Mediaboss Marketing

Spring is one Lowes busiest seasons. Have you had to adjust your messaging at all to account for the current situation?

Its been a real gift to have such strong relationships and connections within the CMO community. I take heart in the fact that the instincts that I brought to how to approach this wound up being pretty consistent with how others thought about their own businesses. Theres that first initial phase of assessing and then triaging your existing work. Spring is an incredibly important time for us as a retailer, but then you have to go back through all the work that was done prior to this and look at it through a completely new lens of appropriateness, relevancy and how do you tailor the message. And these phases are shortwere talking days, not weeks.

Then its how to bring in the new ways of communicating that feel authentic but right for this drastically altered world. Its profoundI was attracted to come work for this leading home improvement retailer and here I am getting to know and getting to steward this brand at a time when literally home has never been more deeply important to us than it is today.

This is a time where we as marketers need to be agile and adaptive and not necessarily think that were planting flags, but how to be in the now. How do you show a sense of being able to be really connected to how people are thinking, feeling and what they genuinely need and where your brand most authentically and realistically lines up to that? In our case, being a retailer that is essential because we support people in their homes is an unbelievable realization and responsibility. It became much less about being very commercial and promotional in our messaging and a lot more about how do we really express the heart of this brand and do it in a way that is also humble, participatory and true to who we are.

The Build Thanks campaign was starting to see this emergence of people wanting to share their gratitude and also connect to the outside world. It was a DIY project, and were all about DIY and we thought we could help perpetuate that and ourselves with #BuildThanks. We were really specific, we were not asking them to buy anything, but to use what you already have at home. This company is values-driven and has this greater heart, but this story hasnt been well told, and it became a moment of opportunity. The way were showing up now for people is not COVID-basedthis is not COVID advertising, this is advertising about who Lowes is as a brand. This is what weve always done, like with Hurricane Sandy. Its a really nice moment to share that story and reflect on it.

Marvin Ellison, our CEO, has made multiple announcements on that, from deciding to close our stores on Easter Sunday and give all our associates a paid day off, to increasing their wages for the month of April. In stores, theres all sorts of social distancing signage, plexiglass dividers for those working the registers, and we have social distancing ambassadors who man our garden centers. Its a tricky time in general. Being open is a gift in terms of being able to be there, to address the many needs consumers have to run their homes safely and give them projects to do that occupy them, but being open is not without its challenges.

If theres one thing weve all learned from this experience, its really tested our ability to live in the absence of having plans that are as concrete as we might like them to be. There are so many things that are unknown right now, so you plan and then create contingencies and alternatives. You try to be really adaptive. If we all just reflect on how much things have changed in the past month, its shattering. Our intention will be to continue to invest and to create a relationship with consumers and let them know that we have the things they need.

Its still early enough in my tenure that its a lot about optimizing in the channels that we play versus making gigantic shifts. I believe we are a mass brand that deserves a place to tell stories in broadcast media. This has been a good time for that as viewership has been quite high, relative to previous months and years, because people are at home. You go from that to how we invest in paid search and everything in between. We think audio is also an important medium. And our social channels we have a lot of opportunity to do more with them were starting to see how we parse the storytelling differently. One of the things I enjoy about being a large brand is it gives you a sandbox of different channels and different ways of figuring out how to connect and communicate and right now theres no pulling back on any of that.

Weve seen people really dive into the small home improvement projects that maybe theyd put off because they have the time at home now. Theres something wonderfully constructive about putting your energies into them. Weve seen [buying of] products that speak to those types of projects and activities that are in demand and then of course all of the essentials that are core to what we do as a home improvement retailer that enable people to fix things that are broken, keep their homes running smoothly and replace an appliance that is on the fritz. Its a combination of that.

Read the rest here:
Lowe's new CMO on pandemic marketing in the age of social distancing - AdAge.com

Wins, Losses & Other Brand/Agency News

LOreal Paris, in partnership with McCann, launched "Because Self-Care is Self-Worth" last week, the first hair color TV commercial created at home on a smartphone amid the coronavirus crisis. The spot was even directed by and starred LOral Paris spokesperson and actress Eva Longoria for Excellence Crme.

Direct Auto Insurance has named The Richards Group its new brand advertising agency. The shop, in collaboration with Direct Autos leadership, will handle the brands creative advertising strategy, digital strategy, sponsorship marketing, consumer promotions and CRM/analytics. LERMA, a partner of The Richards Group, will manage multicultural marketing for the brand.

Global merged media micro-network Red Havas has launched "Red Rapid Recovery Program," a new offering to help clients set themselves up for success in the post-COVID-19 world. The Red Havas proprietary process includes a mix of global and local data and insights to design programs that allow clients to return to business faster and stronger.

Social video group Brave Bison has acquired social marketing and media business The Hook Group, which launched in 2014 and has grown into one of the largest youth-focused media groups around the world.

