Bridge Marketing Professionals http://www.bridgemp.com Bridging Mission To Results Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:05:03 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Technology Transforms Once Luxury Item Into Necessity http://www.bridgemp.com/technology-transforms-once-luxuryitem-into-necessity http://www.bridgemp.com/technology-transforms-once-luxuryitem-into-necessity#comments Thu, 22 Sep 2011 03:48:21 +0000 admin http://www.bridgemp.com/?p=740 The cell phone has surpassed the T.V as a household necessity. Ponder that statistic from the Pew Charitable Trust article on household applicances and you realize how different it is to market to consumers today. Just 42% of Americans feel that a TV is a necessity, while 47% rate their cell phone as that vital. Among 18-29 year olds, only 29% rate the TV a necessity but 59% rate the cell phone as a necessity. We might hypothesize that those same 18-29 year olds use their cell phones for far more than just talking and texting. What once could only be watched on TV-videos, the latest episode of Modern Family, and commercials -all now can be seen on a cell phone.

Implications of these findings for marketers? Different age groups consume media and technology differently. Techonolgy causes changes in media viewing habits. The economy has changed consumer perceptions. In 2006 over 80% of consumers felt that the household dryer was a necessity and today that figure is only 59%. And to demonstrate that consumers perceptions translate to market dynamics, Research and Markets reports that U.S. dryer sales were down almost 4% versus year ago. For more on how consumers perceive household items today see the article below:

The Fading Glory of the Television and Telephone

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/technology-transforms-once-luxuryitem-into-necessity/feed 0 Investment Opportunity: Marketing Your Brand http://www.bridgemp.com/investment-opportunity-marketing-your-brand http://www.bridgemp.com/investment-opportunity-marketing-your-brand#comments Wed, 03 Aug 2011 14:21:29 +0000 admin http://www.bridgemp.com/?p=722

#outlook a{
padding:0;
}
body{
width:100% !important;
}
.ReadMsgBody{
width:100%;
}
.ExternalClass{
width:100%;
}
body{
-webkit-text-size-adjust:none;
}
body{
margin:0;
padding:0;
}
img{
border:0;
height:auto;
line-height:100%;
outline:none;
text-decoration:none;
}
table td{
border-collapse:collapse;
}
#backgroundTable{
height:100% !important;
margin:0;
padding:0;
width:100% !important;
}
body,#backgroundTable{
background-color:#FAFAFA;
}
#templateContainer{
border:1px solid #DDDDDD;
}
h1,.h1{
color:#202020;
display:block;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:34px;
font-weight:bold;
line-height:100%;
margin-top:0;
margin-right:0;
margin-bottom:10px;
margin-left:0;
text-align:left;
}
h2,.h2{
color:#202020;
display:block;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:30px;
font-weight:bold;
line-height:100%;
margin-top:0;
margin-right:0;
margin-bottom:10px;
margin-left:0;
text-align:left;
}
h3,.h3{
color:#202020;
display:block;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:26px;
font-weight:bold;
line-height:100%;
margin-top:0;
margin-right:0;
margin-bottom:10px;
margin-left:0;
text-align:left;
}
h4,.h4{
color:#202020;
display:block;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:22px;
font-weight:bold;
line-height:100%;
margin-top:0;
margin-right:0;
margin-bottom:10px;
margin-left:0;
text-align:left;
}
#templatePreheader{
background-color:#ffffff;
}
.preheaderContent div{
color:#505050;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:10px;
line-height:100%;
text-align:left;
}
.preheaderContent div a:link,.preheaderContent div a:visited,.preheaderContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
#templateHeader{
background-color:#000000;
border-bottom:0;
padding:0px;
}
.headerContent{
color:#202020;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:34px;
font-weight:bold;
line-height:100%;
padding:0;
text-align:center;
vertical-align:middle;
}
.headerContent a:link,.headerContent a:visited,.headerContent a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
#headerImage{
height:auto;
max-width:600px;
}
#templateContainer,.bodyContent{
background-color:#FFFFFF;
}
.bodyContent div{
color:#505050;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:14px;
line-height:150%;
text-align:left;
}
.bodyContent div a:link,.bodyContent div a:visited,.bodyContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
.bodyContent img{
display:inline;
height:auto;
}
#templateSidebar{
background-color:#e6e6fa;
}
.sidebarContent div{
color:#505050;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:12px;
line-height:150%;
text-align:left;
}
.sidebarContent div a:link,.sidebarContent div a:visited,.sidebarContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
.sidebarContent img{
display:inline;
height:auto;
}
.leftColumnContent{
background-color:#FFFFFF;
}
.leftColumnContent div{
color:#505050;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:14px;
line-height:150%;
text-align:left;
}
.leftColumnContent div a:link,.leftColumnContent div a:visited,.leftColumnContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
.leftColumnContent img{
display:inline;
height:auto;
}
.rightColumnContent{
background-color:#FFFFFF;
}
.rightColumnContent div{
color:#505050;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:14px;
line-height:150%;
text-align:left;
}
.rightColumnContent div a:link,.rightColumnContent div a:visited,.rightColumnContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
.rightColumnContent img{
display:inline;
height:auto;
}
#templateFooter{
background-color:#FFFFFF;
border-top:0;
}
.footerContent div{
color:#707070;
font-family:Arial;
font-size:12px;
line-height:125%;
text-align:left;
}
.footerContent div a:link,.footerContent div a:visited,.footerContent div a .yshortcuts {
color:#336699;
font-weight:normal;
text-decoration:underline;
}
.footerContent img{
display:inline;
}
#social{
background-color:#FAFAFA;
border:0;
}
#social div{
text-align:center;
}
#utility{
background-color:#FFFFFF;
border:0;
}
#utility div{
text-align:center;
}
#monkeyRewards img{
max-width:190px;
}
body,#backgroundTable{
background-color:#d3d3d3;
}

