Now how would you use a QR code in your business (take a snapshot of this code and find out)? QR codes allow you to directly market specific areas of your business. For example, a real estate agent gets a new listing; Full Moon Design Group creates the new listing flyer for them and includes a QR code on it. A home buyer picks up a flyer and takes a snapshot of the QR code on the flyer using one of numerous smart phone QR code reader apps. It then opens up a unique url address that provides the potential home buyer additional information that can’t be found on the flyer or the MLS sheet (ie: the url sends them to the virtual tour).

QR codes can be used to promote specific areas of your website, a phone number, SMS, or text. With emerging technology and the use of smart phones, consumers can click on a QR code to retrieve a coupon or special that a business is offering. Businesses can use them to drive traffic to their websites for promotions. It’s all at your fingertips.

Want to generate a code for your website? Go to http://qrcode.kaywa.com/. Just type in your information and the code will generate. Right click on the code and save to your computer. Insert into your marketing materials. Be sure to track your hits/page views and/or leads specifically from the code.

Let Full Moon Design Group create and insert QR codes into your marketing campaigns.

Chandeliers filled the hotel

From the moment I entered the lobby I was engulfed by youthful luxury and style with magnificent chandeliers, velvet curtains, marble floors and vivid colors. Our room had a balcony filled with oversized furniture and overlooked the pool. I felt comfortable and spoiled!

When exiting the lobby for dinner and drinks that evening, we were met by the hotel’s very own car service. It’s a sleek black SUV with their “Stay ZaZa” tagline on the side doors and the skull of some horned animal on the grill. Complimentary car service again offers a luxurious and carefree feeling.

Having a room booked at the hotel that night was like having the golden ticket to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. We were automatically VIP status…or as Hotel ZaZa puts it “ZZIP”. The pool and restaurant area turned into one of the hottest night clubs in Dallas and we had front row seats! Once again, the hotel was a true destination.

Saturday brunch was incredible in their elegant restaurant. When it was time to pay the check, we were handed a promotional card that featured quotes from media write-ups about the hotel and a “Stay ZaZa” pen.

Pen, Matchbook & Promotional Card

While walking out, we found a matchbook and mini notepad once again with the famous tagline reminding you to “Stay ZaZa”.

Daytime at Urban Oasis was definitely the place where you went to be seen. Poolside cocktails and a free popsicle made me a happy camper! As the day went on, the pool grew smaller and smaller as more and more people joined the party. And Hotel ZaZa likes to host a party.

Balls of Fun at Hotel ZaZa

Around 2:30pm beach balls started flying from a 2nd floor balcony. I can’t believe how crazy I went over a beach ball. I even tried to take my new prize back to the room and was stopped and ask to leave the ball behind. When I inquired as to why, I was told that they were protecting their brand and didn’t want their logo to “end up somewhere they didn’t approve.” I respectfully gave up the beach ball!

As someone that discusses the importance of branding daily and as a business owner that is working on our very own brand, I was thoroughly impressed with Hotel ZaZa and all they had done to enforce their brand and image.

I’ll be back…and I might take my little dog too!

All Dogs Go To ZaZa

]]> http://www.fullmoondesigngroup.com/blog/branding/hotel-zaza-a-branded-success/feed 0 http://www.fullmoondesigngroup.com/blog/uncategorized/marketing-all-wheels-need-to-be-in-orbit http://www.fullmoondesigngroup.com/blog/uncategorized/marketing-all-wheels-need-to-be-in-orbit#comments Wed, 28 Jul 2010 21:26:53 +0000 Katie Osborne http://www.fullmoondesigngroup.com/blog/?p=539 Introducing the Lunar Cycle: All marketing wheels need to be in orbit!
*Note: Our model is to serve as a summary of good marketing practices.

To be successful in business, you have always needed a marketing strategy. Your marketing strategy has always needed to promote your brand while protecting it at the same time. And the result of a truly successful marketing plan is a well recognized brand of a profitable business! Smaller businesses struggle daily to keep up with their marketing and branding. It’s easy to get focused on one particular method and forget about the rest. I am writing this blog today to stress that marketing strategies have not changed and as a business, you can’t survive on just one approach!

