Using science to get into the customer’s brain

One of the most interesting new business pitches I was ever involved in was when a prospective B2B client, a large and well-known electronics company, was trying to introduce a new product line. The problem was, these new products were very different from those that the company was well known for.

The client had spent considerable sums introducing the new line, yet had made little headway in the market. So they opened this assignment to other agencies.

We were briefed, we developed creative, and we took it to a focus group. The creative bombed, badly. But why it bombed was the same reason the product line was getting so little traction — in the mind of the customer, these new products just didn’t fit with the way they perceived the company.

Well, we quickly regrouped and developed new creative. But this time, rather than just introduce the new products, we built a connection between them and the products the company was known for. The new creative worked well, helping to create an “aha” moment with people in the second focus group.

In our final presentation to the client, we took them through our experience, even showing the creative that bombed. Not only did we win the work for the new product line, we became agency-of-record for the entire account. We also learned a valuable lesson in the art of persuasion.

We called it, “meeting the audience at its mindset.” Read full post...

Warmer weather means sharing the roadways with more motorcycles. Last year in Delaware, there were 17 fatalities involving motorcycles, with both motorists and motorcycle riders at fault. The Delaware Office of Highway Safety is determined to bring that number down by raising motorists’ awareness of motorcycles on the roads and educating motorcycle riders on ways to protect themselves. To drive home the message, the Delaware Office of Highway Safety asked AB&C to create a two-pronged campaign.Read full post...

It’s not easy staying cool — just ask the Fonz, the Rolling Stones and the CB radio. Since dethroning MySpace five years ago, Facebook has reigned supreme in the social media world. But don’t look back, Facebook — something might be gaining on you. Many teens, twenty-somethings and even thirty-somethings are turning to Twitter. If that age group factors heavily into your customer base, please read on.

It’s not easy staying cool — just ask the Fonz.

When you were young, did you (willingly) spend a lot of time at your parents’ haunts? Probably not. So when mom, dad and Aunt Edna joined Facebook, Millennials (and a lot of Gen Xers) started looking to other platforms for some breathing room. They turned to Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram among other social sites. But before you chase them all around the Internet, start with Twitter.

For everything from national broadcasts to local activities, Twitter has become the go-to site for younger social media users. Sure, Facebook still has a larger user base. But just as with your business, the goal isn’t to rack up followers, it’s to add engaged followers — people who love your brand. Facebook has double the users, but it doesn’t translate to double the fun for Millennials.

Maybe your business already has a Twitter profile. Maybe you’re late to the party. Or maybe you couldn’t care less. Whatever camp you find yourself in, here is a quick rundown on Twitter use and why it’s here to stay, as well as some tips for tweets.Read full post...

From a branding perspective, the HRC’s social media initiative linked to its logo speaks volumes about the importance of brand awareness — for any company.

On Tuesday, March 26, social media experienced a huge surge from Facebook page owners across the globe. In reaction to the Supreme Court’s discussion of DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act) and California’s Proposition 8, which recognizes only opposite-sex marriages, The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) asked its followers to change their Facebook profile pictures to a red equal sign, to signify love.

This simple request caused a massive spike in user profile picture changes, as an estimated 2.7 million Facebook users responded to the HRC’s appeal. (Did you, or any of your friends?) It amounted to a 120% increase in Facebook profile picture changes from the week before, with many people even developing their own creative version of the symbol. Read full post...

“If journalists are gloomy about the outlook of their industry, printers are despondent.”

That was a 2013 keynote speaker’s headline for his topic, “The Future of Printers.” Subtitle? “Printers Sink.”

Offset press

In the U.S. in 2001 there were 50,000 traditional commercial printing companies (not including phone book and newspaper and magazine publishers). Today there are fewer than 20,000, and those that are still in business find their 1Q13 revenues down 25–50% from a year ago. The environment is brutal. Half the printers I used to work with are no longer in business — and I’m paying a lot less for the same kind of job to those that still are.

Printer-from-birth Chuck Paski at McClafferty Printing says printing “is a tough racket to be in. It’s a commodity now instead of a craft. The buyers know they can beat you up on price, and they’ll take their business down the street to save .” Paski has a state-of-the-art six-color press, but only four-color jobs are selling — whatever buyers can get for the cheapest price in the fastest time. McClafferty just added mailhouse services to its portfolio, so it can be a one-stop shop.Read full post...

