Promotion

Geography based branding

Posted at May 23, 2011 // Advertising, Promotion, Public relations, Strategy / Tactics

My favorite Super Bowl ad this year was definitely Chrysler’s “Imported from Detroit“. It was many people’s favorite as well. In fact, if imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Chrysler is a little to flattered as knock-offs on that slogan quickly hit the market. This one car commercial had probably done more for some local businesses than years of marketing put forth by the city / state.

This made me think about if other brands can do the same…

I took Kansas, my residence, as an example to start a discussion on LinkedIn. After a month-long lively discussion, I concluded that branding a geography is probably harder than one may think. First of all, no geography is homogenous. This presents a unique challenge to branding, as it’s a discipline that is based almost entirely on consistency. For example: New York City – some brand it as the capital of glamour while others brand it as the capital of grime.

So, how could one brand leveraging geography? By the product that geography produces. Florida oranges. Kansas beef. Detroit automobiles.

“Imported From Detroit” is a trademark of Chrysler Group LLC.

Using Business Cards Differently for Non-Profits

Posted at April 20, 2011 // Advertising, Promotion, Strategy / Tactics, Web

Drawing on my previous experience with non-profit marketing, I found that the single most useful piece of marketing communication is a business card. However, I also see so many business cards done wrong. Why? Because they model it off of a corporate business cards, and that doesn’t really do justice to what business cards can do.

Why do corporations use business cards? Corporations don’t use business cards to market themselves. (Granted, everything does reinforce a brand. So, a natural company better have business cards printed on recycled paper.) At the core, corporations use business cards as a simple communication tool. They contain only the vital information. Rarely do you see more than name and contact information. Sometimes, you may even see a corporate motto, but that’s pretty much the end of it.

However, for non-profits, you don’t have the luxury to use a business card so simply. You have to make every piece work doubly hard for you. I would recommend the following layout:

Front: Basic logo, name, and contact information. This is the typical business card, including information like website addresses for your organization.

Back: Give one piece of trivia that would really get people excited, and the next time they could get involved. This gives them the reminder to follow up when they get home. Following up on the Complete Streets example gave earlier this week, one could easily put a trivia “Did you know” on the back. In addition, perhaps they meet on a monthly basis every Thursday. Use this business card as an invite. Or, if you print business cards locally in a simple printer (on-demand printing vs. printing by the thousands), I would suggest putting upcoming events. Use the business cards as an invitation to the events. You’d always have business cards with you, and this may be your most powerful marketing tool for your non-profit.

This worked well for me in the past. What do you think? Would it work for you?

Photo credit: Jim Larson

Product as Display

Posted at March 22, 2011 // Promotion, Retail

Sometimes, the best display vehicle is simply your own products displayed dramatically. It doesn’t take special shippers. It doesn’t take special packs. It doesn’t take anything more than creativity.

This impressive display took up a large footprint within the store, and this display took full advantage of that little madness called March Madness, with which my town is completely infected . The front and the back of the display contain shoppable stacks of products. With the size, this display was able to feature a variety of Coke brands in a variety of sizes.

How this awesome display came to be? I can’t speak to the secret meetings that happened behind closed doors at Coke or Kroger (just kidding). I do know that Coke’s direct ship system played an important part in making this happen. A team of Coke delivery representatives descended at the store one morning. A few hours later, the display was built. It took no manpower from the store, which no doubt helped persuaded Kroger into taking this display design.

(I thought this display looks very impressive from every angle, so I thought I’d share.)