Stayin' Alive

By Glen Gardner/ Marketing Consultant

Do you have any idea what the #5 album in the country is right now
according to Billboard? Here's a clue: It's not K$sha, Taylor Swift or
Katy Perry. According to Billboard, the fifth best-selling album in the
nation is the Bee Gees "Number Ones" at about 32,000 units.

Thinking this to be a bit odd, I dug a little deeper to find out why a
band with only one surviving member and an album released before Moses
was a kid saw a 3,000 percent sales increase in the last charting period.

It turns out the reason is a little outfit called Amazon. If there was
every any doubt that Amazon has done a great job of dominating the
retail landscape, Billboard provided a pretty good lesson last week.
Amazon priced the 2004 offering from the brothers Gibb at 99 cents for
three days during the reporting period. That accounted for virtually all
of the 3,000 percent sales increase.

Next time you consider your competition, don't forget to include Amazon.
The recent problems that electronics giant Best Buy is experiencing also
have some roots in the explosion of Amazon. It seems Best Buy has become
Amazon's showroom. Folks head out to Best Buy, touch and feel the
components they are interested in and then order them on Amazon. It will
probably result in Best Buy closing scores of stores and drastically
reducing square footage in the brick and mortar stores that remain.

To survive in this new retail landscape you have to offer your customers
much more than a commodity that they can get on Amazon. You don't want
to become an Amazon showroom. Not only do you have to offer superior
service, but you have to let the potential customer know how you are
truly different. That means a consistent marketing message aimed at
making sure you are staying alive!

Congratulations!

By Julie Hein, General Manager

The Iowa City Area Development Group and the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance just released some great news for the Creative Corridor. 

CNN Money ranked Iowa City and Cedar Rapids in their "America's Best Small Cities" list.  Iowa City also was on the list for affordable homes and Johnson County make the list of counties nationwide in the category of "where the jobs are." 

It's a nice place to live and work!  It's great when someone else notices too. 

The word on Mobile Advertising

By Kellie J. Lala 

Do you pay attention to mobile ads?  According to a recent survey by Hipcricket, 25-34 year old consumers have the most interest and interactivity with mobile ads.  70% have made a purchase and 58% say they would provide personal information in exchange for a reward or coupon.  This is twice as many than the 45-54 year old consumer.  The study goes onto say that the younger consumer thinks more positively about their favorite brands after interacting with them via their mobile device.  They even are more likely to recommend the brand to a friend.  Don’t get too excited yet….  For those who have yet to engage with a mobile ad, the reasons are varied.  43% say that the ads weren’t relevant to their interests and 39% said the ad didn’t appeal to them.  We are all going at warp speed and are time starved.  To take time to pay attention to everything that comes our way in any given a day would give us all a headache!   Don’t get me wrong, I love a coupon, bargain or a deeply discounted sale but on “my” terms.  I recently bought some lotion at a large bath and body store (you figure it out) and they asked for my email.  Sorry, I don’t want to give that out so I have delete the weekly (or more) offers they shoot over to my mailbox.  How about you?  Do you have a smart phone that is always making you an “offer”?   Is your email box filled with offers and coupons?  

Thanks for reading and if you want to engage in some way with us, give us a shout or email.  We would love to talk to you.

By Kellie J. Lala

According to an article by eMarketer, one in three online consumers will use a Tablet by 2014.  No, not a headache medicine tablet, silly, an iPad or Android tablet.  They are relatively new (2 years or so) but at the end of 2011, 33.7 million Americans were using one monthly.  That is an increase of over 158% since its first year out.  I think Apple is such an amazing company that consistently sets the bar really high.  They never stop inventing or out-doing their last invention.  Can you say that same thing about you, your business or your career?  I know, it is hard to stay fresh in an ever changing world.  I try to stay current by reading magazines, trade papers and sales articles.  I love sharing a relevant story with a prospect or client.  With our fast-paced world, we need to always be striving to be better.  What have you done to improve yourself this week?  Think about it and have a great Z day!  Thanks for stopping by.  

Silver Linings

By Glen Gardner, marketing and brand consultant

Watching and listening to the coverage of the recent heat wave and drought hitting much of the country reminded me that in many “bad” situations there are potentially good outcomes for many businesses.

As I’m writing this, the temperature here in Cedar Rapids is cracking through the 100 degree mark. I’ve seen stories about the disastrous impact of the heat on many sectors of the economy. For sure, there will be many negative impacts, from higher corn prices to farmers suffering huge losses.

There will also be winners. The point was driven home to me when I was talking with a farmer earlier in the week. She grows corn and pumpkins.  She told me the corn crop is looking really bad with the sweet corn already a total loss. She also told me the pumpkin crop was thriving and the dry weather meant there would be less labor needed to wash the pumpkins when they are harvested.

I noticed the same phenomenon when I talked to people about the flooding that plagued Cedar Rapids four years ago. There were many businesses that were destroyed or damaged, but there were others that thrived. The demolition business got a huge shot in the arm as did the construction sector that has been busy rebuilding damaged parts of the city.

I also talked with a catering company and a pizza restaurant that had their best years ever during the flooding. People needed prepared food and those companies were in a position to provide it.

So, where is the silver lining in the challenges your business faces? It takes creativity and courage, but often times there is opportunity in adversity.

AdSpeak

By Julie Hein, General Manager

Sometimes we frighten prospects or clients when we don't want their ads to sound like other ads.  We're trying to engage listeners.  Persuade them to like you, show up at your (virtual or front) door and spend some of their valuable time and money with you.  That's a tall order if you want to sound like some other guy or you try to say 30 things in 30 seconds.

Be yourself but talk to them in their own language.  One of Roy Williams partners puts it well here if you'd like a second opinion.

We're here if you need us. 

Food anyone?

By Kellie J. Lala

Boy, do we eat a lot.  A list of the 2011 largest retailers was recently released by the National Retail Federation (7/2/12).  No surprise, Wal-Mart tops the list by a huge margin.  The number 2 spot went to the largest supermarket company in the United States-Kroger. They have found some national success while still maintaining it local footprint.  They grew 9.1% from 2010.  Safeway saw a 5.6% growth and rejoined the top 10 list (first time since 2007). New programs like the mobile-driven “Just of you” helped gain more loyalty.  Whole Foods (with a new store opening this week in West Des Moines) and Aldi both enjoyed double digit growth last year.  With increase costs for food and fuel many consumers turned to club retailers and a strong desire to save time and money.  Convenience is the key with both of these commodities that

we all need to function on a daily basis. 

The 2011 largest retailers list is as follows:

1.      Wal-Mart $316B   +2.6%

2.      Kroger  $85B

3.      Target  $68B

4.      Walgreens $66B

5.      Cost-co   $64B

6.      The Home Depot  $62B

7.      CVS  $59B

8.      Lowe’s  $49B

9.      Best Buy  $37B

     10.  Safeway  $36B

What is your favorite store?  What have you cut down on since the recession ended in 2009?  Do you use grocery coupons to save $?  Happy shopping everyone!