This weekend is always a great time for me, because it gives me extra time to truly pause and reflect on my super Mom – I adore her (same goes for my mother-in-law too) and am so very blessed to have her in my life. Now, I’ve always been a believer in the Big Guy upstairs, but I’ll tell you if my Mom doesn’t make it to heaven, there just simply isn’t one!

While Mother’s Day comes just once a year, every day should be Mother’s Day for the incredible role they play in all of our lives.

Don’t you agree?

Salary.Com, has highlighted all of the job titles that best define all of Moms’  responsibilities which are (in order of hours spent per week): housekeeper, day care center teacher, cook, computer operator, facilities manager, van driver, psychologist, laundry machine operator, janitor and chief executive officer. I’d add dog walker/caregiver, guardian/protector, nurse/doctor, motivational speaker, cheerleader, life coach, healthcare consultant, gardener (PLUS – “day job’ working mom if it applies) and I’m sure my Mom could list more!

So what is Mom worth?

For me, and I’m sure for you, Mom is priceless, however Salary.Com gave it a shot to actually put a price tag on Mom’s work.

Based on a survey of more than 28,000 mothers, Salary.com determined that the time mothers spend performing 10 typical job functions would equate to an annual salary of $117,867 for a stay-at-home mom. Working moms ‘at-home’ salary is $71,868 in 2010; this is in addition to the salary they earn in the workplace.

Here’s a really cool thing you can give Mom on her special day – a customized paycheck – now you can’t put a price tag on your Mom, but Salary.Com is certainly giving it a go!

In Marketing, strong Brands are what it’s all about, so what you can you learn about brand marketing from Brand Mom? Here are 25 lessons (in no particular order) from where I’m sitting:

1. Have unconditional love for your family
2. Tell the truth, admit when you’re wrong and be truly sorry
3. Leave things and people better off than when you found them
4. Stand for something – Care
5. Clean up after yourself
6. Don’t be a blind follower – lead
7. Surround yourself with positive people
8. Do good work and be proud of your work
9. Perseverance – have resolve
10. Be a team builder
11. Be positive and enthusiastic
12. Be respectful and respect yourself
13. Be disciplined and follow through on execution
14. Keep your word – walk your talk
15. Servant leadership – serve others without looking for payback or PR
16. Smile, be nice and be courteous – say thank you and please
17. Speak up, speak clearly and write well
18. Say thank you and mean it
19. Plan ahead and be resourceful
20. Have faith, hope and dreams – think big
21. Know the value of a dollar – save money for raining days
22. Learn how to bounce and roll because you’ll fall and fail often
23. Sweat the details, but don’t sweat the small stuff
24. Be true to yourself – don’t be someone you’re not
25. Money isn’t everything, but Family is

Thanks Mom!

How about you? Anything to add?

Happy Mother’s Day Super Moms Everywhere!

I pray you and your family have a blessed Easter and beautiful Spring.

I’ve been a practicing (and far from perfect) Roman Catholic and Christian all my life, and for over 25 years, I’ve been a practicing (also far from perfect) marketing professional.

For the past few months, I’ve been working on a lot of brand positioning exercises and marketing audits as well as attending a weekly bible study. As I’m preparing to enter Holy Week and Easter – my favorite time of the year – my professional and personal life is colliding in an interesting way.

I’ve been thinking about Jesus’ ministry and his time on earth a lot lately. And, I’ve been thinking about him as a brand too. And, when I think of him as a brand, his radical and remarkable message and unique selling proposition is clearly one of unconditional love, tolerance and forgiveness – but, love is his foundational core message. And, he demonstrated his core message of love by living it out loud through his actions and by making the ultimate sacrifice.

I say radical and remarkable because if you closely study The Sermon on the Mount, you’ll see what I mean. C’mon…turning the other cheek is one heck of a radical concept! Even today!

When I try to stand outside of my faith and look at Christianity as a product,  it’s amazing that it has spread throughout the world and has welcomed 2 billion adherents without depending on large scale ad campaigns, social media and the like.

Christianity has spread because one person – Jesus – started it by speaking his message of truth, being authentic, transparent and following a singular focused devout message of pure unconditional love for everyone.

It’s a great lesson for all of us people of the world and marketers too.

Happy Easter to all of you.

P.S.: With all due respect, this post is not meant to be sacrilegious at all, but merely an essay in effective branding/messaging. Also, for those of you interested in religious marketing lessons, I came across this Blog – Church Marketing Sucks – and found it pretty interesting. The site’s goal as stated is to…“frustate, educate and motivate the church to communicate, with uncompromising clarity, the truth of Jesus Christ.” Another interesting post is here, Jesus Is Not a Brand; Why it is dangerous to make evangelism another form of marketing, by Tyler Wigg Stevenson.

