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Marketing Consultant Shares Insights blog

There is a seismic change in consumer behavior
JWT in Atlanta hosted their second CLEVER : Ideas made kinetic breakfast seminar this week with leading mobile marketing expert, Brent Hieggelke of Urban Airship as keynote speaker.

The presentation on "How 10 Brand Leaders Are Redefining Their Customer Relationships" talked to the crowd of about 30 or 40 people on how important it is for marketers to take mobile marketing seriously.

According to the invite;

"Mobile now sets the bar for brand relevancy, and Urban Airship is leading the shift from interruption-based marketing strategies to personalized, invitation-geared messaging."

Brent Hieggelke, a man that clearly knows what he is talking about, pulls from years of research done by his firm on best-practices for employing digital wallets, apps, location data, and targeted customer insight to drive meaningful, and profitable, brand engagement. 

"Top power brands aren't just building consumer connections, they're redefining the context."


If you think about it, as Hieggelke says, your customers are spending 80% of their time on mobiles or smart tablets and they love apps. As much as consumers download apps, their attention spans are short, so its highly likely that after 30 days, they will delete it and be onto the next best thing, namely because smart phones have limited real estate.

What apps allows B2C marketers to do is forge a direct relationship with the consumer and understand them at a level that has never been available to do so before. By downloading an app, customers are giving you permission to access data on them so that you can tailor your message to the end-user and ensure that you are one-to-one marketing at every touch point.

Hieggelke gave 5 key points at the presentation as to what to consider when using mobile marketing. Here are 3 of them:

1.  Create a real utility for the customer. For example; news 
2.  Location is the the mobile game changer - you can now do push notifications based on what location the consumer is at, enticing them to buy or experience things in close proximity.
3.  Not every push deserves a shove. Sometimes a push notification can be taken the wrong way by a consumer and the damage of that is that within seconds, your "shove" may mean that you go viral on twitter or other social media platforms.

Mobile is a marketing mind shift and its notable that cuotmers love their mobile devices and use every available minute to look at them. How often have you been out of drinks with friends to find that the conversation has stalled because everyone is checking their mobile phones or that while you are waiting for the restroom, instead of just standing in line, you are quickly checking your messages or getting an update on the news?

So, developing a mobile app strategy is no longer something that "others" do, but a marketing platform that every business whether you are B2B or B2C needs to think seriously about.

To prepare for the mobile mind shift, your mobile strategy needs to evolve and it must centralize around the consumer and what their needs, likes, wants and desires may be. 

About Ideas Tools : JWT Atlanta

CLEVER is a JWT Atlanta art, performance and insight series revolving around leading innovators, independent thinkers and creative visionaries. CLEVER is ideas made kinetic.

JWT Atlanta

Inspired by collaboration and innovation, JWT Atlanta operates an integrated suite of strategic, creative, digital, technology, media, production and analytics services. We rely on data and strategy and daily multidisciplinary collaborations to identify and quickly take advantage of opportunities for growth within our client partners; markets and categories.

How employees have business owners up against a wall
If you can't beat them - join them.

I am not sure about you, but I have often been completely dumb-founded by the way some employees believe the world revolves around them and working for an organization isn't a two way street. I am sure every entrepreneur and business owner can attest to having at least thought this at some point in their business life.

The truth I have learnt - the hard way, I might add - is that all employees have employers up against the wall.

We all know:
  • It's easier to work with what you have and less costly then employing someone new
  • Hire slowly, fire fast
  • One negative person can cause a virus
  • Performance is linked to employee happiness
  • Some employees feel "entitled" and there is nothing you can do about it other then put bandaides on it
With all of this in mind, smart employers are realizing that if they don't like being up against the wall, then they have to lay the right footprint to exceed employees expectations and deliver an environment conducive to productivity and excellence.

