The Power of a Good Marketing & PR Firm Article 1: More Money

by Rodger Roeser, CEO, The Eisen Agency

If your business or even you are looking to earn more money, you'd be wise to invest in proactive public relations efforts. Business leaders, on average, earn up to 85 percent more money than their counterparts who run what is termed a "closed shop" -- that is, one that does not engage in a proactive PR strategy. Why?

Simple, the positive image and positive visibility makes a direct contact to the consumer in both B2B and B2C settings. It is a fact, customers base their buying decisions overwhelmingly by how they "feel" about the person or the product -- thus the establishment of an "emotional connection" is critical to the success of an individual or organization.

Writing a book and promoting that, doing speaking engagements, networking and hosting charity events, being visible at corporate functions, heading up an initiative all are part of an integrated "public relations" program. It is by creating opportunities that could potentially be publicized through traditional and social media that a positive image can be created, nurtured and leveraged. The fact is, people want to work with people that are "attractive," in that they attract talent, customers and consumers to engage in their business and their brand conversation.

When you are looking for job or seeking to rise the ranks, it is those with a higher QFactor because of increased positive visiblity that tend to win the job, earn the raise, or be tapped to head up entirely new opportunities. Why? Because there is an inherent trust and belief that this is a solid, competent individual. But it must be genuine. Volunteer and serve because you believe it's the right thing to do. Inspire others to join you, and be part of such initiatives.

Attend networking events and be genuine with the people you meet. Pen expert bylined articles that share insights and expertise that peers in your industry can learn from. Find speaking engagements. Most importantly, YOU shouldn't be doing any of these things - work with a professional who has the time, the contacts and the expertise to assist you with your personal brand -- it's good for you. Get a plan. Work the plan. Make more money -- for yourself and your business.

New Article Series: The Benefits of Proactive Marketing & PR Efforts

Over the coming months, we'll be sharing a series of articles detailing the benefits of a measurable, proactive marketing communications and public relations program with a reputable and talented PR firm. Most notable, one of the major benefits of a program is that most business leaders (CEOs/Presidents) earn up to 8xs more in salary than their counterparts who do not engage in a proactive PR campaign. Higher positive profile = more pay.

We'll be sharing plenty of more reasons to pick up that phone and give our PR firm a call.

Five New Technologies to Spice Up Your Public Relations

5 New Technologies to Spice Up Your PR Mix
by Christopher Bennett | 04/01/2013


As a senior communications strategist working in retail technology, I have a front seat to new technologies and I’ve seen first-hand how they have shaped and are changing the way in which we communicate with one another.

Public relations and marketing professionals need to consider multiple platforms and vehicles for channeling their messages.
TECH DRIVES COMMUNICATIONS

Today’s media landscape is all about what’s happening now, and why do I care? Opinions and conversations are shared freely online, often before the official news breaks.

With ever-advancing social platforms like Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter, virtually anyone with an Internet connection and a keypad can contribute to the conversation.

The advent of digital media has made it almost mandatory for communicators to be fluent in the language of social media.
HYPER-CONNECTED

We now live in a mobile, hyper-connected world where nearly every business professional and influencer owns or has access to a laptop, mobile phone and tablet filled with apps that enable us to work faster and smarter than ever before.

These apps and advances in mobile technology have turned the once glued-to-a-desk communications consultant into a mobile, always-connected PR pro who is on-the-go.

Traditional elements of business and communications have changed and improved thanks to technology.

Today, we have the ability to geo-target our audiences, reaching exactly who we want, directly and easily.

What’s more, breakthroughs in e-commerce and mobile technology enable consumers to make mobile purchases and use payment systems through their devices in-store, completely changing the retail space.
HARNESSING TECHNOLOGY

Many communicators and businesses do not leverage technology to its fullest. After all, there is only so much time in a day to explore the latest and greatest in tech.

Yet harnessing the power of technology allows it to help us with our job, rather than overwhelm us.

It gives us access to more information, through an increasing number of mediums, extending our productivity reach well beyond what was previously possible.

Here are five new technologies and mobile apps to consider adding tomorrow to your PR and marketing mix:

1. GroupMe: Free, private group-based messaging. GroupMe, for examle, is a multi-platform messaging app that works on all mobile devices enabling team members to communicate with people throughout the world.

