BR July 2006 Issuu

$10.00

TM

www.brill iantpublishing.com

Brillia

nt R

es

ults

Ju

ly 2

00

6 V

ol. 3

, No

. 7

Un

ive

rsity

Sp

orts

Ma

rke

ting

July 2006

RELATIONSHIPS | RESOURCES | RESULTS

Coach Mack BrownPhoto credit: University of Texas

Its about Spirit

ChampionshipUniversity

Marketing -#1 Texas Longhorns and

the #1 Florida Gators

18AssumptionsIts about

Spirit

ChampionshipUniversity

Marketing -#1 Texas Longhorns and


18Assumptions

BR0706_Cover.qxl 6/29/06 3:50 AM Page C1

creo

2005 Tours Worldwide#1 Drivers#1 Irons#1 Fairway Woods#1 Hybrids

CORPORATE GIFTS

MAKE YOUR NEXT EVENT A HUGE SUCCESS.Every event is a test – on the PGA Tour and in the world of business.

TaylorMade products are engineered to perform at the highest level.

So, you can trust when you choose TaylorMade you’re partnering with

the best. Find promotional products distributors at www.ballpro.com.

© 2006 Taylor Made Golf Company, Inc. Ball Pro is an authorized distributor of TaylorMade-adidas Golf Company. No. 1 claims based on combined equipment counts during the 2005 golfseason on the PGA, European, Japan Golf, Champion, LPGA and Nationwide Tour according toDarrell Survey Co. and Sports Marketing Surveys, Ltd.

TM TM

WHEN EVERYTHINGIS ON THE LINE,THE BEST IN THE WORLDTRUST TAYLORMADE.

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 2:09 PM Page C2

creo

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:17 AM

4 Brilliant Results | July 2006 www.brilliantpublishing.com

ENDING THE GREAT DEBATE: WHY THE BEST MANAGED

COMPANIES ARE USING NON-CASHREWARDS TO MOTIVATE, RETAIN

AND ENGAGE EMPLOYEES 16Learn the facts about the value of tangible,

non-cash incentives vs. cash and find outwhat works from an expert.

By: Edward L. Ford

TEAMHEADS SHOW YOUR SPIRIT 21When a distributor gets together with a

supplier ideas that sizzle become promotional products that win every time.

By: Cami Chandler

FIVE QUESTIONS MARKETING TOLEADING-EDGE BABY BOOMERS:

PERCEPTIONS, PRINCIPLES, PRACTICES, PREDICTIONS 22

Review the five steps that can make yourbaby boomer marketing campaign a winner.

By: Brent Green

18 ASSUMPTIONS THAT AREN’T TRUE 26

Finding out that some of the things youthought were true about marketing aren’t

could put you back on track.By: Jeffrey Dobkin

Contents

8

2636

columns

COVER STORY 8“WHAT STARTS HERE CHANGES THE WORLD”

University of Texas at Austin: Texas Longhorns Brilliant Results interviewed Christine A. (Chris)Plonsky, Director Women’s Athletics/Senior Associate Athletic Director Men/Women’s

Athletics External Services, for the Rose Bowl Champion Texas Longhorns to discover how a winning marketing team maximizes success.

TMbrilliant resultsVol. 3, No. 7

features departmentsIN BOOTH EDUCATION 30

A tradeshow guru reveals the secrets of successfultradeshow booth education programs.

By: Barry Siskind

HEAD OF THE CLASS HEADWEAR 32Top suppliers tip their hats and show you what‘s

new and give examples of hats that lead the way in successful promotions.

VALUE THROUGH THE EYES OF YOURCUSTOMER 36

Seeing things through the eyes of your clients could change your ideas about value.

By Ed Rigsbee, CSP

IT’S ABOUT SPIRIT! 40Root, Root, Root for the Home Team with any one of

the spirited items in this product focus.

MANAGING A MULTIGENERATIONALMARKETING STAFF 44

Check out these suggestions for building a cohesivemarketing staff when you’re working with four

distinct generations within the workplace. By: The Creative Group

BOOKVERTISING AND CAMPUS COOKIE CALL 56

Read these two cutting-edge ideas for your next campus promotion.

By: Springwise

WHAT WORKS PRESENTED BY THE PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS

ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL (PPAI) 48Successful Case Studies and research for your

next powerful promotion.

PUBLISHER’S LETTER 6

ADVERTISING INDEX 58Get FREE information from this

month’s advertisers

CASE STUDIES 46University and Education Sport Programs

These case studies from Ball Pro, Inc.show you how to build your brand awareness and increase ROI with

sports related promotional products.

OFF THE CUFF 59A Bit of Trivia & A Summer Suduko Puzzle

THE LAST WORD 64Brilliant Results speaks with Martin

Salamone, Director of MarketingUniversity of Florida Athletic Association

about March Madness, The Final Four and how the championship Florida

Gators are marketed.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:54 PM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 10:36 AM

Brilliant Publishing LLC9034 Joyce Lane

Hummelstown, PA 17036Ph: 717.571.9233 Fax: 717.566.5431

PUBLISHER/ADVERTISINGMaureen Williams-Berman.....

[email protected]

EDITORIALEditor in Chief

MaryAnne Morrill717-571-9233

Senior EditorsMichelle Donofry, Pierce Roberts

Style EditorCharity Plata

Asst. EditorMildred Landis

Contributing WritersCami Chandler, Jeffrey Dobkin, Edward L. Ford,

Brent Green, PPAI - What Works Section, Ed Rigsbee,CSP , Barry Siskind, Springwise, The Creative Group

CirculationFor any questions regarding subscriptions, please

email:[email protected]

PRODUCTION / DESIGNArt Director

Percy Zamora

Photos Courtesy: Steve Moakley / University Of Texas ® all rights reserved

Susan Sigmon / University Of Texas ® all rights reserved

Jim Sigmon / University Of Texas ® all rights reserved

Marsha Miller / University Of Texas ® all rights reserved

Chris Carson / University Of Texas ® all rights reserved

Brilliant Results is published monthly by Brilliant Publishing LLC,9034 Joyce Lane Hummelstown PA 17036 (717) 608-5869; Fax#(717) 566-5431. Postage paid at Mechanicsburg PA and addi-tional offices. POSTMASTER please send address changes toBrilliant Results, 9034 Joyce Lane, Hummelstown PA 17036.Volume 3. Number 7. Brilliant Results subscription rates: one-year $120; Canadian $160 USD; one-year foreign $225 USD. Allsubscriptions are non-refundable. Copyright © 2005 BrilliantPublishing LLC. All rights reserved. The publisher reserves theright to accept or reject any advertising or editorial material.Advertisers, and/or their agents, assume the responsibility forany claims against the publisher based on the advertisement.Editorial contributors assume responsibility for their publishedworks and assume responsibility for any claims against the pub-lisher based on published work. No part of this publication canbe reproduced in any form or by electronic or mechanical means,including information storage and retrieval systems, withoutwritten permission from the publisher. All items submitted toBrilliant Results become the sole proaperty of Brilliant PublishingLLC. Editorial content does not reflect the views of the publisher.The imprints, logos, trademarks or trade names (Collectively the“Marks”) displayed on the products featured in Brilliant Resultsare for illustrative purposes only and are not available for sale.The marks do not represent the implied or actual endorsementby the owners of the Marks of the product on which they appear.All of the Marks are the property of the respective owners and isnot the property of either the advertisers using the Marks orBrilliant Results.


Publisher’s LetterTM


brilliant resultsbrilliant results

262467 Brill492

MY FAVORITE LINE in this entire issue is the missionstatement of this month’s cover feature: “What startshere changes the World.”

Every month we attempt to do this with each topicwe cover….well maybe not change the world but cer-tainly provide you with the latest product ideas,award-winning implementation strategies and real-life success stories to improve your company’s bottomline. Since the inception of this magazine, our goal hasbeen to consistently give you ideas about what othercompanies are doing to make their businesses suc-cessful, so you can take the parts and pieces that may be of value to your busi-ness. Furthermore, we connect you with the suppliers and distributors that arehelping our featured companies make it happen. As our tag line says:Relationships. Resources. Results!

This issue not only has one-on-one interviews from the crème de la crème inUniversity Sports… The Rose Bowl winners and the Final Four Champions… OurCover interview will certainly inspire and inform you. Read it and see just howthe University of Texas at Austin has become the #1 ranked school in trademarksand licensing royalties in addition to winning the Rose Bowl.

Additionally, we have tips on marketing to baby boomers, tradeshow market-ing, and suggestions on how to build a multigenerational marketing staff, hotnew headwear and spirit items, cutting-edge ideas and powerful casestudies…and much more. Our Last Word with The Final Four Champion FloridaGators really seals the deal. It is a full marketing gem from cover to cover.

The entire Brilliant Results team is working passionately every month to continually elevate the quality of our magazine and its content for you, our readers. It’s our attempt at changing the world of marketing, as we know it. Wewould love to hear your feedback..

So please complete our email Readership Survey that you will be receivingthis month. It will only take 2 minutes to complete. The only way we can makethis magazine better is with input from you our readers. Moreover, if you areone of the first to complete it you could win some money! Free Money whocouldn’t use that?!

I thank you all for your time and reading Brilliant Results Magazine as wellas taking our survey.

As always…Have a Brilliant Day!

Maureen [email protected]

PS: If you do not receive the email survey but would like to help us “changeour world” and a chance to win some cash, please email me and I will forward alink to it.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:55 PM

creo

ASI 88060 • PPA 112982

Call today to get complete information about “Z” Collection products!

Antibacterial Hand Cleaner and Moisturizer! Instant hand sanitizer kills germs on contact within a few seconds when you don’t have time to wash. You don’t need water—you can use this hand sanitizer anytime, anywhere! It will leave your hands antibacterial clean, moisturized, and delicately scented.

Premium Blend of Moisturizers and Therapeutic Formula!Spa Line of skin moisturizing Lotions has the lightness of a lotion with the moisturizing benefits of a cream. It helps protect the skin leaving it feeling soft and smooth, and looking healthy. Our lotions contain ample portions of vitamins A and E to help condition, nourish, and replenish dry or dehydrated skin.

Sunscreen Protects and Moisturizes! Infused with Aloe and vitamin E to help condition, moisturize, and protect the skin. Provides protection for immediate sun exposure. Works to reflect and scatter the sun’s rays to provide a broad spectrum of UVA and UVB protection. SPF 30 blocks UVA and UVB rays (meets FDA standards). Antioxidants help safeguard skin and moisturize to condition.

Lip Balm! Everyone needs and uses lip protection. SnugZ Lip Balm offers cool and refreshing lip protection that soothes chapped and dry lips. Imprint is available in one color, multiple colors, or full color, and pricing starts as low as $0.99 (c).

Supplier Of The Year Award

SnugZ Brilliant Results.indd 1 3/29/06 11:40:27 AM

BR0506_Section03 4/26/06 9:36 PM

creo


WITH THAT FOR ITS MISSION STATEMENT, theUniversity of Texas at Austin illustrates the heights towhich it aspires. As a major research university andhome to more than 48,000 students, the TexasLonghorns aim to connect the values and mission oftheir university to the needs of the state and thenation through research and education. As anenduring symbol of the spirit of Texas—big, ambi-tious and bold—the university drives economic andsocial progress in Texas and serves our nation as aleading center of knowledge and creativity.

But, at the 92nd Rose Bowl Game match upbetween two championship teams, they provided aheart stopping exhibition of the best of collegiatefootball in The Granddaddy of Them All®. With thenational title down to a final play, fourth down and5 yards to go, Longhorns’ quarterback Vince Youngscrambled untouched for an 8-yard touchdownwith 19 seconds left and the No. 2 Longhornsstunned No. 1 Southern California 41-38, winningtheir first National championship since 1970. Thewin wrapped up a school record-setting 13-0 sea-son and gave the Longhorns the longest winningstreak in the nation at 20 as they went on to behonored by a fellow Texan, President George W.Bush, at the White House.

With all of their success on the field, the pri-mary emphasis has remained the same for CoachMack Brown’s squads…maintaining a high level ofachievement in the classroom and in the community.

When Coach Browncame to UT in1998, he built onthe Darrell Royallegacy and tied the past to theUniversity’s future.More than a third of his players at UT have regular-ly earned 3.0 grade point averages and achievedspots on the Big 12 Commissioner’s and AthleticsDirector’s honor rolls. Brown’s life skills program features numerous seminars to prepare student-ath-letes for life after football. The Longhorns playersmake countless visits to area children’s hospitalsand serve as tutors and mentors at schoolsacross Austin.

While Coach Brown deserves a great deal ofcredit for the success of the Texas Longhorns on thefootball field, the University of Texas at Austin isnot a one sport school. The Men’s Basketball Teamwent to the Elite Eight and player LaMarcusAldridge is considered a favorite to go Number 1 inthe NBA draft. The Women’s Indoor Track & FieldTeam was the 2006 NCAA Division 1 Champion, the6th time they have won that honor. Men’s Baseballat UT placed first in the 2005 season and Women’sSoftball was well represented. Softball Star CatOsterman won the Honda Award for Best SoftballStar for the second year running and is a finalist forCollege All Star of the Year.

What StartsHere ChangesThe World”University of Texas atAustin: Texas Longhorns

“

Christine A. (Chris) Plonsky, DirectorWomen’s Athletics/Senior AssociateAthletic Director Men/Women’sAthletics External Services. Photo credit: University of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:46 AM

Brilliant Results | July 2006 9www.brilliantpublishing.com

LaMarcus AldridgeMen’s Basketball

Photo credit: Steve Moakley/University Of Texas

Coach Mack BrownPhoto credit: University of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:46 AM

creo


To find out how such great athleticachievements impact the promotion andmarketing of the University, Brilliant Resultsrecently had the pleasure of speaking withChristine A. (Chris) Plonsky, DirectorWomen’s Athletics/Senior AssociateAthletic Director Men/Women’s AthleticsExternal Services. Throughout our conversa-tion, Chris made a point of telling us thatathletic marketing success at the Universityof Texas is a team sport with DeLoss Dodds,UT’s Athletic Director, as its head advocate.DeLoss has been at UT since 1981, throughthe hard times and the good times. Chrisbelieves his leadership has significantly con-tributed to UT athletic successes both onand off the field, whether it was hiring great coaches ormaking winning fundraising decisions that resulted in$20 million dollars of private annual giving and $175 mil-lion in projects currently underway – all of which aretotally financed by business and private funding.

Often it is the quiet leaders in the background thatmake the big differences. Brilliant Results believes thatafter you read Chris Plonsky’s answers to our questionsyou’ll agree that she is also just that kind of leader.

BR: How did you become associated with theUniversity of Texas at Austin sports program?

CP: The University of Texas is one of those specialplaces in college athletics and we have had one of those

dream years with the football team win-ning the much-coveted NationalChampionship, especially since Texas isa football fever state.

By sheer good grace and fortune, Ijoined Texas originally, hired by Dr.Donna Lopiano in 1981 as a sports infor-mation director for our 8-sport women’sathletics program, which was far aheadof its time in the nascent days of NCAAcompetition for women. I departed in thesummer of 1986 to join commissionerDave Gavitt’s staff as director of publicrelations at The BIG EAST Conference.With Dave, and his associate commis-sioner at the time, Mike Tranghese, it

was a resident experience under two of the greatestminds, marketers and leaders in college athletics. Ireturned to Austin in the fall of 1993, when DeLossDodds, men’s Athletic Director at Texas, hired me asAssociate Athletics Director for External Services.External Services at that time included radio-television,media relations, photography, publications, marketingand promotions.

BR: How has the UT marketing approach developedand changed during your tenure?

CP: DeLoss wanted to initiate a structure that wouldallow UT Athletics to create non-conventional revenuestreams from corporate sponsorships and multimediarights. From an institutional standpoint, revenues werebeginning to look “capped.” All schools were in searchof new means of creating revenue streams.

Texas had done extremely well with its LonghornFoundation, formed in 1983 as the principle annual giv-ing and fund-raising arm of UT Athletics. Today it raisesmore than $22 million per year.

However, back in the early 1990s, UT Athletics wasnot generating income from what we know today as cor-porate sponsorship and multimedia rights. We had agreat sales and media partner – Host distributed ourradio and TV networks and sold advertising in our print-ed publications. However, our University did not haveappropriate procedures or even rules to allow co-brand-ing, corporate affiliation through media and promotionalelements to happen. Through the efforts of DeLoss andthe UT Athletics staff our administration was convincedthat UT Athletics needed corporate sponsorship to con-tinue as a self-funded enterprise. This was a culturalchange – not just a policy change, as commercialismwas a foreign entity on our campus. The change of poli-cy literally took three years to achieve, but by that time,DeLoss had helped initiate the formation of the Big 12Conference, the type of mega-conference platform

Photo credit: Susan Sigmon/University Of Texas

DeLoss Dodds, UT’s Athletic Director

Photo credit: University of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:46 AM


Texas sports needed to recruit and compete on anational level. The Big 12 opened its doors in thesummer of 1996, and the league truly has been oneof the reasons for the success our men and women’sprograms have enjoyed.

In 1998, UT Athletics and Host Communications(dba as Longhorns Sports Network) struck anagreement, which has been a long time partner notonly of UT but also of colleges and universitiesacross the country. Host was really one of the firstcompanies to begin to market collegiate athletics inpartnership whereby they would pay the schools aprofit share for their radio and print rights. In themid 90’s as marketing became very different in col-legiate athletics, Host came to us to change ourmarketing and begin integrated corporate sponsor-ship programming, including affinity marketing.

Commercialism isn’t all that evident on collegecampuses, you can see donor recognition in aca-demic buildings; but in collegiate athletics, Texaslike many other schools, is very conservative. But inthe late ‘90’s with the opening of the Big 12Conference, UT was beginning to get into more of abusiness aspect of athletics. We were renovatingour facilities with things like stadium suites in an Photo credit: Jim Sigmon/University Of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:49 AM


effort to fund ourselves and create uncon-ventional revenue streams. Since we can’tuse tax dollars or academic dollars bystate law, all our programs and facilitiesare self-sourced to fund athletics.

We found that outsourcing our sales andnetwork clearances was the best way to go,but we work very closely with them. Ourentire UT athletics marketing division existsto work hand to hand with the HostCommunications sales staff so we are imple-menting and working with them every stepof the way. They never pitch a client that weare not aware of; in fact we are involved inpitches. We do a lot of the streamlining ofthe sponsorship arrangements; we are the personal uni-versity touch on top of the sales pitch. We just extendedour relationship with Host Communications out to 2015, sothis is a long-term partnership.

At the same time in 1998, our university made aprescient decision to outsource our trademark andlicensing operation as well. We are a CollegiateLicensing Company affiliate (CLC out of Atlanta).They work with over 115 different colleges and uni-versities. They are more of an integrated serviceoperation and we have an on campus liaison, whodoes not work in athletics but works with our trade-mark officer. But at the same time we were gettingaggressive in sales of sponsorships, our licensing alsotook a step to become more marketing oriented. Right

now we are the #1 ranked school intrademark and licensing royalties, main-ly influenced by that Rose Bowl winamong all of the CLC schools.

For example, if we are doing a majorcorporate sponsorship with State Farmthrough Host Communications, they aretitling events, getting tickets and hospi-tality, as well as advertising and otheropportunities. That opportunity to be list-ed as an official corporate sponsor alsogives you the right to use our name andlogo in conjunction with yours. If yourreaders look on our website www.texass-ports.com they can get an idea of the

scope of what we are doing if they go to the link for cor-porate sponsorship. Most of these companies haveagreements with UT through Host Communications, butsome of them like Nike, who outfit our teams, andGatorade, which supplies our isotonic beverage, haveagreements directly with UT; but for the most part Hostis representing almost all of these sales for us.

BR: It sounds like the partnership with HostCommunications has been a really good relationship.

CP: It really has. Universities and especially athlet-ic departments are set up to do really good communi-cations and marketing. We have a lot of fund raisers,we have a lot of media relations folks on staff, a lot ofdevelopment managers and a lot of marketing andticket sales people; but, the sale of advertising is notnecessarily what we do as a core. So what we did iswe found a great vendor, who hires professional salespeople and media clearance people to help us withthis endeavor.

We are a broadcaster; every day we remind our-selves that we are really here to work with coachesand kids. We have 750 kids who play athletics in 20different sports. Our games are broadcast, they areon the radio, and they are live on the Internet. Weare video casting now. So you have to have reallygood partnerships with vendors to assist you inthese technological and sales endeavors if you arereally going to maximize your exposure and yourrevenue opportunities.

BR: During the 2006 Rose Bowl, the Texas Longhornstriumphed and were named the #1 collegiate footballteam. For our sports minded readers, what would you sayis the primary secret behind the Longhorns’ success inthe sport of football?

CP: It starts with the people. Our coaches are the mostimportant people we hire, they are the individuals who

Cat Osterman, softball pitcher Photo credit: Steve Moakley/University Of Texas

Pulitzer Prize David M. Oshinsky Photo credit: Marsha Miller

University of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:28 PM


are coming in and really serving as CEO’s of that particu-lar sports program. Mack Brown very much is a coachwho loves this environment. He is a terrific individual towork with this age group population of 17 to 22 year olds.It is a special population, there is no doubt Mack has beenwooed by pro organizations all over the country, but heprefers to work in the college environment because heloves the opportunity to work with young people to helpdevelop them. That is really the secret behind college ath-letics and why there is a passion about it. A lot of peoplelove game day…the bands…the full stadiums...the televi-sion…the cheerleaders…and the opportunity to socialize,but when Saturday ends and Sunday and Monday comearound Mack has a great quote. He says, “We’re in theentertainment business on the weekends and the educa-tion business during the week.” That’s very telling andthat is an accurate quote.

BR: How do you utilize events like the Rose Bowl to focuson the University of Texas’ education and sports programs?

CP: There isn’t an aspect of the University that doesn’tin some way, form, or fashion enjoy whatever successeswe enjoy. We have Pulitzer Prize winning faculty membershere, we have Nobel Laureates, and we have people whoare preeminent in their academic fields. Athletics gets alot of attention mainly because of media. But, people cele-brated not only that Rose Bowl win, but when ourBaseball Team won the NCAA Championship last spring,our Women’s Track Team has won two National Titles inthe last two years. We had a brilliant softball pitcher thisyear, Cat Osterman, who was named Player of the Year forthe third time in a row. It doesn’t matter what endeavor ishappening on a college campus, everybody sort of jumpsin and enjoys that success because we are all one happyfamily. Universities are wonderful places to work becausethe word university means connection; it means freethink-ing, free spirit, the opportunity to develop. One of the corevalues of UT is that we transform lives through learning.

There is no doubt that the Rose Bowl win drew a ribbonaround more people, distant and home, from the Universityof Texas then any other single event that I have personal-ly witnessed. There is nothing like it, the way the gameplayed out, the fact that it was a last second victory, thescope, the stage that it was on, the world couldn’t miss thegame. Also, credit goes to USC as well. I just came backfrom an Athletic Directors Convention in New Orleans andto a person people said ‘that was the greatest footballgame I’ve ever watched.’ Even if the uniforms would havechanged and it would have been two different schools, itwas probably the single greatest football game with themost on the line that they had ever seen; it was a tremen-dous game. Even if you weren’t cheering for Texas or USC,it was a marvelous display of college athletics.

BR: How does the University of Texas use promotion-al merchandise and/or direct marketing strategies toincrease public awareness and market the university?

CP: Our marketing partner for sales is Host and mar-keting strategy occurs again with that partner, with ourmedia partners, but also working with our trademarkand licensing area. We have vendors who are very help-ful in that regard. We do operate two retail areas on ourcampus under the name Longhorns, LTD. The vendorwho operates those stores on our behalf is a companyout of Kansas called CMS, Collegiate MarketingServices, they are partners with other schools as welland they serve as the seamless operator for our stadiumstores. If you go to our website and click on team store,that is CMS operating on our behalf.

BR: CMS would then make the decisions as to whatproducts to put in the stores?

CP: Correct. They work with us very carefully andpay close attention to the fact that we are a Nike school.And they have a large Nike area within the store.

One of the other big vendors here in town which is notdirectly associated with either UT Athletics or UT is a longstanding historical vendor called University Co-op. Theyare a cooperative and operate several retail stores right offcampus. They have an area called the “Longhorn Store”that is approaching $20 million in sales annually. So while

Photo credit: Chris Carson/University Of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:50 AM


CMS operates directly associated with UT Athletics,the Coop also is contributing mightily to those licens-ing and trademark royalties. They are not only a book-store for our students, they also have a large retailarea and a website at www.coop-bookstore.com.

BR: Can you give our readers an example of a suc-cessful promotional/marketing campaign anddescribe the key to its success?

CP: Early on when Mack took over the football jobin December of 1997 as he interviewed and talked topeople it became very clear to him that we had lost abit of energy. So Mack came up with a clever slogan– come early…be loud… stay late…wear orange. Wetook that slogan and thematically applied that earlyon in Mack’s coaching tenure. It was residual mes-saging and in every speech he made he wouldalways end with ‘don’t forget come early…beloud…stay late…wear orange.’ It became a mantraand these were simple things that every fan andevery student could do. It caught fire.

We had a great football team that year, RickyWilliams won the Heisman in the ’98 season, andwe went on to get into the post season CottonBowl. It just seemed from there that all energymoved forward. It was so simple. It wasn’t really amarketing campaign, but people still refer to it asthe four most important things for any UT sport.This is what you can do to show your support.

During this same period of time we began to payserious attention to the Internet and made the deci-sion to self-source the content on our website andto begin to use the Internet as a serious communi-cations vehicle. Our ticket office struck an agree-ment with PACIOLAN to supply software forInternet ticketing. Thus we began to extend ourreach, you didn’t have to get on the phone and holdfor a ticket agent, you could order online at threeo’clock in the morning. Everything began to cometogether and we were able to make good use of allof our staff, from marketing, fundraising, ticketingand licensing to message our brand together.

With 450,000 living alumni, we have a great mar-ketplace to tap into be it for merchandise purchase,ticket purchase, or fund-raising. Our alumni arevery giving and very proud of this university for notonly its athletic feats, but its academic world-classreputation as well. UT is a place where athletescan’t hide academically.

BR: Do you have any final thoughts or advice forour readers about the use of promotional merchan-dise and direct marketing strategies in their market-ing efforts? It sounds like team effort would be yourfinal thought…

CP: There is no doubt, emphatically! That is thegreat lesson we learned in the last eightyears…with 1998 as the benchmark year wherewe made critical fundraising decisions…we madecritical facility decisions…critical coachinghires…the Internet ticketing mechanism…how wewere going to do corporate sales…and how wewere going to do licensing. Without all of thoseengines and pistons firing at the same time wewould not have been able to maximize the way wedid when we finally won that football champi-onship. Everything was in crescendo mode and wewere so capable in every way of capitalizing.When Wheaties wanted to do a cereal box featur-ing our football championship, we were able toprovide very quick turnaround.

We even control our own photography, a deci-sion we made long ago, so we could control our

Vince Young, UT quarterbackPhoto credit: Steve Moakley/University Of Texas

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:50 AM


imagery and our brand with photography. Thishelps us in terms of being able to brand ourselvesproperly. If readers go to the website www.texas-photostore.com, they’ll find an Internet friendly sitewhere our fans and others can purchase photogra-phy taken by our staff members. Our photographystaff partnered with Pictopia out of San Francisco toput our photo images on the website and we havealready realized five figures in revenue from justselling photography...we supply the digital imagesand Pictopia does the rest for us. Again, we are try-ing to underwrite a very expensive area of our oper-ation, but having those images when you are get-ting ready to turnaround marketing and promotion-al endeavors can make things happen very quicklyand you control your own branding and imagery.We also have partnerships with video; WarnerBrothers is currently doing a DVD on the ‘History ofTexas Football’ out this September. Our ‘Live theDream’ DVD which chronicles the run to the RoseBowl has also sold very well.

If you are in the marketplace, be it trademarkproducts, license products, video products, media

products, ticket sales and fundraising, that is howcollege athletics self-source their revenue. In everyone of those areas we have had tremendous per-formance by our staff members.

BR: Do you remember the last promotional prod-uct you received and from what company youreceived it?

CP: It was a piece of apparel from the con-vention. Someone handed me a hat with a CBSlogo on it.

Chris, thank you for your insights. It has been apleasure talking with someone who is both knowl-edgeable and passionate about what they do. I’dlike to close this interview in true UT fashion bysaying Brilliant Results wishes all your teams muchsuccess in the future and …Hook ‘em Horns! •

For additional information about the University ofTexas at Austin visit their websites atwww.utexas.edu, www.texassports.com andwww.mackbrown-texasfootball.com or any of thewebsites mentioned above.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:49 AM


THERE IS PERHAPS NO SUBJECTdebated more frequently by incentiveprogram providers and their clients thanthe value of tangible, non-cash incen-tives versus cash.

Since companies routinely tout thatpeople are their greatest asset, it isimperative in today’s competitive marketthat they stand up to this mantra byrewarding their employees correctly. This,in theory, should encourage higher per-formance and promote valued company behaviors.

