Trade Shows a Bang for Branding

Trade shows can offer the ideal avenue to connect with your target market. When planning to market your brand at a trade show, there are many considerations to take into account. Below are a few major points to bring more branding bang to your trade show presence.

* Have a game plan before you set up shop
Trade shows are costly affairs from both a time and financial perspective. Take the time to some goals for company's trade show presence. If the objective is to gain market intelligence, you may only need one person at the trade show exhibit rental at any given time. If the goal generate leads, bring your sales game face and the empty bowl for the business card giveaway. If there are no goals other than to attend the trade show, revisit your budget and evaluate whether or not funds can allocated in a better investment.

* Know your target market and plan accordingly
Understand the target market of the event and the relevant interests of the audience. If you want people to talk to you, make sure your messaging fits. If it doesn’t, you may want to work with your marketing team to ensure you have the right talking points — or it’s going to be a long day.

* Get a feel for the layout
Make sure you are familiar with the layout of the event as well as the ways you are permitted to engage with prospects. Companies spend a lot of time and marketing dollars into these events. For this reason, it is smart to pick the right booth location to better your reach.

* Create a backup plan
Whether its marketing materials or applications, things can get lost, so ensure you have a back-up plan of attack. Even it it's something as simple as a slide presentation that can run on your laptop or flashdisk containing a few key documents, some precautions are critical. If at all possible, have everything sent to your hotel the day before the trade show just to make sure you have time to regroup in case of an incident.

* Offer actionable advice.
Before you hit the floor filled with trade show displays, prepare a deliverable with practical tips or memorize a few useful URLs so that people who are interested in your product have an easy way to act on what they just learned.

* Although planning is essential, a follow-up plan is also critical.
Too often attendees overly focus on pre-event and on-site tasks with no strategy for following up. Understand who the stakeholders are in your company and among your audience in order to prepare a system to follow up with prospects and add value across all constituencies.

Conferences and trade show exhibits provide a great opportunity for sales reps and marketing managers to physically meet a prospect or existing client. It is incredible what a difference a handshake makes, even when amidst the world of social media marketing.

New Video Podcast is Promoting Michigan Businesses, Communities and People

Photo: Duane Weed and Frank Krywicki on the set recording the upcoming Buy Local TV episode.

Welcome to Buy-Local TV, a video netcast where hosts Duane Weed and Frank Krywicki, have teamed up to promote Michigan businesses, communities and its people.

“The goal is to show the importance of buying local in your community,” states Frank. “We are producing county spotlights, promoting businesses and events, as well as, providing marketing and technical tips that will help the consumer and business professional.”

The duo has video episodes highlighting the new format. Topics recently covered in these Michigan video profiles include: Spotlight on Montcalm County, Mecosta County and even a road trip for the “Up North Adventure.” “The ‘Up North Adventure’ is style we want the show to have,” Frank commented. “That is going on-site to communities, events, meeting with the people and showing off what Michigan has to offer. Duane has even interviewed Detroit Red Wing legend Ted Lindsay which is on episode #56.”

“What started out one year ago as a simple one minute internet marketing video podcast entitled the ‘Buy-Local Minute’ has grown into spotlighting businesses, communities, and events that inform and promote Michigan. They are now 10 to 20 minute video production segments entitled ‘Buy Local TV,’” comments Duane. “The show is an extension of what we are doing with the Buy Local Video Profiles - that is ‘Everyone has a story to tell and we are telling it.’”

According to Frank, “Since the format is new it will take awhile to reach the desired audience. That is ok, as our main goal is to promote Michigan by showing off what great people and businesses we have here. In addition if we can bring tourist and businesses to Michigan and show off the importance of buying local that will be a bonus.”

“Just like the seasons in Michigan, the show will change and evolve as we grow”, Duane continues. “We invite everyone to check out the show at www.buylocaltv.us, on Facebook, Twitter and through our Buy Local Video blog.”

