If you turn on the news these days, the Fiscal Cliff seems to be on everyone’s mind. So, what does that mean to your marketing? On one hand not much on the other hand maybe quite a lot. The reality of the situation is you need to look at your overall marketing strategy and reaffirm that you have a good plan that still makes sense. If it doesn’t, then you probably ought to assess you planning process.

The answer is easy, keep following the plan, but also analyze if the “Fiscal Cliff” creates an opportunity for your business. The big question is: what is that opportunity. Change = Opportunity.

The other thing to consider with change is it creates opportunity. So think about that emotion when designing your marketing campaign and think of the emotion you are trying to tap into. And guess what? You may just grow your market share when the message is that the business outlook is bad.

The key to marketing is that you can’t turn it on and off. Consumers don’t care about economic cycles; they need a continual connection to your brand, not when it is convenient connection to your brand. But you still need to be in tune with what is going on in the world.

If you already work with government organizations, now may be the time to reassess how you communicate your value proposition to your customers. What made sense last year may no longer make sense next year.

So quit worrying about the Fiscal Cliff and start looking at the opportunity ahead and start climbing the cliff. Remember the view at the top of the cliff is much better than being at the bottom of the cliff.

When I graduated from USC in 1994, our two commencement speakers were George Lucas and Steven Spielberg.  Both were receiving honorary doctorates that year from the University. Interestingly enough, while Lucas did graduate from USC, Spielberg did not due to poor grades. Both gave wonderful speeches, but there were two major lessons that I’ve carried with me from Steven Spielberg’s speech over the course of my career – lessons that I find are very relevant to the world of marketing and PR that I live in today:

Never stop asking WHY. As I recall the speech to go, he described a toddler, constantly asking mommy and daddy “why” and “how” and “what’s that”. After a time, most people will get annoyed with that toddler and try to quiet the child. Spielberg, on the other hand, sees beauty in always asking WHY. It’s in persistently asking WHY that we find new things, expand our minds and viewpoints, and get to the heart of who we are and what we stand for.

As I reflect on those words today, I realize that these questions are at the heart of what we do, especially from a branding and strategy perspective. These questions also drive the creation and execution of new ways to communicate and engage our audiences. Those who stop asking “why” and “how” and “what’s that” risk being passed up by those who do.

Don’t overlook the “C” student. USC passed on Steven Spielberg because on paper, he didn’t meet the school’s criteria. But look deeper, and you find passion, creativity, and a spark here that doesn’t exist elsewhere. What is that “C” student’s why? How does he view the world, and the opportunities that may exist for the future?

Over the years, we’ve had clients, employees, vendors and business alliances that on paper may have seemed to be that “C” student, where we’ve found ourselves asking “how in the world is that crazy company/person going to succeed?” But where there’s passion, vision and creativity, anything could be possible. You have to overlook your preconceived notions about what that perfect “student” looks like to get there.

I hope these lessons are as helpful to you as they have been to me. Go forth, dig deeper, ask the tough questions, and Fight On.

Last week Facebook announced that they would be taking a stand against fake people. No, they aren’t going after your girlfriend/boyfriend for refusing to make your relationship Facebook Official. They are targeting online-based companies who sell Facebook LIKES.

This comes after years of complaints from businesses who have grown their fan-base organically only to be over thrown by a competitor who used a bunch of fraudulent profiles to LIKE their page. While this problem isn’t new, Facebook has finally taken the time to address it and come up with a viable solution.

Facebook will now delete LIKES from business profiles that are determined to be from fake profiles. While this will only impact on average less than 1% of most pages’ fan total it could dramatically affect any business that purchased LIKES in the past.

I hope this will end the ongoing practice of buying LIKES and will encourage businesses to engage with their target and create a conversation around their brand. The more people are talking about a brand the larger its reach will be. Padding LIKE figures with fake accounts and bots may increase overall fan totals, but I can promise you it won’t increase another aspect of the business… SALES!

At KolbeCo, we help businesses tell their story. We develop creative, personal marketing messages that not only increase brand awareness, but show results!  If you want to share your story with us, please feel free to drop us a line. We’re all ears!

Earlier this week, we woke to the news that a local, family owned restaurant was engulfed in flames. Within a few minutes, a friend had emailed me to let me know it was a place we had all visited together on many occasions over the years.  We were both sad for many reasons, but most of all, we were sad for the owners who were watching their life’s work be destroyed.

This particular establishment had been in business in the community for 40 years. Almost every member of the family worked there, and I can never remember a time that the owner’s mom didn’t greet us at the door, or a daughter didn’t wait on us, or that the owner himself didn’t come out from the kitchen to say hello. It truly was a passion, and a family affair. They were there every day.

The morning of the fire, I logged on to Facebook to check out coverage from the various news stations to learn what was happening. Unfortunately, the business was a total loss. But what made the news even more tragic were the some of the comments that people were posting about the business. I saw comments about how it’s no big loss – the place was “yuck” anyway; and “that place is nasty and needed to be burned down.”

Let me channel my inner Seth and Amy voice here — Really?????

