When it comes to marketing plans, there are a plethora of opinions about how best to approach them. And who doesn’t love a good analogy to break down a complex topic? We certainly do.

Today marks back-to-school for many districts, including our beloved client, Faith Family Academy. Enjoy this day, parents and teachers! It’s always a good one! Commensurate with the beginning of school is the official end of summer travel. We rockers truly enjoy our summer adventures, and we love to share them on Instagram, so check us out if you are in need of a ‘lil travel inspiration!

Travel planning is a great analogy for marketing planning, so let’s GO!

Destinations = Goals

All brilliant marketing plans start with goals. A goal is a destination that you want to reach. If you were planning a trip you would naturally start with your destination. For the sake of illustration, let’s choose Vancouver.

Method of Transportation = Strategy

So you want to go to Vancouver, but how are you going to get there? This is your strategy. You can travel by train, plane, automobile, boat, motorcycle, or you can walk! Depending on where you’re travel is originating, some of these might be instantly ruled out (walking from Arlington to Vancouver … nobody has time for that!). For my family’s summer trip to Vancouver, our transportation strategy was to fly to Seattle and ride the train to Vancouver.

Packing List = Tactics

Up next, tactics. To execute our travel strategy, we needed to pack the following: plane tickets, rental car, train tickets, passports, lodging, sightseeing itinerary, tickets for attractions, and a suitcase packed with the proper seasonal attire. These are all considered tactical elements to make our Vancouver destination memorable.

Goals, Strategy, Tactics.

Apply this analogy to how you want to reach your target audience and you will achieve your marketing goals. Need help getting started? We would love to meet you on the Porch and get rockin’!

I am a third-generation, dyed-in-the-wool Minnesota Vikings fan. I grew up with Vikings games playing at BOTH of my grandparents houses. My mom’s parents have a Vikings poster hanging in their upstairs hallway, which I always found incredibly hip of them! Dad took me and my sister to watch games when the Vikings were playing in Texas. My first date with my husband was watching the Vikings.

I’M A FAN.

I have always expressed my loyalty for my beloved Vikings, so it’s no surprise that my husband and I attended Sunday’s divisional playoff game. And it was a game for the ages. The “Minneapolis Miracle” will go down in NFL lore. Despite seeing it in person, I have watched this video almost 50 times since Sunday, and it still makes my face explode in joy, pride and tears of pure happiness.

At this point, you might be wondering why a marketing agency blogger is waxing on about her beloved football team. I’ll tell you why. Branding. Look closely at the NFL. Every single team that plays in the NFL is a picture-perfect brand model.

Logo

The Minnesota Vikings logo is a depiction of, well, a Viking. It is unique, memorable, timeless, and versatile. And it clearly articulates their brand.  As does the logo for the other 31 other teams. Play the logo game with your kids! My guess is that they can identify almost all teams by their logo alone (if they watch NFL football of course!).

Color Palette

Purple and gold are Vikings colors. The combination is unique and identifiable, and people can and do get behind it by wearing, painting, singing and displaying it. Give it extra points because it is Pantone’s color of the year.

Brand

Each team is a subset of the bigger brand of the NFL, but form their own identity and personality. Every good brand should! Enter the Viking ship, the horn, the SKOL chant, Minnesota Nice, Purple Reign in honor of the late Prince, the desire and will to play their best, defend the north, and be warriors and at the same time the good guys.

People

The coaching staff and the players all represent something bigger than their individual selves. They reflect, protect and represent the Vikings brand, on and off the field. People (employees past and present and consumers) are often overlooked as contributors to a brand. Don’t overlook this important piece of the puzzle.

Brand Advocates

This is me, this is the fan base, the former players, coaches, and owners. They proudly talk, share, and wear their team; and they stand by them through the rollercoaster of emotions that only elite sports brings. At Sunday’s game, past players such as Robert Smith, Chris Carter, Fran Tarkenton and John Randle pumped up the crowd and encouraged the current team from the sidelines – firing up an already explosive and LOUD crowd. Coach Mike Zimmer asked the stadium to be its loudest ever, and the fans delivered. My hoarse voice is proof.

A Vision

#bringithome is the post-season rally cry. US Bank will host Super Bowl LII and the Vikings have set the vision for their team and fans that they will bring it home. Check out this Bring It Home Feed on the Vikings homepage.

Recognize that in a digital storytelling era, a brand has the power to create an experience with its customer. This customer wants to be part of the story, as opposed to being told the story. This year the Vikings have masterfully brought their team, their fans and anyone that watches football into their story.