Buy Local TV is a division of DW Video & Multimedia, LLC (www.dwvideo.com). Have a show idea or need some internet video marketing or technical advice? To learn more about promoting your Michigan business contact Duane at 231-937-5420. The Buy Local TV team will be happy to air your ideas on an upcoming episode.

Contact:
Duane Weed
5510 Maple Hill Rd
Howard City, MI 49329
(231) 937-5420

AT&T TO BE THE LARGEST US CELLPHONE PROVIDER

In an effort to improve its service AT&T announced Sunday it will buy out its rival T-Mobile USA. The deal is estimated to be worth $39 billon. AT&T makes the purchase to be able to improve it slow Internet access, reduce dropped calls, and provide better coverage of its wireless network.

If government regulators approve the acquisition, the combined company would become the largest cellphone provider in the U.S. Some industry critics said the combination would lead to higher prices for consumers since T-Mobile's rates tend to be lower than those of AT&T or Verizon, the current No. 1 wireless carrier. And it comes as AT&T faces growing pressure from smartphone users, especially those with iPhones, who have long been frustrated with their service. Consumers have a choice since Verizon recently started selling the iPhone 4.

T-Mobile itself tapped into that dissatisfaction with a series of taunting commercials -- featuring a young woman in a pink and white dress mocking AT&T-encumbered iPhone users -- that have resonated with irritated customers in San Francisco, where a few thousand smartphone users on The Embarcadero can swamp AT&T's network.

The boards of Deutsche Telekom AG, which owns T-Mobile USA, and AT&T have already approved the merger, which would give AT&T 129 million subscribers and control of about 43 percent of the American cellphone market. It would also leave Verizon and Sprint as the only other carriers with national networks -- all reasons the acquisition is sure to receive intense scrutiny from the Federal Communications Commission, which has been trying to promote increased competition in the industry.

In a conference call with the Mercury News and five other news outlets, AT&T Chairman and CEO Randall Stephenson said the proposed deal -- the first blockbuster acquisition since the recession was declared over last year -- was driven by the explosive growth in the use of smartphones. AT&T's mobile broadband traffic has risen 8,000 percent in the past four years, and it needed a way to expand its network.
The company figures an additional 46 million customers will gain access to AT&T's 4G mobile network when it begins to roll out later this year.
Putting the two networks together would boost network capacity in most urban areas.

Despite its commercials, there is some debate about whether the service T-Mobile currently provides is truly 4G. The GSM technology the two companies use is basically the same, which is why they chose each other in the first place. But T-Mobile offers usage plans that are considerably less costly than AT&T's, and often come without the requirement of a two-year commitment. AT&T acknowledged that T-Mobile customers pay significantly lower prices than AT&T's, which they said the company hopes to change by herding more T-Mobile customers toward its more expensive smartphone plans. But they noted that previous combinations, such as Verizon's acquisition of Alltel in 2009, have resulted in lower prices. But critics said the opposite will happen because of less competition.

Tweets May Cost A Duck His Job

Gilbert Gottfried is known for unique voice that, until recently, was that of the Aflac duck mascot. Aflac on Monday, March 14, 2011 announced that it has severed ties with Gottfried over jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan that the comedian posted on Twitter.

Aflac Inc. said Monday it has fired Gilbert Gottfried, the abrasive voice of the insurer's quacking duck in the U.S., after the comedian posted a string of mocking jokes about the earthquake and tsunami in Japan on Twitter over the weekend.

The tasteless tweets are particularly problematic for Aflac because it does 75 percent of its business in Japan. One in four homes in Japan buys health insurance from Aflac. The insurer's CEO, Daniel Amos, flew to Japan on Sunday to show support for the company's employees and agents.

Aflac said in a statement Monday that Gottfried's jokes do not represent the feelings of the company, which previously announced it would donate 100 million yen ($1.2 million) to the International Red Cross to help with disaster assistance.

The tweets in question were removed from Gottfried's Twitter feed Monday after Aflac announced it would stop working with the comedian.

