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Not to suck up valuable blog space, but we want to get the word out as many ways as possible:
Tomorrow’s Kite Day has been cancelled and rescheduled for May 15th. The forecast is calling for severe weather and we don’t want any kiddos pulling a Benjamin Franklin or Dorothy Gale on us. (If you don’t get either of those references, please email me and I’ll explain, lol)
So, again, no Kite Day tomorrow. We’ll try again on the 15th; same bat time, same bat place.
Have an awesome weekend!
~Sarah, Emogen marketer
PS: Sunday's community-wide baby shower for Life Choices is still on, rain or shine!
Friday, April 30, 2010
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Where’d My Hat Go?
It’s a little windy in Ruston today. So much so that I think it may have knocked off my marketing hat for a moment.
I say that because I caught myself making a comment that I usually loathe customers to say.
You see, we’re helping to plan a community-wide baby shower to support Life Choices of North Central Louisiana*. As part of the publicity for the event, we placed a little over $600 in newspaper advertising. Today I said, "for that much we could have purchased around 41 cases of diapers. That's almost 4,000 diapers!"
In that moment I lost sight of the big picture. The big picture being that we are foregoing—risking, if you will—those 41 cases in the hopes that more than 41 people will respond and donate cases of their own. At the very least, all we need are 42 people to respond to make it have been a worthwhile investment.
The cardinal rule I broke today was viewing my advertising as an expense, rather than an investment. Executed properly, a marketing budget will provide a return on your money.
Ahhhhh… glad to have my hat back on.
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
*The purpose of the shower is to collect much needed baby supplies for Life Choices, a faith-based crisis pregnancy support organization. The shower is Sunday, May 2 at Christ Community Church from 2 to 4 pm. Gifts may also be dropped off at Super One any time this week. Financial donations are always welcome and may be mailed to Life Choices at 211 West Texas Avenue, Ruston, LA 71270.
I say that because I caught myself making a comment that I usually loathe customers to say.
You see, we’re helping to plan a community-wide baby shower to support Life Choices of North Central Louisiana*. As part of the publicity for the event, we placed a little over $600 in newspaper advertising. Today I said, "for that much we could have purchased around 41 cases of diapers. That's almost 4,000 diapers!"
In that moment I lost sight of the big picture. The big picture being that we are foregoing—risking, if you will—those 41 cases in the hopes that more than 41 people will respond and donate cases of their own. At the very least, all we need are 42 people to respond to make it have been a worthwhile investment.
The cardinal rule I broke today was viewing my advertising as an expense, rather than an investment. Executed properly, a marketing budget will provide a return on your money.
Ahhhhh… glad to have my hat back on.
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
*The purpose of the shower is to collect much needed baby supplies for Life Choices, a faith-based crisis pregnancy support organization. The shower is Sunday, May 2 at Christ Community Church from 2 to 4 pm. Gifts may also be dropped off at Super One any time this week. Financial donations are always welcome and may be mailed to Life Choices at 211 West Texas Avenue, Ruston, LA 71270.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Social Media Alphabet Soup
(Apologies are in order for not posting anything Monday or Tuesday. It's been pleasantly busy in the Emogen camp this week!)
As we have discussed in previous blogs, social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter offer many benefits in terms of generating awareness and connecting with customers in ways that were impossible even a couple of years ago.
However, several industries have “alphabet soup” to deal with… regulatory agencies like SEC, FINRA, FDA and HIPAA.
These agencies have very strict guidelines governing, among other things, what language may be used in marketing literature, how prospects and clients may be contacted, what information can be presented, and so on. There are also rules regarding how data from marketing communications must be retained, which can be tricky if you have numerous employees posting frequently to several different sites.
And, of course, failure to comply with these regs can entail severe penalties, including steep fines.
Before letting employees or marketers embark on a social media adventure, a company governed by any of these agencies MUST develop corporate policy and procedure with respect to the regulations applicable to their industry.
-Brian, Emogen sales strategist
As we have discussed in previous blogs, social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter offer many benefits in terms of generating awareness and connecting with customers in ways that were impossible even a couple of years ago.
However, several industries have “alphabet soup” to deal with… regulatory agencies like SEC, FINRA, FDA and HIPAA.
These agencies have very strict guidelines governing, among other things, what language may be used in marketing literature, how prospects and clients may be contacted, what information can be presented, and so on. There are also rules regarding how data from marketing communications must be retained, which can be tricky if you have numerous employees posting frequently to several different sites.
And, of course, failure to comply with these regs can entail severe penalties, including steep fines.