WILMINGTON, DE – AB&C, a full-service marketing communications agency, won a total of 28 awards between two prominent healthcare competitions. At the 30^th annual Healthcare Marketing Report Health Advertising Awards, the agency received 19 awards. Also, the agency hoisted nine awards at the 2013 Aster Awards, judged by Marketing Healthcare Today.

“The healthcare marketing industry is just as competitive as healthcare itself,” says AB&C president and CEO John Hawkins. “Our team is tremendous. We start with top healthcare clients and add laser-focused strategy and engaging creative. It’s a recipe for sustained success.”

The Healthcare Advertising Awards are evaluated by a national panel of judges. More than 4,000 entries from 268 agencies were judged on creativity, quality, message effectiveness, consumer appeal, graphic design and overall impact. The agency won awards with 14 different clients. Along with 11 gold, two silver, one bronze and four merit awards, AB&C received a Best in Show for its physicians video mailer for MedStar Union Memorial Hospital, one of only 17 to earn this high designation.Read full post...

Over my nearly (ahem) four decades in the ad business, I’ve written tons of jingles. Presided over original music sessions from Nashville to New York. And spent hundreds of hours listening to and selecting stock music and sound effects — all to create that elusive emotional connection between our clients’ brands and their consumers.

Boy, have times and budgets changed. Weeks of lead time and wads of cash to create one-of-a-kind audio tracks that stuck in your brain are now virtually unheard of (unless you’re selling cars, beer, airlines or cosmetics). Today, Garage Band, Pro Tools and a plethora of music libraries fill the void cheaply, quickly and — I must admit — conveniently.Read full post...

Ecstatic, thrilled and maybe even a little overwhelmed — that pretty much sums up how people are feeling here at AB&C after learning that we won Best in Show, 11 gold, two silvers, one bronze and four merit award at the 30^th Annual Healthcare Advertising Awards. Those numbers alone are pretty impressive, but what’s even more meaningful is that we won more gold awards than any of the other 268 agencies that submitted and that we had 14 different clients win with us.

These numbers validate what we already know: The healthcare marketing industry is just as competitive as healthcare these days. More agencies are entering into this specialty area, but this year’s success shows that we are ahead of the curve. Our healthcare team is steeped in expertise and our partners benefit from the years (even decades — yikes!) that we have been working in the industry.Read full post...

Point the finger at poor implementation of the technology and too many companies scrambling to get a piece of the niche pie.

Have you ever said, “Wow! I just had an amazing experience with this here QR code!”

It’s safe to say you’ve come across many “Quick Response” codes over the past few years, whether you knew what they were at the time or not. And if you’re in the marketing business, you’ve been asked, “Do you think we should add a QR code?” on more than one occasion.

In 1994, Denso Wave, a subsidiary of a Japanese automotive manufacturer, invented the QR code to track the company’s production process. The idea behind altering the technology for smartphones came soon thereafter — and presto!  People could connect the offline world to the online world by simply scanning a code with their handheld device. Since more than half the country owns a smartphone, you might assume that QR codes are all the rage.

Well, they’re not.

They’re everywhere — some placements are better than others: T-shirts, license plates, metro boards, billboards, websites, gas pumps, buses, TV commercials, etc. Sure, consumers are scanning QR codes here and there, but not regularly.Read full post...

This is a generation that didn’t learn to use computers in college or in late high school, they learned from their parents as soon as they could pick up a mouse.

Shari Short, president of Short Answer Consulting, and I were privileged to present at the recent 2013 National Association of Physician Recruiters Annual Conference. We spoke about communicating with different generations and what it means to physician and advanced practitioner recruiters.

Our observations on the differences between communicating with the silent generation (66+), Baby Boomers (49–66), Gen Xers (28–48) and Millennials (7–27) elicited a unanimous response: “We’re all doomed!” But not so! Do Millennials have a different perspective on the value of work/life balance than their older counterparts? Absolutely. Do they frustrate us with their dogged addiction to mobile and digital technology? Sure. Do they strive to do something great in their lives? Absolutely. Maybe they don’t value 12- to 14-hour workdays like their older counterparts. But they do understand that the technology they embrace may help them to accomplish more, faster. What’s wrong with that?Read full post...

Read your audience. Some people who stop by your booth just want a signature for their exhibit hall bingo card (daddy needs a new TV!).

