Crossing Traditional Media Demographic Barriers (Country-Style)

I'm in the midst of media planning for 2010 for one of my clients . One of the mediums I've been looking at for this particular campaign at is radio. I've done all the demo research for several of the stations in the Minneapolis/St Paul metro area (the client's primary market). With our target being a mix of both male and female (25-54), I've recommended a mix of genres to the client...talk radio, easy listening and country. Yes, you heard me right....country.

In my correspondence with the station ad representative, I've revealed that I'm a huge country fan (though I once swore to my mother that I'd NEVER listen to country...). Yesterday, the station rep conveniently sent me this link from the Star Tribune. It explains how country music is crossing many generations and breaking the mold, demographically speaking.

After watching last night's CMA awards on ABC, it really got me thinking how this station is the perfect fit for the client!

The show was filled with some rockin' (and boot scootin') performances and I kept thinking about all the different age groups our client would be hitting with a purchase on a country station. (The client's final decision has yet to be made...)

As the Star Tribune article says,

"Taylor Swift has sold more albums than anyone in 2009. Kenny Chesney had the year's biggest concert tour. And Carrie Underwood will make more TV appearances in the next month than Santa Claus.

Those household names and the new generation of fans they've attracted have put country music -- that twangy, red-headed stepchild -- at the center of pop for the first time since the heyday of Garth Brooks and Shania Twain nearly a generation ago."

Last night's awards show featured everyone from Kid Rock to Darius Rucker (Yep, "Hootie" is country, too...). Daughtry and Vince Gill performed "Tennessee Line" and the Dave Matthews Band teamed-up with Kenny Chesney to perform "I'm Alive" (it was pretty amazing).

In summary, don't immediately overlook media because you personally wouldn't look at it, or listen to it. Someone else might. Media consumption demos are constantly changing. I'm living proof.

(And, I'm seriously having problems getting "Cowboy Casanova" (Carrie Underwood) and "Consider Me Gone" (Reba) out of my head today!)

"A picture speaks a thousand words...."

As someone once said (well, WikiAnswers just told me it was someone in China), "A picture speaks a thousand words."

Now, more than ever before, our world is visually stimulated. That being said, there is no denying the importance of photos (GOOD ones) in a business or organization's marketing materials and strategy.

It's essential to hire a professional photographer on a routine basis. A professional photographer will ensure that your business is portrayed in the proper manner. They are more affordable than one might think and it's a worthy investment for years to come.

Some ideas of when you should hire a pro to capture photos for your business or organization:

• If you are launching a new campaign or brand, hire a pro. Get off on the right foot from the start.
  

• If your business relies on changing seasons (Spring/Summer/Fall/Winter), make sure you capture photos of each season. It's good to rely on a pro when different lighting (i.e.: sunsets, etc.) are part of the overall picture (literally and figuratively).
  

• If you're photographing people, trends change (clothing, hairstyles, glasses, etc.)...keep up with them. (Trust me, no one wants to see that 80s hairdo on the cover of a brochure anymore...seriously.)

Professional vs. amateur photography
Because of its affordability and near-immediate results, the digital camera world is reeking havoc on what people are considering "professional" photos. (Trust me - we can generally tell when they aren't taken by a pro.)

I'm not saying that you shouldn't take photos on your own, because you should. It's important to have a camera on-hand when you need that spur-of-the moment photo (most of us don't have pros at our fingertips everyday). However, you need to have an idea of what you're getting into (especially if you have intentions of publishing the photos).

If you are taking spur-of-the-moment photos that could potentially be used in printed materials to promote your business or organization, set your camera to the largest file size and the highest resolution possible. This allows for the most flexibility when it comes to utilizing your photos in numerous formats (print ads, web, internet advertising, etc.) for promotional purposes.

With that in mind, in the past week or so, I've had different people ask me about what kind of camera I'd recommend. Easy answer - Canon or Nikon. Hands-down.

I've used cameras by other manufacturers, but have undeniably had the best luck with Canons or Nikons.

In the past ten years, I've owned everything from a 35mm Canon Rebel (yes, 35 mm) to a Canon S1 IS to a Canon S5 IS and am now the proud owner of a Nikon D60 & small (throw-in-your purse size) Canon A1000 IS.

If you're planning to purchase a camera for those spur-of-the-moment situations, do your research. Buy one that suits your needs. Don't buy one just because it has all the bells and whistles on it especially if you don't know how to work the thing (unless you are going to take a class or you are going to take the time to learn all the ins and outs of the camera).

And, remember, a professional will typically always get the results you are looking for (often better than expected results) to portray your business in the proper manner.

If you need help locating a professional photographer for your business, I can help! Contact me at: jaimien@wafishermn.com.

Social Media Expected To Drive Holiday Shoppers - from MediaPost

This article from Sarah Mahoney & Media Post explains how "consumers determined to limit their holiday spending, a new study predicts they will do more of their Christmas bargain-hunting through social media, and less through search engines or shopper review sites..."

Interesting how social media continues to change the way our world communicates. User-demographics in this medium continue to change, as well.

Check it out....some great stuff:


Social Media Expected To Drive Holiday Shoppers
by Sarah Mahoney

With consumers determined to limit their holiday spending, a new study predicts they will do more of their Christmas bargain-hunting through social media, and less through search engines or shopper review sites.