Before letting employees or marketers embark on a social media adventure, a company governed by any of these agencies MUST develop corporate policy and procedure with respect to the regulations applicable to their industry.
-Brian, Emogen sales strategist
Friday, April 23, 2010
new comment system
We're testing out the Disqus comment system that will allow you to share your comments on Blogger with your Facebook, Twitter and other network(s).
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
~Sarah
Give it a try and let us know what you think.
~Sarah
Happy Birthday, New Coke!
Today, “New Coke” would have turned 25. But sadly it will only live on in our hearts and minds… and possibly in vending machines in American Samoa.
On this day in 1985, The Coca-Cola Company rolled out a reformulated version of its leading product, Coca-Cola, in an effort to regain market share it was losing hand over fist to Pepsi.
The new product was met with what is probably the most widespread, negative consumer reaction EVER. The reformulated recipe really only survived for 3 months; in July of 1985 the original formula—rebranded “Coca-Cola Classic”—was reintroduced, thus effectively killing off its replacement.
New Coke has been heralded as the biggest product failure ever and THE textbook example of bad marketing.
But was it?
Whether or not they planned it (for the fun of it try googling “New Coke conspiracy”), suffice it to say that when the dust settled on the whole fiasco, Coca-Cola sales rebounded and the company regained its dominance of the soft drink market.
So maybe “New Coke” was indeed the biggest product failure ever, but it may also be the greatest example of how to galvanize consumer loyalty.
Just something to think about…
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
On this day in 1985, The Coca-Cola Company rolled out a reformulated version of its leading product, Coca-Cola, in an effort to regain market share it was losing hand over fist to Pepsi.
The new product was met with what is probably the most widespread, negative consumer reaction EVER. The reformulated recipe really only survived for 3 months; in July of 1985 the original formula—rebranded “Coca-Cola Classic”—was reintroduced, thus effectively killing off its replacement.
New Coke has been heralded as the biggest product failure ever and THE textbook example of bad marketing.
But was it?
Whether or not they planned it (for the fun of it try googling “New Coke conspiracy”), suffice it to say that when the dust settled on the whole fiasco, Coca-Cola sales rebounded and the company regained its dominance of the soft drink market.
So maybe “New Coke” was indeed the biggest product failure ever, but it may also be the greatest example of how to galvanize consumer loyalty.
Just something to think about…
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Google No Longer Satan?
In certain circles, Brian is famous for his opinion that Google is Satan… or at least the Antichrist.
Even though we jokingly chide him about it, Brian’s criticism isn’t all that uncommon. Many have expressed concerns about privacy issues related to the incredible volume of data Google warehouses on its users’ searches. Couple that data with the personal information streaming through gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Android, etc. and the issue becomes clear: Google could practically know everything about everybody.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re fans of behavioral profiling; but the Google knowledge base—or more specifically who has access to it and what they choose to do with it—is a little scary.
But move over Google…
As widely reported in the news yesterday and today, Facebook is launching a universal “like” button that can be used anywhere on the internet. Sounds cool at face value, but in an AdAge article Ian Schafer of Deep Focus calls it for what it is: “Facebook potentially could power an all-knowing behavioral targeting platform the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
Hmm… sorry, Google, looks like there’s a new frontrunner for “Way Too Powerful Corporation of The Year.”
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
Even though we jokingly chide him about it, Brian’s criticism isn’t all that uncommon. Many have expressed concerns about privacy issues related to the incredible volume of data Google warehouses on its users’ searches. Couple that data with the personal information streaming through gmail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Android, etc. and the issue becomes clear: Google could practically know everything about everybody.
Don’t get me wrong, we’re fans of behavioral profiling; but the Google knowledge base—or more specifically who has access to it and what they choose to do with it—is a little scary.
But move over Google…
As widely reported in the news yesterday and today, Facebook is launching a universal “like” button that can be used anywhere on the internet. Sounds cool at face value, but in an AdAge article Ian Schafer of Deep Focus calls it for what it is: “Facebook potentially could power an all-knowing behavioral targeting platform the likes of which we’ve never seen before.”
Hmm… sorry, Google, looks like there’s a new frontrunner for “Way Too Powerful Corporation of The Year.”
-Sarah, Emogen marketer
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Social Media Irony
Today has been a day full of social media research for emogen marketing. We are taking the day off from blogging to continue researching all the reasons we should be blogging.
Tomorrow we plan to discuss Google vs. Facebook
- Brian, Emogen sales strategist
Tomorrow we plan to discuss Google vs. Facebook
- Brian, Emogen sales strategist
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