The Super Bowl promises to deliver much of what advertisers want—a big event with newsworthy interest, a huge audience occasionally on the edge of their seats, extensions in PR, social media and the web, with word of mouth that will all measure into scads of money for the best spots.

The Super Bowl by the Numbers

According to a Retail Advertising and Marketing Association survey, 173 million people will watch the New England Patriots and New York Giants in the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 5, up from an estimated 171 million last year and the most in the survey’s eight-year history.

Consumer spending for the Super Bowl will reach an all-time high, too, with the average game-watcher expected to shell out $63.87 on related merchandise, apparel and snacks, up from $59.33 last year. Total Super Bowl spending is expected to reach $11 billion.

Established brands will protect their position. Up and coming brands will invite consideration. Older brands will look for their renewal.  Cars, snacks, beer, electronics, movies and more will vie for the title of most entertaining spots of this year’s crop. We’ll see viewer-generated content. Celebrities. Stories well told.

We’ll be invited to check the second screen (our computer), iPad or Smartphone for live streaming coverage, back stories and additional brand engagement. In fact, iProspect tells us that 61% of Facebook users, identified as Super Bowl fans, posted status updates during the 2011 game and that 28% of users, identified as fans, directly chatted or messaged with friends.

So why don’t more advertisers pay to play in this exciting space?

Fear of failure. Cost. And return on investment. Being judged by the high standards of expectation can be daunting for even the boldest of Chief Marketing Officers (CMOs). GM CMO Joel Ewanick says, “This isn’t for the faint of heart.”

Being tagged as not ready for this prime time venue can be career threatening. Not to mention the cost of $3.5 million to $4 million per spot. CFOs like to know how that plays out in terms of customer acquisition, retention and market share. ROI is the real reason. One shot at results. Say you get a one-sided game. A national or international story intrudes on the fun. Or you’re buried behind or among other great and not-so-great spots. It’s a gamble, for sure.

 Nonetheless, it’s an event at the top of pop culture and an interesting look at just what pop culture values. Done well, the risks can be rewarding.

 My Recommended Reads:

The ROI of Super Bowl Ads

The 2012 Super Bowl by the Numbers

Five Secrets of a Winning Super Bowl Ad

No One Advertises More during the Super Bowl than Autos

Mike Schreurs

As founder and CEO of Strategic America, Mike Schreurs is primarily responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and addressing growth opportunities.

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Have you ever left a meeting wondering what was accomplished? How often do you attend a meeting only to have it start five to ten minutes late because several team members aren’t present? Do the meetings you attend lack direction and an agenda?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone. We all struggle from time to time with preparedness and effectiveness, so I have developed a few pointers that will likely help with planning and executing a successful meeting. Most of these concepts are not revolutionary, but are important principles that may have recently fallen by the wayside with busy schedules and deadlines.

I have adopted the following quote in both my personal and professional life as a way to remind myself just how essential planning is –

Failing to plan is planning to fail.

While this may seem like a simple concept, it is critically important to the overall effectiveness of meetings. Here are a few ways to plan ahead for meetings:

1. What is the agenda? Before scheduling the meeting, create an agenda. Know what topics need to be covered and what types of outcomes you expect. In this agenda, clearly identify who is responsible for what line items to ensure accountability. Assuming you are using some sort of calendaring system (Outlook/Exchange, Google Apps, etc), make sure this agenda is inserted as the body of the meeting request. This way attendees may print the agenda or they can view it from their smart phone or iPad, keeping in mind how excessive use of handheld devices may be perceived.
2. Who should be present? Based on the agenda, you should have a good feel for who needs to be present.  If there are people who only have a small role or contribution, plan your agenda to have them positioned early and allow them to leave when their part is done.  This won’t apply to all meetings, but try to be mindful of it.
3. What is the job number? If your company bills time incrementally, make sure to include the job number within the meeting request. Don’t make people waste time digging for it.

If you receive a meeting request that is missing one or several of these components, tentatively accept the meeting and reply with a request that these items be included prior to accepting. Hold your teammates accountable!

Now that you’ve properly planned the meeting, make sure to conduct the meeting based on the agenda. How are we going to accomplish this? Keep reading!

1. Expect punctuality from ALL participants. Don’t sit around waiting for one or two missing people.  If you notice required attendees are not present, call them.  If they don’t answer, send a runner.  Don’t wait 5 or 10 minutes to do this.  Wasted billable time accumulates quickly if you have people sitting idle in a room waiting for others to join.
2. Take digital notes. Why switch to digital notes? Well, as soon as the meeting is over, you’ll find that some take good notes. Some take bad notes. Some take no notes at all. Taking digital notes ensures that all participants will have access to the topics and take-aways. All parties should know what is expected from them as a result of the meeting. These notes can become a rolling repository for all meetings related to a certain project. Save them in a project folder on a server and make sure to send all participants a link to where the notes are stored.
3. Schedule your next meeting.  Use the digital notes you took as the foundation for the agenda for your next meeting.

Clearly, none of these principles are necessarily revolutionary. However, I can assure you that utilizing these strategies will help you and your team plan and execute effective meetings and in turn, reduce wasted time and frustration.

What are some strategies your company uses to facilitate effective meetings?

My Recommended Reads:

How to Encourage Employee Participation in Meetings

Running Effective Meetings

Ryan Weaverling

Ryan joined SA in 2000 as Network Administrator, becoming the first technical member of the Strategic America team. As the agency has grown, our technological needs have grown as well. Today, Ryan’s in charge of our entire team of technical staff. He oversees all aspects of technology for the agency and our clients including servers, network, security and software/website development. Ryan has earned the Microsoft Certified Professional (MCP) designation.

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It’s far more important than changing postage meter and hanging new calendars in your offices, yet few companies take the time to dust off their “brand” before the end of the year.  Here are five “must dos” and the reasons they are important.

1. Change the copyright year on all publications especially those that are digital. Not only is this important legally, but it tells prospects and customers that your presence is current and your company is on top of things for the good of the company as well as the clients you serve. Competence in small but important steps such as this builds trust and credibility.
2. Walk through the office with the eyes of a client or customer. What do you see? Magazines that are months, even years old, coffee rings on conference tables, cartoons in poor taste on bulletin boards?  All of these reflect on your brand and how you are rolling out the welcome mat to those who walk through your door.
3. Take a few minutes to see who is new.  Who has been hired this year? Are they familiar with what you do and how you do it? No one can discount the impression made by the first person at your company to whom a prospect speaks. Do all your “firsts” represent your brand, your culture and your way of doing business? Double check this with some longer-term employees  as well. If you can, secret shop your own company so you know exactly what customers experience.
4. It’s wonderful when employees are proud to wear your logo on their clothing. It’s equally important that those employees remember they represent the company when doing so or driving the company vehicle on local streets.  So, remind employees that their behavior should match the company’s brand whether on the clock or not. Cutting off the president of your largest client in traffic can come back to haunt them . . . and you.
5. Recommit to walking the talk. All companies have branding lulls or even branding setbacks.  Don’t use that as an excuse to fail but as a reason to innovate. Make sure everyone on your team feels that way as well. Look for innovation from everyone – from the boardroom to  the mailroom.

Beyond these five vital steps, ask employees to suggest other brand checkups.  As an example, I once found a two-year-old (outdated) bill stuffer still being mailed out by an accounting department in another company, perhaps one of the last places anyone might think to look.  

My Recommended Reads:

Copyright Basics

What is Your Brand Saying

Brooke Benschoter, APR

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SA Delivers Service and Tech Solution Suite: Mētis

Retail is the space where the power of consumer purchasing is engaged and where the competitive dynamics of the marketplace are full-blown. Marketers and their brands live and die here.  Hundreds or thousands of retailers, whether independent and corporate-owned, compete among marketing’s four Ps—price, product, promotion and place in a complex environment, with infinite variables.

It’s where the brand experience thrives, sales are made and jobs are created (nearly 500,000 for seasonal sales alone). It’s where best practices emerge and collectively, where customers prove who and what is worthy of their purchases.

