need to be on this social media platform.

The marketing landscape has changed significantly over the past 10 years, but just because there is a new, trendy social media platform, does not mean that you need to be there. Granted, you don’t always need to be on the same social channels as your customers (consider where you might find new customers and opportunities), but if you are marketing a product that appeals to a 70+ crowd, chances are you don’t need to be on Instagram or Snapchat. Focus on participating on social channels that will be an extension of your brand and help your business flourish.

3) If you buy an email list you’ll have better email performance.

Buying an email list will definitely grow your distribution channel for direct digital marketing, but it doesn’t mean that the recipients will find your content relevant. If you choose to purchase an email lists, it should be one that is appropriate for your business. Even better, activate and focus on direct outreach through current customers or interested parties that sign up for your mailings on their own. Organic growth is ideal- this means that they want to hear from you.

4) Long lead forms are always worse than short forms.

Long online lead forms can be tedious and time-consuming. That’s a good thing. If your goal is to generate new customers, would you rather have a solid lead or a lead that might not truly be interested in your offerings? You shouldn’t necessarily make the lead jump through too many hoops to get more information, but weeding out the unqualified leads with some detailed questions will produce concrete leads that are truly engaged in what you have to offer.

5) Asking for likes, retweets or shares makes your brand look desperate.

Trying to get the word out? Asking for people to share and repost your content does not have to translate as desperation. In fact, some of the greatest online campaigns are successful due to concise and clear calls-to-action. If that CTA is having others share your content- then so be it! Tying a prize or some sort of incentive to sharing will produce more results and success. You will get more shares if you just ask.

6) You don’t need a responsive website design.

Mobile and tablet internet use have now surpassed internet use on a standard laptop or home computer. If you have a CBD company for example, and you’re not prepared to integrate a responsive design with the help of a CBD Website Design Company, it can lead to frustrated visitors and a bad user experience. This will also reflect poorly on your brand. You wouldn’t want to purchase products from a brand that has a terrible website design, would you? When you are building or redesigning your website, responsive design should be a priority. If you do not have enough resources or manpower to accomplish this task, you can think of outsourcing this work to a reputed digital marketing firm like Hooked Marketing. They can help in delivering a high-quality professional website design for your business.

7) More personalization will garner a better response.

Sometimes too much personalization can come off as a bit intrusive. It’s important to know the customers, recipients and targets for your outreach efforts, but focusing on finding the right balance of friendliness and personalization (within reason) and not coming off too stalker-ish will be key. Make sure not to include everything you know about your customer.

If you would like some GOOD marketing advice instead of horrible marketing advice, please reach out to us. We’re here to help your brand reach it’s potential and provide advice on utilizing the right marketing tools to guide you to success.

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Find Your Why: Make It Mean Something

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

Find Your Why: Make It Mean Something

Advertising

Those four words are really the credo of Geile/Leon. They didn’t exist until about four years ago. Our management and new business team had been discussing the Simon Sinek book Start With Why. We wanted to incorporate the G/L why into our culture and our brand offering. We wanted to discover the Why for ourselves, and develop a process for helping clients discover their “why”.

Make It Mean Something

As we discovered firsthand, finding your “why” requires some real introspection and looking hard at yourself in the mirror. The objective of our meetings were to fill out the golden circle that Sinek refers to in his book. And as we found out, it didn’t take us long to nail down the first two questions posed.

  • What do you do?
  • How do you do it differently?

But the most enlightening and satisfying part of the process was also the most challenging and it took some real brainpower. It was when we discovered and articulated the G/L Why. It took much discussion and we asked ourselves two questions.

  • Why do we exist?
  • Why do we come to work everyday?

Pretty thought-provoking questions, but they helped us dig deep to get to that important answer to why G/L does what it does. I guess I should share it with you.

The G/L Why: MAKE IT MEAN SOMETHING

G/L believes that every organization has a deeper purpose and it’s the agency’s role to help those clients discover it. By identifying, defining, and exposing that deeper sense of purpose, organizations can attract buyers that believe what they believe.