Unfortunately, during my 25 years of consultingin the employee recognition industry, I have foundthat less than 20 percent of organizations truly walkthe talk. According to our research, the best-man-aged companies are using non-cash awards andincentives to keep employees engaged.

This article will examine why a tangible awardprogram is more effective than a cash program.

WHY IT IS CRITICAL TO EFFECTIVELYREWARD EMPLOYEES

Employee recognition is a communication tool thatallows companies to reinforce and reward behaviorsthat are reflective of the organization’s core valuesand objectives. Recognition and retention programsalso instill a climate of trust within the workforce.

In corporate America, employees are a company’smost critical resource. According to a 2000 Bureau ofLabor Statistics study, there may be a labor shortagelooming.1 Statistics show that there could be a

shortage of four million jobs in 2006, andis expected to increase to 10 million by2010. A labor shortage of that size willcause the cost of acquiring new employ-ees to skyrocket, and it will make havingan effective employee retention strategycritical to the success of any business.

Companies must remember the peoplethey employ are the foundation for theway the organization moves, grows andis perceived in the marketplace. It is

important that employees reflect the company’s corevalues and brand. Companies that prioritize employ-ee recognition demonstrate their interest in fosteringa positive, productive and innovative culture amongtheir employees. Employees who feel appreciated aremore positive about themselves and the contributionsthat they make to the company’s success. Since com-panies must retain their employees to be successful,they need to have an effective recognition program inplace. This makes it even more critical for companiesto choose the correct program.

WHY DO COMPANIES CONTINUE TOREWARD EMPLOYEES WITH CASHAWARDS?

Companies continue to reward their employeeswith cash awards due to convenience. Many compa-nies do not want to take the time or put forth the effortto design a world-class recognition program. Thesecompanies are opting for the “no hassle” form of recog-nition. There is a reason why some companies are con-

Endingthe Great Debate: Why the Best Managed Companies areUsing Non-cash Rewards to Motivate,Retain and Engage Employees

BY: EDWARD L. FORD

Vice President of TotalRecognition, Michael C. Fina

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:55 AM

creo


BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:55 AM

sidered to be “employers of choice” and others are not.It takes work to do things different and create a trueculture of recognition.

The second perceived benefit of implementingcash programs stems from employee surveys. Manycompanies protect their outdated cash programs bystating that they have surveyed their employeesand they say that they want more cash. Mostemployees will respond likewise. But companiesmay not be asking the question the right way.

In 2004, a study conducted at the University ofChicago showed that, “What employees say theywant and what they actually work hardest toreceive do not always match up.”2

In the study, staff members came to a behaviorallaboratory and engaged in a word game in pursuitof an incentive. One group of employees was givena cash reward in exchange for good performance. Asecond group had the opportunity to earn non-cashrewards of varying amounts depending on theirperformance. These rewards were based on marketvalue so that the comparison was fair.

After performing their task, the group thatworked in pursuit of the non-cash incentive wasasked their level of agreement with the followingstatement, “I would prefer to receive the cash valueof the prize rather than the prize itself.” An over-whelming majority, 78 percent, said that theywould rather receive the money.

However, the study found that while most peoplestated a strong preference for cash, their performance

was noticeably better when they were in pursuit ofthe non-cash incentive. Performance improved by 14.6percent when a cash reward was offered compared toa dramatic increase in performance of 38.6 percentwhen a non-cash incentive was used (see figure 1).

This new evidence suggests that if companiesask their employees, “What do you want?” they willrespond with, “More cash.” But, what companiesshould be asking is, “What will motivate, retain andtruly engage my workforce?”

WHY WON’T EMPLOYEES WORKHARDER FOR CASH INCENTIVES?

Although employees prefer cash incentives, sta-tistics say they will not work harder to receivethem. The reasons being, cash rewards are typical-ly thought of as compensation, therefore employeesuse this award on necessities. According to a sur-vey conducted in 1999 by Wirthlin Worldwide, of1,010 people who were asked how they spent theirlast cash reward, cash incentive or cash bonus, 29percent said they spent their awards on “Bills.”That is considerably higher than the only 9 percentthat used their cash award on a “Special PersonalTreat.” (See figure 2)

WHAT COMPANIES THAT USE NON-CASH REWARDS SAY

Throughout the years I’ve asked clients why theychose a non-cash recognition program. An over-whelming majority of respondents note that cashdoes not reinforce brand loyalty. Also, most employ-ees do not remember what they spent the money on;therefore, by giving a cash award you lose the impactof recognition. Here are additional responses: 1. Cash is a commodity, so it cannot differentiate. It’s the

intangibles that distinguish and make a difference.2. Cash programs always end up becoming entitle-

ments. Administrators like to have the flexibilityto “refresh” merchandise items thus keeping


(Figure 1)

(Figure 2)

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:56 AM


their programs new and exciting.3. Administrators have found that they get

more attention and excitement out of non-cash programs.

4.Employees are more willing to brag about theirnon-cash rewards rather than money that is per-ceived to be a part of compensation.

5.Cash has no trophy value.

Additional studies support the view that non-cash rewards are more effective than cash, suggest-ing that the staying power of non-cash incentives isthe primary reason. Unlike cash, non-cash rewardsare memorable and have “trophy value.” It is thisstaying power that ensures that physical rewardssuch as a fine watch motivate individuals far betterthan cash.

WITH NON-CASH AWARDS,EMPLOYEES FACE TAX ADVANTAGES

Taxes are another major factor that should swaymost companies away from giving cash awards. SinceEmployee Achievement Awards are items of tangiblepersonal property that an employer gives to anemployee for safety achievement or length of service,if certain requirements are met, these awards haveadvantageous tax results for both the employer andthe employee. Cash awards, conversely, are taxed asincome, which diminishes its value to the recipient.

The rules applicable to Employee AchievementAwards are generally set forth in Sections 74(c) and274(j) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, asamended (the Code). The relevant law is summa-rized below.

Overview of Employee Achievement Awards An employer may deduct up to $400 per year for

Employee Achievement Awards given to anyemployee under a non-qualified plan and up to$1,600 per year for Employee Achievement Awardsgiven to any employee under a qualified plan.

Employee Achievement Awards are items oftangible personal property given as part of ameaningful presentation recognizing an employ-ee’s safety achievement or length of service, andcannot constitute disguised compensation.

Tangible Personal Property - Only awards oftangible personal property qualify as EmployeeAchievement Awards.

Meaningful Presentation - Employee AchievementAwards must be given as part of a meaningful pres-entation and not under circumstances that create asignificant likelihood that the award is actually thepayment of disguised compensation. While the

presentation need not be elaborate, it must be aceremonious observance emphasizing the recipi-ent’s achievement.

Qualified Plan Awards vs. Non-Qualified Plan Awards If Employee Achievement Awards are given pur-

suant to a Qualified Plan, the maximum amountthat an employer may deduct for awards given to anemployee increases from $400 to $1,600.

A Qualified Plan Award is an EmployeeAchievement Award that: 1. Is part of an established written plan or program

of the employer; and 2. Does not discriminate in favor of highly compen-

sated employees as to eligibility or benefits. 3. In order for an Employee Achievement Award

program to be a Qualified Plan, the average costof all Employee Achievement Awards for theyear must be $400 or less. In determining theaverage cost of all Employee AchievementAwards, awards of nominal value are not takeninto account.

TAKING A LOOK AT NON-CASHPROGRAMS IN ACTION

Here is a look at two of our customers’ programs in action.

ABBABB is a leader in power and automation tech-

nologies that enable utility and industry customersto improve their performance while lowering envi-ronmental impact. The ABB Group of companiesoperates in approximately 100 countries andemploys over 104,000 people.

ABB wanted to implement a service award pro-gram but was unsure of the benefits and/or draw-backs of a cash/non-cash program. They put togeth-er a team of employees from each division of ABB andconducted a review to find out what they want-ed in the program. They discussed merchandisegifts, gift certificates, traveler’s checks, etc. Theirgoal was to implement the best awards program fortheir employees. In the end, the company decidedon a non-cash gift program. They choose this pro-gram because they wanted the employees toremember the gifts they received.

The idea of having recipients pay taxes for cashreceived was unappealing to the team. Also, theyfelt that gift certificates had too much of a specificface value. They are now entering their sixth year ofimplementing their non-cash gift awards program.Last year alone, ABB recognized over 2,000 employ-ees in the U.S.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:56 AM


Meridian HealthMeridian Health is a leading provider of quality

health services, facilities and programs in NewJersey. With 70 convenient locations, annual systemrevenues of $725 million, and affiliations with over1,400 of the area’s finest physicians, Meridian con-tinues to be the largest employer in Monmouth andOcean counties, employing over 7,500 people.

In 2003, Meridian Health decided that they want-ed to implement a service award program to recog-nize their employees for their longevity of serviceand commitment to the company. Like ABB, theirgoals were simple, they wanted employees toremember the gifts that they received and theywanted people to have the flexibility of choosingtheir own gift.

They decided to implement a tangible, non-cashincentive program. The company successfully imple-mented a service award program that focuses on theindividual’s best interests. Employees continue tobe rewarded for their dedication to the companywith lifestyle-type products of their choice.

Case study after case study, of actual compa-nies, will show that the debate over cash andnon-cash is really not a debate at all. The realquestions to be answered are; do we want tobecome an employer of choice? Are we willing totake the time to put together a well-designedreward and recognition program? Do we want todifferentiate ourselves from our competition?

TIPS FOR EFFECTIVELY USING NON-CASH AWARDS

Here are three tips that will help you effectivelyimplement a non-cash award program:

1. Make the reward personal. Keep your target audience in focus when select-

ing awards. Tailored awards have a greater impacton the recipient than generic awards.

2. Presentation is critical. The more thought that goes into an awards pres-

entation, the greater an impact it will have on theemployee.

3. Promptness pays off. Make sure you deliver the award on time.

Delayed gifts lose their effectiveness.Regardless of how much money a company

spends on employee recognition every year, if theemployee is not recognized by a meaningful presen-tation, the gift will be meaningless. The most impor-tant part of the event is the celebration among one’speers. Follow these tips to maximize the effective-ness of your non-cash award program. After all, ifyour main goal is not effectively engaging youremployees, you might as well just give them cash!

Edward L. Ford, Vice President of TotalRecognition, has been a practitioner in the recognitionindustry for more than 25 years. Ed joined Michael C.Fina in January 2004.

In addition to consulting with hundreds oforganizations, Ed has presented countless educa-tional seminars, symposiums and workshops. Since1995, over 4,500 Human Resource professionals –in 20 major U.S. cities, Canada, and the U.K. – have

attended his international workshops and semi-nars on the concept of Total Recognition. As a

pioneer in the recognition industry, Ed hasrecently published “Guidelines for aTotal Recognition Strategy,” and hasauthored numerous innovative HR arti-cles for a variety of publications.

For additional information pleasecontact Gary Johnson of PFSMarketwyse via Email: [email protected] or Telephone: 973-812-8883 ext. 249

1 www.incentiveperformance.org2 Right Answer, Wrong Questions by Scott

Jeffrey, PHD

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:56 AM

creo


WHEN BRILLIANT RESULTS discoveredthat the Texas Longhorns and the FloridaGators are among the NCAA institutionsthat have a TeamHead hat, we knew we hadto tell their story in this issue.

TeamHeads is the innovation of a distributorand supplier. Mark Stanke, partner of ProCorpimages in Kansas City, Missouri contacted Gibco wantingsomething new and innovative for his end-user client,Kansas City T-Bones. T-Bones is a minor league baseballteam. Mark knows his clients and their needs and reallywanted to offer something different for this team, somethingthat really hadn’t been done before. We decided to try aplush hat based on their bull mascot named “Sizzle.” Weworked with our staff designers to create the unique plush

hat and after a couple of prototypes, the Sizzle hatwas approved ordered and delivered. We knewwe were on to something when the team soldout of 500 hats in 3 weeks. The Sizzle hat wasa big hit! And TeamHeads was born!These hats are so unique because they

truly depict the team mascot. Each hat also featuresa unique breathable inner mesh liner and Velcro strap.The liner makes the hat nice and light so consumers canwear them even in the warmer climates. The strap canbear the team website or mascot name. Team logos areembroidered above the strap for easy team recognition.The CLC, LRG and SMA currently license TeamHeads.

For more information visit www.teamheads.com.

BY: CAMI CHANDLER

Show Your Spirit!

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:57 AM


QuestMarketing to Leading-edgeBaby Boomers:Perceptions, Principles,Practices, Predictions

12

HOW IS MARKETING TO BABYBOOMERS DIFFERENT FROM MARKET-ING TO THE PUBLIC IN GENERAL?

First, let’s define “baby boomers.” The baby boom generation is composed of

Americans born between 1946 and 1964. Post-world War II parents procreated 76 million timesduring this span (call it pent-up demand), and immi-gration has expanded the cohort by six to eight mil-lion since the end of the boom.

Those born between 1946 and 1955 are calledleading-edge boomers; those born during the secondhalf are referred to as late- or trailing-edge boomers.Generation Jones is a new designation gaining pop-ularity to describe the second half of the boom.

Pundits agree that two sociologically distinctgenerations have been enveloped in this nineteen-year package. The leading-edge boomers are differ-ent from their younger brothers and sisters in somefundamental ways.

Members of the older group shared teenage encoun-ters with the galvanizing experiences of the VietnamWar era and the “cultural revolution,” including modernfeminism, civil rights, and environmentalism. Leading-edge boomers vividly remember the assassinations ofJFK, RFK and MLK, as well as the debut of Four Ladsfrom Liverpool on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The rest of my comments will focus on the lead-ing-edge boomers because they are nearest to retire-ment, with bountiful implications for the housing,health, and hospitality industries, to name a few.

Marketing to a generational cohort, as opposedto a demographic or lifestyle segment, draws valid-ity from an observation developed by a German psy-chologist: a zeitgeist. This simply means a sharedsense of a time, particularly the impressionableyears surrounding early adulthood.

Leading-edge boomers shared an intense andcaptivating coming-of-age period, and this has cre-ated many common values. Unique generationalvalues and shared life experiences create fertileopportunities for message construction; offerstrategies, and product positioning.

HOW MUCH INFLUENCE DO BOOMERSHAVE IN TERMS OF NUMBERS ANDDISPOSABLE INCOME?

Every eight seconds, another boomer turns 50. That’s ten- to twelve-thousand per day and four

million per year. Of every three adults over 21 inthe U.S., one person is a boomer. Furthermore,America is getting older every month. We cancount on one-third of the U.S. population being over50 by 2010. By 2020, one in five Americans will beover 65. Businesses not planning to target over-50markets are limiting growth as youth marketsshrink by comparison.

