Tag Archive for: Brand Wise

In 2019, we’ll spend more time using the internet than watching TV. People will spend an average of 170.6 minutes a day, or nearly three hours, using the internet for things like shopping, browsing social media, chatting with friends, and streaming music and video in 2019, a recent report by media agency Zenith estimated. That’s a tad more than the 170.3 minutes they’re expected to spend watching TV.  And, by no surprise, in 2016, digital ad spending surpassed TV ad sales for the first time ever.

What are we doing online?

  • In 2010, the average buyer checked five sources before making a purchase. By 2013, that number had grown to 12.
  • Today’s consumers spend over 23 hours a week using apps, viewing video, streaming audio and social networking on their smartphones.
  • Over 83% of adults use a smartphone to access the internet.
  • Almost 59% of households with a TV also own at least one Internet-enabled device such as an Apple TV, Roku, Google Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, smartphone, computer, laptop or tablet.

But is traditional media dead?  Not really. It’s how we prefer getting our programming. We are getting much of our traditional media online today.  Your radio stations are streamed or you may use Pandora or Spotify.  Your favorite TV is available online from a variety of sources including the television networks. You browse your favorite newspapers online.

Marketers still find value in traditional channels when it comes to brand building, awareness, ad recall and favorability. However, less than one-third of respondents from Nielsen’s new CMO Report 2018 plan to increase their traditional media budgets over the next 12 months.

TV was ranked the most important traditional channel by 51%, and 30% said TV was “extremely important” to their strategy. Like digital, measuring ROI on traditional media is also a struggle, with just 23% saying they were “highly confident” in their ability to track effectiveness.

So understanding our consumers, segmenting them and understanding their media habits has become more important than ever.  We need to better understand how they are using the media to deliver the right message at the right time in the right place.

Paula Froelich, our favorite travel pro, came to Nashville to speak at our Red Letter Day and we couldn’t be more happy. Because she is the real thing – an adventure traveler, a storyteller, a speaker and an expert in travel marketing to women. In fact, she created a whole new travel category for women who travel solo – and enjoy it.

Overall, solo travelers comprise about 23% of all leisure travelers, according to the U.S. Travel Association and other research says nearly 40% of travelers say they would take a vacation by themselves if given the opportunity. Some 65% of women are taking vacations without a partner.

American women top the list in solo travel. Nine million American women traveled overseas alone last year. Reasons for solo leisure trips are different than business. The solo trips allow women to escape from everyday life, experience new cultures, travel at their own pace, and be free to make decisions and be themselves.

Couples like to take separate trips, especially when it comes to passions like adventure trips, interest-specific trips and taking up new activities.

Some might think that solo travel is for the 18-30 age group, but research suggests that the average solo traveler is 54.

Women often encounter special challenges in traveling solo such as getting the best rates when they travel solo. Dining solo or single rooms can still offer less than desirable options in some resorts. Travel companies are beginning to use less “romantic language” when marketing to solo travelers, understanding that not all solo travelers are single or looking to hook up.

Paula can help us navigate the travel space with ease. She was named one of Folio’s Top Women in Media in 2015 and is now Editor-at-Large at Yahoo. She spends her time traveling, writing, building partnerships and expanding her blog and video series “A Broad Abroad”across multiple platforms. In four short months as Editor in Chief of Yahoo Travel, Yahoo Travel became the largest travel content portal in the world, winning awards and consistently ranked #1 in the travel category under her leadership. Paula also launched several shows, including “A Broad Abroad,” the first female-hosted, travel adventure series of its kind.

Her adventures have taken her from Mexico to Egypt, from the ski slopes of Afghanistan to swimming with giant manta rays in Hawaii.

photo-1434123700504-d8cfba6a12c8Texting is the number one activity on our smartphones and is one of the most efficient marketing vehicles.  Brands invest in SMS campaigns because 90% of SMS messages are read within 3 minutes of receipt and almost 100% of all phone devices are SMS enabled.

Americans are addicted to texting on their smartphones. Pew Research discovered that text messaging (97%) is the most popular feature, followed by voice/video calls (92%), internet (89%) and email (88%).  Two-thirds of Millennials text more than 5 times a day.

But what do consumers think about text message marketing?  In a recent Direct Marketing Association survey, 70% of the sample revealed that they had responded to a marketing text message. To put this in perspective, the DMA adds that only 30% of those surveyed responded to a marketing email.

