Linda's Marketing Leverage Blog

Top of Mind Thursday April 30 2015: The Sound of Silence

Yesterday, for the first time in the history of Major League Baseball, two baseball teams played a game in front of a live audience of none.   

Because of this past week's violence in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray in police custody, the decision was made for the Orioles and White Sox to play to an empty stadium. The goal was to avoid potential violence in the proximity of Camden Yards, and to comply with a citywide curfew.

The first two games in this series were cancelled because of the same protests, yet it was the game played with no audience that captured the attention. That's because cancelling a game happens all the time; playing one to a purposely empty house is not.

By doing something totally different, Baltimore and Orioles sent the message that this was not business as usual. Sometimes the best way to stand out above the noise is without absolute silence.

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Just a Moment for Marketing: Where are Your Customers?

Linda advises: Know where your customers are in the purchase process.

Top of Mind Thursday April 23, 2015: There's Always Someone Watching

One of my favorite lines in the movie Ocean's Eleven is when Julia Roberts says to her boyfriend, nasty casino operator Andy Garcia, "You of all people should know, in a casino, there's always someone watching." 

We're seeing a different side to police-citizen altercations now that police are wearing body cams and onlookers are shooting real-time video with their cell phones. This is particularly important when one of the participants is no longer alive to tell their side of the story.

But what if we extrapolate beyond the police force? What if we act as if all of our business interactions were able to be captured and put on display for the entire world to see?

I'm not advocating that consumers wear body cams when shopping. But I am suggesting that we remind employees that anything they say or do can be captured and reported upon online. Everything they do has always represented the company and the brand. It's just now we can be sure that someone will always be watching.

To subscribe, please click here.

 

My new book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters, is now available.

 

Download a FREE chapter now.

 

What people are saying.

 

Buy now.

 

 
Let us help your business rise to the top.

[email protected]
(650) 281-4854
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Standing Out is No Longer Optional

Dorie Clark
Marketing Consultant & Author
www.dorieclark.com

Branding expert Dorie Clark is the author of Reinventing You: Define Your Brand, Imagine Your Future and the new book Stand Out: How to Find Your Breakthrough Idea and Build A Following Around It. She is a former presidential campaign spokeswoman, as well as a frequent contributor to the Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and Entrepreneur, and the World Economic Forum blog.

In this podcast, Dorie discusses the importance of having a breakthrough idea that can enable an individual to stand out as a thought leader. She shares best practices and strategies to help people establish and cultivate the reputation to make that idea spread.

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Just a Moment for Marketing: Dynamic Market Leverage Factor: Strategy

Linda advises: Look at strategy before implementation.

Top of Mind Thursday April 16, 2015: And They're Off!

The 2016 Presidential Campaign just kicked into high gear with announcements of new candidates on both sides of the aisle. 

 

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodman Clinton announced her much anticipated candidacy on the Democratic side, while Ted Cruz, Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, and Marco Rubio have thrown their hats into the Republican ring, and others are expected to join them.

 

An open primary with no incumbent involved is a great opportunity to watch the political marketing and branding process unfold. Each candidate will work hard to sell the American public on their version of what American needs. Each will attempt to capture voters' imaginations with their messages and slogans. Over the next year, this group will grow in size, then shrink down to just 0ne candidate from each party.

 

It's a fascinating quadrennial exercise. No matter what your political leanings, grab some popcorn, put your feet up, and get ready for a fun ride. 

 

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My new book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters, is now available.

 

Download a FREE chapter now.

 

What people are saying.

 

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Let us help your business rise to the top.

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Just a Moment for Marketing: Orchestration: The Power of the Group

Linda advises: Create a well functioning team to orchestrate success.

Getting To "Priceless:" The Five Truths Method of Brand Strategy Development

Kevin Allen
Founder and Chairman of
Re:kap Ltd. And Planet Jockey
www.rekapltd.com

Kevin Allen is the founder and chairman of Re:kap, a business transformation company, and Planet Jockey, which specializes in gamified emotional intelligence training. Recognized as one of the world’s most accomplished growth professionals, he has worked with such brands as MasterCard, Microsoft, Marriott, Smith Barney, Nestle, L’Oreal, Lufthansa and Johnson & Johnson, among others. He is the author of the bestseller The Hidden Agenda: A Proven Way to Business and Create a Following, and the recently released The Case of the Missing Cutlery: A leadership Course for the Rising Star.

Behind every enduring — and game-changing — marketing communications and brand initiative lies a carefully crafted, emotionally laden argument and coalescing strategic idea. In this podcast, Kevin Allen, who led the team that created the now-iconic "Priceless" platform for MasterCard, shares the five eternal truths, as well as how to get to a powerful strategic idea that gives listeners a practical tool to develop their own "Priceless."

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Top of Mind Thursday April 9, 2015: Eliminating the Static

The best planned communications can easily fail because the intended audience wasn't prepared to hear what we have to say. 

 

This happens when there are too many competing messages in the marketplace, but it also happens when the message itself isn't broadcast clearly.

Many times the interference--what I call static--comes from within an organization. Internal groups are not working together to present a unified front to the customer. The marketing team is off on a mission which may not be aligned with senior management. Or critical feedback and input from customers isn't being effectively integrated back into the organization.

Where is the static in your organization? And what are you doing to ensure your message is in tune with your customers and employees?

The best part about static is how clear things sound once it disappears.

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My new book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters, is now available.

 

Download a FREE chapter now.

 

What people are saying.

 

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Let us help your business rise to the top.

[email protected]
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com

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Just a Moment for Marketing: A Seat at the Table

Linda advises: Marketeers need to communicate with senior corporate executives.

Top of Mind Thursday April 2, 2015: The Bad for Business Act

I'm not sure what was going through the minds of lawmakers in Indiana last week when they passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

 

I'm sure the last thing they expected was that this legislation would be bad for business in Indiana. Yet, because the law is seen as a way for businesses to discriminate against gays, and same-sex couples in particular, the backlash has been both immediate and significant.

Discrimination in any form should be unacceptable. Period. It's not that long ago that businesses turned away patrons based on the color of their skin, their ethnic background, or their religious heritage. That's no longer acceptable, and neither is it OK to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

 

What Indiana is now learning is that discrimination is bad for business. Really bad. Large, prominent business institutions, both inside the state and out, are saying this is wrong and we will take our spending elsewhere.

What's bad for customers is also bad for business. The good news is how quickly business has stepped up to let the world know.

To subscribe, please click here.

 

My new book, Marketing Above the Noise: Achieve Strategic Advantage with Marketing that Matters, is now available.

Download a free chapter now.

See what people are saying about the book.

Buy the book.

 

 

Let us help your business rise to the top.

[email protected]
(650) 281-4854
www.leverage2market.com

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