It’s also about the money. Today, 50+ American adults represent 38% of the

population, and that group will explode to 47% by2020. According to data collected by the U.S.

5BY: BRENT GREEN

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:58 AM


ionsBR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:58 AM

creo

4


3

Census and Federal Reserve, the 78 millionAmericans who were 50 or older as of 2001 con-trolled $28 trillion, or 67% of the country’s wealth.

In 2000, households with someone in the 55-to-64 age group had a median net worth of $112,048— about fifteen times the $7,240 reported forunder-35 adults. Annually, boomers spend around$2 trillion on goods and services, and by 2010, theywill outspend younger adults by $1 trillion.

A huge generation guarantees attractive andsizeable market segments for all comers, whetherbusiness-to-consumer or business-to-business. Ageneration accustomed to experimentation and asurfeit of brand choices since infancy obliterates themyth that brand experimentation hardens with age.

WHAT ARE SOME OF THE COMMONMISPERCEPTIONS MARKETERS HAVEABOUT THE BABY BOOM GENERATION?

Segmentation is still based on descriptive gener-alizations. The boomer generation is not a homoge-neous market.

For example, it’s common to portray the typicalboomer as someone who grew up in a profession-al, white collar, and economically healthy family.However, according to U.S. Census data, approxi-mately 57 million boomers, or roughly 70 percent

of the generation, came from poor, working-class, or family-business backgrounds. Nearly one-thirdof the generation is not prosperous today, or evenmarginally comfortable; 25 million boomers arebroke. This is gloomy news, but people withoutliquid assets still consume a superfluity of prod-ucts and services designed to address their eco-nomic handicaps.

Finally, a pervasive youth-demo fixation in con-temporary marketing appears to be driven by the oldbrand-habit theory instead of quantifiable evidence.(This theory holds that brand loyalty hardens withage, and you can’t teach old dogs new tricks.)

A recent study by AARP, the advocacy group for50+ adults, discovered that the majority of peopleover 50 aren’t overly brand loyal. Brand devotionvaries more by category than age.

WHAT ARE THE BOOMERS LOOKINGFOR IN A SALES PITCH?

Boomers resonate with marketing messagesthat help them process their lives. Although theystill maintain youthful idealism and verve inmany ways, they are now middle-aged adultswith middle-aged value frameworks. For exam-ple, the quest for self-discovery and self-actual-ization are fundamental mid-life issues. Boomersare increasingly seeking paths toward self-expression, while advancing agendas focused onbalance, core values, and psychological self-reliance. People who arrive at this stage of devel-opment become more concerned about relevanceand legacies, less concerned about acquisition forpurely material satisfaction.

When boomers were young, marketers sold themtailored products — tangible goods such as bell-bot-tom jeans. Companies then expanded products withservices such as the increasing conveniences offeredby fast-service restaurants. Today, the newestsource of value creation is experiences: promotions,events, and shopping environments designed toengage boomers in a personal and profound way.

The key to marketing with experiences is to posi-tion brands as a reflection of unique psychologicalencounters. Experiences create memories, rich withsensations and personal engagement. Boomers areexperience seekers, especially today in mid-life. AsI’ve demonstrated on a number of occasions for ourclients, even direct mail can be more experiential.

Finally, aging is often associated with the valuesof comfort, predictability, and routine, but healthyboomers defy these generalizations. Many head inthe opposite direction and embrace unabashedexperimentation as a pre-retirement lifestyle.

Experimental behavior could manifest itself in anumber of new ways. That’s why the adventuretravel and edutainment trends are gaining momen-tum in the early years of the new century.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:58 AM

5


ARE THERE ANY TOPICS ORAPPROACHES TO AVOIDWHEN PITCHING TO THIS SEG-MENT?

Too often marketers fall prey toboomer stereotypes. You’ve probablyseen a few boomer advertisingclichés: hippies and Earth mamas;wistful nostalgia about the sixties,ad infinitum; and SUV-driving, cell-phone-yakking yuppies who appearinane and egoistic

For example, a global electronicsmanufacturer launched a colossallyexpensive TV campaign last year.The flashy flourish, featuring aboomer’s global orbit in theInternational Space Station, makesits hero appear narcissistic and irre-sponsible. The underlying message,wherein the protagonist proposes todisinherit his children in the name ofself-gratification, is a subtle put-down, veiled in cinematic beautyand boomer nostalgia.

A recent marketing campaign bya multinational pharmaceuticalcompany demonstrates anothertypical error. The TV spot rivetsattention with its classic rock musicbed by Queen. But as boomersgyrate to the nostalgic beat whilecelebrating their erectile-dysfunc-tion medication, they appear over-weight and disheveled. These adsare the products of the most high-profile, respected advertising agen-cies in the world.

Opportunity lies in creating adver-tising that compliments rather thancriticizes — messages that elevaterather than denunciate.

Boomers also do not like associa-tion with aging metaphors. Manyview themselves younger than thecalendar, some by as much as twelveyears or more. Thus, it’s important todepict boomers in marketing from anaspirational perspective – as active,energetic, and engaged.

Since 1986, Brent Green hasowned a full-service direct mar-keting-consulting company, basedin Denver, Colorado. Over fiftyregional, national, and interna-tional awards acknowledge his

creative and commercial accom-plishments, including the DMA’sInternational Gold Echo Award. In2000, The Rocky Mountain DirectMarketing Association selected himas Direct Marketer of the Year.Brent and his team have successful-ly challenged and beaten controlDM packages held by some of the

nation’s most respected copywrit-ers and creative teams for suchclients as Men’s Fitness magazineand Crest Fruit.

Brent is author of Marketing toLeading-Edge Baby Boomers: Perceptions,Principles, Practices, Predictions, pub-lished in January 2005 by ParamountMarket Publishing, Inc.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:02 AM

creo


CUSTOMERS ARE INTERESTED IN WHAT I’M DOING

They don’t care what you’re doing; they’re onlyinterested in what you’re doing for them. I’ve seena lot of newsletters wrecked by self-serving articlesthat just talk about the company, not what the com-pany is doing for the customer.

THEY’RE INTERESTED IN WHAT I HAVE TO SAY

They’re only interested in what’s in it for them.If you’re not saying anything about them, I guaran-tee they’re less interested in what you’re saying,and more interested in what’s on TV.

MY RECIPIENTS ALWAYS READ MYDIRECT MAIL PACKAGES

If you’re lucky, 5 people in 100 read your directmail package, and 0 to 2 people order. 2%? Hey, ifyou hit this number consistently, consider it a majorsuccess.

“WE CAN EDUCATE THE MARKET” Sure you can - if you’re Bill Gates. But if you don’t

have the funding that he has - you can’t. Don’t eventry. Don’t even think about trying. Educating evenjust a small niche market segment is tough enoughfor the dominant players in that particular field.Educating consumers, even for the biggest compa-nies in the world, still requires time, money, effort,money and time and did I mention money? If yourproduct launch starts out with the phrase “We caneducate the market,” forget it.

IT’S A GOOD DEAL FOR THEM Even if it is, they won’t know it. Even when you

tell them, which has a cost unto itself, they may notbelieve it. With all the other firms saying what a greatdeal their company is offering, YOUR customers maynot realize just how good a deal your offer really is.Then, if it’s too good, you’ll lose your element of trustand people will be scared to buy from you.

SURE THEY’LL SELL - OURS ARE THE BEST IN THE WORLD

They may be, but you’ll have to get in line - in backof all the other people who are saying, “Ours are thebest in the world.” You’ll have to convince everyone -one person at a time. Take cookies, for example; every-one says theirs are the best. If your cookies are reallythe best, your pitch will sound exactly like everyoneelse’s. It’s going to be tough to convince your market,and sending everybody a sample is too expensive.

THE MARKET IS 57 MILLION. IF WE GET 2% OF THAT

This way of determining your marketing success -by seeing how large the total market is - has no bearingon what percent of the market you will actually acquire.The size of the market is completely autonomous of anypercentage of your own market share or any of yourown sales figures. If it was relevant, firms would onlymarket products to the larger market classifications. Ifthe percentage formula worked, everyone would bewildly successful. It’s kind of like a dog thinking, “I’lljust have to stop that one wheel, and the rest of the carwill stop, too.” It just doesn’t work.

MarketingAssumptions

that Aren’t True 18

BY: JEFFREY DOBKIN

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:03 AM


BUILD A BETTER MOUSETRAP, ANDTHE WORLD WILL BEAT A PATH TO YOUR DOOR

If you believe this, obviously you’ve been readingtoo many comic books. Only invention submissionfirms will beat a path to your door. Look up mouse-traps on the web, or at the IBM patent site, and seehow many are incredible designs, then see howmany names you recognize.

OF COURSE WE’LL SUCCEED, WE’RE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Unfortunately your success is not determinedby the quality of your work - it’s deter-mined by the quality of your mar-keting.

In truth, you willsucceed if yourMARKETING is the best in the business. Indirect mail, you can succeed if your copy is thebest in the business - people buy your productdirectly from your copy - without seeing theproduct at all.

You can be the best architect in the world,and still go out of business because you don’tknow how to market your services: to makethe phone ring and bring in customers. Whileyour good work may have a hand at your even-tual success as you generate referrals, yourinitial success is directly determined by yourmarketing. Word of mouth may be the bestform of advertising, but it’s slow. Can youafford to wait?

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:03 AM


THIS WAS A CATASTROPHE - WE’RE RUINED!

OK, so something bad happened. A few industry peo-ple heard about it for a brief instant. I assure you it was-n’t as big a news story to them as it was to you. By now,they’ve forgotten. Life goes on. Don’t try to apologize inevery ad, every newsletter, in every phone call, in everyJust start focusing on the new and better products,services and benefits you’re offering. Other people willhave forgotten your faux pas by the time you’ve finishedthis article. I recommend you do the same.

I’LL DECLARE BANKRUPTCY AND THATWILL BE THE END OF MY TROUBLES

If your business is doing lousy and you think that’s aheadache, declaring bankruptcy is the beginning of amigraine - a bad migraine. I recommend you 1. Call allyour vendors and tell them of your payoff schedule,even if it’s just $5/week. 2. Stick to the schedule. If youneed to go bankrupt, they’ll file for you. Either way, noone said you had to be doing what you’re doing for therest of your life - start thinking about what you’d reallylike to do

WE’LL CREATE AN “IMAGE” WITH THIS AD

Unless you run a full-page ad every issue, your imagead probably won’t work. No offense, but unless youhave really deep pockets - forget image: try makingmoney with your ads. Like advertising in the directresponse industry, your ads should have a direct equiv-alent of “this ad cost us this much money, and we madethis much money in return.” Then, look to see if the lastnumber is bigger than the first number. If it is, repeatthe ad. If it isn’t, I can pretty much guarantee it isn’thelping your “image”.

IT TAKES 3 INSERTIONS FOR CONSUMERSTO RESPOND TO YOUR AD

If your first ad sinks like a stone the first time, I gotnews for you: the second time you place the ad in thesame magazine or newspaper - and yes, the third timeyou place your ad - it will sink like a stone also.

WE’LL JUST GET THIS ONE OUT ON THE MARKET, WE’LL MAKE MONEY ON THE NEXT ONE

If you don’t make any money on this one, there won’t bea next one. It is the objective of business not to manufac-ture products, but to make a profit. If you just need experi-ence, work for someone else and at least get paid for it.

A PATENT WILL PROTECT ME A patent doesn’t protect you - a patent only gives you

the right to protect yourself. Big difference. A patent isonly as strong as its claims. Defense of a patent isexpensive. For the most part, design patents are worth-less. Remember - there are people and firms out therethat are specialists in “Patent Circumvention”. Beforelaying out $5,000 for a patent, better think it through.

IT WILL BE EASY TO MARKET; EVERYONE NEEDS ONE

I’ve often thought the hardest product to market is atelephone. If everyone needs one, you must now reacheveryone to alert them of your product availability. Thereis a cost associated with reaching each person, known inthe magazine industry as CPM or cost to reach 1,000 peo-ple. There is a huge cost to reach everyone - and alertthem of the availability of your products. There are stillfurther costs in showing them your products and describ-ing your benefits. On a small budget, it can be tough. I’drather market a product to a specific industry.

THEY COULDN’T PRINT IT IF IT WASN’T TRUE

Don’t believe everything you read. There are only 17assumptions in this article. Always check for yourself.

Jeffrey Dobkin is a direct marketing copywriter, ahumorous and fun speaker, and an all around goodguy. He can be reached at 610-642-1000, and his web-site - where you can read other articles of his - can befound at www.dobkin.com. Call him for other arti-cles, free samples of his work or a free review of yourcurrent campaign.

Jeffrey Dobkin is also the author of two books,Uncommon Marketing Techniques, and How To MarketA Product For Under $500!, a direct marketing how-tomanual. Thanks. Satisfaction Always Guaranteed.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:03 AM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:25 AM

VISITORS ATTEND SHOWS for a varietyof reasons. One of the strongest is foreducation. Exhibitions are an ideal wayfor them to learn about new productsand services, see new applications, orfind out about new technologies andmethods of increasing their ownproductivity. The same holds trueat a consumer show where visitorshave an opportunity to learn aboutnew products that will improvethe quality of their lives.

With this in mind, astuteexhibitors have a unique opportunity.Whether you are exhibiting in a smallbooth or have a large one, there isalways an opportunity to provide in-bootheducation in the form of a seminar.

The presentation itself has to be first-rate. Make sure it is not perceived as a sales pitch. Seminarsare considered most valuable when thevisitor gains relevant,applicable information.A CEIR study reportsthat 63 percent of all

A great tool toattract visitor’sattention

BY: BARRY SISKIND

In-booth Education ~


BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 4:35 AM

visitors attending in-booth seminars stated thatattending seminars strongly influenced theirbuying decision.

Seminars are different than demonstrations.The focus of a demonstration is to whet theattendee’s appetite for a product or service.The focus of a seminar is to give the attendeeinformation that will help them improve theirproductivity.

Presenters need to be well prepared andrehearsed. If they give a sloppy, less than profes-sional presentation, it will reflect on your entireorganization.

Setting up an in-booth seminar should bedone with care. In a smaller booth, you can getby with a couple of chairs. Your presenter willneed a flip chart or overhead projector. In a larg-er booth, where you have the luxury of space,you can consider more elaborate audio-visualequipment and chairs. However, don’t set outtoo many chairs. It is better to have all thechairs filled with extra visitors standing. Thiscreates the look of a crowded, popular seminar.

You may consider offering an incentive forvisitors who watch the whole presentation.This could be a T-shirt, ball cap, samples ofyour product, or an opportunity to enter adraw. At one show, the exhibitor offered acrisp, new U.S. $100 bill. As you can imagine,every seat was filled.