Another survey by SAP found the following:

64% of consumers think that businesses should converse with customers more often using SMS.

76% report that they are more likely to read a message sooner if it is an SMS/text message than if it is an email

70% feel using an SMS/text message is a good way for an organization to get their attention

64% think that organizations should use SMS/text messages more than they currently do

Texting is here to stay and brands need to find how it fits into their marketing.

 

iphone-for-texting-survey1Text campaigns can be used in multiple ways.  We have used it as a way to interact with healthcare workers who do not have time to access their office email frequently and for extremely loyal fans who want immediate, actionable interactions. Here are some things you should know about text campaigns.

1.  Create an Opt-in Campaign.  To develop a database, you will need to recruit participants through other channels.  In our instance, we used social media, direct mail and internal communications within hospitals – posters, digital media, flyer and table tents.  It is important to create a compelling reason for individuals to give up their privacy and allow your messages in.  We developed a giveaway for those who participated.  We also gave them clear communication on what to expect and why we were requesting their information.

2.  Have a clear call to action.  SMS campaigns are driven by 2 factors – the keyword and a short code. The keyword should be easy to remember for the brand.

3.  Make the offer easy to obtain.   Give them a promotional code in the message to use when they appear in your store/restaurant/site.  Make the landing page relevant to the SMS message if you send a link. Since some 50% of your subscribers will be responding via phone, make sure your page is responsive and clearly relates to the message you sent.

4.  Pay attention to frequency.  Ideally 2-4 texts per month is enough.  In fact, it is good to include your frequency in the “auto reply” to your keywords with something like “receive up to 4 text messages per month.”

5.  Respect your audience.  Realize that the persons who respond are really loyal to your brand.  Your text campaigns need to provide more than just selling messages.  Not all of the communication needs to be transaction-based.  You can provide helpful information to them, provide services not available to other consumers, send reminders, or invite them to events.

6.  Leverage the immediacy of texting.  A reminder of an event the day before, a news alert of a special need or weather closings are examples of the type of immediacy involved in text campaigns.

7.  Provide consistent communications.  Using the media consistently is important.  If you go months without connecting via SMS is likely going to cause a high unsubscribe rate with every send.  High profile brands typically send one text a week.  Every brand should develop their own optimized frequency.

8.  Measurement of campaigns.  Here are some types of metrics that can be used to measure your campaign – Subscriber Growth, Subscriber Churn, Keyword Engagement (using different keywords for different media to identify performance), Redemption Rate, and Cost per Redeeming Subscriber.

Mobile texting campaigns are a very private way to communicate with your consumers. And texting campaigns are a way to create stronger loyalty and engagement.  Go ahead and try it out.

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As president of the HCA Hope Fund and the HCA Foundation, Joanne Pulles oversees activities that help and uplift thousands of HCA employees. We took the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the HCA Hope Fund to talk to Joanne about the Power of Hope. HCA Hope Fund has assisted more than 18,000 HCA employees and their families, but it is a marketing challenge to reach the more than 220,000 employees with the message of the Hope Fund.  Many healthcare employees are in clinical settings throughout the day without access to conventional methods.  Delivering  messages to them must take different forms like social media, texting, place-based media and direct mail.

1.  How did the HCA Hope Fund get started?

The HCA Hope Fund was born out of a desire from our employees to help their co-workers who had suffered loss after prominent natural disasters as well as individual losses from cancer, death, car accidents and more.  The out-pouring from employees in 2004 after Hurricane Charlie was the catalyst that launched our exploration to set up a fund as a public charity to help our 200,000 employees in times of crisis.  We had completed our application with the IRS for charitable status in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina devastated our employees and facilities in the Gulf Coast.  With an emergency ruling from the IRS in-hand, we quickly went into operation assisting hundreds of our employees who had lost homes in the storm.

2.  What makes the HCA Hope Fund unique?  

It’s prominence in our culture.  We share stories with our employees every month on the what the fund has meant to their colleagues during their personal crisis.  Personal stories are also told locally in our hospitals from employees who want to their co-workers to know how they have been helped when they needed it the most.

Our leadership support is outstanding – from our executives at corporate and from our hospital leadership across the country.  Not only do they give generously from their personal resources, they lend their voice in staff meetings and employee communications to signal the fund’s importance as part of our wonderful culture at HCA.

