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Posts Tagged ‘Communications Strategy’

Media Relations plows a safe path for ND Dept. of Transportation

By April Steffan, April 10, 2012

Road construction, snow removal, de-icing roads—tasks of the N.D. Department of Transportation’s Fargo District (NDDOT) are necessary but can frustrate area residents.

Yet if travelers understand the NDDOT employees’ work, they are more patient, which leads to safer driving. Flint Group Media Relations Specialist Melissa Reichert, based in our Fargo office, works closely with local media representatives to earn positive news coverage for the NDDOT.

Don’t crowd the plows
The ultimate goal is to show the positive side of the NDDOT. During the winter, a key tactic is to promote safety around snowplows. Melissa coordinated with Valley News Live television to feature the NDDOT on reporter John Trierweiler’s “John’s Jobs” segment. The piece highlighted new snowplow technology, de-icing mechanisms on bridges and the composition of the salt mixture that plows distribute.

The segment, John’s Jobs: DOT worker for the day, was taped earlier in the week and aired during the Valley Today morning news broadcast with some live broadcasts from one of the NDDOT locations. Melissa was on-site to prepare the NDDOT team and help everything go smoothly.

Our client, Kevin Gorder, Assistant District Engineer, and his team did a fantastic job sharing all the key educational points with John throughout the taping and live broadcasts.

We also posted news of the upcoming segment on the NDDOT Facebook page and the NDDOT Twitter.

In the summer spotlight
Next up, we are working with the NDDOT on a similar segment to explain summer road construction, to continue informing residents—and hopefully minimizing frustration and enhancing safety.

Posted in Flint Communications, Flint Group, HatlingFlint, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: client case study, Clients, Communications Strategy, Flint Group, media relations, Public Relations

Can a new building change your life?

By Susan Mickelson, March 6, 2012

You know that feeling. When something or someone comes along, and you realize that your life just changed forever?

Residents of Grand Forks and East Grand Forks are right at the brink of this moment as the new Choice Health & Fitness prepares to open in Fall 2012.

Corporate membership solicitations are underway, along with many communications, marketing, public relations, social media and other endeavors set to start soon.

The SimmonsFlint team in our Grand Forks office is proud to help spread the word about this incredible new way of life.

Cover of a new brochure promoting Choice Health & Fitness

Imagining happiness

This new venture actually began in 2007 with the Imagine campaign. As Brandy Chaffee, Public Relations and Marketing Manager at Choice Health & Fitness, says: “Back then, a group of Grand Forks citizens started raising funds to build a new health and wellness center and renovate the existing Family YMCA. We were inspired by their vision and generosity. A key step was when Choice Financial invested with naming rights to the new center, followed by additional naming and other support from Altru Health System.”

Beyond treadmills and swim lessons

Choice Health & Fitness brings together the community’s established health and wellness leaders and their combined expertise. Their efforts will form a powerful hub of health and wellness, housed in a new state-of-the-art center with enhanced equipment, spaces, programming and services.

We helped Brandy and her team formulate the brand strategy, and we focused not on the actual equipment and facility, but the affect on peoples’ lives. After all, healthier living builds heart, drive and confidence. The new Choice Health & Fitness harnesses this power, every day, in thousands of ways individualized to each member.

Along the way, Choice Health & Fitness will provide the staff members, programs, services and events for members to reach their next best level—and beyond. And that will transform an entire community.

Get ready to get sweaty

We also helped Brandy and her team develop an initial marketing plan for corporate membership, as well as materials and elements for the various user audiences. We created new logotypes for the children’s programming, “Everything Kids,” which will be held in its own themed space inside Choice Health & Fitness.

Appealing to diverse audiences has been an inspiring challenge, too. For instance, we concepted, wrote and designed a series of banners and posters to highlight the benefits for specific potential members, including:

Poster for serious athletes

Poster for kids and families

Online and socializing

We’re also working on phase 2 of design and development for their website, which was initially built by another firm.

Visit Choice Health & Fitness at www.ChoiceHF.com

Thanks to Brandy, who serves as president of the North Dakota Recreation & Park Association, two Flint Group associates are also sharing timely advice, information and guidance in a presentation and participation at the Association’s Midwest Conference, scheduled in Grand Forks this spring. Chris will focus on public relations; Libby on social media.

Unique partnership

Brandy emphasizes that there’s nothing quite like this partnership within the United States. “The collaboration between Choice Health & Fitness and Altru Family YMCA will provide two facilities for one low cost. Members benefit from shared programs and services,” Brandy explains. “In fact, there are others in the national fitness center industry keeping a close eye on the progress of our unique partnership.”

So, can a new building change your life? It’s your Choice.

