Brandmuscle Reports Record New Client Growth in First Quarter of 2013

Posted on May 7, 2013 by Lori Alba Comments Off

Launch of Integrated Local Marketing Platform Results in Strong Growth for Brandmuscle

 Chicago (May 7, 2013) Brandmuscle, a leading provider of technology-enabled local marketing solutions, announced today that the company added eight major national and international brands to its client roster in the first quarter. Brandmuscle’s new client growth is being fueled by a strong demand for turnkey integrated marketing solutions that provide global and national brands with the ability to address all their local marketing needs; from local media planning and ad customization, to the delivery, fulfillment and financial management aspects of their local advertising.

New clients include global and international pharmaceutical, automotive, energy, document management, and manufacturing companies, a leading Canadian retail pharmacy chain and two non-profit organizations, one with world-wide operations.

Earlier this year Brandmuscle announced the launch of the first end-to-end distributed marketing management solution, which combines user-friendly Web-based tools for customizing brand-approved traditional and digital media, high-touch and personalized customer support, and instant reimbursement to local affiliate, franchise and distributor partners. Industry analysts estimate the distributed marketing management software market to be valued at approximately $2 Billion.

“As marketing becomes more local, social and fragmented, brands face unique challenges that can only be overcome with investment in their technology infrastructure. Today’s marketing organization needs to do more with less and as evidenced by our exceptional new client growth in the first quarter, they are increasingly turning to Brandmuscle for the tools they need to drive demand at the local level,” states Philip Alexander, Brandmuscle CEO. “Last year Gartner predicted companies that focus on integrated processes for local marketing enablement will increase revenue by 15 to 20%. Owning the local decision point has never been more imperative for brands.”

Other key highlights of Brandmuscle’s first quarter include:

  • Integration of Brandmuscle’s ad builder technology platform with the company’s fulfillment and co-op platforms.
  • Launch of a social media marketing application that allows marketers to facilitate and automate the delivery of brand-approved content across local affiliate Facebook and Twitter pages.
  • Partnership with WineQuest to launch a digital menu application for iPads and Android tablets, enabling clients in the restaurant and wine and spirits categories to drive measurably more product sales at the local point-of-purchase.
  • Expansion of the company’s digital delivery team to support increased demand for digital marketing.

About Brandmuscle

Brandmuscle is reinventing local marketing as a revenue driver by giving local affiliates of global and national brands user-friendly customized solutions, on-demand support and fast reimbursement to build local communications programs that both advance the brands and flexibly address the needs of local markets. For more information about Brandmuscle call (866) 464-4342 or visit www.brandmuscle.com.

Local Marketing, News, Uncategorized

Brandmuscle Launches Digital Menus for iPads and Android Tablets

Posted on February 26, 2013 by Lori Alba Comments Off

Partnership with WineQuest assures best in class technology and content

Chicago (February 26, 2013) Brandmuscle announced today the launch of digital menus for iPads and Android tablets. An extension of the company’s local marketing platform, the application allows restaurateurs to create customized, interactive digital menus that can be browsed tableside by customers and waitstaff to confidently make wine and beverage selections and submit orders.

Easy to use administrative tools allow restaurant managers to customize the look and feel of the menu, arrange the order in which items are displayed and add meals for food pairings. Managers can also update pricing, add or delete SKU’s and access dashboards to manage inventory and track product sales.

Brandmuscle partnered with WineQuest, the leading provider of Wine Menu Management solutions in North America to develop the application, tapping into WineQuest’s propriety beverage database that contains information on over 177,000 wines, beers and spirits including label data, images, product facts, tasting notes, winemaker stories and unique flavor profiles.

“We are excited to partner with brandmuscle on this new digital menu system,” said WineQuest’s managing partner, Jim Lawless. “The unique combination of our wine expertise and brandmuscle’s menu development experience will set a new standard for beverage service in the digital era.”

“With the convergence of digital media and local marketing, this was a very logical extension of our business,” adds Dave Wilson, brandmuscle’s President Beverage Alcohol. “Restaurateurs want to deliver a unique experience for their guests and offering their customers more information on wine and or wine and food parings, allows them to do it. This is also true for spirits and beer. Tablets provide an outstanding delivery mechanism at the table and we’re developing complementary mobile applications as well. For over a decade brandmuscle has delivered industry leading technology solutions to empower our clients to more effectively and efficiently execute their local marketing efforts. We are very excited to introduce these new digital technologies and through our partnership with WineQuest, I am confident our digital menu application for tablet devices will be very well-received in the marketplace.”