In-booth seminars work. However, it isvery disheartening to see a speaker talking toan all but empty booth. The key to a success-ful seminar, according to Barbara Siskind(yes, she is related), author of Seminars toBuild Your Business, is in your marketing.“Marketing your seminar is probably themost important stage in your planning activi-ties. ... Without a good marketing plan, noth-ing else happens.”

You can publicise your in-booth seminarthrough newspapers and magazines, in the showguide, on your web site, by posting noticesaround the show (if the show manager agrees),mailing invitations to specific visitors before theshow, including a flyer in the delegates’ kit, orplacing a sign in your booth indicating the timesand topics of your seminars.

Booth seminars are a powerful way to attractattention to your exhibit. And, once the seminar isover, your booth staff must be ready to approach vis-itors to offer any further assistance they need. •

Barry Siskind is North America’s foremost tradeand consumer show expert and author of ThePower of Exhibit Marketing. He is president ofToronto based International Training andManagement Company. For a free copy ofBarry’s™ audiotape, Double Your Trade ShowResults...Guaranteed


BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 4:36 AM


Ash City®Our cap line offers the customer a “One Stop Shop” experience. Ash City offers convenience and ease inthe buying experience with one invoice, one shipment and the opportunity to coordinate a program all underone roof. The Classic portion of the cap line offers competitive quality and value for the traditional cap user.The Performance portion of the cap line offers features that are not only functional but also trendy for anactive lifestyle …stretch, 3M visibility, wicking are just some of the features. The Premier portion of the capline offers a domestic stock program of stylized caps that are pre-embroidered for a custom overseas look.

Ritchie Belyea, Designer – Special Projects

In 2006 Ash City Worldwide expanded it’s selection in the headwear category. After having carried a lineof Polyester Fleece Toque’s (Stocking Caps) and Reversible Headbands, Ash City felt it was the appropri-ate time to introduce a coordinated selection of caps that merchandized itself well with the current line andstill offered at the same price/value approach our dealers have become accustom to when using the AshCity clothing line. These coordinates of fleece mittens, scarfs, Toques and Headbands have compliment-ed the extensive Ash City outerwear line for years. By expanding our headwear line it allowed Ash City topackage a headwear piece for all seasons. We introduced 13 new caps in addition to having the option ofbuilding your own custom cap in a number of fabric’s designs and options. What has made the 2006 Caplaunch so successful is the fact that many of our dealers have the ability now to add a matching cap tothere customers selection of Polo’s, Jackets and Bags, while still offering a consistent color theme. Someof the more successful dealers have packaged these assortments by using one of the many Ash City jack-ets, polo’s, bags and of course cap’s and doing it all on one PO making it a seamless process. Getting aquality, assorted package of three gifts instead of the traditional single retail branded shirt makes sense tothe every day consumer. This approach has worked both for tournament packs as well as in Companystores and Company Web sites.

Michael A. Rozier, Director of Sales – US Western Region

ATT Headwear®We have several unique or semi unique programs/products. Our custom light up hat with a 288minimum is one that we have devoted 5 years to perfecting. This value added product is a marketingtool for sales use at a reasonable price point. We also offer a custom overseas hat with only a 144-pieceminimum. This has been instrumental in allowing almost every customer to participate in creating acustom design just for their promotional needs. Our light up Safety Vests and other Safety products areamong the best pricing in the industry. Our new Cool Soothie retail quality wicking polo shirt is proba-bly the best bargain out there today. We are also introducing distributors to other diversified productsat exceptional price points daily as we move into bags, jackets, polo shirts, golf towel, blankets and more.“We’re not just Headwear Anymore”!

HEAD OF THE CLASS HEADWEAR

In a continuing effort to present the best of each segment of the promotional merchandise industry,this month we tip our hat to headwear. With its ranking as one of the most popular promotionalitems, it is easy to believe that creativity in headwear is a thing of the past. Nothing could be fartherfrom the truth, as you will find when you review the responses of some of the top headwear compa-nies to the following two questions:

• WHAT MAKES YOUR PRODUCT OUTSTANDING IN THE PROMOTIONAL OR INCENTIVE SECTOR?

• HOW (PROVIDE CLIENT/INDUSTRY NAME IF AVAILABLE) WAS YOUR HEADWEAR USED SUCCESS-FULLY IN A MARKETING, BRANDING AND/OR MOTIVATIONAL CAMPAIGN?

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 2:54 PM

Head

of the C

lass Head

wear


Distributors of a major equipment company are providing my client with numerous hat designs to take advantageof our 144-piece minimum program to diversify their products and sell more products as they reach more peoplewith different tastes. We print our own camouflage fabrics in our factory using proprietary designs by our artists,which are being sold in retails stores and shops throughout the US. The overseas main program encompasses sev-eral major auto manufacturers and a few major fast food chain stores to outfit their employees and provide customhats in their company stores. The light hat product has been sold to some of the largest manufacturing, software,retail and corporate entities in the United States. We’re currently working on a National Campaign for a major Non-Profit organization that is getting many government participants and other contributors to join in partly because ofthe popularity of our light hats.

Sally Love, National Sales Manager

Fersten Worldwide, Inc.All Fersten Worldwide products– both headwear and apparel – are superior in the industry because of our commit-ment to quality, the customer and innovation. We are a One-Stop-Shop for headwear, apparel, embroidery, pewterand rubber logos and that makes a difference. Very few companies have headwear, apparel and embroidery underone roof. When you place an order with Fersten Worldwide you will receive your completed order on time. With othermanufacturers you place an order, receive it and send it out again to the embroiderer and wait again. We take theworry and guesswork out of the project, so you also buy peace of mind. But Fersten Worldwide also designs theproducts with embroidery in mind. We are a manufacturer that conceives its products and invests technology inthe production to design in advance for embroidery needs. We are one of only a few companies in North Americathat can do 3D-Puff embroidery domestically. We have innovative fabrics like the FP135 Wet Mesh or our fusionsuede. But our detailing really sets us apart. We can personalize a cap almost anywhere you can imagine: insidetaping, under peaks, buttons, backstraps etc. We have triple sandwich peaks, motion peaks and custom backstrapslike our patented elastic band – this band lets you have a comfortable and secure fit no matter what your head size.

Customers have had phenomenal success with our headwear in customer acquisition programs and corporateteam building activities. Imagine a Corporate Olympics where every team has a different color cap & their teamnames embroidered on the front! It is truly amazing. Companies have used our Cap & Choice program to outfittheir best representatives and the pride in those people’s faces is clear. We’ve also been the cap of choiceMcDonald’s uniforms and we are proud that we were the product of choice for the participants at Pope John PaulII’s World Youth Day in 2002.

Stefani Balinsky, Marketing Coordinator

Headwear USAStarting at 144-pieces, we allow our clients to completely customize a cap with as quickly as a 4 week lead-time.We can provide shipping from 10 international FOB points; this makes our product ideal for any promotion, any-where. In addition, we have no minimums on embroidery on stock items, so even small groups can have customheadwear in a few days, and at a good price.

Having offices all around the globe, we recently helped a client to launch a new beverage brand in the US, GreatBritain, and Australia at the same time. The client wanted to give a free cap with the purchase of their new bev-erage at restaurants and pubs. We made some caps offshore, and had them delivered via domestic freight with-in each country. We were able to fill quickly needed reorders in a similar stock style from our local warehousesin those same countries. The distributor was able to purchase nearly double the amount of caps the client origi-nally budgeted for, because we were able have the bulk manufactured offshore, and we were able to save fundsby not having to pay international freight. Their promotion was a success, resulted in quick reorders, and a quickproduct launch.

Tony Karlicek, Headwear USA

The Legend Marketing Group™Legend offers USA made and Import headwear. Both product lines feature outstanding quality, innovative designs,competitive pricing and timely delivery.

Legend provides Geiger with custom headwear for all their corporate events. fun, exciting custom cap with a goldliquid metal logo for Geiger to present to all their top sales people at an upcoming conference.

Adele Kamerman, Sales Administration Manager

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:04 AM


Openers PlusOur patented bottle opener hat™ is unique and adds a fun new twist to the popular headwear category. We havedecoratively built the bottle opener into the visor of the hat. It is very functional and adds a secondary location todecorate or embellish the hat. The bottle opener hat™ is a promotional hat the people will actually keep. This hatis not just about price. It is so much fun that everyone has to keep it.

The hat has been used successfully in many environments. Here are three: • We recently did a promotion for a poker company using the bottle opener hat™. Players (who paid to

enter the tournament) received a hat as well as all of the sponsors. The hat was so unique; many of theplayers and sponsors talked about the hat, all the while, the poker company’s logo and web site werebeing displayed.

• A yacht club held a fundraiser. The hat sold out for the yacht club.• A radio station used the hat at a recent tailgating event. Since the hat is perfect for tailgating, everyone contin-

ued to wear the hat in the parking lot and at the game. There were several hundred people wearing the hatsexhibiting the radio stations call sign and dial position.

Rob Davey, Openers Plus

Pacific HeadwearCorporate America is turning to higher quality wearables for promotional give aways. I believe the days ofmore quantity for less is waning and that the end customer understands the actual cost of a promotionalcap that is not being worn. By spending just a little more you are increasing the visibility of your corporatelogo by insuring more of the caps being worn in public and not spending time in the bottom of a closet.

In 2005 we partnered with GRAPHIC RESOURCE GROUP of Troy, MI to supply Chevrolet with domesti-cally embroidered headwear in support of the “An American Revolution” campaign. The caps were verysuccessful and led to many, many repeat orders through the rest of the year. This is a perfect example ofspending a little more for a higher quality cap and attaining superior corporate exposure.

James Matson, Vice President National Sales

Pacific View InternationalWith over 35 years of experience in the industry on both the dealer and manufacturing levels, six yearsago we focused our efforts on the manufacturing / importing side of the industry by opening our customheadwear manufacturing facility in Central China. Over these six years, it has been our mission to deliv-er a quality product at exceptional dealer value with an outstanding record for on time delivery. PacificView International has developed 3 unique programs to fit all of your cap needs. Whether that need ishighly decorated caps, fast delivery, or low price, Pacific View has a program for you.

One thing to remember about our line is that embroidery is charged by the location and not by the stitchcount. Clients never have to be concerned about using excessive amounts of stitches because of ourindustry-leading concept. With NO embroidery tape or set up charges, the sole focus is on designing acap, which is unique. Also, our three individual cap programs provide each account executive the flexi-bility to offer their customers a cap, which will meet all of their specific needs. Working with Pacific ViewInternational gives you the opportunity to buy direct from our factory in China and $ave.

Glenn Williams, PresidentSteve Angeline, Vice President

Philadelphia Rapid Transit® HeadwearThere are several key factors for why our products continue to offer the promo/premium industry aunique and different option not only in headwear but also in merchandising in general. The first factor isthat we only produce headwear and related accessories. Because of this focus we are able to concen-trate on a diverse collection of styles, fabrics and production capabilities. Our designs include the basiccore headwear items such as baseball caps and knit beanies as well as high-end wool felt formal wearhats (made in the USA), straw cowboy hats and hipster looks such as the short brim fedora, knit beaniewith a zipper and athletic performance pieces using CoolMax, mesh and micro fiber. The other value inworking with PRT is that we are very good at collaborating the three internal departments – private labelproduction, retail and premiums. The benefit to our premium/promotional clients is that they can lookto us for new fashionable and cutting edge styles and fabrics. Many of our private label customers are aseason or two ahead of the fashion trends in Hollywood and NYC.

Hea

d o

f th

e C

lass

Hea

dw

ear

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:04 AM


We are proud to have partnered with many clients during our 34 years to help support their marketing programs. In many cases our headwear has been a focus point for the campaign or promotion.

– Case Study IOregon State University wanted to generate subscriptions to their new video-on-demand Internet website. use (a) thebaseball team was nationally ranked (b) hats are easy to ship © hats are easy to size (d) hats met their price point.

– Case Study IIOur client was a sponsor of ice hockey schools and tournaments. unique and different. We worked with them todesign a fleece hockey helmet (not for safety use).

– Case Study IIIA major liquor brand wanted to recognize key customers as part of a country music festival. They came to us look-ing for a high-end straw cowboy hat that included a subtle logo treatment. They chose one of our popular retailhats and we then created a 3” embroidered patch that could be glued on the side of the hat.

David Goldman, Philadelphia Rapid Transit®

Quake City CapsMany people look at a cap and see just another apparel accessory used to hide one of those bad hair days, showtheir support for their favorite team, keep the sun out of their eyes or flaunt the most contemporary fashion or cor-porate logo. Quake City looks at a cap and sees the potential for a fashion statement and at the same time an adver-tisement opportunity. With over 30 years of experience in the retail market and specialty embroidery, Quake CityCap has become one of the industries leading providers of unique ornamentation and contemporary headwear toadd that extra special "something" that is missing in most corporate headwear. The photo is an example of ourPhoto Art and Embroidery ability.

For the past 3 years Quake City has worked with Rick Bennett Incorporated (Based in Los Angeles, CA.) to provideheadwear for the Revlon Walk for Breast Cancer Event. These caps were used to help promote Breast Cancerawareness and helped bring more attention to this event and it's important cause. After the event, supporters andvolunteers who received these caps wear them proudly when out and about. In so doing they continue to promoteawareness of this worthy cause they participated in. Quake City Caps is proud to have been a part, although in asmall way, in this significant cause.

Joel Glucksman, National Sales Manager for Quake City Caps

SanMar®SanMar’s entire line of headwear is inspired from the promotional products industry and is built exclusively for thisindustry. Whether it is branded options like Nike Golf or PING, or it is the exceptional variety and value of hats andcaps from Port Authority, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better selection.

Our pink Port Authority Garment Dyed Cap has been used in fundraising and walks for generating research dol-lars to fight Breast Cancer. It makes a bold statement when you observe a sea of heads wearing the cap withthe distinctive pink ribbon logo.

Lee Strom, Senior Marketing Manager

Sonette, Inc. ~ (Flexfit/Yupoong Headwear)Caps are easily seen and worn all year round. They keep you warm in the winter and cool in the summer. Whetheryou select a knit beanie or baseball cap they project your loyalty to the logo, brand or philosophy embellishedaround the crown.

A beautiful famous pop singer, originally part of a successful woman's group, purchased 3,000 caps to promoteher new clothing line. The logoed caps were to be sprinkled from the stage, into the audience, at one of her con-certs and immediately a clothing line was established and promoted in one instance.

Mark Stern, Vice President Sales

For more information on any of our featured headwearsuppliers email [email protected].

