Marketing Integration

When you communicate, how do others evaluate what you say? Effectively transmitting ideas is vital in business. Executives with important initiatives need to get buy-in from colleagues, superiors and agents. Marketers need to get the company’s message across to insureds and prospects. 

Whether good or bad, rumors can have a big effect on a college. Stories about your institution’s positive results can send its stock soaring with students and parents. Negative gossip can hinder yield programs and enrollment.
 
Rumors don’t have to be true to have impact. According to eminent social psychologist Elliot Aronson, PhD and colleague Anthony Pratkanis, PhD, in the 1980s the “Leaflet of Villejuif” began circulating in France. This plain typewritten pamphlet exhorted parents to boycott popular soft drink brands like Coca-Cola, Schweppes and Canada Dry, charging they contained dangerous chemicals that could harm children.
 
The power of rumor and innuendo
 
A survey of 150 French housewives found that 19% had stopped buying the brands mentioned. Another 69% said they intended to support the boycott. Elementary school teachers and physicians were surveyed; half of the doctors and nearly all the teachers agreed with the leaflet’s statements. Fewer than 10% of these educated professionals bothered to check the truthfulness of its claims. That’s sad, because virtually all of them were false. E330, the food additive claimed to be highly carcinogenic, was actually the European Union’s code for harmless citric acid, found in oranges and grapefruit.
 
Mark Twain wrote, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” It can do a great deal of damage along the way. Because we hear rumors from people we know or learn about them through trusted media sources many don’t bother to check their validity. But they can have a big impact on reputations, applications and yield.
 
One study asked participants to rate political candidates after reading fabricated headlines. Some contained a direct accusation (“Bob Talbert Linked with Mafia”), a damning question (“Is Karen Downing Associated with a Fraudulent Charity?”), a denial of impropriety (“Andrew Winters Not Connected to Bank Embezzlement”) or a completely neutral statement (“George Armstrong Arrives in City”). Aronson and Pratkanis relate:

The results showed, not surprisingly, that candidates linked with a directly incriminating headline were perceived more negatively.  Strikingly, however, merely questioning whether a candidate had performed an undesirable behavior also resulted in negative perceptions of the candidate – just slightly more positive than those evoked by a direct incrimination…The source of the innuendo made little difference. The candidates were still rated negatively even if the source of the headline was a newspaper lacking in credibility (the National Enquirer or the Midnight Globe as opposed to the New York Times or the Washington Post).

 What can you do about rumors?
 
According to marketing professor Allan Kimmel, one key to rumor control is: “Talk!...For the most part, a refusal to talk, whether it be to journalists, [students and parents]…or other concerned parties conveys the message that the [institution] has something to hide and adds to uncertainty, or sometimes merely serves to confirm the fears underlying the requests for information.”
 
But, “In order to stand a chance of succeeding," say Drs. Aronson and Pratkanis, “such refutations should not overstate the case, should embed the rumor in a negative context (or damn it, refute it, then damn it again and replace it), and should not repeat verbatim particularly memorable rumors.” Quick action by high-ranking college officials can limit the damage false factoids may cause. Institutions with established records of integrity and community service will find it easier to protect or restore their reputations.

The Allied Group is an innovative, award-winning marketing communications company offering Search, Conversion, Stealth and Yield programs as well as full-service fulfillment to colleges and universities.
 

Whether good or bad, rumors can have a big effect on an organization. Stories about a company’s positive results can send its stock price soaring. Negative gossip about a firm can seriously hurt sales. 

Rumors don’t have to be true to have impact.  In the 1980s the “Leaflet of Villejuif” began circulating in France. This plain typewritten pamphlet exhorted parents to boycott popular soft drink brands like Coca-Cola, Schweppes and Canada Dry, charging they contained dangerous chemicals that could harm children. 

The power of rumor and innuendo

A survey of 150 French housewives found that 19% had stopped buying the brands mentioned. Another 69% said they intended to support the boycott.  Elementary school teachers and physicians were surveyed; half of the doctors and nearly all the teachers agreed with the leaflet’s statements. Fewer than 10% of these educated professionals bothered to check the truthfulness of its claims. That’s sad, because virtually all of them were false. Eminent social psychologist Elliot Aronson, PhD and colleague Anthony Pratkanis, PhD state in their account that E330, the food additive claimed to be highly carcinogenic, was actually the European Union’s code for harmless citric acid, found in oranges and grapefruit.