It's Sunday and rather than head to my nearest Starbucks to buy a NY Times, I decided to get all of my news online. Looking for some inspiration from other bloggers as I am about to embark on phase 3 of Marketing Eye's expansion and to be honest, I am nervous and excited at the same time. Any wisdom from my fellow bloggers is welcome. 

Another thing that struck me while looking for blogs is how out of date they are. If you type in a search in Google, you will get blogs as far back as 2005 that have never been written on again. Hope with the new change of algorithms that Google fixes this problems.

However, there are 20 very worthwhile blogs that are great weekend reads if you are looking for something easy to absorb, interesting, educational and business savvy.

TOP 20 ENTREPRENEURS BLOGS : 2013

Are you ambitious enough?
Last night I caught up with my good friend, recruiter Michelle Fish, a new friend Chocko Valiappa and a couple of other people. 

As we sat down and enjoyed a bite to eat and a glass of wine, I began to talk to Chocko about Ashrams in India. I have been wanting to go for some time and wanted his insight into which ones were the best to investigate. 

Chocko is a spirital man - and although he didn't say as much, I could tell. I gravitated to him and before long we talked about different aspects of spiritality. He then mentioned that he read handwriting. Within seconds I was writing on a napkin hoping that he would pass on some wisdom about myself that would enlighten me.

He said:

"I am level headed and connect well between my head and my heart"

"I need to celebrate my highs more"

"I have discovered myself, but not other people"
What we all can learn from Miley Cyrus
A few years back, I heard of a character called Hannah Montana from one of my nieces who desperately wanted her album. I couldn't be bothered going out to buy it, so I simply gave her money so she could do it herself. Sitting in the car, she sang songs from Hannah Montana, mimicking her teenage idol.

All fairly harmless stuff - after all, Hannah Montana was a Disney brand, wholesome and pure that teenage girls the world-over could relate to.

Then something happened. She grew up. From teen idol to woman and that's where it all began.

Like Madonna before her, and Kylie Minogue for that matter, Miley Cyrus, the former sweet teenage girl that played Hannah Montana wanted to evolve her brand image and take it to the next level. If she would have kept up the wholesome image, it probably would have ensured that her brand diminish over time. Instead, she reinvented her brand. First it started with a number of selfies in proactive poses creating headlines. Then it was the picture of her smoking pot which  I would imagine was not by accident - instead just part of a brand evolution.
New brand for Atlanta's Top Industrial Maintenance Group

From Marketing Eye's website, we had a lead last month from Industrial Maintenance Group. They were interested in our industrial marketing expertise and were looking for a refresh of their brand and website, as well as ongoing marketing.

Industrial marketing is very different to traditional business to business marketing. It is very important to think about who is receiving everything from a business card through to a direct mail piece or a visit to your website.

When we looked at Industrial Maintenance Group, we realized that they stood out in the industry. The owner, Wes Schollian, works on the tools while his senior management team does most of the business side of things like bringing in new clients and marketing. 

The reason Wes does this is to ensure that the best possible job is done every single time for his clients. 

Our job is to get this act of "precision" out into the market place and communicate why Industrial Maintenance Group is the number one choice for fabrication, industrial services, recycling services and the purchase of balers, screw conveyers and recycling equipment. 

Industrial Maintenance Group Brand

Marketing Eye's brief was to create a brand that ignites the sense of perfection in the fabrication, industrial maintenance and services, and recycling products and services.

Are you boring?

Are you boring?

Sep 25, 2013 Written by
Waking up in Atlanta this morning was pure bliss. I literally woke up smiling and from that moment onwards things couldn't get better.

The reason was simple. I realized that my life is not boring - it's just one big, exciting adventure.

#24yrold said to me yesterday when I was a bit down in the dumps, "Your life is not boring - every day is different." 

She is right. Every day is different and if every day was the same, I would be bored mindless. It goes the same with people that you hang around with - if every person was the same, than life gets a bit dull - doesn't it?
8 Free Apps That Analyze Your Brand On Social Media
There are so many Apps around today, that it is hard to know which one's to download and take up space on either your smart phone, tablet or computer.

