» Housewares Marketing

Enough Already!

admin — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:32:41 +0000

When News is Not Newsworthy

In preparing a byline feature story recently I found myself scouring the web for new and noteworthy innovations. What I found was a tremendous amount of recycled repackaged promotional messaging – which begs the question – when is news newsworthy?

With the sad realization that basic PR tenets have appeared to escape even some of the most high profile companies today I offer a few suggestions to avoid putting out less than useful information for those that may want to promote your company:

Don’t Fudge the Figures.

While trying to keep your company top-of-mind among journalists and editors is an admirable goal be careful you’re not top-of-mind for all the wrong reasons. A news release or feature story that deals with figures such as sales or attendance at an event being “up” begs the question “compared to what?” Any editor worth their salt is going to ask that question – and not having solid backup for the claim when pressed for specifics compromises your credibility.

Don’t Practice Blatant Repackaging.

As the saying goes you can put lipstick on a pig – but it’s still a pig. One release about your company’s new product launch is really enough. Writing three incarnations of the same new product release with slightly different slants for the same target media group is overkill. (e.g. three releases about the same sports bottle product launch: one written for cyclists in mind another for camping enthusiasts and yet another for urban commuters - all offered up for the same media). Practicing blatant recycling (and posting all three releases to your company’s online newsroom) can be really effective at stunting media's further site navigation for source material. In contrast three separate releases distributed discreetly to three different targeted media segments is fine.

Don’t Use Releases for Promotional Offers.

News releases are really not the place for purely promotional offers such as buy-one-get-one limited time offers. These messages have their own place and are better suited to Twitter a 'special offers' tab on your website and e-blasts to your target audiences. Editors and journalists are more pressed for time than ever with the downsizing of the publishing industry – and generally don’t have the wherewithal (or patience) to sift through promotional messages dressed as news releases. Let's remember that they are called news releases for a reason and need to contain some worthwhile news not hype.

Meet Your Quota Without Compromising Your Reputation.

Instead – why not dig deeper for developments within your industry in order to stay top-of-mind with the media? Identify the appropriate person at your organization to weigh in on a particular industry issue and actively promote that person to media as a resource for editorial development. Whether consumer advocacy industry preservation or the advancement of a philanthropic cause your company supports – all will serve you better than “news” that isn’t newsworthy. Meeting news release quotas without the goods to back each release up isn’t doing your company any favors.

Have an opinion on this topic to share? Leave a comment – we’d love to hear it!

You Can’t Shake Hands In Cyberspace

Roger Halligan — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:49:29 +0000

Most marketing pros are painfully aware of the beating that trade shows have taken as a result of the recessionary economy over the last several months. Even the strongest events have experienced declines in the number of exhibitors and attendees as many companies cut back on travel and trade show-related budgets. And as a result of this decline some naysayers are once again asserting the demise of trade shows and pointing to the Internet as the savior of all our meeting-related needs. Despite the fact that many of these naysayers are purveyors of online meeting technologies I agree that webinars Webex and other online tools can be very valuable meeting solutions. However they will never replace the need to feel and touch a product or experience firsthand how it can meet your specific needs. Equally important a trade show is the only place where you can visit with several suppliers in a few hours time and compare their products side-by-side. It would cost buyers thousands of dollars and many hours to visit these various suppliers at their locations to see the equipment in operation. We do several trade shows a year for both our corporate and trade show management clients and many companies constantly tell us trade shows are their best marketing tool for generating new business. While it is true that most companies nowadays have a major web presence and conduct meetings via the web the smart ones don't eliminate the best trade shows from their marketing mix when times get tough. The Wall Street Journal and several other respected media have recently run articles about the importance of participating in trade shows during a recession. In fact an article with the same title as this blog recently appeared in the November IAEE Executive Briefing. Perhaps the best reason I have ever heard for participating in trades shows came from an attendee with a Fortune 500 company who told me "When I'm making a large purchase that has major implications for my company I want to look my business partner in the eye when I shake their hand to close the deal." As we all know you can't shake hands in cyberspace.

