Against the Grain: Public Relations

When taking on your first “real” project as an intern, a lot of thoughts go through your mind, “Am I ready for this? Where do I start? I hope I don’t blow this,” but none can beat the rush you get when you realize it’s time to prove your worth. It can be scary taking on a project with such a high value to our company when you have never done anything like it before. It’s like being thrown into an ocean, not knowing how to swim, and having to fend for yourself. Well, with no arm floaties, I had to learn on my own.

I soon found out that meetings are critical to the success of a project. It’s so easy to get the right group of talented people together, each from different departments, sit down and come up with tactical options on how to complete a project in the allotted timeframe and within the budget. My one-man project quickly turned into a group effort. Unlike class up at school, I was able to delegate tasks to each department at hand that specialized in that particular work. The creative ideas went to our creative department, the press release and announcements to our PR department and the website specifications to our interactive/online team. With follow-up meetings, I was able to put together a great marketing plan for the project. What would have been a semester-long project in school was put together in a little over a week.

The implementation of the marketing plan would not have happened had the plan not been approved with oversight from the CEO, President, account executive and head of the research department. This was a little intimidating to say the least. Facing a panel of four of your superiors and pitching a marketing plan that was little more than an idea a week ago was not an easy thing to do. All in all, I thought the presentation went over fairly well. Of course, for being the first “real” project I have put together, there were a couple tweaks here and there. But the project got approved. (That’s gotta’ mean something right?) Overall, it has been a great learning experience putting together a “real” full-blown marketing plan. Now comes the execution…

They’re talking about you. You may not know it, but your company, its products and employees are being talked about every day online. Blogs, Twitter, Facebook… all are dotted with mentions that can affect how your company, brand and industry are perceived.

They’re talking about your competitors too.

The question is, are you listening? Are you monitoring those sites to gain insight into customer wants and needs? Are you using it to gain a competitive advantage? Are you using the same services to participate in, and drive, the conversation? It’s not conventional marketing. But then, these are conventional times.

Trilix is a full-service advertising agency headquartered in the Midwest with expertise in helping manufacturers market effectively and drive sales success. Learn more at www.trilixgroup.com or email Todd Senne at tsenne@trilixgroup.com.

Ah, it’s a beautiful morning and you’re jonesing for a caffeine fix. You need a cup of coffee STAT. You have two options: brew a pot at home or head down to Starbucks for a cup of joe. Before you know it, you’re half way out the door and eagerly anticipating a venti café latte.

A few decades ago, a cup of coffee cost about 50 cents and research indicated that sales were rapidly declining. Today, Starbucks beverages average $3.00 each and their annual report says they have more than 16,000 stores in more than 50 countries. So, how did the Seattle-based coffee retailer successfully launch a premium product in a declining industry? They identified a vacant niche in the coffee market, then branded and positioned their product to satisfy it.

Branding is more than a name, it's an experience. It's the emotional response, ambiance and point-of-sale interaction that influences brand perception and earns customer loyalty. Successful branding is what keeps coffee drinkers flocking to Starbucks day after day — well that, and the pesky caffeine addiction. Is it more economical to brew a pot at home? Yes. But Starbucks mouth-watering aroma, soothing ambiance and social interactions generate brand loyalty that makes the premium price seem worthwhile.

Branding and market positioning go hand-in-hand and are essential elements of your integrated marketing campaign. A strong brand name allows companies to charge a premium, while bad branding leads to commoditization. This is generally thought of in terms of B2C industries, but the same principles apply to B2B. To successfully position your product in the market, you must understand how consumers perceive your brand so you can shape their attitudes and distinguish your product from your competitors'.

The best way to evaluate your branding and positioning is to conduct market research. Qualitative and quantitative data gives you vital statistics about the consumers you want to buy your products and use your services. Market research will help you identify your niche, classify your target audience and position your brand.

Researchers use multi-phase, qualitative and quantitative survey methods to ensure statistical reliability. The first stage uses a face-to-face delivery method, (e.g. an in-store intercept or focus group) to collect qualitative data about your brand. Personal interactions and first-hand conversations help researchers interpret consumers' emotional responses to your brand.

The second phase polls a larger audience using direct mail, online or phone surveys to collect quantitative data. This is statistically reliable, verifiable data that reveals the median age, gender, income level, marital status and geographical location of the people buying your product or using your services.

The qualitative survey results will help you understand a consumer's emotional response to your brand. Are consumers responding favorably? If not, how can you re-brand your product to improve public perception? The quantitative results will help you determine how to package, price and promote the product in the marketplace. Are you selling your product in the right stores? Is it priced competitively?

This information enables your marketing team to strategically plan an integrated campaign to reach your target audience within your advertising budget. Translation: getting your product in front of the “right people” will raise awareness about your brand, boost sales and increase your profitability.  