As a 50 percenter of Irish blood and a serial marketing professional, I thought I’d offer you dear reader, my 15 Marketing Lessons of St. Patrick’s Day to help you find your little pot ‘o gold at the end of a rainbow!

And, I’ll offer them quickly because I shouldn’t even be working today – St. Patrick’s Day is one of my many “high holy days” - and there’s a Guinness pint with my name of it at one of my favorite Pittsburgh Irish pubs (Paddy’s Pour House) and it’s getting warm! So here you go!

1. Green Marketing Lesson One – Making Money. Always keep money (making it or saving it) front and center of any marketing campaign. If you know anything about the Irish (and I do growing up in a large extended family), the majority have experienced challenging economic times and know the value of a dollar. So, incorporating zero based budgeting into your marketing processes will help you become more creative and help you do a lot more for less. 

2. Green Marketing Lesson Two – Sustainability. These days when you hear brands talk about sustainability, it’s related to the environment, but the basic pure definition of sustainability is “the capacity to endure.” Using the same color in your marketing communications reinforces your brand, makes your marketing work harder for you and enables your marketing to endure.

3. Green Marketing Lesson Two – Color. Design and color can help you communicate a great deal. Red – hot, stop; Blue – cool. etc., Keep in mind that all colors also come in a great deal of shades so don’t be boring and predictable.  Green has about 50 unique shades.

4. Create Multi-Sensory Emotional Appeals (e.g., appeal to people’s five senses of sight, sound, touch, taste, smell). In a recent post about, “Marketing with Sound,” I discussed the awesome power of sound, but you should also consider all of the ways you can appeal to your customer’s five senses. St. Patrick’s Day appeals them all with color, strong visuals of parades, people having fun; taste of ethnic foods like corned beef and cabbage and drink (pints of Guinness and shots of Jameson) etc.,

5. Appeal to One’s Ethnic Heritage. There’s nothing wrong with appealing to people’s ethnic heritage – net, different strokes for different folks.  In fact, it’s a growing and popular strategy due to our mobile society, immigration, single parent households etc.

Some of this strategy’s keys to success include knowing your market well, being aware of unique cultural nuances, being respectful etc.  Disney’s Epcot Theme Park’s World Showcase is a great example of ethnic marketing, but Denny’s Restaurants’ recent Pancake promotion is not.

6. Be Inclusive with Your Marketing. As much of an Irish heritage appeal the holiday provides, St. Patrick’s Day is all-inclusive and welcomes everyone to celebrate – everyone is Irish on St. Patrick’s Day!

7. Special Event/Thematic/Celebration/Holiday Marketing. Giving a unique thematic association to your marketing messages makes it easier for your customers to understand you and more immediately recognize you too. Tie-ing in to a major holiday celebration gives your promotion authenticity and a “reason why” you’re holding a sales event.

8. Limited Time Appeal. Having a hard date against a campaign creates urgency, excitement and traffic. Pretty obvious statement, but many marketers leave far too many campaigns without a clear end date and a sense of urgent appeal.

9. Spokesperson/figurehead/celebrity/image appeal. Having a Saint as your celebrity figurehead ain’t too shabby, but it’s the consistency of using the same appealing celebrity with a unique story is what works.

10. Iconic Marketing – Shamrock – brand, sell, profit. Mickey Mouse’s Ears, Ronald McDonald’s big red shoes, McDonald’s Arches and more.

Shamrocks do the same for today’s holiday – it’s the day’s badge of honor and identification. What’s your badge ID?

11. Rule of Threes. Legend has it that St. Patrick used the common Shamrock to teach the Celtic Pagans about the unique Holy Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit – 3 in 1 Godhead.

However, the “rule of three” symbolism in the good man’s teaching is relevant today as well because people’s minds are noisy and limited. Using the rule of three enables you to get them to remember you and buy-in a presentation or product mix selection. Small, medium, large; gold, silver, bronze; 3 bears; 3 blind mice; 3 Stooges (see more examples/proof here) – trust me – the rule of three rocks.

12. Be Positive. You won’t find a more positive group of people that the Irish. Despite all of their “Troubles” who else tells you that you can find a pot ‘o gold at the end of a rainbow? At Pittsburgh’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade this past Saturday, people throughout the day referred to the cold constant rain as nothing more, “a little Irish mist!”

