Domain 5 - Promotional Activity (13%) Flashcards
What is a brand?
- Your corporate identity
- The face that your firm presents to your clients and to the world
Why is developing a corporate identity so important?
- It creates a good first impression
- It fosters continued client loyalty
What does your brand represent?
The perceptions that both internal and external audiences have of your firm
What is the principal role of a brand?
To differentiate your firm from competitors
What is a perception survey?
A series of questions posed to partners/clients/employees that gets info that is then used to shape the company’s brand.
What is a vision statement?
An expression of what your firm aspires to be.
What is a mission statement?
It describes where the firm is going and how it plans to change your practice.
Ex) “We intend to transform our company into the most respected laboratory design firm on the West Coast.”
Difference between vision statement and mission statement?
Vision statement = what your firm aspires to be
Mission statement = where your firm wants to go and how it intends to change your practice
*A mission statement is much more directed than a vision statement.
What is a unique value proposition?
A short statement (1 or 2 sentences) that tells potential clients your area of expertise and what they’ll get when they hire you.
AKA what your firm is right now.
What is differentiation
The ways in which a product, service, or firm is different from its competitors
It’s an internal issue
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
What is an identity map?
A tool used to explore how your firm compares with your competitors
What is the difference between a Generalist and Specialist firm?
Generalist = pursues work in a number of markets Specialist = pursues work in 1 or just a few markets
What is the difference between a Client Driven firm and a Market Driven firm?
Client driven = focuses on a limited number of existing clients
Market driven = focus on growing by getting involved in 1 or more markets
What is the difference between Design vs Execution Focus?
Design focus = more concerned with design/big idea/vision
Execution focus = more concerned with completing the project successfully and meet client’s expectations
What is the difference between a Unique Player vs a “Me Too” Player?
Unique firm = distinctive approach/perspective
“Me too” firm = one of the pack
How often should your corporate identity be refreshed?
Every 5 - 10 years
What is brand architecture?
The hierarchy and relationship structure between a parent brand and its sub-brands, divisions, joint ventures, and affiliations.
What is a naming convention?
A formal structure and guidelines used to create brand names.
What is a monolithic naming architecture?
Uses one name for the branding of all entities
What is a dominant naming architecture?
Uses one brand as the lead brand with subordinate entities identified in the descriptive modifier
What is a logo-linked naming architecture?
Multiple brands that share the same symbol
What is discrete naming architecture?
Every brand is different
What is cobranding?
A type of branding that is often used in partnerships or affiliations
What is endorsed branding?
Separate brand names are endorsed by typically one other brand
What is a design system?
A graphic design system that promotes a brand’s positioning
What are the elements of a design system?
- Statement of purpose
- Statement of why graphic standards matter
- Agreement to follow the standards
- Signature standards (clear space, staging, sizing, color options)
What does a message platform do?
- Builds out the brand positioning by identifying individual target audiences
- Identifies which attributes in the firm’s brand positioning are the most compelling
- Provides appropriate “proof points”
Also allows you to “bend” the brand positioning without breaking it (tailoring it your message to different audiences)
What is a proof point?
Words or phrases that give the specific audience permission to believe the firm’s assertion
AKA tailoring your wording/phrasing based on your audience
Why do you need to create a brand standard?
To help your brand send consistent messages
What is a communications plan?
A written document that describes:
- what you want to accomplish with your communications,
- ways in which those objectives can be accomplished
- to whom the communications will be addressed
- how you will accomplish it
- how you will measure the results
It’s an extension of your firm’s strategic and marketing plan
How do you measure the results of your communications plan?
It’s not that black and white. Instead of measuring whether you accomplished your marketing goal, measure instead whether you’ve met your communications objectives.
What happens after you implement a communications plan?
You should conduct another random survey of potential clients to measure:
- % that is aware of your company and its services
- whether your campaign has established a preference for a particular service
What an excellent source of secondary research about your clients?
The professional associations that they belong to
What is a target audience?
The group of people most likely to buy your product/services
What is an audience’s demographic characteristic?
Those that can be measured or quantified
Ex) business type, location, # of employees, revenue, job titles
What is an audience’s psychographic characteristics?
Those who have the same psychological makeup and lifestyles
Ex) interest, hobbies, beliefs
*more difficult to define than demographic characteristics
*more important than demographic characteristics
Why is it important to narrow your target audience?
- Keeps you from wasting your time chasing potential clients who might not be a good match
- You have quantifiable parameters that a list seller can use to build a list for you
What is inbound marketing?
The practice of participating in a dialogue w/ clients by providing valuable information through social media, content sharing, and other tools
AKA interactive marketing
Ex) content marketing, opt-in email marketing
What is outbound marketing?
Traditional advertising campaigns where a firm sends out info about their services to a potential client.
Ex) direct mail, cold calling
What is responsive design?
A website design feature that allows page layout, content, navigation, and other features to adjust, scale, and move based on the visitor’s device.
*it’s one of the biggest changes to website needs in the past few years
What is website integration?
The act of incorporating social media into your website
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimization
The process of improving your website’s visibility on search engines via natural (unpaid) search results.
What are the steps of an SEO campaign?
- Keyword research
- Content development
- Web programming
- Link building
How do you conduct keyword research in SEO?