The next time you make a purchase, ask yourself why you chose that product instead of its competitor. Did the packaging influence your decision? Was it a “good deal?” How are consumers answering those same questions about your product?

Brand positioning influences thousands of subconscious decisions we make every day. If you correctly position your brand, you can build a loyal customer base that rivals Starbucks' – without that pesky caffeine addiction.  

If you’ve never heard of Great Ape Trust, now is your chance to check out the fascinating science, research and conservation that this world-class organization has to offer.

Trilix recently partnered with Great Ape Trust on a website redevelopment project that allows users to experience Great Ape Trust in a whole new light. This latest version of the website has been nearly eight years in the making as Trilix and Great Ape Trust have partnered on various marketing communications efforts over that time – including the Trust’s original award winning website. The new site has allowed everyone involved with this project an opportunity to tell Great Ape Trust’s story in a captivating way like never before.  

Great Ape Trust is a scientific research facility in Des Moines, Iowa, dedicated to understanding the origins and future of culture, language, tools and intelligence, and to the preservation of endangered great apes in their natural habitats. The Trust is home to a colony of six bonobos involved in noninvasive interdisciplinary studies of their cognitive and communicative capabilities. The Trust is also currently home to six orangutans.

With limited visitation to their campus, the Trust relies heavily on its website to provide visitors with the scientific research, photos, videos and conservation projects that encapsulate the efforts of the scientists and staff that work with these magnificent apes.

One unique challenge set forth during initial planning stages for the new site was to give the user a first hand look into exactly how the apes and scientists at Great Ape Trust communicate. Bonobos use lexigrams made up of 128 symbols per board representing various words. Trilix worked closely with Great Ape Trust to develop an Interactive Lexigram experience for users representing a replica of the current boards that would allow users to interact with nearly 400 words used by the bonobos.

An extensive look into Great Ape Trust’s conservation initiative in Gishwati, Rwanda – the Forest of Hope – is highlighted within the site with features such as a blog, team member profiles, an interactive magazine, chimpanzee cam and various facts about Rwanda’s geography, people, government and economy.

Great Ape Trust also uses their website as the hub for their communications with social media networks such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. The new site allows for easy sharing and integration among these extremely valuable communication channels.

The most important element taken into consideration during development of this new site was Great Ape Trust’s need to be able to self administer a large majority of the sites content following its initial launch. This included scientist and ape biographies, photography, video footage, various resources, news releases and site features such as banners, buttons, breaking news and more. The new content management system will allow Great Ape Trust the ability to keep their site fresh and vibrant with the latest news and information as it happens.    

Experience Great Ape Trust Like Never Before at www.GreatApeTrust.org.    

Crisis plans – every business has one, right? You probably spent a lot of time and money putting a plan together. So where is it right now? Probably on a shelf in an executive’s office, collecting dust. How should you keep that plan top-of-mind so it can be used in the case of a crisis?

Let’s back up for a minute – you made the crisis plan to keep your company’s communications running smoothly in case of a crisis. For some organizations, a crisis can mean bankruptcy, mass layoffs or facility closures. For others, a crisis is only related to death or catastrophic loss. Does your plan define what a crisis is in your organization? If not, that may be a good place to start.

After you’ve defined what a crisis is for your company, take that crisis plan off the shelf and look at it! Ask yourself the following questions:

• What personnel or structural changes have taken place at my company since this plan was created and how do those impact the plan? Employees leave, job titles and responsibilities change. It’s important to keep the plan updated to include the right people.
• Do the procedures in the plan make sense?  Can they be simplified? Simpler is always better. Less confusion and more time for action!  
• Are key people at the organization aware of their roles and involvement in the plan? Do they have a copy of the plan? Keeping the plan at your desk is fine, but key executives should have copies at home and, if possible, in their vehicles. You never know where you’ll be when a crisis hits.
• Does the plan reflect current communications tools? Believe it or not, three years ago, no one would have thought to include messaging on Twitter or Facebook in a crisis plan. If your company uses either of those mediums to communicate with customers or employees, they should be included in your crisis plan.

Depending on your answers to the questions above, you may have some work to do. Of course, you should review your crisis plan roughly every six months and make sure key people have copies both on and off site. This way, when a crisis hits, people refer to the plan first. Too many companies spend money to develop a plan just to find it is lost or outdated during an emergency.

In the middle of a crisis, it’s important to keep a business-as-usual attitude when it seems like things are quickly spinning out of control. A good crisis plan doesn’t get shoved on a shelf “just-in-case.” It’s pulled out a few times a year so employees can familiarize themselves with it and use it when a crisis hits. When that crisis hits, and it will, your crisis plan is a road map to keep your company running smoothly.