Tag: Brands

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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Find Your Why: Why Do You Do What You Do?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Find Your Why: Why Do You Do What You Do?

Advertising

What makes a company successful?

That is a question that start-ups and longstanding businesses alike find themselves asking when times get tough.

This complex question has a very simple answer. “People don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it.”

In 2009, Simon Sinek released “Start With Why,” a book outlining exactly what makes companies who are concrete in their purpose so prosperous.

“Very few people or companies can clearly articulate WHY they do WHAT they do. When I say WHY, I don’t mean to make money—that’s a result. By WHY I mean what is your purpose, cause or belief? WHY does your company exist? WHY do you get out of bed every morning? And WHY should anyone care?”

These questions are not something that many companies have truly thought about. There are so many different brands fighting for the top spot in the same industry; to stand out seems nearly impossible. It takes an organization that has a clear vision for what they are trying to achieve, and that vision needs to be valued from the company president all the way to the office intern.

Once an organization has established their core belief – one that defines everything that they are doing everyday – it is time to share the message. Consumers are going to choose the brand that they can believe in. When they can relate to and understand a company’s “why,” there is a certain level of trust established – in quality and service. The customer is going to remember that brand and become loyal to it.

When you find your why, success is simple: believe in your business and others will do the same.

Are you looking to inspire people to believe in what you are doing, but can’t quite define your “why”? We’re always here to help out.

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 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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Find Your Why: Inspired Company, Inspired Growth and Company Culture

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Find Your Why: Inspired Company, Inspired Growth and Company Culture

Branding

If you have a LinkedIn account, you’ve probably seen a version of the encounter below show up in your feed:

Inspired Company Growth

It’s a fairly simple premise: if you invest time and resources in your employees, it will pay dividends. Failure to do so leads to unmotivated individuals who may not be in a position to further advance their skills. And in turn, the company itself, being only as strong as its employees, can’t grow.

But what does being an inspired company mean? And how does a positive company culture lead to growth and innovation? And can it make work fun, or at the very least, rewarding?

We’ve had the opportunity to work closely with HubSpot, an inbound marketing software company. We’ve learned quite a bit with regards to digital marketing, content marketing and business development in the time we’ve spent working with their team and learning the ins-and-outs of the platform. It’s definitely been rewarding.

In a recent article, HubSpot co-founder and CEO Brian Halligan discussed his approach to hiring and building a particular kind of culture.

“As the years passed, Halligan and co-founder Dharmesh Shah put more thought into fostering a positive company culture that Halligan said would attract the kinds of employees they wanted, while repelling those they didn’t.”

The article also talks about their annual Inbound conference and how, despite their claim that they lose money on the event, it’s still worth the cost. That’s because it can convince people to use the HubSpot platform. It can also be a Launchpad to attract top job candidates and maintain a position as the leader in inbound marketing.

Another line that stood out:

“Now, the nearly 900 employees of HubSpot, which are largely in the millennial generation, feel a sense of ownership in the company because of its commitment to transparency and trust.”

That’s a big selling point as the job candidate pool continues to crave more of a connection to their careers than just a simple 9-to-5 grind. It’s a massive shift from simply running to the place offering the biggest paycheck.

And it has translated into business success as well. The Inbound conference had just fewer than 3000 attendees in its first year, but three years later, they’re expecting more than 13,000 marketers to attend. And with more than $115 million in revenue for 2014, they seem to be doing okay financially. Happy customers, happy employees. Seems like a win-win.

WIN A FREE WHY BOOK

We’re always available to chat. And 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 from G/L: Does YouTube have a legitimate online video competitor in Vessel?

Geile/Leon Marketing Communications

Trending from G/L: Does YouTube have a legitimate online video competitor in Vessel?

Advertising

Since 2006, YouTube has been the go-to site for online video streaming and in the past decade, the attempt to throw YouTube from its streaming throne has been feeble at best. Sites such as Vimeo, yfrog (yeah, it does video, too) and Flickr exist, but simply can’t boast the multitude of traffic YouTube can. With high traffic comes a strong marketing presence, so how can anyone expect to compete with the ad-logged, Google-owned giant?

Former Hulu CEO Jason Kilar believes he has an answer in Vessel, a new video hosting service that offers early access to new releases for just $3 per month. So how does Vessel gain early access to highly sought vids? By offering higher pay to top creators who agree to post to Vessel first.

YouTube stars make their cash from marketers that advertise before their videos. In turn, YouTube gets paid, and the video creator gets a cut.

Felix Kjellberg, also known by his YouTube moniker, PewDiePie, reportedly earned $7 million dollars making videos in 2014. The guy has nearly 38 million followers and 9 billion views—that’s more than Taylor Swift.

How’d Kjellberg get famous? Playing video games and hollering at the screen, of course. As it turns out, Kjellberg’s gamer-style antics attract the youth and young adult market. As young people watch less and less cable television, marketers have fewer and fewer qualms spending dough online.

So if Vessel officials could convince the likes of Kjellberg to transfer from YouTube, they’d pull a chunk of viewership as well, right? Theoretically, with each subscriber jumping the YouTube ship would bring $3 a month to Vessel.

That means if just half of Kjellberg’s subscribers were to sign up with Vessel and pay for early access, Vessel would gross close to $60,000,000 monthly from subscriptions alone. Accounting for outdated, underwhelmed, or accidental subscribers, bringing half of Kjellberg’s following is a lofty goal—maybe even unrealistic. But this example indicates the absurd amount of money that can be made by, with, and from these online video stars.

Anna Akana, a 25-year-old comedian with 1.2 million subscribers, is already on board with Vessel. According to an interview with NPR, YouTube takes about half of Akana’s revenue from advertisements.

“YouTube revenue has been tanking… I’m making 20 times more with Vessel for doing the same amount of work, if not less, than with YouTube,” Akana said.

It appears Vessel is doing exactly what needs to be done to compete with YouTube—headhunt top earners by offering a pay bump they can’t refuse.

While I find it hard to believe that Vessel, or anyone else, can replace YouTube entirely, I predict it’s only a matter of time before someone finds a comfortable spot in the “premium” online video hosting niche.

And yes, I realize “premium online video” is a bit of an oxymoron in itself, but that’s where we’re at these days.

The online video landscape has been changing dramatically in recent years. Want to make sure you’re not falling behind? Contact us and we’ll be happy to chat.

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