ZenMedia

Web Design with You in Mind

Tag: Marketing

  • When to Rebrand

    When to Rebrand

    A business should consider rebranding when its current brand identity no longer effectively represents its current goals, target audience, or market position. Outdated branding can manifest as a mismatch between the brand and the company’s vision, obsolete visuals, or difficulty in differentiating the brand from competitors. 

    Signs that indicate it’s time for a rebrand:

    • Outdated Brand Identity:
    • A brand that appears and feels outdated compared to its competitors can negatively impact perception and engagement. 
    • Shifting Target Audience:
    • If a business has expanded its reach or changed its focus, the existing brand might not resonate with the new or evolving target market. 
    • Mergers or Acquisitions:
    • When businesses merge, a rebrand can help create a unified brand identity that reflects the combined entity. 
    • Negative Associations:
    • If the brand has been linked to damaging events or perceptions, rebranding can help distance the business from these associations. 
    • Lack of Differentiation:
    • If a business struggles to differentiate itself from the competition, a rebrand can help establish a distinct brand identity and a competitive advantage. 
    • Outgrown Brand:
    • A brand created for a smaller, earlier stage of the business may feel restrictive or no longer suitable as the company expands or evolves. 
    • Changing Business Model or Strategy:
    • When a business pivots its core focus or introduces new products or services, a rebrand can align the brand with the new direction. 
    • Struggling to Attract Customers or Talent:
    • A weak or outdated brand can hinder the ability to attract new customers, retain existing ones, or recruit top talent. 
    • Poor Brand Consistency:
    • If the brand is not consistently applied across different touchpoints (such as the website and marketing materials), it can create confusion and dilute the brand message. 
    • Negative Feedback from Customers or Employees:
    • If customers or employees consistently express dissatisfaction with the brand, it’s a strong signal that a rebrand may be necessary. 

    Please let us know if you are looking to rebrand or would like to learn more.

    Contact Us
  • Marketing your business effectively in a stressed-out, politically charged environment

    Marketing your business effectively in a stressed-out, politically charged environment

    Marketing your business effectively in a stressed-out, politically charged environment requires a strategic and sensitive approach. Here’s a guide to navigating these challenging times: 

    1. Understand the Political Climate and Your Audience:

    • Monitor political developments: Stay informed about current events and how they might affect public opinion and your target audience.
    • Deeply understand your audience: Analyze their demographics, preferences, behaviors, and values to tailor your messaging effectively. Some will appreciate a bold stance on social issues, while others may disengage. Understand this and be prepared for either outcome.
    • Research your target market: Know the issues your audience cares about and how you can support relevant causes authentically. 

    2. Strategize Your Messaging:

    • Lead with your values: Reaffirm your brand’s core values in your messaging and align them with advocacy if appropriate (e.g., supporting women-owned businesses or environmental initiatives).
    • Emphasize shared values and unity: Focus on universal themes that bridge divides and resonate with broad audiences.
    • Stay authentic: Your actions should reflect your words. Support causes authentically and avoid being perceived as opportunistic or insincere.
    • Be strategic and intentional: Decide when to take a stand publicly and when to focus on business.
    • Educate and empower, don’t just react: Instead of simply reacting to news, create content that inspires action and provides tools for your audience to get involved.
    • Craft relatable and timely content: Connect with your audience’s current concerns and interests, potentially incorporating subtle references to political events or trending topics.
    • Maintain transparency and honesty: Address controversies promptly and openly, explaining how your brand is addressing the situation. 

    3. Leverage Marketing Channels Effectively:

    • Focus on local and community engagement: Build connections with your local audience to differentiate your brand from national political discourse.
    • Utilize digital marketing channels: Reach your target audience directly and avoid being overshadowed by political advertising.
    • Consider platforms with less political ad saturation: Explore digital audio platforms, like podcasts and streaming services, as potentially safer advertising spaces.
    • Embrace targeted advertising: Use data to reach specific demographics and interests.
    • Optimize for local search: Ensure your business is easily found by local customers. 