3. Who are other companies like HCA who have instituted Employee Emergency Assistance Fund?

Many, many companies have employee relief funds. Some do it through a fund at a community foundation, which is an easier entry point, especially if you just want a fund set up for disasters. Other companies do it like we do at HCA – establish their fund as a public charity and invite employees to support each other in a true “employees helping employees” model that helps workers in a multitude of situations beyond their control such as a serious illness or injury, death in the family, disasters and more.

We are part of a growing group of companies who hold a conference each year and have quarterly phone calls to share best practices. This group includes Home Depot, Levi Strauss, Dollar General, Asurion, Macy’s, Cracker Barrel, PetSmart, and many others.

4. How do you promote the fund? What type of messaging resonates with donors?

We use multiple channels to promote the fund: company email and print communications, at-home mailers, social media like Twitter and Facebook, and even posters still get the attention of our employees who work in busy clinical settings. We have a compelling value proposition for employees when we ask them to contribute financially:

1. It is something they care deeply about – their co-workers in a crisis

2. Thanks to HCA, we are able to offer employees the chance to double their impact through company matching funds, which is a strong motivator for donors and

3. HCA also pays for the staff time that is allocated to the fund so that we have the ability to let employee donors know that none of their contribution goes toward administrative expenses – 100% goes directly to an employee in need. Donors love the value they get from contributing to this fund.

5. What makes the Hope Fund an important choice for employees among other non-profits they might support?

We see giving to the community through other charities as equally important as supporting our own employees through the Hope Fund.  We support more than 1,000 charities with millions of dollars annually through our employee giving campaign, corporate sponsorships and The HCA Foundation.  We offer the same match opportunity to an employee’s charity of choice as we offer for own employee relief fund.  We promote the idea that employees should make at least two gifts – one to our employees in need through the Hope Fund and another to their charity of choice.

6. What are some new ways you are working to reach employees?

It is a challenge to reach our employees in the course of their very important work saving lives and providing critical care in our hospitals and surgery centers. Last year, we can began new experiments with social media to provide other popular channels to connect with employees. We also conducted our first text message campaign. We are now exploring the effectiveness of sending more mail to employees’ homes. This is important for us because, when you are trying to reach your own employees for charitable giving, you tend to over-rely on the cheap and easy methods like company email. But raising funds through direct mail is still the most important tool for most charities and continues to show a positive ROI. Given the clinical nature of our business, this channel may need to become a bigger part of our approach.

7. What are the metrics you use to determine how successful your donor campaigns are?

We measure dollars (in total and by business units) like every other charity because, at the end of the day, this is what it takes to help our employees when they need it most. But our primary message and focus is not dollars – we do not set or impose dollar goals on any campaign leader in a business unit. What we want is engagement. We ask employees to just join our movement for as little as $1 per pay period. We believe the thousands of inspiring stories from our employees who have been helped will motivate donors to give at an appropriate amount that fits their individual capacity. This has worked well for us thus far and we have thousands of donors who give at “Leadership Circle” levels, which for us means gifts of at least $500 annually.

8. What continues to excite you about the Hope Fund?

For me, it is the feedback we receive routinely from employees who have been helped. As I sit here responding to your question, I am thinking about the letter I read this morning from a married couple (both employees) who were in a serious car accident last year. She took three pages to re-count her accident that almost claimed her life. She never expected to need the help of a fund like ours, but now she wants to remind us all that life can literally change in a split second. Unexpected bills began to pile up while she recovered for a period of months and was not able to work. It was the gift from her fellow co-workers that gave her hope during the most difficult battle of her life.

 

Sharon Brawner 2015_headshot 2_DM_2_23A8432Sharon Burns Brawner is Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing at the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum where she has day-to-day oversight of the museum’s traditional revenue-producing areas including ticket sales, restaurant/catering, and retail.  Oh, and there’s the fabulous Hatch Show Print and Historic RCA Studio B.  Over the course of 13+ years at the museum, she has made a significant impact on many fronts. Under her direction, ticket sales revenues have increased over 111% since 2003. From 2003 to 2014, revenue for special events have increased from over $677,400 to upwards of $11.7 million. From 2006 to 2014, Brawner has overseen a 102% increase in retail sales and has grown their retail presence in the museum from one store to three, in addition to an art gallery.

1.  How has marketing for the Country Music Hall of Fame changed over the years?

I have been with Country Music Hall of Fame  for 14 years, starting as the director of sales for group sales and events.  We have exploded in all the earned income of ticket sales, retail, special events and licensing and product development.  We now have 17 different businesses under one roof.   In 2003, we started a rotating exhibition program that started with one and now is up to a dozen in a year.  Repeat visitation has not risen to a big number but we are appealing to a much larger, diversified overall audience.  We now have a marketing team of 23 folks divided into four teams – PR, Digital, Creative and Marketing Services.