Full Moon Design Group's Luna Cycle

Print doesn’t substitute your networking activities and web doesn’t substitute your print materials and social media does NOT substitute for all of it! Instead, you will want to make sure that they are all working together, in unison, promoting your brand and communicating the same message.

There are five different marketing wheels and each one orbits around your brand. Each of the five, have their own moving parts. We will be expanding this blog into several posts in an effort to start the conversation of each of the wheels and the components it is made of.

It all starts with your Company Culture. Developing a strong company culture will ensure that your company’s mission is brought to the forefront and that you are getting the Word of Mouth marketing that you want.

Next, you have your Activities. These activities consist of Special Events that you hold as a company, Charities or Non-Profit organizations that you and your company support, local Chambers that you are a member of, Professional Associations that make sense for your company and employees, Sponsorships that promote your brand to the right audience and Tradeshows that will help you get in front of your audience.

Your printed materials will consist of creative Ads, Direct Mail, Stationary, Brochures/Flyers/Pushcards, Promotional products and Presentation Materials. When engaging in your Activities, it’s always helpful to have printed material to support your brand. What printed material you have at each activity should be relevant and impactful.

Moving to the digital world, you now need to have a website. Your website should be clean, inviting and engaging to your current clients and prospective ones. Features of your website that should not be overlooked include a Blog, Newsroom and Email sign up form for your newsletter. In your Blog, you’ll be the expert and offer advice, your Newsroom will keep people abreast of the “goings on” in your company, and your Email newsletter will be a place for special offerings and information.

Expanding into the digital world, we find Social Media and boy does it get complicated and overwhelming! Social Media is an all access pass to the world. It’s a free medium for you to engage strangers, communicate your thoughts & ideas, and invite people in to really “get to know you” as a business. Social Media is now the gateway to higher rankings from search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Ask. To keep it simple, we’ve grouped Social Media into several descriptive categories…and this just scratches the surface!

The most familiar outlet is the Lifestreams/Microblogs which include Twitter, Facebook, and MySpace. Within these Lifestreams, you will find Location Based applications like Gowalla, Foursquare, and Whrrl…great ways to promote your business and interact with the public. When blogging or offering useful white papers, Social Bookmarking is a great way to make sure people find you. Popular methods are Delicious or Stumbleupon. Moving on to more fun stuff, you’ll find the Media Sharing sites like YouTube, Ustream and Flickr. For businesses, it’s important to participate in Business and Niche Networking sites like LinkedIn, Ning & Spoke. And last, but not least, you have the Review based sites including Yelp, Google & Yahoo.

The sixth component of the Luna Cycle is Public Relations. Your public relations strategy should be coordinated with your marketing strategy and pushing the information out to the public. Full Moon Design Group has strategic PR partners in place that we work with frequently to ensure our clients get exposure in all aspects of their business, in as many places where their audience resides.

Take a second and look around.  You are probably at your desk reading this blog post or you are reading this on your phone. My bet is you have a few promotional items around that you may not realize are there anymore, but for one reason or another you kept it nearby.  Me?  Just at my office, I have an acrylic cup from one of my favorite vacation spots, a cup from the World Championship Goat Cook-Off, a couple of coasters, one representing my Longhorns, koozies from numerous clients, a client’s calendar and too many pens to count! At home, I have so many chip clips that I am never hurting for one when in need! Do I use them all?  Yes!  That’s what makes them effective.  Even the notepad that I love so much I use it daily has the company’s logo on it.

Promotional items are often no different than the everyday items you buy, but often they are unique items you didn’t realize you needed (or wanted) until you got them. But what makes promotional items so special is that every time you see them, the company’s name and brand are further solidified in your mind.

Promotional items are walking billboards for your company.  They have a number of benefits, which we will get to momentarily, and they have an unlimited amount of uses.  They don’t even have to be given away for free to see a real return.

Take for example one of our favorite clients, Happy Hollow Frio River Outfitters. They order promotional items each year for the summer season. This year, they opted for a double wall tumblers one of the choice items. These awesome tumblers are perfect for their clientele who are enjoying a day or a weekend on the river.  The tumblers have lids that screw on for a secure fit, a straw for easy drinking that won’t fall out, and they are naturally insulated making these a perfect vessel for holding (and keeping in) cold beverages while tubing down the river.  In just three days of putting it on their shelves, they blew through almost 10% of their inventory equating to a 15% return on their investment.  And the best part is that each cup has their name and contact info on it.  So whoever sees these awesome cups, will remember the name and will want one as well.  Remember, promo items are walking billboards for your business!