About WineQuest, LLC

WineQuest, LLC provides Wine Menu Management solutions for restaurants, hotels, distributors, and producers to help them understand, manage and sell wine more effectively to their customers.  New to the company is WineQuest Mobile, an iPhone app that helps consumers find wines that match their unique flavor preferences. It can be downloaded in the Apple App Store under ‘WineQuest’.  For more information about WineQuest call (707) 255-8333 or visit www.winequest.com.

About brandmuscle

Brandmuscle is reinventing local marketing as a revenue driver by giving local affiliates of global and national brands user-friendly customized solutions, on-demand support and fast reimbursement to build local communications programs that both advance the brands and flexibly address the needs of local markets. The result is a powerful new way to grow sales at multiple local touch points. For more information about brandmuscle call (866) 464-4342 or visit www.brandmuscle.com.

Digital Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, Mobile Marketing, News

Brandmuscle Reinvents Local Marketing

Posted on January 14, 2013 by Lori Alba Comments Off

Global Brands Can Now Own Local Marketing and Increase ROI Without Compromising Brand Equity

Chicago (January 14, 2013) Brandmuscle today announced the launch of the first-ever, end-to-end solution that enables national and global brands to seamlessly empower their local affiliates, franchisees and distributors to tailor brand marketing to meet local needs. Brands can now produce messages for local timing, tastes and other provincial differences, while still maintaining their consistency and brand standards. By providing a comprehensive system of user-friendly customizable communication tools, high-touch and personalized customer support, and instant reimbursement to affiliate, franchise and distributor partners, brandmuscle has reinvented local marketing.

“Brandmuscle offers global brands a powerful new way to grow sales at multiple local touch points,” said John Larkin, brandmuscle CEO. “By combining the fundamentals of creating local marketing programs, executing them, and managing the back-end fulfillment under one roof, corporate marketers now have a real opportunity to utilize local marketing as a strategic weapon to generate a greater marketing ROI than ever before,” he said.

Brandmuscle offers local distributors, franchisees and other brand affiliates the powerful combination of: a user-friendly local marketing platform for customizing traditional and digital media; campaign and execution tools, including local media planning and buying services; unmatched print-on-demand POP and cross-media capabilities; and industry-leading channel program management and co-op reimbursement offerings.

The company was conceived to alleviate marketing issues faced by large companies struggling to achieve success in their local markets. Although affiliates may ask for brand support, they are typically either reluctant or inefficient at utilizing national resources, which consequently turn corporate support into a cost center. Brandmuscle has identified the challenges that distributed marketers typically face and developed their solutions to overcome them:

  • Many local franchisees are eager to execute local marketing, but often run renegade programs that do not uphold brand equity.
  • Others are receptive to co-op marketing incentives, but don’t have the tools to effectively execute local programs.
  • The largest group doesn’t value investing in meaningful, message-driven marketing.
  • Finally, there are others who simply don’t understand strategic marketing or have access to the support needed to be an effective marketer.

The new brandmuscle offerings overcome these challenges by providing a comprehensive solution that has dedicated support teams, in a simple platform that encourages engagement.

Customers can create differentiate messages across local markets. This increases effective promotion of the brand at the local level and enhances brand compliance, while eliminating the need to work with multiple providers.

Brandmuscle serves its customers through the biggest geographical footprint in its industry, with specialized customer support teams in 80 locations nationwide. A local affiliate can count on brandmuscle’s customer support staff to assist them in using their technology platform to create advertising campaign and marketing materials in multiple mediums – from print to broadcast, POP to social media and digital – and even assist them with media planning and purchasing while keeping brand identity in tact.  

“The talent that comprises brandmuscle has deep expertise in industries ranging from food and beverage, telecom, insurance and more,” said Larkin. “By combining the suite of services that many brands previously outsourced to multiple agencies and adding high-touch customer service in each area, we are poised to help brands move the needle.”

Brandmuscle works with more than 200 national brands and many Fortune 500 companies across a wide range of industries. For a glimpse at some of its clients, please visit: http://www.brandmuscle.com/whowehelp/ourclients.php

About brandmuscle

Brandmuscle is reinventing local marketing as a revenue driver by giving local affiliates of global and national brands user-friendly customized solutions, on-demand support and fast reimbursement to build local communications programs that both advance the brands and flexibly address the needs of local markets. The result is a powerful new way to grow sales at multiple local touch points. For more information about brandmuscle please visit: www.brandmuscle.com

Local Marketing, News

Distributed Marketing Management Solves Fundamental Challenges for National Brands That Sell Through Channels

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

Aberdeen recently surveyed over 400 organizations about Marketing Lead Management practices and found that maintaining brand consistency (56%) and a lack of marketing expertise at the local level (48%) topped the list of challenges for distributed marketers.

