In today’s ever-evolving, incredibly intricate technological market, every organization needs a brand if they want to be successful. You may think you’re doing well without a cohesive brand, but you’re probably only doing ok.
The good news is there’s room for growth.
Without a cohesive brand, no matter how you think your company is doing, you’re likely making about a 10th of the total potential impact you could make. Creating a brand, or identity, for your company is essential in today’s market. It’s the language everyone else in the world is speaking today, and you need to get on board if you want to move your organization forward.
Today’s market is incredibly competitive. And today’s audience is incredibly judgmental. But they’re also unwaveringly loyal, genuine, and relatively easy to reach. In order to tap into that potential, your company needs to create its own personality. Essentially, you need to establish a “look and feel” for your company, as if it were a real person. That look and feel will help you denote a logo, font, and color scheme that embodies your organization. And, if done well, it’ll effortlessly attract like-minded customers without much extra effort from you or your staff.
Have I convinced you yet? It’s time for a rebrand. And while you’re here taking my advice, let me give you a few nuts of knowledge I’ve picked up by taking my organization through a rebrand process:
You need FULL buy-in from your management and executives right from the get-go. The decision makers at the top need to understand the utter importance of the brand, and they need to completely trust you to execute it properly.
Create buy-in points along the way. Invite executives and stakeholders to be a part of the rebrand brainstorming. Collect feedback throughout the process and send regular progress updates to stakeholders and executives.
Set deadlines with your team and your executives before you begin the process. Make sure everyone has the same expectations for when decisions needs to be made, how long the entire process will take, and which people will be responsible for which work.
Delineate one point person and one ultimate decision-maker. (Those roles can fall to the same person, if that is best for your organization.) It’s incredibly important that all parties agree that those two people have those two roles throughout the life of the entire project. All participants, stakeholders, and executives need to trust that the point person and the decision maker will make educated decisions that are always best for the organization.
Creating a brand for your company will be a lot of work, and may take a lot of time. Be patient! And remember that if you prepare properly, you will be beyond satisfied with the incredible results your new brand yields!
The fresh produce. The large beautifully designed aisles. Carefully chosen offerings that are sustainable, healthy and delicious. Each decision that goes into making Wegman’s such an inviting space to load up on crunchy apples and aged cheddar is guided by the institution’s core values. Which means everyone from the CEO to the person stocking the prepared foods knows exactly the environment that Wegman’s strives to create – and more importantly doesn’t waste time with choices that run counter to those values.
What are core values, exactly?
Well, first a definition: Core values are attributes shared by key stakeholders in the organization. They embody the brand identity, are used in the tone of the value proposition, and describe standards held by the organization. Most simply, core values are adjectives or common phrases that describe the personality traits of the people involved with the organization – from staff to investors to the clientele. You with me?
How can core values increase productivity and efficiency?
Core values increase productivity by aligning personalities and standards in a work place. This increases efficiency by focusing attention on work that will be most productive or eliminating the work that is not.
It’s simple and you’re probably already doing it. Let’s say you’re hiring. In the interview process, you’re most likely going to look for someone who complements your existing team. If you acknowledge what traits your staff share that make them work together so effectively and look for those traits in a new hire, you know you’ll build a stronger team.
You’re already doing this, right? Keep going.
So take it a step or two further by keeping those traits identifiable to all stakeholders. Likewise, not taking on a client or vendor who doesn’t share your core values helps you avoid situations that won’t be a good fit.
For example, one of the core values at R&R Creative is creativity. If someone approaches us with a project where there’s absolutely no room to propose new or innovative solutions then chances are we won’t be happy doing the project. Unhappy teammates make for an unhappy work environment which could result in our product suffering. The beauty here is that clearly stating our core values increases efficiency because they enable us to say no, and focus on what will end up being more productive in the long run.
What’s next?
Now, if you don’t know your core values or those of your organization I suggest you find out. If their answer is: what core values? Then maybe it’s time to make the case. Lucky you, R&R Creative knows just where to start. We can show you how to feature those values throughout your organization and marketing strategy to make sure you are attracting the right vendors, customers and team members, which means winning half the battle right from the start.
Libraries are realizing the marketing and development potential that social media sites possess. Tapping into that potential, however, requires more than the set-up of a profile or the occasional update –- it requires research, planning, creativity, and consistency.
In this day long workshop, we reviewed digital media strategy from determining the best site(s) to generating social media content, and shared lots of marketing tips in between.
Thank you to all who attended for making this an enjoyable and informative workshop!
