10 Marketing Resolutions for 10-10-10

1. Make a plan. No more random marketing.
2. Execute your plan.
3. Keep your website updated and relevant. 4. Listen to your customers.
5. Listen to your employees. They’re on the front lines.
6. Consider new media options.
7. Evaluate and modify your plan.
8. Allocate an appropriate budget to marketing.
9. Remember the Pareto Principle.
10. Hire DLA Creative. :)

How a Doodle Serves Your Noodle

Often viewed as a sign of a wandering mind, doodling may actually help us absorb information. In a study published in Applied Cognitive Psychology, Jackie Andrade at Britain's University of Plymouth played a rambling voice-mail message to 40 people, half of whom were given shapes to fill in as they listened.

The result: The doodlers recalled 29% more of the message than those who just listened. Andrade says idle scribbling uses just enough cognitive bandwidth to prevent daydreaming, so it may help us stay focused. One boardroom doodler, retiring GM Vice-Chairman Bob Lutz, says he isn't surprised by the finding. "I can look at old sketches done in meetings 40 years ago," he says, "and experience sudden recall of the room, the table, the voices." Ellen Gibson, Business Week / April 6, 2009 / pg 018

New Site Boasts Educational Animations

DLA Creative has launched an informative patient-focused website for Great Plains Orthopaedics. This site provides patients with access to details about preparing for their appointment, physician and staff bios, FAQs and educational information in the form of narrated animations. The website can be found at www.greatplainsortho.org.

This 11-physician practice was established in 1967 and provides a full range of orthopaedic care including clinical services, diagnostic services, physical and occupational therapy, ambulatory surgery and sports medicine. They are the team physicians for many high school athletes, as well as Bradley University, Eureka College, The Peoria Rivermen and The Peoria Chiefs.


DLA Creative has been providing customized marketing and website solutions to Central Illinois for more than 17 years.

DLA Launches Innovative One-Stop Commercial Real Estate Website

DLA Creative has launched a one-stop commercial real estate website on behalf of its client, Joseph & Camper Commercial. This website provides access to a wide range of local real estate listings from Joseph & Camper, as well as other industry sources including LoopNet and CMLS.

In addition, the site contains market information, surveys, access to important data such as property tax information, zoning regulations, current news, and links to organizations related to commercial real estate. This innovative website is like no other in the area and will serve as a rich resource of information for buyers and sellers alike.


DLA Creative has been providing customized marketing and website solutions to Central Illinois for more than 17 years.

Know Your Drinking Buddies

Watch Some of Our Agency
Team Become Mad Men!

You never know where your next customer will come from. One episode of Mad Men shows Don Draper sharing a drink with a gentleman who later turns out to be Conrad Hilton, the hotel magnate. Read more about "8 Lessons from a Few Mad Men ... and Women" here!

Are you blogging? Are you tweeting? LOL!

What about Facebook and Linked in? Yes, it's getting harder to avoid these social networking venues. And they're becoming less "social" and more "business" all the time. Our clients are starting to get serious about incorporating these tools into their marketing mix. So let me answer a few of the most FAQs here.


1. Do we need a Facebook page? You may not NEED one, but it might be beneficial depending on what your business is. If you're in a sensitive field (health care, finance, etc.), be extremely cautious about what you post. Announcing golf outings or links to information from credible sources is usually a safe bet, but don't offer financial or medical advice.


2. Who should be in charge of it? Ideally one person, with a reliable back-up person. That way the voice is the same. However, there should be multiple people responsible for feeding ideas to the person in charge of posting on the page. (Or depending on how large your organization is, one person from each department could provide regular updates.)



3. What about Twitter? You could post separate updates here or have your Facebook updates automatically directed to your Twitter account. Be sure to have a professional-looking background. Either choose an appropriate one from Twitter or have one designed for you.


4. Tell me about Linked in. This is more for professional networking and would work well for sales people or those looking to connect with individuals who can provide business leads.


5. How does YouTube fit into all this? See video article below.


6. Is one better than the other? They all have a valid purpose. And this is JUST the tip of the iceberg. As with any aspect of marketing, start with a plan, a purpose and a goal. Then be sure to follow through and be consistent. And of course, we're always here to help!


Finally, keep this in mind. Be careful what you post because ... What happens in cyberspace STAYS in cyberspace!

Kickin' Marketing Team!

Personalize funny videos and birthday eCards at JibJab!