Print ad promoting Choice Health & Fitness

Posted in Flint Communications, Flint Direct, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, HatlingFlint, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: Brand, brand management, Branding, client case study, Communications Strategy, Flint Group, grand forks ad agency, grand forks advertising agency, SimmonsFlint, The Flint Group

Research leads to successful product launch for BCBSND

By Kimberly* Wold Janke, October 25, 2011

It’s no secret that health insurance can be costly. For young people, or anyone living on a tight budget, this can be a challenge. Foregoing health insurance is a scary option, leaving the uninsured left to wonder how they’d financially cope with a medical catastrophe.

Because of this very real problem that young, healthy, uninsured North Dakotans are facing, Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota responded by developing an inexpensive health insurance plan: AffordaBlue.

What the research showed

Through in-depth focus groups of males and females ages 26-39, Flint Communications discovered consumers’ reasons for not purchasing health insurance.

Research showed cost was the primary reason for focus group participants not having health insurance.

The research also revealed low awareness of the lower cost options available but seldom purchased.

How research influenced communication strategy

Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota took this research into consideration and responded to our target audience of 18- to 29-year-olds. The simple-yet-direct message:

BCBSND AffordaBlue Ad

To reach this demographic, BCBSND used a two-pronged marketing communications approach, including a mobile text campaign and online promotion.

For the mobile text campaign, traditional media including newspaper print ads, radio spots, signage at the Fargodome and shopping malls, and bus wraps encouraged potential customers to send a text to get a quote. After sending a text, they received a reply directing them to a mobile landing page, which asked them to fill in their information to get a quote or contact an agent. Prospects’ email addresses were also collected at this time.

AffordaBlue Bus Wrap

For the online promotion, banner ads geotargeting North Dakotans and a Google AdWord campaign drove prospective customers to get a quote on the AffordaBlue product page.

Did it work?

Yes! The marketing communications tactics worked exceptionally well. Our key metrics greatly outperformed industry averages:

Key Metrics

Research often leads to the truth, which leads to smarter communications strategies, which leads to successful campaigns. Would you agree or disagree with this causal pattern? How has research helped your marketing efforts succeed?

For the online promotion, banner ads geotargeting North Dakotans and a Google AdWord campaign drove prospective customers to get a quote on the AffordaBlue product page.

Did it work?

Yes! The marketing communications tactics worked exceptionally well. Our key metrics greatly outperformed industry averages. [a1]

[a1]Do we want to provide more insight into the specific results? Or leave it vague, so we don’t give away too much to competitors, etc. Please do include key metrics.

Posted in Flint Communications, Flint Direct, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, HatlingFlint, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: affordablue, blue cross blue shield of north dakota, case study, Communications Strategy, fargo advertising agency, Flint Communications, focus group research, marketing research agency fargo, mobile marketing campaign, text message campaign, The Flint Group

Eight tips to gain blogger love

By Angie Laxdal, October 12, 2010

Today, humans are more powerful than ever. They can publish anything at any time online. From a brand management standpoint, it’s a beautifully scary thing.

Word of mouth remains the most powerful and trusted form of advertising. Simply put, friends trust friends. This is true of real-life friends, Facebook friends and blogger friends. As more people continue to share their thoughts and opinions online, you can’t ignore word of mouse.

So how do you begin to navigate the vast blogosphere?

Bloggers are the new media.

Media relations and blogger relations follow the same guidelines: treat humans like humans. It’s called earned media for a reason. It’s not demanded, forced or manipulated media. Bloggers, twitterers, editors and news directors essentially do the same thing: they tell stories.

And in order for them to tell yours, it’s important to play by their rules. Human relations rules. Follow these simple guidelines, and you’ll be earning ink, air, tweets and posts in no time.

Give first. Ask second. Ever had a friend who contacts you only when he or she needs something? You probably dread seeing that person’s name light up on your cell phone, yes? The media will feel the same way if all you ever do is beg for help and provide nothing in return. Establish solid relationships before you need them. Furthermore, offer help in return. Make their jobs easier by providing all the accurate, honest details needed to publish an excellent story.
Focus on content. Be interesting. Whatever you’re promoting, make sure it’s relevant and newsworthy. Think like a journalist and identify the good stories from the bad. Just because publishing online is free, it’s not necessarily easy.
Be respectful. Respect bloggers’ influence. Before “pitching” your idea, take time to actually read their blogs to determine if they’re the right person to contact. (The same concept applies for traditional media relations: never pitch a publication that you haven’t taken the time to read and understand.) Read the blog’s About, Contact and Advertising pages to check if the blogger specifically asks not to be pitched ideas. If so, respect their wishes.
Know their audience. There would be no blogs or magazines without interested readers showing support through subscriptions, views and comments. Keeping readers interested and engaged is key for any storyteller, including bloggers. Make sure their readers care about your idea.
Don’t ignore the little guys. Popularity isn’t always everything. Yeah, the blogosphere is huge and growing, and it’s important to prioritize who matters the most. But a blog with 500 readers could be more important to your brand than a blog with 50,000 readers. Remember, it’s not about reaching the most people; it’s about reaching the right people.
Be honest. Be a real human. Always disclose who you are and who you’re working for. It’s important to be upfront and honest at all times, not only to follow online FTC guidelines, but to build strong, truth-based relationships with bloggers.
Get involved. Read. Comment. Blog. And do it all regularly. Don’t just sit on the sidelines until you need something. Use the freedom of the web as an opportunity to grow and learn. Conversations are happening: face it and embrace it.
Say thank you. Never, ever pay a blogger for giving a good review. Not only would that be dishonest, but it would destroy your credibility. Say thank you in other ways. Leave a thoughtful comment. Reciprocate the favor via your own social media outlets. Help them reach more people. That’s more valuable to bloggers, anyway.