#awesomebar img {margin:0; padding:0} .hover-link:hover {color:#666 !important;} body {margin:0 !important; padding:0 !important;}

 

 

Companies are cutting back on expenses.  Why is marketing included in budget reductions?

 

 

 

 

Investment Opportunity: Marketing Your Company
Accounting rules and practices treat marketing costs as short term expenses.  So no surprise those companies tend to look at marketing like an expense item…one that can be reduced, cut or delayed especially if budgets are tight.  Professor David Reibstein at the Wharton Business School cites some examples of companies that have found ways to look at marketing more like an investment.  BMW has  a formula used to determine the value of a customer and then can measure their marketing efforts against the value of acquiring their customer.  BMW sales, by the way, were up 7% in May 2011 compared to the total car market which was negative 2% in sales.   Even made in America based NASCAR has an appreciation of how to measure and value its customers.  For those very important sponsorship dollars, NASCAR provides a comparison between the cost of brand name exposure that a sponsor gets and the cost of getting the same level of exposure through traditional media. It also provides information on purchasing probabilities of sponsors’ products, as well as change in sales before and after sponsorships. 

Reibstein shares information about the long term value of other customers in other industries.  Is a Diet Pepsi drinker as valuable as a Pepsi drinker?  The answer might surprise you. Understanding the differences in equity measures among different brands from the same company can help with budgeting those marketing “investments” (not calling it an expense anymore, right?).    Bridge Marketing used brand equity measures of different brands to ascertain the success of various marketing programs.  Positive changes in various equity measures over time would signal that the marketing was working and investments in those brands would result in sales growth.

A recreational equipment client of Bridge Marketing Professionals invested in marketing research and consumer insight to better understand their customer.  The company used the insights to develop a new product, new pricing and a new retail merchandising system. The results:increased market share,  a key competitor displaced and increased profits.    It just goes to show:  it pays to know who your customers are and it pays to reach, retain and grow them and your business.

The Recession is Over but Spending Still Stagnant

Just how much are companies cutting back on expenses?  And who is cutting back the most?

 

 

  
 

 

” We’ve Tried That Before and It Didn’t Work” 

If you’ve lived and worked long enough, you have probably heard this phrase many times.  You may even say this occasionally to your boss, a co-worker, a peer or any number of outside agencies that are helping you with marketing your business.  We’ve caught ourselves saying it too!

But next time you say it, think it or believe it…think again.  Why didn’t it work?  Was the time not appropriate?  Was the audience too broad a target?  Was the message not quite as clear as it should have been?   Dan Kennedy,  a business speaker and marketing guru, recently shared one of his pet peeves and pieces of advice for others in the “speaking” industry. No, it’s not about telling bad jokes to warm up the audience.  Or running over by five minutes so that dinner or lunch gets cold.  His peeve has to do with having an open mind and treating your business…whether it be motivational speaking, selling services to businesses or working in a factory– with an open mind.    He shares a story about  a company using direct mail to grow their speaking engagements and then indicating that  “I tried direct mail and it didn’t work”.  Before you make a blanket statement about how a marketing tactic or campaign fails to work,  remember the marketing approach (e.g. direct mail) might be working just fine…but not if it’s being sent to too broad an audience or the wrong audience with a message that doesn’t inspire a call to action.