Sunday, January 14 at 7:11 p.m. will be The Biggest Moment In Vikings Franchise History for years to come. People will tell where they were, what they saw, and how they reacted … they will tell the story. And that is what branding is all about. The story. Not the product, service, outcome, or even the individuals.

It’s all about the story.

And that friends, is a very nice model to follow! We on the Porch would love to partner with you to share your story.

No matter what happens next for the Minnesota Vikings, this moment, the moment that made grown men and women cry, cannot be taken away. Ever. SKOL!

A great logo makes your business. It serves as your abbreviated calling card, and speaks to your company’s culture, beliefs, and defining qualities without explanation. Add in color, font and unique graphical aspects and your logo becomes your brand.

“Your brand’s logo is the sort of thing that can have a bigger effect on your business than you first think,” says John Rampton of Forbes. “The wrong logo can make your brand come off as unprofessional, assuming anyone notices you at all. A good logo will create instant recognition within the minds of your target audience.”

Your logo should be unique, memorable, timeless, and versatile. It should stand out in the market. And it should represent your business and its message.

So you have an amazing logo!?!? NOW WHAT? Two simple but surprisingly difficult ideas:

Protect and Share.

On repeat. Make it your 2018 chorus.

From pictograms, ideograms, hieroglyphs to today’s world of avatars, emojis and icons, it can get confusing fast. If you are in a sea of sameness, unprotected and using your marks haphazardly, you are dead in the water.

Your logo usage must be easy, clear, and second nature. Take the Olympic rings, for example. No one mistakes them, everyone knows exactly what they represent, and what time it is when you see them. You can even hear the song in your head, can’t you? No questions. Put your logo under that filter. Every time you put it in play.

If you don’t diligently protect your marks, you are wasting effort.

So how do you protect your logo? You have standards, you have guidelines, you have a playbook and you follow it. No. Matter. What.

Remember, strong brands are:

• consistent at every touchpoint
• supported by strong teams
• not forced
• protective of their image

So in 2018, protect that brand. Share it. And do it again and again. As always, we can help!

Fear is a funny thing. It starts out small, often as a small, nagging discomfort. But over time, fear can take on a life of its own, and develop into a full blown, panic-inducing phobia.

Funny story.

I am deathly afraid of the ocean. An innocuous snorkeling trip as a teenager developed, over time, into an intense fear of what lay beneath the beautiful water. My husband has a similar feeling about heights. And for two people who absolutely love to travel, over time, we came to realize that these fears were extremely limiting. Think about all the adventurous activities that our fears were keeping us from doing.

So we made a deal. He would zip line in Cancun if I would scuba dive in Grand Cayman.

Last summer, he made good on his promise. (He nearly stroked out, but he did it!) And so the time had come for me to return the favor: Grand Cayman.

We had become overly busy in the time leading up to the trip and never became dive-certified, so instead, swimming with the stingrays became the activity of choice.

And I did it. The screaming child who grabbed onto me for comfort nearly did me in (didn’t he know that I wanted his dad to rescue ME by lifting me out of the water like an airplane???), but I did it.

Eleanor Roosevelt was a wise woman. She said, “You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You must do the thing which you think you cannot do.”

And that’s true. Getting in the water to swim with stingrays is not a heroic act. But the very fact that I made the decision to do it, despite the fear that had lived with me for decades, was an empowering one. I feel like a better and stronger version of myself for having done it. And I made my husband happy in the process. It was a win-win.

A small lesson in not allowing fear, big or small, to keep you from living your life. It’s a nice reminder, isn’t it?

Something beautiful has washed ashore in Texas alongside the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey. Ordinary people are doing extraordinary things. We have all watched in despair Harvey wreak his destruction, and our hearts are broken and bleeding for every single person impacted.

The images are staggering, heart wrenching, but in an unexpected, unprecedented way … uplifting.

Leading up to Harvey, in two public forums I heard the well-known quote from Dr. Martin Luther King:

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.”

Texas Is All In Y’all

Today, I am, as I know we all are, proud to be Texans. We recognize that recovery is a marathon, not a sprint. We are ready to rebuild, and we know we have work to do. The storm arrived in the dark, but the heart and tenacity has shown bright ever since.

People helping people with no filter … refreshing. Incredible stories of people loving and caring about each other. People are being creative in allocating their time, treasure and talent. Harvey brought in a lot of ugly things, but it also brought in something stunning, beautiful and real. LOVE. Love for each other.

At this moment (and hopefully long-lasting in the aftermath) people have stopped fighting against each other and started fighting for one another. Today we are all just people trying to help people.

What’s your extraordinary? Listening, praying, donating, connecting … we each can help in our own way.