• 29% of respondents said economic pressures have influenced collateral spending
• 25% indicate they are unable to get a complete picture of marketing spend across distributed channels
• 27% say managing disparate data silos significantly impacts marketing success

Distributed marketing management systems aren’t a “nice-to-have” but a “must-have” for marketers who work through channels (whether local marketers within their own organizations, distribution or reseller partners or franchisees). Distributed marketing management platforms deliver real results that drive revenue, separating companies who clearly define local marketing processes from those lacking global control.

Having the right distributed marketing management solution in place can significantly change the way national brands function with their local counterparts. When affiliates are able to access corporate-approved marketing materials and customize them with local flavor, it’s a win-win for corporate and local teams alike. Corporate is no longer saddled down with custom requests or time-consuming approval processes. All marketing materials and assets can be made available through a centralized portal that allows affiliates to create, download or deliver materials on their own time, whenever needed. Solutions with integrated print on demand or web to print capabilities further streamline workflow, ease of use and help reduce print costs. Best-in-Class distributed marketing management platforms enable affiliates to create cross-channel marketing campaigns using an effective mix of digital and print media. Further, corporate marketers can easily track and analyze data to optimize future marketing programs.

For example, one of the nation’s largest wireless service providers was inundated with requests from local retailers to create and customize ads and local marketing, resulting in production bottlenecks and lengthy turnaround times. These production slowdowns made it increasingly difficult for the client to capitalize on real-time market trends and immediately ward off competitive threats. In addition, the corporate marketing team had little insight into local activity and lacked brand consistency and legal legitimacy at the store-level. This client turned to BrandMuscle to implement a distributed marketing management solution that gave them greater control over the marketing materials and ads produced by retailers while simultaneously empowering them to generate more sales, retain customers, and promote a consistent brand. Today, independently-owned and operated retailers can quickly generate ads, print price cards, and communicate with customers across a wide variety of media channels including email, landing pages and online advertising. The client’s Facebook campaign generated an 89% increase in new visitors to over 400 landing pages that were created using the BrandMuscle solution.

Aberdeen found that Best-in-Class companies are focused on two strategic actions: centralizing and standardizing their distributed marketing operations and supporting branch / local offices in their ability to market with brand and message consistency.

To learn how Best-in-Class companies have optimized distributed marketing management with BrandMuscle, visit us at www.BrandMuscle.com or contact us today to request a personalized demonstration!

Digital Marketing, Email Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, News, Social Media

Three BIG Channel Marketing Mistakes Manufacturers Make and How to Eliminate Them

Posted on August 29, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

A top challenge for manufacturers/OEM’s is providing channel partners (dealers, distributors, resellers, retailers) with relevant and compelling ads and marketing content that is easily accessible, customizable and brand-friendly, while balancing the needs of each party. Although many manufacturers provide a “manual” of marketing rules to ensure product messaging is consistent, securing participation, providing the right mix of media options and tracking ROI remains a constant struggle.

Three Common Channel Marketing Mistakes Manufacturers Make:

1) Providing access to marketing content, but not supporting personalization or co-branding opportunities.

Channel partners and dealers need to connect their brand (not just yours) to their end consumers to drive sales, increase brand recognition and deliver timely local messaging. Allowing channel partners to customize marketing materials by selecting from different headlines, product images and offers helps speak to the needs of consumers in their local markets; using distributed marketing management software allows you to do this while at the same time protecting brand standards and legal requirements.

2) Missing opportunities to generate new business and brand loyalty across traditional and digital media channels.

Most channel partners are working with tight budgets and limited resources. While they realize email, online display advertising, direct mail, video and social media are great, cost-effective ways to drive demand and loyalty, they lack the marketing know-how and resources to effectively use these mediums. Some channel partners may not even have a website. Investing in a distributed marketing management solution that enables channel partners to utilize these mediums can help you achieve far greater return on your co-op marketing investments.

3) Forgetting how important speed and ease of use is.

