CHBlog

Posted By: Mel Campbell / President of Campbell, Harrington & Brear

It all starts with a strategic marketing plan.

{Fact #12  … None of these new digital  media tools means a thing without a strategic marketing plan.}

What’s new?  Everything should start with a plan.  But what’s new with digital media is this: A plan is not only basic, it is essential.  Internet media is unique in the sense that all components have to be interconnected or it won’t work.  Because the main purpose for doing any of these things – social networking, blogging, Tweeting, etc. - is to generate Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Plopping down a new website and scuffling some social networking around won’t get you anywhere.  They must dovetail together.  And they must dovetail together with whatever else your company is doing in advertising and marketing.

Without an interactive plan it is meaningless digital goo.  Eventually you won’t support it, you will grow tired of it, and it will fail.

Beware the New Digital Age…Part 4: “Good Luck” continued »

Posted By: Mel Campbell / President of Campbell, Harrington & Brear

Let’s face it, if you are the slightest tech savvy you were barely grasping the many new and exciting features of websites … RSS feeds, blogs, galleries, forums, analytics, microsites.  Then, no sooner did you hear about a PURL when e-blasts popped up and someone mentioned SEO.  Then SEM.  Then, wow, social networking became the rage with Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, when bam, Twitter hit the vernacular. Well guess what, mobile marketing is now exploding here in the states and QR code is coming on strong.  QR code?

Oh, and let’s not forget digital media hybrids.  The real “workhorses” like online print ordering for all internal forms, reports and documents; databases; FTP sites; direct-to-print, digital archiving, and e-commerce.

How does someone keep up with all of it?  The answer?  No one person can.

{Fact #8  … No single person knows and understands everything about the new digital world. No one.}

Even the best ad agencies that have been up on things since the beginning and the geekiest of geek organizations can’t keep up with it.  You can literally go to a full-day seminar every week and not acquire a complete understanding of what is possible in today’s new world.

{Fact #9 … Don’t look to IT for the answers.  They don’t understand all the nuances of new media either.}

Beware The New Digital Age…Part 3: “The Truth” continued »

Posted By: Mel Campbell / President of Campbell, Harrington & Brear

Welcome to the new digital age of communication, or “New Media” as it is called (presently transitioning to Interactive Media, Digital Media or Internet Media). You know, websites, digital archiving, e-commerce, jumpdrive marketing, FTP sites, social media advertising, whatever.

As a business person, you have a gut feeling that you need to enter this new world of electronic digital media sooner than later.  That is a correct assumption.

But, on the other hand, you don’t know enough about this new world to make an informed decision on how to be a part of it.  That too is correct.

{Fact #5 … If you are waiting for all the information before you make your move it will never happen!}

So where do you go from here?  To answer that question you first need to know the playing field.  Specifically the pitfalls, or in the case of the Digital Media “gold rush,” the landmines.  We have all heard much about the good ways in which “New Media” is going to benefit our companies and lives, but very little about its dark side and the “Nazgûl Night Riders” who are out selling products and services to your business.

Here is where you are today Mr. and Ms. Businessperson.

Not in my 37 years in the advertising/marketing industry have I ever
seen so much misinformation, disinformation, misrepresentation, unethical behavior, and outright scamming than I have in the past year or so.  It is just the tip of the iceberg, and it is only going to get worse before it gets better.

So where’s the danger?  Everywhere.  But here are three significant groups to look out for.

Beware the New Digital Age…Part 2: “The Playing Field” continued »

Posted By: Mel Campbell / President of Campbell, Harrington & Brear

In the new world of digital marketing and advertising a lot has changed in the last three to four years.  And, in fact, the change is accelerating as we speak.

{Fact #1 … This piece on “Beware the New Digital Age” is plain talk on something you will never completely understand.  But you better get a grasp of it now or it may take your business years to recover.  If it recovers at all !}

This acceleration, coupled with the recent historic economic meltdown,  created a huge paradigm shift in our economy, in our companies, and in the way we are going to do - or need to do - business in the future.