The study, from Oneupweb, compared holiday traffic trends over the last two years at the top-ranking e-tailers, social sites and review sites against the latest user trends, and found that while search engines have typically been the leading driver to retail sites, "social media is influencing search behavior and affecting the purchases a consumer makes."

"We found that traffic to social sites steadily gained on retail sites in 2007 and 2008," it says. Despite a holiday bump, direct traffic to online retail sites fell 10%, behind traffic to social sites, which grew 12% from December 2007 to December of last year. "Traffic to the review sites remained stagnant throughout the year, experiencing a mild bump during the holiday season," the report says.

What's happening, according to the Traverse City, Mich.-based research company, is that consumers are much more engaged in talking about products and deals in the social world. Facebook -- with active users now averaging about 15 hours on the site per week -- contributes more than 3% of all traffic to the top retail sites online, it says, and as many as 25% of social network users post links to other companies, products or services. The report also cites a Penn State study, which found that one in five tweets mention a specific brand or services.

Last year, e-commerce drew in $25.5 billion dollars, a 3% decline, while online traffic grew 10%.

Meanwhile, a separate study from the Luxury Institute reports that wealthy consumers are also warming to shopping via social networks. The study, which looked at 400 people with an average income of $415,000 and household net worth of $4.9 million, found that nearly one in five social networkers in this group also belong to a social shopping site, with Ideeli and Rue LaLa the most popular. And while 13% have joined a group that is based around a product, service or a brand, 24% say they would be likely to do so. The Luxury Institute also found these high-net-worth individuals have an above-average participation rates: Membership in social networking sites has increased from 60% in early 2008 to 72%, with 62% of those in the 55-plus age group participating.

Social media IS where it's at

Yesterday, I was honored to give a presentation to a group of about 50 professionals at the Hibbing Area Chamber of Commerce's 2nd Tuesday Noon Connection at Hibbing Community College (Hibbing, Minnesota).

The topic of my presentation, "What IS Social Media? and why you should care..."

Wikipedia defines social media as: "an 'umbrella term' that defines the various activities that integrate social interaction and the construction of words, pictures, audio and video."

I prefer to simplify it - the bazillions of conversations people are having online (via social networking sites like facebook, Twitter, flickr, YouTube, Wikipedia, etc.). (Just FYI - Wikipedia says that a "bazillion" is an indefinite and fictitious number.)

When it comes down to it, social media is literally changing the way our world communicates.

Today, we have unlimited, at-your-fingertips capability to both distribute and consume information. From the iPhone, to laptops, Blackberrys, etc., social media has taken our world by storm.

For example: Here's a snapshot of the Hibbing Area Chamber's facebook page which includes a photo of 'yours-truly' giving the social media presentation yesterday. The chamber staff took the photo and shared it on their facebook page right away after the presentation. Someone could have very well done the same thing from their iPhone or other mobile device. Yeah...pretty immediate stuff!

Once (upon a time) completely organized, controlled messages (monologues) were all the rage.

Now? Not so much.

In the old communication model, we pushed and shoved our message and marketing campaigns to people through media like TV, radio, newspaper, etc., with the HOPE that someone in our target audience would see it and become our customer.

To put this in perspective, only 18% of TV ads generate positive ROI (return on investment) and 90% of people who can skip TV ads do. (Nielsen, "Trust in Advertising Report.)

Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that social media marketing should replace any and all forms of marketing, because it shouldn't. With the correct strategy, they all still have a place in your business' marketing and media plan.

Social media is not just another set of tools, it's about building relationships (with existing and potential customers).

It's not about spamming 1,000,000 people with the HOPE that 1,000 of them will convert.

It IS about reaching the right 10 people who reach 100 people who reach 1000 people. It's a new form of word-of-mouth marketing, only on steroids. (See image at left.)

Social media has given us the opportunity to not only connect with consumers, but also the ability to interact with them more immediately. It's transparent, inclusive, authentic and consumer-driven.

It is a two-way conversation (dialogue) with an audience who wants to hear what you're saying. And, from everything I've seen and experienced, social media IS where it's at:

* Three out of four Americans use social technology.
(Forrester, The Growth of Social Technology Adoption, 2008.)

* Two-thirds of the global internet population visit social networks.
(Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009.)

* Visiting social sites is now the 4th most popular online activity (ahead of personal email).
(Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009.)

* The time spent on social networks is 3x the overall internet usage rate, accounting for 10% of all internet time. (Nielsen, Global Faces & Networked Places, 2009.)

The statistics* for facebook alone are unreal.

* Five BILLION minutes are spent on facebook EVERY day.

* One BILLION pieces of content (web links, stories, news stories, blogs, notes, photos, etc., are shared on facebook each week.

* If facebook were a country, it'd be the 8th largest country in the world, just ahead of Japan.
*Mark Zuckerberg, January 2009.

In the last year, Twitter traffic has skyrocketed

* Twitter grew nearly 1400% (yes, 14 thousand percent) from January to February 2009.

* There are roughly 3,000,000 Tweets a day.

* 13 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute; 100 million of which are viewed every day (FYI - it'd take 412.3 years to view 'em all, in case you were wondering.)


Many existing clients have asked WHY they should jump on-board the social media train.

Plain and simple? If you're not there, you're missing the boat.

Be where your customers already are. Interact with them and build lasting relationships.

If you need help getting your business or organization on-board the social media bandwagon, I can help! (It's pretty sweet having a job that's this much fun!)