Shoestring Diaries: Marketing on a Budget

Cheap Laughs: Branding on YouTube

2007-08-15T19:55:00.000-07:00

YouTube is still hot property these days. Reports show that there are a hundred million video views each day! Yeah, you read that right -- 100 million! With that many video views and visitors, it seems like this must be hot property for your brand. Well...yes and no. Here are some things to consider when thinking about a marketing campaign on YouTube.

The positives:

You will get viewers: No matter what you put up, people will see your videos. You may not get 2 million hits, but you'll get some.
It can be cheap or even free: We're not talking Hollywood quality here, so you most likely won't incur heavy production costs for your videos. If you you existing content, there is no cost at all.
New audiences: Posting videos gives you the opportunity to expand your brand to audiences you may not normally reach. Viewers on YouTube tend to be in the hot 18-34 demographic.

The challenges:

Competition: There is a lot of competition for views on YouTube, so you'll need patience, promotion and a great video to get a lot of views.
Non-traditional marketing requires different approach: Most successful videos aren't just a sales pitch for company xyz. Marketing on YouTube requires a different mindset, and most often, a different approach.
Skepticism: Convincing executives that YouTube is the right place to brand your company can be difficult too. Most executives I speak with about this haven't been to YouTube and can't understand why we would want to be a part of it.

Food for thought:

Understand your audience: Make sure your target audience is on YouTube. Consumer brands obviously have the most to gain here, so if you are a B2B accounting services company, think twice.
Use existing content: Put existing television commercials and videos on YouTube to start. If you have a great commercial, you will get viewers and it's an easy way to get brand awareness.
Originality is key: There are a countless number of videos on the site and the last thing you want to do is to copy what thousands of others have done. Find a niche and stick with it.
Humor works: A humorous, relevant video can help you get a lot more views. As with most things on the Internet, the racier the better. However, do think about how the content reflects on your brand.
Promote it: You can drive additional views by promoting your videos like you would any marketing campaign. Your success won't be completely driven by WOM.

Spherion has recently created a series of videos on YouTube to build its brand in an inexpensive and humorous way. We saw that there were hundreds or even thousands of videos about work (including many clips from The Office), but none were focused on temp work. Since that is our business, we thought that creating a series about the trials and tribulations of being a temp worker would not only create a niche, but also appeal to our audiences.

Last week, we posted the second episode of The Temp Life series. Enjoy:

Never miss an opportunity to brand your company

2007-08-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

I saw an interesting post on the blog Advertising is Good for You which provided examples of what a company could do with the 404 error pages (i.e., dead link pages). Instead of using the standard, boring error page we're used to, why not design a page which can relay the same message, but brand your company in a positve and funny way and offer options to take visitors to the right place?

Just another way to extend your brand and surprise visitors. Everyone can create their own and if you're looking for examples, you can browse a few over at 404lounge.net. They range from the basic and witty to the bizzare. For example, one site used Bea Arthur as the subject for their error page. Gotta love Dorothy.

Whatever you choose to do, make sure it is consisent with your brand image and clearly states that the visitor has reached an error page.

Some examples:

Social networking sites as crisis communication vehicles?

2007-08-07T19:32:00.000-07:00

I read an interesting post today on Lee Aase’s blog that got me thinking. His post was about using Facebook to set up “dark sites” or groups to communicate with constituents during a crisis situation. His primary example of how successful it can be – a Facebook group about the bridge collapse was set up shortly after the incident and attracted more than 10,000 members within a very short period of time.

I can’t say I had ever thought of using a group on a social networking site for anything other than simply connecting with candidates, clients, etc., but Lee has a point here – especially for those of us who don’t have the IT resources or ability to create dark sites to react quickly in a time of crisis.

Facebook is free, easy and offers the functionality that is ideal in certain situations where communication is critical – like a hurricane, for example. Having gone through a number of hurricanes which have seriously disrupted our ability to communicate with our employees (both in South Florida and across North America), it wouldn’t be a bad idea to establish a Facebook group to keep people updated on the situation at our HQ.

I also like the option to offer user submissions and discussion boards to allow members to share ideas, updates, etc. But, this could result in the company losing control of the message and getting the group off topic pretty quickly, though.

As I considered the issue more, it seems that blogs would also allow a similar ability for a company to update their constituents and may actually be a better option. You could design the look and feel to have tie-ins to your existing brand and make it generic enough to be adapted to any major situation. In the end, you’ll have a more professional look and this method would also allow you to have greater control of the discussion. Your readers don’t have to be Facebook members or members of any group, either.

Interesting food for thought, especially in today’s 24/7 media environment where a crisis can show up at your doorstep within minutes. The bottom line is that we must all consider how we use the internet to communicate during a crisis situation and we must find an easy solution that allows us to react and inform with lightning speed.

Amazon.brand

2007-07-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

Saw an interesting post over on the Brand Flakes blog. Apparently Amazon.com created its own box for the new Harry Potter book. I think this is a great move for a company that lives exclusively online and has few ways to brand itself other than through its site and customer experience.

I'm sure Potter fans everywhere rejoiced, locked themselves away in a room to read the book and probably quite satisfied they purchased this through Amazon. Great stuff.

Is Second Life Really Worth It?

2007-07-25T19:01:00.000-07:00

Second Life (SL) has been the topic of a number of discussions that I’ve had with marketing/branding pros over the past few years. At first, it seemed like it was the next hot place to advertise and develop a brand. I remember the proclamations that SL would change the way conventions, corporate meetings, concerts and classes were held. I never bought into that, but at one time did want to examine our marketing options in the virtual world. The promise of reaching up to eight million people in a hot demographic sounded great to me.

And I wasn’t alone. A lot of companies (both big and small) have spent a tremendous amount of money trying to extend their brand into SL. Virtual stores, hotels and islands promoting brands seemed so promising.Then reality set it.

A recent Chicago Tribune article sheds some light on what’s really happening in SL.

First of all, there aren’t really eight million people milling around the SL world. In fact, it’s estimated that there are probably 100,000 hardcore players and 30-40,000 on at peak times according to a researcher at Forrester. That’s a pretty small audience for the investment required to establish your company in SL.

Second, SL users don’t really want to be marketed to – they are logging on SL to live another life, away from the realities of their “first” life and according to a another article, 70% of users are disappointed with their experiences with companies in SL. That’s apparent when you see that many branded areas are ghost towns and some companies are cutting their losses and closing their virtual shops.

Third, the Tribune article points out that users are quite interested in the risqué elements of SL – night clubs, strip clubs and even brothels. Those are the places that are crowded. Apparently you can even purchase genitalia. Interesting…

Does this sound the like branding panacea that many had thought and hoped for? Clearly not. While SL doesn’t look like a great branding opportunity now, I can see why many companies rushed to jump on the bandwagon. SL was hot and was gaining thousands of new users each day. Sadly it was just a fad that had a relatively short “life.” I think the smartest companies are those that realize this and are scaling back or cutting off their SL campaigns.

What really confuses me is that there are still large companies opening up shop in SL, even after the realities of SL were quite apparent. Are they just slow to react? Or did it take this long to get corporate approval? Whatever it is, it seems like a huge waste of money, time and effort.
Labels: branding, internet, internet marketing, second life

Starbucks raising its prices again -- will consumers care?

2007-07-24T19:03:00.000-07:00

This post certainly isn't about marketing on a shoestring, but we can all learn another valuable branding lesson from Starbucks this week. Many of you have probably seen the news about Starbucks raising its prices on coffee drinks nearly a dime this week (as if they weren't pricey enough already). This follows a 5 cent increase less than 12 months ago. They blame higher dairy costs as well as higher gas prices, etc.

On first glance, a 14-cent increase doesn't seem like all that much. But consumers are also facing higher gas and food prices too. Now their getting squeezed even more. All things considered, it's a questionable move for a company facing increasing competition from other coffee shops and regular restaurants who are marketing their coffee differently and expanding the products. Even McDonald's is getting in on the coffee craze (a craze which many believe was created by Starbucks).

At the end of the day, I think Starbucks can still succeed in raising its prices. The main reason? They have built an extremely solid brand and have a clear identity associated with their products. This image has been so carefully crafted and cultivated over the past few years that competitors, especially have restaurants like McDonalds and Dunkin' Donuts, will have a tough time stealing customers away.

Does the Starbucks crowd really want to be associated with those brands? The shear number of Starbucks locations also makes it tough for copycat or similar competitors to gain much of a foothold, but this could change as Starbucks' expansion slows.

Nonetheless, the power of a great brand and a unique identity cannot be underestimated. That's not a stunning revelation, but the latest news about Starbucks is just a great example of how a brand can truly impact business.

The good news for us? Developing brand identity doesn't require an investment of millions. It all starts with a unique position and an effective message. Then it's all about supporting that identity and living the brand from top to bottom. That's easier said than done, but even millions of marketing dollars can't buy an identity if you don't have that foundation.

Big is Definitely Not Better

2007-07-12T12:23:00.000-07:00

No question the iPhone marketing and advertising budget is drool-worthy. But as we all know, even big budgets don't necessarily translate into big sales. Remember the Super Bowl advertiser Pet.com? They spent big bucks on a sock puppet commercial that scored big with consumers. But the resulting sales were a flop, and ultimately left the company bankrupt.

Some of the most successful advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns were the product of small budgets but with big creativity and hitting a target market with pinpoint accuracy.

And so there's hope for those of us with marketing budgets less than what it costs to BUY an iPhone. Look for such ideas and programs in the coming months here on shoestring diaries.

A Dose of Reality...

2007-06-29T20:51:00.000-07:00

I thought it would be appropriate to start this blog on the officially proclaimed "iPhone Day" -- the day of the biggest marketing launch/hype of the year. (And here I am writing about it, giving it even more play. )

You couldn't hide from it -- the iPhone was everywhere and will probably continue to be for the next few days (event weeks!?!). So, from all practical appearances, the marketing machine behind the iPhone was extremely successful. It also made those of us who don't have such marketing and promotional resources very jealous.

Most of us will never have a marketing budget like Apple, but that doesn't mean we can't promote our companies or organizations effectively. It just takes a bit more ingenuity, creativity and hard work. But it can be done.

Through this blog, we'll share our own experiences and the experiences of others that have been successful at developing and implementing great marketing and PR campaigns without big budgets.

We want to hear from you as well and look forward to some interesting discussions.

And, for the record, no I didn't stand in line for the iPhone. I will stick with my archaic-looking Treo -- for now at least...