Head

of the C

lass Head

wear

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:05 AM


• Do you think your customers appreciate the valueof the value- added services you offer?

• If you think so, just how valuable are they to yourcustomers?

• What are the real dollar amounts that areassigned, by your customers, to the value-addedextra you offer?

• Have you told your customers the real-dollar valueamounts that you have assigned to the value-added services you offer?

• Have you even assigned real-dollar amounts yet?

Recently, I challenged a group of sales agents foran international manufacturing company to answerthese questions at their sales meeting.

You need to know this company has positioneditself as the “Cadillac” of their industry. I saw twoproblems with their positioning: First, Cadillac is nolonger considered at the top of the heap, so the com-pany is unfortunately stuck in an erroneous and oldparadigm mindset. Second, since so much of whatthey offer is sold to state departments of transporta-tions (DOTs), both the agents and manufacturer haveresigned themselves to believing that only the lowbid wins. Why be the “Cadillac” (thinking Cadillac isat the top of the heap) if you believe only low bit,commodity-selling wins? I believe that this company

BY ED RIGSBEE, CSP

VALUEThrough the

Eyes of YourCustomer

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:08 AM


BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:08 AM

creo


yearns for customers that both understand the valueof and appreciates top quality products and service.I also believe that they are just like so many others inmanufacturing and distribution that cannot clearlyarticulate the total value of their offering.

So, they find themselves stuck on the“Commodities R Us” paradigm.

In this example, lets explore further. TheDOTs do not only want the low cost, they alsowant the best total deal, or what I call the totalvalue package. Any customer must look beyondthe price to the total cost of procurement, ordoing business with a particular supplier. And, itis the absolute responsibility of the sales personto educate the customer as to their total valuepackage offering. What was surprising to mewas that these sales agents had very, very fewanswers. What about you?

Would you agree that in retailing, distributionand manufacturing, there are few secrets?Meaning, that most purchasers know where to getmost of the offerings of their industry—and mostof your customers know it. With that being said,one can play the “Commodities R Us” game or dosomething else. The something else, I believecould be differentiation through your total value

package. The challenge for you is to determine thetrue and honest dollar-value of the value-addedservices you offer.

An important element in offering understand-able value is to first educate your customers in thefine art of buying better. You know what I mean—how they can change their buying behavior and ifthey do, what’s in it for them?

• This could mean ordering using a timing methodthat allows more lead-time.

• This could mean inventory management and auto-matic replenishment.

• This could mean ordering less frequently, enabledthrough better usage projections.

• This could mean distributor and contractor collab-orative selling.

• This could mean buying pre buying some suppliesin a different season.

• This could mean bundling multiple items from onespecific manufacturer. This would be seen as thedirect opposite of cherry picking.

• This could mean…(you fill in the rest of the bulletpoints for yourself).

Value is all too frequently, as elusive as a lep-rechaun and his pot o’ gold—but it does not haveto be this way. You simply have to figure outwhat your customers consider to be valuable, doit for them, and then tell your customers what itis that you did for them. This lesson was, by acci-dent, drilled into my head very early in my ownselling career.

I’ll never forget the day I stopped into ParkPharmacy in Paso Robles, California. It was the mid-1970s and I sold sunglasses to retail stores at thetime. Yes, I said sunglasses! Well, when I walkedinto the store on one of my regularly scheduledservice visits; I noticed some product from anothervendor on my display. Being the territorial salesmanthat I was at the time, I went directly to the owner,Bob, and asked him about them.

He told me that a competitor had stopped in andtold him that this particular style of sunglasses wascurrently a very hot item. Bob asked me, “Are theypopular?” I answered in the affirmative. Bob wenton to say, “That’s why I bought them.” I proceededto tell Bob that this “hot” style had already been onthe display for the last couple months or so fromme. He said, “Oh!”

Gosh, wasn’t it Bob’s responsibility to know whatwas in his store? Wasn’t he supposed to trust that I’d

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:08 AM


take care of him? Wasn’t he supposed to be loyal to me? You and I both know that the answer to the

above questions is a resounding, NO! It was myresponsibility to tell Bob what I was doing for him.If I didn’t tell him, how in the world was he sup-posed to know? This applies to you too. How in theworld are your contractors to know what it is thatyou are doing for them if you don’t tell them?

Value added services are not perceived as beingvaluable if your customer doesn’t know what it isthat you are doing for them.

• Tell your customers what it is that you aredoing for them. If you do not want to be rele-gated to living in the world of commodity sell-ing, where low bid wins…

• Acknowledge that you are responsible toeducate your customers as to how they canbuy better.

• Acknowledge that you must ferret out whatservices your customers really do believe are ofvalue to them.

• Acknowledge that you must help your cus-

tomers to determine the real dollar value ofyour “value-added” offering.

Acknowledge that you must, as you would dowith your young children, continually remind yourcustomers about the real-dollars you save themwhen they do business with you.

I believe that you can access that pot o’ goldat the end of the rainbow if you know where tolook. The best place to look is at where, when,and how you choose to deliver and demonstratethat extra value-added service that you give toyour contractors. It is only valuable if they con-sider it to be of value and they know you deliv-ered if you tell them. •

Ed Rigsbee, CSP is the author of PartnerShift,Developing Strategic Alliances and The Art ofPartnering. Rigsbee has over 1,000 published articlesto his credit and is a regular keynote presenter at cor-porate and trade association conferences acrossNorth America. He can be reached at 800-839-1520,[email protected], or visit www.rigsbee.com.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:09 AM

creo


It’s All About Spirit!MANY SPORTS FANS WOULD agree that a major part of the fun of any game

day is the opportunity for big and little kids alike to Root, Root, Root For The

Home Team.’ This month in conjunction with our University Sports issue, Brilliant

Results decided to scout out some of the ways readers who sponsor, or are

involved in sporting events, can help fans show their ‘spirit’…and, of course,

get their name in front of potential clients. For the fun of it and the memories,

following are our picks for all those who cheer.

Americanna Promotional ProductsOur 1/8” “thick and thirsty” coasters are sure to score at your nextsporting event!These coaters are available in all natural cork (shown) or faux suedewith a non-skid rubber backing. They make a great memento from anybanquet, party, game or print your favorite team’s schedule on them touse as a handy guide. Coasters are also available in over 100 shapeswith a variety of stock graphics.

Ball Pro, Inc.You are sure to raise team spirit with one of these quality items: TheBall Game package is the perfect take me out to the ball game, buy mesome peanuts and Cracker Jacks promotional package . . . Baseball kitincludes 1 imprinted promotional baseball (BPS) choice of in the shellpeanuts or Cracker Jacks or both in an imprinted 6” x 10” pouch and forfootball fans try the Baden Full Size Autograph Football to insure youscore a touchdown with this full size Baden autograph football whichhas two large, white autograph panels perfect for your company logo…If Golf is the game, the NCAA Towel Gift Pack with a team log embroi-dered tri-fold golf towel and 6 team logoed Callaway Golf Balls or theOdyssey White Hot 2 Ball Putter logoed with a Custom Team Grip couldmake them cheer.

Galaxy Balloons, Inc.Root for the home team with new Root-N-Toot Sports horns. Superloud they’re perfect for cheering on your favorite team. Horns feature abreakaway lanyard for safety and convenience.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 4:00 PM


PPC/greatStuff!Our new sport mugs come in two versions: the #23000 TouchdownMug and the #33000 Hoop Mug. The clear cup holds 16 ounces witha sturdy handle. The plastic backboard fastens to the handle and tipsback for drinking ease or can be removed completely. The TouchdownMug comes with a goalpost imprint and the Hoop Mug has a backboardimprinted. Customers can print their message on the backboard ormug - or both. Each mug comes with the corresponding ball. They’rea big hit in gift shop stores at colleges and universities, have beensold as concession stand fundraisers, and filled with candy for a tabletopper at sports banquets.

GTM ProductsSports Coolers are soft-sided fun coolers that look and feel just like thereal ball. Currently available in baseball, football, basketball, and soc-cer in both small (6pk cans) and large (18 cans), these coolers makebeverage-toting fun. Sports Coolers are made from high-grade PVCmaterial coupled with quality straps and zippers. Both adults and chil-dren love them.

NEP PromotionsBoth the Football Helmet Cushion and the Football Jersey are madefrom our new soft and comfortable Softek™ closed cell foam. Not onlyis it soft and cushy, it'll insulate even the most die-hard football fanfrom those cold, wet stadium seats! We designed this cool lookingBasketball Jersey Cushion just for the avid roundball fan to make thosehard bleachers a bit more fun to sit on!

PEPCO Promotional ProductsBright and colorful, plastic mini footballs are a favorite promotionalitem for all football fans at every level. The large imprint area canaccommodate both team and sponsor information, making them anideal hand out and souvenir item for any big game. Each ball featuresauthentic detail and is available in fifteen sport colors.

It’s All About Spirit!

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:21 PM


Spirit Industries, Inc.As seen in stadiums nationwide, the foam #1 hand is a staple item forany fan and yours should be the 18” Foam #1 Hand / Mitt from theOriginator of the Foam #1 Cheering Hand...Since 1979… Spirit HandLine… “The World’s 1st and Largest Manufacturer of Foam CheeringHands!” When you…Show’em who is #1 use the #1 finger!

Topperscot, LLCShow your team spirit with our FAN-tastic products. Pack six of yourfavorite cans or bottles into the Cool Six Cooler and enjoy up to 8 hoursof cooling capability from a freezer pack in the middle of the holder thathugs your beverages. Our Mini-Replica Ornaments can be imprintedin up to 4 colors. The Chip Clip is spring loaded to close chip bags andmagnetic to hold memos on metal surfaces.

VS ProductsIt can get a bit chilly for even the hardiest sports fan. What better wayto enjoy the game in comfort than wrapped in a heavy 100% polyesterfleece 50” x 60” blanket with a water resistant nylon backing and anelastic strap that scores for fold-up and stowing. The whipstitch edgeprevents fraying. Include the team logo, your logo, the schedule, theplayers’ or sponsors’ names with all that imprint image space the onlylimitation is your imagination.

Vonco Products, Inc.World famous ThunderStix® Noisemakers are used around the world, includ-ing shipping into China. Teams and Sponsors love the: large imprint area onboth sides…the colorful imprint possibilities…the high visibility at the eventand on TV…and the fans’ great reactions when using ThunderStixNoisemakers. Who can forget the newspaper photo from the St. LouisCardinal World Series game showing 3 nuns using the CardsThunderStix…the expressions of spirit and enjoyment on their faces waspriceless. Vonco and ThunderStix® Noisemakers are the home ofChampions. From The Anaheim Angels to the Chicago White Sox WorldSeries Run, the Green Bay Packers to the Pittsburg Steelers Super BowlChamps, t he San Antonia Spurs to the Miami Heat NBA Champions, theTampa Bay Lightning to the Stanley Cup Champion Charlotte Hurricanes,MLS Champion Chicago Fire to the Kansas City Wizards ThunderStixNoisemakers were there. They have also built spirit at: sales meetings, grandopenings, in store promotions, concerts, direct mail campaigns, weddingsand High School/College sporting events. ThunderStix® and onlyThunderStix® are made in the USA, so we never miss event dates. For thosewho do not or cannot use noisemakers at certain events, we have just recentlylaunched our patent pending line of InFlate-A-Flag TM and InFlate-A-PennantTM, including a USA Flag actually made in the USA!

It’s A

ll Abo

ut S

pirit

!

The next time you want to show that “We’ve Got Spirit” or “We’re Number 1” take a moment to contact your localpromotional products consultant. They may have just the ticket to help cheer your team on to victory. And, remem-ber to mention the Brilliant Results Team out there helping you find the resources you need to build relationshipsthat score results.For additional information on any of these companies and their spirit products Email Brilliant Results [email protected].

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:21 PM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 10:37 AM

AS A PROFESSIONAL MARKETER, you knowhow to create compelling campaigns that connectwith different types of consumers. But the abili-ty to understand people may be even more crucialthan you realize. In addition to building brands,today’s marketing managers also must buildcohesion among employees, a challenge giventhat four distinct generations exist within theworkplace. These groups include the so-calledSilent Generation — professionals born beforeWorld War II — baby boomers, Gen-Xers andGeneration Y, recent graduates who were born inthe early 1980s.

It goes without saying that each group has dif-ferent strengths, motivations, core values and workstyles. To fully leverage your team’s many talents,you must embrace these differences — and encour-age your staff to do the same. Following are moretips for maximizing intergenerational understanding:

CULTIVATE COLLABORATION. Managers in virtually every industry are wise to

promote multigenerational learning, but as a mar-keting leader, it’s particularly beneficial to establisha culture founded on collaboration and communica-tion. With four generations of creative thinkersworking under one roof, you have a vast pool ofknowledge to tap. By routinely asking members ofdifferent generations to put their heads together in

brainstorming sessions, for instance, you ensure awide variety of ideas and perspectives are broughtto the table. Age-diverse collectives representingcross sections of the community can explore thepotential appeal and pitfalls of marketing conceptsin a way homogenous groups cannot.

FIGHT STEREOTYPES.Encouraging collaboration also will help facilitate

the breakdown of generational stereotypes and mis-perceptions, which are often fueled by a lack of famil-iarity. Therefore, the more frequently people worktogether, the more comfortable they’ll be with oneanother. For example, a member of the SilentGeneration might initially feel threatened by a Gen-Xer’s ambition and eagerness to take on new proj-ects. The senior staffer might even be territorial of hisaccounts. However, after getting to know his less-experienced colleague through regular interaction,the veteran may learn that his coworker is simplyhungry for knowledge — and not out to take anyone’sjob. Once both parties put their guard down, there isample opportunity for them to forge a mutually bene-ficial relationship based on respect and trust.

GET FLEXIBLE. Because each generation has different needs,

flexibility is vital. For instance, recent research indi-cates that baby boomers are interested in working


MultigenerationalMarketing Staff

MANAGING A

BY THE CREATIVE GROUP

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:10 AM


at least part-time during retire-ment. By implementing a programenabling them to stay on with your firm as con-sultants or trainers, you’ll help these seasoned profes-sionals ease into retirement while retaining irreplaceableinstitutional knowledge. You also might discover thatmembers of Generation X or Y value a high degree ofwork/life balance and long for telecommuting options. Thekey is to get to know your marketers and their priorities,and then create work arrangements inclusive enough toaddress the priorities of all generations.

The importance of generational understanding can’t beoverstated, but neither can the appreciation of individuality —especially when dealing with creative professionals. Be mind-ful that every person on your marketing team is unique andshould not be viewed solely through a generational lens. Alsoremember that being fair, providing timely feedback and regular-ly offering positive reinforcement are management moves thatemployees of all ages value. •

The Creative Group is a specialized staffing service placingcreative, advertising, marketing, and web professionals with avariety of firms on a project basis. For more information, visitwww.creativegroup.com

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:22 PM


Increase your ROI and build brand awareness with sports related promotionalproducts. Sponsor your local university or high school's sports fundraising events.

