Small City, Big Opportunity

When freshly graduated college students leave their campus nests, they often have the desire to spread their wings and move to a big city such as New York or Los Angeles. Their “take over the world” mentality is inspiring to say the least, but could be arguably more effective when implemented in a smaller area.

The cities with a little less glam (and a lot less traffic) are increasing their share of these valuable college grads at a much higher rate than the New Yorks of the world, ultimately creating a desirable working environment.

 

Draw What You See, Write What You Know

Contrary to what some people believe, working in the area that you grew up in or studied in can be extremely beneficial. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of your region is a major advantage when entering the workforce.

There are plenty of unique opportunities that might not be as obvious to those accustomed to the anonymity of a big city. Specifically, in a smaller city, it’s often easier to create meaningful connections with other businesses and higher-ups.

Whether you are familiar with the industries in your area or not, it is crucial to know who you’re working with and who you’re up against. Familiarizing yourself with other businesses provides you with the opportunity to learn from what others do. This helps with the implementation of new ideas into your company’s strategy.

Success in an industry often comes down to who you know, and the tighter-knit communities allow for those successes to happen at a faster pace.

 

Live, Work, Play – Lenawee County

Lenawee County, while significantly smaller than New York, is known for its great educational opportunities, natural beauty, and diverse communities. Though it might be a cliché, it truly is a great place to live, work, and play.

The four exceptional post-secondary schools housed in Lenawee County allow for businesses to pull from the best of the best. As graduates leave their nests they take their knowledge and directly apply it to their career. Regardless of the time spent at these institutions, students have established networks that are bursting at the seams with potential.

 

Hoyden, Why Adrian?

Starting a business in Adrian was a no-brainer for cofounders Sarah Stanley and Molly Mason. Aside from being the only marketing and design agency in the area, the constant support for entrepreneurs from community members, municipality leaders, and other business owners is like no other. CEO, Sarah Stanley, had this to say, “Adrian is a small town eager to do big things. Knowing the attitude toward entrepreneurship, attracting young professionals, and filling gaps in service offerings just reassured our decision to locate here. We have received tremendous support and encouragement that have helped build the foundation of our business and are excited to be coming in at the time of Downtown Adrian’s revitalization effort. Adrian is home for us.”

Due to its recent development, more and more young professionals are moving to Adrian to begin their career. Creative Director, Alex Bourget, relocated from Washtenaw County to pursue her skills as a graphic designer for HCG and couldn’t be happier. “Working in Adrian has allowed me to become more involved with the community and local government. I feel as though I am able to get more accomplished here than I have anywhere else.”

The city’s leaders are dedicated to helping new businesses get started and flourish, and fellow businesses treat your growth as though it’s their own. Quite simply, Adrian provides a plethora of resources, talent, opportunities, and community involvement; the perfect recipe for a successful business.

 

The Importance of Representing Your Brand

Imagine that you’re taking your child to their first driving lesson, and out of nowhere, a car cuts you off and the driver is yelling at you. A few moments later, you pull up to the driving school to see the same person is now your child’s driving instructor. More than likely, you would take your child somewhere else. I’m not saying that you have to be a robot, but it’s important to be aware of your actions. Whether you’re on the clock or not, being a positive advocate for your brand is important.

 

React Wisely

I’m no wizard. Therefore, I can’t control when unexpected things happen to me. But, I can control the way I react to them. Showing self-control on tough situations tells people a lot about your character, which reflects positively on your brand.

 

Don’t be average

Demonstrate that your brand is unique. While attending networking events, make it a point to engage with everyone in the room, not just key people. Go above and beyond the norm. Learn about their interests and goals, so that you can offer support or advice. This builds trust, an important factor in business decisions.

 

When people trust you, your brand will speak for itself.

If you can successfully reach out and influence others positively, they will never forget about you.

The Magic Behind Marketing: The Unicorn Frappuccino Frenzy

The Magic Behind Marketing: The Unicorn Frappuccino Frenzy

Floating Unicorn Frappuccinos from Starbucks

The age of posting excessive pictures of your fancy drinks and fun foods on social media has arrived. Since the dawn of social media, people have captured photos and posted them online for the world to see. But now, everywhere you turn someone is seeking the perfect lighting for a picture of the newest vegan soup, or for the case of this discussion, the newest Starbucks drink.

