BroadBased Communications: Marketing, Public Relations, Graphic Design

 Jan Korb , BroadBased’s CEO, was one of four panelists for the Jacksonville chapter of the American Marketing Association’s (JAMA) August event: The Role of Design in Marketing. Also featured on the panel were Jeff Spear of Studio Spear, Al Emerick of Hospital Physician Partners and Caron Streibich of OptaComp. For more information about JAMA and upcoming events, please visit its website.

You can find Jan on Twitter at @JanKorb.

In an August 2011 article in 904 Magazine, Maria Coppola, APR, BroadBased’s director of public relations, writes about basic PR strategies and tactics including information on a variety of PR opportunities and some of the pitfalls. For this business-focused article, Coppola interviewed other PR experts, a small business advisor and an advisor with the Women’s Business Center at the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce. The article also included online resources for businesses, whether they are pursuing DIY PR or looking to hire an expert.

Coppola has also been named the president of the Jacksonville Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association . FPRA, a statewide organization, is the oldest public relations association in America and is focused on enhancing the public relations profession through continuing education, accreditation, professional development, professional recognition, and upholding its code of ethics in PR practice. As a local chapter president she will serve as a member of the FPRA state board of directors.

You can find Maria on Twitter at @mariacoppola.

Posted in BroadBased

With all the conversation about online advertising, marketers would be remiss to not include print advertising in the marketing mix. According to the Publishers Information Bureau, total magazine advertising revenue for the first half of 2011 increased 4% versus the same period in 2010. This marks the fifth consecutive quarter that magazines have posted increases in both revenues and pages, a trend welcomed by many.

According to The Association of Magazine Media three sectors exhibited double-digit page gains, driven by advertising for the following product categories:

• Toiletries & Cosmetics: cosmetics and beauty aids; hair and skin care products
• Automotive: domestic and foreign brands, driven by a mix of fuel-efficient/hybrid models, sports cars and motorcycles; also auto accessories and equipment
• Financial, Insurance & Real Estate: banks; investor consultancies and software; insurance firms

Joe White, publisher of Jacksonville Magazine, 904, Home, Bride and Taste magazines said, “Our numbers are up this year over last, both in ad pages and total ads. In a sluggish economy (where Florida ranks in the top four nationwide in unemployment), there’s something very encouraging about that. Of course, we’re a long way from the numbers of 2007. But we’re upbeat about the future of advertising in all our print products.”

“Despite the remarkable advancements in technology, advertising products and services is basically the same today as it was 200 years ago. In short, get your message in front of an audience. Technology has added new avenues to do that. But good old-fashioned print works the same as it always has. I can give all sorts of statistics and industry info to support that. However, I’d prefer to offer two simple truths we see here in Jax.”

“To every event we attend, host or sponsor, we bring copies of our publications. Very rarely do we bring those same copies back to the office. If given the opportunity to receive a quality magazine, the vast majority of people we encounter say, ‘yes, thank you.’ In addition, when we set up our Jax Mag party photo screens at a fundraiser, the line of people wanting their photo taken for the magazine starts to form almost immediately. People wouldn’t wait in line, by choice, if they didn’t see it as something worth waiting for.”

So remember, with all the online advertising options, print advertising remains a steadfast option.

Posted in BroadBased, Marketing Planning

You say your most recent direct mail effort resulted in a 1.25% response rate? And the click-through rate of your most recent Adwords ad was the same? Depending on your industry and audience, those numbers could be ample reason to toot your horn to the brass. Below, we present a compilation of common marketing response rates with which you can benchmark your own results.

Direct Mail: Depending on the industry, offer and the objective, typical B2C direct mail response rates are in the 0.5% – 1.9% range.  CRMTrends.com

Sponsored Links: The average Click Through Rate (CTR) for sponsored search engine links for all industries in 2010 was 0.051% – a decline from 2009’s 0.063%. The worst performing CTRs were for healthcare ads, which reported 0.011% CTR. 2011 Webtrends Report

Banner Ads: The average standard banner ad CTR stabilized at 0.09% in mid 2010. At that rate, your ad would need to receive 2,000 impressions to deliver 18 click-throughs. www.kikabink.com

Facebook Ads: The average Facebook ad CTR is 0.051%. www.kikabink.com

Posted in BroadBased, Marketing Planning

A recent study by Hotwire and The Holmes Report revealed public relations professionals believe senior management leaves them outside the top table in their companies.

The Holmes Report, in a poll of senior global communications executives found 59% of respondents do not think public relations has a seat at the table with top senior management.

And yet “84% of executives rate communications as the function that has the most influence on corporate reputation.”

Yes, we believe PR should be near the top of the org chart, but it’s not just about structure. We think communicators deserve a physical seat at the table in many instances such as: policy discussions, customer service issues, new services, product launches and, of course, any issue with the potential to create a media reaction. The deeper understanding your PR advisors have of your business, the more valuable they can be to you.

Posted in Public/Media Relations

It was once thought search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO) were strategies that should work independently of each other. But what marketers have come to realize is when combined, SEM + SEO make for one powerful tool.

Pay-per-click (PPC) strategies are an integral part of SEM. In addition to the “organic” search returns generated by your SEO strategy, “sponsored listings” are purchased via a Keyword bidding process. These are the ads at the top and side of organic search results. But why would you use a PPC ad? In addition to advertising a product or service, PPC ads can also be used:

• When organic SEO is not driving the desired amount of traffic to your website.
• When your top Keywords are too competitive for organic search to deliver satisfactory traffic to your website.
• To test the popularity of different keywords via click-through conversion. The resulting data can be used to help bolster your SEO efforts.
• To create immediate awareness of a new facility, product or service. You might try a PPC campaign when you need immediate visibility and don’t have the time for organic SEO to take its course.
• To generate campaign- or issue-based traffic. You might try a PPC strategy in the event that you want to create additional visibility for yourself as an expert resource on a timely topic such as a product recall.
• To boost employee recruiting efforts.

