Mad 4 Blog

You may be surprised to hear the above statement, especially coming from us, but it is the simple truth. In good times and bad times, a large percentage of the marketing efforts you put out into the world won’t be as effective as you had planned. What makes marketing successful is the strength of your brand and the emotional connection of your unique message.

An important thing to keep in mind is that failure should not be seen as terminal. In the world of marketing, we tend to look at failures as part of a greater growth process. It’s important to understand what aspects of your marketing endeavors failed or succeeded and then analyze your results to discover why. Many marketing efforts are actually staggered, so that continual analysis/improvement is built directly into the process. Being able to adapt as you go is always a bonus, which is why we never recommend blowing your annual budget on any one tactic. Rather, you should seek cost-effective and well-rounded strategies that will allow you to explore multiple angles and make the greatest possible impact on your determined audience.

Good marketers know that success or failure can be measured in many different ways. For example, even if your conversions aren’t hitting the marks that you expected when you began your marketing campaign doesn’t mean that you haven’t connected with your audience. Every time you engage with prospective clients, you’re building up a bigger presence and allowing them to familiarize with your business and services. Naturally, we always want these impressions to convert to sales. However, the ultimate success of some marketing techniques may not be measurable in nickels and dimes; but by introducing your brand and opening a line of communication, you’re still accomplishing invaluable marketing connections.

As always, consistent and comprehensive marketing campaigns that approach niche audiences from multiple angles over time are the most surefire way to guarantee marketing results. At Mad 4 Marketing, we offer strategic insight that will allow you to enhance brand awareness and connect deeply with your audience through targeted messaging. To address every agenda–from rebranding your company to engaging in social media or even building a complete 360° campaign–we’ve got the talent and experience to help you achieve impactful, successful marketing.

The late and great WC Fields once said, ‘Never work with children or animals’, and while some may believe that to be good advice, you might want to think seriously about employing them in your advertising.

Emotion is a very powerful tool and using it to create a connection with the consumer is, in the long term, even more important than behavior triggering marketing tactics such as free trials and price-cut incentives. When your customer relates to the brand, rather than just to an offer, that is the basis for developing brand equity, which manifests as customer loyalty. Coca-Cola loyalists do not choose Coke over Pepsi by price. In fact, one way to look at brand equity is the degree to which customers will pay a premium for a particular brand, over the brand’s competitors.

For the creative team here at Mad 4 Marketing, evoking consumer emotion has always been a top priority, both in B2C and B2B markets. Experience shows that connecting emotionally has a quantifiable dollar value.

Think about the many forwarded emails featuring babies or animals that land in your inbox every week. People like the stuff. Truthfully, they go a bit nuts. There are even websites like Cuteoverload.com devoted to cute imagery where thousands of people go every day to get their daily dose.

While not the right note for every company, you just can’t deny that adorable images arouse our emotions. In doing so, they also help to build brands. Ameritrade cashed in on ‘cute’ with its series of talking baby commercials – one of the most popular spots of this year’s Superbowl. Geico also knows about the competitive advantage gained by cute things – not to mention that fact that cute things are memorable. Who could forget that cheeky little green gecko?  The brand equity associated with Geico’s gecko is $4.5 Billion. They’ve tried to repeat that success by personifying a stack of money in their new campaign.  By making a stack of money cute, it’s instantly recognizable. Brand awareness is a step on the path towards brand preference.

But whether or not puppies or babies are featured in your advertising, an emotional connection is key. A powerful, emotional bond with customers can take your relationship to another level. If you’re lucky, it could turn into one that makes consumers your own brand champions – advocates so passionate about your message (or the delivery of that message) that they actively broadcast or webcast it themselves by posting a link to a commercial on YouTube or on their Facebook page.

So, ask yourself, do your marketing messages communicate with your consumer on an emotional level?