13. Be Nice. You’d be hard pressed to find a nicer bunch of people than the Irish on St. Patrick’s Day too.

14. Have fun and don’t take yourself so seriously. In this age of “political correctness” the Irish are for the most part a happy and fun bunch and most Irish demeaning jokes bounce of them like water on a duck.

15. Plan Your Luck by Working Hard. In my opinion, “the luck of the Irish” is based on hard work – simple as that. You’ve probably heard the saying, the harder you work the luckier you get!” Well, its true. The majority of Irish are no strangers to hard work and I believe – all things being equal – people that work harder and smarter than their peers will meet with more profitable success in a shorter period of time.

Got to run, my pint is getting warm.

Slan (Gaelic for “farewell for now”)!

For the second consecutive year, a BrandMill marketing campaign has helped a client become a Marketer of the Year recognized by the Pittsburgh American Marketing Association. However, this year’s recognition is extra special because BrandMill client, the Priory Hospitality Group took home first prize honors as Pittsburgh’s Grand Marketer of the Year!

Here’s the full press release from the Pittsburgh American Marketing Association.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media Contact:
Kim Butler – President, Pittsburgh AMA
412.234.0294, kimberly.butler@bnymellon.com

The Priory Hospitality Group Named Grand Marketer of the Year

PITTSBURGH, PA – December 15, 2009 — The Pittsburgh chapter of the American Marketing Association held its 3^rd Annual Marketer of the Year Awards ceremony Wednesday, December 10 at LeMont. Bill Flanagan served as Master of Ceremonies. The Priory Hospitality Group was presented with the 2009 Grand Marketer of the Year Award for its Winter White Wedding marketing campaign.

“The Priory Hospitality Group is thrilled to receive the Grand Marketer of the Year award from the Pittsburgh AMA,” said John Graf, co-owner of the Priory Hospitality Group.  “It is an unexpected and treasured honor to be recognized among some of the illustrious brands that call Pittsburgh home.

Winners of Pittsburgh’s only results-based marketing competition were recognized in 9 categories for their marketing excellence and effectiveness.  The 9 finalists and Marketers of the Year in their respective categories are:

• Art Institutes of Pittsburgh, EDMC, Education
• Benner Commerce Park, Real Estate
• Butler Health System, Medical/Healthcare
• Channellock, Industrial/Manufacturing
• Giant Eagle, Retail
• Pitt Ohio Express, Business/Professional Services
• Priory Hospitality Group, Sports/Entertainment/Travel/Hospitality
• Private Wealth Advisors, Financial Services
• Sauereisen, Construction

Mr. Fred Rogers was honored posthumously at the event as a local and legendary brand and inducted into the Pittsburgh AMA Hall of Fame for his unique and impressive marketing impact throughout western Pennsylvania and the world.  Dr. Dean R. Manna, Robert Morris University, was honored with the Distinguished Educator Award.

“The event was a huge success,” said Kim Butler, President of the Pittsburgh AMA.  “We are honored to celebrate such phenomenal marketers in the Pittsburgh region and to shine a positive light on the marketing profession.”

About the American Marketing Association and its Pittsburgh Chapter
The American Marketing Association, one of the largest professional associations for marketers, has 38,000 members worldwide in every area of marketing. For over six decades the AMA has been the leading source for information, knowledge sharing and development in the marketing profession.  For more information, visit http://www.marketingpower.com.

Founded in 1946, AMA Pittsburgh is celebrating its 64^th year as the largest marketing association in the region with more than 300 members and supports an additional 900 professional marketers who utilize AMA services and resources. Its mission is to support the professional growth of these 1,200 marketing executives through a variety of initiatives such as educational seminars and programs, a luncheon speaker series and networking events.  For more information visit http://www.amapittsburgh.org.

- 30 -

You may complain every so often about the number of competitors you face, but consider yourself lucky you don’t work in the competitive nonprofit world. I know, with this economy, you sometimes feel you are a nonprofit…but that’s beside the point.

There are over 1,000,000 charities throughout the U.S. – some great and some not so great – and the Salvation Army is one brand that is head and shoulders above the bunch. It was recently ranked as the second strongest non profit power brand behind the YMCA.

The late great father and guru of modern day management Peter Drucker called the Salvation Army the most effective organization in the world.

The Salvation Army doesn’t have a brand problem, you see a Red Kettle and you know where the money is going. Due to the today’s economy, donations are down (as they are with most all non profits) and requests for services such as food and shelter are up.