Mark Twain wrote, “A lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes.” It can do a great deal of damage in its travels. Because we hear rumors from people we know, or we learn about them through trusted media sources, we often don’t bother to check their validity. But they can have a big impact on both reputations and sales.

One study asked participants to rate political candidates after reading fabricated headlines.  Some contained a direct accusation (“Bob Talbert Linked with Mafia”), a damning question (“Is Karen Downing Associated with a Fraudulent Charity?”), a denial of impropriety (“Andrew Winters Not Connected to Bank Embezzlement”) or a completely neutral statement (“George Armstrong Arrives in City”).  Aronson and Pratkanis relate:

The results showed, not surprisingly, that candidates linked with a directly incriminating headline were perceived more negatively.  Strikingly, however, merely questioning whether a candidate had performed an undesirable behavior also resulted in negative perceptions of the candidate – just slightly more positive than those evoked by a direct incrimination…The source of the innuendo made little difference. The candidates were still rated negatively even if the source of the headline was a newspaper lacking in credibility (the National Enquirer or the Midnight Globe as opposed to the New York Times or the Washington Post).

What can you do about it?

According to marketing professor Allan Kimmel, one key to rumor control is: “Talk!...For the most part, a refusal to talk, whether it be to journalists, customers…or other concerned parties conveys the message that the company has something to hide and adds to uncertainty, or sometimes merely serves to confirm the fears underlying the requests for information.”

But, “In order to stand a chance of succeeding," say Aronson and Pratkanis, “such refutations should not overstate the case, should embed the rumor in a negative context (or damn it, refute it, then damn it again and replace it), and should not repeat verbatim particularly memorable rumors.” Quick action by high-ranking officials can limit the damage false "factoids" may cause. Organizations who have established a record of integrity will find it easier to protect and restore their reputations.

The Allied Group is a marketing communications company offering full service fulfillment programs ,innovative marketing communications strategies and marketing support services to insurance and financial services companies.

It's true. I do not tell a lie...but you must be ready for some work! Increasing your search traffic can be done successfully and it can be done organically it just involves a bit more work than paid search. If it's free then why not try right? Here's just a couple tips to get you started...

First things first
Make sure that you are writing about (blogging and producing content) that people are actually searching for. You want to make sure that your efforts are being seen by the people that are searching for them so make sure that you are producing content that is relevant. You can use a keyword grader to make sure that your efforts are worth the trouble...use Google's grader. And you want to make sure that the content you are producing is in line with the keywords that you are targeting. It's just one of the many important marketing communication strategies that you should be using. 

Another great way to increase search traffic
Link building. Promote promote promote. If you have great relationships with your partners ask them to promote your online content or blog posts. Share on LinkedIn and have your employees share as well. The more your content is shared organically the more traffic you will see. Also, when you are hyperlinking make sure your links are specific and not generic. So use 'Increase Web Traffic' as opposed to 'Read More'...this is a great tip from MarketingProfs (thanks). 

Allied is an integral part of our clients' marketing and sales support initiatives and if you have any questions please Contact Us here especially if you would like to discuss your integrated marketing communications campaign plans...we can help. 

Let's face it, your product is probably boring as hell. And your competitive advantages are probably just as much of a snoozer. That doesn't mean you don't have a great product or that your competitive advantages are not accurate (though I might challenge you on that one), but we'll go with it for now. These are pretty harsh words. But to truly strategize, deploy and reap the rewards of compelling lead generation methods, you can let me ask the questions, or you can just ask them of yourselves. Who really cares? Why would I pick up the phone or log on to that personalized URL, or take any action that you request of me?

Most of the time the answer is "I wouldn't". And that's OK. Think about what you are trying to do. You're trying to send out a series of direct marketing postcards to see if anyone responds. Let's talk about expectation. What are you expecting them to do? Have you really thought about that? Have you put yourself in that very same position. Try it. But take yourself out of your business/industry and apply it to something more generic. What did you come up with?