Write well. Right now.

Copywriter needed.

Looking for copywriter with 2+ years ad agency experience. Primarily website copywriting with some print ads, radio commercials and other creative projects. Need ability to effectively translate complex subjects into client-friendly verbiage.

Must be versatile, able to multi-task, have strong attention to detail and thrive in fast-paced environment. Should be able to work both independently and as part of a collaborative team. Part-time position with potential for growth. 20 hours per week at well-established innovative marketing firm in north Peoria. Email resumé, samples and salary requirements to Michelle Lefebvre.

Video Boosts Your Brand

Videos can be an important part of your online strategy and they can boost your brand's SEO. Here are a few tips on how YouTube can help you do this:

Step One. Create a YouTube Channel. Every video you post to your channel can be tagged and indexed, increasing the odds your brand name will appear in natural searches for keywords associated with your business.
Choose Your Topic. How can people use your product better? How have they used it already, and in unexpected ways? Sharpie's Uncapped Gallery comes to mind. Expand your expertise beyond your product, or go all-in with pure entertainment. (Think Blendtec's still-fab Will It Blend?)

Record a Video. List the 5-to-10 points you want to make before shooting. Keep the vid under 2 minutes. Add links at the end to where people can learn more about you.

Optimize for VSEO. After uploading your vid to YouTube, enter a title, description and tags. Use the title phrase twice—at the start and at the end—to maximize its SEO impact. The front of the description should link to your site, followed by a paragraph that incorporates your key phrase in a natural and well-crafted way. Finally, add supporting words to your tags that will make the video easier to find, and repeat your key phrase and common variants.

Build Viewership. Beyond links to Facebook and Twitter, post your content as a "video reply" to a related video, which gives YouTube context and creates a stream of viewers. Linkbacks to your video improve its relevance on searches. Once you hit 100+ views, Google typically starts showing it in search results for your key phrase.

The Po!nt: It's time to shine! Constructing a strategic approach to making a splash on YouTube could boost your brand's SEO overnight. Get creative and give it a go!


Source: Marketing Profs


Speaking of videos ... here's a little something we put together awhile back. Pleae click on video title instead of play arrow.

Happy Birthday to Us!

DLA Creative is celebrating 17 years today, June 3rd, 2010. This past year we also launched a new company, appitudez, Inc., to address the growing market for mobile apps. 


Established in 1993, DLA Creative’s staff of five offers a full range of services including website development, strategic planning, copywriting and design, audio and video production, and many other related services. We specialize in working closely with healthcare, financial and other service organizations.


Read our Histolosophy here...

6 Marketing Action Steps To Take NOW...

that won't cost you a thing.

1. Review your website to check for broken links. For example, if you have links to affiliate groups, articles or other off-site sources, verify they're still active.

2. Proof your website for typos or outdated information. We try to automatically take care of this for our clients, but we're not always aware of all the internal happenings and changes. And of course, we can't do this for those we don't companies we don't work with yet. :)

3. Ask a trusted colleague to call into your office to do some "secret shopping" to see how your front office staff handles calls. Give them a key scenario you want them to test (difficult client, confused patient, etc.).

4. Ask approximately 10-20% of your staff "Who are we?" or "What does our brand represent?" If you get a range of answers, you've got some work to do. If everyone's on the same page, KUDOS!

5. Update your personal voicemail (office and cell phone). Does it accurately represent the company or could it be improved?

6. Update your e-mail signature with the color's proper brand identity - the right colors and font (at least something comparable), a link to your website, your best-to-reach-you phone number, etc. This is a daily marketing opportunity.

Pizza Faux Pas

It'd be an understatement to say 2009 was a tough year for Domino's Pizza, what with the awkward employees-abusing-food scandal.

A quick recap: two bored employees recorded themselves doing unpleasant things with food, and the video wound up on YouTube. Domino's responded swiftly enough, both terminating the employees and releasing an apologetic YouTube video featuring company president Patrick Doyle. (No, not the Patrick Doyle who was formerly president of DLA Creative, but wouldn't that be cool?)

Since then, things have quieted down, but it goes without saying that Domino's learned a valuable lesson about the power of social-media communications.

Well, as you no doubt have seen, the pizza joint recently kicked off a campaign to show that it is out anew to win hearts, minds and taste buds. The company conducted a series of focus groups to find out how people truly felt about the taste of its pizza. Turns out most of them hated it; the most common complaint was that the crust tasted like cardboard. So, tail between legs, the corporate kitchens embarked on a journey to give their pies a facelift.

