I recently visited Jarred, The Galleria of Fine Jewelry, to pick up some Christmas gifts. I had never been to Jarred before, although I had heard positive things about the jewelry. Having spent much of my career working for the competition (we shall call them Store X for this article), my instinct was to shop there first (at Store X, that is).

Here’s what I found on my shopping excursion: there was no one at Store X, nor Store X’s sister divisions, nor three other jewelers. Everyone seemed to be at Jarred. Jarred was full of people, including a much needed full staff and a bunch of customers. Jarred was literally buzzing with activity. Not sure why… the commercials? I honestly didn’t think they were that great, but possibly memorable (“He went to Jarred…”) The jewelry? It wasn’t that different from other jewelers in that price arena.

Still unsure what was going on at Jarred, I did notice every once in a while the store associates and then customers would erupt in applause. I thought it was because they made a big sale, kind of like when you hear the little bell ring at Kroger. That seemed odd, though, that customers would applaud when they got good service. No, that couldn’t be it. Hmmmm…..

Actually, the reason the Jarred sales associates had applauded was because a customer had just purchased one of the cute little stuffed holiday bears. You know, the deal where a tiny portion (usually 10%) of the proceeds go to charity. However, Jarred does it a little different than most other retailers: Jarred actually gives 100% of their bear proceeds to the charity of choice. In Jarred’s case, this is St. Judes, a wonderful hospital for children founded by Danny Thomas and now run by his daughter Marlo Thomas. If you know anything about St. Judes, you know that they never turn away a sick child. They are a giving, life-saving place of hope and treatment for sick children and their families.

Wow, Jarred, you rock! Isn’t this the way it should be? So many retailers advertise their good deeds and then give a scanty 10% to the charity. Could it possibly be that they are using the charity for the halo effect?? In the end it makes them look worse than if they didn’t give anything.

Way to go, Jarred! This holiday, my vote and my stuffed bear purchases are with Jarred.

S. Mozur

What’s the the single most important element of all advertising? Ah yes…. describing the benefits of the product or service in an engaging way that blah blah blah blah… No! Excellence in design, with colors and imagery that support the blah blah blah blah…. No!

The single most important element of any communication is getting the attention of your target . If your marketing isn’t stopping them in their tracks, you’re throwing your money away. It must be Job #1! Getting attention always involve some risk but as they say: No risk—no reward.

Failing in this crucial endeavor is the single, biggest reason why most advertising yields few or no results. When we explain our thinking, all clients nod, but not all can think out of the box. So we return to our desks and bolster ourselves with sushi.

Of course you have to do a great job of selling your product or service, but that is secondary. Page through a magazine and see what gets your attention and what doesn’t (which is harder.) Then, when it comes to your own advertising, steel yourself and be different, funny, interesting, challenging, enigmatic, original, mysterious, unexpected… Go on, get some attention and make some sales.

Have a project you’d like to see some fresh thinking on? Let’s talk. We’d be glad to meet at your convenience and give you our two cents worth. 214-215-0803 or email info@csadmark.com. We’re ready to go.

Any agency worth it’s salt is proud to share it’s track record. The success stories. The awards. The projects brought in on time and on budget. You’d expect a really good agency to be able to pile it on. But that’s not the reason we bring a shovel.

We know your target market isn’t paging through their favorite magazine to find your print ad. Running excitedly back to their desks to read your latest email blast. Searching for your tweets, liking you on Facebook or reading every word on your website. We’re flattered you’re still reading ours.

SO WHY THE SHOVEL? Will we use it to drive your sales message home? No. We’ll use it to dig up the gold about your company, your people and your product or service that will make compelling, believable and unforgettable advertising. In today’s overcommunicated market, that’s what it takes.

Any agency that tells you any differently has another use for their shovel.

Have a project you’r like to see some fresh thinking on? Let’s talk. We’d be glad to meet at your convenience. 214-215-0803 or email info@csadmark.com. We’re ready to go.

Every so often, a traditionally non-business word finds its way into the business world, fueled by an admirable desire to find new ways to think about old challenges. “Storytelling” has become one of those words. And though storytelling has been around since early hunters first gestured to each other in front of a fire, only recently has the corporate community recognized the potency of using storytelling strategically—to position brands, transform business, and engage and align employees.

As “storytelling” becomes part of the corporate lexicon, it runs the risk—as do all such terms that come into fashion—of being overused and misappropriated. Continued…

Business blogs are becoming an increasingly common way to expand a company’s online presence. Six months ago I asked does your business blog? According to Hubspot, the number of companies that blog has risen 17% in the last two years to represent 65% of all businesses surveyed. That increase is not at all surprising to me. After all, as well as improving search engine rankings, blogs can be one of the most cost-effective marketing tools available to businesses. With so much competition online, they have become a powerful channel for both developing brands and generating sales.

While blogs continue to mystify many companies who think that they are just for people expressing their personal opinions, more and more businesses are realizing the hidden powers that a business blog can provide to their sales and marketing efforts. Even successful B2B blog case studies are beginning to appear. Continued…

Loyal customers can be an important driver of sustainable business growth. They’re usually much less price-sensitive, can be nearly immune to competitive entreaties, and can become a powerful marketing arm, going out of their way to promote and defend your company online and off — for free.

If you’re looking for ways to foster greater customer loyalty, consider these tips.

1. Anticipate customer wishes.
When a customer’s need is met before it has been expressed, it sends the message that you care about the customer as an individual. It doesn’t require telepathic ability, just paying attention and knowing your customers.

It’s well worth the effort. The cared-for feeling a customer gets when her wishes are anticipated is where you can generate the fierce loyalty. Continued…

There is a tendency when you sit in front of a computer to believe you can do it all. Write a book? Make a movie? Trade options? It’s all at your fingertips. Armed with basic software, a template and access to stock imagery, who among us doubts their ability to create a halfway decent brochure? Drop in your copy, product shot (yes the one from your phone looks fine) and bingo! Congratulations!! You’ve just saved your company thousands of marketing dollars!!!

Who needs that expensive designer with her paper swatches?
Or the ad agency with their strategy documents and account service? You did it yourself. You’re ahead of the game. But here’s the problem: The home-baked piece of marketing you’ve just spent $123.00 printing at Kinkos could lose you business.

This happened to me last week.
I was at a social gathering and met a reasonably pleasant man who worked for a company that I thought matched one of our client’s needs. It’s always good thinking to proactively help a client—however and whenever you can and I immediately thought of referring the man’s company. He seemed smart and likable. I could help them both. Continued…

As mentioned in my previous column, “SEO and Integration With Social Media,” B2B and B2C companies across the globe are beginning to trust social media as a viable strategy and are jumping in head first. There is no doubt that social media has become a global phenomenon. However, in order to achieve its true value within the SEO context, as well as to not outdo yourself in the early stages, there are a number of organizational strategies that should be incorporated early on in the process. The two strategies outlined below will yield a higher ROI sooner rather than later when starting out and may help you avoid scratching your head asking “Why am I not ranking for this keyword?” “Why is there no scrolling window of tweets in the SERPs about the keyword?” or “Does it have anything to do with the fact that my efforts are fragmented across too many channels?” Continued…

Over the past few months, Google and Bing have started to allude that they are beginning to increase the impact of social media content and links on their search results, citing that social networking activity is a strong indicator of what might be most relevant to consumer searches. The impact of these developments is likely to spread far and wide, as the positives and negatives of this new factor begin to reveal themselves and take shape. From the perspective of a digital PR, social media or SEO agency, the changes have the potential to significantly influence key priorities; below are a few aspects of search and social media activity that we may see changes in over the coming months: Continued…