- Use the Google Keyword Tool to find commonly searched for words
- Then organize your website to conform to these findings
- Make sure URLs are search engine friendly
What is important to know about content development in SEO?
- Content should be written using terminology common to your potential clients
- Search engines will know if there is duplicate content on a website
- Search engines will know if you’re using deceptive keywords to manipulate search engine results - and your site will be banned
What is important to know about link building in SEO?
- Your website needs to follow a crawlable link structure so all pages can be found
- The more clicks it takes a visitor to get to the deepest part of your page, the lower that page’s ranking will be on Google
- Get big, reputable sources linking back to your own page to increase SEO presence
What is Google Analytics?
- The #1 tool for monitoring and managing your web data
- Tells you how your website is performing compared to every other website out there
What is the most important Google Analytics report to look at and why?
A comparison of your site’s popular pages against the pages that get the longest views
Why? Because it’s important that the most popular pages are also being looked at for the longest
What is a web crawler?
A computer program that browses the internet in a methodical, automated manner to index website content
What are the 2 components in having successful media relations?
- A strategic, targeted strategy
- A compelling story to tell
What are the 4 outcomes of researching national publications in key market segments?
- Build a media list
- Find and review editorial calendars
- Learn the editorial mission, reader focus, subscriber demographics of the publication
- Learn about current activities and past writing via publications’ social media
What is the most frequent complaint by journalists about marketers?
That we don’t have a clue about where a story fits into their publication. We don’t bother to learn about their editorial mission prior to emailing our story.
What is the ideal length of a news release?
400 to 500 words
How long should you wait to follow up after submitting a news release or a pitch?
2-3 weeks
How long are most expert-written articles in print magazines?
500 - 2,000 words (longer than a blog entry, shorter than a book)
What’s the best tool for thought-leading firms wanting to demonstrate their expertise?
Publishing an article
What is an editorial calendar?
A schedule that sets the schedule for the theme of each publication’s issue
What are the four parts of a good query letter when approaching an editor?
- What’s your story idea? (1 or 2 sentences)
- Why would readers be interested?
- What are the points you will cover (3-4 bullet points)
- Can the readers trust what you write? (why are you qualified to discuss the topic?)
What are white papers?
A longstanding tool for demonstrating thought leadership
“Here is some unbiased information that will help you solve a problem”
How are online articles different from print articles?
Online articles are generally shorter, punchier, with more subheadings and more bullet points. Also provides links to videos, podcasts, and other digital content.
What is an advertorial?
A paid advertisement that imitates editorial format
(Portmanteau of “advertisement” and “editorial”)
When is it not a good idea for a CEO to be the one who interacts w/ the press?
When there’s been a controversial event, such as a death or arrest (this is better handled by a spokesperson)
What is the difference between a DSLR vs HD camcorder?
HD camcorders have better and faster autofocus capability. Also come equipped w/ audio and video output/input (DSLR’s don’t)
DSLR can take photos in addition to video though.
What is the USA cinema/Blu-ray standard for resolution and frames per second?
1920 x 1080 pixels
24 fps to 40 fps
What is the preferred aspect ratio for videos?
16:9 (widescreen)
What is automatic gain control (AGC)?
It’s an audio feature on DSLR and HD camcorders that compensates for small microphones by raising the gain for ambient soft sounds. It creates a hiss/hum.
What are 3 alternatives to using a built-in microphone?
- Shotgun mic
- Lavalier (“lav”)
- MP3 recorder
How long should a short promotional video on social media be?
What can be used to make one?
2-5 minutes
Cellphone
What is a storyboard?
A series of drawings connected by dialogue and directions that outline the shots that you plan to include in the video
What are B-roll shots?
Images that you’ve filmed previously that you can use later in editing to fill in gaps
Kind of like stock photography
What is the public domain with respects to music?
Songs published in 1922 or earlier that is free for public use
What is the high resolution standard for digital photos?
8x10”
300dpi
What is the greater benefit of winning an award program?
- Improved staff morale
- Enhanced client relationships
What are the 4 elements of a good award submission?
- Good relationship with the client
- Good visuals
- A creative and unique story
- Relevance to the project award criteria
What is the purpose of advertising?
To raise awareness of your company in the minds of prospective clients
What are the 8 elements of an advertising plan?
- Objective
- Audience
- Message
- Medium
- Budget
- Who is to manage
- Expectations and time frame
- Evaluation (how will you know it worked)
What are the 3 different types of advertising?
- Earned
- Paid
- Owned
What is earned advertising?
Publicity you earn by having a great story (articles, awards)
What is a paid advertisement?
An ad you pay someone to host
What is owned advertising?
Content produced and published by your firm and put up on your own website/blog/social media
What is institutional/image advertising?
An ad designed solely to enhance the name recognition or reputation of a firm rather than focusing on a specific service
What is service advertising?
A highly focused ad in which a service is described in a selling context, targeting a clearly defined audience
What is a tombstone advertisement?
A simple, straightforward announcement, usually to announce a significant event (merger, personnel change, new office, etc)
What is broadcast advertising?
An ad placed on radio or TV (not generally used by our industry)
Trade show displays should be readable from how far away?
At least 8-12 feet
When should you follow up with a trade show contact?
Within 30 days
What is the 1st step in determining how your brand is perceived by others?
Conducting a perception survey
What is the purpose of a perception survey?
It’s the 1st step in determining how your brand is perceived by others.
