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.

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.

Thoughtful planning and consideration need to go into the process, but the effort can be daunting and outright overwhelming.

Here’s a good solid approach that just about any business can follow and be successful with when entering social networking.

1. Make the commitment and decide your time commitment. How much time you are willing to commit to be consistent with your participation?  The benefits of social media do not happen overnight.  They take time.  Making this commitment and sticking to it is the only way to ensure success.  Be realistic.  If you think you can only commit to an hour a week, then a blog may be the way to go (We like WordPress).  Got 2 hours? Why not establish a Facebook page as well.  As you become more familiar with each new site, you will find natural efficiencies occur and you will have more time to add more sites to your repertoire.

2. Monitor and listen and follow. Sometimes this is the easiest step and it will get you used to what is being said, by whom it is being said and the intricacies of engaging in those conversations.  This is often overlooked, but can be one of the most important steps you should take.  It gives you insight to your audience and will give you opportunities to be involved before you start blasting your message.  Technorati is a great tool for finding who is talking about what.  It’s free and you can search just about any term or group of terms and get a list of blogs or blog posts that pertain to those terms.  You can even find blog rankings and other pertinent information so you know who the industry influencers are no matter what industry you are in.  Follow the people who you find interesting.  Find industry experts and follow their conversations.  Learn what they do, what they talk about, who they follow and follow those people as well.  The more people you follow, the more you will learn.

3. Define your objectives and determine your measurements of success. What do you hope to gain by becoming active?  Brand awareness? Better customer service? Increased sales?  Specifically state your goals and you will have a way to measure them and determine if your efforts are worth the time.  Will you measure success by the number of “followers” or “fans”? or will measure success by the number of posts or comments to your blog?

4. Do your research. Who is your audience? Where (which sites) do they reside? Why should they listen to you (i.e. what do you have to offer)?  Without this prior knowledge and understanding, you are basically taking a shot in the dark hoping to hit your target… oh after you’ve been twirled around until you are almost sick with dizziness.  Yep. That’s a good analogy. If you start spattering off about nothing in particular to no one (or everyone) in particular, the chances of people taking your seriously are pretty slim.  Or they may just tune you out completely.  Take your time to develop the right ideas, but hurry up already…  The world is waiting.

5. Establish a strategy or game plan. Don’t just start blasting anyone and everyone with no process or purpose.  Develop a schedule.  Develop a theme. Get organized.  Brainstorm topic ideas that you have knowledge of, have an opinion about, or want to learn about.  This last one is important, because not everything has to be about what you know.  It can be about what you don’t know!  There is nothing wrong with asking for advice from your audience.  This can lead to trust and open communication because people want to feel needed and they like to offer their “solicited” advice.

6. Monitor comments/conversations. It’s not just about your message.  It’s also about what other people are saying and topics they are discussing when it pertains you or your business.  And there are always dissenters out there that need to be addressed.  The only way you are going to know about these is to keep an eye on what is happening on the sites where you have a presence.  There are easy to use monitoring tools out there. Check out Hootsuite.  It’s a good one for monitoring and integration (plus a lot of other really cool tools.  We’ll get to this in a later post).

7. Determine time frame for measuring success. I’ll say it again: The benefits of social media do not happen overnight. However, you must track your progress as you go.  Remember those goals?  You have a starting point.  Now, how fast are you going to get there with the relation to the time commitment to which you have agreed?  What is working?  What is not?  What is necessary for consistent imaging of your brand?  Will you measure each of these by the week, by the month, by the quarter?  No matter what measurement scale or time frame you decide, make sure you are consistently measuring the same thing over a longer period of time.

8. Adjust as necessary. Not every site works for every person or business.  Only you can determine how best to use your time and how effective that use of time is on obtaining your goals.  Don’t be afraid to start something new, but think twice before you stop participating on a site.  Make sure you have used it effectively and for an adequate amount of time.  Most importantly: make sure your audience isn’t left hanging.