Gottfried has voiced the duck in numerous Aflac commercials since 2000. His career includes a run as a cast member on "Saturday Night Live" and a role as the voice of the parrot in Disney's "Aladdin." He has also recorded a 50-minute show of dirty jokes.

The insurer said it will start a casting search for his replacement. The company also noted that Gottfried is not the voice of the duck in Japan. Aflac's mascot has a softer, sweeter voice in Japanese commercials.

Aflac is gearing up for an influx of claims in the wake of the disaster, though it expects only a minimal financial impact to total results. The company, which has been doing business in Japan since 1974, said less than 5 percent of Aflac Japan's new sales and in-force premiums come from the hard-hit Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima prefectures there.

Newsweek, The Daily Beast to announce Merger on Friday

NY Daily News

Tina Brown to have editorial control

 

Tina Brown

 

 

Will they call it NewsBeast? Or Tinaweek?

Newsweek and The Daily Beast will announce their much-speculated merger on Friday morning, according to a report by former Newsweek senior reporter-turned-New York Observer media reporter Nick Summers.

The new publication will be a 50-50 merger and the editorial staffs will combine, Summers reported late Thursday on the Observer’s website.

Daily Beast Editor and former New Yorker magazine honcho Tina Brown will be in charge of editorial content for the new venture. Brown confirmed the report on Thursday night.

"The union of The Daily Beast and Newsweek magazine finally took place with a coffee-mug toast between all parties Tuesday evening," Brown wrote on her website on Thursday night. "The final details were only hammered out last night."

The publications were in talks to merge last month after Sidney Harman bought the flailing magazine for $1, but fell apart when the two parties couldn't agree on management structure.

"Why in the world would I invest, engage in something like this, and be hands-off?" Harman told New York Magazine shortly after the deal had reportedly fallen through.

That issue became clear to Brown, who didn't seem to like Harman having control over the magazine's content if she was Editor.

"Sidney clearly enjoys coming up with cover ideas and story ideas," Brown told New York.

On October 18, when reports emerged that the talks had fallen apart, Brown addressed the issue in a memo to her staff.

"There's a report on the [Wall Street Journal] now saying we have decided not to go forward in any more conversations with Newsweek," she wrote in an email. "The engagement was fun but the pre-nup got too complex. We wish Newsweek all the best. The Daily Beast is on a tear and any partnership we think about has to build on that incredible growth. Onward and upwards!"

But according to the Observer, the talks never really stopped.

Harman will also have a role in the new project, according to the report, but Brown is slated to have complete editorial independence.

Since Harman bought Newsweek, it has struggled to find an editor as a large portion of its staff fled.

Before talking to Brown in October, Newsweek Editor Jon Meacham resigned.

Harman's first choice, star reporter Fareed Zakaria, fled to Time Magazine.

And when it appeared he couldn't get Brown, rumors flew that Harman had also tried to snag Terry McDonell, Editor of the Sports Illustrated Group. The duo were spotted having lunch last month.

Man Who Blacked Out World Series Blames Politicians

Bloomberg

News Corp.’s Chase Carey, the man who oversaw Fox’s talks with Cablevision Systems Corp. during a two- week blackout, has advice for government officials who want to keep more TV channels from going dark: Stop meddling.

News Corp. last month cut off World Series games and shows including “Glee” to Cablevision’s 3 million customers after the two sides couldn’t agree on how much Cablevision should pay Fox. One problem, Carey said, was that the government wasn’t clear about whether it would intervene, leading Cablevision to think it might get better terms if it held out until the U.S. weighed in.

“This process would have been resolved more easily, more quickly,” said Carey, chief operating officer and second-in- command to Rupert Murdoch. “I would actually contend we wouldn’t have gone off the air at all.”

Clashes between media and cable companies are on the rise as broadcasters such as Fox and Walt Disney Co.’s ABC ask to be paid for programming that used to be free. The number of TV blackouts this year is the most in at least a decade, triggering consumer wrath and lawmaker scrutiny.

