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The Concept of 212
Degrees –
it is one tiny degree between 211 and 212 degrees, but
it makes all the difference in the world. Just like it
is in life and business, the difference between running
with the pack and leading the pack is that small extra
degree of effort, focus, and determination.
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This section is usually dedicated to a message
from John Rich, President of The GRA Group.
We would like to use this message area to let
you know that John, after five months of
chemotherapy treatments, has successfully
fought off a diagnosis of Lymphoma.
John is back on the road again, looking to get
caught up with all of his friends in the
industry.
Your prayers and best wishes to John and his
family not only were welcomed but effective.
Thanks to everyone who gave John support over
the past few months.
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Have Marketing Questions?
Ask the president
of The GRA Group, John Rich, your marketing questions
and become
more informed. Starting with this newsletter we will
pick two or three submitted questions,
and post them, with the answer, in an upcoming
newsletter. Just click on the link below to
submit your question.
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The GRA Group Expands It’s
Capabilities
To Include
Addressing And Mailing!
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We are
happy to have added this high capacity
system
to our print shop facilities. Our staff has
received training at the front and back end
of the
system.
Chris
Blankenship and Brandy Walls, AP/AR
Coordinator and Data Coordinator respectively,
head up
the beginning of the process with
handling the mailing lists and making sure
they
are in order and in the correct format.
Mike
Delaney and Rob Gould, Shop Foreman
and
Shipping/Bindery respectively, head up
the end
process with keying in the jobs and
making
sure the jobs meet the designated
postage
requirements.
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Just one more way that we can help our
clients better serve their customers!
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Long live your brand.
I Googled the word
branding the other day. The results yielded 36.2
million search results. Gee, that seems like an
awful lot to read over a weekend to learn about
branding.
So… let’s get to the
roots of branding and brands without a lot of, well you
know, B.S. A brand is not necessarily a product or a
company, it's the experience that the company or product
creates through its actions or usage. (I'll explain this
shortly.)
Branding on the other
hand is the use of various methods and vehicles to
communicate the brand's image and message in order to
create preference, purchase, and use.
To get an idea on how
brands and branding are different, let's go back a few
years before all of this
Internet stuff, Google
and the thousands of brands that we're surrounded with
everyday - like 200 BC.
Back in the good ole'
days of 200 BC, history tells us that there was one
major brand that was known
throughout most of the
European continent and beyond - The Roman Empire.
Actually, it was quite a
brand. It stood for
power, wealth, organization, public works, and a
kick-butt army.
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From port
to port throughout the Mediterranean,
the result of Roman "branding" was
everywhere. Temples, theaters,
aqueducts, roads, and buildings all
sported the "Roman" look and
architecture. Throw on a toga; head to
the Coliseum and you're into the
complete Roman brand experience.
Even
though we're talking about a "brand"
culture from 2000 years ago, the brand
experience still lives on.
Today when we hear of Caesars, there is
still
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the image of power and wealth. But now
there is a glorious hotel, casino and
kick-butt entertainment. Plus a lot of
"branded" mementoes you can take home (if
you don't lose all your money first). |
Get the picture? Brand is
experience. Branding is the transferal of the experience
through various
vehicles to create
preference for the brand.
Brand can also grow to
become more powerful than the products or services that
they originally
represented. The brands
“experience” power extends itself over numerous products
to create a brand
culture and even a brand
myth.
For example:
Myth #1:
Disney World
–
It's
really a shopping mall that plays out a living
experience of all their cartoons
and movies. (But don't tell the kids.)
Myth #2:
Harley Davidson
–
With
the regulation vest, leather riding pants, tricked out
keychain, boots,
and bandanna (and what,
no Harley!), and you could show up at a George Thorogood
concert and still
be part of the Harley
nation (May want to add a tattoo for effect).
Myth #3:
John Deere
–
Just
slip on one of their hats and you’ll feel right at home
at the nearest small town
diner (What? Don't own a
combine?).
Myth’s #4 & #5:
NFL & NCAA
–
Say
no more. They've got brand, sub-brands and experience
covered - thanks to
those Romans and the
Coliseum idea back in 200 BC. Hmmm, wonder if you went
to the Coliseum
back in those days if
they handed out towels to twirl with the gladiator MVP's
name on it (Makes
you think).
Myth #6:
Nike
–
Ok,
had to mention Nike. By the way, they still make running
shoes. But if you get a chance to
visit a Nike "experience" store, you'll
actually think you're in shape.
So there you have it.
Brands and branding are as old as the hills. We just
didn't call it that. One thing
for sure, if you want to
market your company or brand, there is a knowledgeable
and strategic way to
approach it. Just ask GRA.
– "Denny the Brand Guy"
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From Denny Pavan, President &
CEO
BFL Marketing Communications,
Inc.
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Denny Pavan
dpavan@bflcom.com
216.539.2720
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Compete to
SUCCEED!!!
You don’t have to be a Wall
Street Financial Advisor to realize the economy
is going through rough times. As a Manager, you
see all the signals: inventories are at their
lowest level in years, the number of applicants
for unemployment is higher than in previous
months, demand for consumer goods and services
are way off, sales and margins are at lower
levels.
While most companies have
retrenched and hide their heads, there are
opportunities to be had. Professor Michael
Porter of Harvard University, a leading
authority on competitive strategy, believes
economic upheaval can open the door to
competitive success.
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In a
"Strategy in
Crisis"
article from INSEAD
Knowledge,
Porter says the key is for companies "to
harness
the right strategies.”
"It's times
like these when tremendous competitive success can be
achieved. It's times like these
where
companies can shift positions in the marketplace. It's
times like these when leaders can become followers, and
followers can become leaders, because we are in a period
where everything is now going to open and unfreeze."
"The worst
mistake in strategy — and it's a particularly bad
mistake in an economic downturn —
is to
compete with your competitors on the same thing. You
want to find a different kind of value that
you can
deliver to a different set of customers. Strategy is
fundamentally about how you're going to
deliver
unique value."
History has
shown us that companies that take a proactive approach
to marketing during an economic
downturn
have an advantage over their competition, especially
when the economy recovers. With
many firms
slashing advertising budgets, your company may have the
only voice in the marketplace
to be heard.
As the
Holiday Season approaches toward the end of each
calendar year, all of us have been
conditioned
to know when we are by a shopping center and we hear a
bell ringing, we know that
a volunteer
from the Salvation Army is standing by a kettle
soliciting donations.
The Salvation Army
started
this practice in San Francisco back in 1891.
Year in and year out,
they are there, ringing their
bell; maybe it’s time for
you and your company to do the same.
Now is not the time to be shy. Take
advantage of others who circle in the wagons. Choose
your business partners wisely, but go after those
prospects. Build brand loyalty by showing your customers
and prospects the value you bring to them by building
brand loyalty by communicating more and showing
customers you know what they need and what they are
going through. Look for opportunities to partner with
preferred customers and suppliers and together you will
all emerge stronger.
Above all, think outside the box, have
fun and don’t look back. Don’t work harder, be more
effective.
There is business to be had; it might as
well be going to you.
Tim Merriman
tim@thegragroup.com
440.328.8595
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visit us at our website:
www.thegragroup.com |
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