Please Don’t Waste My Time!

Roger Halligan — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:27:24 +0000

While social media can be a highly effective strategic marketing tool in the B2B space it seems that it has also spawned legions of people who feel compelled to weigh in on any and all topics with inane comments. Yes social media is all about sharing various perspectives and opinions with colleagues around the world. However one would hope that people would be a little more judicious and respectful of other peoples' time before automatically offering their advice and opinions especially when it comes to B2B social media. This wasn't such a critical issue when social media was in its infancy a couple years ago and you had a limited number of people participating in the various groups. But as more and more people become involved finding the time to monitor all these conversations is becoming very difficult. For example I belong to several social media marketing groups that I find very valuable and informative. There used to be a dozen or so "discussions" with each posting/update and many of them offered good advice and/or links to other sites where one could find valuable surveys articles white papers and solid information. Some of us would also pose questions to these groups and get valuable answers and suggestions in return. It appears those good old days may be gone forever. Now many of these groups' communiques have grown to 40 or 50 discussions per posting with 75% of them offering little value or substance. In many instances it appears these "conversations" are from people who can be categorized into one of five groups: 1) People who are new to social media and just want to be able to say they are now "experienced" social media professionals because they regularly converse 2) People who feel compelled to comment even if they don't have anything new or useful to add 3) People who don't read the other "comments" and "conversations" and offer the same advice and/or ask the same questions that have already been posted 4) People who are promoting a product or service which is against social media decorum. 5) People who are truly engaged and have valuable comments or suggestions to offer Unfortunately social media groups are attracting more people from the first three categories. As a result what used to be 12 conversations has grown to 50 conversations and what used to take a couple of minutes to scan and review now takes four times as long. There are still some golden nuggets of information among the various conversations but who has time to pan for gold these days? My plea to all of you out there is this: Please engage whenever you can if you have something of value to add. If it is not of value please spare us your musings and meanderings. And just so I'm not wasting your time with my meanderings here's a golden nugget for you - I would highly recommend logging into Andy Beal's Marketing Pilgrim blog. I've found his blog to be extremely valuable at providing information surveys reports white papers and topics created by a team of experienced marketing experts. Nope he's not a friend relative or even acquaintance just a great source for social media information.

Doing it Right the First Time: Don’t Waste Your Social Media Dollars

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 20:56:27 +0000

The current housewares industry's fascination with social media can be viewed as a blessing or as a curse depending on your vantage point.

While social media certainly offers new and exciting opportunities to speak directly with target housewares audiences blindly jumping into social media without a strategic plan can rapidly result in wasted staff time and financial resources both of which are likely already limited.

Before undertaking a full-fledged social media campaign.... Take a step back: While it's impressive to say you're among the first to arrive in the social media space (especially when speaking to to those that have issued the "you need to be there!" edict) - it's far less impressive to be there frankly for the sake of being there. Resist the urge to respond to the 'everyone is doing it' pressure you may be experiencing right now and identify solid goals you hope to achieve in the space. Is your target audience B2B B2C or both? Is distribution growth a more immediate directive for your organization or is increasing consumer awareness of your products the key goal? Do you hope to reach a specific target demographic that has continued to elude you? Be sure to identify your company's specific goals first. Don’t bite off more than you can chew: Having now identified what is likely a very lengthy list of admirable goals - humbly prioritize them. Very few housewares manufacturers today lay claim to limitless staff resources and time. Launching an effective media social presence requires ongoing engagement monitoring and community building. Attempting to save the world with too few resources can only end badly - resulting in overworked staff and a less than effective engagement on the social media front. Ask yourself how much you can reasonably manage with the resources you already have and if you can honestly say your immediate priorities outnumber your resources - either scale back your goals or enlist the help of an outside PR/marketing agency that specializes in social media. Match the message to the medium: Take the time to correctly identify where your target demographic lives in the social media universe. Will your efforts to connect with new retailers be successful through Twitter? Can you effectively reach the housewares enthusiasts of 'Generation Y' through Facebook? Take a peek at housewares manufacturer Fagor America and their early social media efforts for an example of focused strategy and messaging. Recognize that all platforms are not created equal: It's unfair (and frankly unrealistic) to expect that every social media platform will work for every company. Begin with outlets best suited toward your goals. Twitter can be especially useful for spreading the word about your upcoming events while YouTube can take the pain out of product education and awareness building for consumers - and make it fun. Explore what messages currently exist in the space and check out the traffic of those messages and videos to see what's working. A good example is housewares manufacturer LeCreuset's social media presence designed to create contest-based buzz. Be willing to admit something isn’t working: Did your initial foray into social media yield a dismal response? Any response? Not unlike traditional marketing communication tactics - the best due diligence in the world will not guarantee results. Ongoing trial and error is fundamental to successful social media campaigns and objective ongoing evaluation is key. Thankfully gauging results needn't break an already tight social media budget. There are literally hundreds of free analytic tools available online for marketers' immediate download that serve every social media platform. From Adonomics for Facebook and MetaCafe for web video to TweetBeep for Twitter and Omgili Charts for overall buzz-tracking social media initiatives that aren't providing results can be quickly and cost-effectively identified.