Alice + Olivia Founder and CEO Stacey Bendet has developed a new job platform called Creatively to help creatives across all industries network and discover opportunities remotely and globally. The free platform is available through iOS and web in beta starting on May 5.

Cheil digital creative shop Barbarian has created a global alliance with sports business executive and media personality Jay Williams to expand its lifestyle and entertainment expertise across the agency.

LaForce has launched Future Forward Strategy Group, a new specialized practice area for brands seeking guidance as they navigate the future impact of the pandemic and plan for the new normal. The group is being led by SVP Olita Mills and VP Shauna Solum, and will include cross-agency experts and specialists.

Cross-cultural agency the community has hired Anomaly alum Matthew Kline as its executive director of growth and partnerships, effective immediately. Kline, who is based in New York, will report directly to President Luis Montero.

72andSunny New York has hired Brett Edgar as president. Edgar will join the agencys leadership team, which includes Executive Creative Director and Partner Bryan Rowles; Executive Strategy Director Tim Jones; and Director of Production Lora Schulson.

W2O has hired ICF Nexts Bryan Specht as group president, transformation, consumer activation and marketing. Specht, who is based in Chicago, will oversee and expand W2Os consumer-focused, tech-enabled and digital capabilities.

Independent agency Venables Bell & Partners announced today that its in-house production unit, Lumberyard Productions, has expanded its leadership team with several key hires. Creative Lead and Director Tyler Hampton, Production Lead Sasha White and Client Services Lead Kristin Obi will join Lumberyards Director of Operations Raquel Bedard. The three new hires, who all come from VB&P, will help elevate Lumberyards creative product, in addition to working on production and post-production assignments for VB&P clients.

Cybersecurity company CHEQ has appointed David Greenberger as VP of sales for North America, along with Edwin Choi, who joins as VPof customer success for North America. The hires are part of CHEQs U.S. expansion plan.

Influencer marketing company Linqia has hired Tim Richards as the companys first chief revenue officer. Based in San Francisco, Richards will spearhead revenue-generation strategies and execution as the agency enters its growth phase.

Read more:
Movers & Shakers: L'Oreal, 72andSunny, Red Havas and more - Campaign US

Car owners are always on the lookout to enhance their cars functionality. To engage them, many auto parts and accessories manufacturers have opted for social media marketing.

Social media marketing is one of the keys to building brand awareness, consumer engagement, and customer loyalty. Therefore, for auto parts sellers, social media is not only a tool to engage new audiences but also to engage and market to their existing customer base, resolve customer service issues and create a stronger brand image.

So, how can auto parts and accessories sellers use social media to their advantage and boost their engagement process? Here are a few tips:

The first step of audience engagement through social media is finding the right platform. Select the social media platform where your audience frequents. In most cases, auto parts and accessory sellers find most of their audience on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Posting content regularly is the surest way to engage your customers on social media. Also, do not just post on your Facebook page. Contribute periodically to automotive forums and automotive enthusiast social media groups to attract new audiences to your page and ultimately to your website.

Do not make your social media page all about marketing. If you use social media for selling your products, your audience will soon lose interest in your page. Therefore, keep promotion to a bare minimum and engage the audience with contents that humor them, amaze them, intrigue them, or entertain them.

If your social media marketing contents add value to your audience, they will keep coming back for more and turn into your loyal follower and customers. Therefore, always look for ways to add the content of value to your customers. Share scholarly articles on how to ensure car safety, or ways to reduce gas expenses. You can also share coupons that offer you an exclusive discount.

For example if you sellBluetooth throttle response controller, you can offer them great content elaborating on ways to reduce gas consumption and gently push your product in the same article.

Do not make your social media presence all about your brand or product. First, you should make it all about the customers. Focus on how your product is helping the customers. Ask for their feedback regularly. You must also create votes and opinion polls to ensure that your customer has a voice on your social media page. If your customers and audience feel valued, they will think of you the moment they decide to buy an automotive part or accessory you sell.

Using user-generated content is a great way to ensure audience engagement. Ask your customers to take their photos from inside or outside their car featuring your product. You can then feature the best photos on your Facebook page. These are some great tips to facilitate social media marketing for auto parts and accessories sellers.

You can get thoroughly engage your audience and eventually turn them into loyal customers by rightly using these tips.

See the original post here:
How Auto Parts And Accessory Sellers Can Use Social Media For Marketing Their Products - SociableBlog

May 06, 2020

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill. The Illinois Small Business Development Center at Southern Illinois University Carbondale is sponsoring three free special online webinars this month. Each webinar is designed to help businesses in different ways.

Starting a Business

Starting Your Business in Illinois will be online from 5 to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, May 12. The session will cover everything you need to know when considering starting your own business or expanding an existing business.

Topics presented by SBDC advisers will include:

Register for free in advance at https://ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/31895.

