brand Archives - Plaid Swan

March 19, 2018

Taking a lesson from the brand loyalty of sports

I grew up in a basketball house. Both of my brothers played basketball, my dad was a coach and I played all throughout middle school and high school. It was a sport that was very much ingrained in the fabric of my family, so it’s no surprise that I start to get excited when March rolls around. From the anticipation of Selection Sunday when the NCAA releases its brackets to the championship game, there is something about March Madness that gets everybody excited about basketball even if they don’t give a lick about the sport on any other given day.

Millions of brackets have been filled out by those who have spent hours analyzing the teams along with those who picked teams based on what their mascot is (everyone has a friend that does this). Whether you are rooting for the underdog or the team favored to win it all, March Madness seems to captivate the nation.

Cultivating the loyalty

As a Wisconsin native, when they are in the tournament, I always feel like I need to pick the Badgers to win at least one game. Even though I didn’t go to school there, I feel a strong connection to the team and get so excited to watch them succeed in the tournament. Beyond wanting the Badgers to win because of hometown pride, I also love the story of Wisconsin basketball and the story of the players on the team.

Wisconsin didn’t make the tournament this year, but I am now officially a fan of the UMBC Retrievers (along with millions of others). Again, it all comes down to their story. The Retrievers made history last week when as the 16 seed, they ousted number one seed, University of Virginia. Their Cinderella moment and story led to instant fame for the team, and according to the Baltimore Sun, that win equated to an estimated $33 million in advertising exposure.

A brand that lasts a lifetime

When you think about it, sports loyalty is really the ultimate form of brand loyalty. Most sports fans pick their favorite team at a young age, and through the good and bad, stick with that team because, well it’s their team! That love is usually passed down through generations and some of the best memories can be made while supporting that team. At the heart of this loyalty is storytelling.

Each team that someone follows has a story that is usually told over and over while they are playing. The players’ stories are told, how the program was built, what makes their journey unique, etc. These stories only enhance the connection fans feel to a certain team.

How to mimic the loyalty of sports

Imagine, if as a business you could replicate this type of loyalty. Imagine if you could build a brand loyalty so strong, that even in the difficult times, customers would stick with you. This is why storytelling should be a critical part of your communications strategy. What makes your business unique? Are you a family-owned business that goes back multiple generations? Is there a unique story to how your products are made? Figure out what your story is, who that story will connect with and then keep telling it over, and over, and over again.

When consumers can feel a connection to what you are doing and what your story is, they may form a loyalty to your business that rivals that of their favorite sports team.

-Rachel Dilling, Director of Public Relations

Plaid Swan is a full-service
marketing communications firm,
providing crisis public relations to
many companies across the United States.

January 8, 2018

Not Another Marketing Predictions Blog

2018 is going to be the year of Facebook Virtual Reality and flying cars… WAIT. Only half that statement is true, but we aren’t going to bore you with another blog about our predictions for what we think might be coming to the marketing arena this year. Why? Partly because everyone else has already done it and partly because it doesn’t matter.

Yes, you heard me right. It doesn’t matter, and therefore we aren’t going to waste our time – or yours –trying to come up with ideas when instead, we should be focusing our attention elsewhere. Elsewhere, meaning, these three tried-and-true recommendations.

Always focus on your target audience.

Trying the latest and greatest marketing trend might work for some, but always keep in mind who your target audience is and where they are. If you aren’t sure who or where they are, then this is the place to start this year. Knowing your target audience is the first step to maximizing your exposure among the correct demographics instead of trying to target everyone (which can’t be done, trust us).

If your target audience is Baby Boomers and you find they rely heavily on Facebook for their social media, putting a new push on Snapchat advertising isn’t going to be your best bet. Instead, try out a new kind of Facebook advertisement or play with the time of day when you post the most about your product or service.

If you must keep up with trends, focus on your industry.

In this day and age, each industry tends to focus on certain aspects and forms of advertising. In this respect, knowing your competition is of utmost importance. Keep an eye on what your top three competitors are doing right, but also try to figure out what they’re doing wrong and what you can do better.

Your audience knows where to go to look for information about the services or products in your industry. For example, when looking for events, people know to turn to Facebook. For up to the minute updates, Twitter probably has what you’re looking for. And we all know radio stations are jam-packed with your local car dealerships’ latest pun-filled advertisement.

