Christmas in July - Why You Should Already Be Humming Carols
Tomorrow is June 1, which means it feels like Summer but, officially, the season is still Spring. Unless, that is, you’re a marketing pro. For those of us who work on seasonal plans, programs, campaigns and such, life feels a lot like Back to the Future (but with better hair and worse cars).
For example, right about now is the time we’re pitching clients for long-lead holiday articles. That doesn’t mean they’ll materialize yet. But the reality is that consumer magazine editors are receiving scads of “stuff” right now. All intended to light up their fall and winter pages, and light up your wintery life. How do we know? One of us used to be one of them. The newsroom was awash in new products, and opening any closet or cabinet was downright dangerous. While others headed out of town on the Hampton jitney, we were left to inventory the booty.
Sure, there’s plenty of opportunity right now to pitch digital scribes and daily reporters. Summer can be a time to catch the attention of a vacationing someone. But many of us sharply change our media habits in the summer. No more school drop-off means no 7:30 a.m. radio. Newspapers halted for vacation may never start up again. TV reruns send us to premium - commercial free - channels. So marketers must plan accordingly. Suddenly, that airplane tailing the “Eat at Joe’s” sign seems super smart, right?
In the end, marketers and their clients should spend the summer doing as others do: recharging batteries, soaking up some Vitamin D and hammock-surfing. Once you get back to work, you can start planning your February promotions!
Courtesy: Flikr
31
May
NYC Cab Uses Heartbreak to Inspire Marketing Hit
What do candy, a subwoofer, lights and a New York City cab have to do with each other? Usually these things have nothing in common, but in Mansoor Khalid’s cab, they are his unique selling point! After losing his 18-month-old son to congential heart condition, he wanted to add offer happiness to his cab customer.
PRDaily.com pointed out several lessons we can learn from his cab that apply to many businesses, including:
Know your customer: In a place that has thousands of cabs, Khalid found a way to make his cab fun and different.
Believe in your mission: He wanted to turn his own unfortunately situation around by creating happiness in others.
Allow for personalization: His cab lets passengers play their own music. Need we say more?
Quality, not quantity: Instead of simply trying to amass as many followers/fans as possible, Khalid tries to make personal connects with his social media networks.
Invest in the product: Don’t forget to put some money in the reserves to invest in the product (whether upfront or maintenance).
Experiential marketing: When someone has a great time in the Candy Cab, they tell people (word-of-mouth referrals). It can also have the trickle down effect of earned media.
There’s even a little bonus in the Candy Cab-if you can eat all the candy in the back before you destination, you get your ride for free (no one has accomplished this yet). Follow him on Instagram and Twitter to find the most fun ride in NYC!
24
May
Public Relations Field Evolves to Embrace New Channels
A recent article in PRDaily celebrated a venerated PR firm’s decision to become “channel agnostic.” In other words, the firm is officially embracing the notion that not every PR challenge can be solved with publicity and events.
To this we say a resounding, AMEN!
Technological advances have pushed every communication firm – and the communicators they employ – to become sprinters. We work quickly to stay ahead of advances in the tools and techniques that help us achieve our client goals.
Much of this challenge has arisen in a parallel path to the traditional media’s struggles. With declining eyeballs on their print and broadcast product, companies have reduced the space available for a well-placed article. Coincidentally, social media allows companies to tell their story without working through a third-party filter.
It all makes for a heady environment. And it’s far more exciting than days of yore, when PR pros were allowed to play in just one sandbox: earned media.
If you walked into our office today, you’d find Touchpoint’s team working on Pay-Per-Click programs, advertising strategies and negotiations, SEO enhancements, blog writing, social media execution, strategic planning and copy writing. And you’d also certainly find us pitching traditional and online media, researching new opportunities, and creating connections.
Bottom line: we were “channel agnostic” before it was cool. And we don’t expect that to change any time soon.
17
May
Freshfields Village Summer Event Season Kicks Off
Freshfields Village, the upscale lifestyle destination at the crossroads of Kiawah, Seabrook and Johns Islands, will kick off its summer events season on Memorial Day weekend with a three-night concert series. The outdoor concert series will feature Sol Fusion (May 24), Smoky Weiner & The Hotlinks (May 25) and Groove Train (May 26).
Several other weekly events will begin soon after. Check out the schedule below and click the links for full vendor, film and band info. All events are free and family friendly. Don’t forget a beach chair or blanket!