Social Media Restaurant Marketing

Nationally known marketing strategist and speaker Bruce Irving will be the guest speaker at the Social Media Marketing for Restaurants webinar set for 10-11 a.m. on May 13. Research shows there are benefits of social media marketing for local businesses and having the right strategies in place can improve sales and create positive connections and conversations in a cost-effective way. Irving is the founder of Irving Media Group LLC, an agency that works to help local businesses bring in more customers and spend less time and money marketing.

Irving will share information on the best social media platforms to use for reaching customers and what types of content are most effective on various platforms. He will also discuss how to build engagement, attract customers and increase revenue by thinking outside the box.

Sign up online at no cost to participate: https://ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/32619.

Retail recovery

The final webinar, Retail Recovery Workshop: How to Create a Healthy and Positive Customer Experience is an hour-long program at 10 a.m. on May 21. As retailers begin reopening once the pandemic stay-in-place restrictions ease, the goal is to help them market their reopening and create a feeling of safety and confidence in their customers to generate sales.

Guest speakers include Lynn Falk and Suzanne Rafenstein, who each have more than 35 years of experience with the retail industry and are well-known for their retail psychology expertise. They will cover a wide variety of topics including:

Register in advance at no cost at https://ilsbdc.ecenterdirect.com/events/32620.

Valuable information

The pandemic has caused difficulties for businesses in recent months and these webinars offer a wealth of information to help, according to Greg Bouhl, SIU director of entrepreneurship and business development.

These webinars are going to be really good and very helpful to businesses in Southern Illinois, he said.

For more information about any of the webinars, the Small Business Development Center or any of the many services it provides to businesses and entrepreneurs, visit the website at sbdc.siu.edu/ or call 618/453-2424 or email gbouhl@biz.siu.edu.

Originally posted here:
SIU's Small Business Development Center is sponsoring a series of May webinars - SIU News

Content Marketing Institute Releases 2020 Content Management & Strategy Survey

For the fourth year in a row, Content Marketing Institute conducted its 2020 Content Management and Strategy Survey to get a snapshot of how marketers use technology tools to help create, manage, deliver, and scale enterprise content and marketing.

NEW YORK, May 06, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- For the fourth year in a row, Content Marketing Institute conducted its 2020 Content Management and Strategy Survey, sponsored by Sitecore, to get a snapshot of how marketers use technology tools to help create, manage, deliver, and scale enterprise content and marketing.

To see our analysis and download the full report visit: http://cmi.media/strategysurvey

Its important to note this survey was fielded in January/February 2020 in a pre-COVID-19 world. Here are a few things that stood out:

While many organizations reported having a content strategy and were working hard to do the right things, they also reported too many silos getting in the way (60% cited communication between silos as a top challenge). Nearly half (45%) were delivering on customer experience and 50% felt their ability to connect with audiences via insightful content was the top factor contributing to their success; however, many reported a lack of efficient processes for managing and scaling that content. Seventy-two percent (72%) reported their business views content as a core business strategy, but the investment isnt where it should be (63% are challenged with a lack of skilled staff).

This years survey is unique in that we fielded it pre-COVID-19. So, while we learned lessons, we also have new questions, says Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Advisor, Content Marketing Institute. For example, 73% of respondents said their companies either dont have the right content management technology in place or arent fully using what they have. Will that change in a post-COVID-19 world? As the shift to more remote work expands, will we see more collaborative content management and strategy features integrated into classic software suites?

More Key Highlights:

The top two considerations while planning content were driving our brands value proposition (82%) and showing empathy with customers values/ interests/pain points (78%). The most common approach to creating content was project focused/creating content in response to internal requests (43%). The top three reported content technologies in place were social media publishing/analytics (90%), email marketing software (84%), and content management systems (71%).

To view all CMI research and to subscribe to our emails visit: contentmarketinginstitutecom/research

About Content Marketing InstituteContent Marketing Institute is the leading global content marketing education and training organization, teaching enterprise brands how to attract and retain customers through compelling, multichannel storytelling. CMIs Content Marketing World event, the largest content marketing-focused event, is held every fall in Cleveland, Ohio, and ContentTECH Summit event is held every spring in San Diego, California. CMI publishes Chief Content Officer for executives and provides strategic consulting and content marketing research for some of the best-known brands in the world. Watch this video to learn more about CMI. Content Marketing Institute is organized by Informa Connect.

About Informa ConnectInforma Connect is a specialist in content-driven events and digital communities that allow professionals to meet, connect, learn and share knowledge. We operate major branded events in Marketing, Global Finance, Life Sciences and Pharma, Construction & Real Estate, and in a number of other specialist markets and connect communities online year-round.Press Contact:Amanda SublerAmanda.Subler@informa.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/58abe5e8-3972-44bc-95e3-ed2681645546

The rest is here:
Now is the Time for Content Marketers to Embrace the Disruptive Change and Innovate - GlobeNewswire