Marketing | Paul Werth - Columbus Ohio

Not Your Mother’s News Media?

January 21st, 2010

Today’s news media are a far cry from what my mother experienced in the Walter Cronkite-era of my youth. Social media invigorate our communications, broaden our networks and make content-sharing much more immediate.

How will our communications possibilities be transformed by the mainstreaming of social media this year? Here are my thoughts:

People will continue to gravitate toward news that is shareable. We are social beings, and there’s power in using our social networks to share news in real time. On Sunday mornings, I curl up with my newsreader and share content with friends separated by time and space. Big news organizations realize this and have made the ShareIt icon ubiquitous, because news shared in context takes on greater meaning. There are more news stories out there and more in-depth discussion as a result of sharing content.
News publishing that encourages us to be the correspondent isn’t just more engaging – it has more impact for the news audience. This interactive map from The New York Times’ site is a good example. The before-after impacts of the Haiti earthquake are palpable. It’s clear that we like to share the news with our friends, and we like it even more when it’s combined with visuals that “take us to the news.”
Action-oriented news can make a difference. Recent fundraising for Haiti relief efforts and geo-targeting police abuses in Iran give us practical ways to use Twitter for human benefit. When news becomes meaningful information that people care enough to do something about, it makes a measurable difference.

Simply reading a two-dimensional paper at the kitchen table in the morning like my mother used to do is no longer enough. We must be able to experience the news through our senses, in multiple dimensions – along with friends on the other side of the world.

The kitchen table “newspaper” experience just got personal, global and substantive. And, because new media are breaking down communications barriers, even my mother is tapping into the possibilities. She recently joined Facebook.

If you are marveling at the new media mix and relishing the possibilities, drop me a line at kratcliff@paulwerth.com, or comment here. I look forward to reading your thoughts – and starting the dialogue.

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When I Grow Up, I Want to Win an Addy

November 16th, 2009

It’s that time of year again. Time to look back at the work we’ve done over the past year and see what has Addy award potential. The questions start to swirl:

• “Do we have enough to enter?”
• “What should I have done differently?”
• “What have I seen that might be up for an award?”
• “What are my friends at other agencies entering?”
• “Can I quickly think of a cool idea and produce it for someone, before the entry deadline?”

The last question is interesting. We creatives love to imagine, and sometimes our ideas aren’t right for our current clients. This is a terrific stretch opportunity. I see nothing wrong with developing a great idea and selling it to a prospect — when it’s the right fit. Sometimes, off-the-wall, in-the-moment creativity leads to long-lasting, profitable relationships.

A former boss of mine once came up with an idea, called a potential client and said, “I have a great idea that you must hear.” He met the prospect for drink, wrote a tagline on a cocktail napkin, slid it across the table….and a 10-year relationship was born.

On the flip side of the coin… there’s nothing better than winning an Addy for an existing client, especially if it’s a concept that resulted in increased sales. Years ago there was an award called “Documented Success.” To me, this was the most important Addy of all. This award recognized great creative, great marketing and the work that created the biggest return on investment. What client wouldn’t want to be part of that award?

And then there are the awards won for really good creative, but with little return on investment. Bottom line, these ads failed. Remember: the ultimate goal for advertising is to sell products. If we create something that is a work of art that never sells, we’ll end up being starving artists with a sad reel of unsuccessful work.

I’m proud that Werth has a reel of advertising successes with clear return on investment. Want to join me over coffee or drinks to inspire that next great Addy idea that will drive your sales? Give me a call at 614.224.8114, send me an e-mail at kwaldron@paulwerth.com or leave me a comment on this blog post.

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Leave Your Lovemark: Brand Measurement in the Age of Neuro-marketing

September 9th, 2009

Brands that elicit emotion attract devotion—and loyal followers. In The 18 Immutable Laws of Corporate Reputation, Ron Alsop describes this phenomenon:

That elusive emotional spark between a company and its stakeholders makes some reputations soar and never lose altitude.

Sophisticated measurements—even MRIs as described by Martin Lindstrom in Buyology—can track individual emotional reactions and the brain’s response to the appeals of marketing. Neuro-marketing is all the rage now thanks to self-described brand futurist Lindstrom, and the revelations from his $7 million study are riveting. The study provides evidence that purchasing decisions once considered to be driven by deliberate thought are in fact driven by instinct, deeply embedded and hard-wired into our nervous systems.

But describing and quantifying emotional connection to brands is different than feeling the connection. Lovemarks, coined by Saatchi and Saatchi, describe the beyond-brand nirvana of sensory connection to products. Lovemarks are in the upper-right corner of the quadrants formed by the love and respect continuums, squarely defined by high love/high respect. Our senses are clearly connected to our emotional responses to branding, and lovemarks embrace this.

One brand that’s leveraging the lovemark and Alsop’s seventh law is Ohio: The State of Perfect Balance. This is Ohio’s new brand. The “O” logo is now on driver’s licenses and is being implemented across all areas of state government. From the economic development perspective, the concept behind this brand is that business leaders can build their business AND love their life—something that’s clearly not possible on the coasts and in other areas that require large commitments of time for commute. Place branding has the power to draw more people to Ohio through emotional connections.

Take a moment to consider the brands that evoke emotional reactions for you. Comfort. Inspiration. Hope. Love. Protection. Relaxation.

What gut-level reactions do you associate with different brands? Compare notes with your colleagues. Is your own company’s brand a lovemark? Almost every brand has a lovemark they can cultivate and leverage. The best way to discover it is through research. Take action today to make your brand a lovemark.

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On Recycled Brands

August 14th, 2009

As a student in my beginning years of college, my fine art professor told me, “You must have a unique style.” Which I didn’t.

As I gravitated toward design, my new professor told me, “Whatever you do, don’t have a unique style. You must adapt and design to your clients’ needs, not yours. An agency whose work all looks the same will be temporary.”

That really stuck with me. It wasn’t just one of those things that I learned in school and applied it because someone told me that was the right answer. It was, and is, one of those things that just makes sense. Her lesson is something that I truly believe and will always think about before approaching any branding project.

But, there are trends, and sometimes those trends tend to grow into styles, and once that happens, it’s all over.

The other day I walked through our break room and saw an annual report lying on the table, designed by another agency. The cover caught my eye because it was smartly designed. But once I opened it, I knew the agency that designed it.

Later in the day, I received a direct mail piece from a company. I investigated further and found that it was created by the agency that designed the annual report. Again, I saw the same trendy look. These work samples were created for two different clients, in different industries—but the designers executed almost the exact same brand guidelines. It seems that the agency is using the same brand for its book of business. That’s just not right. Clients deserve better than recycled brands.

Here’s my approach—and what you will see in the work of Paul Werth’s creative:

The brand represents the one-of-a-kind soul of an organization and should shine through in every work of design. Our work reflects each company’s unique soul, not our own.

Ask yourself this question:

Does your agency interview you before each project, as a continuing opportunity to know what you and your projects are all about? Are they seeing your brand through their company’s lens or the lens of your company’s soul?

I’m interested in hearing your thoughts on authentic and unique, company-specific branding. Please drop me a line, as a comment on this blog or personally, at kwaldron@paulwerth.com.

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