The app has the functionality to coordinate groups with colleagues for private, work-related discussions, making communication easy, especially for businesses with locations nationally or worldwide.

2. Streamboard: Real-time Twitter news on iOs.Streamboard is a new iOS app that sends Twitter updates in real-time. Keywords, hashtags and conversations can be searched and tracked while prioritizing by location, language, influence and linked content.

This app can be particularly useful during an event or announcement requiring real-time monitoring, listening and response.

3. Here on Biz: Meet LinkedIn contacts in real life. Here on Biz is a mobile app designed for business networking. It identifies the most valuable and relevant professionals and sends mobile alerts when they’re nearby.

4. Brewster: Personalized address book. Take Brewster, which synchronizes and organizes all contacts, bringing them all into to one central location. The app has the functionality to search for contacts by name, location or similar interest.

5. UberConference: A completely new approach to conference calling, UberConference eliminates the process of finding and typing in dial-in numbers and PIN codes and brings visual dimension to conference calling.

Participants can easily dial into the conference number and will be automatically authenticated based on their phone number, allowing them to see the names, photos, and other information of the conference call participants. PRN

Spending Money On Bad Creative Ads? Not Smart, According to Research

87% of Americans are fed up with bad ads. You may be spending money (or in many cases as little as possible) to make an ad, which in many cases is actually HURTING your business. Hire a professional.

So much so that 19% say bad ads are even getting in the way of them having sex.

This is according to a new Harris Survey being revealed on Thursday, April 11, from InsightsOne. The survey, which was developed to see how Americans react to the best, and the most annoying, ads all around us each day, found that:

Americans will ignore a company completely if they send too many bad ads:
• 23% after just one ad
• 43% after as many as two

And 83% overall say bad ads actually get in the way of their activities:
• Web surfing – 51%
• Online shopping – 37%
• Working – 20%
• Having Sex – 19%
• Sleeping – 13%

The survey also found the types of ads Americans find most annoying:
• Pop-up ads – 70%
• Lottery scams – 70%
• Male enhancement ads – 66%
• Emails from deceased African leaders who have left them money – 64%
• Ads for products and services they do not need – 58%
• Female enhancement ads – 54%

Getting Ready for Your Next Event? While The Eisen Agency is expert at event planning and promotion, here are 6 tips you need (if you don't have us).

6 Tips for PR Success with Your Events
by Scott Van Camp | 04/01/2013


Diane Gage Lofgren, Kaiser Permanente
Now that it looks like spring has finally sprung, it's time for corporate events season. Every spring industries and brands vie for attention on show floors and in conference venues across the nation. And just like it's tough to get past the online clutter, it's just as difficult to create a "live" event that piques the interest of potential clients and other stakeholders.

Make no mistake, face-to-face communication is just as important to the public as website and social outreach. In addition to improving response and consideration scores, engagement with customers stemming from experiential communications activity produces real changes in purchase intent, says Diane Gage Lofgren, chief communications officer and senior VP, brand communication, at Kaiser Permanente. According to a Mosaic study, 95% of event participants are more inclined to purchase a product or service being promoted.

So what does it take to plan, execute and communicate an event that will your target audience won't easily forget? Here are tips from Gage Lofgren:

1. Evaluate Your Event for a Strategic Fit: Events need to be consistent with the organization’s brand, meshing with business goals, objectives and outcomes. The event must match your company's values and business priorities.

2. Secure Leadership Buy In: Identify key executive sponsors of the event and schedule briefings with them. "Be ready to demonstrate your event's value to them with a business case," says Gage Lofgren.

3. Pre-Plan and Promote the Heck Out of Your Event: Promote speakers ahead of time to your contacts through emails, blogs, and social media. Pitch to media in advance and amplify presence onsite through the display of artwork, demonstrations and videos. Have trained PR team members onsite to staff interviews and followup with media and stakeholders.

4. Make Events Interactive and Memorable: During conferences and meetings minimize the use of PowerPoint. Also, shake up the event with something unexpected (a surprise guest speaker or a flash mob gathering, for example). Build in unique activities and events that make your event stand out.

