Again this year, Team Mulberry Marketing, made up of our employees, friends and spouses, came together to support Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio at the annual Bowl-A-Thon fundraising event. We practiced our backswings (not really) and showed up ready for an afternoon of spares and strikes! Although a few team members were showing off their intense hooks, we saw a lot of gutter balls and fouls that day.
All smiles . . . when they're winning
A little healthy competition . . .
Built-in bowling ball or baby on the way?
Bowling makes you thirsty . . .
The boss . . .
and the boss's husband going head to head!
This is our third consecutive year of “Throwing A Strike for Financial Literacy”. Junior Achievement of East Central Ohio is a worthy cause as the organization educates thousands of students in our community about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs.
The team at Mulberry Marketing Group happily received honors at this year’s ADDY Awards Gala hosted by the Canton Advertising Federation.
A Gold ADDY was awarded in the E-mails/E-Cards category for the ADB Airfield Solutions Holiday eCard. The eCard , which featured illustration work by our own, Brett Marriner, Director of Technology Integration, was great fun to work on and well received by ADB’s customers and partners this past holiday season . . . and of that we’re especially proud!
ADB eCard
This year we decided to enter work in the Self Promotion category . . . we’re used to tooting the horns of our customers and we thought we’d toot our own for a bit . . . and TOOT: we won a Silver ADDY for our 2010 Calendar! The calendar, part of a year-long marketing campaign, offers a specific marketing tactic along with tips, best practices, examples and a special URL for recipients to get more content each month. The theme, “Mulberry Marketing Under the Big Top”, features unique and engaging artistry as well as quotes from circus creators, goers and all-around creative individuals to inspire.
Mulberry Calendar Snapshot
The CAF event theme, Phantom of the ADDYs, was unique and entertaining, while the venue, the Joseph Saxton Gallery of Photography in downtown Canton, offered an ideal environment for displaying and celebrating the work of local creatives. Check out the event photos on CAF’s Flickr photo stream and look for the Mulberry gang including Lisa Marshall, Director of Client Services and CAF President (images 16, 29, 59), Brett Marriner, Director of Technology Integration and Kristie Bryant Fitzgerald, Art Director (images 18, 59).
Our company quietly started a feature on our Facebook fan page….Ask Mulberry. The idea is for fans to ask us a question and we will choose questions to answer via video and post to the Facebook page. Pretty simple concept (thanks to Kristie for coming up with that little gem).
Only trouble is, nobody has asked a question! Are you scared, do you have all the answers, do you not want to see us on video…what is the problem? I think I have an idea why there are no questions. Well, first of all, we were too quiet telling you about this feature and we are working on that. Secondly, you just need a little nudge, so here is some inspiration:
Why do you only focus on B2B marketing…isn’t all the glamour in B2C?
What’s with the one guy on your team, is he tortured by the women?
How can I get management to embrace just a small social media plan?
Is printed literature dead?
What was your most effective direct marketing campaign?
Why are you called “Mulberry” Marketing Group?
How can I integrate video on our Web site or email?
Find some inspiration…great, now ask away. We are really excited to have a good reason to use our Flip video camera. Facebook link
If you’re like me, you get countless emails throughout the day touting the latest news, tips, trends and case studies surrounding social media. I flag some, print some, scan some and dump some. In the mean time I am tweeting, blogging, linking in, facebooking, digging and swirling my brain around the social media landscape. While I and my Mulberry co-horts participate and engage in social media as consumers we are truly focused on how it can benefit our B2B client base. And it seems that the a good bit of the rest of the B2B world is jumping on the bandwagon.
In the interest of saving you some time weeding through your inbox or just trying to find the best of the best resources on the subject, here are my three faves:
MarketingProfs (www.marketingprofs.com)
– Daily newsletter is a breeze to scan and includes social media content almost every day
– Follow them on twitter to stay up to the minute
– Definitely recommend the Pro package for free reports and tons of other stuff that I must make the time to leverage!
BtoBonline (www.btobonline.com)
– I’m not a huge fan of their email newsletters, but you can obviously be certain their content is strictly b2b
– Website is a nice resource…do a search for “social media” and find the latest articles, white papers and other content
iMedia Connection (imediaconnection.com)
– Definitely my favorite of the bunch!
– Must subscribe to the daily e-newsletter…content is right on the money, always relevant and often b2b
– They are all over social media
– Articles are a quick read and great to share with staff and post on twitter
It’s so exciting to be in the midst of this new marketing platform…to watch it take shape, to help make it happen for ourselves and our clients and to see what happens tomorrow! In the mean time, share your “must read” on social media.
I admit it, I was totally sucked into the marketing fervor surrounding the Android. Any good marketer would be, though, right? I suppose it wasn’t total hype. The “droid” has super cool touch screen technology and is geared to run all the “must have” apps.
I think the app that lets you scan the bar code on an item and then shows you how much it costs online and at other retailers in your area is pretty slick. However, am I really going to run across town to save 47 cents on some laundry detergent…no. Or am I going to run home and order those 10lb dumb bells on line for five dollars less…no, I need them now and I’m sure the shipping on 20 pounds will surpass my five dollar savings. And that pretty much sums up my 5 weeks with the Android…lots of bells and whistles but not too useful.
So, I am back to my blackberry.