Many manufacturers provide their channel partners with a number of tools to help with marketing. But they are often disjointed and as a result, not used: one system and workflow for creating print ads; another for sending emails; yet another for accessing co-op funds. A fully integrated distributed marketing management solution offers your channel partners an easy, centralized marketing portal where they can quickly customize and deliver traditional and digital media, order promotional items and even apply co-op funds (if available) to pay for their selections. It also gives you, the corporate marketer, the ability to track usage, monitor performance, and most importantly, measure ROI.

BrandMuscle has turned these marketing challenges and many others into revenue generating opportunities for leading manufacturers like PPG Automotive Refinish, Simonton Windows, Shaw Floors, Bang & Olufsen, Konica Minolta, Steelcase and many others.

Ready to learn more? Visit us on the web at www.BrandMuscle.com or schedule a demonstration.

Branding, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices

Simonton Windows Partners with BrandMuscle to Introduce ProNetwork™

Posted on June 13, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

BrandMuscle, together with Simonton Windows, a leader in the window and door industry, is excited to announce the launch of Simonton Ad Builder, an integrated solution that allows dealers to create professionally designed, fully-customizable ads and marketing support materials quickly and easily. Ad Builder functions as a part of Simonton’s ProNetwork™, a dynamic program for contractors, builders and dealers that combines exclusive training, marketing and sales support and rewards. Fortune 500 companies around the globe use BrandMuscle’s all-in-one distributed marketing platform to streamline local marketing across field sales channels to optimize sales and maximize ROI. Click here to read more.

Branding, Local Marketing, News

Google+ Local Pages Replace Google Places Listings. What’s a Local Marketer to Do?

Posted on June 1, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

You’ve probably already heard the buzz – Google is converting Google Places into Google+ Local pages. But what the heck does that mean for local marketing?

Google+ Local pages are more dynamic, visually appealing and include a whole host of more “social” features, making this a great opportunity for local businesses to further grow their brand on the web and increase local presence, creating higher potential for SEO.

But, if you’re confused about what you need to do with your current Google Places listing, you’re not alone. For local businesses with existing Google Places listings, they will automatically be converted into Google+ Local pages. According to an article on searchengineland.com, Google’s Marissa Mayer stated that roughly 80 million Google Place pages have already been converted to Google+ Local pages.

Google states: If you are a business owner, you should continue to manage your information in Google Places for Business. You’ll still be able to verify your basic listing data, make updates, and respond to reviews. For those who use AdWords Express, your ads will operate as normal as they’ll automatically redirect people to the destination you selected, or your current listing.

However, Google+ Local pages allow much more dynamic content than Google Places did. Local marketers should jump on this – review your new Google+ Local page to identify if there’s any content, pictures or info that would be beneficial to your followers and help make your page stand out. With this change, Google has now brought search and social full circle. It’s not just another social media page that you need to maintain – it’s the way that your customers will find you AND get reviews from the people they trust in their own Google+ circles.

Check out some of the features below:

1. Users can find new Google+ Local pages by doing a general search on Google.com or in Google Maps, in mobile apps or through a search on Google+.

2. Merchants can send messages directly to followers, similar to how companies connect with followers on Facebook and Twitter.

3. Zagat’s 30-point rating scale will replace Google’s star rankings. Zagat reviews are free and will be integrated across categories. This ensures that scores for food, service and atmosphere are taken into consideration separately, rather than lumping it all together in the star format.

4. Customers will be able to see reviews and recommendations from their friends/family/colleague in their circles, further connecting Google+ features.

5. Google+ Local pages will include Google properties.

Fret not if you don’t already have a Google Place listing! You can create one by simply visiting Google Places for Business to create your free listing. You will need a Google account. Once the listing is set up, it will automatically be converted to the Google+ Local page.

For more information, click here.

Check out an example below!

Local Marketing, News, Social Media

Konica Minolta Business Solutions Partners with BrandMuscle to Provide Marketing Support Across Growing Dealer Network

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

BrandMuscle, in partnership with Konica Minolta Business Solutions, is excited to announce the launch of CampaignBuilder, an innovative, online marketing resource that dealers and resllers can access to quickly develop professional-quality, co-branded advertising and marketing materials. With the launch of CampaignBuilder, Konica Minolta aims to provide the resources its sales channel partners need to gain a competitive advantage, streamline local marketing and help grow their businesses. Using BrandMuscle’s fully-integrated, easy-to-use local marketing platform, many of the nation’s top brands empower their local affiliates and channel partners with the tools and resources they need to optimize sales and maximize ROI. Click here to read more.