5. Extend the Event: Invite key journalists and bloggers and offer previews to a few select reporters. Facilitate an expert meet-and-greet to attract media PR and attendees. Create an event-specific mobile game for attendees and offer added-value items at the event.

6. Share Your Event Results: Offer event surveys to participants that are fun and interactive. Send a recap to all stakeholders sharing survey findings and other metrics. And be sure to highlight how PR contributed to the bottom line via your event.

Twitter Serving Up New Paid Options, Targeting for Small Brands

Twitter Serves Up New Targeting Options for Small Brands

Matt Kapko

Twitter is unwrapping new targeting features, a revamped interface, and more detailed analytics on its self-served ad platform. While the company positions for broader interest in its paid media products, it is expanding the tools and services it offers marketers to encourage more small- to mid-sized brands to increase engagement on the platform.

Twitter doesn't provide exact numbers, but says "thousands of business" are using the platform today. Although a year has passed since Twitter made room for more paid content in users' timelines, the service is still only available by invitation in the United States. It is unclear whether Twitter prefers to hide growth patterns, tamper expectations, or maintain control over which brands or marketers gain access to its burgeoning ad platform, but it's likely a combination of those factors and others.

For Doug Schumacher, co-founder of Zuum, it was "just an option, a click, and we were in," he says, adding that the process may have been streamlined because he had an existing campaign running on Twitter at the time.

"Twitter is making its native advertising portfolio approachable to small- to mid-sized businesses because it needs to," says Brian Solis, principal analyst at Altimeter Group. Having studied the promoted and sponsored space for quite some time, it's clear that businesses of all sizes can not solely rely on earned or owned media in social channels."

As for the new features now available to self-serve advertisers, Schumacher tells ClickZ that targeting by device type is the most exciting and potentially rewarding for marketers. "That's a pretty big step for self-service advertising, and for the right businesses - like mobile app developers - it could give them some great efficiencies in connecting with the right target," he says. His interest wanes from there, however.

"Beyond targeting by device, I don't think there's that much that will surprise people. Self-service platforms like Google and Facebook have a lot of great features, so the bar is high," adds Schumacher. "But for the right brand, with the right audience, being able to target effectively on Twitter will be tight-enough targeting. Twitter has a distinct platform and audience, so by delivering targeting and campaign management tools that are comparable to other platforms, they can still give an advertiser a distinct capability."

In addition to targeting by device or platform, brands can direct their promoted tweets to users based on gender, interests they share with others (similar to Facebook's lookalike audience targeting), or 350 specific interest categories.

While Twitter has made improvements to its interface and began offering deeper analytics, reporting and real-time campaign controls, Schumacher tells ClickZ that the analytics are not a high point. "I don't find them very intuitive, and they seem to be missing some obvious ways that marketers would want to view their creatives. Categorizing creative messages into groups seems like an obvious omission," he adds.

"Paid media allows every business to expand their reach, but it takes more than money," adds Solis of Altimeter Group. "It takes a unique understanding of the culture of the network and the ability to engage users in something more interesting than a tweet or post, but instead a story or experience. Twitter's self-serve platform is making promoted products something for almost everyone to evaluate easier and with greater access and metrics."

Kentucky Ad Agencies Say 'Thank You' to Ohio Governor

Or, you could just hire/use a firm in Kentucky!:).


Dear AAF Cincinnati Members and Prospective Members:

On Wednesday, AAF Cincinnati joined a grassroots effort involving seven AAF affiliates in the state of Ohio -- as well as the 4As, the ANA, the Motion PIcture Assoc., the Ohio Assoc. of Broadcasters, the Ohio Cable Telecommunications Association, the Ohio Grocers Assoc., the Ohio Newspaper Association, and the Outdoor Advertising Association -- in a letter to all Ohio Legislators, expressing our opposition to the proposed sales tax on advertising in Ohio.

That letter said, in part, "The members of the Coalition applaud Governor Kasich and the Ohio General Assembly for seeking to lower the tax burden, simplify the tax code, and make Ohio more business-friendly. However, an ad tax will result in the exact opposite of these objectives."
Because we don't expect every one of you to study the tax issue as carefully as we have, our Government Relations Committee (Co-chaired by Dan Phenicie and Jack Greiner) has put together these highlights for your quick review.
If you want further Facts & Figures to make our case, please open the ATTACHED 2-PAGE PDF (for you to print it and post, if you'd like).