Of course, not everyone has the time to get in and get started or keep the time commitment to an appropriate level.  Full Moon Design Group has professionals that are experienced in helping clients engage with their customers on a variety of platforms.  We can help integrate your social media strategy into your overall marketing strategy, no learning curve involved.  We can guide you through each step or we can manage your strategy from start to finish.  We take your comfort level into consideration and develop the right plan for you and your business.

Want to get started?  Give us a call.  512.428.9072

Tip #1:

Attend networking meetings.

royblumenthal

The best business relationships start face-to-face. Plus, most networking meetings occur during meal time…and since you have to eat, you might as well be meeting prospects as well. Networking opportunities surround you! The first place to look is your local chamber. Then you will want to ask fellow members where else they network and interact with other businesses owners. Another outlet is to find something that you have a passion for, like a non-profit group or arts group. Get involved and build those relationships. You could network morning, noon and night if you really wanted to! But don’t forget, it’s all about who YOU are (See Tip #4) and what YOU have to offer.  What you get in return will soon follow.  NetworkInAustin is a great Austin resource to find networking opportunities around town.

Tip#2:

Matt Hamm

Utilize social media outlets. Currently, most social media sites are free. This is a great time and place to establish yourself as an industry expert. First, most companies are still not using these outlets to reach their customers.  Those that are, may not be direct competitors. If they are direct competitors, then that’s even more reason to make your presence known.  Second, you have friends and colleagues and they have friends and colleagues, and so on. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. are all great places to share your knowledge and they are where most people (2010 stats and facts) these days reside online. People are hungry to learn – hungrier now than they’ve ever been before and they usually turn to their immediate networks first to find the information they seek.  Make sure it’s you that they are getting their knowledge from! (and having a presence on these sites actually helps your SEO!)  Not sure where to start?  Call us:  512.428.9072.  We can help.

Tip#3:

Ask for referrals. This is something that we all forget to do and it should be the easiest task of all! Pick out your top clients – especially if they are always raving about your products or services – and ask them if they can introduce you to some more prospects. You will find that your happiest clients are more than willing to help you in growing your business…You just have to ask! Quality referrals most often come from those with whom you have already done business.  Full Moon Design Group knows this and we are rewarding those who think of us and send business our way.  We recently launched our 2^nd Annual Referral Reward Campaign.  Our rewards prove to our clients that we appreciate their confidence in us.

Tip #4:

Ensure that you have a memorable identity.

matthew solle

It’s simple – marketing is consistently getting in front of prospects with a consistent look and feel on a repetitive basis. Your business brand or identity is the foundation that you will need to build credibility in the marketplace. If you are going to seek business from your competitors, you better make sure that you look like you have a business. No self-designed business cards that you have printed on perforated stock from your local office supply store…nope…not allowed! You need exceptional quality assets to let your audience know that you can provide that same quality in the products or services you offer.  Not sure what I mean by brand/identity? Take a look at Full Moon Design Group portfolio section to give you more of an idea:

http://www.fullmoondesigngroup.com/portfolio.html

Tip #5:

Make sure you have a website. If you don’t, now is the time. The web is no longer a luxury for businesses…it’s a must. Times are changin’ folks and your website is no longer your online brochure. It’s a place where people are looking to learn more about you, your clients, your culture. They want to interact and learn from you. Blogging, videos and pictures is what’s hot for websites now. The time and money that you invest in your website will pay off in the end. Think about it…your site is working prospects when you are busy at that networking lunch (see Tip #1) or sound asleep in bed! But websites aren’t cheap, you say… Or are they?  Full Moon Design Group has websites starting at just $500 – sites that you can change content on your own (and we’ll show you how!) and blog and feed into those social media outlets of which you are now a part (re: Tip #2).  Take a look at a few samples below:

www.jbaustin.com/
www.austinecofence.com/
www.hillcountryhomeimprovements.com/