Branding, Local Marketing, News

PPG Teams with BrandMuscle to Launch PPG Marketing on Demand

Posted on April 27, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

We are pleased to announce our partnership with PPG Industries’ (NYSE:PPG) automotive refinish business to offer a wide range of marketing support services to its collision repair facilities and distributors across North America. The PPG Marketing on Demand web-based tool allows streamlined development of local marketing campaigns that are brand compliant and cost-efficient, saving time and money. Many Fortune 1000 companies across the manufacturing industry use BrandMuscle’s integrated solution to optimize local sales and marketing performance. Click here to read more.

News

BrandMuscle to Exhibit at American Banker’s 17th Annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

BrandMuscle is looking forward to joining some of the best and brightest financial services marketers at the 17th Annual Best Practices in Retail Financial Services Symposium March 11 – 13 in Boca Raton, Florida to share retail banking best practices and identify new trends that will define industry standards.Financial services marketers face significant challenges today. Communicating your banks brand promise consistently at the local level was tough enough when traditional media was the only option. Today, building trust and loyalty requires communicating with customers one-on-one in new and highly personalized ways using both traditional and digital media.

New regulations and the deleveraging of consumer balance sheets have kept executives within the financial services industry on their toes. While conditions have been challenging for banks in recent years, many are stepping up their games by taking advantage of technological advancements to reinvent the ways they engage with consumers and small businesses, and retooling their branch networks to more actively engage front-line staff in high-value revenue-generating activities.

We’re looking forward to sharing best practices for leveraging local marketing automation technology at the branch-level to increase customer acquisition and retention.

Attending the show ? Stop by and visit us at booth #17.

Financial Services Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, News, Retail Bank Marketing

BrandMuscle Enters Next Phase of Innovation and Growth Fueled by Recent Investment

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

The Riverside Company Acquires BrandMuscle; Strengthens Distributed Marketing Platform

Cleveland, Ohio (February 28, 2012) – BrandMuscle, Inc., announced today that it has been acquired by The Riverside Company, positioning the company for the next phase of innovation and aggressive growth within the distributed marketing landscape.

BrandMuscle’s technology supports brand-compliant customization of a variety of traditional and digital media including print advertising, sales collateral, direct mail, email, video, television and video spots, flash banner ads, electronic brochures, online business pages and websites. BrandMuscle also provides professional media buying, planning and placement services; enabling users of the company’s solution to receive expert assistance to execute local marketing programs.

“Our clients rely on us to deliver the most innovative solutions possible to solve their greatest marketing challenges. We’ve delivered on that promise every day for the last 12 years and are thrilled to partner with Riverside to expand our capabilities and deliver additional value to our clients,” said BrandMuscle’s Chief Executive Officer Philip Alexander.

BrandMuscle will continue operating in Cleveland under the leadership of Alexander and current senior management.

“It’s always nice to make an investment in your back yard,” said Cleveland-based Riverside Principal Alan Peyrat. “BrandMuscle is an incredible business, and we’re glad to be part of the next chapter in its growth.”

BrandMuscle will join Riverside’s platform Centiv Services, a Chicago, Illinois-based provider of marketing automation technology and digital print fulfillment services and TradeOne Marketing, an Austin, Texas-based trade promotion management company, to build out its distributed marketing platform. The merger will leverage each company’s unique capabilities in delivering an innovative, integrated services platform for local marketing.

“BrandMuscle is an impressive company, both in terms of scope and capabilities,” said Riverside Managing Partner Loren Schlachet. “The companies will form the clear market leader in the localized marketing space, with technology and service offerings to meet virtually any traditional or digital marketing need for clients with distributed marketing organizations.”

About BrandMuscle, Inc.
www.brandmuscle.com
BrandMuscle is a leading provider of web-based local marketing automation software and unparalleled end-user support for companies with decentralized sales and marketing channels. The company’s capabilities are embraced by Fortune 500 companies within the financial services, manufacturing, telecommunications, retail and automotive industries. Using the company’s proprietary BrandBuilder® software, marketers can empower field-level customization and execution of personalized advertising and marketing campaigns to optimize local sales and marketing performance. Founded in 2000, BrandMuscle employs 160 talented professionals and is headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio with a regional service office in Los Angeles, California.

About The Riverside Company
www.riversidecompany.com or www.riversideeurope.com
The Riverside Company is a global private equity firm focused on acquiring growing businesses valued at up to $200 million (€200 million in Europe). Since its founding in 1988, Riverside has invested in more than 275 transactions. The firm’s international portfolio includes more than 75 companies, and it has $3.2 billion/€2.5 billion in assets under management.

News

Financial Services Marketing Made Easy with Local Marketing Automation

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

In the wake of the financial crisis, there’s been a change in how marketers leverage technology, such as local marketing automation solutions, to develop more personalized relationships with consumers. Consumers now expect companies to work harder to gain their business while offering a standard of customer service that has been unmatched in the past. It’s a challenging time for financial services marketers. With tighter budgets and reduced staff, marketing is changing at the speed of light and the emergence of new and fragmented media only adds fuel to the fire.

Marketers on both the corporate and local level are focused on rebuilding a reputation that is more centered on open communication, honesty and trust. To be successful, brands need to generate deeper, more personalized one-on-one connections with consumers and consumers want to connect a face with a company’s product or service. They want to do business with someone in the local community they can trust and rely on. To do this, the most successful banks and financial services organizations are abandoning the batch and blast mentality. Instead, they are leveraging technology and restructuring marketing messages to become more locally relevant and using a wider variety of media channels to drive acquisition and retention.

A recent report conducted by the CMO Council titled How Banks are Regaining Trust as the Financial Sector Readjusts, identified that 82 percent of marketers surveyed plan to increase use of new digital channels and content. The article surveyed 120 marketers from banks with revenue of $500 million to $120 billion and found that websites, social media, online and mobile segments are significantly surpassing the use of traditional print media. Because of the consumers’ need to have the most up-to-date information at the tip of their fingers, financial companies are working hard to make sure that information is available with digital technology. Further, the article states that the “adept use of digital media channels for rapid versioning, content personalization, and customization relative to audience types and levels of sophistication” is needed to outperform competitors in today’s market. It’s important for not only banks, but all organizations within the financial services sector to reach customers through a number of different media channels to make sure the audience receives the message in the way they want to be reached.

BrandMuscle has local marketing programs for leading financial services organizations. Our solution provides a platform for corporate marketers to host cross-channel marketing materials that can be easily accessed and customized by local representatives. This allows corporate marketers to ensure that all materials distributed in the marketplace are both legally and brand compliant while giving local representatives an opportunity to create the personalization that customers are looking for, saving time and money. Click here to find out how a Fortune 50 company grew local marketing participation and increased co-op usage by using BrandMuscle’s marketing solution.

How are you overcoming these marketing challenges? Share your story with us today!

Branding, Digital Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, News, Uncategorized

The Proliferation of Digital Media Creates Unique Challenges and Opportunities for Local Marketing

Posted on January 16, 2012 by Lori Alba Comments Off

By Philip Alexander, President & CEO, BrandMuscle, Inc.

Changing trends in consumer behavior, proliferation of new media, and the advancements in technology are all driving a complex network of opportunities for national brands to engage one-on-one with consumers at the local level. According to the CMO Council’s “Localize to Optimize Sales Channel Effectiveness” report, nearly 50 percent of marketers believe localized marketing is essential to business growth and profitability, yet only 12 percent believe they have highly evolved campaigns and analytics in place to execute and measure their local marketing efforts.

National brands with decentralized marketing organizations are increasingly turning to local marketing automation platforms to meet the needs of local affiliates (stores, agents, dealers, franchisees, and resellers) who desperately need an easy way to create and deploy more targeted, personalized and interactive sales and marketing materials and campaigns. Fulfilling these needs was a challenge for decentralized marketing organizations when media options were limited to print and broadcast. The stakes have only become higher as CMOs look for ways to achieve greater customer relevance and seamlessly deliver the brand promise across dozens of new digital media channels.

By the time the consumer enters the local store, it’s likely he or she has already made a decision based on some form of online research. This presents a significant opportunity for marketers to improve the value of their creative and marketing assets by impacting consumer demand prior to purchase. As the report suggests, BrandMuscle has also seen an escalation in demand across its client base for tools that allow local affiliates to easily create local microsites, social media content, electronic messaging, local events, and online advertising. As the search industry grows, the drive to innovate and optimize local efforts continues to increase demand for technology that can streamline how these new forms of media are used to produce results in a way that complements the national brand rather than competing with it.

Three particular trends we see dominating marketing communications today:

1. Large, national advertising campaigns are being replaced by activities that are locally focused This trend is being driven by media fragmentation and an increase in consumers who want to connect one-on-one with brands and support businesses that will boost their own local economies.

2. Significant shift in spending from traditional forms of media to digital Local businesses are embracing email and other forms of online marketing (microsites and landing pages, paid search, banner advertising, and now SMS) because they deliver a relatively low-cost way to reach consumers quickly via smartphones and mobile devices.

3. Considerable shift from mass production of marketing materials to advertising on-demand Economic challenges have forced marketers to re-analyze expenditures to ensure every dollar invested is generating the best possible return. While long-run printing still has valid applications, many have found that recent advancements in digital printing is allowing for cost-effective production of more personalized and effective pieces while reducing the cost and waste associated with warehousing materials that quickly become outdated. Digital media further accelerates the shift to personalized one-to-one communications.

Web-based local marketing automation solutions like BrandMuscle’s make it possible for corporate marketers to support brand-compliant local customization and deployment of marketing campaigns by local affiliates to address geographic, demographic and local competitive considerations. From customizing a print ad to delivering an email containing a link to a personalized landing page, BrandMuscle’s solution provides a cost-effective way for marketers to ensure global brand compliance, improve operational efficiency, and increase speed-to-market.

While having the right technology in place is critical to executing local marketing in a decentralized environment, it’s equally important to provide ongoing professional support to ensure local affiliates adopt and use the solution vigorously. While ease of use remains a key consideration, BrandMuscle also provides tactical and strategic local marketing support to both the corporate marketer and local affiliate to achieve optimal ROI. A key challenge many local affiliates face is understanding what types of advertising or campaigns will work best for their businesses and limited budgets. BrandMuscle addresses this by providing an option for local affiliates to work one-on-one with local media planning and buying specialists who can make recommendations and execute more strategic buys that will generate favorable returns.

As Donovan Neale-May, Executive Director of the CMO Council notes, “Localization is the name of the game for national brands with significant field, channel or network marketing organizations.” With today’s consumer driving the conversation, marketers are forced to rethink their messaging and how it’s delivered to increase relevancy and speed-to-market. Local marketing automation platforms deliver a way for brands to centralize the origination of localized content while providing significant cost savings, global brand compliance and increased participation, interest and enthusiasm by the field to drive channel, and field sales performance. As new forms of media emerge and are tested with favorable results by corporate marketing organizations, it becomes even more critical to leverage technology that allows the brand to quickly scale high-performing tactics across sales channels to secure a competitive advantage.

Click here to download the full report from the CMO council.

Branding, Digital Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, Local Marketing Research, Uncategorized

What’s in Store for Google+ in 2012?

Posted on December 29, 2011 by Lori Alba Comments Off

According to BrightEdge Technology, over three-quarters of the nation’s Top 100 brands have created a Google+ page as of December 19, 2011. This is a 16 percent increase from a month ago, when only 61 percent were using Google+.

In today’s market, there is a lot of grey area in determining how important it is for a business to have a Google+ page, or how to gauge the success of your Facebook page. The way that B2C and B2B companies use social media is very different. So how do you measure the impact that these outlets have on your business?

As an early adopter of Google+, we see the value of using this channel as a way to engage with our customers, our end-users, our employees and our prospects through different ways. Being able to have different circles allows us to interact with our groups regarding topics and discussions that are important to them.

Not to mention that Google + optimizes your SEO. Google uses the content posted on your Google + page to run algorithms that determine where you fall in Google’s search results. To optimize your page and make sure you that you receive the traffic you’re looking for, there are several things that you can do.

  • Keywords – use specific keywords in your profile that will trigger you to appear in common search results
  • Include links – links to your website or reputable outside sources can all increase your optimization
  • Add photos – the more content you can post, the better
  • Add and share comments – detailed and relevant content helps you boost your search score. Google wants to feature businesses that post new, relevant and interesting content that features a lot of interaction including other’s comments and shared posts
  • Make time – Making sure your Google + page is fully optimized will take time. As more people begin to use this channel, your results will be sure to beat your competition

Have you already created a Google+ page, either for yourself or for your business? Tell us about your experience and where you think the future of social media is headed!

Local Marketing Research, Social Media, Social Media Marketing, Uncategorized

Decoding the Code: Maximizing the Benefits of QR Codes

Posted on December 13, 2011 by Lori Alba Comments Off

You’ve seen them on flyers, in restaurants, magazines and direct mail pieces. They’re intriguing; mysterious; little black and white squares that hold the promise of a must-have discount, special offer or more. While QR codes have been used for over a decade in the automotive industry, they quickly popped up over the last couple of years in a number of different media channels. It’s the QR craze – everyone’s using them. But what’s the value? To be effective, the QR code needs to have something worthwhile to the customer to reward them for taking the time to scan it.

Here are our top 10 tips for utilizing QR codes:

1. Identify What and Why

Your customers are taking the time (even though it’s only few minutes) to scan your code. What’s on the other side of that code better have some significance or be worthwhile to them. Sure, if you use a QR code in a restaurant it could take you to your location’s website. But isn’t it more compelling to have an offer or some type of activity that drives customers to take action? For example, they could be taken to a coupon offer that they can show on their mobile device or find out about restaurant events. Or if they click on a code in a magazine ad, they could find insider beauty tips. Customers need to know if they are opting into a list, receiving a coupon or special offer or if they are visiting a mobile website before they scan to set up the expectation. This can easily be done by putting a short description or phrase on the material to explain what action the user will be completing by scanning the code. By doing so, you’ll get solid results from people that scanned your code since they knew what the result would be.

2. Always Test the Code

Test your QR Code on at least 3 different scanners. Not every QR Code generator follows the same requirements or development standard. If your code does not work on some scanners, there are a number of free QR code generators that are compatible with different formats.

3. Keep it Simple

Send your user directly to the site that you want them to reach without any additional clicking. They won’t know where to go if you don’t take them there directly. Additionally, the site that the code links to should be mobile friendly. Most people will scan the QR code using a smartphone. Websites that are not mobile friendly are difficult to read and even might throw errors.

4. Use the Right Media Type

Codes placed on materials like billboards do not typically give the customer enough time to scan it since they are quickly driving by. Not to mention, this can be a dangerous situation. Recognize what obstacles the user might face when deciding on where to place a QR code. For example, QR codes placed on subways can reach a lot of people but when the train is underground, there might not be a telephone or wireless signal available, defeating the purpose of the ad.

5. Integrate Your QR Code in Your Marketing Campaign

Use your QR code across media channels to establish consistency and brand awareness. In standard advertising, we know seeing a message multiple times resonates more with a customer than only seeing it once. Do the same with your QR Codes.

6. Create a Custom Design Only If Needed

Custom created QR codes grab the user’s attention and builds curiosity about what they are scanning. Codes can have different colors or have a small image placed in them. While there can be a small margin of error in the design that will still allow the code to work, it can be tricky to create a custom design. Really, custom designs should only be used if the campaign really needs that little something extra. For most campaigns, regular codes will do just fine.

7. Find Out Any Limitations with Your Link

Some QR code generators create codes that will expire after a given time period. Finding out if there is an expiration date is important in case you will be using the code for a long-term campaign. Also, make sure that the link will not be changing after a given period. You certainly do not want to advertise a QR code that won’t work.

8. Create a Code Based on Appropriate Size

QR codes can be created in different sizes depending on the material type that it will be used on. Since QR codes are built on a series of modules – the tiny dots you see – the larger the QR code, the more modules generated. Best practice is to create a smaller code upfront if it will be used in a smaller space. Shrinking a large QR code down could make it more difficult for a scanner to read. If you are using a QR code on multiple documents for one campaign, you will still want to create separate codes for each material. This way, they all link to the same campaign but you can identify which media types were most popular. See our next tip!

9. Measure Your Results

Creating and using your QR code are just the first steps. Measuring how well your QR code campaign worked is necessary to understand how effective it was and to help in strategic planning of future campaigns. If you use a QR code on multiple mediums, you can identify which material provided the best results so you can spend your dollars focused on those outlets rather than ones that didn’t work as well. There are a number of websites that provide free QR code tracking so you can monitor your hits throughout your campaign. Some sites even output the QR code and tracking URL at the same time.

10. Use Social Media to Your Advantage

Using QR codes to link to your Facebook or Twitter page make it easy for your customers or fans to leave comments, “like” your posts and see what other customers are saying. Every organization wants recommendations direct from their consumers – why not make it as easy as possible for your users to access these pages and give you free publicity.

Bonus Tip!

Get creative. QR codes can be used in a variety of ways, as long as there is a purpose behind it. Check out these links below to start getting creative ideas of how YOU can use QR codes in your business. And, be sure to let us know what creative ways you are using your QR codes!

http://mashable.com/2011/11/10/j-c-penney-qr-codes/

http://mashable.com/2011/04/26/qr-code-resume/

http://mashable.com/2010/07/12/social-media-business-cards/

Digital Marketing, Local Marketing, Local Marketing Best Practices, Mobile Marketing, Uncategorized