You may also visit http://www.noadtax.com to read the full text of the Coalition's letter and the latest updates.
If you want to do more in waging this battle, please email AAF Cincinnati President Mike Zitt or AAF Executive Director Judy Thompson.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE ISSUES, FOR YOUR REVIEW:
1. Under Ohio Governor John Kasich's proposed 2014-2015 state budget, advertising services would be subject to taxation.
2. Advertising helps businesses build brand awareness and communicate with consumers.
3. According to a study by IHS Global Insight, advertising expenditures help generate $198.5 billion in economic output in Ohio - just over 20% of the state's total.
4. When the cost of advertising goes up, businesses advertise less, which leads to less consumer demand and purchasing. It is estimated that a tax on advertising would decrease sales in Ohio by $12.1 billion.
5. According to IHS Global Insight, a sales tax on advertising would result in the loss of an estimated 48,911 jobs in Ohio
6. The proposed ad tax is 5%. That's 5% of the ad budget that doesn't go onto digital, or SEO, or print, or video, or broadcast.
7. Advertising professionals in Ohio will be at a competitive disadvantage because of this tax. This disadvantage will be especially hard in Cincinnati because of our proximity to Kentucky and Indiana.
8. An ad tax would shift ad dollars out of Ohio to places where they won't be taxed
9. Currently, no state in the US has an advertising tax. Florida tried it once, but it was quickly repealed over its adverse economic impact and difficulties in administering it.
10. Under the current proposal, the ad tax would be applicable only to "local" advertising and advertising services, while "national" advertising services would remain exempt, but details regarding how this distinction would be defined and administered are currently absent from the legislation.
11. Since advertising costs are built into the price of products and services sold, a tax on advertising amounts to double taxation

Want to Do Better Online and Digital Marketing? Look at Car Brands

or call us. here's some tips:

Tessa Wegert
5 Things Auto Brands Can Teach You About Marketing Online

Tessa Wegert |



If you're looking to gauge brands' engagement with digital media, look no further than the automotive industry. Auto manufacturer campaigns can be used as a barometer for reading both online marketing trends and effective tactics, for several reasons. Auto brands represent a massive market. Borrell Associates forecasts that by the end of 2012, ad spending - both national and local - will have increased by 14 percent to reach $30.8 billion, making the automotive industry one of the biggest media buyers in the nation.

Many of those ad dollars end up online. Borrell predicts a 39 percent increase in online automotive media buys. By the end of the year, the company says, "40 cents of every auto ad dollar will be spent on digital media." In other words, car companies know their digital advertising.

Over the years, automotive companies have brought us some unforgettable campaigns, from BMW's short online film series "The Hire" to Audi's alternate reality game "The Art of the Heist." We can learn a thing or two from these marketing mavens, even if our own products have nothing to do with the open road.

1. Automakers don't throw ads onto the web to see what sticks. They select their themes thoughtfully, and when something resonates with their customers they don't often abandon it. Think of Volkswagen's ongoing Das Auto tagline, originally launched back in 2007; the ubiquitous "Built Ford Tough" ads with their steel-plated logo; and Lexus' recurring "December to Remember" holiday sales event. Don't get hung up on always giving your customers something "fresh and new" if they're responding to what you've already got.

2. Auto brands are fiercely consistent. Their online ads mirror their TV spots, which mirror their billboards, which mirror their ads in print. If it feels as though all commercials promoting cars look alike, you probably aren't in-market for one. Consumers who are will likely notice each car ad has its own brand identity, and that identity is evident in every form of media that car buyers consume. When this strategy is employed, individual ads aren't left to their own devices but buttressed by the power of the campaign as a whole. To borrow a line from Dr. Seuss: a banner finds the strength of 10 ads…plus two.

3. The automotive industry is a wheel with many spokes, and not all car campaigns serve the same purpose. Some are designed to familiarize consumers with new models. Others are meant to push in-market consumers further down the purchasing funnel. Consumer profiling and site segmentation allow auto brands to better determine which ads to serve to which potential customers, based on their proximity to making a purchase. Better targeted ads translate into a better response rate. That's something all marketers are looking for, regardless of the nature of their product.

