ROOFTOP banter

Club Secrets: How Learning to Golf Improved My Business Game.

Posted By: 

Sara

Date: 

August 4th, 2011 /// Industry Insight, Keathley Culture

When I got invited to golf school in Palm Springs two years ago, I wasn’t expecting to like it so much. I thought it was an old-man-in-funny-pants sport. Of course, I was dying to wear the funny pants, but initially only accepted to escape Ohio’s weather for a week. I decided right away that I liked A) to drive golf carts and B) having a cocktail in the sun during business hours. In the end, I uncovered an intriguing game, atmosphere and society that are ultimately making me a better Account Executive.

I quickly learned that golf is a natural networker. As a 30-year-old woman, it felt a little awkward stepping into this men’s club, but I realized that by becoming passionate about golf, I instantly had something in common with these people. It’s a very comfortable and natural way to develop relationships with clients and prospects. You’ve probably heard the statistic that you can find 90% of key business decision makers on the golf course.

I also learned to use this connection off the golf course. Take this example for instance. I was trying to gain some common ground with a new client who had two months until retirement and no interest in conversing with me. I asked him about his job, grandkids, travel plans, even favorite colors, and he didn’t look up from the table. Then I asked him if he golfed, and shared a few stories with him. His whole attitude changed.

I’ve also observed that, as a female golfer, it is easy to bond with other female golfers. Because there are so many less women on the golf course, we seem to embrace each other and instantly have a conversation-starter. This comes in handy in meeting perspective female clients or entertaining existing ones. I’ve created long-term relationships with clients, colleagues and suppliers just by learning how to play golf. It even got me invited to Masters last year.

It’s also been said that by playing a round of golf, you can really get to see who that person is. Whether they are a good winner or loser, how he or she handles a challenge, if they cheat, how competitive they are, if they can laugh at themselves and handle pressure. One round of golf could be a great indicator up front whether the partnership is a good match or not.

So, ladies, get yourselves some sweet golf shoes (and maybe some pink balls), and get on the green. My only suggestion: Before you step on the course with a client, take a lesson or two and learn the etiquette.

Here’s a good place to start: The 8 Rules of Business Golf

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A Trending Topic: How to Advertise on Twitter

Posted By: 

Brandi Hensler

Date: 

May 27th, 2011 /// Industry Insight

Clients often ask about advertising on Twitter. Can you do it? How? Is it like the Facebook? Here’s the deal: Twitter, like Facebook before it, has taken its time releasing an advertising platform (with good reason). Until recently, advertisers have had to be creative to utilize the site with tactics such as promotional accounts, hashtags, celebrity endorsements, etc.

But now – brands rejoice – there are three options that Twitter has rolled out for advertisers:

• Promoted Tweets: A lot more people will see your tweet, so make it good.
• Promoted Trends: Get your brand, message, etc. on the coveted Trending Topics list.
• Promoted Accounts: Fire up your follower count by being featured in the “Who to Follow” section.

But don’t drop the rest of your social strategy yet. Twitter doesn’t take just anyone; you can only request to be included. If you think you’ll make the cut, enter here.

Check out this great infographic from Mashable to see the history of Twitter advertising in detail. And read the accompanying article here.

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Will The Greatest Movie Ever Sold Sell Us Out?

Posted By: 

Brandi Hensler

Date: 

March 31st, 2011 /// Industry Insight, Inspiration, Marketing Trends, Uncategorized

“So what I want to do is make a film about product placement, marketing and advertising where the entire film is funded by product placement, marketing and advertising.”

From Morgan Spurlock, the director of Super Size Me, comes a documentary that plans to reveal all the dirty details of the true world of advertising. I would guess that many in our industry are responding with a deep sigh or an “uh oh.” People are going to see who we really are. What we really do to make them want what we have. All with complete transparency.

This girl? Not worried. Excited, actually.

Advertisers today aren’t necessarily the same malicious manipulators that I grew up hearing ranked right next to lawyers on the Scale of Evilness. Today, if you’re smart, you know better.

The gap between social media and PR is closing everyday. Information sharing is increasing exponentially. Consumers trust word-of-mouth 60% more than traditional advertising. With all this, brands are being forced to be more transparent and honest… or else (cue the Nestle palm oil push back).

There’s no hiding who you really are anymore, and I don’t have a problem with that. It’s only pushing us all to do what the best of the industry have done all along – find the truth about your product and communicate it to those who will take interest. Work harder. Be more creative. This documentary may be perfect inspiration to take it even further.

In any case, the film and related aftermath promise to be wildly entertaining. So stock up on name-brand munchies and update your Fandango app. This is an extravaganza we won’t want to miss.

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Bread Pudding Makes Everything Better (sort of)

Posted By: 

tonya

Date: 

March 1st, 2011 /// Marketing Trends

How do you turn a disgruntled customer into a brand advocate? It’s a question brands deal with every day. Thanks to social media, it’s becoming more important than ever. But the formula is fairly simple. No matter how badly a brand messes up, relationships are mostly salvageable. It’s about taking an extra step to make sure that the customer knows that a company is willing to do whatever it takes to get them back. This is just one example.

Looking for a different dining option in early December, the hubby and I (with three-year-old daughter in-tow) decided on an English pub that we’ve never tried before. The décor was sweet and the menu looked good, so it seemed like a good choice.

The experience was less than desirable. It started with us being ushered out to the patio (yes, the patio – in December), escalated to mediocre food and crappy service, and was capped off with coffee that didn’t arrive until ten minutes after we were done with desert. To be fair, the desert – bread pudding – was delicious.

When I got home that night, I posted on their Facebook page about the service.

The following Monday, I received a FB message from the marketing/PR rep asking for my contact info. The manager called me the next morning. He apologized and offered to comp us a meal. I assured him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted and promised that he would send out a gift card so we could give them another chance.

Two weeks later, I still hadn’t received the gift card. I sent a FB message to the marketing/PR person who contacted me initially that essentially said, “While I should be surprised at the lack of follow-through…” I really wasn’t.

Within 15 minutes I received a phone call from the PR person. She apologized profusely, said that there was a mix-up, it was her fault, and that she would send out a gift card immediately.

The next evening the manager from the pub appeared on my doorstep with a takeout of bread pudding and $100 gift card. Talk about going the extra mile to make sure the customer is happy!

This could’ve ended differently – I could’ve shared my experience and they could’ve ignored it. It wouldn’t have been any skin off their back, and I just never would’ve returned. But by making a concerted effort to ensure that I knew they wanted me as a customer, they also got me back in the doors with the gift certificate. With that added touch of the bread pudding, they turned me into a brand advocate.

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Piperlime: Bitchy or Brilliant?

Posted By: 

Brandi Hensler

Date: 

August 31st, 2010 /// Marketing Trends

Piperlime’s “Let’s Get Dressed” campaign is creating a lot of buzz. The campaign encourages women to get dressed up and say “no” to sweats & sneakers & such.

The buzz isn’t surrounding the print portion of the campaign so much as the social media. To be specific, some people are a bit salty about their Status Updates. Not like Piperlime didn’t see this coming, with posts such as, “Every time you wear sweatpants in public, a single guy leaves New York.” Is it worth potentially losing fans who consider this language “snotty?”

I vote yes. Personally, I applaud Piperlime for taking a risk, and Butler, Shine, Stern & Partners for selling in the campaign. It’s edgy and appropriate, and the audience they are targeting appreciates it. The potential for pissing off a few people is offset by the opportunity to gain brand advocacy among many others who identify with their position. Talk about searching out qualified candidates. They gained me, for one. As for the haters… I think this falls under the “no press is bad press”  category. Touché, salesman.

Here’s the AdAge article and Piperlime’s FB page.

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