We stand with you South Texas. This disaster is unprecedented, there is no script to follow, but the lead with your heart approach is a winner on our Porch.

With Love,
Your Friends at Front Porch

Well folks, it’s August! The final month of summer … how you doing? Are you surviving? Are you ready for fall? Summer is my second favorite season and fall is my first! I can’t wait for football, school, my kids sports, and routine; but also immensely enjoy summer adventures, long days, beautiful sunsets and all the water things.

August is The Time for Some Serious Marketing Talk!

Did you see or participate in any ‘Christmas in July’ sales last month?  American advertisers began using Christmas in July themes in print for summertime sales as early as 1950. It is typically used as a marketing tool and is not an actual holiday. If you are interested in a little marketing history you can learn more here. We think this tactic is fine, but we find it to be a bit of a snoozer.

Here’s our take on the term Christmas in July … we recommend planning for Christmas in July. Did you plan? No?!?! Well Christmas in August works too! With Q4 right around the corner it is time to get your marketing strategy and plan set. Especially if you are in retail!

Did you start the year with an annual marketing plan? GOOD FOR YOU. Now is the time to dust it off and do an assessment. We like the start, stop, continue approach. Are your tactics accomplishing your goals? CONTINUE. Is the tactic not producing results? STOP. Need to start something new to achieve your goals? START. We are firm believers that all marketing plans are working documents. Make sure you are working your plan and your plan is working.

Don’t Have a Plan?

Now is the time! Seriously. Q4 is the busiest quarter of the year and you don’t want your messages and initiatives to be reactive. You want a proactive plan to make the most of year end. Don’t know where to start? We are rockin’ plans and plan reviews for the likes of Mister Sweeper, Faith Family Academy, The GEM, Ellen Hoffman Designs and more. We would love to ROCK around your Christmas tree (and by that we mean your marketing plan).

You have a few weeks to get the last of your summer lovin’ in and be ready for Holiday 2017. Let’s go!

Truth be told, my favorite diamond comes with four bases and a mound. I am always sad when another season of spring baseball is over. With each and every season, lessons and opportunities to grow on and off the field present themselves. Here were our top lessons learned this season:

1. It’s Not Over Until the Last Out – A team in my eldest son’s division had just an “ok” performance in regular season, but took everyone by surprise when they won the championship game. When you talked to the coaches, they credited their success to playing to their strengths, staying positive, never giving up, practicing and sticking to their playbook. Applying strategy and putting in the work paid off for this team.
2. An Ounce of Encouragement Wins Every Time – One of our players was on the receiving end of a lot of negativity from the coaches and teammates. Changing the narrative to encouragement and positive reinforcement instantly improved his play! Inclusion, encouragement and positive reinforcement are game changers. He ended the season by saying it was the best one yet and he didn’t want it to end. Actions and words have tremendous power. Make a difference with both!
3. Know the Rules – Seems to be an obvious statement, but knowing the rules is always important – in business, sports, home and school. Know the rules and play by them. We had teams check us (bat sizes, mound distance, etc.) and, if we had not been following the rules, this might have been an issue. An opposing team jumbled their line-up and it resulted in two automatic outs … they ended up losing the game; and while one can never say for certain, that situation appeared to be the momentum changer.
4. Embrace the Fail – Baseball is a game designed for you to fail. I love that simple fact. Every play there is one win and one fail. There is a tremendous amount of pressure on every player; but if applied correctly, it can result in lifelong lesson. It’s not if you fail, it is how you recover from the failure. So you strike out … what happens next? You hit a two-run homer. Fail. Learn. Progress. On repeat.

We love baseball. It connects our family. We invest our time together because of the lessons learned on and off the field. These lessons are easily adapted into business and life.

What’s your business’ game plan? How can we help you win? Let’s play ball!

In 2000, when I was young and an idealist, I was working at an agency. The principal there had a mantra: “In marketing there are three ways to do things – good, fast and cheap – you can pick two.”

I didn’t get it, and for years, I tried to prove the pick two mantra wrong, without success.

Today, and hundreds of projects later, here is my official acquiescence and nod to the marketing professional that laid this out so succinctly.

The mantra is true. You cannot achieve good, fast and cheap. You must pick two.

I find this mantra is true across many spectrums. Case in point: I love to cook. Let’s take this approach and apply it to cooking:

Weekday dinners at the Hickman Home

• Good and Cheap: BBQ smoked chicken thighs with roasted root vegetables, 4 hours, $3 per serving
• Fast and Good: Cauliflower rice veggie bowl with turkey, 30 minutes, $5.50 per serving
• Cheap and Fast: Macaroni and Cheese with canned chicken, 15 minutes and $.87 per serving

Not into cooking? Apply it to your passion and see how it holds up.

