New Insider’s Guide Will Be Useful Tool to USA Today Readers

By: Alison Bracy

The Sells Agency just completed the “Insider’s Guide to Northwest Arkansas” for the Fayetteville A&P Commission. The new guide is the largest ever with 44 additional pages and, for the first time, includes a double-sided, fold-out map with the city of Fayetteville on one side and the University of Arkansas campus on the other. The guide makes experiencing Fayetteville and the entire Northwest Arkansas area a snap. And it seems that we’re not the only ones that think Fayetteville is a great place to explore.

Fayetteville was featured in a USA Today online article titled “Explore What Makes Your College Town Unique.” Ranked by College Town Network as one of the 60 best college towns in America, Fayetteville is much more than just the home of the University of Arkansas. The article encourages students to step out of their campus comfort zone and explore the uniqueness of their new home. Heidi Wither, owner of a Fayetteville bakery commented, “Exploring the town you’re living in for four years enriches the experience and is a different way of educating yourself.”

Well said, Ms. Wither. We couldn’t agree more. And with a beautiful and exciting area like Northwest Arkansas to call home, we hope you’ll be enticed to get your copy of the “Insider’s Guide to Northwest Arkansas” at http://www.experiencefayetteville.com/vguide.php and visit soon.

What's In a Name?

By: Allison Drennon

Around our office, we have been known to compare (not begrudgingly) the launch of marketing efforts to birth. Really the similarities are endless:  the emotions surrounding the initial discovery (excitement and shock), extensive planning, then finally an introduction into the world.

Part of the planning is the all-important name. There are many ways to name a baby brand. Perhaps it is something you decided on many years ago. Or maybe it is something you (your spouse, your business partners and marketing agency) have been wrestling with for months. Here are a few tips for naming or renaming your brand:

-       Rely on strategy above emotions. Your brand name should be a combination of art plus science. There are many factors that must be taken into consideration – consumer research, meaning, pronunciation, spelling, connection to an existing brand, visual elements, functionality – but all of that should play second fiddle to your strategic marketing plan. If it doesn’t fit with your plan, it doesn’t work.

-       Don’t be a copycat. Definitely check into the possibility of conflict with names on your brainstorm list. The USPTO is a great resource for pending and registered mark search (http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp). Also don’t forget to make sure there is an open URL.

-       Listen for the Hallelujah chorus. But if you aren’t hearing the angels sing, don’t panic. Consider how many people are decision makers in the process and current brand equity (if any). Revisit the research and the strategy. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut.

-       Comfort comes with time. You are sure to hear feedback from all angles in the first few weeks after introduction. As people become more familiar with the name, they will become more comfortable with it. We bet that in 1998 there were several skeptics of the name Google.

Need help coming up with a great brand, or need help with your existing brand? Call us. We’re experts at creating and building brand awareness and preference, and we have the research to prove it.

Blogging about Blogging

Over the past few years, months and even hours, social and digital media and the way marketing firms use them has been evolving. A recent study by RSW/US, a development firm that specializes in agency-client relationships, took a look at how marketing experts and agencies currently use and perceive social and digital media.

http://www.rswus.com/images_and_uploads/Changes-in-Social-Digital-Media-2009-2012.pdf

In short, most marketing professionals are more knowledgeable and confident about social media than they were three years ago. With that being the case, agencies are expected to be even more ahead of the curve with the guidance and strategies they provide clients on these topics.

At the Sells Agency, our goal is complete marketing clarity so we won’t ever recommend social media, a digital media buy or anything else unless it helps you reach your ultimate business goals. In our own social media efforts, we want to provide interesting content on a consistent basis. We are hoping to bring a more insightful, thought-leadership approach to our blog in the future. You’ll still be able to find updates on our latest client work and news about fun office happenings, but with more industry insights and opinions from different Sells Agency associates mixed in.

Check back here tomorrow for account executive Allison Drennon’s take on choosing a name for a new brand. 

Intern Insights

The week before last our summer intern's started at the agency and you heard their first impressions from intern Sarah Hill.  Now, our other public relations and account services intern, Alison Bracy, is weighing in. Alison is a rising senior at the University of Arkansas- Fayetteville, majoring in Journalism. 

I came into this internship experience having no clue what to expect. I had it all played out in my mind that I was going to walk into an office full of intimidating marketing experts who expected me to know how to do everything. I couldn’t have been more wrong.

With Amber at the front desk, it’s pretty much impossible to walk into the Sells Agency feeling nervous. She greeted me with a warm welcome and walked me into the conference room for orientation led by Sarah Kurrus, our intern coordinator. She taught me, Sarah Hill, the other account services/public relations intern (AKA my partner in crime), and Hunter, the design intern, all the basics: phone duty, timesheets, morning traffic, etc. After orientation we got a grand tour of the office and met everyone. My nerves were completely put to ease when I saw how genuinely nice everyone was. My nervousness turned into excitement. What could be a better experience than learning from talented professionals who are kind and truly want you to succeed and grow? Each of them emphasized over and over again for us to never be hesitant about asking questions, which was very comforting.

This summer is going to be a life changing experience. I have to agree with what Sarah said, after one day I have learned more than I have in three years of college. It’s going to be a great hands-on experience and I’m looking forward to the rest of my summer with the Sells Agency!

J.D. Power study highlights the importance of having a preferred brand

By: Mike Sells

According to a recent report from J.D. Power, the percentage of bank customers who switched their primary bank in the past 12 months has increased to 8.7%, and this trend is likely to continue. As stated in their report, “…the increased churn is good news, in that more consumers are coming into the market and represent more opportunities to acquire additional customers.”

From our viewpoint, the key idea in that sentence is “opportunity.”

Your bank has the opportunity to acquire additional customers. But that opportunity is dependent upon how preferred your brand is among your target audience.

So, how preferred is your brand? In other words, how many consumers have already made a pre-decision that if they were to switch banks your bank would be their new bank? That is brand preference. And in an age where so many consumers are switching, it may be the most important aspect of your brand.

In six market research studies conducted over the past four years representing 1,450 consumers across four states, we have determined that over 60 percent of consumers have already decided who will be their next bank.

If you aren’t sure how strong your brand preference is and would like to discuss how to build a preferred brand, give us a call. We can send you a recent case study on how we are helping one bank quickly build a preferred brand in Missouri and Kansas and show you how to do the same.