See the problem is that most of us are simply too close. We live, breathe, eat, sleep and surround ourselves with our work. And that's natural. Hell, it does occupy probably 75% of our lives. A truly integrated marketing communications campaign includes a promotion or a giveaway or a contest...you get the idea. And multiple channels—print, digital (microsites, email, phone etc...), social, mobile, phone etc...need to be activated to reach maximum success. Think OTB (I have to use an acronym for "out-of-the-box" because I can't bring myself to say it) — what are you asking them to do...literally? Pick up the phone? Well how could you pick up the phone for them? How about if you were a puppeteer? Are you trying to get them to listen? That means you need to get their attention. How about a singing telegram? Are you trying to get them to a microsite? Send them an electronic device with your microsite already up on it.

Don't worry about the absurdity or cost of the idea. Corporate marketing communications don't have to be so corporate. Have you actually sat down and determined the value of a lead? Once you do, it will become obvious what you'd be willing to pay for that lead. Once you've got a budget and all your crazy ideas laid out on the table, you can start to make some real decisions.

And by the way, last I checked, milk was about as boring as it gets! Unless you're marketing vanilla ice cream, give it a try! 

 Many of us have been there. You tweet (or re-tweet) something maybe you shouldn't have or maybe you even went as far as created a Twitter campaign that ended up backfiring - seriously backfiring. 

In a recent campaign by McDonald's to draw attention to their commitment to freshness a request for feed back backfired when customers started tweeting very negative and unfortunate experiences with McDonald's. Their marketing communication strategies seemed to be not well thought out in this instance. 

The moral of my story here is that you have to be careful with your social media strategies and with marketing as a whole. If you are in the type of business that deals with the consumer like McDonald's or something to that effect then you definitely want to think about the effects of any social strategy. 

The right integrated marketing communications campaign can really take your reach to the next level but of course as seen with McDonald's, the wrong strategy can wreak havoc. 

For more information on marketing and sales support and how Allied can help with your marketing and fulfillment needs, contact us. 







For some interesting facts on Facebook & Social Networking download a copy of "20 Facebook and Social Networking Facts You Might Not (but need to) Know"






Source: Business Insider
 

“Why Won’t People Listen to Good Ideas?” discussed research showing that those with strongly ingrained views won't mentally process sound evidence presented by the other side. Is there anything we can do to encourage parents, students, colleagues or faculty to consider solid facts we raise?

First, it’s important to understand why many won’t listen. One reason became apparent in a series of studies starting in 1959. Eminent social psychologist Dr. Elliot Aronson explains that research began in a southern town deeply divided over racial segregation. Most today clearly recognize the evils of apartheid, but in 1959 it was a burning issue, particularly in the South. Researchers selected people with strong feelings for or against segregation. Then they presented a series of arguments on both sides of the issue. Some were plausible, others were lame. A survey on the points each recalled was telling. People remembered the logical arguments supporting their position and the illogical arguments that backed the opposing view.

A number of follow up studies produced similar results. The answer was clear. People ignored or quickly forgot points that might prove their opinion wrong. They focused on the opposition’s lame arguments because these strengthened their position. This phenomenon is called Confirmation Bias. Finding the right answer took a back seat to proving they were right. The highly respected Dr. Aronson explains:

During the past half-century, social psychologists have discovered that one of the most powerful determinants of human behavior stems from our need to preserve a stable, positive self-image. Most of us want to believe that we are reasonable, decent folks who make wise decisions, do not behave immorally and have integrity.

Thus, when confronted with factual information that might show us mistaken or foolish, we automatically tend to ignore or dismiss it, focusing instead on any piece of data that might prove us right.

One study found smokers who tried but failed to quit were least likely to recognize the dangers of smoking. Clearly, dismissing inconvenient facts can prove destructive to individuals and businesses. It’s important, then, to recognize that while those on the opposite side of an issue may ignore sound evidence, we too are fully capable of making that mistake.

Removing the blinders

First, we must realize that every party in a discussion, including us, may display confirmation bias. How can we combat it? One way is to remind ourselves that our willingness to honestly consider all evidence takes moral courage and strength, highly admirable traits. That realization may help us past the tendency to protect our ego by defending a position. Researcher Dr. David Myers recommends that senior managers require their staff members who present arguments to give one good reason why they could be wrong.

