What a Scary Thought!

Your company’s website URL was misspelled in an e-blast sent to current and prospective clients.

Your print advertisement missed the mark and confused your target audience.

Your products brochure doesn’t include photos of your new product line.

Your whitepaper report doesn’t link to the correct URL to download the report.

These nightmare scenarios show you a glimpse into what can happen when you skimp on marketing talent. Before you opt for the inexperienced “cheaper option,” consider the impression you’re leaving on your current and prospective customers. You might just end up scaring them off for good!

In honor of Halloween, CMA wanted to share with you the worst marketing blunders of all time. 

What marketing nightmare is keeping you up at night? Use the comment box to let us know. Fret not! CMA specializes in marketing—let us lighten your load by handling your next brochure, e-blast or advertisement.Give us a call today at (609) 297-2235.

Keep it Consistent

In today’s fast paced world, we can end up moving from one marketing project to another without a second to breathe. It’s important to take a step back regularly to make sure each “project” still has a consistent message and relates back to your brand in a meaningful way.

These questions can help you figure out if your brand is in conflict.

Are you having an identity crisis? Moving quickly to keep up all of your marketing needs can sometimes make you lose focus and miss the big picture. You might find that your brand changes with each new project. Before you know it your website, print ads, e-newsletter and printed collateral don’t hang together any more. 

Have you put it all out on the table? To see if you have a problem, you have to bite the bullet and put all your marketing in one place at the same time so that you can review them. Make this a team effort because you’ll be surprised what other marketing pieces are being used throughout your company that may not reflect your brand properly.

Is your website speaking a different language? While you don’t want your website to be simply a digital version of your corporate brochure, you need your online presence to be cohesive with your collateral materials. Be sure when one is updated, so is the other.

When is it ok to be different? Like any rule, sometimes there needs to be an exception. Special promotions might require a unique look and feel or a certain target audience needs to be communicated to differently. Overall, even within these specific circumstances you want to make sure your marketing messages and identity are inline and the returns from these promotions pay off for your overall brand.  

Need help getting your brand back together?  CMA can help you evaluate your current marketing program and get your brand back on track.

Jeffrey Barnhart

President and CEO

jbarnhart@cmasolutions.com

Media Planning Demystified

So, you’ve decided you want to advertise but still want to maximize your budget to get the most exposure for your dollar. Media planning, especially across several different types of media, can seem intimidating to those not familiar with the process. Our account managers shed some light on the often complex and time-consuming world of media planning and offered these four tips.

Know Your Target Audience - Before you start planning, it’s extremely important to narrow down who you would like to reach and any goals you would like to achieve through your media placements. Once you have your audience and objectives in mind, it’s much easier to select placement times, media and frequency.

Budget Your Planning Time and Media Investment - It’s easy to underestimate the cost of ad placements and the time it takes to schedule them when you are new to media planning. Be sure to start planning your schedule well in advance to really research the appropriate channels, especially when dealing with TV. Some may be more expensive than you expected, so give yourself the time to evaluate all opportunities to maximize your budget.

Relationships are Key - Building relationships with the vendors of each medium can mean the difference between a successful media plan and a misuse of your budget. Working with an agency who has already built these strong relationships can guarantee you will be privy to more in-depth opportunities for your advertisements. Teaming with an agency that understands, and can even help you establish goals, means they will source the best possible placements customized for you.

Measure the Results - Determining if your media planning has paid off is paramount. Don’t forget to ask new clients how they heard about your company. This can be done through a survey, or more informally if you prefer. Also, you can determine if any adjustments should be made. Measuring direct ROI can be difficult unless there is a specific call to action related to the ad campaign. General advertising builds brand awareness and is a long term marketing strategy.

If you’re ready to take the advertising challenge, give us a call. Our account managers will optimize your time and money to raise awareness among the right target audiences.

Erin Higgins
Director of Marketing Services
ehiggins@cmasolutions.com

2011 ASTRA Awards Launched!

CMA firmly believes in the benefits of participating in industry associations, having maintained our involvement in regional events and volunteering our time in leadership roles for over 20 years. This year, CMA is playing a major role in the New Jersey Communications, Advertising, and Marketing Association (NJ CAMA)’s Annual ASTRA Awards program. Each year, the ASTRAs honor New Jersey's top marketing, advertising and PR professionals who give their best every day to meet and transcend strategic and creative challenges. The CMA design studio lent its time and talent to create the awards Call for Entries (see cover above). CMA’s Director of Marketing Services, Erin Higgins, is also serving as co-chair of the event, leading the planning committee in selecting a theme, venue and other important details.

If you’re interested in participating, you can view the entry form here. Entries are due by Fri., March 21, 2011. Good luck to all entrants!

What Were Your Favorite Super Bowl Commercials?

Even though the Super Bowl is now behind us, this major event aired some alarming, creative and even sometimes disturbing commercials that left us talking long after the game was over. Anyone who works with CMA knows we’re always paying attention to creativity and it’s not just our design team. We asked all of our employees to weigh in on some of their favorite Super Bowl commercials. Let us know which one you thought made the biggest impact!

“My two favorite Super Bowl ads were the Bridgestone one with the man and the beaver and the Doritos one when the guy licks another guy’s fingers and pants to get all the cheese from the Doritos.”

Erin Higgins, Director of Marketing Services

“My picks for the best Super Bowl commercials were the Audi-escape the old luxury, the animated fire breathing dragon, now a confetti dragon after having a Coke, the VW one with the little boy dressed up as Darth Vader, the Bridgestone one where the beaver saves the driver from the washed away bridge and the KIA one where everyone is stealing the car.”

Melanie Kotsonis, Executive Assistant

“My favorite was the Chrysler “Imported from Detroit” ad. It was a powerful way to solidify the brand after all of the issues the car industry has had recently. Though I’d have to admit having two commercials (Brisk Ice Tea) with Eminem with such different messages felt a little off overall.

In general, I felt the ads were a little disappointing. With all the advance promotions online, I felt like I’d already seen the commercials well before the game.”

Kelly McKelvey, Marketing Account Executive

“I also liked the Audi-escape the old luxury and the VW Darth Vader kid - what a great tie in to their PR campaign.

The one that surprisingly got the biggest laughs in my house was the Go Daddy one with Joan Rivers and pretty much all of the Doritos ads (the one where the Doritos brings the dead fish back to life was the best).

I also liked Hyundai’s campaign overall—they had some really interesting graphics and special effects…one even had a cool car kaleidoscope effect.”

Kaitlin Friedmann, Public Relations Manager

“Overall, I felt like the commercials weren’t that impressive this year. The only one that sticks in my mind is the creepy Doritos guy…but more for the creep factor than the funny factor.”

Jennifer Thayer, Association Manager

“My favorite commercials were the VW commercial where the little Darth Vadar makes the car start and the Doritos commercial, where the man is house sitting and sprinkles Doritos on everything to make them better and brings his friend’s Grandfather back to life.”

Corie Eisenberg, Marketing Coordinator

NJBiz Names CMA a Top Ad and PR Agency

Creative Marketing Alliance was listed as the #13 advertising agency and the #17 PR agency in NJBiz’s annual Top 50 in New Jersey!