It captures every email with lightning speed, has a normal, non-touch screen keyboard, allows me to text with ease and dials and answers phone calls just like you’d expect. And guess what… with my Blackberry Curve 8530, I can even get those treasured apps!
I’d love to hear about your experiences with the Android, Blackberry, iPhone. Got an opinion, share it here.
Last year, the Mulberry team decided to redirect their holiday funds to those less fortunate. We gave to numerous worthy causes and found the most enjoyment from the Adopt-A-Family program sponsored by Community Christmas. That’s probably because there’s more to it than writing a check…we get to interact with the families, in a sense.
While we don’t get to meet them in person, the organization provides a little information about the family as well as their clothes sizes and toy preferences for the children.
So this year, we headed off to Walmart for a post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy! Rather then searching for another fabulous dickie for Cousin Eddy (please tell me that you do “get” the reference to Randy Quaid’s character in National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation!), we are searching for Nerf Launchers, Easy Bake Ovens and Star Wars gear for the family members.
Everything is wrapped and tagged and delivered for distribution to the families. The best part comes a few weeks later when we receive some of the most heartfelt thank you notes you’ve ever read.
Our next event will come in early March when we go bowling for Junior Achievement. Stay tuned!
One of the keys to effective communication is knowing when to talk and when to listen. Of course, listening doesn’t always happen with our ears…these days it happens with mouse clicks, cookies, forwards and opt-outs.
While the analytics can make listening a bit more scientific, the additional challenge lies in asking the right questions and providing the right content to elicit a response.
Rich internet applications provide a engaging means of generating robust dialogue with your audiences. Consider the value of having your customer/prospect build your product or service to their own specifications. How much more can that tell you about their preferences? Letting them play, imagine, create and become engaged with your brand is a major goal for most marketers. So let’s put technology to good use and make that happen.
Depending on your audience a rich internet app might be a product configurator or it could be a game/challenge/quiz to test their knowledge, it could even be a resource library…the possibilities are endless.
Diebold ATM Security Challenge
Wayne Dalton Garage Door Design Center
Matco Toolbox Configurator
Start by thinking about your customers, prospects, influencers and your sales team…where do they get stuck in the buying cycle? Are they confused about attributes…not sure why your offering is better than the competitors…unable to justify the value, etc. Your answers might be a place where a rich internet application can effectively bridge that gap.
Consider the value that RIA’s can have in your marketing mix and communicate effectively.
Just last week we hit the road for newer carpet, fresher paint and an all around great new work space! Moving day was smooth to say the least (thankfully) and we were up and running in no time. We still have a few boxes to unpack and when we do you’ll see pics of the new place. Here’s our new address:
4607 Everhard Rd. NW
Canton, OH 44718
Just a reminder that our phone, fax, e-mail and remit to address all stay the same.
All packed and ready to go.
Now we just need the movers to show up . . . Donut anyone?
While planning the move, the team came up with an unofficial list of things we won’t and will miss at the old place.
Things we won’t miss:
Sewer flies tops the list. We suspect they came from the sewer and infiltrated our office, hence the name. Nothing like finding the winged perps in your coffee cup, files, etc.
The Dumpster comes in at a strong second. Big doors hanging wide open, dumpster greeting us every morning! No matter how many times we pulled those doors shut, someone came along and left them wide open! Talk about visual clutter!
The goose poop. We were not operating on a nature preserve, but sometimes felt like it.
Dumpster divers. We’re all about finding treasures in odd places and the hunt, too, but there are limits people . . . and close the doors when you’re done!
That long commute . . . okay not really, we’re only two minutes closer to home.
The brilliant blue marker splatter on the wall . . . this is an inside joke, and no, we won’t be disclosing the details except to say tempers don’t always flare red, but it felt wrong to remove it from the list.
Solicitors. No, we would not like to buy the spa package of the day . . . wait, what am I saying?!
Having to use the paging system to communicate (that’s for more important things like announcing the latest great idea or new client).
Things we will miss:
Being soooo close to Talaquepaque. Mexican food does stimulate the brain, we swear.
Having separate restrooms for ladies & gents . . . we’re looking at all unisex now. Ally McBeal was ahead of its time.
The baby geese. Yes, they poo, but they’re darn cute making their way across the parking lot.
The UPS guy.
Solicitors. To be honest, they might have offered a touch of entertainment value and a little appreciation for good old fashioned cold calling.
Very soon the sound of bubble wrap will be heard and the smell of cardboard will be drifting throughout the offices of Mulberry Marketing Group . . . We’re moving! The team is packing up and heading to a cozy new spot just around the corner. Move day is September 3rd and we don’t plan to miss a beat, but please bear with us if we encounter any technical difficulties!
Our new address is:
4607 Everhard Rd. NW
Canton, OH 44718
Our phone, fax, e-mail and remit to information all stays the same, so just update the street address and you’re set!
Check out the new Rooster T from the designers at Mulberry Marketing Group. Made in the USA by American Apparel, the t-shirt was printed by Sharprint with trendy fashion soft inks for low-impact texture with color retention. The T was designed for a social media campaign and given to to five randomly selected contest winners. Recipients of the Rooster T receive a custom packaged shirt with MMG biz card stitched inside with new signature color, hot pink.
