In an effort to constantly build my marketing muscles, I try to often go through a set of mental calisthenics. I think about how I would market a particular product or service, and what campaign I would recommend if it were solely my responsibility to craft the strategy.
Many times when going through a discovery with a client to learn about their business we begin the initial dialogue with the client by asking: Who do you want to buy your product or use your service? A very common answer is: “Well, everyone”. Often people forget that in most cases, there is a very targeted customer segment that has the highest propensity to buy. This is the case more often than not.

There is a product that was created that however I wrapped my head around, could not think of a market above the age of 16 that wouldn’t benefit from it. This product was called a Lifehammer- a device attached to a keychain that would allow you to cut your seat belt, break a car window, and escape in a catastrophic event.

Let me introduce you to my next point, Catastrophe Marketing ™ is a marketing and advertising strategy that takes an aggressive tactic to play on the top of mind awareness in near real time events. Go back to the Lifehammer- (this is just an example, to my knowledge this company has not done this). A company would use a listening tool that scraped various news feeds for vehicles submerged and occupants trapped, people in accidents that couldn’t break through their windshield, or the case of seat belts pinning people (you get the idea) and have a near immediate advertisement about the Lifehammer product. This is an extreme example but you see its potential in multiple verticals: energy, human rights, and tons of others entering into this arena every day.

For example, as soon as the magnitude of the current oil spill became a household concern, many companies which create alternative energy solutions, environmental protection services, or other green programs ramped up their marketing and advertising efforts. Another example is when a pathogen outbreak or nasty virus hits a school and the local community gets some exposure, hand sanitizer companies should push their products heavily.
A very careful strategy has to be implemented when dealing with potential sensitive and catastrophic issues especially when there has been a loss of life. I have heard comedians joke about an issue (Sept. 11 for example) and be heckled “too soon” and turn the crowd completely against him. The same can be done with a company that deals in catastrophe marketing, but in disaster capitalism the ROI is usually measured in profit margin over public sentiment.

You are going to see more catastrophe and agenda based companies emerge and use social media platforms, traditional real time advertising, and contextual advertising to gain an emotional response purchaser.

Thanks for reading,
Robert Urban

Our team at Brand Advance is excited to add Robert Urban as our new Chief Operating Officer. Robert comes with much talent and experience that will aid in the growth of Brand Advance, including extensive experience in sales and marketing operational strategy and staffing implementation.

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps Robert has held various roles of responsibility highlighted by serving as the recruiting practice director for Raretec Consulting, an international recruitment and consulting firm, and acting as the Chief Marketing Officer of CareerPledge, a SAAS technology firm. His areas of expertise are in combining technology, sales, and marketing best practices to create an incredible service offering and client/customer satisfaction. He has acted as an executive marketing/technical implementation consultant to many of the fortune 500 companies and has delivered staffing and operational enterprise strategy across multiple verticals for all sizes of business.

His role with Brand Advance is to assist the CEO in concreting processes and operations, act as a marketing consultant to various companies, and lead business development through effective management of the sales team.

Robert’s business philosophy is resonant to Occam’s razor-”simplest explanation or strategy tends to be the best one.” He is also the founder of Orlando Marketing Executives Networking Group and involved in nonprofit organizations helping veterans with PTSD. He currently resides in Orlando, Fl and in his off time, he enjoys spending time with his son and girlfriend, playing guitar, chess, and fishing.

Robert, myself, and the rest of the Brand Advance team look forward to growing your business in 2010 and beyond.

Earlier today I came across some good information about social media I thought I’d share with my readers.  The first was a presentation I found on slideshare on social media which I embedded below:

1. Have a plan.

Do some research on the social media networks out there and devise a plan. Target the top 3 sites, create a profile, and answer the question “What’s in It for Me?” You should have a target goal for each social media site. It could be generating more traffic to your site, get more sales, build brand identity but gaining XXXX amount of followers. In the end, make sure the voice is the same throughout, so you keep brand identity. Have commitment, as social media takes time to grow.

2. If you are the expert in your field, show it.

You know the most about your company and your field of expertise. Provide information that will help your followers understand your brand. The more you show brand identity, the more your followers will be your brand advocates.

3. Provide links and measure the click-through rates.

People on Twitter love to learn new things. They follow interesting people because they are adding value. One way to add value is to link out to relevant articles, blogs, or your own website. If you’re having a sale on a particular item, link straight to that page on your website. Be sure to use URL shorteners like bit.ly or budurl.com so you can track the amount of clicks your link received. That way, you can see how many customers are listening on a particular tweet.

4. Measure your results.

Use engagement tools like TweetDeck or Hootsuite to monitor your brand. You can set up keyword alerts so that you see what Twitter users are talking about and who is talking about it. Measuring your results shows you what is working, what to improve, and gets you closer to your goal.

5. Listen to your customers and brand advocates/detractors.

Comcast does a great job in listening to their customers. They ask the question, “How can we help”, and they answer to each and every customer. Even hearing your detractors can help your brand—you’ll learn what can improve about your business. Think of social media like a focus group—you test out your brand and you get feedback.

6. Provide Your Email

Complex problems need more attention. Providing your email will help customers talk beyond 140 characters. Also, when the customer has different options in how they can receive customer service, they’ll be happy to choose their preferred method to contact you.

7. And Most of All: Be Social

Talk to your friends, fans, and followers. Listen to what they have to say and respond to them. Provide new information and link your blogs to your Facebook Page, Twitter, and any other social media site you may belong to.  You’ll see your traffic rise in no time.

The value of social media is endless. Your competitors are out there, are you?

Our blog will be coming soon!