UNIVERSITY AND EDUCATION SPORT PROGRAMS CASE STUDIES

DIVISION I UNIVERSITYThe Goal Line

Football Club at aDivision 1 collegeholds an annualgolf tournamentto raise money for non-school fundeditems. This year, with the fundsraised they where able toupgrade the equipment roomand fund anew video-editingmachine.

Local companies sponsoredthe events and co-brandedwith the university on golfballs, golf bags and other golf related products.

Available Products: Golf Balls,Golf Bags, Tournament Kits, TeePacks, Golf Apparel, Shoe Bags,Golf Shoes, Valuables Pouches,Ball Pro Gift Redemption Program-www.ballpro4gifts.com.

DIVISION III UNIVERSITYA Division III University holds an

annual golf tournament and fund raiser to raisemoney for their general scholarship fund. In addi-

tion to co-branding with the university ongolf products, local companies also

donated premium gifts for teeprizes and the silent auction.

Available Products:Golf Balls,Golf Bags,Golf Tournament Kits,Gift Reward Cards,Golf Clubs,Golf Gifts,Umbrellas and GolfGloves, Ball Pro Gift Redemption Program -www.ballpro4gifts.com.

HIGH SCHOOLS This year two high school football teams

will play each other for the100th time in schoolhistory. To commemorate the occasion they willbe printing both of the school logos along with

the sponsor’s name on a miniature autograph foot-ball, which will be sold at the game. The ball willbecome a collector's item and the money madefrom the sales will go to support the football pro-grams from both schools.

Available Products: Mini Autograph Football,Mini Vinyl Football, Mini Plastic Football, Full SizeAutograph Football.

YOUTH SPORTS To raise money for ice time, a youth hockey

team sold miniature hockey sticks provided bytheir sponsors. The hockey sticks advertised theyouth hockey association as well as the sponsor.

Available Products: 19” Plastic HockeyStick, 19” Plastic Goalie Stick, 24” WoodHockey Stick, 24” Wood Goalie Stick,Official Hockey Puck.

www.ballpro.com

Go to www.ballpro.com for more sports case studies and to view our full line of promotionalsports products.

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:13 AM

BR0606_Section03 6/2/06 12:53 AM


If you’ve ever wanted to catch one of those t-shirts

shot out of a cannon at sporting events or received

an engraved frame for your new home from your

Realtor®—you know the exciting appeal of

promotional products.

But as a marketer, promotional products have the

potential to make you smile even bigger. After all,

they are the only advertising medium that is seen,

touched, heard (think radios, CDs and sound cards),

tasted (think delectable food gifts), used and kept—

often for years! Promotional products offer a physical

presence other forms of advertising can’t match. And

their very dimension works to reinforce your adver-

tising message not once, not twice, but every time

the product is seen and used.

Today’s marketers are looking for ways to create a

memorable experience and to engage their customers—

and promotional products offer this opportunity.

Although promotional products have been around for

more than 100 years (it’s even rumored that George

Washington used campaign buttons—promotional

products!—in his presidential run), Promotional

Products Association International (PPAI) has taken

the lead to coach marketing and business profession-

als on how to get the most out of this innovative

promotional medium.

One delivery method available to you is a free

speaker program, launched late last year, called PPAI

ADvocates. ADvocates are PPAI members who are

trained to deliver an entertaining and useful 20-minute

presentation to help business audiences learn how to

maximize the proven effectiveness of promotional

products. ADvocates can also provide a PowerPoint

presentation, samples of products for the audience

and case studies to spark the creative juices. There is

no charge to ask an ADvocate to speak at your local

business or marketing meeting or at your college

or university.

To request an ADvocate presentation or get more

information about the program, visit www.builda

promotion.com and click on “Need a Speaker?”.

Come To Your Senses And Call A Speaker

Presented By:

BR0706-WHATWORKS.qxl 6/29/06 3:41 AM

creo


CHALLENGE:After being listed in the Top 100 Hospitals by U.S.News & World Report, Hillcrest Hospital wanted tothank all those responsible—employees, volunteersand physicians—for the prestigious recognition. Thechallenge was to find a unique and useful thank-yougift for the targeted 3,500 individuals—a gift thatwould create excitement and awareness of the awardand at the same time would let the recipients knowhow important they were to the hospital’s success.

SOLUTION:Kasha Frese, Hillcrest coordinator of marketing andpublic affairs, and promotional consultant Eric E.Ekstrand, MAS, of The Mort C. McClennanCompany/MCMCC in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, decided on“We’re Hot Because Of You” theme. “To tie in withthis theme, the hospital distributed a letter from theCOO and a custom-labeled bottle of hot sauce pack-aged in a red dynamite-stick tube to its employeesand volunteers,” says Ekstrand. “The physiciansreceived the COO letter tucked inside a three-packbox of custom-labeled grilling sauces.”

RESULT:This sizzling promotion coincided with the peaksummer barbeque season, but the buzz and goodwillgenerated by the program continued for severalweeks. Frese reports that even after this hot projectwas ended, sauce bottles and dynamite tubes wereproudly displayed on employees’ desks.

INDUSTRY: Healthcare—Hillcrest Hospital

Find a promotional consultant at www.buildapromotion.com

TIP: Always consider how you are going to package and distribute your promotionalproduct. Colorful tins and cardboard tubes can be cool and eye-catching.


creo


CHALLENGE:A penny saved is a penny earned, right? But when you’re a kid, it’s hard to sock away allowancemoney when there are so many cool things to buy.Knowing it was competing with toy and candystores, among other things, Dover Federal CreditUnion wanted to encourage young children to besmart with their dollars and open a savingsaccount. How could it create excitement among its members and appeal to children?

SOLUTION:To Carole Langiu, marketing director, the answer wassimple—develop a fun promotion with kid-friendlyproducts. With the help of promotional consultantMonica Kulesa of Geiger in Dover, Delaware, shedeveloped the “Kids Making Cents Club.” The targetaudience was 1,731 children of existing DoverFederal Credit Union members.

To generate excitement, Langiu threw a grand openingevent at which children who became members receiveda folder containing a coin holder, passbook, coloringbook, pencil and flyer outlining account details.

Children were immediately hooked after receivingthis special new-member package. Each time theymade a deposit, they received a new promotional

item, ranging from child-sized sports bottles topiggy-bank key chains.

Member children were also invited to attend thecredit union’s annual meeting, at which they wererecognized for their savings contributions and had achoice of taking home a fanny pack or teddy bear.The goal was for youth members to associate savingmoney with getting a reward, in addition to thinkingof the credit union as their financial institution.

RESULT:During the nine-month program, the credit unionopened 869 new accounts, a 50-percent growth oftargeted members. “Entire families have joined thecredit union because their children wanted to belongto the club,” Langiu says. “Overall, we consider thisan outstanding success.”

FACT: Want more referrals? Use promotionalproducts. A PPAI study showed that productrecipients were significantly more likely to rec-ommend a business to others than those whogot nothing.

INDUSTRY: Financial Services—Dover Federal Credit Union


creo

CHALLENGE:Stadium Food &Beverage, a division ofthe Carolina Panthers,provides concessionproducts for sportingevents, primarily for theCarolina Panthers homegames. The company hadplans to increase theprice on the 32-ouncesoft drinks—but whatcould it do to offset objec-tions to the sting of higherdrink prices?

SOLUTION:With the help of promotional consultant Fred Parkerof Bluegrass Promotional Marketing in Charlotte,North Carolina, a series of three different 32-ouncelenticular plastic cups—picturing the quarterbackChris Weinke, linebacker Dan Morgan and kickerJohn Kasay—were selected. “We identified each cupas a Collector’s Cup 1 of 3, 2 of 3 and 3 of 3, whichraised the fans’ interest in collecting the series,rather than being content with just one souvenircup,” says Parker.

To create a buzz, the large cups featured extraordi-nary 3-D graphics on the panels, which showed theNFL logo flipping onto the team helmet, the featuredplayer in action and the player’s face becoming largerwhen the cup was turned. “Who did you get?” becamethe constant question around the concession stands.

RESULT:Todd Smoots, assistant director of Stadium Food &Beverage, says, “The promotion was a proven successwith the 32-ounce souvenir cup consistently out-selling the smaller size soft drink that had been thetraditional leader. Not only was the soft drink priceincrease achieved without objection, but also the

sales of the larger size increased 70 percent at thegame when the cup was first introduced. We noticeda spike in sales each time we introduced another cupin the collector’s series.”

“As a bonus,” adds Smoots, “the Panther cups playeda significant role in generating renewed team sup-port, as evidenced by the continued popularity ofthe cups.”


INDUSTRY: Food and beverage—Stadium Food & Beverage


FACT: You can triple booth traffic by includ-ing a promotional product in your pre-showmailing, according to the Trade Show Bureau.Power play: sending an imprinted coasterbefore the show and give away a matchingcoffee mug at your booth.


creo

CHALLENGE:It used to be that communicating with far-flungfriends and family required long distance service.But with cell phones now the norm, long distanceservice no longer seems necessary. Sprint, a telecom-munications company, wanted to change this. Howcould it encourage Sprint stores and sales personnelto push sales of Sprint Long Distance Service?

SOLUTION:Cindy Caragher, NCO sales, knew a sales contest wasin order. But first, she called promotional consultantMichael Nathanson of Nashville, Tennessee-basedImagination Specialties, Inc. to get some ideas. Sincesummer was in full swing, they adopted a tropicalbeach theme to go along with the “Beat The Heat”sales contest.

Caragher kicked off the contest by mailing candy-filled, zippered coconuts to 1,500 sales employees at220 Sprint locations. Each week, top-performingsales reps received themed awards, including custom-embroidered beach towels with frog toys, hardtopinsulated coolers filled with fun outdoor productsand even gift cards for Fossil sunglasses.

The selection of promotional items maintained thebeach theme and motivated employees to increasetheir sales efforts.

But sales reps really had their eyes on the 24grand prize giveaways—trips to Cancun. “Thecontest was so fun, and our people were excitedabout competing and winning something out ofthe ordinary,” Caragher says. “The sales contestreally did the trick.”

RESULT:The contest ran for five months, during which Sprintsaw substantial increases in long distance sales. “Welaunched the program in May with only 271 sales,”says Caragher. “But when we finished in September,we had 1,461 sales.”


INDUSTRY: Telecommunications—Sprint

TIP: Employee awards programs have the bestchance for success when employees, not just managers, are involved and when employees aregiven timely feedback. Great award gifts also help!


creo


CHALLENGE:With an upcoming hotel management conventionjust months away, Pam Streeter, vice pres-ident of electronic services andevents for Interstate Hotels,wanted a unique way to getthe busy and hard-to-reach conventionattendees to go to hercompany party ratherthan that of a com-petitor’s. “Becauseseveral companies viefor the same guests atthe Saturday night parties at this convention,I needed a program thatwould achieve a wow effect,attract the convention atten-dees’ attention and set themood for our event. To accom-plish this, I really wanted a uniqueinvitation.”

SOLUTION:Promotional consultant Gary Rugoff ofGary Rugoff Sales in Dallas, Texas, offeredseveral suggestions for the invitations. “Wedecided on a custom screenprinted bluesurfboard to tie in with the ‘Ride the Wave’party theme,” says Rugoff. The surfboards weremailed to the 400 targeted attendees inside a custom-printed FedEx® box.

RESULT:“We knew we were on target when we began receiv-ing an overwhelming number of e-mail responsestelling us how cool the invitation was,” saysStreeter. “The RSVP rate was an unprecedented 90percent. We have heard our competitors receivedonly about a 45-percent response rate, which is whatwe have typically received with regular stationery-type invitations.”

INDUSTRY: Hotel—Interstate Hotel Corporation


FACT: Adding a promotional product to adirect mail promotion can increase yourresponse rates by up to 50 percent.


creo


CHALLENGE:When two of North America’s largest ocean-shippingcompanies merged, the shipping industry wasinquisitive. After all, these companies had beenseparate entities since the 1840s. What would themerger mean for the customers, vendors and partners?How would their shipping plans be affected? The merger brought about a change in corporateidentity—both name and logo. Norton LillyInternational, the new company, wanted to drivetraffic to its website in hopes of providing informa-tion about this new union.

SOLUTION:Hoping to reach more than 900 decision makers in theocean-shipping industry, marketing director RachelAllen teamed up with promotional consultant JahaneCote-Andersen of Adventures In Advertising inSpanish Fort, Alabama, to develop a plan of action.

“We wanted to announce our new identity in July,incorporating a patriotic theme,” Allen says. Theyknew a direct-mail campaign would be the mosteffective way to generate excitement about the newcompany and promote the new website.

The mailing included a fanfare soundcard featuring afireworks image and text reading “Bursting Onto TheScene.” The image and copy was effective in estab-lishing the patriotic theme that united all pieces ofthe mailing, which emphasized that Norton LillyInternational was one of the few 100-percentAmerican-owned companies in the industry.

The next part of the mailing was a 3-D mousepadfeaturing the new web address. Allen and Cote-Andersen knew recipients would appreciate the use-ful gift, which would keep the website top-of-mindwhen they were at their computers.

What would be another traditional yet appealinggift? A mug. But this mug was more eye-catchingthan most. When filled with hot liquid, the mug’s

disappearing black layer revealed a dramatic,360-degree, four-color imprint. The gifts andprinted materials were neatly packaged into acustom-cut box imprinted to resemble a shipping container.

RESULTS:Website traffic was up by 485 percent compared to

the usual daily traffic in July. “Our new identityhas thoroughly saturated the market, and thegoal for which we were striving was certainly

achieved,” says Allen. “This mailingwas a tremendous success.”

INDUSTRY: Shipping—Norton Lilly International

FACT: When choosing promotional prod-ucts, select something useful. A studyshowed that usefulness was the numberone reason people kept a product—oftenfor a long period of time.


creo


Logic dictates that awards and incentive programs

can improve performance and motivate employees to

increase sales, reduce accidents, boost productivity

and give customers better service. However, there is

a myth that employees are not interested in awards

or incentives, and these types of programs have no

impact on their behavior. And some think employees

don’t believe they have a chance to win awards or

incentives, so they don’t even try. Who’s right?

A PPAI study* conducted by Baylor University was

commissioned to get the facts. The survey asked a

random sample of 1,500 people their opinions

regarding employee awards and incentives. How

would you answer the following questions?

True or False: Employees like awards and incentives.