Like it or not, social media is here to stay. It is a new form of communication and participation in cultural experiences. Across the nation, nonprofits are realizing the marketing and development potential that social media offers. Tapping into that potential requires more than establishing a profile or occasionally updating your page. It requires research, planning, creativity and consistency.
In this day-long, interactive workshop, Rachel Dukeman covers the best ways to use social media and digital media marketing to enhance grant proposals, fundraising campaigns, audience participation, and communicating your brand to a larger audience online. From determining the best sites to using content generation, participants are encouraged to bring a laptop, smartphone or tablet to experience professional social media strategy and implementation.
Sponsored by the New Jersey Historical Commission, New Jersey Historic Trust, New Jersey League of Historical Societies, Ocean County Cultural and Heritage Commission, and Rutgers University Libraries.
As we enter 2016, many of us are considering changes and new approaches. Perhaps that involves spending more money on marketing and communications, or outsourcing content development. Whatever the case may be, if you find yourself needing a hand, Fractional Marketing might just be your best friend.
What is Fractional Marketing?
For most small to mid-size organizations, a full time Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) is out of financial reach. Additionally, many find their marketing needs vary from project to project, season to season. In an age where organizations need to be working smarter, not harder, a fractional marketing plan fills in the gaps providing the knowledge and know-how of a full time CMO on-demand and within budget, only when and where you need it.
And they rarely work alone.
Fractional CMOs enlist the skills and experiences of their networks of in-house personnel and subcontractors to assist in the implementation of strategic marketing plans.
So in short…
Fractional Marketing means you get the skills and experience of a full-time CMO AND access to their network of marketing professionals to tackle all kinds of projects, from content strategy and execution to impartial executive marketing development.
Sound Interesting?
It is estimated that for non-profit organizations operating below the million dollar mark, there is only one full time employee dedicated solely to marketing.[1] This can make things difficult as reaching and retaining audiences becomes more and more time consuming. Marketing professionals struggle with creating interesting, informative, engaging and impactful content on time and on budget. For small to mid-size organizations, this can mean a loss of big picture planning or the ability to implement strategic marketing initiatives. This is where Fractional Marketing becomes a way to have your cake and eat it too. When it comes to marketing in today’s world having the tools and expertise to market you and your organization is absolutely necessary for long-term success. Utilizing tools like fractional marketing is just one way to meet and exceed your goals in the coming year.
R&R Creative excels at providing fractional marketing plans for the organizations on-the-go. Get the personalized attention of a highly qualified marketing professional and the resources of a marketing firm for a fraction of the cost. Schedule a consultation today to discuss options.
Pretty universally, digital marketers are working – and working hard – to discover what their audiences find “relevant” every single day. They are A/B testing, measuring reach, and sometimes being penalized by social networking sites for posting content that was not only irrelevant but altogether terrible. But every once in a while we get the gift of a highly relevant, ready-made event that gets social media sites all atwitter and begging for fun content from brands. Think the birth of Princess Charlotte Elizabeth Diana. Think Mother’s Day. Think #MayThe4thBeWithYou.
These events, which boast a shared relevance across many different demographics, can be a fantastic opportunity to get your social media posts in front of new eyes. It is also a great way to make your core audience laugh, “awwww” or remind them that there is a real person on the other side of the computer screen that shares their values and loves of social media just like they do. If you ensure your content is funny, beautiful or inventive you can also cash in on shares and retweets at a rate higher than many of your other posts. You love it. We know.
Sounds Harder Than Arguing With a Wookie
It’s not. Sure, some companies spend thousands of dollars on stunning graphics and highly-produced YouTube videos but that isn’t the only way to have an impact. Going back to our last blog post, what are your core values? Whataburger, a burger chain known for their convenience and customer service, built an At-At out of ketchup packs for #StarWarsDay 2015. To the untrained eye it’s just a clever image, but to customers, it’s a reminder that Whataburger brings condiments right to your table – an extra bit of customer service you won’t get at Burger King or McDonalds. Find a way to marry your quirky sense of humor and what your customers value most and you’ll be racking up the retweets faster than you can say #awesome.
What Would Han Solo Do?
When creating content for one of these events ask yourself what everyone’s favorite intergalactic outlaw would do. With his sexy swagger, great timing and highly recognizable jawline Han Solo can be a great guide. Do something a little different, a little sexy or a little bold. Make sure the timing is right. It is easier for your audience to view (and share) images or videos during the work day? Think about it. Finally, make sure whatever you create is still highly-identifiable with your brand and says something smart about what you do. Here are some great examples at every price point from 2015:
#MayThe4thBeWithYou, Get Your Brand On 2015:
Pandora Ad for Mother’s Day That is Making Everyone Ugly Cry:
