The Debate: Mission vs. Vision

What's the difference between defining your business's mission or vision? How does one answer that? What's more important to know is how a marketing agency can guide their clients in this answer, too.

Over the course of the last century of marketing, the imagination and attention of the consumer has become harder to understand and capture.

Consequently, developments such as various persuasion models, acronyms and abbreviations, promotional habits, and advertising jargon have been used to "facilitate clarity". Some of these ideas have been crafted for our industry, while others are merely re-applications of time-old knowledge.

The questionable appropriation of "vision" and "mission" is a wonderful example of this scenario.

These concepts are often used as mere statements. In a worst case scenario, these two statements are just fluffed up pieces of writing stuffed with grandiosity and poor punctuation; they become better suited backs to business cards than carriers of ideology in the employees and the brand's consumers. In the best case scenario, these things are the simple, well-stated beliefs of a brand that knows how to be useful and be seen as a resourceful authority.

This means that "vision" and "mission" can be wonderful assets for leading consumers who share a common interest.

So where does the confusion originate? 

These two concepts have gone from similar bodies to synonymous. How are they supposed to be used? How are they different and how do they work together?

Here's how:

• A vision and a mission are complementary statements. 
• Vision takes priority over mission. 
• A vision is a goal or aspirational objective that a company may never meet but hopes to do so. 
• A mission is a way to achieve success by delivering specific action(s) that will flow with the vision. 
• The simpler, the better. The better they are, the more likely they are to be remembered and used. 
• Simply put: vision= internal, mission = external. 
• Or, the vision wins the war, the mission wins the battle. 

Does your business need help defining its mission and/or vision? Then contact Integraphix, a leading Chicago creative marketing team with over 25 years experience with branding. 

GIF source: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/blues-brothers

Consumers Sure Do Love the Multi-Device Life

As a digital marketing agency, many of our creatives have multiple devices. Laptops, desktops, tablets, and smartphones. All at work, all going the whole day. For people outside of this industry, average consumers, this lifestyle rings true as well.

One of the first things we reach for in the morning are our smartphones. We use multiple devices throughout the day, sometimes at the same time. Right now, I am using my desktop to write the blog and my MacBook is streaming music and being used for other assignments. During lunch, I switch to either my iPad or my phone to see what is going on in the world. At the end of the day, the iPad or phone is again used for personal internet surfing or social media while the Apple TV streams Netflix. It's just part of the life of a social media marketing specialist.

As mentioned before, this lifestyle of using many devices throughout the day is true for many people. It is hard for creative marketing agencies to get a good handle on it; the issue for advertisers is how to make sure the ads get seen. It can be difficult for marketers to keep a storyline going that keeps consumers engaged when the marketing teams have to skip across so many platforms. Companies have become more aggressive at tackling this issue of continuing ads, stories, and engagement across devices and platforms.

The opportunity for companies to target consumers with even more accuracy is a hidden gem in the multi-device lifestyle that brands seem to have difficulty negotiating. The story, the ads, the frequency of it all does not have to be the same across each platform, each one deserves a unique approach. The engagement needs to be customized and more intelligent so the effectiveness and ROI is greater than ever before.

How Do You Reach Your Audience? Do This One Thing

When clients come to our Chicago marketing agency desiring marketing assistance, they always ask, "How can we break through the clutter?" or "How can you make us noticed?"

Be useful.

Find a way to make yourself useful to consumers. If they have no reason to call you because you're just "one of the boys", then they will not call you. No matter how much promotion work you do. Give a great deal, make your product offerings unique, something to stand out.

You may hear a lot of chatter about the latest and greatest thing in digital marketing and other forms of creative marketing, such as who's the brightest, most suave, biggest, etc. If we are honest with ourselves, that stuff just adds to the clutter sometimes. Consumers are smart! Consumers know what advertising lingo to avoid or forget; think about this for yourself, what words or phrases are you tired of hearing and seeing in ads?

Being useful is solving a problem and meeting a need. This can only be accomplished if you understand your consumer. If your business is ignoring the wants and needs of its audience, then it will not survive as a business. The art of listening and understanding is often overlooked in many business strategies.

Listen. Understand. Find where your business fits in. And go there.

Being useful to consumers is nothing new in business, so why do so many businesses skip this step? Or assume they are useful without any information to back it up?

Companies that last decades and have good relationships with their consumers are businesses that make sure they are meeting the needs of their consumers. Not businesses that expect consumers to change to them.

Being useful is a simple theory but the practice is hard. For help understanding how your business can be useful, contact Integraphix.

NBA Players & Their Kids in Post-Game Interviews: Marketing Tactic or Family Fun

You've likely seen the videos of NBA players bringing their kids onto the podium during post game interviews.

It is not something that is new, NBA players (and players of many sports) have been bringing their kids to the podium with them during post game interviews. However, it seems that this season, it has been more popular then ever.

Could this be a simple trend amongst the NBA's elite or is it a tactic to get more mentions and popularity with marketing, especially on social media?

A couple weeks ago, Stephen Curry brought his daughter, Riley, on stage with him. Curry's mentions on social media lit up; his position on sites like The Pulse, NBA.com, among others, went up to number one!

Derrick Rose saw similar popularity when he brought his son on stage after the Bulls' game 4 loss to the Cavs in the Eastern Conf. Semi-Finals.

Some reporters find the practice to be unprofessional but it seems the league thinks otherwise, since they've done nothing to deter the practice. Also, as we mentioned, it is a huge hit on social media and generates wonderful web traffic for whichever site can publish a story about the child first; this is a big deal for NBA.com, who struggles for traffic over ESPN.

Is this great content marketing for the NBA? Or is it a way to show the players are family men and improving branding for the league since pro athletes are often thought of as unfaithful? Or is it just family fun?

Let us know your thoughts! Comment below, on social media, or email Integraphix.

Also, if you have not seen any of these interviews, here are a few. Enjoy.

Why Your Business's Marketing Has to Evolve

Every business has to market themselves to some degree, whether they realize it or not. However, some businesses get stuck in a rut, sometimes a good rut, and stay there. Marketing has to change, it has to evolve.

Now, it can work to keep the same message, mascot, color schemes, branding, etc. But it does not work to keep the same platforms, techniques, and strategy. Very few businesses have succeeded because they kept with the same techniques & strategy.

Industries change. Consumers change. Interests change. You get the point. 

That's why a business's creative marketing has to evolve. If you don't evolve, you miss your market. Then you're like that owl wondering, "Where'd they go? Did we miss them? What happened?"

Industries change. Every industry in the world has likely changed in the way it operates over the last decade or two. For example, marketing. This industry has massively changed in the last five years, alone! Now there's a heavy emphasis on digital marketing and digital advertising; things like social media, YouTube, blogging, or search engine marketing have all become points of interest.

• Take a look at your industry, how has it changed? 

Consumers change. Every generation thinks differently than the last. Every demographic has its own interests. Every culture has its own way of doing things. If you haven't heard, Millennials are a big topic to talk about in marketing. So let's talk about them! They are vastly different than previous generations, Gen. X and much different than Baby Boomers. If your business targets a demographic like 20-30 year olds, your target market in 2015 is vastly different than your target market was in 1975. Even from year to year, consumers change; our minds change all the time.

• Take a look at how you shop, how has it changed? 

Interests change. As hinted in the last point, our minds change all the time. What seems like a good idea now might not be in a few months. Look at the K-Cup. At the beginning, people loved it because it was easy, personal, and no prep/cleanup. Now, it's one of the most hated ways of consuming coffee on the planet. Or, for us techies, look at how fast apps come and go in popularity. Draw Something? What's that? Maybe fashion is more your fancy; how often does fashion change?? There was a time when baggy jeans, K-Swiss shoes, and bull-cuts were popular. Now, it's skinny jeans, boots, & fades.

• Take a look at your interests, how have they changed?

The bottom line is that in business, especially marketing, if you stand still, you will be left behind. Don't stand still and become a static business! Hire Integraphix to help your business get going forward, not become irrelevant. 

In Order to Get Consumers to Change, Marketers Have to Understand What They're Giving Up

Losing something hurts. It hurts a lot. Whether you lose a sports game, a person, or an object that you like; losing hurts twice as much as it feels good to gain something. We know this from the concept, loss aversion, which is from "Prospect Theory" by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Psychologically, we are much more hit by a loss than a gain, which explains why we are much more likely to talk about a negative consumer experience than a positive one. Loss and negativity stick with us. 

Psychology and marketing are very related; they are not quite twins but more likely brother & sister… or at least cousins. So much about marketing and advertising are guided about how we know people think, feel, and act around certain situations and ideas. Prospect Theory, among other psychology theories, have brought more knowledge and insight to the heart of marketing than many approaches.

Where psychology and marketing/advertising meet is very fertile soil for creative agencies. Within this ground, we can see how Prospect Theory, especially loss aversion, will influence the way people act and the choices they make. This powerful notion is what drives people to have an interest in maintaining and knowing the current state of affairs, a.k.a. status quo bias.

As a marketing agency and advertising agency creative, it is routine to ask people to make a choice. Choices, by definition, mean gaining something and losing something. For a consumer making a choice they have made many times in the past, the gain outweighs the loss, or at least they are ignorant to the loss. However, when we are asking consumers to choose a product or service over a product or service they have preferred to buy in the past, the loss is much greater. People don't like loss; this is part of the reason why brand loyalists exist. There is less loss.

Producing behavioral change in consumers can be an uphill battle. Marketers take the route that explains how a product or service will benefit lives via its cool features, new tech, or how it's different than the competition. Too many marketers fail to consider what the consumer stands to lose if they change their current purchasing behaviors.

To be more successful at engineering behavioral changes in consumers, our Chicago creative marketing agency analyzes both sides of the issue. If your business wants more ROI for its marketing, then call or email Integraphix.

Does Pinterest Actually Boost Web Traffic?

Many businesses put lots of effort into social media, even social media platforms like Pinterest (aside from the usual Facebook & Twitter). Pinterest can be a great place to post things like blog posts, product images, process images, etc.

But does the power of Pinterest actually aid the SEO process and generate traffic to your blog and/or website? 

Short answer: Yes. Yes it does.

When you use Pinterest, it creates a local place for people to visit to view your important messages without sifting through junk. Even on your company's Twitter and Facebook, you still have to get through informational, promotional, and even silly posts to find the ones that share things like recipes, how-to's, or posts of the like.

Pinning your blog posts, which are hopefully linked to your site, or pages within your site extends their viewership lives. What do we mean by that? Well, when you post these things to Twitter, Facebook, or Google+, they get pushed down onHowever, on Pinterest, while they will get pushed down on the newsfeed, they stay in the same position on your profile, making each pin very easy to find (especially categorized by boards).
the timeline as you post other stuff (and even faster on newsfeeds).

If you tag your pins right and put healthy descriptions, you can get them found via search very easily, unlike other social media platforms.

What are some tips to do Pinterest for business well?

• Pin consistently
• Schedule pins
• Have great descriptions
• Add links
• Have great images
• Pin to appropriate boards

Tired of having social media strategies that don't get your business any good leads? Then email or call Integraphix for a free marketing analysis!