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Marketing Strategy

Gianfagna Strategic Marketing / Blog  / Marketing Strategy (Page 13)

Who Owns Your Marketing Campaigns? You May Be Surprised

Many companies hire marketing agencies or freelancers to develop marketing campaigns and materials. But marketers often overlook a critical step in the process: Ensuring that they own the intellectual property they’ve paid a marketing team to develop. And marketing agencies often fail to protect their legal rights to materials they’ve produced. What are the most common intellectual property mistakes marketers and agencies make and how can you avoid them? Here are some tips for your smart marketing strategy from Sharon Toerek, an expert on legal issues in marketing. ...

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Super Bowl XLVI: Which Ads Were a Smart Marketing Strategy?

Another year, another Super Bowl, and another advertising extravaganza by America’s brand marketers. Many ads were creative and funny. But when you look more closely at Super Bowl spots, a smart marketer has to wonder about their strategic marketing value. Even if the ads were clever, at $3.5 million per 30 seconds, were they a smart marketing strategy? Here are seven criteria for evaluating the strategic effectiveness of advertising and my assessment of this year’s ads. ...

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5 Lessons from My UPS Guy: How to Create Loyal Customers

One of the most difficult marketing challenges is differentiating a service business from its competitors. One strategy is to market the knowledge and experience of the firm’s employees. Another is to focus on how the firm's employees make customers feel. Case in point: Tom, my UPS delivery guy. Here are 5 lessons in how to create loyal customers from a UPS driver in Cleveland....

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What’s Next in Digital Media? Answers from the Experts

Digital media is transforming how marketers engage with customers and prospects. Whether you’re marketing to business executives or consumers, it’s critical to monitor the fast-changing digital media space. So what’s on the horizon for digital media in 2012 and what does it mean to marketers? Three marketing experts shared their forecasts last week at a program sponsored by the American Advertising Federation-Cleveland. Here’s what these digital media pros see in their crystal balls and some insights for using digital media in your smart marketing strategy. ...

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How to Create Great Advertising with Storytelling

Top 10 lists are everywhere this time of year. One of the most interesting lists for marketers is the Top 10 Most Viewed Ads on YouTube, as reported on Mashable.com. These are TV spots people chose to watch online, by the millions. That’s an advertiser’s dream. But what makes these ads so popular? It’s not crazy gimmicks or over-the-top production techniques, though some of the ads have spectacular visual effects. I think it’s about storytelling. The most watched ads of 2011 engage viewers in a compelling story. Here’s why storytelling...

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Direct Marketing Mail | Smart Marketing Gianfagna

USPS Service Cuts: Why Direct Marketers Should Be Worried

The announcement last week that the U.S. Postal Service plans to eliminate next-day delivery of first-class mail was hard news for direct marketers like me to hear. Not because the direct mail campaigns our marketing agency creates require next day delivery. In most cases, we mail standard class to get lower rates and we factor in the necessary delivery time when crafting a marketing plan. But I got a sinking feeling when I heard this latest news. I fear that as service delivery levels continue to fall and the cost of using...

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Customer Testimonials in Marketing | Gianfagna Strategic Marketing Ohio

10 Ways to Get Great Client Testimonials for B2B Marketing

There’s nothing more powerful in marketing than a testimonial from your customers about the value of your products or services. That’s why so many smart marketers, especially companies that sell business-to-business (B2B) professional services, use client testimonials in their advertising, sales presentations, brochures, and websites. So how do you get a client to give you a great testimonial for your marketing campaigns? Follow these 10 tips....

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4 Things My Idea File Taught Me about Great Direct Mail

Most marketing agencies keep an idea file of creative, interesting promotions by other marketers that serve as inspiration for new marketing campaigns. Since we’re moving soon to new offices (a new suite in the same building in Cleveland, Ohio), I decided to take the opportunity to weed out our idea file, especially our massive collection of direct mail. I tossed a lot of old stuff, but I was surprised at how many direct marketing campaigns created five, ten, or even 20 years ago still pack a powerful marketing punch. I wondered: Why do...

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Unique Business Branding | Gianfagna Marketing Cleveland Ohio

Marketing Professional Services: Sell Smarts, Not Service

Promoting a professional services firm is one of the most difficult challenges in marketing. Whether you’re selling legal services, marketing services, accounting, IT, insurance, benefits, payroll, or consulting, it can be tough to create a marketing strategy that differentiates your company from everyone else who does what you do. Here's the usual approach: “We have great capabilities and we deliver great service.” No offense, but you must, or you wouldn’t still be in business. Plus, all your competitors say the same thing. Is that really what makes you stand out? Is that...

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