2.  Has the newfound popularity of Nashville contributed to the popularity of the Country Music Hall of Fame?

I thank the good Lord everyday for the blessings that have happened to our wonderful city.  In 1991, I came from Dallas, Texas and it has been wonderful to see the growth.  A lot of credit goes to our mayors, governors, and convention and visitors.  The museum has been positioned as part of Nashville’s Triple Crown – the Ryman, Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame.  We have partnered with the Ryman and the Opry.  They were leading the pack at the time and now we are seen as a trio.  We also work a lot with the Frist and the Schermerhorn Symphony Center.  We work hard to be viewed as a community asset. The new Music City Center campus has done so much to make us a great convention destination.   So much of the new convention space is new event space bringing more social events, more weddings, more fundraisers.

3. What is the typical target audience for the Country Music Hall of Fame?  Are women a significant part of your target audience?  Are you seeing many of the bachelorette groups coming to Nashville?

Yes, women are very important.  About 65-70% of our target audience is female.  The majority of the women are the decision makers of what the groups of visitors are going to do.  The bachelorette groups come to Nashville for the party scene, but weddings are part of our business.  Weddings have grown because of the beautiful spaces we have for ceremonies and receptions.

On the business side, there is something I do appreciate about the museum.  In our Senior leadership, we have 3 senior vice presidents that are women.

 4.  We understand Rosanne Cash is the current Artist-in-Residence.  How do strong women like Rosanne and Emmy Lou contribute to the country music landscape?

Rosanne is so great, so humble.  She is only the second woman accepted as Artist-in-Residence.  It is a very high honor given to an artist that has a canon of work very deep and broad.  Rosanne followed Connie Smith.  She asked her friend Emmy Lou and Lucinda Williams to make guest appearances.  They were  magical and commanded the room.  She is well revered and a great and brilliant songwriter and performer.

 5.  What are some of the challenges you face in marketing next year?

Kyle Young , our Director and Chief Executive Officer, has talked about it.  The city of Nashville has to be very careful not to lose our authenticity. We appreciate and respect every tourist. We can’t let the brand get so big so fast that we forget why the tourists came here.   We need to take advantage of  serving our new guests but as we build, we need to keep our roots.  All music has a home here and that’s why we call it Music City.  We don’t want to lose site of  our values.  At the Country Music Hall of Fame, we have to keep waving the flag of our history.  We think we are an anchor to staying authentic.

 6.  What has been your favorite moment at Country Music Hall of Fame?  

I am a huge fan of this music.  It is why I came here.  One of my favorite moments was being there when George Strait was inducted into the Hall of Fame.  I have a dual role as both a fan and a professional woman now working with country music.  I started watching him in college and now it is part of my job to keep his legacy alive.

 7.  What’s going on for the holidays this year? 

Every year we do Deck the Hall.  We have a treelighting in the lobby.  It’s the day after Thanksgiving and it’s the first in the city.  We also have a free concert.  Last year it was Brenda Lee.

 

 

Jen-Drexler-HeadshotJen Drexler is warm, funny and engaging.  She is also a powerhouse in spotting trends, uncovering truths about women, and developing poignant brand solutions.  Her knowledge of gender drivers had made her a frequent speaker and writer on gender marketing.  Jen is a fabulous spokesperson on gender related consumer insights. Jen’s uncanny business acumen and knowledge of gender drivers has been the anchor of several groundbreaking projects at Insight Strategy Group (e.g., Comedy Central, Mondelēz International, Maidenform, and Kellogg’s). Previously, Jen Drexler co-founded Just Ask a Woman, a women’s marketing consultancy and co-authored “What She’s Not Telling You: Why Women Hide the Whole Truth and What Marketers Can Do About It.”
We spent some time together and talked about some of her relevant insights.

1.  I have heard you say that “men get the point, women get the picture”.  What does that mean?

Neuroscience proves that women use their brains a bit more holistically and consider the context of situations more than just the linear takeaway.  Example: Man: I like to drive  Woman: I like to drive because it means I’m in control of my day and it makes me feel successful when I pick my friends up to go out.