Would any of these people have said this to the distraught family who just lost their business and livelihood? Did any of the people commenting know the family, or had they ever visited the establishment to know what they were talking about? This is a restaurant that has been part of the business community for 40 years, run by a nice family, who worked very hard.

It saddens me that behind the cloak of social media, people can be so cruel. I personally value, and have a lot of respect for independent business owners who work hard to build something. I feel welcomed by the small, personal atmosphere that such a business can offer.  Luckily, I did see many comments that shared my sentiment and showed support, but I was reminded how mean spirited some can be.

My lesson is this … if it’s not something you would say to the person’s face, don’t say it on social media either. Think about what you’re saying before you post it and how it will be received. To kick a family when they’re down, facing tragedy, is just wrong. They did nothing to deserve the loss they experienced, or the horrible comments that were posted online about them.

I wish them well as they determine what’s next, and plan to be among the first in line if and when they re-open.

What if someone told you they wanted to start up a business, but there were already 200 other businesses doing the same thing in your local market? You’d probably doubt the odds of their success…

But what if they could guarantee their customers had a unique, memorable and sharable experience?

Well then they might be on to something!

Last weekend I ran The Color Run in St. Louis with Danieal Broz. It was my first 5K – and I can guarantee I’ll never forget it! I’ve always wanted to do a run, but I was a bit intimidated and unsure of what the experience would be like.

The Color Run 5Ks are taking the country by storm. How are they doing it? Well… it’s not just another 5K – It’s the “Happiest 5K on the Planet!”

One visit to their site and you’ll quickly realize they have created an EXPERIENCE for participants and volunteers alike. They’ve taken an activity that could be intimidating for some and made it completely, utterly, unmistakably FUN! Everything surrounding the brand is excitement and energy. Clean, crisp white splashed with bold, vibrant color. They’re appealing to an emotion – and it’s paying off by leaps and bounds. The St. Louis event was sold out over a month in advance, to the tune of 15,000 registered participants.

A big part of their success can be attributed to their ability to tap into social media. The Color Run has a very active Facebook community. Even weeks before the St. Louis race, I saw posts from runners declaring their excitement for the event. In the week prior, The Color Run encouraged all runners to change their Facebook profile photo to a bold image declaring “I’m a Color Runner.”  Did I do it?  You bet your asterisk I did! I’m a Color Runner and I’m proud of it! On race day, people were constantly uploading photos to Facebook, tagging The Color Run and posting them to their personal walls and The Color Run wall. Talk about Social Media brilliance. Runners were having an amazing time and sharing it with all their friends and family.

What did I take away from The Color Run?  (Other than an ear full of pink and blue cornstarch and a bumper sticker)  I learned that to be wildly successful in a saturated market, you can’t be “just another 5K”. You have to create an experience and appeal to an emotion. If you can do that – you’ll create an energy you never thought possible.

One final thought – don’t just limit the experience to your customers. Your entire company should embrace the experience so that it becomes part of your culture. Customers will feel the energy and passion your employees have and they’ll respond to it. Even the volunteers at The Color Run were having a blast!

It is no secret that many companies—large and small—believe that bringing their marketing efforts in-house can not only preserve resources, but also the bottom line. While I can understand how one would come to that conclusion, it is simply not the case. I know what you might be thinking: “Of course you would be pro out-sourcing—you are a marketing firm!” Okay, okay… let me explain.

Recently, I was chatting with a good friend of mine who also happens to be the Director of Marketing for a local conglomerate. He was telling me how he pulled all his marketing and design work in-house in an attempt to better utilize the resources being dispensed. He soon realized that it was not only very trying to find talented, yet affordable candidates, but his time was completely occupied by the tasks once completed by the outside agency. After a lengthy lecture by yours truly, he realized that bringing things in-house was not only detrimental to the day-to-day operations, but the overall quality of their marketing.

In my opinion, here are the top 5 reasons to outsource your marketing…

1.       We know what works:  Over the past 12 years, we have successfully executed an array of marketing and social media campaigns. We know what will drive interest and—most importantly—what will drive business!
2.       Fresh Ideas: If you want to keep your brand “fresh”, it is important that you continually generate new, creative ideas. An agency will bring these ideas to the table regularly and if they don’t you should look elsewhere.  How can you expect an employee to churn out new ideas while also wading through the minutia of office life?
3.       Experts in all areas: Typically, an agency will be staffed with experts in a multitude of different areas. I dare you to find me a marketing pro who is an expert in design, copywriting, media relations, crisis communication, web design, email marketing, direct mail and social media? Go ahead—I’ll wait…
4.       Reliable: The truth of the matter is it is much easier to hold an agency accountable for poor results than it is one or two internal employees. Plus, if you start changing internal employees out left and right, can you imagine the time and money you will waste in training?
5.       Employees are expensive: When companies start to consider the cost of assembling an internal team they always fail to include one very important piece of the puzzle… benefits. Employee benefits include: vacation, paid leave, medical, dental and in some cases bonuses. How much is that, you ask? Well, take the employee’s salary and add 20 percent. Doesn’t sound too cost-efficient now, huh?

At KolbeCo, we help businesses tell their story. We develop creative, personal marketing messages that not only increase brand awareness, but show results!  If you want to share your story with us, please feel free to drop us a line. We’re all ears!