In the good old days (and I’m really dating myself here), a full-color one-page print ad required a minimum of two weeks just for production – from typesetting to trimming with an X-acto™ knife to mounting and pasting onto a board to 4/c film separation with real film! This took much, much longer for a multi-page brochure. And God help us if we needed to make a change. 

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There has been an increase in the amount of attention given to employee engagement in a response to the continued uncertainty during these difficult economic times. Executive leaders and human resources (HR) practitioners are recognizing the importance of an engaged workforce and its potential to drive business results. Engaged employees are highly motivated and vested in the success of their organizations. 

 Research by Gallup and others shows that engaged employees are more productive. They are more profitable, more customer focused and more likely to withstand temptations to leave. The best-performing companies know that an employee engagement improvement strategy linked to the achievement of corporate goals has a direct effect on a company’s bottom line.

• Gallup’s recent analysis of 199 surveys found that business units scoring in the top half on employee engagement double their odds of delivering high performance compared to those in the bottom half. Those at the 99th percentile are nearly five times more likely to deliver high performance than those at the 1st percentile.
• Companies in the top 10 percent on employee engagement bested their competition by 72 percent in earnings per share. For companies that scored beneath the top quartile, earnings fell 9.4 percent below their competition.
• Gallup researchers, who base the Employee Engagement Index on a survey of nearly 42,000 randomly selected adults, estimate that disengaged workers cost U.S. businesses as much as $350 billion a year.

Companies are realizing that employees are their most important asset and the living embodiment of their brand. If employees are engaged and energized, they will bring the brand to life and deliver exceptional work and positive experiences that impact business performance. Today it is imperative that company leaders are committed to providing formal engagement opportunities with all of their employees. Employees need to be engaged in the corporate vision, mission, strategy and goals. One way to do this is to develop an employee brand message platform based on their business mission and communicate it consistently within all employee communication vehicles. Examples of employee communication vehicles include videos, push emails, employee surveys, employee games and recognition of employees who are demonstrating the corporate mission. Domus and its network of resources have the expertise to help companies develop and execute fully integrated employee engagement plans. Let us show you how we can help you drive your bottom line through greater employee engagement.  

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805.

Today’s rapidly shifting marketing and media landscape means that client and agency professionals must be more integrated than ever before. We can no longer think of ourselves as marketing managers, account managers, media planners, art directors, copywriters or research managers.  We are all buyers, sellers and enablers of media and must work together to achieve a successful campaign. 

Here is what I have recently witnessed within the industry. The lines between public relations and social media are blurring. Account managers need to be well-versed in analyzing technical data, interpreting those results and translating those results into strategic recommendations. Media professionals need to understand the brand strategy and all of the media options available today including social, online and mobile campaigns as well as established channels like broadcast and print. Likewise, creative and production teams are learning new technology and software programs in order to keep pace as well as how to translate TV or print concepts to online and mobile. And everyone needs to have in-depth expertise within a client’s business.

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In the era of Facebook and Twitter, has “engagement” with consumers been redefined as simply social media contact? Communicating effectively in a one-on-one manner with existing customers and the new generation of customers has become even more important in light of the bombardment of digital and traditional advertising messages. 

Experiential marketing, especially one-on-one interaction with customers, can create a branded and memorable experience to help strengthen your marketing campaign. This experiential marketing has the ability to appeal to all five senses, giving customers the opportunity to engage personally with your products and your brand. According to a recent online survey of 2,574 consumers ages 13-65, in the top 25 U.S. markets, the results confirm that this increasingly important marketing medium resonates strongly across demographics and product categories. In fact, 72% of 18- to 23-year-old consumers say experiential marketing would make them more receptive to the brand/product advertising; 59% say it would lead to a quicker purchase.

This study also indicated that live marketing experiences were shown to be a valuable way to increase marketing ROI:  75% of consumers say that participating in a live marketing experience would make them more receptive to the product/brand’s advertising; 75% of consumers said they would be extremely likely to tell others after participating in a live marketing event, extending impact through word-of-mouth.

Domus has had great success with live marketing experiences for the Pennsylvania Lottery to help launch its new instant ticket games. Each event utilized a creative overlay that reinforced the traditional advertising program of television, radio, print and outdoor. The theme was brought to life through a state-wide bus tour including live activities with audience participation, street teams, signage and ticket giveaways. Each tour garnered pre- and post-event press coverage as well as a multitude of attendees. The results? Another record-breaking year of ticket sales for the Pennsylvania Lottery!

