Find Your Greatness

I absolutely love the Olympics!

As a runner, as a fan and as a world citizen … the Olympics are a radiant flower that blooms for only 3 weeks every 4 years.

The true blessing, as an American, is that this 3-week festival of competition and world-togetherness offsets and provides a distraction from our own American, poo-slinging political environment.

But lets focus back on the Olympic competition.  Not between the USA and China, not even between the finely honed athletes, but the competition of sports apparel brands.  As a marketer, I’m as enthralled by the Nike/Adidas competition as I am in the marathon competition between the Kenyans and the ... ahhh … well … OK, they really don’t have competition.

Here’s a link to Nike’s Find Your Greatness campaign.

Quick question:Is Nike an official sponsor of the London Olympic Games?

Answer: It doesn’t really matter!  But no, they’re not. 

Last week, Ad Age reported that an online survey found that 37% of those surveyed identified Nike as an Olympic sponsor (compared to 24% for Adidas, a real sponsor).  Add to that, in the last week, Find Your Greatness landed as #1 on the Viral Chart with 4.5 million views compared to Adidas’ 2.9 million views with their Take the Stage campaign.

In short, Nike has hijacked the London Olympics.  Without mentioning the games or paying the $40 million+ sponsorship price tag.  They did it by focusing solely on emotion.  They’ve tapped into the consumer’s reality.  One I’ve related to since I first started running in 4^th grade … I’ll never be an Olympian, but I love being an athlete!  I’ll never compete internationally, but I can’t listen to the National Anthem without picturing myself on a podium.  Admit it, most of you know exactly what I’m talking about … and Nike identified it … put it into words and images … and made us feel it!

So, what can WE do as marketers without Nike’s marketing budget or rock star ad agencies?  We can learn from their strategy of tapping into emotions.  It sounds idealistic, but the truth is that emotions sell better than product or price.  Take Find Your Greatness, for example.  We’re not selling shoes or shorts, but our financial consumers want to find their greatness at home, right?  They can’t buy a car, move into a home, pay for groceries, hope for retirement or insure their property without us. 

How can you help your community find their greatness?

Take care and enjoy the remainder of the games.

Eric

GET FIT in 2011

It’s hard to turn on the TV, check your email, or listen to the radio without being bombarded by the over-saturated message of ways to lose weight in the New Year. If you are setting forth a resolution to live a healthier lifestyle in 2011, consider carrying over that resolution to your work life. For instance, you can remove excess from your marketing budget by adjusting tactics that aren’t providing your enough exposure or return.

Let’s take a look at three easy ways to ‘trim the fat’ in your marketing efforts that will free up money that you can put to better use!

1 – Revisit Sponsorships. Instead of pursing a sponsorship with minimal exposure, consider asking for more unique and exclusive ways to draw attention to your brand. Only follow through with the sponsorships that will provide enough return to cover your investment.

2 – Minimize Phone Book Advertising. As long as your locations and phone numbers are accurately portrayed in the yellow pages, people will find you. When was the last time you heard of someone choosing a bank or credit union based on a yellow pages ad? Just about any other advertising medium is a more effective use of your money.

3 – Renegotiate Contracts. We have seen many clients with overpriced advertising, creative design, or research contracts. Contracts are almost always negotiable, especially in this economic environment. If you can’t get a discount, ask for a quote from another vendor to make sure you are getting your money’s worth.

This year, “trim the fat” in your marketing budget so you can put it to better use.

Best,

Jamie

Donations & Sponsorships – Make Them Count!

In marketing, we have to justify every dollar we spend with the quantitative or qualitative results that our investments produce. However, there are some budget items that we may not have total control over… such as a local high school team sponsorship or donations to top customer events. These types of donations and sponsorships can eat up a good portion of your budget, so let’s take a look at how you get more from them…

FIND YOUR PURPOSE : One simple thing you can do to stretch your donations is to set qualifying criteria for your donations and sponsorships. These guidelines should be created or approved by senior management, be in-line with your brand, and act as the criteria for all donation requests. For instance, your focus may be to support local economic growth or education in a defined market area. Communicating your cumulative donation efforts towards a specific cause will better allow you to communicate your donations and help to differentiate you from your competition.

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX: Get creative. If you are presented standard sponsorship options, respond with alternatives outside of the normal sponsorship packages. Think of using employees as a “street team” to get your donation and message out at an event rather than just including a logo item in grab bag. Focus on making your brand more visible and interactive than a standard sponsorship or donation.

GET RECOGNIZED: Lastly, look to see if your state banking or credit union association has a “Community Service” Award and apply! The exposure and creditability gained can from such an award will greatly stretch your donation dollars by miles.

Start getting more from donations and sponsorships!

Jamie