The Value of a Strategic Marketing Communications Plan
Marketing can be expensive, especially if you have no idea where it’s taking you or what you are getting in return for your investment.
I’ve seen way too many companies and organizations flying by the seat of their pants when it comes to their marketing. They tend to do the same things they’ve always done, like advertise in the Yellow Pages or sponsor the local Little League team, in the hopes that these things will get them the results they’re after.
You’ve heard the definition of insanity, right? It’s doing the same thing over and over again expecting to get a different result. Does your company’s marketing program fit this definition? I hope not.
When it comes to nailing down specific, measurable goals that will direct a marketing effort, most organizations don’t even know what kind of results they want. Just hoping to create more business is not specific enough. For the past 14 years, my agency has been developing strategic marketing communications plans, branded The Marshall Plan™, to help our clients develop attainable marketing goals and the tools needed to successfully achieve them. Over the years, we have developed plans for many different industry sectors, including non-profit, information technology, banking, government, legal, tourism, academia, economic development, and more.
We’ve witnessed some amazing results with these plans for numerous reasons, namely:
- The three-month process brings together the key stakeholders of an organization (management team, board of directors, front-line staff people) to work together with NMC to carefully define their goals, determine their realistic marketing budget and decide what resources can be allocated to achieving the goals. For many organizations, having an outside agency impose this process is exactly what they need to make crucial decisions that will guide the organization into the future.
- The process starts with a three-hour Discovery Meeting during which the NMC team guides stakeholders through a thoughtful discussion about goals, strategy, tactics and resources.
- Having goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timely is just plain SMART. The Marshall Plan™ process includes SMART goal setting.
- The process also includes a thorough competitive analysis, SWOT analysis (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats), and analysis of what has and has not worked in the past.
- A detailed list of tactics (social media, website restructuring, media relations, marketing, advertising, public outreach, sales, and more) designed to reach specific goals is created and vetted by the group during a mid-term review meeting.
- During the final four to six weeks of the process, NMC finalizes the tactics based on feedback received at the mid-term meeting and develops a timeline, budget, measurement dashboards and a variety of marketing tools such as media lists, press release templates, and stakeholder contact lists that will enable our client to hit the ground running when it comes to implementation.
- The final meeting is a time to review the plan, celebrate the accomplishments and make some big decisions about next steps. Every plan is designed so it can be either implemented by NMC, the organization itself, or another agency.
Nancy Marshall, principal of Nancy Marshall Communications
The Marshall Plan™ ensures your marketing dollars will be well invested rather than just spent. It serves as a highly detailed road map toward successful growth for any business or nonprofit. In the 14 years we’ve been creating Marshall Plans™, we have seen organizations totally embrace the process and the opportunity to improve their marketing and communications.
It is extremely rewarding for me as an agency owner to work with a client on one of these plans which, if fully utilized, offer guaranteed success in helping an organization grow and prosper.
Lunder-Dineen Sponsors Successful Theater of War Production
On Monday night NMC’s Renée Black and Erika Bush traveled to Orono to support our client Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine.
Lunder-Dineen sponsored a performance of Theater of War, produced by Outside the Wire. The performance used a dramatic reading of Sophocles’ Ajax as a way to spark conversation among the audience in a panel discussion about the psychological impact of war on veterans, their families and communities.
The Lunder-Dineen team hosted a successful Theater of War production on Monday evening at The University of Maine at Orono.
The performance featured David Strathairn (Lincoln; The Bourne Ultimatum; Good Night, and Good Luck) who expressed, “From the beginning, we knew we had something special. Anyone who has ever been in the room can testify to that.”
Other actors included Erik Moody, Dustin Tucker, Patricia Buckley and Rob Cameron. The panel discussion was facilitated by retired Brigadier General Loree Sutton.
To learn more about Lunder-Dineen and about programs they’re bringing to a community near you, please visit www.mainehealtheducation.org.