Joanne Michael is an Executive Vice President at Domus, Inc., a marketing communications agency based in Philadelphia. For more information, visit http://www.domusinc.com. For new business inquiries, please contact CEO and founder of Domus, Inc. Betty Tuppeny at betty.tuppeny@domusinc.com or 215-772-2805

We work in a fast-paced environment that thrives on creativity and inspiration.  At times, it may seem easier and more efficient to bypass established systems in order to get a project completed for a client.  However, the core competency of advertising agencies and other creative outlets is not simply the production of creative work.  It’s the efficient management of that project which requires the ability to carefully control, document and communicate workflow to deliver the best results.  If this cannot be done, even the most creatively successful agency might find itself in a state of chaos. By establishing and adhering to well-established workflow and communication processes, agencies will actually save time in the long run, deliver a better product and satisfy their clients. 

Since each client is unique, Domus develops the most appropriate reporting and communications systems to meet their needs.  This can include any or all of the following:  creative briefs, decision reports, weekly hot lists, weekly status reports, monthly client meetings, quarterly and annual results analysis as well as other customized reports requested by the client.  Many of the above reports we are now converting to a digital dashboard that allows our clients easy access to this information at the touch of a button.

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A wise person once said, “We were given two ears but only one mouth, because listening is twice as hard as talking.” This is especially true in our industry, as agencies must be good listeners to understand direction provided by their clients in order to deliver the best outcome. Most of us think we are good listeners, but in reality, we’re not.

Listening requires careful attention. Sometimes people don’t pay careful attention when someone is speaking to them, thinking instead about how to press their point when the other person stops speaking. Also consider that people talk at about 125 words per minute. However, we think at a speed that is four or five times as fast, at 500 words per minute or more. This means that our thoughts move much faster than the words we are listening to and makes it not surprising that we often let our attention wander.
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In today’s tough business climate, companies are seeking ways to cut their marketing budgets as they look to bolster profit amid continuing concern over the state of the economy. It is a well-established fact, that in hard times, companies cut all marketing costs that are not tied to direct sales.  Whether your company intends to decrease spending or not, before you slash and burn across the board, you may want to consider preserving or even investing more money into public relations. Public relations is a proven, measurable, cost-effective method for generating visibility, credibility and thought leadership. A survey of chief marketing officers at major national and global advertisers conducted by the Association of National Advertisers found that the value public relations delivers as part of the overall marketing mix is increasing.  In addition, results from a recent survey by Vocus, a leading public relations software management company, found that 42 percent of those surveyed said their PR budgets would increase in 2011 versus only 29 percent who responded to the same question last year.

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As the saying goes, you’re only as good as your last project.  But what is the cumulative effect of all of your projects?   Do you know how your agency is performing not only on individual projects but other key factors such as responsiveness, business understanding, communication, added value?

According to a recent ANA (Association of National Advertisers) survey, while marketers deal in data, qualitative performance still tends to carry more weight in evaluations than quantitative ones such as media cost savings, sales or market shares.  Leading qualitative performance criteria identified by survey respondents as something they measure with their agencies include: (continue reading…)

We all talk about keeping our clients happy and satisfied, but do we delight them?  That may sound like an odd objective but let’s look at the definitions.  “Satisfied” is defined as “filled with satisfaction, content.”  Whereas “delight” is defined as “a high degree of gratification; also extreme satisfaction.”   Given these two definitions, I would prefer to delight my clients rather than simply make them happy.  This is particularly important in today’s tough economic climate.  Companies that have successfully weathered the economic storm are those that understand that service excellence is a business strategy and recognize that delivering on this strategy is a key differentiator.

According to the recent J. D. Power and Associates Inaugural Cross-Industry Report on Best Practices in Customer Service, during the past decade, average satisfaction scores for service-oriented industries have remained flat, unlike in product-based industries, for which satisfaction has improved steadily. In addition, across all service industries measured by J.D. Power, gaps in satisfaction between the highest- and lowest-performing brands have increased considerably between 2003 and 2010.  This is a sad state of affairs for the “service” industry.

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A crisis is any situation that’s threatening or could threaten to harm people or property, seriously interrupt business or damage reputation.  Every organization is vulnerable to crises.  Therefore, crisis management is critical in preserving the positive perception of a brand and protecting the business interests that may be damaged in the long term, short term, or both, by an unexpected crisis. Top-notch crisis communication strategies can greatly improve a client’s ability to plan for, respond to, and recover from a wide variety of crisis situations.

Domus’ approach to crisis management is strategic and disciplined, yet flexible enough to deal with any crisis; we plan for both the expected and unexpected alike.  This approach includes five key strategies: 

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