As you focus on your goals for the coming year, pair up your competition with your own efforts. Evaluate what you did last year and how you can improve and keep the momentum going for 2018.

Be willing to think outside the box.

Trends need to start somewhere, why not start some of your own? Try something that hasn’t been done before. To get your creative juices flowing, think about your service or product and bring up your audience one more time. What is a totally different way to reach your audience without completely missing the mark? Maybe it’s putting your brand in a different newsletter or turning your CEO into an expert and writing a new column for the local paper. Maybe a simple Facebook contest can get you more Page Likes, or try a scavenger hunt with freebees around town and a map on social media to reach new potential customers. Get on the ground level and try some new guerilla marketing tactics.

As with any new marketing strategy, evaluate what works and what doesn’t work for your brand and make sure results line up with your marketing – and ultimately your company’s – goals. Don’t be afraid to try something new this year!

Emily Bettridge is Plaid Swan’s Content Strategist and Multimedia Specialist, working with clients to get their story in front of their audience through both writing and visual content.

June 5, 2017

How Heineken Got It So Right and Pepsi Got It So Wrong

Two beverage ads. Two bottles to pop off. You guzzle down both, but only one is respectively refreshing.

Beer. Pepsi. We tend to love them both. But in one particular instance, Pepsi left us with gut rot and the strong desire to pour the remaining 5 cans we have stored in our garage refrigerator, down the drain. So how did Heineken get it so right and Pepsi get it so wrong?

www.giphy.com

Let’s first start with the facts. For those of you who haven’t seen Heineken’s four-and-a-half-minute ad, it features a social experiment involving three different pairs of people who are from the United Kingdom, all with decidedly different beliefs. The participants are in a warehouse talking with each other, completely unaware of their political differences. There is a man who doesn’t believe that it’s okay to identify as transgender, who is paired with a woman who is transgender. There’s another man who doesn’t believe in climate change, who is paired up with a man who does. Finally, you have a man who describes feminism as “man-hating” paired with a woman who describes herself as a young, black feminist. The participants seem to be unaware of their differences and the purpose of the test. They are asked to perform a number of team-building exercises, which ultimately results in them assembling a bar and asking scripted personal questions along the way. They are then asked over a loud speaker to watch a video of the other person discussing and confessing their political views. Once they watch both videos, they must decide whether they want to leave, or stick around, drink a cold beer, and talk it out with the person who has been revealed as their complete opposite. In the end, they all decide to stay.

www.dailyedge.ie

You can watch the full ad here!

On the other hand, you have Pepsi’s two-and-a-half-minute commercial featuring Kendall Jenner with protesters who are trying to come together in unity. The key word here being, tried. Most felt the ad was anything but positive, leaving a bad taste for most viewers. In the commercial, we see Kendall modeling when suddenly, a protester passing by gives her a sexy smile, and she leaves the flashing cameras to follow him, to go protest and March. She soon sees a white male police officer giving a black protester a serious look. So, what does she do? She offers him a Pepsi, because that will surely solve all the world’s problems and end racism – right? The scene with the police officer accepting the Pepsi from Kendall was too reminiscent for most, of an actual protest image; that of Leisha Evans in the Baton Rouge protests last year. The police officer drinks the Pepsi, smiles, and the crowd unanimously raises their arms in celebratory excitement, another big no no to most. It appeared Pepsi was oversimplifying protests and what they really mean, as well as making light of the issues of police brutality. Towards the end of the commercial, it even sounds like the music is saying “Epic fail, fail, fail.” They must have known all along. Pepsi pulled the ad immediately and released this statement: “Clearly we missed the mark and we apologize… we did not intend to make light of any serious issue. We are removing the content.”

www.dailyedge.ie

www.giphy.com

This is a great example of how one brand got it so right and one got it so wrong. Heineken showed Pepsi how to correctly make a politically charged ad. What made it work? Their human moments didn’t appear forced but seemed to unfold all on their own. We felt inspired, we felt compassion, and we felt honesty. Despite these stranger’s different political views, they were able to talk it out over a drink. So, Pepsi, please hold my beer and allow me to make a toast. Here’s to you Heineken!

www.giphy.com

Now, can we please put a bar inside Congress?

www.giphy.com

Plaid Swan Inc. is a female owned and operated marketing communications firm with multiple offices located in the Midwest. Looking to make your company’s blog stand out? Don’t have a blog, but want one? What’s a BLOG? Contact us today to see how we can bring your brand to a new stellar level!