When working with a client, we help them decide what items would most speak to their client. We want to make sure they get something that their clients need and build on their brand recognition as well.  A lot of companies sell their promotional items, but most promotional items don’t have to be products you resell.  They can be effective giveaways that reap higher returns in sales and have a high ROI.  We can help you decide if a giveaway or an item for sale is right for your company.  Promotional items can be a silent salesperson for your products or services.

Here are some important things to remember when deciding on your next promotional item.

1.  Like anything else in your marketing strategy, take the time to think about your audience, event (season, a trade show, a sales event, etc) and result you want to accomplish.  Is it brand recognition, sales, awareness?  Promotional items can be used by all types of organizations.  Your strategy will depend on your company’s goals, so be sure to set clear goals for what you want to accomplish.

2. The item you give away is a direct representation of your company.  Make it count. Be creative! There are thousands of items available.

3. Give people what they want.  Don’t give away pens at sporting event.  No one is going to be signing contracts, they are there to have fun. Find items that fit your niche.

4. Make sure your logo, your website, phone number, or some other way to contact you is included on the item. Even on the smallest products, people need to be able to reach you. People who receive promotional items recall the names of the companies that they received them from by about 25% more than those they read about in an ad.

5. If your budget is small, limit your giveaway, don’t skimp on quality.  You can supplement with light marketing material (brochures, postcards, etc.) and keep the promotional items for your target audience.  Another option is to seek out partnership opportunities to defray some of the costs.

6. Don’t buy more than you need and don’t buy items that can’t be used again.  Some items have a shelf life so be aware because you don’t want to be stuck with a bunch of items that you can’t use.

7. Use items as giveaways in contests and drawings. This is an excellent way to get people to sign up, it helps with limited budgets, and it increases the perceived value of the items being given away. Additionally, you can use it as an incentive for customers to buy more.  Bundle the giveaway with a sales unit.  Buy 2 and get x for free!

8. Rewards – Promotional items are an inexpensive and effective way to thank your best customers and reward  affiliates with whom you do business.

Full Moon Design Group can help you with your promotional strategy and help you find the perfect item to reach your target audience. Did you like those Tumblers?  Check out the info sheet for your business: Tumbler

As a side note, I want to send a special thanks to Jerry & Melissa for another fantastic Frio River Funcation!!

Frio River Fanatic,

Katie O.

Email marketing is fast.  It reaches customers almost immediately and responses typically occur within a matter of seconds to a matter of days.  No long term waiting for measuring the success of the campaign.

Business can also tailor different messages to a variety of audiences and through the results of each campaign they can better understand what works and what doesn’t.  Tracking the success is easy and businesses can discover areas of improvement and refine their messaging as they grow.

While email marketing is cost effective, it is far from easy.  If not done properly or used inappropriately, the effects can backfire in both a loss of customers and being placed on black lists as well as having financial repercussions with fines from anti-spamming laws.  You usually have only one chance to make the right impression.  Once your target “unsubscribes” or lists you as a spammer, you will be gone from their in-box forever.

The fact that the cost per contact is incredibly inexpensive makes email marketing extremely appealing to businesses, but also to those annoying spammers as well.  The activity from spammers that don’t follow the rules make it much more difficult for the legitimate marketers out there to reach their target audiences.  But even with its limitations, email marketing is still more effective than its Internet marketing counterpart and is an effective tool in reaching target audiences.

But to be effective, email marketing involves time to develop.  Professionals are usually hired to write and create the emails.  There are a lot of rules and regulations that professional marketers can help businesses through.  Hiring a professional is well worth your time and money, especially considering the cost effectiveness of email marketing.  When developing these campaigns, experience should outweigh the cost.  Don’t use inexperienced writers or designers, because in the end, their mistakes could cost you more than the difference in the price.  You have to remember, is losing customers due to a bad email campaign worth the cost?  Is the cost of legal fees for not following the rules worth the discounted rates you receive by amateurs that are still learning the ropes?  No.  This is one of those areas where, if you go it alone, good luck – You will need it.  If you hire a professional (that’s us!), your return will be obvious in the end.