To help others avoid ignoring valid evidence, we can try a psychological technique called “labeling.” We could begin a discussion by praising our associates for the open-mindedness and fairness they’ve previously shown. This technique was used to great advantage by former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Communications psychology expert Robert Cialdini, PhD relates,

Before international negotiations began, Sadat would assure his bargaining opponents that they and the citizens of their country were widely known for their cooperativeness and fairness.

Did his technique work? Despite the notoriously entrenched positions in the Middle East, Sadat and former hard-liner Menachem Begin negotiated the only modern peace treaty between an Arab nation and Israel.  I rest my case.

The Allied Group is a marketing communications company providing integrated marketing communications programs and full service fulfillment services including Search, Stealth and Yield programs as well as publication design, printing and distribution to colleges and universities.

“Why Won’t People Listen to Good Ideas?” discussed research showing that those with strongly ingrained views won't mentally process sound evidence presented by the other side. Is there anything we can do to encourage our colleagues to consider solid facts we raise?

First, it’s important to understand why many won’t listen. One reason became apparent in a series of studies starting in 1959. Eminent social psychologist Dr. Elliot Aronson explains that research began in a southern town deeply divided over racial segregation. Most today clearly recognize the evils of apartheid, but in 1959 it was a burning issue, particularly in the South. Researchers selected people with strong feelings for or against segregation. Then they presented a series of arguments on both sides of the issue. Some were plausible, others were lame.  A survey on the points each recalled was telling. People remembered the logical arguments supporting their position and the illogical arguments that backed the opposing view. 

A number of follow up studies produced similar results. The answer was clear.  People ignored or quickly forgot points that might prove their opinion wrong. They focused on the opposition’s lame arguments because these strengthened their position.  This phenomenon is called Confirmation Bias. Seeking the right answer took a back seat to proving they were right. The highly respected Dr. Aronson explains:

During the past half-century, social psychologists have discovered that one of the most powerful determinants of human behavior stems from our need to preserve a stable, positive self-image.  Most of us want to believe that we are reasonable, decent folks who make wise decisions, do not behave immorally and have integrity. 

Thus, when confronted with factual information that might show us mistaken or foolish, we automatically tend to ignore or dismiss it, focusing instead on any piece of data that might prove us right. 

One study found smokers who tried but failed to quit were least likely to recognize the dangers of smoking. Clearly, dismissing inconvenient facts can prove destructive to individuals and businesses. It’s important, then, to recognize that while those on the opposite side of an issue may ignore sound evidence, we too are fully capable of making that mistake.

Removing the blinders

First, we must realize that every party in a discussion, including us, may display confirmation bias. How can we combat it? One way is to remind ourselves that our willingness to honestly consider all evidence takes moral courage and strength, highly admirable traits. That realization may help us past the tendency to protect our ego by defending a position. Researcher Dr. David Myers recommends that senior managers require their staff members who present arguments to give one good reason why they could be wrong.

To help others avoid ignoring valid evidence, we can try a psychological technique called “labeling.” We could begin a discussion by praising our associates for the open-mindedness and fairness they’ve previously shown. This technique was used to great advantage by former Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. Communications psychology expert Robert Cialdini, PhD relates,

Before international negotiations began, Sadat would assure his bargaining opponents that they and the citizens of their country were widely known for their cooperativeness and fairness.

Did his technique work? Despite the notoriously entrenched positions in the Middle East, Sadat and former hard-liner Menachem Begin negotiated the only modern peace treaty between an Arab nation and Israel.  I rest my case.

The Allied Group is a marketing communications company providing marketing, marketing support and full service fulfillment services to the insurance, benefits administration and financial services industries.

Well, I'm sure by now you have probably realized from my last post and now this one... I love starting my day with a nice cup of coffee.

So, I thought I would share an experience I had the other day. I pulled up to my local Starbucks drive through for the first time in months and the barista, Starbucks employee, who took my order sounded hurried. I thought it was a little odd given Starbucks has a brand identity of being laid back and focused on making good coffee and not necessarily of being in a hurry. Since there was no one behind me, I shrugged it off as they must have a big line inside.