Once the organization’s purpose has been identified, G/L can create work that changes behaviors and builds relationships. Building relationships between brand and consumer that truly mean something, and cause buyers to make decisions that will benefit them, and ultimately, our clients.

Whatever we do, whatever we say, whatever media vehicle we choose, we make it mean something. The words, pictures, music, motion, emotion and opportunities we use to reach people need to mean something to them…something that will in some way benefit them…and enable them to do something, know something, be something, have something better than what they have now.

These six sentences drive everything we do here at Geile/Leon. They impact who we hire, clients we target, processes we put in place, our culture, our work, our decision –making, and our role in the community. It’s been inspiring and empowering in how we position ourselves. When I walk into a new business meeting or someone asks me about Geile Leon, I do what Simon Sinek’s book says and I start with why. You should try it and G/L can help you get started. When you come to our office, you’ll know exactly why you did.

Make It Mean Something

If you are looking for a more emotional way to communicate with your target audience and employees, contact us using the form below.

 

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Find Your Why: No One Rallies Around Mission Statements, So Discover Your Purpose

Randy Micheletti
VP, Director of Brand Strategy

Find Your Why: No One Rallies Around Mission Statements, So Discover Your Purpose

B2B

Think about your liquor cabinet. Now think about that tired, dusty bottle of “Old Crow” that’s sitting on the bottom shelf. Something you glance over every once in a while but never dream of opening it or bringing it out of the shadows and into the light of day.

Pretty similar to your company’s mission statement? You felt like you had to put one together but haven’t looked at it for years. You probably can’t even quote the first sentence of it.

Well, you’re not alone. Many companies feel the need to deliver a mission statement and most do. The problem is they lose focus, make the statement way too long for any of their employees to remember, and once it’s done, house it on their web site or in a company document without ever referring to it.

If it’s not part of your daily routine and clear to your employees, then what good is it? That’s why we believe in Simon Sinek’s model – we believe that people don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it. Your why should be concise, simple and straight to the point. It has to answer several questions, most importantly, why do you get out of bed every morning and do what you do and why does your company exist? With all the competition in many categories you have to make your brand stand out. Your why can help do just that.

So, find your why, communicate it both internally and externally and see how your culture and your business changes.

I know our why – “We believe every company has a deeper purpose, and it’s our job to find out what that is.” If you’d like us to help you figure out your why, just reach out. It’s what we do – and we’re good at it.

WIN A FREE WHY BOOK

Plus, if you fill out the form below, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

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Trending Now from G/L: Jet.com wants to change the online retailers landscape

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending Now from G/L: Jet.com wants to change the online retailers landscape

Branding

The way we buy things is changing so fast that it’s nearly impossible to keep tabs on the recent trends. Companies like Uber and AirBNB have changed the way we travel. StubHub changed the way we buy event tickets. Amazon changed the way we view retail and shifted the focus for so many brick and mortar stores.

A decade from now, will Jet.com have a similar impact on the way we buy?

What is Jet.com, you might ask? Well, it’s kind of like an online version of Costco without having to buy everything in bulk. The site claims to offer prices cheaper than anywhere else on the web, as well as discounts for buying additional items. Also, free shipping at a certain threshold and free returns.

The only catch: much like a warehouse club, it costs $49.99 a year to get access to these deals. One industry insider said that “they’re spending a ton on customer acquisition” as a way to make sure they hit the ground running.

Regardless, it’s an interesting premise that seems to be equal parts Amazon and Peapod. Initially launched online in 1996, Peapod was one of the first sites to make grocery shopping accessible without leaving the house. After some initial growing pains, the company seems to be stable.

Now, back to Jet.com. Their marketing so far has included offering stock options to users to promote the site, interviews with top business publications as well as (potentially) viral videos, a la Dollar Shave Club.

One of their latest videos, which launched last week, features actor and comedian Kumail Nanjiani. It’s a pretty awesome walkthrough of how the site works with high-quality humor thrown in as well. While the video may not make or break the site, it seems like a pretty good start.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlrSKnMrI10&feature=youtu.be

And no, I’m not just saying that because I’m a huge Portlandia fan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NLggaPjDj8

What do you think? Can Jet.com take on Amazon and other online retailers heavyweights? Or will it flame out like Pets.com? Send us a note or tweet at us with your thoughts.

