Customer Spotlight: Maxwell’s Bow Ties

I have been eagerly awaiting this post for over a month now. Monday the website for Maxwell’s Bow Ties went live and so now is a good time to tell you about it! When I first started my business a gentleman wearing a unique bow tie walked into the Co with the apparent mission to find me. That man was Max Garner and we started a business relationship to help bring his bow ties to market in the best way possible.

Max and I worked together to create the entire branding package: logo, packaging, and a website. It has been a joy to work with Max on all of these projects and to wear the bow ties around town (yes I have been actually wearing these and they are awesome!).

Here are the goods (and you can order them here):

 

Maxwell's Bow Ties logo engraved on wood.
Maxwell’s Bow Ties logo engraved on wood.
MBT Business Card Front
The front of Maxwell’s business card.
MBT Product Insert Front
The front of Maxwell’s product insert.

 

The backside of the Bow Tie Insert
The backside of the Bow Tie Insert with the story and care instructions.

I hope to see everyone wearing Maxwell’s Bow Ties this Christmas!

Effective Emails

Why do people open emails from companies? What makes an effective marketing email? Well these stats from Marketing Charts seem to show that deals are the primary reason that emails effect buying behavior.

But this also covers info regarding other forms of marketing. Email ranks at the top of this list and I think it might have something to do about permission marketing. You have to opt in to receive those emails which means you are already interested in the product. If you are the marketer you have already qualified the prospect. Permission marketing is the way to go!

 

Email works when deals are offered

 

McDonald’s addressing its millennial problem?

While perusing the internet last week I came across a new online ad campaign from McDonald’s featuring Grant Imahara (formerly of Myth Busters). McDonald’s has hired Imahara to help “bust some byths”(ht-wd) about their products. This campaign is made up of videos of Grant Imahara and others visiting the factories where the McDonald’s food is made. The video below is an exploration of the sandwich that can only be described by the name McRib!

 

McRib

With this campaign McDonald’s is trying to take steps to recover it’s public image that was so degraded during the great pink slime scandal of the last 2000’s. I think their image is especially tarnished with Millennials. Millennials tend to care about the quality of their food and where it comes from. During a conversation at the CO last night it was pointed out that Chipotle restaurants have a great reputation with Millennials because they have their supply sourcing Millennial-proofed. They use organic and sustainable products which Millennials love. I think this ad campaign is specifically trying to overcome some of the distaste that Millennials have for McDonald’s. What do you think?

 

 

4 Take-Aways from Taylor Swift’s album release

Taylor Switch just sold 1.287 million albums.

That is the most albums sold in one week since 2002 when Eminem released “The Eminem Show” featuring the single “Without Me”. It is the most albums sold this year. No other album has succeeded in going platinum this year and that includes releases from Lady Gaga, Maroon 5, and Florida Georgia Line. In a time of declining album sales how did Taylor Swift do it? I think it was more than musical expertise. Here are four marketing take-aways:

 

100 likes Guy Meme

 

1. She fought the system.

Taylor made an unconventional move by removing her music from online streaming service Spotify and refusing to allow her new album to be played online for free. This is a 180 degree turn from what the music industry is doing. Is it always wise to defy convention? No. But by forcing her fans to buy the album to hear it she found a convention to defy that was in her favor. It was a low risk high reward plan that appears to have worked out for her.

2. She was everywhere. Even NPR. Twice.

Leading up to the release Taylor did appearances on all sorts of media outlets. Late night shows and early morning shows. She worked hard. Even outlets that might be on the fringe of her target market, like NPR. I caught a piece of her interview with Fresh Air and Morning Edition and was impressed by her interview skills. One of the downsides with radio is that you would have had to look on twitter to see that she even showed up on NPR dressed in costume.

3. She incentivised purchase.

To help make people purchase the album in the stores she incentivised the purchase. Taylor and her marketing team thought through the action they wanted people to take (buy an album in the store) and made a good guess on the amount of incentive customers needed to complete that transaction(3 bonus tracks, pictures, and other stuff). She turned the buying of the cd into an experience and in a world full of stuff, experiences will become more and more important.

3. She connected with fans.

Swift does an amazing job with connecting with fans on Twitter and Instagram. One particularly interesting effort was having people send her pictures of them buying her album in stores! I bet for most of these tweens it was their first album to purchase and put their hands on a physical copy (unless it was a gift). In a world where people (me included) get excited about a a mention or retweet on twitter, why not do it to your fans! What a way to connect with fans with exerting a small amount of effort. If someone tries to connect with you on social media it is to your advantage to reach back.

 

Taylor Swift market genius?