But I love Starbucks…

There is no denying that Starbucks is dominating the Café industry, but have they gone too far? The new Unicorn Frappuccino went from an internet sensation to a controversial lawsuit in a matter of weeks. The globally desired drink hit the shelves on April 19 and was said to be a limited time offer. Limited time offer…brilliant. Not only did they develop a drink that was social media gold, they scheduled it so that everyone would have to try it before it was too late. Even the customers who were unable to get their hands on one turned to social media. Only this time to vent their frustration. I guess it’s true what they say, there’s no such thing as bad publicity!

PR specialists explain that the Unicorn Frappuccino was inspired by unicorn-themed food and drinks trending on social media, unicorn emojis, and the unicorn filter on Snapchat. Brooklyn café, The End, had a different opinion, saying that Starbucks ripped-off their already established drink called the Unicorn Latte. The End began selling the Unicorn Latte in December of 2016, and has had a pending trademark for the drink name since January of 2017. That said, The End isn’t the only small business with a unicorn-inspired drink on their menu. This mythical creature is truly taking the social media world by storm #magic.

The interesting thing about these trends is that companies often leave the marketing up to the consumers. Why dump millions of dollars on social media campaigns when your customers will go online and do it for you? Aside from the initial announcement of the new product, companies get to sit back and watch as we upload endless posts, making their product a desirable fixation.

Take away the sparkles and what are you left with?

As a millennial, I too have developed a love for social media. I’ll even share the occasional photo of decadent cocktails or colorful cuisine that I come across. The one thing I don’t understand is the obsession over these trends, especially when people don’t actually enjoy the product. Most folks who purchased the Unicorn Frappuccino said they didn’t like the taste, claiming it tasted like sour milk.

There’s nothing magical about sour milk. I don’t care how sparkly or mystical it looks, if it tastes like dairy-gone-bad we should be tagging it the #DirtyDonkeyFrappe.

Are You Guilty of Groupthink?

United Airlines issued a report last week outlining changes in policy to prevent another incident like the one that occurred in April.  After violently removing a passenger from one of their flights, their response to the situation was less than ideal.

“I breached public trust with this event and how we responded,” Munoz told The Associated Press. “People are upset, and I suspect that there are a lot of people potentially thinking of not flying us.”

United Airlines is finally admitting they didn’t respond effectively to the situation.  Earlier, I talked about what this incident can teach us about public relations.

I can’t stop thinking about this situation, though.  I want to know why it happened.  How it happened.

Between United Airlines and the Kendell Jenner Pepsi Ad, there have been some high profile mishaps in the marketing universe.  Pepsi created an ad intending to show they were cutting edge, on the edge of social change.  As soon it aired, public outcry demanded it be removed. It was seen as racist, elitist, and everything that is wrong with our society.

I don’t think I’m alone in wondering how they got there.  How did the in-house Pepsi team sit in a room and approve that ad?  Why did it take United Airlines so very long to realize the error of their ways?

I Have a Theory

Have you ever heard of groupthink?  First defined in 1972 by Irving Janis, this communication theory illustrates when a group comes to a unanimous wrong decision despite facts that point to a different outcome.  Basically, the group cares more about group cohesiveness, approval, and everyone feeling “good” about the decision and being “right”.  Options get overlooked, opinions are left unsaid, and critiques are withheld.  This often leads to terrible results – some famous examples include the Challenger disaster and the Bay of Pigs invasion.

I believe groupthink played a large role in both United Airlines and Pepsi’s decision making.

It makes you wonder – are you guilty of groupthink in your organization?  What about tunnel vision or having a myopic outlook?  All things that work together to create a perfect storm of bad decision making.

Groupthink Quiz

Here’s a quick quiz to help you determine if you are guilty of groupthink – answer yes to one of these questions and maybe it’s time to put some preventive measures in place.