True or False: Employees are motivated to win the awards.

True or False: Employees will work hard to win the awards.

True or False: Employees encourage each other to

work toward awards and incentives.

If you answered true to all of the above, you’re cor-

rect. The study found employees really are interested

in awards and incentive programs, and they will

work hard to obtain the prizes.

However, not every employee awards and incentive

program will yield successful results. Survey respon-

dents indicated there are two primary reasons these

programs fail:

• Employees are not involved in the planning

process—only managers.

• Employees lose interest in programs because they

are not given timely feedback.

When implementing an employee awards or incentive

program, ask your employees what motivates them.

Perhaps it is high-tech electronics. Or maybe it is

brand name products such as Movado watches,

George Foreman grills or Coach bags. With the vast-

ness of the promotional products universe, there are

numerous items to meet your budget restrictions

while matching your corporate culture. Include your

promotional consultant in these discussions.

Together you can develop a program that integrates

valued items with a timely award system, creating a

true incentive program. The result is a happier, more

productive workforce. Who can ask more than that?

Now that’s the power of promotional products.

PROMOTIONAL PROOF

PROMOTIONAL PRODUCTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL3125 Skyway Circle NorthIrving, TX 75038888-I-AM-PPAI (426-7724)www.ppa.org

PPAI—the promotional products industry’s only international not-for-profit trade association—offerseducation, mentoring, public relations, publications,technology, tradeshows and legislative support to its7,000 global member companies.

INDUSTRY RESEARCH: The Power Of Promotional Products


*Promotional Products Work At Employee Awards And Incentives© 2006 Promotional Products Association International


creo


NOT QUITE WHAT THE NAME SUGGESTS, aBrajacket is an advertisement disguised as adust jacket for a book.

According to Trends in Japan, Brajacketsare one of the hottest new trends in Japan.Created by an advertising agency, Brajacketsoffer consumers a free cover to keep theirbook nice and neat, and advertisers a space toadvertise that goes everywhere readers do.

Made from high-quality, coated paper thatmakes designs and colors pop, Brajacketscome with a built-in bookmark. They’re avail-able from stands in bookstores. Free, and nopurchase necessary. New designs come out afew times a month, and the most popularones are gone in a matter of days.

Brands that are already using bookvertis-ing include Perrier and Haagen-Dazs (shownabove), Adidas, Canada Dry, UniversalStudios, Levi’s and famous Japanese rockband Mr. Children and a host of movies andmusicals.

A simple idea that gives consumers some-thing useful while creating a playful newspace for advertising, this one could be copiedto any city that has lots of people reading onsubways and trains.

Springwise, an Amsterdam-based inde-pendent innovation firm, scans the globe forthe most promising new business ideas. Visitthem at their website www.springwise.com .

REALIZING THAT FELLOW STUDENTS gotthe late-night munchies for more than justpizza, Seth Berkowitz started baking cookiesand delivering them by bike on U Penn’s cam-pus, oven to door in two minutes. Not surpris-ingly, warm, fresh cookies took off, andInsomnia Cookies was born.

Seth started off with six varieties ofcookies and six varieties of brownies,preparing the batter ahead of time, andpopping cookies in the oven as orders camein. Three years later, Insomnia Cookies hasexpanded to nine other campuses (Drexel,

Syracuse, Illinois, Maryland, Ithaca, Cornell,Binghamton, Princeton and NYU), wherecookies, milk and other beverages are deliv-ered by car from 8:00 PM to 2:30 AM, sevennights a week.

Great concept, both for building a nichebusiness or for your next special college pro-motion during exam week!

Springwise, an Amsterdam-based inde-pendent innovation firm, scans the globe forthe most promising new business ideas. Visitthem at their website www.springwise.com .

BY: SPRINGWISE

BY: SPRINGWISE

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:13 AM


You want to build your company brand recognition and out sell your competition. A subscription to Brilliant Results gives you the competitive edge.

In every issue you’ll find real world ideas and better ways to increase your brand building ROI, motivateyour staff and build your customer base. Filled with outcome driven editorial and the resources to build long-term relationships for BRILLIANT RESULTS.

TO ORDERE-MAIL YOUR REQUEST TO [email protected]

ORFAX THE ATTACHED FORM TO 717-566-5431

ORMAIL THE ATTACHED FORM TO BRILLIANT PUBLISHING, LLC

9034 Joyce LaneHummelstown, PA 17036

Signature ______________________________________________________________________________________

Please note: Subscriptions begin upon receipt of payment. For priority service include check with order. Canadian subscriptions US $90 per year; all other countries US $150 per year.

Name Title

Company Industry

Address

City State Zip

Phone Fax

E-mail

For PPAI Member Check Here

Send Me 3 Years (36 Issues) for only $180 – Save 50% off the cover price

Send Me 1 Year (12 Issues) for $65 – Save $55 off the cover price

Miss aSingle Issue

DON’T

GET YOUR OWN SUBSCRIPTION TODAY

$10.00

TM


Presorted Standard

US Postage

PAID

Permit 338

Mechanicsburg, PA

Apr i l 2006


(Left to Right)

Dr. Teresa Cody

Chuck Littlepage

Lori Littlepage

SalarySmart

10Rules for

Perfect

Evaluations

SalarySmart

PPAIPyramid Award Winner

Succeeds ‘Micely’PPAI$10.00

TM


Brillia

nt R

esu

lts July

20

06

Vo

l. 3, N

o. 7

Un

ive

rsity S

po

rts Ma

rke

ting

Presorted StandardUS PostagePAIDPermit 338

Mechanicsburg, PA

July 2006

RELATIONSHIPS | RESOURCES | RESULTSCoach Mack Brown

Photo credit: University of Texas

Its about Spirit

ChampionshipUniversityMarketing -

#1 Texas Longhorns and


18AssumptionsIts about Spirit

ChampionshipUniversityMarketing -

#1 Texas Longhorns and


18Assumptions

BR0706_Section02 6/29/06 3:22 AM

creo


Free Product Information. July 2006 Issue.For free product information from these suppliers, complete and mail this page to: BrilliantResults Magazine 9034 Joyce Lane Hummelstown, PA 17036.Or fax to (717) 566-5431

PLEASE CIRCLE ITEMS OF INTEREST.

Name Title

Company Industry

Address

City State Zip

Phone Fax E-mail

Supplier Page No.3M ® 3

Ball Pro Inside Front Cover

Blake & Hollister 5

Brilliant Results Magazine ™ 57

Bullet Line ® Back Cover

Calconix / Time Zone ® 21

FeatherLite 43

Key-Bak ® 25

Motivation Show 29

Neet Feet ® 39

Merit Industries 60,61,62,63

Pepco 15

PPAI 47

Sierra Pacific Apparel 43

Snugz 7

Vonco 11

Warwick Publishing Inside Back Cover

TM


brilliant results

BR0706_Section02 6/29/06 3:23 AM


QuoteChampions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something

they have deep inside them — a desire, a dream, a vision.~ Muhammad Ali, American Boxer, World Heavyweight

Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist (1942 - )

Off The Cuff

A Little College Trivia & Summer Sudoku1. All Ivy League Schools are located on the East Coast.a. Trueb. False

2. The national football champion University ofTexas at Austin hand gesture is:

a. Royal Waveb. No Bullc. Hook ‘em Hornsd. Peace

3. The 2006 Final Four winning team is know as the:a. Patriotsb. Gatorsc. Tigersd. Bruins

4. Which of the following schools are not in NewYork City?a. Skidmore Collegeb. Columbia Universityc. The Julliard Schoold. New York University

5. Which of the following is NOT an all girlsschool?a. Bryn Mawrb. Mt. Holyokec. Smithd. Vassar

Summer Sudoku:

Answers: 1. a; 2. c; 3. b; 4. a; 5. d.

Sudoku Solution:

BR0706_Section01.qxl 6/29/06 3:13 AM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:26 AM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:27 AM

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:28 AM


TheLast Word

THE OLDEST AND LARGEST UNIVERSITY in Floridaand one of the five largest in the nation with some46,000 students, the University of Florida is a major,public, comprehensive, land-grant, and researchuniversity. It is among the nation’s most academi-cally diverse public universities with a long historyof established programs in international education,research and service.

But in 2006, the world will remember theUniversity of Florida as the Number One Team inmen’s collegiate basketball. The team’s head coachBilly Donovan has been nominated for a prestigiousESPY Award in the category of BestCoach/Manager, in the company of Bill Cowher ofthe Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers, OzzieGuillen of the World Series champion Chicago WhiteSox, Pat Riley of the NBA champion Miami Heat andJim Larranaga of George Mason, the team theGators defeated in the national semifinal en route totheir title. Donovan guided the Gators to theschool’s first national title, producing a 33-6 recordand becoming the second youngest active NCAADivision I head coach to win the national title inmen’s basketball. Donovan’s Gators won their first17 games and their final 11 games of the season,taking the SEC Tournament title before cutting thenets down in Indianapolis at the Final Four. TheUniversity of Florida built a healthy lead early in the

championship game and never looked back, defeat-ing UCLA 73-57 to win the national title.

What impact does the winning of a nationallywatched sporting event, especially one with themonikers of March Madness and the Big Dancehave on a university’s marketing and promotionalefforts? To find out the answer to this and otherquestions, Brilliant Results spoke with MartinSalamone, Director of Marketing University ofFlorida Athletic Association.

BR: How did you become associated with theUniversity of Florida Gators sports program?

MS: I have been a part of the University AthleticAssociation since August of 2002. I was serving asthe Director of Corporate Partnerships andPromotions at Penn State and when I wasapproached about coming to the University ofFlorida. I had followed the Gators from afar andthought it was too good an opportunity to pass up,so I joined the University Athletic Association inAugust of 2002. It was the best decision I have evermade. I am fortunate to work with some of the topprograms in each collegiate sport, it truly is amaz-ing. In my time at the University, the baseball, vol-leyball, track, tennis, swimming & diving and bas-ketball teams have competed for the national cham-pionship in their respective sports.

March Madness…Final Four…#1 Florida Gators

BR0706_Section02 6/29/06 3:23 AM

TheLast Word


BR: During the 2006 March Madness, theFlorida Gators triumphed in the Final Four.For our sports minded readers, what wouldyou say is the primary secret behind theGators success in the sport of basketball?

MS: Obviously, a big portion of the suc-cess of the program goes to Head CoachBilly Donovan and his assistant coaches andsupport staff. We are also fortunate to havestudent-athletes who are hard working andsee the big picture, that basketball is a teamsport and to be successful the group mustfocus and play as one. We are also very for-tunate to have an Athletic Director inJeremy Foley, who is a strong supporter ofthe men and women’s basketball programsat the University of Florida. Throughout theyears, Jeremy has consistently asked thequestion “Why can’t that (a national cham-pionship) happen at Florida?” With the sup-port of our Gator Boosters and our strong fanbase, the Gator Nation, we have been ableto build one of the top basketball practicefacilities in the country.

BR: How do you utilize events like theFinal Four to focus on theUniversity ofFlorida’s education and sports programs?

MS: We have a great relationship withCBS and they promoted the University andits programs throughout each game of the

tournament. Hitting closer to home, everytime we play in a city outside ofGainesville, we are fortunate to team upwith our Alumni Association who set-uppep rallies to unite Gator fans.

BR: How does the University of Florida use promotional merchandise and/or directmarketing strategies to increase publicawareness and market the university?

MS: We use several promotional items toincrease attendance at events and to pro-mote various messages from our corporatepartners, as well as the University and theAthletic Department. During a baseballgame earlier this year, we gave away greent-shirts to promote Green Energy for oursponsor, GRU (Gainesville Regional Utilities).We also promote events that the Universityis celebrating and our sport schedules.

BR: Can you give our readers an exampleof a successful promotional/marketing cam-paign and describe the key to its success?

MS: We have been very fortunate to haveseveral successful promotions over the years.We have one program called Beyond the Netin conjunction with our volleyball program.As a part of this program, we invite highschools from all over the state to a match.Prior to the match, the athletes hear about

“We use severalpromotionalitems to increaseattendance atevents and topromote variousmessages fromour corporatepartners, as wellas the Universityand the AthleticDepartment.”

BR0706_Section02 6/29/06 3:23 AM

opportunities in sports from the followingdepartments: Strength & Conditioning,Office of Student Life, Marketing andSports Information. Head Coach MaryWise also addresses the group as doesour Senior Women’s Administrator, LyndaTealer.

BR: Do you have any final thoughts oradvice for our readers about the useof promotional merchandise anddirect marketing strategies in theirmarketing efforts?

MS: It is a great way for us to team upwith our corporate partners to provide anincentive for current fans to feel rewardedand to attract new fans to our events.

We have been very fortunate over theyears to work with some great vendors.From posters and schedule

magnets to giveaway items to brickpavers, the most important part of therelationship is communication. One pro-motional item vendor that we have hada great deal of success with is BWMGlobal out of Chicago, Illinois (847-604-7275 and www.bwmglobal.com).

BR: Do you remember the last promo-tional item you received and what com-pany you received it from?

MS: As a matter of fact, I believe itwas a logoed cap from Ed, our contact atBWM Global!

Thank you for your time Martin andI’m sure your last answers will encour-age our readers to seek out qualitypromotional products professionals toenhance the success of their marketingcampaigns. And Brilliant Results wantsto salute Ed Trabulsy, Vice President -Sales & Marketing for BWM Global, Inc.

with a big “Atta-Boy” for a job welldone and for memorable use of a

promotional product.

For additional informationabout the University of Florida,visit their websites atwww.ufl.edu and www.gator-

zone.com. Promotional productimages provided by BWM Global, Inc.


TheLast Word

BR0706_Section02 6/29/06 3:24 AM

Desktop calendar advertising works

because your company name is front and

center all day when the buying decision is

made. It's easy and affordable and it works.

It's like a24-hour

commercial,but without

the annoyingjingle.

make a date with success!ASI l 95280

W l www.warwickpublishing.com

Contact your localpromotional products distributor

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:28 AM Page C3

creo

Prices based on Standard Service. Please see 2006 catalogfor item colors and additional charges. Expires: 12/31/06

w w w . b u l l e t l i n e . c o mSM

BULLETASI 42424

Embroidered Caps

®

SM-7036Structured BrushedCotton Cap As low as $4.75(C)

SM-7032 Brushed CottonStructured CapAs low as $4.75(C)

SM-7034 BrushedCotton Cap with V-Pattern BillAs low as $4.75(C)

SM-7033Cotton Twill Trucker CapAs low as $4.75(C)

BR0706_Section03 6/29/06 4:29 AM Page C4

BR July 2006 Issuu

Documents

Transcript of BR July 2006 Issuu