Then as I was patiently waiting to pull up to the window the barista chatted it up with the car in front of me. I thought it was nice that she spent the time being personable with probably one of her regulars. When I did eventually pull up to the window, only 5 minutes later, I was greeted with a big smile and asked how I was doing. Then I was handed a free drink card for the next time I visited a Starbucks. Score! I'm definitely going to come here more often!

The next day I came across an article that highlighted how Starbucks had strayed away from their typical ambient setting and was focusing on how to serve people faster. In doing this, they alienated some of their regular customers. Realizing their misstep of straying too far away from their brands core values, they asked their customers for help with the launch of a website, mystarbucksidea.com.

In launching this as part of an integrated marketing communications program, they gave their community a place to give the brand some feedback on what they are doing right & wrong, what coffee flavors they want them to bring back & different promotions they think Starbucks should offer, such as free coffee on election day and mini Starbucks cards.

Obviously - the barista who gave me the free coffee card has achieved the perfect balance the launch of the website was striving for. She realized she had rushed me and in doing so, had strayed away from their brand identity. To make up for it, she offered me a free drink. Starbucks found what their customers were looking for by using a personalized virtual place for people to give feedback and then strategized and implemented plans to keep their customers happy.

We can all take this into consideration when it comes to our daily interactions as marketing and sales support professionals. We don't need to be the one to provide the fastest or the cheapest quote. It is more important to have personal relationships with our clients by focusing on the one to one communication, finding out what's important to them and offering them a personalized experience with their marketing communications company that they don't receive anywhere else. 

Stick to your core brand values.  That's what keeps the regulars coming back.

Another new year....What cliche shall I use? Perhaps a comment about how fast the years go by or maybe a list of new years resolutions that will be broken by February?

Instead, I believe the best course of action is to stick with something that has a history of success... so I am pleased to announce that The Allied Group will continue to innovate and be a thought-leader in our market space for 2012.

We have always tried to differentiate ourselves from the “traditional business model”. So... in that same spirit, I would like to introduce two new coming attractions in 2012 that add to our diverse line of products and services:

First: we are going to offer a completely integrated, multi-channel marketing solution which expands our value equation to include output and measurement of social media and mobile technology.

Second: we are launching a digital asset management solution which will help our clients with the all-important task of “protecting your brand”.

Obviously, much, much more needs to be said regarding these exciting concepts and we will get to explaining them over the coming weeks.

I simply want to introduce and perhaps make you curious. If you want to learn more ASAP, then contact us or give me a call directly (800-556-6310 x 3142).

In the meantime, thank you for your business and your support and best wishes for a happy, healthy and successful 2012.

You might be thinking that as you blog away feverishly trying to increase traffic and search engine rankings. While blogging alone will give you some results, you really want to optimize your efforts and increase the traffic to your blog. Blogging is such an important part of marketing communication strategies so why waste your efforts. I recently came across a great article on the topic.

Make your blog title interesting and intriguing
The title is the most important part of your blog post. Make sure your title is engaging and use numbers like "Top 5 tips..." and don't be afraid to be a little controversial and unique.

Make your content easy to read
You want the reader to breeze through your post not struggle and give up. Use bold font and bulleted and numbered lists.

Optimize your content for search
Use keywords in your titles and descriptions and make sure that you are using links within your posts.

Encourage interaction
Don't hesitate to ask for what you want from your readers. If you want comments or suggestions as for them and also make sure you ask your readers to share your posts.

Social media sharing
An important part of any integrated marketing communications campaign or plan is social media so be sure to share all of your posts on your social media channels as well.

To read the original article click here and to learn more about The Allied Group as a top direct marketing agency click here.

Page 1 placement - the almighty task of all search engine optimization. You can't talk marketing communication strategies without mentioning SEO and your company's placement on Google. It's just a fact - people are more apt to click results on page one so placement is key. I came across a Marketingprofs article on Google placement. It mentions some tips on ensuring page one placement.

Search Engine Advertising - do not be afraid of advertising and bidding on your business name.

Keyword optimized webpages - have a website that is optimized for keyword placement.

Blog - search engines love fresh and dynamic content. Blogs are always (should be) up to date and ever changing and that is perfect for page one placement.

Social Profiles - get on the top four social networks. Being current and up to date on those sites helps tremendously.

To read the rest of the article click here.

For more information on how The Allied Group can help with your integrated marketing communications campaign - contact us.