Pretty basic rules, right? However, building mutually beneficial blogger relationships takes plenty of time and effort. Doing your homework isn’t necessarily easy. It’s hard work. But that’s why it’s called earned media.

And the results pay off.

Few other media outlets are as wonderfully segmented and specialized than blogs. A public relations pro’s dream is to reach the right people, at the right time, in the right tone and in the right place.

Blog posts, tweets and updates can make that dream come true.

Do you have any great blogger relations tips to add to the list? Please, do tell!

Posted in AadlandFlint, Flint Communications, Flint Direct, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, HatlingFlint, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: blogger relations, blogs, Communications Strategy, Conversation, digital strategy, earned media, human relations, Public Relations, Social Media Strategy

6 Steps to Engage Your Sales Channel in Marketing Programs

By Jodi Duncan, October 8, 2010

Why is it that it’s easy to get your top dealers or sales people to participate in good programs? I guess that’s what makes them your top dealers!

Okay, maybe “easy” is a bit of an exaggeration but after working with a number of different sales channels in various industries and markets, there seems to be a common theme. The top 20 percent consistently do the right things. Sometimes it takes some convincing, some coaxing, but if you have good, solid rationale and the right tools, it’s not so difficult to get that bunch to come along. Ultimately, the magic bullet is compelling marketing pieces that effectively tell YOUR story and are pieces that SELL product. Get that top 20 percent on-board and then focus on the next group which will take some additional work.

There are some tricks to increasing dealer participation in marketing programs. We spend a lot of time understanding the industries that dealers or sales representatives are in so that when we call them to visit about different marketing techniques, they know they are speaking with someone who has knowledge about who they are and what they are trying to do. That is definitely one of the benefits of employing a call center that can work with your sales channel as an extension of your marketing department.

What we have learned is that when dealing with a sales channel, just like pretty much anything else in communications – you need to apply numerous outreach techniques. When we recruit dealers to participate in a direct marketing program, for example, we recommend sending out intro information kits that are in attention grabbing boxes containing information about the program. Typically we follow that with phone calls to the dealer to talk more specifically about the programs and about their particular needs or area. The insight that they offer during these conversations absolutely is used to influence materials for programs. Often we will offer a webinar for dealers to attend along with territory managers where they can see the program in action and ask questions. And, when appropriate, we present the program in person at dealer or sales channel meetings.

Time and again we find that the best dealers or sales people gravitate towards these common-sense programs and want the details prior to signing up. Showing them actual completed pieces and quantifiable results is extremely helpful to getting them on-board. And the calls and ongoing dialog are critical to keeping them on track.

These are the steps we consistently follow when engaging a channel:

Understand the industry and the key elements to the marketing programs they are being asked to participate in.
Ensure you have quantifiable results to refer to.
Introduce programs at sales meetings followed by easy to follow brochures explaining the program details.
Offer webinars allowing dealers or sales people to ask questions about the program.
Encourage participation by offering special incentives for dealers to sign-up.
Continuously follow-up and incorporate dealer feedback into the program.

Basically, you want programs that map to the sales channels’ goals. It’s really all about making it easy for them to tell your story in a way that helps them move product.

Posted in Flint Direct, Flint Group | Comments

Tags: Communications Strategy, Direct marketing, Marketing, Strategic Planning

Traditional and Digital Media Living in Harmony

By Jodi Duncan, July 26, 2010

Photo by hotmayo on Flickr

To print or not to print? That is the question.

I had an interesting conversation with a client last week regarding a very successful digital campaign. Successful and measurable. Bonus.

We started talking ROI, future campaign budgeting, and the hazards of completely moving away from traditional media. This particular client has seen solid success and increased sales by largely focusing on digital media with a strong emphasis on social media. But, the audience for the product is very niche, easy to segment, and prone to online, super-savvy digital consumers.

