Jay Sachetti joined Jeff O’Brien, partner at Husch Blackwell and Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president of Exit Planning Strategies talked about the market for mergers and acquisitions, exit planning opportunities for companies that don’t end up for sale and how companies can maximize their eventual sale price during an early October panel at the first Upsize on Tap event at Summit Brewing Co. in St. Paul.
When the state Legislature passed a law requiring employers to provide paid leave and safe time for employees, Justin Bieganek started hearing differing details from friends, colleagues and peers.
Scott Baird,
Sterling Cross Communications:
763.496.1499
sc***@****************up.com
www.sterlingcrossgroup.com
HOW DO YOU PRESENT your company in several mediums effectively and consistently while maintaining the other aspects of your company?
For years businesses have hired separate companies, each specializing in its own medium of communication: print, Web, marketing, public relations, video and audio. These specialists may be the ideal solution for a company with internal brand management, but what about the small business? Not every organization has the resources necessary to support the cost of independent services or the time required to manage multiple companies.
What can you do with a small-business budget to maximize the cohesive presence of your brand?
If you are like many small companies, there is no one dedicated to ensuring the sanctity of your brand. This can mean varied colors between Web and print, skewed logos, inconsistent brand message and many other variables.
Cohesive brand identity depends on internal organization. Besides your actual business plan, your brand manifesto and brand management document should be the most-used documents in your company.
These two elements summarize what your company means to you, how you would like to be perceived, the direction you are taking your company, your value propositions, and the way you present your icon to the world.
In maintaining campaign consistency, these elements are the greatest tools you can build. There are a tremendous amount of resources online designed to help you develop these documents.
Once you have developed your brand, it’s time to bring in professionals to help you build the brand components (business cards, Web site, brochures, pay per click) you will use to engage your audience. To create the most consistent message possible, consider turning to a vendor that can handle all aspects.
For example, a Web site is a powerful entity. But if the relationship between it and the other media is not properly integrated, there is wasted possibility for success. A public relations event is great but it would be ideal if the event could be updated into the Web site, which in turn would feed this information via RSS (Really Simple Syndication) directly to existing subscribers.
Integrating your media can translate into increased confidence in the company, boosted sales of a new product, and many other possibilities.
As a small company it is very important that you find the right fit for your budget, time and image. So the question is, what vendor model can manage your brand, remain cost effective and integrate your media?
One answer is an integrated media provider, or IMP. They’ve existed for years and have helped small businesses grow. An IMP is a company that employs key strategic thinkers and relies on strategic partner relationships to carry out the fulfillment. This arrangement ensures an open pipeline (no waiting), access to specialized talents and overall integration management.
By counting on strategic management from an IMP and its chosen vendors, you can experience an environment devoid of delays, explaining and re-explaining your brand and the constant search for the most effective vendor for each media solution.
When dealing with an outside vendor and your brand the most important thing is to maintain involvement but know when to let the professional do the job. It’s really a balancing act between mutual understanding of direction, your knowledge of your brand and your vendors’ expertise. It’s mainly common sense, and we all know how common that is.
What do you look for in an IMP? Well, for starters, the experience and qualifications of the team core. These are the people responsible for the outcome of your project, so to pull off a true integrated media plan they will need a foundation in everything that their outside vendors offer. These elements include public relations, media relations, creative direction, print media, Web interactivity, video/audio production, new technologies (wikis, podcasts, subsites, wireless technology) and the understanding of the limitations within each of these mediums.
This might sound like a lot. However, to use the momentum from one medium to feed another, a foundation in all of these areas is crucial. The easiest way to find this out is through online research, networking, portfolio reviews and if all else fails, just ask questions.
There are many things that you can do to help maintain a consistent campaign but in the end it really all comes down to three things: how well you know your brand and have it documented, how well the team you have chosen fits with your business model, and how well you maintain your marketing direction.