 

 

Copyright © 2011 Bridge Marketing Professionals, All rights reserved. 
]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/investment-opportunity-marketing-your-brand/feed 0 Measure brand equity, drive growth http://www.bridgemp.com/measure-brand-equity-drive-growth http://www.bridgemp.com/measure-brand-equity-drive-growth#comments Fri, 24 Jun 2011 13:15:46 +0000 Olan.Beam http://www.bridgemp.com/?p=717 Wondering about investing in your brand or business?  Marketing spending that builds brand equity is proven to drive growth.  But, you need to measure to direct your efforts.  One of our Bridge Partners led a brand equity measurement program for a large consumer goods company.  The effort measured consumer perceptions of brands using the Young and Rubicam Brand Asset Valuator.   Dimensions such as differentiation versus competitior and consumer awareness of the brand were measured.  These combination of measures allowed comparisons between brands and indications of where investments should be made.  This information helped managers design programs to improve performance.  After programs were executed the measurements were taken again.  Guess what?  When the equity measure improved, that coincided with improvements in sales and profit growth.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/measure-brand-equity-drive-growth/feed 0 What Makes a Team Smarter? Include Women! http://www.bridgemp.com/what-makes-a-team-smarter-include-women http://www.bridgemp.com/what-makes-a-team-smarter-include-women#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 13:15:02 +0000 Eva.Wu http://www.bridgemp.com/?p=699 As some of you who know us well, Bridge Marketing is a minority owned business.  There are three partners; two of us are women and one is also a minority.  “So what?”,  you may say.   Well, to certain organizations and some government agencies, those “qualifications” are important differentiators that distinguish us from the mass of other marketing companies.  But recently I learned of yet another great advantage of being “female-owned and operated”.  That advantage, presented by Professors Anita Wooley and Thomas Malone of Harvard Business School,  is that women can positively influence the collective intelligence of a group or team.  The research indicates  there is surprisingly little correlation between individual IQ and the collective “intelligence” of a group.  High collective intelligence is correlated with high number of women on the team. Subjects aged 18 to 60 were given standard intelligence tests and assigned  randomly to teams. Each team was asked to complete several tasks—including brainstorming, decision making, and visual puzzles—and to solve one complex problem. Teams were given intelligence scores based on their performance. Though the teams that had members with higher IQs didn’t earn much higher scores, those that had more women did!    The researchers go on to stress that diversity is still important.  They suggest  that an all women team wasn’t as effective as the “more” women teams. 

So one more factor to consider when you want to form a team for your next project, volunteer assignment or even family charades game.  Bring on the women but make sure you have some men too.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/what-makes-a-team-smarter-include-women/feed 0 The Myth of the Older Consumer and the Internet http://www.bridgemp.com/the-myth-of-the-older-consumer-and-the-internet http://www.bridgemp.com/the-myth-of-the-older-consumer-and-the-internet#comments Thu, 23 Jun 2011 03:55:30 +0000 Eva.Wu http://www.bridgemp.com/?p=709 We recently have had the opportunity to work with several different clients in businesses targeting senior citizens.  It’s an attractive market in many ways…37 million strong, representing 12% of the population.  And it’s growing rapidly.  In the last century this group grew ten times from 3 million people to 37 million. This year– 2011– the first baby boomers are starting to become “officially” senior citizens if senior is  defined by age 65.

We’ve learned that this market is rapidly changing in terms of their internet and social media usage.  Whereas email and social networks were once thought to be the domain of the “younger” generation, we now know that the greatest increases in online usage are coming from seniors.  The implication for marketers is to rethink preconceived notions on how to reach this population.  It doesn’t  mean using the same communication vehicles as you would use for someone 35 years or younger.  But it does mean that the internet and social media are no longer  to be avoided for this audience.  Between 2008 and 2010 (only two years) the number of people age 50+ using social networking sites has increase 2.5 times!

While the senior population may not be tweeting, posting daily on blogs or even updating their facebook profile, they are quietly joining the digital age  by purchasing products on-line, researching product information via the internet and communicating with friends, families and businesses via the internet.  Welcome to the 21st century!

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/the-myth-of-the-older-consumer-and-the-internet/feed 0 Why Update Your Website http://www.bridgemp.com/who-we-are http://www.bridgemp.com/who-we-are#comments Thu, 10 Mar 2011 23:56:29 +0000 Eva.Wu http://bridgemp.com/bmpwordpress/?p=1 We recently met with a business associate who seemed to be very familiar with us and our business.  After all, we have known this person over several years, seen each other at numerous events and functions in town and had mutual linked in connections.  In the course of the conversation, as were discussing the proverbial “How’s business?”,  we realized that he thought we worked at a social networking site with a very similar name.  And he had only a vague idea of what we did. 

We know that people need to hear a message multiple times in multiple ways to be heard.  But you need to make sure your message is accurate and relevant.   In reviewing our messages, we uncovered the fact that our website probably was NOT communicating our business in the way it should. The last  major update was 2009, which is the web world equivalent of two dog years ago or as my children say–FOREVER!  We found that not only had our business model evolved over the last few years but what we wanted to say and what our clients were telling us had also changed.