Understanding this space and developing simple, scalable solutions is critical.

For a manufacturer distributing through independent retailers, the challenge is to determine how to engage them in your program – a promotion, new product, and market launch or co-op marketing opportunity – in an efficient, effective, measurable way.  

What many manufacturers and retailers are missing is the collaborative link – the interface of strategy, technology and service that makes the complex, simple. Over the past 31 years, Strategic America has grown, due to its field marketing expertise, particularly in developing software and database systems, networks and processes that accommodate retail’s numerous variables, allowing companies to focus on their underlying business models and growth goals.

 At Strategic America, we empower retailers through intuitive marketing technology scaled to support extensive marketing endeavors and (whose?)teams dedicated to service.

We call this empowerment space, aka our suite of digital services – Mētis – named for the mythical icon of strategy. Mētis brings technology solutions designed to stimulate results. Among our key Mētis services are:

• Automated on-demand media planning/placement with a variety of local media choices
• Prepackaged media programs with individually tailored local options for retailers to select
• Design-on-demand ads for preapproved brand unity and compliance
• ROI campaign measurement for reporting
• Direct marketing strategies including customer satisfaction, proximity, traditional and online
• Account management system for easy compilation of data and reporting

Any of these Mētis options may be selected to serve a company’s marketing needs. Strategic America’s team of talented professionals serves and supports these digital solutions.

The result – an integratedparadigm to view field and channel marketing strategies; a better way to engage and support your retail partners; with a marketing partner that brings it together for you – Strategic America. Call 888.898.6400 or visit www.strategicamerica.com.  

 My Recommended Reads:

Cross Channel Retail Remains a Work In Progress

12 Crucial Consumer Trends for 2012

Franchise Update: Local-Level Marketing

Mike Schreurs

As founder and CEO of Strategic America, Mike Schreurs is primarily responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and addressing growth opportunities.

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Social media is fundamental to the nature of how we communicate with fans. The tone and content are more causal and insider-based, especially for the most ardent fans. If you’re introducing a new product and you’re unsure of how consumers will react, social media is the perfect tool in your arsenal. From developing new products to generating new audiences and revenue for existing products, social media creates smarter, more effective and targeted solutions.

Whether you communicate to your audience via a blog, Twitter, LinkedIn or Facebook, the only true way to build relationships with a growing network is to listen, engage and provide content your audience finds valuable.

CONTENT. How do you begin? Do you write for SEO value? Do you post frequently? Do you create an editorial calendar? Do you review all corporate communications and repurpose its content? You get the point. You should answer YES to all of the above.

Jay Baer, Social Media Consultant and author of The Now Revolution, developed a series of free social media worksheets that you can use to help keep elements of your social media program on track.

Susan Cato, Senior Director of Web and New Media Strategies at CompTIA, said, “You can’t have a social media strategy without a content strategy.”

There are three elements to developing effective content strategy:

• Know what your customers, audience or community members want to talk about. Be willing to engage in those conversations.
• Know where your audience wants to have these conversations; in other words, where they hang out online.
• Measure the results of your conversations to see which ones catch fire.

While development of these steps is critical, those alone are a one-way strategy. Building relationships requires a strategy that taps into a base you already trust and knows you well. An effective content strategy is made up of numerous individual strategies that all feed into the same corporate goals. Enable your employees to engage with your targeted fan base, influencers and thought leadership channels and, with the right training, you’ve empowered an army of content enablers, not just creators.

My Recommended Reads:

Five Key Tips for a Successful Social Media Content Strategy

What Makes an Awesome Content Strategy?

Six Layers of Social Media Content Strategy

Cyndi Fisher

Cyndi has more than 25 years of experience in building integrated marketing and public relations strategies for her clients. At Strategic America, Cyndi serves a number of integrated marketing and public relations clients, as well as providing strategic planning, new business development and PR supervision. A Des Moines native, Cyndi serves on the Board of Directors for the Greater Des Moines Partnership Workforce Development, Goodwill, PRSA and Boys & Girls Club of Central Iowa.

