Brand Positioning
Internet Marketing is Obsoleting Traditional Media Advertisers
Jan 23rd
Advertising via print and radio has been in steady decline for the past few years and very soon we will see internet marketing surpass television as well, possibly in the next year or two.
What does this mean for traditional media advertisers? Well, it means their job is becoming obsolete. (more…)
Google’s “Search, Plus Your World” Personalizes Search Results
Jan 16th
Last week, Google launched its latest update to web browsing, called “Search, plus Your World.” The purpose is to grant easier access to personal search results, because Google believes that these results should hold equal weight with their recommendations. The new search function combines worldwide and personal searches. (more…)
Diversifying Your Marketing Portfolio: An Introduction to Modern Marketing as Compared to the Stock Market
Jul 30th
It’s becoming pretty common knowledge that if you want to have success in the stock market, you have to have a diversified portfolio of stocks, bonds and mutual funds.
While your formula will vary a bit based on age and your overall investment goals, it’s usually a good idea to have some risky quick-gain stocks offset by long-term and steady growth options.
This same principle can be applied to the marketing portfolio of any sized business. For the past 10 years, Trimark has experienced the full gamut of marketing strategies, some borderline insanely risky while others have been chugging along steadily for the past 10 years constantly making small strides for the better.
As uncertainty of times come and go, marketing campaigns are tested. Those with a great diverse portfolio always seem to weather the storm. At Trimark Marketing Group, each client’s marketing goals are evaluated, and a diverse marketing plan is suggested for continual growth and sustainability. All the pieces of this customized package work different avenues of advertising and brand presence, and should combine to meet the goals of the business owner.
Here are a few examples of marketing strategies at each spectrum of risk taking and the reward associated with each:
Email More >
$3 Million Super Bowl Ads Becoming Overrated
Feb 10th
This year’s Super Bowl ads seemed to disappoint viewers (although that seems to happen every year). After ads being banned and soaring costs (about $3 million for a 30-second spot), we still saw the same tired commercials (wow, look, Go Daddy girl is ripping her shirt off again while Danica Patrick gawks at her for the umpteenth time) and the familiar brands Coke, Budweiser, et al. With the increasing popularity of social media and viral marketing, I am hoping major brands will start moving away from the exorbitant costs and scrutiny that comes with Super Bowl advertising and take their branding and marketing campaigns online. Not to mention they will get better results for $3 million investment.
Pepsi has already made the shift. A few months ago they announced that, for the first time in 20 somthing years, they were not going to advertise during the Super Bowl, electing instead to focus on social media marketing. I think it’s a smart move since $3 million is going to go much farther online than in a one-time 30 second ad, especially when most of us have DVRs and streaming video. With social media marketing, Pepsi can tweak its messaging to cater to different More >
5 vital logo design tips
Jan 6th
Following are 5 tips of creating professional logo.
1. Learn what a logo is and what it representsBefore you design one, you must understand what a logo is, what it represents and what it is supposed to do. A logo is not just a mark – it reflects a business’s commercial brand through the use of shape, fonts, color, and / or images.
A logo is for inspiring trust, recognition and admiration for a company or product and it is our job as designers to create an identity that will do its job.
One must first know what a logo is before continuing. Here is an article for you to read about what is a logo.
2. Know the rules and principles of logo design
Now that you know what a logo is supposed to do, and what it should represent, you now must learn what makes a great logo aka; the basic rules and principles.
- A logo must be describable
- A logo must be memorable
- A logo must be effective without color
- A logo must be scalable i.e. effective when just an inch in size
Successful Logos
Now you know what the rules are, you can distinguish the difference between a More >
Social interaction in the yellow page industry.
Nov 5th
The internet has brought a new dynamic to social interaction as well as business development, marketing, and advertising. Sites are appearing that are solely for the use of social networking and others solely to sale a product or entertain a user. As the internet grows, we’re seeing more and more collaborations of these different aspects providing more relevant and efficient websites for users.
CityWaboo does something that is very unique in the market, it combines yellow page listings with a very sophisticated social networking platform. This means it’s easier for users to connect and exchange information pertaining to businesses in the local area, which also means multiple useful services are being provided to the user. Users simply create a free profile, and then they may begin to write reviews and give recommendations on their favorite and worst experiences with a particular business. They create their inner circle of friends and go to them for suggestions of where to go for certain services. This is unique because it provides a trusted network of friends, as opposed to asking a complete stranger that may or may not be a reliable resource. With the upcoming 2.0 version, the social networking is greatly expanding providing a More >
Small businesses owners, advertise like the big boys.
Nov 5th
Small business owners always tell me that they are not big enough, in comparison to those large corporations that outsource for advertising and marketing, to invest their funds in marketing. They simply don’t have the money to pay for someone to do the planning, executing and analyzing of their business advertising needs.
My first logical question is- who is actually handling the marketing for your business then? Most of the time, the answer is either an employee or a relative or the actual owner of the business. My next question is typically, are you seeing the maximum results from this? Probably not.
So why take the chance on creating a budget for marketing and advertising? Its easy really, typically campaigns involve limited resources as far as your advertising budget that are actually attributed to advertising campaigns. It would be a shame to take an amateur stance on your business’ well being by using amateur marketing and advertising resources. With the economy in a slump, every effort must be made to reach the ever diminishing consumer with efficient and tested methods of marketing and advertising that a firm will provide.
And the big secret: many business owners do not know that there are marketing More >
How Local Businesses Should Capitalize on the Influx of Traffic from the National Political Conventions!
Oct 17th
The Democratic National Convention came and went, and now its time for the Republicans to have their chance. So who where the losers and the winners? No I don’t mean in politics, this is a CityWaboo Blog. The local businesses in Denver and Saint Paul should have capitalized on the tens of thousands of visitors that were hungry, sleepy, and wanted to party. Well maybe not party.
Most of the delegates that are at the convention are from out of town, so to find a place to eat, sleep and even find a local cleaners will undoubtedly result in a search for restaurants, hotels and cleaners in Denver or Saint Paul.
Here is where local businesses need to capitalize on the large amount of traffic that major search engines like Google and Yahoo, and local city guides such as CitySearch.com and CityWaboo.com receive. Just thinking ahead for couple of months can result in great short term business; which can translate into a positive long term reputation.
There are influencers in any arena, as I was flipping through the channels, I caught a glimpse of one of the local political reporters doing a story on what and where the delegates are eating and they were More >
6 ways to promote your business for under $100 per month
Oct 17th
Lately I have been speaking with many of our customers, and the general consensus is that times are tough. Coming from a small business entrepreneurial background I can feel their pain. They are seeing money going out in every direction and customers just are not buying as they were a year ago.
So what is a business owner to do? They have to start cutting the fat, and usually the first thing that they look to cut is the advertising budget, not realizing that the customers that are trickling in might just be due to the advertising and that those customers may even disappear if the advertising budget is cut.
What I propose to our clients is to ride out the tough times and instead of canceling or cutting their advertising budget in full, try instead to streamline and optimize their campaign and look for free or low budget campaigns. Here are few suggestions on what and how to get started. Most of these are online, but do not require extensive computer or internet knowledge.
- Free local listings on major search engines and directories. This has been talked about extensively in many blogs and forums. Here are some popular sites you might More >