4. When automakers feature interactivity in their online ads, they do it in a way that adds value. Their ads engage because they give consumers something that's both useful and personal. Even in the early days of digital media, car manufacturers embraced configuration tools that invited car shoppers to customize their ideal vehicle. It was the perfect way to inform them about new models and add-ons that could be customized. That's online interaction with purpose, and it speaks to consumers. It's like topping a pizza exactly the way you like it and putting it in the oven to bake. Just try resisting the urge to take a bite.

5. Automakers rely on online video to engage. Historically car manufacturers have devoted the bulk of their ad budgets to television, and have been reluctant to abandon this approach. Video, however, is a natural next step. According to research from Martini Media, 62 percent of auto companies plan to shift TV dollars to online media, and 95 percent believe that rich media is "as effective as TV advertising." Companies with strong roots in offline should find the shift to online video easy, as long as they remember to keep online videos short and put them where they're likely to be shared: on YouTube, on Facebook, or on the brand site.

Auto brands have cracked the code to online marketing. And they've done it by staying true to the strategies they honed offline.

How to Turn Your Data Into Action!

Make Sure Your Big Data Makes a Big Difference

Nathan Richter



We've already covered two core data challenges facing most companies in my last two posts: aggregating your most valuable data, and setting your organization up to capitalize on this new well of information.

But just organizing your data and finding the right people or technology to manage it isn't where your big data planning ends. If you stop there, you'll just end up with a bunch of very nicely organized, important data points. And that's not insight you can act on.

So how can you turn your data into action?

"The Meaningful Use of Big Data: Four Perspectives - Four Challenges" (PDF download) highlights different approaches to make the most of your data through a disciplined approach of interaction, to best understand and capitalize on your data.

And I couldn't agree more. The research underscores the need for process and intent in order to make the most of your data. Without a solid plan for action, a bunch of numbers won't help any company move forward. So even if you have the data warehouse, even if you have the technology and the data scientist, mastering big data doesn't stop there.

Here is a three-step translated process for online marketers and retailers:

1. Develop data objectives that tightly align with key business objectives. Before diving into your pristine new data or turning to a brand new data scientist, identify how your data strategy aligns with your overall business initiatives. Think about how this data ties to the organization's major goals.

This is important because many times individual people or departments will come up with great ideas for the data. But if those ideas aren't closely aligned to your overall company goals, it's a wasted opportunity. For instance, one department might want to reduce bounce rate for a certain segment of visitors. But if your overall company objective for the year is to increase average order value, that should take priority.

Ask: How does this query of our data help us reach our organizational goals? Will this query of data help capitalize on a business opportunity? Will it help us close an operational divide with our competitors?

The answers to questions like these will help you make sure deep dives into your best data aren't a waste of time and actually impact your company's bottom line.

2. Choose your approach to the querying process. How you approach your data will have a huge impact on what you can do with it. There are many perspectives when it comes to your data approach, but let's take a look at two of the big ones:

Retroactive analysis. This approach is used for looking at past customer behavior to uncover lost or missed opportunities. For instance, you might query the data to uncover the opportunities missed during a macro campaign, then determine how you can tweak that campaign to quickly and effectively change those results.

At a basic level, this approach is focused on the behavior of customer segments within your data, and it's a rich and vast vein of analytics that can allow you to drive incremental performance in future campaigns.

Ask: What are the driving factors or attributes about the overperforming or underperforming customers that, through isolation and further scrutiny, could produce a better result on re-execution?
Predictive/behavior modeling. This approach takes into account the isolated attributes that, across segments, prove to be potentially valuable when aggregated. Similar to multivariate testing, predictive/behavior modeling focuses on understanding individual element performance out of many elements, but you haven't yet modeled them together as an aggregate.

For instance, you might look at your data to uncover your best conversion performers. Perhaps your data says there are a whole bunch of great performers from Michigan, a whole bunch from Facebook, and a lot who are around 25 years old, according to Census Bureau data.

Now, it's time to take a closer look at people who are 25 who live in Michigan and come to your website from Facebook. Using that information, you're able to create a commonality that can cut through isolated aspects and compile disparate elements to create a customer model and uncover ways to find elements you want to reproduce.