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As America’s leading field marketing agency, Strategic America (SA) has developed web-based advertising and social media advertising campaigns for use by local sales channels.

Local franchisees of Wendy’s Restaurants, sales agents such as Nationwide, dealers throughout Lennox Industries and retailers, including GE Appliances, implement proven SA web-based advertising techniques within their specific market areas through:

Search Engine Marketing  and Pay-Per-Click

 Roughly 88% of Internet users consult search engines such as Google, Yahoo or Bing for information about a product or service. Pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns catch people at a critical point in their purchase process. PPC is the prevailing method for catching target consumers in your area at the point of purchase. According to Pew research, they’re already looking for your product —you just have to “pull” them in.

Website Display Advertising—Banner Ads within Local Markets

 Although banner ad click-through rates are still low at 1 in 1,000, advertisers are appropriately focusing on impressions. Banner advertising, as a supplement to traditional campaigns, builds brand awareness. As Todd Wasserman put it in his article on Mashable.com, “The TV ad you see builds on the foundation laid by a banner ad plus a billboard and a mention on Facebook.”

Social Media (i.e., Facebook Advertising and LinkedIn Advertising)

• More than 80% of companies across the globe communicate with consumers via social media. (Worldcom PR Group)
• Facebook has more than 750 million active users, and 50% of them log on daily. The average user visits the site 40 times a month, spending 23 minutes on the site during each visit—that’s 15 hours a month. These highly engaged users are targeted based on self-provided information—age, sex, location, likes/interests and many other factors. Ads are displayed to those users who fit the criteria for a company’s specific target market. (Facebook Advertising FAQs)

• If you are looking to target affluent and influential professionals, plan on utilizing one of LinkedIn’s advertising options. Of the 44 million U.S. users, the average household income is just over $90,000; the average age is 45; more than 50% are active online every day; and 15 million are business decision makers. LinkedIn provides advertisers access to a highly sought-after and frequently elusive demographic. (LinkedIn Marketing Solutions)

Strategic America is dedicated to generating “Results at Retail Across America”. . . and web-based marketing and social media advertising now play an increasingly important role in generating those results at the local retail level.

Intrigued and have more questions?

Contact Jim Stafford, VP of Account Services, to get the answers.

jstafford@strategicamerica.com

515-453-2047

 My Recommended Reads:

Marketers Use Online Tactics More but Are Skeptical

Real-Time Relevance

Wiser About The Web
As companies get savvier about where to place their ads, there’s a flight to quality

Jim Stafford

At SA, Jim oversees the entire account services area, as well as generating and addressing new business opportunities for the agency. In the community, Jim serves on the board of directors of Rock in Prevention, Timber Creek Charities and the Mid-Iowa Council, Boy Scouts of America.

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It will come as no surprise that social media is becoming an increasingly important component of most businesses’ marketing strategies, but just how many business-to-business (B2B) companies are taking advantage of the myriad opportunities provided by the different social platforms?

B2B and enterprise companies aren’t trying to attract millions of consumers as customers but instead need to persuade companies (smaller audience group but with much larger budgets than individual consumers) to purchase their products and services. So, social media’s power to spread a message across the web isn’t as relevant.

Still, social media has its place in the B2B marketplace.  In fact, many B2B companies in a variety of industries find social media a powerful tool to establish thought leadership, to generate leads and perform market research.

Strategic America, as a partner in The WORLDCOM Public Relations Group, the leading global partnership of independently owned public relations and marketing firms, contributes to and has access to the latest research regarding B2B use of social media.

In a Worldcom poll of nearly 125 B2B company leaders in North America and Western Europe, the conclusion is that social media is now a key element to their brand presence and marketing endeavors.