  1. Are people in your organization afraid to offer an alternative opinion that goes against the majority? How do you know that they are not? Do you have anonymous survey data to back that up?
  2. Do most of your meetings seem very harmonious with absolutely no discussion or disagreement? There can sometimes be too much of a good thing.
  3. Do you avoid bringing in an outside opinion or perspective? When’s the last time that happened?
  4. Does the leader of your organization give their opinion before everyone has chimed in?
  5. Do you assume silence by any member means they agree with the majority?

Why It Matters

In the case of United Airlines and Pepsi, the outcome of their bad decision making has been quite devastating.  They are now dealing with the following:

  • Dramatic drop of stock prices immediately following the incidents
  • Negative publicity
  • Demolition of their company image
  • Legal ramifications
  • Potential loss of future revenue

To grow as an organization, it’s important to take constant stock on both your internal and external communication strategies. Sometimes, that adjustment is a slight pivot, and other times it requires a giant leap in a different direction.

Groupthink has led to some terrible outcomes for companies and consumers. Don’t be the next example of what not to do.

How Infographics Make Boring Data More Interesting

How Infographics Make Boring Data More Interesting

Most people can agree that reading statistics and data-dense content can be very boring. Without any visual appeal, the average person will most likely forget the data they’ve read shortly after reading it. The good news is that there is an effective alternative to presenting data that aids in understanding and retaining the information provided: infographics.

An infographic is a popular form of content marketing that can help you simplify a complex topic. Ideally, an infographic should be visually attractive and contain subject matter and data that is interesting to your target audience. Doesn’t that sound more enticing than reading textual statistics and endless data? We thought so too.

Infographics show your products without actually telling people about them. That, in turn, allows viewers to make their own decisions about your product. Visuals allow your brain to make connections more easily: information is expressed quickly and concisely which breaks through the clutter of other content.

So how do infographics actually help your company’s marketing strategy? Quite simply, creating infographics allows for your target audience to become more involved in your data and ultimately increase your brand awareness. When it comes time to design your visual keep the following tips in mind:

1.  ENSURE CONSISTENCY AND EFFICACY

  • Don’t repeat things—this just adds to the clutter

2.  NARROW YOUR NARRATIVE

  • Make sense of the data by telling a story
  • With complex topics, it makes sense to paint with broad strokes first and then narrow down to the nitty gritty details

3.  CHOOSE A VISUAL APPROACH

  • Literal representation of data (charts, graphs, typography)
  • Metaphorical representation of data (illustrations)
  • Hybrid of both literal and metaphorical representations
  • Use what is consistent with your brand!

Content marketing is a major source of social sharing, and is considered one of the most cost effective ways of generating multipart website growth. With your visual content being as attractive as it is informational, your content marketing strategy will improve, increasing online traffic and overall consumer involvement.

What United Airlines Can Teach Your Business About Public Relations

Brad’s Wife taught us why social media management is important to your business. This week, United Airlines is illustrating why public relations management matters.

Over the weekend, they had a customer service incident that was videotaped and went viral.  What did or didn’t happen during that event doesn’t matter to me as much as how United responded to the public relations crisis.  Because a crisis it was – people were losing their minds on social media, and every national news organization picked up the story.

As we recently learned with the United Airlines leggings crisis, the company has a history of not responding quickly or effectively when negative topics start trending on social media.  It appears that they continue to ignore the power that social media has in today’s economy.

It wasn’t until after national news coverage that  CEO Oscar Munoz responded to the crisis.  Voted U.S. Communicator of the Year by PR Week, he did not make it better.  His first response reeked of insincerity accepted no blame, and offered no promises to fix a broken situation.  He doubled down on this narrative in his second response and blamed the passenger on the flight.

For a large organization, that surely has in-house public relations staff, it took Munoz until the third try to get the statement right by showing empathy, accepting blame, and promising to rectify their policies and procedures. It was unfortunately too late. United endured a global outcry, backlash, and falling stock prices that cost the company close to $1 billion dollars.

Obviously, it hasn’t been a great week for United Airlines.  This, is however, a great reminder for the rest of us to take stock of how we are handling our own public relations.

Here are some great questions to ask yourself:

  • Who manages our public relations?
  • Do we have a public relations strategy?
  • Is this a part of our marketing plan?
  • Do we have a PR crisis management plan?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions or don’t like the answers you came up with, maybe it’s time to bring in some professionals.  I may know a few.