Center for Birds of Prey is Ready for Their Close-Up!
Pre-taping at The Center
The famed food writer John Mariani once shared this with us: he frequently meets chefs and restaurateurs who believe they are absolutely, positively ready for the spotlight. He counsels them to hire a publicist, immediately.
Now, we happen to think that’s great advice. But here’s his reasoning: when national media calls, you must be ready. And ready means READY. To wit: two weeks ago, the Today Show called and asked if we could help arrange a shoot with the Center for Birds of Prey. Within the next 48 hours, no less than 20 emails and a dozen calls were exchanged with producers, Center staffers, and publicists to nail down all details for a Saturday afternoon shoot. And that was the just the beginning. The next two weeks involved locating archive video, file photos, answering reams of questions, emails at 10 p.m. and frantic texts at 7 a.m.
Jim Elliott, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Birds of Prey, gets ready for his appearance
Being ready for primetime really means being ready to seize the moment. And that’s no easy task. The Center staff were such champs, we are grateful for their good spirit and willingness to do this. The result: about 5 minutes of air time on a national show that reaches 5 million visitors. Plus a whole lot of fun flying gorgeous birds for the live audience.
So what did that look like? Think light and thrown photos as decor; think all sustainable local produce and seafood from the caterer, think local beers and organic wines, and think great experience for the future’s F&B kids. It was fun! And we especially loved hauling away a whole lot of recycling and a minimal amount of waste!
Ray Huff, Clemson Architecture Center’s Director and Associate Professor, addresses guests
06
May
ArtFields Art Fest Brings Revitalization to Lake City, SC
Our whole team has recently been working on the inaugural ArtFields festival, a 10-day explosion of art, culture, music, food and adventure in Lake City, SC. The event features an Art Competition with $100,000 in total cash prizes; art lectures, workshops and talks; live music and much more! The goal of this arts festival is to revitalize the city and celebrate its agricultural heritage. ArtFields has been featured in Garden & Gun, Charleston Magazine, Huffington Post and countless regional and local publications. We’ve been honored to be part of this extraordinary opportunity and look forward to 2014!
Launch or Re-Launch: How To Breath Life Into Your Brand
When we were approached some years ago to help “launch” a 70-year-old brand, we admit to scratching our heads a while.
But there were loads of reasons that Folbot, the maker of folding kayaks with a beyond-loyal following, deserved a second act. First of all, the company had new owners, and that usually signals a willingness to embrace new techniques. Secondly, Folbot had not received much attention over the decades from mainstream media. And finally, the product is awesome.
Fast forward: we developed a launch strategy, the tools to back it up, and began executing. Within about a year, the sleek kayaks one assembles from a backpack were gracing the pages of Outside, Vanity Fair, Conde Nast Traveler, and Town & Country Travel. The company’s story was being told in the Wall Street Journal, and all over the internet.
So what lessons did we learn that might benefit your second act?
1. Look at your brand with new eyes. Involve new people in your enterprise, and pay attention to how they see your product, and the world in which it lives.
2. Embrace your history. There’s no reason to shed your past or shy away from hit. Heck, remember the Hush Puppies story in Malcolm Gladwell’s “TheTipping Point.” A brand can be in the throes of death and still come back to life.
3. Remember that new makes news. You need a hook of some kind in your re-launch, and the best hooks involve improved customer experience.
22
Feb
A Day in the Life at WINGS for kids
WINGS for kids, a Charleston-based, after school program teaching social and emotional learning skills to at-risk elementary schoolers, needed a video to showcase how they help kids soar. We knew it needed to show how the program impacts participants on a personal level, so we enlisted the help of Lunch + Recess. After two days of filming and production of an original music score, the “Day in the life at WINGS for kids” video was ready for the world to see.
Watch it below and let us know your thoughts! Also, check out the WINGS YouTube channel for more videos.
16
Aug
WINGS for kids Tackles Bullying with Movie Screening
When the film Bully was not scheduled to show in Charleston, WINGS for kids Executive Director Bridget Laird knew they needed to get involved. Laird approached the Terrace Theater about hosting a movie screening and the date was set for April 22.
The screening sought to raise awareness of the issue and help educate parents, teachers and others about how to prevent bullying. We helped create a special DIY Bullying Kit based on social emotional learning techniques was created specifically to address this issue. The kit defines the term, gives examples of bullying and activities on how to prevent bullying.