Have you seen these commercials? What did you think? Post your comments here.

(From MarketingProfs)

Which Sister Are You?

I took the quiz to see which sister I am. Click on my icon and you can see which one you are.

Change Your Shoes. Change a Life.

Put on your Boogie Shoes

and watch this fun video.

15 Things You Didn't Know About Marketing

Here are some trends reported from the Marketing News staff. My comments are in purple.

1. Twitter is not a teenybopper hangout. Only 16% of Twitterers are under the age of 25.

2. Marketers are all atwitter about Twitter, but consumers? Not so much. Only 8% of consumers felt Twitter was very effective for promoting products and ideas. Will that change? Stay tuned...

3. Short-term financial ROI measures aren't the be-all and end-all. There's still a place for softer metrics such as brand awareness and word of mouth.

4. Mobile marketing (i.e. cell phones) without the consumer's consent remains off limits.

5. Some "attention-getting" Internet ads can do more harm than good. You know, those annoying ones that disguise the "close" or "skip" buttons. We do our best to create NON-annoying ads for our clients.

6. All days aren't created equal on Facebook. Tuesday is the highest day for click-throughs. And did you know that Facebook was the busiest website of ALL on Christmas in 2009? I was on Facebook that day - were you?

7. E-mail marketing isn't dead. Open rates increased 18.2% in 2009's 2nd quarter.

8. Recent college grad? List experience on your resumé before your degree. It's what employers want to see.

9. On July 17, the Oscar Meyer Wienermobile delivered hot dogs to a home in Wisconsin - but not in a good way. It crashed into the house. No buns were hurt. Ha!

10. As of July 2009, there were more Internet users in China (338 million) than the ENTIRE population of the United States (309 million). Furthermore, 25% of China's population uses the Internet, while 70% of Americans are online.

11. iPhone apps, while cool, aren't the only thing you should consider for mobile marketing.

12. Hispanics are nicer than non-Hispanics in the U.S. when rating products. Hispanics give a 5.9% higher rating on average.

13. Sometimes a good deal doesn't need much paid marketing. Can anyone say, "Cash for Clunkers"?

14. Only 2% of TV viewing happens online and on mobile devices. Keep your eyes peeled for how that trend may change.

15. Fewer than 75 people had returned new cars under the Hyundai Assurance program as of September. Yet it was one of 2009's most buzzed-about promotions.

And if you want to know more, you can always give us a call! 309.693.1421

Celebranding

There's a science to choosing the right celebrity to pitch a product acording to Naperville-based research company Millward Brown Inc.

Taking measurements from 2,000 American adults, researchers used neuroscience to measure things such as familiarity and celebrity "buzz" to create Cebra scores. Then they made endorsement suggestions placing celebrities with the most appropriate brand. This is how celebrities ranked in Cebra scores (although this issue was dated December 30, 2009, the research was obviously done prior to Tiger's indiscretions):

1) Will Smith

2) Brad Pitt

3) Tiger Woods

4) Oprah Winfrey

Interestingly, Miley Cyrus and William Shatner both scored 61 out of 100. Who would have ever put them in the same category? Cyrus matched with L'Oréal and Starbucks, while Shatner's suggested pairings were GEICO and Dell.

Source: Marketing News, 12.30.09

That's so saddddd

Even Americans who are lucky enough to have work in this economy are becoming more unhappy with their jobs, according to a new survey that found only 45 percent of Americans are satisfied with their work. According to the AP article, the recession is at least partly to blame:

· Fewer workers consider their jobs to be interesting.
· Incomes have not kept up with inflation.
· The soaring cost of health insurance has eaten into workers' take-home pay.

If the job satisfaction trend is not reversed, economists say, it could stifle innovation and hurt America's competitiveness and productivity. And it could make unhappy older workers less inclined to take the time to share their knowledge and skills with younger workers.

And yet, personally, this is a foreign concept to me. Whether working for myself - or someone else - I've also been passionate about my work. Maybe I've been blessed to have some really cool jobs (U.S. Senate campaign, Expert Witness referral company, international marketing firm) - or maybe I'm just able squeeze the best out of each opportunity. Either way, I consider myself very fortunate to put myself in the "satisfied" category ... nearly every single day.

So ... do you enjoy going to work every day?