2. Do you feel that marketing is beginning to understand how to appeal to women?

I think marketing is just getting smarter overall. I’m not certain that brands have succeeded by appealing to women as much as they have by being better at being gender agnostic and not turning women off.

3. What are your top tips for talking to today’s women?

Remember that women want brands to laugh with them, not at them (stereotypes of women as overly emotional and stressed out aren’t funny).  Also remember that women are multidimensional and switch the roles that they play fluidly – from friend to mom to employee – in the same 5 minute period.  It is tone deaf to only speak to one of her identities at a time.

4. What are some brands that you feel are getting it right?

Some brands I am following now are Amazon Prime, Lane Bryant #imnoangelcampaign, Stitchfix and American Express.

5. What are some things that women aren’t telling us in research? Are there techniques to get at the what they really want?

Women tell things to people they trust and in research it is crucial to build that trust quickly. Some of the ways to do that include getting rid of the two- way mirror and using a more casual setting.  Some focus groups look and feel like witness interrogation.  Ask questions that eliminate posturing or one word answers and feel comfortable going off book to let the conversation evolve naturally.

Bonus: What do you ask people interviewing with you wanting to be in research? 

I always ask people if they talk to strangers or what they do if strangers talk to them. If you aren’t a stranger magnet, then qualitative research might not be right for you.

 

GTTM_Logo_ColorThree Nashville women came together last fall to launch a social enterprise company called Girls to the Moon. Knight Stivender, Courtenay Rogers and Courtney Seiter are all friends working in technology with a passion for their community and for empowering young girls. Girls to the Moon is about surrounding the next generation of girls with truth and education on topics ranging from creative writing and coding to healthy relationships and sex.

“We want to be a catalyst for conversation about how girls should love themselves, feel comfortable in their own skin and ultimately guide them to be the best humans they can be,” said Courtenay Rogers, the COO. “This is a community for smart girls to meet other smart girls and for parents, specifically mothers, to learn the best way to connect and communicate with these girls.”

Amanda Valentine, two-time Project Runway contestant and award-winning Nashville fashion designer, will tell her personal story during an afternoon keynote address.  The day will begin with a morning musical performance by Nashville Symphony Chorus Director Kelly Corcoran and a trio of musicians performing contemporary pop songs with classical instruments.  At the end of the day, Girls Up Loud camp leaders Fleming McWilliams and Laura Donahue will direct a short musical performance together with Sarah Bandy, founder of Southern Girls Rock Camp.

Session speakers are:
Neeti Agarwal, engineer and owner of local franchise of Engineering For Kids
Sandy Brainard, certified peer recovery specialist
Jeni Lind Brinkman, Regional Director for External Affairs for the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation.
Emi Canahuati, sexuality educator and founder of Nashville Alliance for Sexual Health
Krystal Clark, Associate Director for Student Leadership Development at Vanderbilt University
Tiana Clark, Pushcart Prize Nominee and poet who serves on the board for The Porch Writers’ Collective
Sarah Hays Coomer, health writer, personal trainer, and nutrition / wellness coach
Mignon Francois, owner of The Cupcake Collection
Kia Jarmon, owner of MEPR agency
Laurie Kalmanson, lead user experience designer for Qualifacts
Rachel Layton, Director of Marketing for A Marshall Family Foods; former professional radio talent and newscaster
Dr. Sharon Y. Moore-Caldwell, M.D. specializing in pediatrics
Dr. Juli Oyer, principal of Fairview High School in Williamson County
Rebecca Price, founder of Chick History, Inc.
Dr. Kristin Rager, MD, is a Nashville pediatrician in private practice
Kayla Weber, former Army Intelligence Sergeant deployed to Afghanistan

 

The inaugural Girls to the Moon “Campference” is on Saturday, September 26th at Nossi College of Art from 10-4. There are four tracks of learning: Relationships/Creativity and Innovation/Health and Wellness/Caregivers. Girls aged 814 are encouraged to come and check out all of the sessions ranging from “How to Deal with Mean Girls” to “Engineering Careers for Girls” to “How to Say No: Tips for Standing up for Oneself”. While the girls are engaged in hands on sessions, their caregivers have their own sessions focusing on how to talk to their girls about topics ranging from social media to understanding the value of money.

Tickets are on sale now at www.girlstothemoon.com and volunteers are needed for the day of the event. Want to get involved?  Email girlstothemoon@gmail.com Follow them on Twitter @girlstothemoon and find them on Facebook www.facebook.com/girlstothemoon