Yes, our recent recession was mainly caused by a near collapse in our financial markets due to a number of major blunders.  Yes, real estate over-building, over-evaluation and mortgage corruption played a huge part.  And certainly there was a whole host of other variables that brought the economy down and now affect the way we do business.  But there was something else that happened during that storm.  Something not financial.  Something that never occurred before.  A change so significant it is shaking the underpinnings of business and hampering the economic recovery.

Beware the New Digital Age…Part 1: “What Happened?” continued »

The Avery Peace website was the Clark Kent of websites, attractive but passive. It lacked two of the key super powers available today: the ability to easily update content, and the ability to sell the proprietor’s beautiful, high-end jewelry in a safe, secure online environment.

Those powers hadn’t been necessary under Owner and Designer Susan Peace’s original sales model, one that involved independent reps presenting her meticulously crafted, yoga-inspired works of art to resorts and spas nationwide.

Unfortunately, those reps never quite grasped her, her creations, or her passion. She needed a new way to target the right kinds of people with the right message. And as a small business owner, she needed that new way to fit into a modest budget.

How CH&B helped…

As beautiful as her jewelry is, we felt we had to enhance the connection between the designer and her customers. After all, Susan Peace is the heart and soul of the Avery Peace brand. She is the one who interprets and expresses “the language of the gods” through her breathtaking symbols of meaning and emotion.

Her website offered the best and most cost-effective way to hardwire that connection. We proposed a reconstructed site – with e-commerce and content management capabilities – that would retain the website’s original design while making it a far more effective sales tool.

This “next generation” site is complete. Susan is now able to control and manage it without depending on service providers for day-to-day web-related activities. The blog enables her to present her voice on design, art, jewelry and her personal philosophies, building customer relationships while enhancing search engine optimization.

And e-commerce capability provides a secure, convenient way to harvest sales that take root at trunk shows and yoga conventions.

In addition, we created a Facebook fan page that increases her ability to create meaningful dialog with people who have an affinity for her designs.

Bottom line, she now has the capability to sell her jewelry in ways she never had before, thanks to a super-powered website.

posted by: Mel Campbell / President of Campbell, Harrington & Brear

If you are ready when the next economic recovery starts, your company will be well positioned for years to come. Now’s the time to start planning.

As the experts say, it is impossible to predict when an economy is going to turn around.

Companies have no control over that.

But companies do have control over preparing for the economic upturn. And it is essential that you be ready when the moment is right.

Well-prepared strategic marketing and advertising plans – and production of the items necessary to execute those plans – take time. Shorter timelines are certainly possible, but it typically takes six to nine months to turn initial talks into well-oiled campaigns with products “in the can” ready for launch.

In most cases the prep work doesn’t require big dollars - probably 10% of your normal advertising budget. But it does require a schedule and your commitment to get it done.

The important message here is: Start planning now.  In fact, looking at the present positive economic indicators, if you haven’t started by now you are already falling behind the eight ball.  Not a good place to be for the next cycle.

So time is of the essence.  The market turn is just around the corner – we see encouraging signs in many different industries – and the companies who are ready, completely ready, to promote will reap the rewards for many years to come.

And the rewards will be huge.  Companies that can launch their programs as the economy turns on again will achieve greater revenues, garner broader profit margins, build greater brand recognition and, most importantly, capture significant market share.

I may not be telling anybody anything new here, but time and time again I have seen companies hold back and hold back, waiting for the moment when they are assured the tide has turned.  It’s human nature.  But by then it is too late.  If you have a single competitor who has planned ahead and is ready to the pull the trigger before you do, then your company will be relegated to catch-up marketing and, worse, a lower market position.

Here’s some additional wake-up information … a lot has happened over this stagnant fourteen month-plus period.  It’s a changed world, with new ways of marketing and advertising, new helpful communication products, new media, new customers … all of which need to be taken into account by your plan.

What’s the big deal if you are late for the next party?  At the very least your company will under-perform during the entire cycle.  Worst case scenario?  Well, let’s not go there.  The point is, it doesn’t have to happen.