Are you a housewares manufacturer with a success story to share? Post your comments here – we’d love to hear what’s working for you.

1. Take a step back. While it's impressive to say you're among the first to arrive in the social media space (especially when speaking to to those that have issued the "you need to be there!" edict) - it's far less impressive to be there frankly for the sake of being there. Resist the urge to respond to the 'everyone is doing it' pressure you may be experiencing right now and identify solid goals you hope to achieve in the space.

Is your target audience B2B B2C or both? Is distribution growth a more immediate directive for your organization or is increasing consumer awareness of your products the key goal? Do you hope to reach a specific target demographic that has continued to elude you? Be sure to identify your company's specific goals first.

2. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. Having now identified what is likely

a very lengthy list of admirable goals - humbly prioritize them. Very few housewares manufacturers today lay claim to limitless staff resources and time. Launching an effective media social presence requires ongoing engagement monitoring and community building. Attempting to save the world with too few resources can only end badly - resulting in overworked staff and a less than effective engagement on the social media front. Ask yourself how much you can reasonably manage with the resources you already have and if you can honestly say your immediate priorities outnumber your resources - either scale back your goals or enlist the help of an outside PR/marketing agency that specializes in social media.

3. Match the message to the medium Take the time to correctly identify where your target demographic lives in the social media universe. Will your efforts to connect with new retailers be successful through Twitter? Can you effectively reach the housewares enthusiasts of 'Generation Y' through Facebook? Take a peek at housewares manufacturer Fagor America and their early social media efforts for an example of focused strategy and messaging.

4. Recognize that all platforms are not created equal It's unfair (and frankly unrealistic) to expect that every social media platform will work for every company. Begin with outlets best suited toward your goals. Twitter can be especially useful for spreading the word about your upcoming events while YouTube can take the pain out of product education and awareness building for consumers - and make it fun. Explore what messages currently exist in the space and check out the traffic of those messages and videos to see what's working. A good example is housewares manufacturer LeCreuset's social media presence designed to create contest-based buzz.

5. Be willing to admit something isn’t working Did your initial foray into social media yield a dismal response? Any response? Not unlike traditional marketing communication tactics - the best due diligence in the world will not guarantee results. Ongoing trial and error is fundamental to successful social media campaigns and objective ongoing evaluation is key. Thankfully gauging results needn't break an already tight social media budget. There are literally hundreds of free analytic tools available online for marketers' immediate download that serve every social media platform. From Adonomics for Facebook and MetaCafe for web video to TweetBeep for Twitter and Omgili Charts for overall buzz-tracking social media initiatives that aren't providing results can be quickly and cost-effectively identified.

Are you a housewares manufacturer with a success story to share? Drop us a line – we’d love to hear what’s working for you.