The 12 Days of RB&A Christmas

The holidays are approaching and things here at Ruth Burke & Associates are a wee bit festive. So instead of your traditional media blog, this week will feature “The 12 Days of RB&A Christmas”, but bear with me, I work in media not music.

On the first day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: one very merry Christmas party.

On the second day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the third day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the fourth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the fifth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the sixth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the seventh day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the eighth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: eight client meetings, seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the ninth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: nine festive sweaters, eight client meetings, seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the tenth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: ten phones a beeping, nine festive sweaters, eight client meetings, seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the eleventh day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: eleven orders transferring, ten phones a beeping, nine festive sweaters, eight client meetings, seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

On the twelfth day of Christmas RB&A gave to me: twelve women humming, eleven orders transferring, ten phones a beeping, nine festive sweaters, eight client meetings, seven candles burning, six cups of coffee, five chocolate goodies, four popcorn tins, three awesome bosses, two holiday lunches, and a very merry Christmas party.

Thanks for singing along! Have a Merry Christmas, from all of the ladies at Ruth Burke & Associates.  

With Gas Prices Down, Opportunities for Advertising Goes Up

You might be wondering what the price of gas has to do with advertising. Seems like a long stretch, doesn’t it? Well, think again. With the price of gas going down all across America, consumers are choosing to take advantage and get out more. For advertisers, this means more people to interact with while they are outside of their homes.

In America, the average price of gas in October 2014 was roughly $3/gallon. October 2015 lowered the average price to around $2.25/gallon. On this December day, I drove to work in Kansas City, MO, and saw gas prices for as low as $1.53/gallon.

The first trend influenced by lower gas prices is that Americans are driving more miles every year. As you can see from the graph below, provided by the Census Bureau, 

Americans are rapidly increasing the number of miles they drive.

The Census Bureau found that sales at restaurants/bars and hotels have increased from last year by 8% and 5%, respectively.

According to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, Out of Home (OOH) advertising is, “second only to digital media in total growth from 2014-2016 (based on actual and projections)”.

Marketers now have a larger audience to reach while they are out and about and likely to be influenced. Consumers can be reached on a variety of OOH platforms like billboards, smartphones, social media, and more. For advertisers, this can be seen as a huge opportunity. Consumers now have more disposable income to spend along with the drive (pun intended) to spend it. 

Futuristic Facial-Recognition Software is Coming... Soon

We’ve all seen futuristic movies with hi-tech technology that seems too far-fetched to ever be a reality; but could that very technology be right around the corner? Jason Warnock reports for Marketing Land that facial-recognition technology might be a reality sooner than most people think.

Among many assumed uses for facial-recognition software lies email marketing. Businesses have already started using geofencing software in their email campaigns. This software allows them to send emails to customers as they walk passed their store or walk into the mall. The biggest downfall to this is how easily customers can ignore or not even be notified about new emails. With facial-recognition, there is no hiding.

For this software to work, businesses would need to capture headshots of their customers. From there, they can take action. The first point of action will be working to solve the problem of consumers’ lack of brick-and-mortar shopping. Marketers can send emails to customers offering “deals at the door” that are only accessible when their face is recognized entering the store. This will also allow marketers to avoid the hassle of single-use coupons that are currently offered via email.

Thanks to modern day cameras, marketers will be able to retain information like height, weight, gender, and approximate age. These metrics will allow marketers to create more sophisticated promotions to combine consumers’ digital and physical personas. When these customers do enter the store, cameras will be able to track their purchases; even if these are cash purchases. Currently, purchase behavior can only be tracked through the use of credit cards, however, with facial-recognition that won’t be the case for much longer.

Just like with any new technology, this facial-recognition software may have some hurdles to jump like how to prevent information leaks, guard against hackers, and deal with customers refusing to participate.

With this technology right around the corner, I am interested to see how this “futuristic” software integrates its way into our marketing world. 

The Last Minute Marketer's Guide to a Happy Holiday Season

It’s no secret that holiday advertising occurs way too soon (in my opinion) every year. However, from a marketing standpoint, it’s a necessity. Businesses want to get their products/sales/promotions to the public as early as possible to catch those early Christmas shoppers and all the shoppers to follow. So what happens when your business, whoops, didn’t start advertising around Halloween? Fear not! As Christmas approaches, there are still things you can do to draw customers to your business for their holiday shopping.

Ken Burke, founder and CEO of MarketLive, conducted a survey of more than 1,000 consumers that revealed many “merry methods” for marketers to capture those last minute holiday shoppers.

First and foremost, keep in mind the “mobile shopper”. This group of people is, well, just about everyone. Burke’s study suggests that the accessibility of a company’s website directly correlates to consumers’ perceptions of their business. Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said the quality of their experience on a company’s mobile site always causes them to consider purchasing from that specific retailer while 53% responded “somewhat” or “very influential” to the same question. Tools such as the search bar and store locator should be easy to use as they are the most frequently used features by consumers. Lastly, it is imperative that businesses understand that mobile users and desktop users do not have the same motivation while online shopping. Burke says it well, “everybody thinks [they] have to provide the exact same experience [as on a desktop] going forward, but the mobile customer actually has different needs.”

Continuing with mobile site opportunities, make sure these sites enable customers with enough information that they can make purchase decisions while in-store. While customers are in-store, there’s a good chance their smartphone is in-hand. According to the study, 63% of customers are likely (or somewhat likely) to use their smartphone in-store to access promotional codes while 54% of surveyed respondents are likely (or somewhat likely) to look up product ratings and reviews.

Businesses should offer Wi-Fi to their customers in-store to provide them with a better and happier shopping experience.

Maybe your business left a sour taste in some customers’ mouths after last holiday season, no worries, make amends! It’s not too late to gain back the trust of a customer; it just takes a little effort. Try sending personalized emails apologizing and offering a “special” deal for this holiday season.

The bigger the better, right? Wrong. Burke suggests that retailers shy away from heavy discounts. Instead, focus on customer service, convenience, reliability, and product availability. His study shows that having products in stock and having guaranteed online delivery always leads to online purchases for 62% and 52% of respondents, respectively.

E-mail marketing is proven to still be effective; yes, even in 2015. In fact, “55% of respondents say they are highly likely to take advantage of retail emails revealing new products or personalized product recommendations”. However, be careful to not over-email. Burke says, “Make sure that when the consumer opens the email that there’s a benefit… It could be a discount; it could be content; it could be something that’s meaningful and relevant to them”.

With that being said, segment your messages. Tailor messages to specific people. I, a 23 year old female, have no interest in receiving offers/promotions/advertisements for football gear or the newest most gruesome video game. Make sure relevant emails go to each customer.

As the popularity of social media becomes more and more popular, it would be easy to rely too heavily on the medium. Burke suggests keeping social media as a channel for inspiration and education. Show consumers new products, gift ideas, and sale announcements, but don’t expect many sales to come from social advertising alone.

Now, after you’ve done all these last minute tricks to boost your holiday sales, begin preparing for next year so you’re not stuck in the same last minute bustle. Happy Holidays J