However, with the expected downturn in end of the year donations, which are often a critical source of revenue for nonprofits, keep your eye on the Salvation Army because these folks rock in what they do and how they do it.

And, here are 15 reasons why the Salvation Army brand is so successful (and a few things Marketers can learn from them in terms of building a quality brand).

1. They do remarkable things – they rebuild and save lives
2. They have integrity – and their mission is a faith-based calling.
3. They’re authentic, honest, sincere, consistent, reliable and transparent
4. They have a consistent brand image served with key brand icons such as their Red Shield logo and Red Kettle (you see a Red Kettle you know where the money is going).
5. They have a great story and tell it over and over again wonderfully well (read Red Kettle Story here).
6. They know what they stand for and who they are (read 11 Articles of Faith) and read their 12 Position Statements here about abortion, alcohol and drugs, economic justice, euthanasia, gambling, homosexuality, human equality, human trafficking, marriage, pornography, religious persecution and suicide. Now, you may not agree with all of their positions, but you cannot argue that they do not know who they are and what they stand for…do you?
7. They’re a proven brand that’s been accountable for over 130 years which has made it one of the world’s largest and most trusted providers of social services
8. Most of their work is done without beating their own chests – their word of mouth buzz is delivered by the grateful people they serve
9. They’re transparent with their fundraising (83 cents of every dollar goes directly to providing services). The Army’s administrative costs are not charged against funds donated.
10. They get results
11. They’re typically the quickest responders to people in need (see Wall Street Journal article – Advantage: God – Why the Salvation Army beats the Red Cross – about the differences in their respective responses during September 11, 2001).
12. They generate multiple streams of revenue via many online and offline methods (e.g., Classic, Virtual and Mobile – Red Kettle Campaign in retail and heavily trafficked areas and online Virtual Red  Kettle Campaigns).
13. Their flat decentralized organizational model (e.g., each U.S. region typically controls its own e-mail campaigns) includes Salvation Army officers, staffers, lay people, volunteers and other committed fans. According to this USA Today article from a few years back, it coordinates nearly 4,000 officers, 113,000 soldiers, 420,000 members, 60,000 employees and 3.5 million volunteers. FYI by contrast, Wal-Mart, the largest private employer, has 2.1 million associates.
14. They have a rabid fan base of marketing partners and such as JCPenney (see online Angel Giving Tree program), Target and Wal-Mart.
15. As their donor base has been getting older, they’ve worked hard to be more modern and relevant and have ventured more heavily into Web 2.0 Marketing with Facebook (500+ groups), Twitter, iPhone apps, online banner ads on AOL, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and Yahoo. They try to be everywhere their fans are – especially younger fans – and are into newer edgier tactics such as magic and stunts.

If you’re still looking for that perfect Christmas Gift to give, consider giving to the Salvation Army.

Merry Christmas and have a great New Marketing Year!

P.S.: Here’s an inspirational interview on the management philosophy of the Salvation Army’s National Commander Israel Gaither. He’s a heck of a guy – and why not – he’s from Pittsburgh!

I’m looking forward to reading New Packaging Design by Janice Kirkpatrick (Laurence King, 192 pages, $35) after checking out its reference in Fast Company magazine today and the fact that German agency Jung von Matt’s shopping bag design for Stop n’ Grow (a German product that helps people to stop biting their nails and sucking their thumbs/fingers) made the cut in its list of 12 of the World’s Coolest Packaging Designs, I’m sure it’s a good one.

With the holiday shopping season right around the corner, how many of you are “brown bagging” it?

Even if you don’t compete in the retail sector, can you improve how you package your “Brand You” brand, your Web site, your presentations, proposals, invoices and general emails?

Packaging serves to preserve, protect, promote and it’s even expected to be kind to the environment – does yours?

These days packaging should WOW people too!

In your marketing planning process for 2010, look for inspiring design examples everywhere and work on ways to create WOW designs throughout your organization. I assure you that you’ll separate yourself from common brown baggers.

To get you started, here are several more creative shopping bag designs that are sure to inspire you!

P.S.: Here’s another great idea by JVM to communicate the need for dental insurance in bowling alleys…BRILLIANT! This example proves that a great idea can transcend language differences and still communicate a core message.

A lot of research is pointing to Q4, 2009 as the time for a lot of the bad things we're seeing in the economy to finally bottom out. I'll believe it when I see it.

I'm a religious man, but not the kind that waits around for divine intervention to occur. Especially when it involves my business or pretty much everything else.

Since last year and through St. