Tag: Brand

Real Price Transparency in Healthcare – I’ve seen it!

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

Real Price Transparency in Healthcare – I’ve seen it!

Branding

A recent blog article from The Advisory Board summed up the conundrum healthcare organizations face when it comes to price transparency:

“When patients search for the cost of an upcoming procedure, they typically find the average price for the service. Unfortunately, this information fails to reflect the actual patient obligation. This type of inaccurate estimate can decrease volumes and patient satisfaction.”

Like it or not, as marketers, we have to take the confusion out of healthcare pricing, especially non-emergency procedures. It’s stressful enough for consumers to navigate the healthcare waters. There’s a tremendous opportunity to make price transparency real for patients and offer valuable information that helps them make informed healthcare decisions – while providing them much-needed peace of mind.

Slowly, healthcare organizations are introducing more patient-centric price transparency with easy-to-understand pricing information, so patients see their true financial obligation. Like it or not, that is becoming more important as high-deductible insurance becomes the norm for many healthcare plans.

I’ve seen the power of real price transparency first hand with Geile/Leon’s diagnostic imaging client Metro Imaging, who recently introduced an online pricing tool that provides patients an estimated exam cost taking into account the patient’s insurance coverage. It took me less than a minute to get my price information in a secure, private online environment. And if the patient needs what their out of pocket obligation will be, all you do is call Metro Imaging and they will calculate that expense for you.

As you can imagine, it’s exciting to have something unique and valuable to market to consumers. The television spot we developed for Metro’s upfront pricing is not over the top and the theme is simple “Clarity in Healthcare”. The message speaks for itself, so we didn’t hide it with a bunch of jargon and eye candy. It’s not necessary when you have such an impactful message and point of difference!

As a healthcare marketer, it’s been so gratifying to see what I think is the beginning of real price transparency in healthcare. And for those organizations that can develop the technology and operational changes required to offer patient-centric priding, it will be a true competitive advantage and result in overall better patient satisfaction. If you have other examples of real price transparency in healthcare, I’d love to hear from you.

Also, don’t forget to check out our brand-new healthcare white paper HERE or by filling out the form below:

Healthcare Trends

[gl-hs-form form_id=’d7272d0e-44ce-41ae-983e-f52b58f52b41′]

 

back to blog home

Mobile Apps in 2016 – The fad is over, but the market is still there

Dan Diveley
VP of Business Development

Mobile Apps in 2016 – The fad is over, but the market is still there

Advertising

The tipping point for mobile apps probably happened in October 2010 when Apple started the trademarking process for the phrase, “There’s an App for That.” Many thought apps were just a fad.

But now they have become part of the ordinary. According to technology author, Sam Castello, as of June 2015 there were 1.5 million apps available for iPhone, the iPad.

So where does that leave mobile apps?

Well, the age of weird mobile apps for the sake of being weird is probably over. Cuddlr, Cat Paint, and of course, Yo, were part of that phase. It was fun. It was weird. But people got tired of it.

Now we are living in the age of practical apps – those that can support a variety of business and marketing functions.

Something that has been growing in popularity over recent years is the idea of eCommerce – head to somewhere like Cell Phone Deal to learn more about these statistics yourself. You see, those who run physical businesses are now making the transition online, meaning that they need the relevant technology and software to be able to do this.

Are you looking for ways to reach more customers and boost the profitability of your business? If so, a mobile app may be the answer. Developing a mobile app for your business by engaging firms like https://www.expedition.co/services/design/mobile-app could prove to be a lifeline for those who want to integrate more features into the running of their businesses.

So how are companies using apps in a more practical way?

A few examples include:

Customer service

According to a survey by mobile marketing automation vendor FollowAnalytics, 38 percent of the respondents said their primarily purpose in creating an app was improving customer service. Another 12 percent said it was to foster customer loyalty, and slightly more than a quarter wanted to extend their customer experiences beyond the Web. “Customer service is the primary purpose of brands’ mobile presence,” said FollowAnalytics’ CEO Samir Addamine. Especially in eCommerce, empowering the business across multiple platforms including mobile, web, in-store, and social can work well. E-Commerce platform solutions like Demandware B2B (Salesforce Commerce Cloud) can give customers a unique and interactive shopping experience. In Salesforce, there are built-in AI and multi-lingual capabilities across all channels.

Employee engagement

As noted in a recent Forbes magazine article, “With more workers predicted to access business applications via their mobile devices in the future, HR leaders have an opportunity to use mobile technology to simplify administrative tasks, boost engagement and drive organizational effectiveness,” observed Glen Chambers in the Society for Human Resource Management’s HR Magazine.

Technical Data

Technicians in many fields could use better access to data. For example, our client, Parker Hannifin – Sporlan Division, developed a mobile app as part of their new line of Smart Tools. HVAC contractors can now read temperature and pressure levels of the air conditioning units they are servicing without bulky gauges and hoses. The app runs on a phone or tablet and displays these readings.

Is it time to make Mobile Apps your reality?

The possibilities for mobile apps to support business processes seems infinite. But before you jump into developing an app for your business, there are some important points to consider. Tom Swip, president of Swip Systems, an intelligent technology solutions company, has compiled a list of barriers to consider in his article ‘It’s Time to Make That Mobile App a Reality.’

Barrier #1 – People believe that creating a mobile app is more expensive than it really is.

Barrier #2 – People believe that their app won’t get approved in the associated app store.

Barrier #3 – People aren’t sure what platform to commit to.

Barrier #4 – People aren’t sure what type of mobile app they should build.

Swip Systems has developed several apps. If you need a help, you can contact Tom at 877.377.SWIP..

Are you ready to take the step?

As Tom states in his blog, ‘The bottom line is this. Your customers (or vendors, or employees) are waiting for you to create mobile apps that will make their lives easier. Holding back on these apps may make it appear as though you are not a forward thinking organization. We both know this isn’t true, so what are you waiting for?’

If you are considering a mobile app, here is an informative video “Making Mobile Apps a Reality”

Need help promoting your app?

And if you are developing a consumer-facing app and need help promoting it, give us a call. We’d love to show you an example of a mobile advertising program we developed to help a consumer products company successfully promote their app. Just give us a call Dan Diveley a call – 314-727-5850 – or fill out the form below.

Make 2016 your tipping point for exploring how mobile apps can move your business forward!

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

back to blog home

Trending from G/L – Best Christmas Ads 2015

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L – Best Christmas Ads 2015

Branding

Christmas and the holiday season seem to bring out the inner waterworks here at G/L. And by that we mean it’s just really dusty in here, OK? Seriously, I’m fine. Stop looking at me!

Sorry, where was I? Oh yeah, the Best Christmas ads 2015 are upon us! While the focus of most American Christmas ads seems to be pushing deals and the urgency of the holidays, some advertisers outside of the U.S. take a more long-term approach to building brand awareness and favorability.

In the United Kingdom, leading department store chain John Lewis has been creating memorable spots since 2007. With the rise of social media, the ads have achieved even more of a global audience. And with the holiday season finally here, there was pressure on the brand to step up again.

It’s fairly safe to say they’ve done it again with #ManOnTheMoon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuz2ILq4UeA

Seriously, who cut all those onions? So rude.

Not to be outdone, The Spanish Lottery went more of the Pixar route in the lead-up to their annual Christmas drawing. According to Adweek, the lottery, which dates back to 1812, is very community-focused. So with their video, they aimed to highlight that sense of togetherness.

Gahhh, so much emotion!

In all seriousness, both John Lewis and The Spanish Lottery videos make waves because they highlight the things people value most about the holiday season. While pushing deals and pressing the urgency of the holidays is important for measuring success and ROI in the short-term, these brands are focusing less on the heat of the moment and more on what caring and kindness can do year-round. They are showcasing what makes them stand out, not fit in.

We love helping brands find what helps them stand apart. And while we hope you enjoy the holiday season, once January rolls around, if you’d like to chat, feel free to contact us.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home

Giving back with Children’s Home Society

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

Giving back with Children’s Home Society

Branding

In the spirit of Making It Mean Something for the holidays, Geile/Leon staff took the afternoon of Wednesday, November 25th to create a 2016 campaign for our client Children’s Home Society of Missouri.

After spending the morning discussing strategic direction with the CHS team Leslie Tucker and Ashley Humphrey before lunch, G/L staffers went to work on a campaign for CHS, who will be celebrating its 125th anniversary in 2016. Children’s Home Society of Missouri (CHS) has been a leader in providing a wide array of support services to at-risk families and children since 1891. In just one afternoon, we were able to develop a number of 125th anniversary concepts including logos to be used on multiple communications throughout the year.

Children's Home Society Children's Home Society Children's Home Society

In addition to the logos, we were able to compile a digital marketing outline, a targeted press release, fundraising mailing campaign concepts, among other creative brainstorming pieces. It’s the least we could do for an organization that has truly touched so many of our team members.

We’re thankful to our employees for giving their time to Children’s Home Society and we’re thankful to this client for the valuable work they do for providing children a better foundation, a better life, and a better future.

CHS provides a comprehensive array of services including community mental health services, education and training, family support services, residential and respite care for at-risk families and children, who in many cases, have nowhere else to turn.

This Giving Tuesday, we encourage you and your organization to seek out opportunities to give back to the community. We are so incredibly lucky to be able to create work that we love every day. As the end of the year approaches, we’ll continue to look for chances to help on the local, regional and national level. It’s the very least we can do.

back to blog home

Trending from G/L: Oskar Blues Fuels American Outlaws and St. Louis Soccer

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Oskar Blues Fuels American Outlaws and St. Louis Soccer

Branding

The rise of craft brewing over the past decade has been nothing short of staggering. In 2014, small and independent craft breweries contributed more than $55 billion to the American economy. In St. Louis alone, we’re spoiled with the likes of Urban Chestnut, Perennial Artisan Ales, Civil Life and so many more.

The saturation of this market presents an interesting dilemma: how do you grow your brand and make it stand out without the budget of, say, A-B InBev?

This was (and still is) a challenge for Oskar Blues Brewery, a Colorado-based brewery that opened a satellite facility in North Carolina three years ago. A report earlier this year listed Oskar Blues as the twenty-fourth largest craft brewer in the country. That’s not bad, but competing with the names at the top of the list, including Sierra Nevada, New Belgium and Lagunitas, is no easy task. Certainly, social media is an incredibly powerful tool, but it takes time and content (and money) to use at a highly effective level.

“We tend to stay pretty true to our core beers and brands,” says brand spokesperson Aaron Baker. “Consistency and quality of the beer is a large part of what we do.”

When it comes to trying to sponsor events – whether it’s music, sports or other festivals, the price points can be very high. U.S. Soccer, for example, currently has a sponsorship deal with A-B InBev, which is not an easy thing to compete with. The other brands U.S. Soccer partners with likely have marketing dollars to spend.

So how else can a brand reach that target audience?

An important thing to note about American soccer as compared to other sports – supporters culture is a very big deal. Organized chants and events are tailored more to the fan than to the team itself. Not to discredit other sports, but there’s a certain level of pride associated with a soccer supporter that’s tough to top.

The main supporters group for the United States National Team is The American Outlaws. Founded in 2007, the group’s popularity has exploded during the past two World Cups (2010 and 2014). In fact, the group now boasts a paid membership base of more than 30,000 die-hard fans.

So – Oskar Blues Brewery – meet The American Outlaws.

The partnership didn’t happen overnight, according to Baker. When he heard that the Outlaws were not renewing a sponsorship agreement with Budweiser, he reached out to AO leadership to gauge interest about collaborating together. After about a year of discussion, they were able to agree on a partnership, linking AO and Dale’s Pale Ale, the brewery’s flagship brew.

So far, the AO-DPA connection seems to be a natural fit.

“Dale’s (as a beer brand) is very supportive of what people are passionate about,” says Baker. “When you support passion like what The American Outlaws have, you’re going to be successful.”

The relationship seems to be mutually beneficial. It keeps Dale’s Pale Ale, which makes up 50% of Oskar Blues’ sales, top of mind at various events. It also fits in well with their event-focused approach to marketing, which their local reps have an opportunity to build personal interactions on an ongoing basis. Plus, being able to send promotional products directly to each AO chapter’s local bar is a great way to leverage that grassroots network. As Baker says, getting “cans in hands” is a big part of building brand awareness.

For The American Outlaws…well, free beer will always make you friends. But beyond that, having a go-to national beer brand that still has grassroots craft credibility seems to be very important to the traveling soccer supporter. Plus, a red, white and blue can gets you lots of ‘Merica points.

American Outlaws
Photo Credit: The Free Beer Movement

The future for both Oskar Blues and The American Outlaws seems bright. Oskar Blues is building a third brewery in Austin, which will open in May 2016.

With the United States Men’s National Team playing at Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Friday, there should be an electric atmosphere on the day of the game as well as the night before. A near-sellout crowd is expected with The American Outlaws section holding more than 1000 people. Expect lots of red, white and blue on and off the field.

If you’re planning to make it out to the game, let us know. I’ll make sure to grab a beer for ya.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

 

back to blog home

REI stays true to brand despite Black Friday temptation

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

REI stays true to brand despite Black Friday temptation

Branding

Last week, outdoor and camping retailer REI announced it would be closed for Black Friday, one of the biggest retail shopping days of the year. This gutsy move will pay off in spades over the long-term, increasing both customer and employee loyalty. CEO Jerry Stritzke has decided to buck the traditional retail mentality of being open on the biggest shopping day of the year and put the brand and his employees first.

If you go to the REI website, you’ll see a countdown page to Black Friday and an open letter from REI CEO Jerry Stritzke which is simple and to the point. Here it is:

“You read that correctly. On November 27, we’ll be closing all 143 of our stores and paying our employees to head outside. Here’s why we’re doing it. For 76 years, our co-op has been dedicated to one thing and one thing only: a life outdoors. We believe that being outside makes our lives better. And Black Friday is the perfect time to remind ourselves of this essential truth. We’re a different kind of company—and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles, we’ll be spending our day a little differently. We’re choosing to opt outside, and want you to come with us. “We’re closing on Black Friday and going outside. Since 1938 we’ve been bringing you great gear and services to get you out there too. That’s our story.”

This is a brand that is not tempted by short-term gain. REI is more focused on long-term growth and, most importantly, staying true to the brand promise of embracing the outdoors and supplying outdoor enthusiast with the advice and gear they require to enjoy their passion. My guess is the national PR attention this has and will garner over the coming weeks will be more powerful in engraining the REI brand into our culture and life than any amount of paid advertising. And to boot, REI is making Black Friday a paid holiday for its employees.

Bravo to REI for being fearless and staying true to their brand. I plan to partake in the outdoors as well on Black Friday…and I plan to buy a few Christmas gifts from your store this holiday season.

If you’re a brand focused on thinking about the big-picture and about long-term success, let us know. We love hearing stories like this.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home

How to fight Ad Blockers? More Quality Content and Native Advertising

Mary Sawyer
Vice President of Public Relations

How to fight Ad Blockers? More Quality Content and Native Advertising

Branding

While in the past, some companies and publishers have scoffed about advertorials, or sponsored content that is designed to look like editorial, now there is a renewed interest in native advertising. Ad blockers are changing the entire equation of how to reach consumers.

According to a report commissioned by Adobe and conducted by PageFair, the number of consumers using ad blockers in the U.S. increased 48 percent during the last year. There are 198 million active adblock users around the world.