3. Make sure you have the ability to execute. Whether you decide to focus on retroactive data analysis or predictive/behavior modeling, or another approach altogether, the ability to execute a new campaign or plan with this information is absolutely critical.

A well-thought-out and disciplined process is the only way to drive data success and make a meaningful impact on your organization. Don't get bogged down in complexity. Your technology and analytics resources should directly relate to the sophistication of your efforts. Don't be paralyzed by the daunting amount of data and try to do too much, or wait and worry about perfecting an unattainable resource environment.

Instead, take the opportunities available, and remember that the biggest key to your success is taking action and starting on the journey. Impact starts with activity!

Why PR (And Hiring a PR Pro) is Critical to the Success of Your Business

Understanding PR: Why Is it so Important?



By Daniel Blinman

Implementing a successful Public Relations strategy is a very complicated process. It involves a number of techniques used in other forms of marketing; which seems to confuse many of today’s up and coming business owners. Understanding its importance is the first step you need to take. From there you can begin developing the strategies, or possibly hiring the right people; to get the job done effectively.

What’s Involved in PR?

The first step to understanding the importance of PR is to figure out exactly what is involved, and sadly; there is never going to be an exact answer. Every PR strategy is going to be custom-tailored to the individual business, as any well-executed marketing plan should be. The following include some of the more commonly used techniques and can be used as a guideline for the things involved:

Press Releases- Press releases are an excellent way of updating the public about recent changes regarding your business and its products. They are often distributed online. Websites such as PR Web allow you to distribute your press releases throughout major news sites and search engines extremely quickly.

Media Alerts- Media alerts are similar to a press release. Instead of providing information about your company changes or products, you would inform the media about a conference or event you are holding. The idea behind this is to encourage photographers or reporters to attend, providing exposure for your company.

Press Tours- Identify the important and influential journalists or bloggers within your industry. Then provide a reason to get them to meet with you, or simply have a conversation. Create an interesting and newsworthy topic to do with your business for them to write about, aiming to make it interesting enough to the readers of the journalist or blogger. Hopefully, your company will then be put in front of readers that are directly interested in your niche.

Trade Shows- Attending trade shows specific to your industry are an excellent method for networking with influential people. It allows you to build up connections, develop your brand, and generate interest in your company.

Email Marketing- Whilst this technique is often heavily associated with internet marketing, it often plays a key role within a PR expert’s toolkit. The idea is to create a database of potential and existing customers. You will then use it to email them with information regarding your industry, or present them with your new products.

Social Networking- With the recent rise in active social media users, the purpose of social media from a business perspective has risen dramatically. The idea is to build and maintain relationships with your potential and existing customers.

Understanding these techniques and how they work is one thing, but actually implementing them effectively requires an expert; or at least someone that has some type of experience. This is why most businesses are choosing to hire agencies or freelancers to carry out their PR. When you combine the above techniques with a clear plan, and you have the right resources to carry it out, the end result is hugely beneficial for businesses.

The Benefits Of Successful PR

Cost Effective Brand Awareness

Developing a Public Relations strategy has often been described as the most cost-effective method for raising brand awareness, and it is obvious why. The majority of PR can be done at a surprisingly cheap price, in comparison to traditional advertising methods. It doesn’t cost a great deal to distribute a press release, develop a social presence, or attend a press tour. And when you do these things correctly, your products or message will be placed directly in front of the eyes of the right people.

Develop Credibility

Using PR as a marketing tool also allows you to gain credibility for your business. Reason being, PR presents people with information from a third party. We are much more likely to trust positive coverage about companies that we read in a newspaper, magazine, or on an online press release. Compare that to the only alternative that will reach the same volume of audience, such as using television, billboards, radio or other advertising methods. When you compare the two, you can see why more and more businesses are starting to develop PR strategies.

Overall, developing a successful PR strategy is fundamental in taking businesses to the next level. To summarise, it provides the following benefits:

It provides a vital role in promoting businesses to their customers.
When done correctly, it can often provide a greater result than advertising, whilst costing less.
It allows you to quickly respond to opportunities within publicity.
If you ever experience bad press, having a solid PR strategy in place will reduce the damage caused.
It can improve the overall image of a company within the community.