Lunder-Dineen Health Education Alliance of Maine in collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital is a nonprofit organization that provides high-quality, CME/CE-certified, evidence-based health education to the citizens of Maine using needs assessments, innovative learning methodologies and expert faculty from within and outside of Maine. www.mainehealtheducation.org
Julia Clukey Honored by Maine Legislature
Olympian Julia Clukey was recognized on April 30 by the Maine Legislature as part of Alcohol Awareness Month for her work across the state to promote the importance of responsibility and good decision making with our client the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association.
Julia Clukey (center) with members of the Maine Legislature. Clukey was honored for her work as the spokespeson for Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s responsibility initiative.
To acknowledge her work, she was presented with a customized license plate by Senator Roger Katz, Rep. Matt Pouliot, and Secretary of State Matt Dunlap. She also received a Legislative Sentiment from Rep. Matt Pouliot as well as a standing ovation from members of the legislature.
Since 2010, Olympian Julia Clukey has been the spokesperson for the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s ongoing responsibility initiative. She has presented at 27 high schools across the state, reaching more than 6,000 Maine high school students. Julia’s presentations are made possible by the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association as part of their ongoing responsibility initiative and are provided at no cost to the school. To schedule a presentation, visit www.clukeyluge.com/
This month, Julia was also named to the Fall 2013 National Team and recently announced plans for the second year of her 10-day summer camp this summer in Readfield, Maine.
Complete list of people in the photo:
L to R: Mike Runser of Valley Distributors, Jim Bourque of Nappi Distributors, Mike Barriault of Central Distributors, Elmer Alcott of Nappi Distributors, Cheryl Timberlake Executive VP of MBWDA, Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, Olympian Julia Clukey, Senator Roger Katz, Representative Matt Pouliot, Scott Solman of Maine Distributors, Nick Alberding of Pine State Trading Co., Peter Briggs of Aroostook Beverage Co., and Jeff Kane of National Distributors
Empowering Young Women at 18 Years Young
Founder of Girls Above Society, Lauren Galley
The quest for perfection is one that young people face each and every day. We all went through middle school and know about the pressures that come with growing into your own skin. This week’s Monday Maine Maven Lauren Galley, at 18 years young, has developed a successful career as a working model/actress, radio show host, blogger and, most importantly, a mentor for young women through the nonprofit she founded, Girls Above Society.
Girls Above Society provides mentorship and awareness surrounding the pressures girls face on a daily basis, and works to promote strong leadership skills. Lauren says she was inspired by her own experiences in middle school and high school to start the organization. She adds, “I want to empower girls to accept who they are—to be their best, be healthy, and have the confidence to go after their dreams!”
Lauren has pursued her dream as an actress and model. She grew up in theater with her mother working as a director, and transitioned into film beginning as an extra. Since then, she has been on ABC Family’s “The Lying Game,” and NBC’s “CHASE” as well as national commercials such as Fox Sports and Jarritos. Currently, she has two films in post-production, “Matt Mercury Movie” directed by Bill Hughes and “The Making of a Serial Killer” directed by Russell Miller.
An additional creative outlet for Lauren has been writing. After founding Girls Above Society, she realized that being present and available was important. She created Twitter and Facebook accounts, along with a blog. She adds, “Blogging is a new thing for me, but when I feel inspired I also feel the need to write. I focus on creating images with motivating quotes, since that’s what teens like and enjoy sharing.”
Girls Above Society is a nonprofit that focuses on empowering young women.
It is appropriate that Lauren would choose to focus on teenagers since that’s when she was inspired to create her nonprofit. She says there was a lot of pressure to conform and she realized that she was incredibly lucky to have the support system she did, but she also realized that wasn’t true for everyone saying, “I would see so many girls and friends trying to live up to the unrealistic expectations created by the media—magazine covers, reality TV shows and celebrities.”
During that time, Galley had the opportunity to live in Waterford, Maine, and she says, “Having lived in the big city my whole life, I found it so beautiful and really loved the small town feeling. I found it surreal that everyone knows each other—there are literally no strangers!” That sense of community is something that has stayed with her even though she no longer calls Maine home.
The Maine experience impacted Lauren and she is currently partnering with Camp Waziyatah in Waterford, as a part of the Empower a Girl campaign. The camp is known as the location of Disney Channel’s hit reality camp series, “Bug Juice.” Waziyatah shares many of the same values as Girls Above Society—they teach kids to respect themselves with the hope that they will build a healthy image of themselves.
Galley’s mission in establishing self love is evident in her choice to be an ambassador for Free2Luv, hosting their Web segment, Free2BeYOU. Free2Luv’s motto is, “Take a stand to spread love and to end bullying.” In her Free2BeYOU segment, Lauren will be hosting Q&A sessions with tips for dealing with bullies and peer pressure, as well as hosting contests and giveaways to encourage participation. Galley says, “I hope to share, inspire and make a difference.”
To learn more about Lauren and how you can get involved, check out her website at http://www.girlsabovesociety.org/.
Julia Clukey Honored by Portland Pirates
On Saturday, April 20, Maine Olympian Julia Clukey was honored by the Portland Pirates for her incredible work as the official spokesperson for the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s Responsibility Tour.
The 2013 Responsibility Tour featuring Clukey began earlier this month and runs through the prom and graduation season. As the spokesperson, Julia presents at high schools across the state and stars in public service announcements on television and radio. The Responsibility Tour is a part of Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association’s ongoing initiative to communicate that alcohol is a unique product that requires regulation and responsibility.
Since 2010, Julia has traveled to more than 20 high schools across the state and directly reached nearly 6,000 Maine students. All of Clukey’s presentations are made possible by the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association and are provided at no cost to the school.
NMC Coordinated for Olympian Julia Clukey to drop the puck at the Portland Pirates game on Saturday, April 20, 2013. She was honored by the team for her tremendous work with the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association on their responsibility initiative.
To learn more about the Maine Beer & Wine Distributors Association and their ongoing responsibility initiative, visit www.mainebeerandwine.com/responsibility.
High schools in Maine can schedule presentations from Olympian Julia Clukey by visiting her website at www.clukeyluge.com.
Google Yourself!
Nancy Marshall, principal of Nancy Marshall Communications
7 Ways to Make Yourself More Findable
If someone entered your name into Google, what would they find? Or, if they can’t remember your name, but they remember what you do, and enter some descriptive key words, will they be able to find you?
It’s a good idea to Google yourself to see what comes up! (Make sure you log out of your own Google account so the results aren’t skewed.) There may be other people who have the same name as you. If you create a personal branding strategy to make sure that all of your online information is up to date and filled with the keywords that describe you and what you do, people will be more likely to find you and not others.
Here are my 7 tips to make sure you are findable:
- Be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and filled with the keywords people might be using to find you.
- Have you thought of creating a personal website? Try to secure the URL for your own name, and then create a website all about you. This will definitely help you become more findable.
- If you have a website for your business, or better yet, a personal website, make sure your biography is updated and also filled with the proper keywords.
- If there have been stories in the media about you, then you will be more findable. Perhaps you’ve recently received an award or a promotion and you sent a news item to the newspaper. That kind of information will also come up in a Google search.
- You can position yourself as an expert by pitching the media to do a story about your area of expertise. Or you can write an opinion column and submit it to the editorial page of your local newspaper. The more you can stand out from others by getting news coverage for your particular area of expertise, the better.
- Speaking engagements are a great way for you to establish yourself as an expert and gain media coverage. I speak at numerous chamber meetings and annual meetings of professional organizations to get exposure with new audiences as well as attract television , radio and newspaper coverage.
Google now offers “Google Profiles.” Here’s a link to mine: https://plus.google.com/115192809753549645135/posts. If you haven’t created a Google profile for yourself, now’s the time to do it.
The results that come up when you Google search Maine PR Maven, a term associated with the Nancy Marshall Communications brand.
Strutting Their Stuff
Kennebec Valley Humane Society Executive Director, Hillary Roberts (image via KVHS Facebook page)
Community involvement is the key to success for any local nonprofit, and social media has played a major role in the continuing success of the Kennebec Valley Humane Society (KVHS). This week’s Monday Maine Maven and KVHS Executive Director Hillary Roberts says, “Educating the public on what we do and raising money toward our efforts is very important.”
Almost two years ago Roberts was featured on our blog and discussed how the social media movement was positively impacting their organization through donations of time, money and just about anything else they might need. Since that time social media, Facebook in particular, has only improved and with that so has the strategy KVHS uses to spread their message.
Currently, they have a team of seven people that handle the Facebook page and Roberts says, “We only have two rules: the posts must be positive and they must be accurate.” Their most popular posts are about their adoptable dogs, cats and other pets, and of course the happy-endings posts about past adoptions.
KVHS is currently accepting submissions for their annual Paws in the Park & Mutt Strut Art Contest. Winning submissions will be used as posters, t-shirts, and more to promote their Paws in the Park event.
Hillary says the power of Facebook for their organization is unbelievable stating, “It’s amazing to reach thousands of people to tell them about adoptable animals, or a special event we’re having through a single post. Even better? It’s free!” She adds, “We have even seen an increase in the distance people will travel to come and see a potential pet having seen them online first.”
This past Saturday, KVHS hosted a successful Strike Out Animal Abuse Bowl-a-thon at 1-7-10 in Augusta. On Saturday, May 18, 2013 they will be hosting their 20th Annual Paws in the Park & Mutt Strut—an all day family and pet-friendly event at Capitol Park. This year’s event will include the following activities:
- Animal nutrition workshop with Dr. Judy Herman
- The first annual KVHS Best in Show competition
- Dog micro-chipping and nail trimming
- Food vendors
- K9 Police and Agility demonstrations
- Raffles, contests, and more
Events like the Mutt Strut and Bowl-a-thon are essential to raising awareness to the various programs offered by the KVHS; such as their volunteer and foster programs, micro-chipping, animal nutrition and more.
Roberts has a lifelong love of animals and believes that regardless of how you find the next furry member of your family, the most important part of the decision should be based around research. She adds, “You have to consider your lifestyle and figure out what kind of pet will best fit that lifestyle, and if you do adopt, know that your new family member is grateful for the second chance!”
To learn more about the Mutt Strut check out the Facebook event page www.facebook.com/events/497132327019644/, or see their adoptable animals on the KVHS Facebook page, www.facebook.com/KennebecValleyHumaneSociety. To speak to Hillary directly, you may email her, director@pethavenlane.org.
Advocacy for Predictive ROI
Nancy Marshall, principal of Nancy Marshall Communications
This is Nancy….welcome to the blog and welcome springtime!
I was invited to speak about economic development marketing to the Broadband Capacity Task Force at the State Capitol on Thursday, March 15, 2013. I shared the power of “Predictive ROI,” which is a patent-pending process created by author and Web marketing expert Stephen Woessner who is one of my agency’s strategic partners. Predictive ROI allows website owners to predict the return on investment of their marketing expenditure by creating a sales funnel on their site, and understanding how many visitors it takes to convert to a sale.
I talked about our own process to create a marketing communications plan collaboratively with a client, which we call The Marshall Plan™ and explained that having a strategic plan for a website allows a business to exponentially increase traffic and convert website visitors into sales.
Chuck Lawton of Planning Decisions introduced me to the Broadband Commission as a leader in Maine who has fully embraced the power of the Internet in public relations and marketing.
Planning Decisions Chief Economist, Chuck Lawton.
The Task Force’s job is to recommend regulatory, investment, and best practice strategies for expanding the availability and use of high-speed Internet in rural Maine. The Broadband Capacity Building Task Force examines current practices in the fields of health care, education, and economic development; identifies obstacles to greater use; and recommends policies for change.
The Task Force is staffed by Planning Decisions. It operates with funding support from the ConnectME Authority, recipient of a grant from the National Telecommunications and Information Authority (NTIA) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The ConnectME Authority is a Maine government component unit established by the State of Maine legislature in 2006 to facilitate universal availability of broadband service and increase the adoption and use of that service among Maine individuals, businesses, and public organizations.
Lights, Camera, Action!
On Tuesday, NMC‘s Greg Glynn and Erika Bush went to Time Warner Cable to record interviews with Mike Edgecomb for the program, Your Magazine.
Mike Duguay of Summit Natural Gas of Maine is interviewed by Mike Edgecomb for Your Magazine segment.
While on the set, Erika discussed the Kingfield Artwalk and Greg helped coordinate an interview for our client, Summit Natural Gas of Maine. Mike Duguay, director of business development for Summit Natural Gas of Maine discussed the benefits of switching to natural gas and the company’s investment of $240 million to provide natural gas service to the KennebecValley region.
Keep your eyes peeled for the interviews—they are set to air next week. The show Your Magazine airs on Time Warner Cable Channel 9 across the state. To see the TV listings, click here http://tvlistings.timewarnerc
Have a great weekend.
Eventbrite Changing the Way You Buy Tickets
NMC Account Assistant, Erika Bush
Hi, Erika here! It seems that every event I’ve been invited to in the past year has been linked to Eventbrite, and for good reason—it’s free! That’s right, completely free to create an online event.
Planning an event is stressful enough, without having to worry about ticketing, too. Another great feature of Eventbrite is that if your event is free than so is their service—they provide the perfect platform to promote it within your area without paying a thing.
The fees only begin when you start selling tickets, and what you pay for them to take all the stress out of online ticketing is minimal:
|
Eventbrite Fee 2.5% plus $0.99 per ticket *Cap fees at $9.95 per ticket for organizations |
Processing Options
Standard Credit Card Processing Fee: 3% of ticket value
Paypal: 2.9% of ticket value + $0.30 per transaction
Google Checkout: 2.9% of ticket value + $0.30 per transaction
Authorize.net: rates vary |
Kevin and Julia Hartz, husband and wife co-founders of Eventbrite
Since Eventbrite’s inception in 2006, the company has slowly been taking over the ticketing industry. They recently received a $50 million investment that makes some believe they could begin competing with larger sites such as TicketMaster and StubHub.
The first sign of them being ready to step it up comes from their recent partnership with Facebook’s “Buy Tickets” feature—a partnership that occurred within 48 hours of the new feature’s launch. This seamless connection comes from the relationship that was already in place between Eventbrite and Facebook from their work together on Open Graph, which helps people tell stories about their lives through the apps they use.
The way the new “Buy Tickets” feature works is that when someone creates an event using Eventbrite, they will be given the option to “Publish to Facebook.” After this is done, the event will be on Facebook and they simply invite people to their event, or make the event public for the “Buy Tickets” button to appear.
The new feature will allow Eventbrite users to seamlessly link their events to Facebook.
Sharing events on Facebook happens every day; it’s coordinating where to send the money for these events that gets messy. You have to either be directed to another site to pay or you show up to the event and hope there are tickets left. Taking out the middle man makes sense. Kevin Stone of the New York Times quotes Eventbrite CEO Kevin Hartz saying, “Events are naturally social. You are certainly likely to share with others what conference you are attending, what club event you are going out to or what class you are going to take.”
Eventbrite has been growing steadily since its founding in a small one-room office in San Francisco back in 2006. It took off in 2010 and by 2012 it had more than tripled in size. Much like Pinterest, Eventbrite doesn’t show any signs of slowing down anytime soon, and is the one to watch when it come to online ticket sales.
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