MARKETING MAYHEM + MORE
During times of disaster sorrow brings people together in a spirit of friendship, and influences man to recognize the blessings of becoming his brother's keeper.” ― Napoleon Hill
Before we get into the real important subject of marketing (sarcasm), for those of you who aren’t aware, Home Run Auto Group’s co-owner, Jim Bozich, and his family and friends live in Lahaina on Maui. Thankfully, they are ok, but many of their friends are not. Any and all donations are welcome. Here is his daughter’s Go Fund Me page which is one place donations are being collected. Feel free to use that link to advertise on your own site as well.
The Bozich Center at Maui Prep is being used as a shelter and it’s where Jim and his wife Dana are concentrating their efforts right now. There are 45+ students and 15 faculty that lost their home this last week.
AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING AF POV - SIDELINE
Everyone wants to know how to spend the least amount of money and get the biggest return on marketing. For automotive marketing and really any marketing, it starts with this: Doing the Basics Brilliantly. Period. Here are the basics that cost little to no money. This is not the basics of your ad budget, because then we’d include paid search etc… this is the basics of little to no cost:
Your Reviews. This is a two-part focus. Getting reviews and getting your reviews read by your customers.
Your Current Customers. Everyone knows it is harder to conquest new owners so how well are you taking care of your current ones? Blasting them with emails is not taking care of your customers
Your Community. The people that pass your business every day. That work in your neighborhood. Low hanging fruit.
Your Employees and Business. Walking billboards for your business. I want to do business where people love to go to work. For your business, how you do one thing is how you do everything. Bathroom is a pit? I bet your F&I department is too.
Content. When people are researching everything on-line, give them something to find. What are you and your team subject matter experts in that people would want to know.
This is just a small blurb but I can give examples and strategies for all of these above. Call me.
From Ad Age:
HOLIDAY MARKETING STRATEGIES—HOW BRANDS AND CREATORS CAN WORK TOGETHER THIS SEASON
Brands seeking to work with influencers for the holidays should lock in their brand deals by October at the latest, Collective Voice survey reveals
Summer may still be in full swing, but nearly 50% of influencers are already mapping out their social media content for the holiday season, according to a new survey from creator marketing platform Collective Voice.
Over a quarter of creators reported they begin planning their holiday-themed content, from gift guides to holiday shopping hauls, before the end of July, while 21% said their preparations start in August. For 30% of respondents, holiday planning begins in September, meaning that marketers who haven’t started to consider the role of influencers in their upcoming holiday campaigns are already running out of time to secure those sponsorships, said Lindsay Jerutis, general manager of Collective Voice.
From Stacked Marketer:
AI adoption rivals smartphones, Amazon’s new feature, and more
According to a report by eMarketer, next year over 100M people will use generative AI in the US alone, more than double the adoption rate of tablets and smartphones over a similar period. Crazy.
And as you can imagine, companies are responding in two ways:
Some companies are trying to protect themselves: Recently the New York Times updated its Terms of Service to prohibit scraping articles and images to train AI models.
… While others are taking advantage: You know how sifting through Amazon reviews before buying a product can be overwhelming?
Amazon knows that cognitive overload kills conversions, which is why it’s introducing an AI feature that summarizes product reviews, letting buyers see the pros and cons of a product at a glance.
From Marketing Dive:
Michaels refreshes brand identity
The craft retailer’s brand revamp is already underway and marks the company’s 50th anniversary.
Craft retailer Michaels on Monday announced the launch of a refreshed brand identity. It’s centered around the new tagline “Everything to Create Anything” and positions Michaels as a creative partner that helps people turn ideas into tangible projects.
The revamped branding is also supported by three new ad spots highlighting Michaels’ value proposition of inspiration, products and guidance for customers who like to create. Michaels’ familiar logo and red color will still be featured, but revamped with updated fonts, accent colors and bolder graphics to highlight the tactile nature of the retailer’s creative products that inspire customers.
From Daily Carnage:
LEGAL LULLABIES
Can’t sleep? We’ll bet you’re out like a light after 10 minutes of listening to an actor softly reading Instagram’s Terms of Service, which you could probably use a refresher on anyway. It’s kind of like a relaxing podcast to have on in the background while you work, too. There’s even a version for TikTok. No promise that your dreams won’t be weird after this, though.
LA-Z-BOY MADE A ‘DECLINER’ THAT AUTO-GENERATES EXCUSES WHY YOU CAN’T GO OUT
The limited product is part of a new campaign, ‘We the Lazy,’ that says you really do deserve that downtime
Just a couple of things here:
Getting my first shipment today. I’ll let you know.
I’m contemplating becoming an influencer for card-playing. This is a joke but maybe not. Tonight I’m playing this with a fun group and next week I’m playing this with an even funner group. My mom made friends by playing bridge all around the country when we moved around. I’m just going to say it. PEOPLE ARE GETTING DUMBER AND DUMBER and the ability to communicate is going to become a LOST ART. So, instead of sticking your mug into your phone all the time or staring at TV - get a weekly or monthly card game together. There you can chat the old fashioned way like to a face and you can swear if you want and you can high five. If you’re lucky the host puts out some peanut M&Ms and hummus. What do you think? Will you join me in bringing back playing cards?
You know you’re old when this is now coming back as a thing. I know I’m old because I’m pretty positive I’d die if I did it now.
Just another reason why I am steering clear of San Fran right now.
If you are female and you are NOT into football, you must do this.
Three concerts I would go to right now, today, if I was invited. #1 - don’t know a ton of the songs/music but just watching her epic Coachella concert a few years ago gave me the chills! #2 - huge fan and love her like a daughter. Yes, I can sing every single word too. #3 Watched her documentary on Netflix and have to say - looks fantastic plus think she is one cool chick. Too bad I missed it in Milwaukee last night. What am I talking about? I am NOT a big concert goer, but these are three I’d like to watch more of on youtube. #honest