Posted in Marketing Planning, Web/Interactive Development

In July, Jan Korb, BroadBased’s CEO, delivered a presentation entitled Incorporating Pay-Per-Click Advertising Into Your Marketing Campaign to Florida Hospital Association public relations and marketing at their annual meeting. The presentation can be downloaded on SlideShare.

Posted in BroadBased, Marketing Planning

A frequent question we field from small and medium-size businesses is how much they should spend on marketing. This can be a tough question for seasoned businesses, and even tougher for startups.

While there’s no one-size-fits-all formula for calculating how much you should spend, we can offer some guidelines. The Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) define the variable for a proper marketing budget to be between 2% and 10% of sales, noting that the total for business-to-consumer (B2C), retail and pharmaceuticals can exceed 20% during peak brand-building years. As an example, at 5% of gross, a company with $3 million in revenues would consider allocating $150,000 a year for marketing.

B2C budgets are generally higher than business-to-business (B2B) because the cost of reaching a large population through broadcast media can be quite expensive. B2B budgets are typically lower due to smaller target audiences and sleeker, niche marketing solutions.

Nailing down a number

Although many companies determine their marketing budgets as a percent of gross revenue, that doesn’t mean they pick an arbitrary number within the recommended range. So how do you arrive at a percentage that’s right for you?

Often, the percentage is determined by industry and size, so it’s smart to reach out to industry associations you belong to for benchmarking information. Additionally, many CPAs subscribe to research software and may be able to help you with your industry information.

What items belong in the marketing budget?

The fictional $150,000 budget set for a company with $3 million in revenues might sound like a lot at first, but not when you consider all that goes into it. The budget will support in-house marketing salaries, agency and public relations fees, media buys, printing, mailing, postage, trade shows, memberships, website, etc. So you can see how quickly the numbers add up. SCORE provides a handy worksheet to help you along on its website.

Regardless of how you arrive at the final figure for your marketing budget, it must be one that realistically supports your sales plan and returns an appropriate ROI. Depending on corporate goals, your budget may be 4% this year and 8% next year. And if you are new to the marketplace, you have to spend more aggressively to establish your business objectives.

Posted in Marketing Planning

As social responsibility issues have become a business imperative, the papers that companies use to communicate their message can be as important as the message itself. Wayne Dennis, corporate director of sustainability at Mac Papers, has developed an informative sustainability presentation titled ‘It’s OK To Print.’  With the following eight facts, he reminds us why paper is still a very important part of marketing campaigns.

• It’s 10% easier to read and 30% easier to understand words on paper versus words online.
• 30% less carbon is emitted to produce a newspaper for one person to read for one year than for one person to read online for 30 minutes.
• Electronics use 90% fossil fuels purchased off grid.
• An average of 78% of all power used by U.S. paper mills comes from alternative fuel sources such as wind and hydroelectric power. Some paper mills have been using green energy practices since the early 1900′s. In fact, French Paper has been producing its paper using 100% hydroelectric power since 1922.
• 98% of consumers bring in mail the day they receive it; 77% look through it that day.
• A person’s mood improves 26% by the touch of tactile printed paper.
• Print is viewed as trustworthy and objective; Web is viewed as timely.
• Print and electronic media work very well together (think PURLs and QR codes).

For more information, or to learn more about how Mac Papers can enhance your company’s image through effective paper sourcing strategies that promote sustainability and support your business goals, email Wayne Dennis at Wayne.Dennis@MacPapers.com

Posted in Marketing Planning

You’ve heard the stories of how one social media slip-up can damage a person’s livelihood or reputation. Remember Gilbert Gottfried and the fallout of his poorly timed tsunami jokes? It cost him his job as the AFLAC spokesman. While social media is a wonderful tool to expand your personal credibility and reputation through public conversation, it’s also helpful if you establish guidelines for your tweet messaging. Following are a few tips from us on how to keep your personal Twitter account from causing a public relations nightmare.

Choose wisely: If you have a ghost-tweeter, determine the tone of the messages you’d like to relay. Make sure you have a person in place to create and deliver them who truly understands your “personal brand.”

Don’t be a Weiner: Don’t say anything that you wouldn’t want to see on the front page of the newspaper. And know that the media views social media as quotable without your “permission.” It is in the public domain. Period.

Stay focused: Once you determine your tone, stick to it. Don’t stray too far from the voice of your brand.

Have fun: It’s ok to show your sense of humor but remember your dinner party etiquette – taboo subjects like sex, abortion, off-color jokes, religion and politics will probably lose you followers.

Contribute to the conversation: Jump in the conversation and make some new friends. Comment on the tweets of people you follow and speak freely and often on topics geared to your industry.

Don’t tweet after happy hour: Enough said.

All in all, have fun but remember that Twitter is a representation of you. Refrain from saying anything that you wouldn’t want a client, partner, employee, vendor or reporter to ask you about. For information on how to design a personal Twitter account – complete with best messaging practices – email BroadBased’s director of public relations, Maria Coppola.

Posted in Public/Media Relations, Social Media Planning

In a June 2011 marketing article for 904 Magazine, Jan Korb, BroadBased’s CEO, writes about the benefits (and pitfalls) of online coupon experiences for retailers. In the article entitled “Deal or No Deal?” Korb interviewed five businesses of various sizes to find out first-hand if these couponing services are bringing in the customers.

Posted in BroadBased