Here are some recent projects on the Porch where the mantra held true:

• Good and Cheap: The GEM social media strategy which leverages optimal posting times and post sharing. We have been successful keeping social media channels current, fresh and relevant – all while meeting budget.
• Fast and Good: TodoModo Group trade show in December. With a two-week turnaround, we lovingly call this our Holiday marketing miracle.
• Cheap and Fast: “Not good” is not okay with us. Recently a prospect’s budget and timing didn’t work, and while we were grateful for the opportunity, we graciously declined.

We are tenured professionals dedicated to your business. We’ve run the course of projects from marketing strategy and planning, brand development, brand refresh, global internal and external communications, CSR, sustainability, operations in retail, fashion, real estate, restaurants, construction and more. We’ve got you covered with experience and expertise.

Join us on the Porch! Pick your two and let’s rock!

In my husband’s family, his mother did something wonderful at Christmas every year – she gave them a budget and took them shopping to choose their own gifts. I love this idea, it’s extremely sweet and reinforces the importance of giving. And although I appreciate the lessons inherent in granting children control over these decisions, I just have never felt like I had the time necessary to carry on the tradition.

However, this year, my youngest son Mason saved $13. And, having heard the stories about his father’s process as a boy, begged me to take him shopping, so he could do the same and purchase his own gifts. And so, with 10 people on his Christmas list and $13 burning a hole in his pocket, we headed to the only store that could accommodate him – Dollar Tree.

And so off we went. He walked in, list in hand, got his cart, and went to work. And I’m just sitting back, enjoying watching it all unfold, when Mason bumps into a friend’s mom in the toy aisle. He proudly tells her what he is doing and asks her opinion about a gift for my niece. And of course, she is as touched as I am. As she tells me how sweet she thinks my son is, I begin to cry. I’m overwhelmed by his goodness and appreciative of the validation.

Mason thoughtfully chooses his precious and thoughtful Dollar Tree gifts and pays for them, spending all $13 dollars, and borrowing the amount necessary to cover tax from me (and quickly re-paying the loan, I might add). He says, “I spent all my money on other people … but I feel really, really good. It feels good to give.”

And that, my friends, is all I need … my child instilled with the spirit of giving.

And it’s a reminder to me, this holiday season and always, that It indeed is better to give than receive.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

If you have worked in retail for any amount of time, you know just how important the Friday and Monday after Thanksgiving – known as Black Friday and Cyber Monday – are to the retail cycle. If you are just starting out, here’s the scoop:

Black Friday kicks off the critical holiday season for retailers and is traditionally the busiest shopping day of the year. It is a crucial opportunity for all retail because approximately 30 percent of annual sales occur between Black Friday and Christmas. For some retailers, such as jewelers, it’s even higher — nearly 40 percent.

According to our very own Rock, Tara Engelland (who spent many years on the Galleria marketing team), “At Galleria Dallas, we were planning for the following year’s holiday before we finished the one we were in. We had some pretty big events that took place each year but we were always trying to think of new things to add that would enhance the shoppers’ experience.”

Today is Cyber Monday. Cyber Monday is the biggest online shopping day of the year. Last year, Adobe estimated it would reach $3 billion in sales.

So how do you market for Cyber Monday?

All things online should be promoted online, so your online strategy needs to be strong. Pull out all your online media stops! From social, email to banners and web, all channels should be pointing to your Cyber deal. Just like Black Friday, marketing plans should be made far in advance, particularly if your business is e-commerce only.

We worked closely with our Front Porch Client, Ellen Hoffman Designs, on her Cyber Monday strategy. We are blasting her Cyber Monday deal – 20% off her distinct, one-of-kind jewelry – across all social media platforms. If you would like to take advantage of her
Cyber Monday promotion, visit ellenhoffmandesigns.com and use the promo code Cyber20.

Black Friday 2016 is in the books. According to CNN Money: “It was a strong weekend for retailers, but an even better weekend for consumers, who took advantage of some really incredible deals,” said National Retail Federation (NRF) President and CEO Matthew Shay in a news release. Their full report is here.

How Cyber Monday 2016 stacks up against projections is yet to be seen. What we do know is that if you are in the retail sector, you should be thinking about Black Friday and Cyber Monday 2017. Are you? You should be. We can help.

Interested in learning more about Black Friday and Cyber Monday? These links give a nice broad base of information:

• Why Is Black Friday Called Black Friday?
• What Is the History of Black Friday?
• Where Are Black Friday Sales Deals?
• What Is Cyber Monday?

Happy shopping, happy marketing, happy retail!