Maybe you’ve heard of Skin So Soft? Avon thought it was a skin moisturizer (and it is), but the public bought it for another reason. It turned out to be a bang-up insect repellant as well. So good, in fact, that today Avon makes a second product: Skin So Soft Bug Guard.

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Think of a food court on the ground floor of a commercial building. At lunchtime, all the people who work in the offices upstairs are going to want to have lunch somewhere. And if you’re one of the businesses in the food court, you probably spend your nights dreaming of ways to outdo your neighbors to win those customers.Read full post...

When you market attractions, it’s natural to want to show that attraction in advertising. The curator spent hours getting that exhibit together. Your boss spent millions on that new ride. Everyone loves that vista. It feels almost unfair not to show these things.

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Most of the marketing world is based on precedents. We base our metrics and budgets on prior years’ results. We schedule the same way — peak season and off-season, planning time, production time, media buying — it’s mostly based on what we did last year.
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In January 2016, I wrote a blog titled “Four Marketing Resolutions for 2016.” I cited research identifying that “people who write down their specific resolutions are 10 times more likely to attain their goals than people who don’t make specific resolutions.”[1] So I made my marketing resolutions public:
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At 11:59 p.m. on December 31, 2019, the ball started dropping and decided to make a year of it. Like everyone else, I wish I could close the lid to this dumpster fire, but there are some things even a trash fire can illuminate. And those are the things that I never want to lose sight of. So right now, I’m taking stock of what I want to stick.
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By David Brond, Elizabeth Cohen and Linda McAleer

Multiple articles have been written about the important role parents play in their child’s college decision. Most higher education marketers and enrollment professionals agree that a parent’s powerful influence in guiding high school students throughout the college application and admission process is often unmatched by any other person.
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Current COVID-19 trends indicate that we are on the other side of the peak in most places in the U.S. States have lifted stay-at-home orders, and we’re all starting to experience what our new normal looks like. This means that while critical care units and emergency departments are still treating COVID-19 patients every day, the numbers have decreased.Read full post...

Communicating that it is safe to get preventative care such as mammograms is essential to getting healthcare kick-started. With the advent of consumerism and the preponderance of healthcare information, we now have an “army” of informed healthcare consumers in our country. Where have they been during this pandemic? What happened to preventative medicine or annual medical procedures/treatments?Read full post...

By David Brond and Kathleen Doyle

The world as we knew it has changed. This is also true across the entire landscape of higher education.

May 1 was National College Decision Day, the traditional deadline for high school seniors to pick their college or university. In 2020 unfortunately, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, this important decision has become more difficult than ever for students and parents. The pandemic is also having—and going to have—a profound impact on the future of institutions of higher learning across the country.Read full post...

All the best brand managers revise their messaging platforms to reflect changes in the market. They do this to remain relevant to their consumers and their markets.

Now is the time for healthcare marketers to look at their positioning and message platforms to determine if they need revisions. During this pandemic, two competing images of healthcare providers have emerged: With their position as defenders of the community’s health restored, and their willingness to risk their lives to help others, healthcare providers are seen as heroes and valuable community resources. But the fact that they were overwhelmed by the number, severity and supply needs of COVID-19 patients creates a different perception.Read full post...

Amid the current coronavirus situation, some organizations may be tempted to implement a “wait and see” approach to marcom. However, now is not the time to cut branding or market research efforts. For healthcare organizations there is an obvious need to focus short-term priorities on the Coronavirus pandemic and its day-to-day impact on human and financial resources, operations, patient care and safety. Read full post...

It’s in the news every day. This pandemic is crippling some hospitals’ resources, while others are ready and waiting. But all hospitals have stopped elective procedures and are experiencing that impact on their revenue. Some have even been forced to furlough employees and staff. But what can we as marketers do to help?

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We’ve heard a lot about the importance of thanking essential workers during this pandemic. At AB&C, we’d like to make this a little easier for you. We have designed a series of posters/ads that we will customize for you to use as a print ad or as a poster displayed in your hospitals.

We will personalize any of the designs with your logo and color palette—and even resize them—at no cost to you. It’s the least we can do to thank you and your employees for all that they’re doing for your community and our country.
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Healthcare organizations have become pretty marketing savvy over the past several years. They tend to excel in having a strong brand promise, backed up by people-focused missions, visions and values. People entering the industry—especially those in direct clinical care roles—tend to be extremely mission-driven. They want to help and serve others. And that’s what they do every day.
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