Pepsi versus Coke. McDonald’s versus Burger King. Chevy versus Ford. Nike versus Adidas. Kind Bar versus Clif Bar. While it may not be a top-level brand fight yet, the energy bar competitors have been marketing heavily on negative energy. That’s a bad call right now.
At larger companies, there is a sales team and a marketing team. Back in the long-ago times when people worked in offices, those teams may work on different sides of the building, unable to even peep over the top of their cubicle to put a face to the email address that reaches out every couple … Continued
If you roll through October with one thing in mind as a business owner, make it this. Whatever habits your customers create over the next six weeks, they’ll have those same habits for the next six months. Or more.
You and your team put a ton of work into creating the perfect content for Facebook. You read all the blogs to find out which kinds of posts do best and what time to post. Finally, after much hard work and planning, you hit publish on the most badass post you’ve ever done and… crickets. … Continued
The events industry has been hard-hit this year due to the pandemic. Many organizations that depended on revenue from in-person events, tradeshows, and conferences have been left scrambling to convert in-person experiences into comparable (and profitable) digital events. As many of these organizations have found out, it’s not as easy as canceling your venue and … Continued
We’ll be the first to admit to deriding and mocking the humble QR code. Whenever it came up as a part of the design or a wider marketing campaign, it almost never made sense. Why? People just don’t use QR codes. Until now.
Earlier this week, we sent Wes to the Michigan Society of Association Executives’ Fall Golf Outing, hosted at The Medalist in beautiful Marshall, MI. The event represented the first in-person meeting for MSAE since March, and Wes’s first event representing the Q+M squad. We sponsored a Game Box, pitched a tent, stacked the cooler with … Continued
My grandma always insisted that we never talk about politics during the holidays. In the rare instances something even remotely political crossed the dinner table, perhaps tailing a basket of dinner rolls, she’d stop, look down, and stay quiet until the offender noticed their faux pas. For brands, election season might feel a bit like … Continued
In full transparency, you’d be hard-pressed to find any of the Q+M squad at a golf course under normal circumstances. In theory, golf should be totally up our alley; funny pants, alcohol consumption before noon, and the opportunity to whack a ball as far we can? That should be our thing, but for no particular … Continued
This year, holiday shopping starts in October. Early October. Some experts are even putting a date on it: October 10, 2020.
Some companies still have marketing budgets. Does yours? If not, we’ll tell you what it is and one proven way to calculate just how much ad spend should be tucked away. I’ll admit it. I worked in digital marketing for about two years before I actually put a pin through my ego and looked up … Continued
After doing your research, writing, drafting, then re-writing a blog post for your business or organization, the big moment has finally arrived. You hit publish and your hard work is now shared with the world! Huzzah! Doves are released into the air, fireworks explode majestically in the distance, and the users of the Internet flock … Continued
We didn’t just add one more superstar to the Dream Team. We added youth, creativity, and a whole lot of talent, too! We’re pumped to welcome Q+M’s newest team member, Nikki Schroeder!
Like any marketing effort, social media offers different horses for different courses. Depending on the brand and the purpose, Twitter might do some things better than Instagram, LinkedIn might be more useful than Facebook, and TikTok…well, it’s out there.
Whether you’re new to advertising on Facebook or an old hand when it comes to paid social marketing, one thing should be obvious: you should know the basics of the platforms you’re advertising on. By that, I mean you should be able to answer basic questions pertaining to the cost and effectiveness of adds on … Continued
It was inevitable, really. When Facebook sees a competitor on the rise, Zuckerberg has only two plays. One, he buys the company, piling up stacks on stacks on stacks in front of aspiring young developers who, history tells us, love to pocket the money and run out the door to their next venture. The other … Continued
On the right side of Twitter’s user interface (at least, on your laptop) is, what should be, a marketer’s dream. The “What’s Happening” section can almost be considered the pulse of what the Twitter community is talking about and engaging with on the platform at any given moment globally, nationally, and locally. As a marketer, … Continued
As we dial into yet another Zoom call with clients we really do miss seeing in person, one of the most common questions we hear is a really, really good one. No matter the industry, no matter the project, nearly every discussion comes down to something along the lines of this one idea. What do … Continued
First, it was the holiday creep. Christmas decorations in September are now the norm. But pumpkin spice lattes in August? That’s a promotion that might put a bad flavor in customer’s mouths.
This week, some Instagram and Facebook users were notified of a “new” messaging experience arriving on their smartphones. The long-awaited combining of Facebook Messenger and Instagram’s direct messages finally appears to be coming to fruition. When this initiative is complete, any Instagram, Facebook, and eventually WhatsApp user (all Facebook properties) will be able to message … Continued
This is a story about cycling shoes. And marketing. Bear with me.
When we talk to clients, they usually are aware of just how important it is to be at the top of the search results. They get it. When someone is searching for a product or service, they’re pre-qualifying themselves as a customer. In effect, they’re plunging from the top of the sales funnel down to, … Continued
Back to school shopping, and back to school revenue, is big business. But what does back to school look like in a pandemic?
Like everything in 2020, the holiday retail scene is going to look very different from normal. Now is the time to prepare for a big Q4.
As summer winds down, many association executives are starting to look towards fall, and even to 2021, and are thinking about three things: I’m not spending Labor Day weekend with the in-laws again COVID-19 + My Renewal Rate = Downward Spiral I need new members to make up for membership loss We can’t help you … Continued