As a marketing agency, we use a number of "must have" apps to ensure that we are regularly monitoring our clients performance online and ensuring that we are abreast of their competitors movements, campaigns and conversations as well as leveraging industry news and developments to bring their brands to the forefront.

While we continue to grow audiences, increasing our clients brands within the circles in which they trade, it becomes increasingly important to utilize Apps that cut-through the clutter and help ensures that we don't waste time on social media where possible.

Here are 8 of the most efficient analytical Apps that Marketing Eye uses:

1. HootSuite: If you don't use this, then you have not only been hiding under a rock, but you are missing a valuable tool. HootSuite is a social media management solution that enables teams to collaborately execute social media campaigns across multiple platforms from one single view point - a dashboard. HootSuite includes audience identification tools, the ability to streamline workflow and customize reporting. It is perfect for managing Twitter accounts.
Wisdom from a game-changer
On Friday I flew to New York to see an old friend, mentor and client of mine who was on a business trip for a few days from Australia.

Niall Cairns is someone I met 15 years ago, and his venture capital business was the reason why I relocated my first company Insomnia Marketing and Communication to Sydney. They were raising a fund and I helped out with marketing and public relations activities for both them and some of their investment companies.

They kindly gave me a few seats in their prominent George Street location which was perfect for me at the time. I so loved being in their office that as I expanded, I moved my staff to another location and only popped in to see them every now and again. Possibly not the best business decision but it worked for me at the time and I was only 25 years old, so I had a lot to learn.
Imagine life without your eyesight
In March this year, I was at an entrepreneurs conference in Miami and I met Dr Cory M. Lessner. The other people in the group had mentioned that he was a celebrity Doctor, renowned throughout the US for doing more than 30,000 LASIK eye procedures in his long, 30-year illustrious career. 

I was interested in speaking to him because in the past few years my eyesight has deteriorated significantly. Although in my case its not hereditory to have problems with eyesight, I seem to have fallen through the cracks.

I have a set of glasses that I never wear. To be honest, in part it's my vanity that is responsible for this, and the other issue I am faced with is that glasses don't feel comfortable on my face. I simply do not like wearing them.

Over the past few years my eyesight has gotten to a stage where I need to wear glasses fulltime. My friends keep telling me to get contact lenses, but having read up on the fact that it is more dangerous to wear contact lenses than it is to have LASIK surgery, I have shied away from investigating further and thus, I have done nothing.

An ex boyfriend had LASIK surgery and he swears by it and a more current flame had the same and he too cannot imagine life any other way.
25 Ways To Turn a Startup Into A Million Dollar Business in 12 Months
What started out as a dream became a reality, much faster than I anticipated.

Many entrepreneurs can attest to having a dream or maybe just something on their bucket list that needs to be crossed off. I am one of those people. I have a dream but most importantly for me, an item on my bucket list that needs to be crossed off by a given time frame.

What once was a dirty word to me, the position of entrepreneur in a fast growing, dynamic company is the most exhilarating career choice I could have every made.

What other job has you jumping out of bed at 5am each morning, dressing in a matter of minutes and rushing off to the office to start your day? For that matter, what other job gives you the highs of an entrepreneur and the flexibility to be exactly who you are?
How do you know its time for a rebrand? Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer tells her story
Driving back from Hilton Head in South Carolina on the weekend, #24yrold asked me what I thought of the new branding for Yahoo! I hadn't given it much thought and had mainly seen press around the rebrand that was negative - aimed directly at Marissa Mayer.