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Trending from G/L: What Makes Mobile Marketing Matter?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: What Makes Mobile Marketing Matter?

Advertising

The mobile platform is advertising’s newest puzzle and it’s making creatives question their storytelling tactics. With high traffic and low engagement, mobile marketing is established enough to have brands knocking at its door, but most are questioning if anyone’s even home. Mountain Dew, BBDO NY, OMD Worldwide, and Google’s Art, Copy & Code team joined forces to figure out how video advertising needs to evolve in order to be effective in a mobile setting—Unskippable Labs was born.

The collaborators took an existing television advertisement (Mountain Dew Kickstart’s “Come Alive”) and created three versions, each varying in length and content. Using YouTube TrueView (it gives viewers the option to skip ads), they monitored the viewership of each cut in an effort to understand what catches the attention of mobile viewers.

The three cuts included:

“The Original”—a traditional 30-second TV spot with a clear beginning, middle, and end.

“The Big Punch”—a 31-second mobile ad that presents the brand before the viewer has a chance to skip.

“Pure Fun”—a 93-second cut that drops viewers into the middle of the action. Here, there’s no real story arc and the brand is subtly featured throughout.

Viewers had no clear preference when viewing the three ads from desktop computers—view-through rates were nearly equal; however, on mobile, “Pure Fun” boasted a 26% higher view-through rate than the other two cuts.

Viewers watched “Pure Fun” more frequently and for longer periods of time—an average of 1 minute 9 seconds. Despite elevated viewership, brand recall (Mountain Dew) was more or less equal to the other cuts and specific product recall (Kickstart) even plummeted.

Were viewers perplexed by the randomness? Intrigued by the uncertainty of direction? Who knows? What we can conclude is that brevity isn’t a necessary component for mobile marketing as we once thought.

Previous mobile efforts prioritized engaging viewers directly with outcries of, “Hey! You there!” within the 5-second grace period before viewers have the ability to skip. Perhaps this study will spawn a new wave of mobile marketing, ultimately ditching ad norms and turning to riffs on absurdity and unpredictability.

This goes back to the idea of making consumers care and making it mean something to them. If you have concerns about getting your target audience to take notice of your brand, contact us anytime.

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Find Your Why: How? Start By Asking Questions

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Find Your Why: How? Start By Asking Questions

Advertising

Just about everyone works for something “bigger” than themselves from a literal standpoint—a corporation, for example; but how about “bigger” in a sense of significance? Finding and implementing a reason for doing—what we call a “why”— can have a tremendous impact on clients and employees.

Our “why” – Make it mean something.

It sounds simple, and in some aspects it is; but when a company implements a carefully crafted mantra into every aspect of its labor, the result is a staff that’s collectively hip to the same inspiration—an invaluable trait, not to mention a weapon competitors fear as much as they envy.

Discovering your “why” isn’t as easy as it first may seem. Shooting from the hip may result in an off-strategy approach, confusion among employees, and even criticism—external or otherwise. Here are three questions that can help you begin to pin down your “why.”

 

  • What do you do?

This one’s easy. What line of work are you in?

 

  • How do you do it?

Specifically, how do you operate? What steps do you take to ensure your company’s providing a positive work culture while meeting financial goals? If workplace culture isn’t currently a priority, head on over to our blog on how culture extends beyond the workplace.

 

  • Why do you do what you do?

Okay—this one can be tough to answer. Try thinking back to when you first broke into the industry. What drew you to your industry? If you’re in a different industry than when you were 22, what made you change? Spend a little bit of time on this one.

It’s also worth thinking about who benefits from your company’s work and how you’d like to be perceived by that group. Image is paramount to successfully marketing a brand. Step back and ask yourself if your desired image aligns with how others perceive you.

Want to find your why? Got some thoughts rolling? Jot them down below for a free consultation.

WIN A FREE WHY BOOK

Plus, if you fill out the form below, you’ll be entered to win a copy of Simon Sinek’s book Start with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action.

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