Plaid Swan: (563) 556-1633

Email: betsy@plaidswan.com

-Haley Corkery │ Public Relations Specialist

May 15, 2017

Dove Releases New Body-Shaped Bottles: When Good Brands Make Bad Decisions

No curves? You shall be a banana. Large waist and small hips? Yes, you are an apple. Little upper body but large hips? Nailed it, you’re a pear.

Women. Fruit. What do these two things have in common? Sounds a little fruity, but society does compare the two. For the longest time, we have associated women’s body shapes to fruit. So, women, you get to be fruit. But now you also get to be soap bottles. Body wash bottles to be more precise, thanks to Dove.

In the most recent years, Dove has been getting it right. They’ve connected with women, encouraged us to love our bodies, and we adored, praised, and related to them for it. So how could Dove get this so wrong?

Dove recently released a new advertising campaign giving their plastic soap bottles a whole new makeover. Just like women, Dove wanted to show that bottles come in all shapes and sizes. They designed and created six different bottles from curvy, pear and apple shaped to tall and slender. The response? Think of an apple getting violently thrown to a face. A foot slipping on a banana peel and breaking a leg. Yeah, we’re talking that bad. People instantly took to social media criticizing the product. Twitter didn’t disappoint.

www.dailymail.co.uk

www.1london.net

www.the-dailybuzz.com

Where did Dove drop the soap, I’m sorry – bottle? They made women feel ostracized when buying body wash. We should speak to all women the same, no matter their shape, size, or color. We shouldn’t talk to them based on what their bodies look like. Women don’t always need to be categorized. Who wants to go to a store, walk down the body wash aisle and say to themselves, “I’m pear shaped, so I’m going to buy this pear-shaped bottle?” Cue the crickets. Women don’t want to make purchasing decisions based on their body type. While in the shower, would you like to be reminded that you look like an apple or would you rather steam up the bathroom, peak out over the curtain and seduce the mirror, believing and knowing you are applesolutely delicious?

What Dove should consider, is what if this same ‘marketing idea’ was about men? What would we compare their bottle sizes to? Male body parts keep flying around in my mind. Think of that trip to the store, perusing that aisle of men’s body wash. What kind of bottles would be lined on the shelf? One small, one medium, one with an oversized cap?

www.jbuffyangel.tumblr.com

www.giphy.com

This is the perfect example of when a good brand makes a bad decision. Don’t get us wrong. Dove has done great things, they’ve taken risks, and spun their brand in the right direction. Their previous advertising scored a home run with young girls and women alike. But with the recent release of these bottles, Dove’s marathon of success has gone down the toilet, leaving them to do some serious damage control.

How did this get through so many checks and balances at Dove? This brand had nailed their niche, better than most companies in history, through supporting and empowering women and here they are assigning us body types.

Here, at Plaid Swan, we are a female owned and operated advertising and marketing agency. We understand women, we understand marketing, and we understand how stereotypes are taboo and need to be shaken and forgotten.

So to all the women out there, we don’t see you as fruit nor relegate you to a certain size or shape. We know Dove can do better and we believe they will. To forgive is to move forward and we’re just beginning our trek.

Looking to make your company’s blog stand out? Don’t have a blog, but want one? What’s a BLOG? Contact us today to see how we can bring your writing to a new stellar level!

Plaid Swan: (563) 556-1633

Email: betsy@plaidswan.com

www.replygif.net

-Haley Corkery │ Public Relations Specialist

Sources:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/business/wp/2017/05/09/why-ladies-didnt-love-doves-latest-gender-empowering-ad-stunt/?utm_term=.4592053499ba

Cultivating the loyalty

A brand that lasts a lifetime

How to mimic the loyalty of sports

Always focus on your target audience.

If you must keep up with trends, focus on your industry.

Be willing to think outside the box.

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