Carey, 56, spoke during an interview at News Corp.’s New York headquarters, in a wood-paneled, windowless room barely large enough for an oversized conference table. He said he was eager to clear up what he thinks are misperceptions about the longest blackout for such a large customer group in at least a decade.

“This wasn’t a good experience,” Carey said. “Everybody here found this really painful.”

Kerry’s New Bill

News Corp., controlled by Chairman and CEO Murdoch, fell 5 cents to $14.28 on the Nasdaq Stock Market at 4 p.m. New York time. Cablevision rose 1 cent to $29.33 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. News Corp. has gained 4.3 percent this year, while Cablevision added 38 percent.

Cablevision, based in Bethpage, New York, declined to make anyone available for comment. A spokesman referred to a conference call last week, when Chief Operating Officer Tom Rutledge said the U.S. Federal Communications Commission should prevent broadcasters from cutting off programming to obtain negotiating leverage.

Senator John Kerry says he plans to introduce a bill when Congress reconvenes next week to keep companies from pulling signals before regulators check for good-faith negotiations. The Massachusetts Democrat is chairman of the communications, Internet and technology subcommittee of the Senate Commerce Committee, which plans to hold a hearing on the issue.

“They’re very high-profile battles because it can turn into the politicians’ constituents losing their TV service,” David Joyce, an analyst with Miller, Tabak & Co. in New York, said in an interview.

‘Not a Nonprofit’

Carey has said Fox needs fees from cable companies, in addition to advertising revenue, to afford marquee events including professional football and baseball games. He’s made subscriber fees a top priority since becoming COO last year, as he strives to return the broadcast network to profitability instead of losing a “few hundred million dollars” each year.

“We’re not running a nonprofit,” Carey said.

Fox and Cablevision reached an agreement Oct. 30 without direct government intervention. Though terms weren’t disclosed, Cablevision called it an “unfair price.” Michael Nathanson, an analyst at Nomura Securities International Inc. in New York, estimates Cablevision will pay Fox about $1 per subscriber a month after a few years.

Carey said he visited politicians in Washington to explain that Fox needs a dual-revenue stream, and to argue that giving Cablevision hope of government intervention encouraged the cable operator to drag out the process.

‘Unfortunate Stalemate’

“As long as they feel they have in places a somewhat receptive audience, it incents them to not resolve this as a business matter but to politicize it,” he said.

At least 50 elected officials sided with Cablevision during the dispute and called for arbitration, the company says. Distributors say they resist paying broadcasters the new fees because they have to pass the costs on to consumers.

“Just because deals are getting signed doesn’t mean that’s going to be the end of the story,” analyst Joyce said.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski said in an Oct. 29 letter to Kerry the agency doesn’t have the authority to prevent service disruptions. Congress should revisit current law and examine whether mandatory mediation and binding arbitration could prevent impasses like the “unfortunate stalemate” between Fox and Cablevision, Genachowski wrote.

Kerry’s bill isn’t likely to pass during the post-election session, Andrew D. Lipman, a Washington-based partner with the law firm Bingham McCutchen LLP, said in an interview.

Republican Reluctance

Newly elected Republicans “are going to be less willing to insert government into disputes between cable providers and broadcasters,” Lipman said.

Carey used to be on the other side of the negotiating table. Before returning to News Corp. in mid-2009, he was chief executive of DirecTV, the largest U.S. satellite-television provider. He said broadcasters were “delinquent” in the 2000s for not addressing their faltering business models and not seeking payments from pay-TV operators.

Now that Fox has deals locked up with its four largest distributors, the network is on the path to profitability, Carey said.

Carey said he understands that politicians want to reassure their constituents and show they’re taking action. The problem is that such actions are often counterproductive, he said.

“You’re going to bastardize every negotiation because you’re going to have this specter of arbitration,” he said.