Among the B2B leaders, their present usage and future spending shows that:

• 83% of the surveyed firms use social media to communicate with target audiences
• Close to 9 out of 10 agency execs believe social media will increase in value over the next year
• More than half of the firms will boost social media spending next year

 Usage breakdown:

• 85% of firms surveyed use Twitter
•  74% — Facebook
• 72%–  LinkedIn
• 69% -- YouTube
• 60% — Blogs

Goals and reasons to use social media:

• Thought leadership – 30% in North America
• Engage new and existing clients – 31% and 25% respectively in Western Europe
• 31% of agencies in the US, Canada and Mexico favor Twitter
• 31% of agencies in Western Europe favor Facebook

Geographic location:

• 9 out of 10 US firms use Twitter compared to 6 out of 10 European agencies .

 Business use:

• 80%  use social media tools to interact with potential clients
• 76% work online to engage existing clients
• 60% log on to social networks to build extensions of their own company websites
• 58% use social media to communicate with journalists
• 50% use platforms for employee recruitment and alumni communications

 Company size a factor?

• 80% of small companies (revenue ≤ $50 million) and 88% of large companies ($1 billion+) have used social media for more than one year
• 57% of mid-sized firms have been using social media for more than one year

Do these numbers look similar to those at your company? Do you plan to increase social media spending over the next year?

Our Recommended Reads:

Worldcom Blog Post
Most Marketers Plan to Increase Social Media Spend This Year (Mashable)

Emily Drake, SA Public Relations Coordinator, contributed to this blog post.

Lore McManus Solo

Lore’s areas of expertise include strategic planning, counsel, research, issues management and providing marketing direction to clients and SA staff. Lore is the author and key instructor of several levels of executive presentation and media training. In addition to directing SA’s PR department, she plays a key role in the agency’s business development. Lore has received numerous awards for her work and has earned the Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation from the Public Relations Society of America.

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At Strategic America (SA), our goal is always to “find a better way.” This includes our ongoing environmental initiatives in our offices, our new headquarters for nearly two years now. Our innovations have led SA to become a solutions-based provider of integrated marketing services across the United States and Canada, particularly in channel marketing.

While increasingly our work extends across North America, we have not lost sight of our roots here in Iowa. We remain committed to serving local and statewide clients and are especially committed to giving back to our community of Greater Des Moines.

So, I’m proud to share that Strategic America has once again been honored with three “Best Of” Awards from the Des Moines Business Record, as well as runner-up in a new category regarding social media (see pages 7, 12, 23). Each year, the Business Record surveys local business leaders to determine which Des Moines-based businesses are the best in various categories.

In 2011, SA was named the:

• Best Public Relations Firm
• Best Advertising Agency
• Best Small Company with the Most Promising Future
• Runner-up in the new Best Social Media Company category

Des Moines Business Record 9/30/2011

This marks the third year in a row that SA has won those top three awards. We are truly delighted that our clients, colleagues and community continue to recognize SA for our strategic work and our strong service orientation.

As a company, we are committed to exceeding expectations as our daily path. This is not just a cliché. It’s ingrained in our culture clear down to our annual performance reviews.

It’s an honor to be firmly established as the best right here at home. We thank our supporters for the recognition and for your business.

John Schreurs
President & COO

John Schreurs

In addition to setting and administering corporate operations for the agency, John is actively involved with account management, including development of new sales promotions and media strategies for several regional and national clients. His insights and solutions mindset of integrating sales, operations, finance and marketing is strategic and provides results and long-term value for SA clients.

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Online focus groups, concept testing and consumer surveys are three types of primary research from which online execution can provide excellent data at a lower cost and shorter timeframe than conventional phone, mail, or in-person methods. Asking for clients’, customers’ or prospects’ online input often provides a greater response rate than conventional surveys as well. The savings include resources ranging from paper and postage to the number of people and amount of materials required to prepare and conduct the research. Additionally, online surveys equate to 24/7 availability to a larger and geographically wider sample size.

• Focus groups consist of a group of people asked to answer and discuss among themselves questions posed by a moderator. They are useful in the early phases of researching a problem—perhaps even helping define the initial problem or opportunity—before more robust and rigorous research is designed. Because of their small size, focus groups cannot statistically represent the wider population, so analyze the results accordingly.