    4. Prepare for Pushback and Maintain Resilience:

    • Prepare for pushback: Anticipate both support and criticism, and decide in advance how you will respond to negative feedback.
    • Protect your energy: Decide on a plan for handling negative comments to avoid letting anxiety drive your responses.
    • Maintain flexibility and agility: Be prepared to adjust your marketing strategies and messaging as needed.
    • Monitor and respond to consumer sentiment: Pay close attention to customer feedback and market trends.
    • Build a crisis response plan: Have a plan in place to address potential issues and maintain control over your brand’s response.
    • Strengthen Your Financial Resilience: Be Prepared for Economic Volatility. 

    5. Consider Strategic Partnerships and Innovation:

    • Collaborate with like-minded brands: Amplify your voice and pool resources by partnering with other businesses.
    • Explore innovative solutions: Use technology and co-creation with customers or partners to develop relevant products and services. 

    6. Take Action Beyond Marketing:

    • Actively participate in your community: Go beyond marketing by taking concrete actions that align with your brand’s values, such as supporting local initiatives or causes that are important to you. 

    By implementing these strategies, you can navigate the complexities of a politically charged environment, maintain brand visibility, build trust with your audience, and position your business for success. 

  • Leveraging your press release for maximum results

    Leveraging your press release for maximum results

    How to create a modern press release

    Even though times have changed and many things we once took for granted have faded away, the press release remains one of them. You have information that needs to be available to many, and the press release shows how to do it.

    NOTE: The primary purpose of a press release is to make it easy for others to disseminate your information. When creating a press release, your goal is to be clear, concise, organized, and easy to use.

    Do not take shortcuts!

    However, there have been a few changes; the main difference between the old and modern press releases is that we now need to make it easy for the web. Easy copy and paste for the text is a must; the text should be formatted in a way that requires no additional formatting. A good test is to take the copy and paste it into Facebook and see how it looks.

    Another BIG thing is images; photos or flyers need to be sized correctly, which means not too big. The rule is that the images should not exceed 1000 Pixels on the longest side. This does require a bit of tech knowledge, but it can be easily learned.

    These things are meant to make it easier for those you are sending the Press Release to, usually the media. The media will probably quickly look at the press release but not do any additional work, such as proofreading or editing.

    Easily accessible is the key. The press release needs to be easily emailed and, in some cases, made available on a website.

    Writing Tips:

    • Limit your release to one or two pages.
    • Use a headline to convey the message and capture attention effectively.
    • Use the inverted pyramid style. Get to the point and then elaborate on it, with increasingly less critical (but essential) details in the paragraphs that follow.
    • Keep it simple, clear, and direct. That’s a lot easier said than done, but it can be done if you put yourself in the place of the reader.
    • Try to engage your reader from the start with a catchy lead paragraph.
    • Be sure of your facts. Reporters and editorial writers must be able to depend on you for accurate information.
    • If you can do so legitimately, convey a sense of urgency without being histrionic, perhaps through a quote from the head of your organization.
    • Go easy on quotes; however, be sure those that you do use sound like something a real person would say. Always check with the quoted person first. Some people prefer to have a draft quote that they can “okay”; others want to give their quote.
    • Never use a long word when a short one will suffice; the same applies to sentences. When you use a long sentence, follow it with a short, declarative one. Keep paragraphs short.
    • Avoid jargon of any kind, especially legal and computer jargon. Be sparing in the use of acronyms, and when you do use one, be sure it appears the first time parenthetically after the full name of whatever it represents.
    • Include visual aids when you can. A photograph, graphic, or other illustration can help convey your message and add interest to your release.
    • Have it reviewed, preferably by someone outside your organization, to ensure it is professional, engaging, understandable, and free of typographical errors.

    The Press Release is your friend, but indeed, a needy one.

    Are you finding creating a press release to be too time-consuming? We can help.