And if you do take on this task, remember this:  The time and effort it takes you to develop the campaign yourself has a cost of its own.  While you are working on this, you are not working on your core business and you are using your customers as guinea pigs to your learning curve;  we can do it faster and in the long run, less expensive than you can do this yourself.

In the next post, we will discuss those rules and regulations.  Then you can decide if it is a task on which you are willing to gamble your business.  In the mean time, if you have questions or want to learn more, feel free to give us a call: Full Moon Design Group 512-428-9072

Two of our recent campaigns yielded typical results, though “typical” in both instances made these companies’ investments worth every penny.

Pool Doc sent out 1,200 postcards to a targeted audience.  His investment yielded over 20 new clients (and counting!), most with annual service contracts.  Total ROI was 150% in the first month for a phenomenal projected total of 2900% (yes, you read that right) for the year.

Green Collar Operations also had great success! With 5,000 mailers sent, they have already closed one deal and have booked 30 more estimates.  They have a proven track record of closing 40% of the estimates they place and they project a 1000% return on their investment. No kidding.  Go Green Collar!

A successful direct mail marketing campaign can depend on a number of factors, though the two primary components are (1) determine who you want to reach; and (2) develop your messaging to effectively grab your audience’s attention. Full Moon Design Group can help you access quality database resources and demographics, so that you can target the prospects at whom you are aiming both effectively and precisely, and create a strategic message that resonates with your audience and calls on them to act.

The advantages far outweigh the disadvantages but you should be aware of them all before making your decision.  So what are the Pros and Cons of direct mail?

Pros of Direct Mail:

1. It is one of the easiest forms of marketing out there.  Direct mail marketing has been used for a long time.  The process is in place.  You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but you do have to know who your target audience is.

2. You can target a large audience or a very specific demographic.  You are behind the wheel and can control who receives your message and who doesn’t.  FMDG can help you develop a quality mailing list.

3. You have full flexibility of your messaging.  You can tailor your messages to specific groups or keep it consistent across all audiences.

4. Each direct mail marketing campaign is measurable.  Direct mail makes sending measurable discount codes easy.  You can track the success each time you send it out.  You can send out different codes for specific groups and can measure the success according to those different target audiences to see which ones respond to each messages.

5. You can test a promotion on a small scale before committing a huge budget.

6. You can strengthen your brand and your message with each mail distribution.

7. Direct mail is delivered directly to the person.  You know that they receive it and you know that at least the brand recognition factor is strengthened, even if it goes right in the trash.

8. You can put as little or as much information in your mailer as you want.  Whether it is a simple postcard or a full envelope with company information, coupons, etc.  You tailor the mailer to fit your needs.

Cons of Direct Mail:

1. Direct mail is often considered to be junk mail. Seldom does a one-shot mailing have the desired result. You must have a long term, well thought out marketing plan.

2. Direct mail is still popular, so you have compete for attention.  FMDG can develop the right image for your mailer to get noticed.

3. There is a high cost per contact, but the return is higher.

4. You have to maintain an accurate mailing list or purchase a high quality list from a valued source.  While this is true, it is also part of your initial investment.

5. Green factor.  More paper means less trees.  FMDG encourages the use of and offers recycled paper and earth friendly inks.

6. Direct mail is snail mail spam, but it is not seen in as negative a light.  Though competition for attention is still high, you don’t have to fight through 10+ per day (if you are lucky!) advertisements on male enhancement drugs, rich dignitaries trying to get money out of some unheard of 3^rd world country, or the multitudes of other unwarranted emails.

Marketing professionals like Full Moon Design Group know how to increase visibility and the likelihood that your message will be seen and heard.  They are knowledgeable on ways to decrease the risks and environment impact.  They can develop the right implementation plan for your business so that your message gets to the right people at the right time.

They will coordinate your mailing with other advertising methods to significantly increase your return and will help you track your campaigns so you can see the ROI of every dollar you spend.

For assistance with your marketing strategy and direct mail campaign, visit www.fullmoondesigngroup.com or call 512.428-9072.