Live focus groups can prove very effective in seeking out problems and opportunities, providing an exclusive or in-depth look at more complex issues. However, it can be more expensive and labor intensive to coordinate. When the questions at hand are relatively straightforward, using the Internet eliminates those problems, allowing participants to participate from any location with an Internet connection.

• Online execution of concept testing and market testing has also become popular. Reduced cost is a primary impetus behind this transition, as well as speed of results and the ability to adapt the test based on early results.

SA has conducted early testing of various brand concepts to ensure that various publics understand and resonate with the proposed messaging. This analysis can lead to small tweaks or major insights, all of which ensure that a campaign will be on target when it rolls out.

• Online consumer surveys are extremely effective. They offer significant advantages over mail-based and telephone surveys in terms of setup, cost, interactivity, result processing, and participant follow-up. Examples of online survey tools include SurveyMonkey and Zoomerang. Each offers a similar product, and they are free to use in a stripped-down version. For example, Strategic America, on behalf of the Worldcom PR Group, of which SA is a partner, has conducted a partner participation survey for more than five years, using an online source and sending the link through email.

There are times in which in-person research is vital, including ensuring that your participants are who they say they are and are part of the right audience. Beyond security, interaction with a product or persons can also prove helpful. Moderators can draw out opinions by being amiable and welcoming. Live voice surveys can also generate instant sales activity at times.

No matter what, any survey instrument must ask the right questions and provide options that make sense to survey participants, so they can answer in a way that truly assists a company or organization.

For more information on how you can save money, speed up implementation, and simplify fact-gathering through online market research, email me at jstafford@strategicamerica.com or give me a call at 515-453-2047.

Jim Stafford
Principal  & Vice President, Client Services

My Recommended Reads:

Electronic vs. Conventional Surveys

Survey Says Online Feedback is Key to Success

Jim Stafford

At SA, Jim oversees the entire account services area, as well as generating and addressing new business opportunities for the agency. In the community, Jim serves on the board of directors of Rock in Prevention, Timber Creek Charities and the Mid-Iowa Council, Boy Scouts of America.

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Today, many companies want to assume a strategic market position of “thought leadership.”  According to Wiki, the term was coined in 1994 by Joel Kurtzman of the Booz, Allen & Hamilton magazine, Strategy & Business. The term “thought leader” was used to designate interview subjects who had business ideas that merited attention.

That definition is still accurate today but has broadened in meaning. Thought leadership is rich content. Expertise. Esteem. In-depth knowledge of specific areas of one’s business operation. And the ability to interpret  for others. It is the basis of innovative change.

Companies and organizations may have these essential qualities. It’s our job at Strategic America to help them develop the content deserving of external attention. It may be a blog (like this.) A white paper. Guest editorial. Newsletter. Case study. Radio or TV interviews. Student convocations, roundtables and professional events. Or paid messages such as an ad or advertorial, an advocacy piece or presentation. A digital solution like an ROI calculator. All are valuable, effective elements in thought leadership strategy.

As a strategy of our 30th anniversary in business, SA has implemented a number of these including media relations as to our belief in sustainability and our practices designed to achieve LEED status. We hosted seminars on social media and the discipline of business execution, as well as performance achievement. CEOs, CMOs and marketing and business leaders participated. We saw the impact of taking the position of thought leadership in the marketplace.

Comments came back to us such as this, “I just wanted to thank Strategic America for bringing in Jay Baer for today’s program. The seven-step strategic planning process was very easy to follow and will be useful to me as I start mapping out a social media strategy. Please continue to bring this type of expertise to our market. Very valuable.“

SA is seen as an entity that is invested in our industry, our clients and our community for the kind of qualitative conversations that bring insight to complex issues. The result is relationships.

My Recommended Reads:

How to Become a Thought Leader in Six Steps—Harvard Business Review

Thought Leadership—Harvard Business Publishing/Corporate Learning

Mike Schreurs

As founder and CEO of Strategic America, Mike Schreurs is primarily responsible for setting the company’s strategic direction and addressing growth opportunities.

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