With Apple announcing that they are allowing ad-blocking apps, digital advertising is on the verge of being turned upside down. Consumers want to avoid advertising as they listen to music, stream videos or check their mobile devices. They’ll download apps and pay extra for services that block ads.

PR and social media practitioners have been counseling companies that “content needs to be a priority” for all marketing efforts. Now, ad blockers are driving home the necessity of producing entertaining or educational subject matter that provides a positive end user experience.

With native advertising, the ad experience follows the natural form and function of the user experience. The intention is to invite the consumer to be engaged.

Native advertising is everywhere online, including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, YouTube and Buzzfeed. Good native advertising, like good public relations, should be informative and relevant to the reader.

A consumer might be more than happen to read a story sponsored by a consumer packaged good company if she can obtain an easy dessert recipe. Likewise, a pet owner looking for grooming tips might gladly watch sponsored instructional videos. Whether you have a B2B or B2C company, you will need to be promoting your product or service in a new way to effectively utilize native advertising.

For years, online marketers watched as banner ad clicks plummeted and then disappeared. Marketers followed up with a variety of other methods to squeeze their message onto a given page, but consumers became fed up with cluttered websites, obtrusive videos and interference to what they want to see.

It’s time for marketers to realize that if they want to get their brand message through to these folks, native advertising presents great opportunities. It is a combination of PR and advertising that can be tremendously leverage through social media. Content that is engaging, enlightening and/or entertaining can be shared with ease, and provide the marketer with huge audiences.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home

How G/L and Union Pacific are getting teens’ attention on rail safety

Tim Leon
President/Brand Strategist

How G/L and Union Pacific are getting teens’ attention on rail safety

Advertising

Most people underestimate the speed of a train and don’t realize it can take up to a mile for a train traveling 55 miles per hour to come to a complete stop.

The frightening truth is that deaths from walking on train tracks are up almost 10 percent this year, killing nearly 500 people in 2014.(source: Federal Railroad Administration). Many of these deaths are teens. This is, in part, due to the popularity of photos being taken on tracks by the teens themselves or by amateur and professional photographers. Believe it or not, train tracks are being used as a backdrop for senior photos.

The Union Pacific Crossing Accident Reduction Education and Safety (UP CARES) public safety initiative reminds both drivers and pedestrians to stop, look and listen when approaching railroad crossings and to always expect a train. As part of the initiative, G/L collaborated with Union Pacific Railroad to launch a campaign focused on raising awareness about the safety concerns and legal implications associated with taking high school senior photos on or near railroad tracks.

Playing on teens’ desire to look “cool” and not foolish in front of their peers, G/L created two videos that liken railroad tracks to busy thoroughfares (such as highways and busy downtown streets) and ask teens a simple question: “You wouldn’t get your senior photo taken here…so why would you do it on the tracks?” The videos, shared socially and digitally by Union Pacific, have been featured in articles on popular photography sites including SLR Lounge, Fstoppers, and PetaPixel, and were also included as part of a Nightline ABC story.

Changing behavior and perceptions through a campaign is no easy task. It needs to truly resonate with the viewer to make them think differently about what they’re doing. In this case the social media content and videos are connecting with both the teen and photographer audience thanks to the efforts of our client and G/L team.

Contact us using the form below if you have a public safety or internal safety program that we can help you strategize and implement.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home

Does subtlety work in LinkedIn marketing?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Does subtlety work in LinkedIn marketing?

Branding

Ask professionals for their opinion of LinkedIn and you’ll likely get a wide range of responses. Some see it as an invaluable tool for connecting with their peers. Others may simply not use it all that much. Some find it profoundly creepy (and with good reasons).

That being said, LinkedIn marketing presents an interesting challenge. The site already has a member of “freemium” offerings to begin with, such as paid memberships, online learning and a whole suite of other sales-based solutions. While posting regularly on the platform is a good strategy, the reach of specific posts varies wildly.