I’ve been to all kinds of conferences and trade shows — big and small, East Coast and West. They provide an ideal opportunity to stay abreast of trends in rapidly changing industries. They’re also a great place to network and attract new clients, if you make the most of your time. These tips will help:

1. Be prepared. Have talking points about your company ready, as well as insightful questions for potential clients to help you assess their needs and how you can fulfill those needs.
2. Get the attendee list. If you have the option, try to get it before the event. This gives you a chance to research your prospects and zero in on who you’d like to talk with.
3. Mind your manners. It may be summer, and you may be in a beautiful hotel, but you’re not on vacation. Potential customers are all around you. Being that person who had a little too much to drink at the happy hour makes you — and your company — look very sloppy. If you can’t take care of yourself, how can clients trust you to take care of their business?Read full post...

WILMINGTON, DE — AtlantiCare, a New Jersey healthcare organization, has named AB&C as its new agency of record. The full-service marketing communications agency will handle recruitment, branding, marketing and search engine optimization for AtlantiCare Regional Health Services and AtlantiCare Health Solutions.

“AtlantiCare is truly on the forefront of healthcare delivery and engagement,” says AB&C president and CEO John Hawkins. “We’re very excited to be working with them to raise awareness of their services and the importance of wellness.”

AtlantiCare is an integrated system of services designed to help people achieve optimal health. It does so by focusing on customer needs and expectations to provide accessible, comprehensive services of superior quality and value. AtlantiCare comprises AtlantiCare Regional Health Services, including AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center with three locations, ambulatory services and AtlantiCare Physician Group; the AtlantiCare Foundation; and AtlantiCare Health Solutions, an accountable care organization.

AB&C is a 42-year-old full-service marketing communications agency with offices in Wilmington, Delaware; Philadelphia; and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. Established in business-to-business and consumer marketing, the agency brings creative intelligence to local, regional, national and international accounts in a variety of industries.

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WILMINGTON, DE — Eos Medical Group has chosen AB&C, a full-service marketing communications agency, for its 2013 employment branding campaign. Founded as Pegasus Emergency Medicine, the group underwent a name change in January 2013. The campaign will help Eos gain a better understanding of its employment brand and unique employment value proposition.

“Eos brings the absolute best emergency physicians into its communities,” says John Hawkins, president & CEO of AB&C. “Working with Gina Truhe and her team, we will uncover how the Eos brand resonates with these top-tier candidates.”Read full post...

A case study benefits designers because it highlights their firm and their work.

Much to my wife’s dismay, every time we walk into a building, whether it’s a restaurant, hospital or office, I look up.

The reason: For the past 20 years, I’ve handled public relations for the Ceilings Division of Armstrong, the country’s largest manufacturer of acoustical ceiling systems.

If you’re reading this at work, take a look up. Chances are there’s an acoustical or “drop” ceiling above you. Who would have thought someone could write about drop ceilings for 20 years?

Well, the reason I’ve been able to is that drop ceilings don’t have to be flat, white and full of holes anymore. They can have the warmth of wood or the sophistication of metal. They can be concave, convex or even serpentine. And they don’t have to be continuous, wall-to-wall ceilings to provide their acoustical benefit.  There are plenty of ceiling clouds and canopies that can do that just as well.

As a result, architects and interior designers can now create signature ceilings that make people look up as they enter a space. And that’s the basis for one of the most important, and my favorite, aspect of the Armstrong Ceilings program: case studies. Read full post...

Institutions that exhibit strong compliance with hygiene show strong declines in infections of all types.

In a recent article on FierceHealthcare, the editors compiled four videos from health care providers that encourage staff—everyone from custodians to physicians—to wash their hands. These videos had been posted on YouTube, and one of the points of the article is that hospitals and other institutions are turning to social media to cut down on hospital-acquired infections.

Why is this still a problem? It’s not as if we haven’t been taught from childhood that washing our hands is an important part of staying healthy.

The American Society for Microbiology and the American Cleaning Institute conduct “A Survey of Handwashing Behavior” every few years. The most recent study included a telephone survey, in which 96 percent of people said they always washed their hands after using a public bathroom. But reality tells a different story. In the latest survey, restroom observers reported that 85 percent of men and women observed at public places in Atlanta, Chicago, New York and San Francisco washed their hands after using a public bathroom.Read full post...