 So here is our new website.  It reflects questions and comments we hear all the time.  It shows a sampling of some of our work.  And it allows us to communicate better with our audience.  We have added features like a blog and comments.  We now have the capability to post new content weekly, daily or by the hour!   That means we can share interesting things we learn and discover about our favorite topic– marketing .  Let us know what you think.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/who-we-are/feed 1 Big Benefit for Big Brothers Big Sisters http://www.bridgemp.com/big-benefit-for-big-brothers-big-sisters http://www.bridgemp.com/big-benefit-for-big-brothers-big-sisters#comments Sat, 12 Feb 2011 17:10:48 +0000 admin http://bridgemp.com/bmpwordpress/?p=337 Challenge: Big Brothers Big Sisters had a goal that approved children wait no longer than six months for a “match”. Finding qualified matches became more challenging as BBBS expanded programs and faced increasing competition from many other volunteer based organizations.

Strategies: Bridge Marketing prioritized programs with greatest appeal to new audiences for ease of recruitment and participation. We targeted messages and materials to highest potential audiences and use structured “school based” programs as feeders to other programs. our distinct messages customized to specific audiences were used to highlight program offerings and services as a way to volunteer.

Results: Created a roadmap for BBBS to follow that included target audience, key messages and potential communication vehicles. Roadmap expected to result in 300 new matches by end of year.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/big-benefit-for-big-brothers-big-sisters/feed 0 Lowe’s Builds Base Brands http://www.bridgemp.com/lowes-builds-base-brands http://www.bridgemp.com/lowes-builds-base-brands#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 21:00:46 +0000 admin http://bridgemp.com/bmpwordpress/?p=203 ]]> Challenge: Lowe’s Companies, a home improvement retailer wished to enhance its corporate equity and imagery among home improvement shoppers.  They wanted to differentiate their brand and product offerings versus a key competitor and make Lowe’s a destination for home improvement items.

Stategy: Bridge Marketing working with the Lowe’s Branding Department established strong base of proprietary brands at varying price points to differentiate versus the competition and provide a reason to shop at Lowe’s.

Results: Bridge Marketing’s efforts resulted in the development of new home décor brand in previously unbranded and fragmented categories such as window treatments, wallpaper, bathroom accessories and bath hardware. Branding efforts also increased credibility within the ceiling fan category by enhanced packaging and logo.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/lowes-builds-base-brands/feed 0 Goalrilla Gains Monster Share http://www.bridgemp.com/goalrilla-gains-monster-share http://www.bridgemp.com/goalrilla-gains-monster-share#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:40:09 +0000 admin http://bridgemp.com/bmpwordpress/?p=206
Challenge: Goalrilla, the number one brand of in-ground basketball systems, faced stagnant growth with their key retailer. They needed to convince their customer that Goalrilla products were preferred and cheaper competitive products didn’t help their customer’s business.

Strategy: Bridge partner led an in-depth consumer research study that identified key consumer insights identifying the key target and showing brand awareness and purchase motivators. Bridge partner used the study to lead development of new product, new pricing structure and enhanced merchandising. The consumer insights Goalrilla presented convinced the key account that the new product and merchandising were better positioned to grow business without eroding category price points.

Results: The account placed the new product and merchandising. The effort succeeded in growing brand share by 5% and profitability by 10%. Additionally the effort displaced a key competitor product and grew placement and share with key account.
]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/goalrilla-gains-monster-share/feed 0 Just My Size Expands Customer Loyalty http://www.bridgemp.com/just-my-size-expands-customer-loyalty http://www.bridgemp.com/just-my-size-expands-customer-loyalty#comments Thu, 20 Jan 2011 20:30:45 +0000 admin http://bridgemp.com/bmpwordpress/?p=208 Challenge: Just My Size, the number one brand of plus size apparel, had seen flat sales and were underpenetrated at some accounts. The brand wanted to grow their over the counter sales at targeted key accounts and also build an ability to communicate directly with their customers.

Strategy: Bridge partner led the effort to build direct and on-line promotional programs to improve sales, develop and grow customer database, and acquire actionable information on brand shoppers for JMS. The programs featured new logos and photography to enhance brand image and coupons to incent purchase. Direct mail utilized in-house database and targeted new lists. Online incentive programs captured consumer profile and usage data and coupon tracking techniques captured retail shopping information.

Results: Programs resulted in a 7% over the counter sales increase, a 500% expansion of the customer database, and a clear understanding of the product usage patterns of key shoppers as well as insight into retail shopping preferences.

]]> http://www.bridgemp.com/just-my-size-expands-customer-loyalty/feed 0 © 2012 Bridge Marketing Professionals