While the platform has some reasonably priced sponsored post options, many of the more enterprise advertising and recruiting solutions on LinkedIn can be incredibly pricey. They know they have a deep pool of profiles that others want to connect with and they leverage that data effectively. Their game, their rules.

Some marketers have tried to work around some of the advertising restrictions inherent in the LinkedIn platform. Men’s clothing company Bonobos created a personal profile for a shirt, which was positively received. It didn’t last long, however, as the profile went afoul of LinkedIn’s rules.

Another cool spin comes from well-regarded airline Virgin Atlantic. The company has always prided themselves on having an outgoing brand personality. They’ve taken that playfulness to LinkedIn to the form of a contest disguised as a job posting:

Virgin claims to be the first brand to leverage LinkedIn’s job search feature for promotional purposes. And its VP of marketing for the Americas, Simon Bradley, says the response has been quite positive to date, with nearly 200 applicants at the time of this posting. Bradley has bigger plans for the campaign; he tells AdFreak that the work is “very exciting for us, and we’ll be starting to seed it in our social campaigns very soon.”

Unlike the Bonobos campaign, this seems to have been approved in some fashion by LinkedIn. Which is good because it’d be a shame to work so hard on a campaign idea to have it shot down by the platform. And it looks like the prize of a round-trip to London has garnered some significant interest.

LinkedIn Marketing

Which is probably good news for LinkedIn, which is now in the middle of a slightly embarrassing class-action lawsuit.

We’re always looking for innovative ways to help brands cut through the clutter. Want to find out how yours can push the envelope? Let us know your thoughts.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home

Trending from G/L – Snickers enters the personalized branding game

Luke Smith
Senior Account Executive

Trending from G/L – Snickers enters the personalized branding game

Branding

Thanks to Coca-Cola, the idea of personalized branding isn’t necessarily a new thing. Coca-Cola rolled out their personalized cans with heart-warming messages like “Mom”, “Friend, “Love”, and more. Coke even took it a step further by giving consumers the options to personalize your can of Coke through select specialty machines. With Coca-Cola’s success in creating a personalized consumer experience with product, other major brands are following suit.

When Snickers launched the “You’re not you when you’re hungry” campaign- it was met with resounding success. It featured opinionated celebrities with attitudes subbing in for regular people. Richard Lewis complaining about being a lumberjack, Betty White playing football, Danny Trejo playing Marsha on the Brady Bunch and slamming an axe on the table when she gets upset. Once they eat a Snickers though, they return their normal self.

The list of spots goes on, and they have all been hilariously executed. While Coca-Cola sticks with warm and fuzzy, Snickers is taking a different direction when it comes to personalization. Instead of endearing terms, they are replacing the Snickers brand logo on their packaging with 21 very specific symptoms of hunger.

personalized branding

Of the 21 customized packages, a large number of them are rather blunt. For example, you can give friends bars featuring the words Cranky, Grouchy, Confused, Irritable, Impatient, Complainer, Whiny, Curmudgeon, Ornery, Testy and Snippy. Those 11 are balanced out by 10 other bars that are slightly less offensive—Rebellious, Feisty, Sleepy, Loopy, Goofball, Forgetful, Drama Mama, Dramatic, Princess and Spacey.

Snickers also rolled out a new online spot starring a hotline operator advising and coaching callers on which bar to give their friends, dependent on the mood they are in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pT6PlWjuXw0

Snickers Brand Director Allison Miazga-Bedrick stated, “We believe the new bars will inspire people to not only quickly identify their own symptoms and satisfy their hunger, but give them a new, fun way to call-out friends and family on who they become when they’re hungry, too.”

With so many competing products, personalizing the experience just bridges a greater connection with consumers. Does a personalization strategy fit within your brand strategy? Contact us and we can explore opportunities for your brand.

[gl-hs-form form_id=’1863abe3-c1e4-43d0-a298-c7b132f8ce03′]

 

back to blog home
About Us
Video
Contact