We’re hearing it loud and clear. The temptation is to shift traditional media budgets from broad-based awareness activity, to very targeted, segmented and measurable non-traditional media. So what’s the answer? It depends on the objectives of the campaign.

I like digital media. I like the fact that I can see exactly how a campaign is performing in real time. I like that prospects and customers can interact with a brand. However, there are many things that impact that interaction. Typically there is a certain level of awareness and trust that precedes an interaction. That is where traditional media continues to make a powerful difference. Basically, you have to look at the entire scope of the campaign, consider the integration and determine the points of interaction. We want to lead consumers down a path to purchase by using an impartial media mix.

It is smart to always consider print, television, radio, billboard to possibly play a part in a campaign. Think about how you personally look at brands and receive messages. What are you subconsciously picking up as you drive by a billboard? What magazines do you browse through? How often do you read the newspaper? And at what point do you go online when considering a purchase? When you do go online, what are you looking for? Is it product information? Product reviews? Specs? Options? Pricing?

That experience and the timing involved vary by what you are purchasing, how large of a purchase it is, how long the sales cycle is, etc. In order to reach you, different mediums need to be leveraged at different stages and tie back into the objectives. It’s the same with every product or service we promote. It’s the blend of outreach that gleans the best results.

With every channel, measure, evaluate and adjust as you go. Because we have more opportunities to look at campaigns in real-time, we want to use that information to our advantage. We shouldn’t be thinking of digital at the expense of traditional media. Instead, think of how the two work in tandem.

Posted in AadlandFlint, Flint Communications, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: Advertising, Communications Strategy, digital strategy, Marketing, ROI, traditional media

Be the spark

By admin, June 14, 2010

I’m going to let you in on a little secret. Agencies get almost as excited about their work as parents with a brand new baby! And like any good parent, we like to brag a little about our creations, so here’s a page for the brag book.

The WestmorelandFlint team is proud to be helping the Duluth Children’s Museum ignite support for its capital campaign to relocate and expand. The fifth-oldest children’s museum in the nation, it has been offering unique play and learning experiences for children and families for over 80 years. Many of us at WestmorelandFlint have either “grown up” in the museum or are now bringing our children to “spark their imaginations.”

Our work with the museum began with a communications strategy for the museum’s capital campaign that is now being implemented in numerous ways, including a case statement, kick-off event plans and invitations, a progress display, business cards, and there’s more to come!

Our goal was to create communication materials that would convey the museum’s commitment to children, families, learning and the environment. Working alongside the Duluth Children’s Museum staff, board and capital campaign committee, we created the campaign theme “Be the Spark.” The colors, photos and graphic elements of these pieces convey play, learning and fun. The business cards even have an actual spinning pinwheel, representing the museum’s logo.

Take a look at the pieces we created for the museum and let us know what you think. We hope they will inspire you to be the spark and light the way for children for generations to come.

DCMPostcard2

DCMPostcard

Posted in WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: capital campaign plan, Communications Strategy, Duluth Children's Museum, Flint Group, nonprofit marketing, Portfolio, WestmorelandFlint

The importance of access and trust.

By Andy Reierson, May 24, 2010

3434414425_bc814b8a35 By granting your agency access to any and all information it needs to be successful, you will most likely achieve better results. Why? It allows them the ability to truly measure the effectiveness of their efforts, make tweaks and changes to marketing activities as they need, and most importantly, have a clear idea of how your marketing objectives relate to the long-term goals of your organization. All the while, building trust that you are going to let them do the job you hired them to do, and not treat them like a vendor.

I realize that every business has some information they don’t want to share. Be sure you are forthcoming with what is off limits early, and clearly explain why it’s not available. Likewise, if your agency asks you for information that doesn’t seem relevant, ask them why they value it. Remember, agencies are just trying to do their job, and the more information they have, the better they can do their job. The better they can do their job, the better off you will be.

What information are you not willing to share with your agency? Why?

Photo by notsogoodphotography.

Posted in WestmorelandFlint | Comments

Tags: Agency partnership, business planning, Communications Strategy, marketing strategy

Proper Creative Care and Feeding: Special Features

By Phil Hunt, May 12, 2010

In yesterday’s post about the proper care and feeding of your creative team, I linked to a TED talk from Simon Sinek, who is the author of Start with Why. I stumbled across the video in my Twitter feed, and thought it was relevant to what I was writing. It’s a fantastic presentation. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s a great way to spend fifteen minutes of downtime.

Understanding why you do what you do is essential food for great ideas. I thought I’d share it once again, just in case you missed it the link in the last post. Watch the video, and share whatever thoughts you have in the comments.

Posted in Flint Communications, Flint Group | Comments

Tags: Brand, Branding, Business, Communications Strategy, Creativity