My thoughts on Marissa Mayer are varied. Firstly, she should be applauded for her career achievements, ambitions and determination to clean up a company of Yahoo!'s magnititude. She is a woman who is held in high esteem amongst most women who want to climb the corporate ladder.  The downside of Marissa Mayer is that she comes across as arrogant, dominant and because she makes the hard decisions - not always in good favor with her colleagues.
When I am talking successful, I am meaning someone who is really successful. A person who at their disposal, can spend $20 million on a property without blinking an eye lid or pick up their friends and family from wherever they are in the world, in a private jet, just because ... they can.

There are many habits of really successful people - the billionaire type, but here are 5 that come to mind based on my experience in observing their traits:

1.  Dominance is in everything they do

They dominate in whatever they do. If they place tennis, only a pro can beat them. If they play golf, it's of 3 or below. If they climb a mountain, its not just any mountain, its Africa's tallest mountain Mt Kilimanjaro or at the very least one of the highest mountains in the world. 

In a meeting, they are always two steps ahead of everyone else in the room. They walk in, everyone stops what they are doing and they demand your attention - without saying a word.

If they are doing a business deal, you will always fair better to let them believe they have won, otherwise your head will be spinning at how fast they anilate you in their wake.

2.   Family-first - always

Don't every be mistaken the importance of their family. They may have been onto their third or fourth wife, but when it comes to children and their family members, only they can say or do anything that may in any way hurt their feelings or put them in a position that isn't considered first.

3.   Discipline across every area of their business and life

They display discipline in everything they do from when they have a conversation, by listening and asking questions first, without talking and playing their cards too early, to setting goals and doing all the steps, working relentlessly to achieve them. They wake up and go to bed at the same time every day and they never let emotion affect any decision they make. They can cut you as fast as you blink an eye lid - because they have trained themselves to understand that "this is business" and you have to do what you have to do.

4.  Relationships go way back and are real

They maintain relationships with people that count from their college friends, bankers, suppliers, past employees, key clients and associates. You may not hear from them for a year, but they will make contact even if its just to invite you to their annual Christmas party. They are more likely to remember your birthday, people they have people who help them do so, than your Mother. And if you are doing it tough and you are someone that they respect, they will be the first to lend a hand, go for coffee or find a solution.

5.  They don't suffer fools

They don't suffer fools but unlike you and I, they don't make the fool know what they think of them. Instead, they create a divide, so large that the "fool" cannot get within a mile of them. They also in subtle way, ensure that others around them are not bringing them into their sphere. 

Normal is for the birds...
The forty year old hangover is over. While the sun didn't come out shining today, the world is as it should be and I am fairly pleased about that.

I celebrated my birthday twice. Once in Australian time and the other in US time. Both were equally fabulous and without flaw. I spent the most amazing couple of days in South Beach Miami and just chilled. Somehow all of the expectations of turning 40 disappeared and I enjoyed the "now". 

Freaking out about turning 40 was wasting energy that could have been better spent elsewhere. I don't know why I started to look in the mirror and feel 10 years older, nor what started me thinking that my life is so miserable, when in fact, it is truly amazing. I am living the best life I could have ever imagined and I am doing things that I never thought possible. 
Saving 30% on Enterprise Print Management
When evaluating the marketing budget of our company, it became apparent that printing was a significant cost. As such, when it came to printing our custom published marketing magazine, it was time to do things a little differently. 

At first, my design department sourced quotes. They ranged from $18,000 up to $33,000 for exactly the same product. I was fine with paying $18,000 but not so fine to find my normal printers quotation significantly higher at $33,000. It literally had me stopping in my tracks and evaluating what I was doing and whether it was worth it.

Then, as if someone was looking down on me, a company was referred to Marketing Eye to do some of their marketing. It was an online print automation company that specialises in reducing the cost of printing so that marketing departments can reinvest the savings back into their marketing campaigns. I personally worked on this account because I was interested in seeing what they did differently. In the end, I became as passionate about their business, as they became of ours. On top of that, they saved us 45% of our printing costs.

Today, I thought I would give the founder of this business, Mark Alioto a call to talk about what they do differently at ECM.
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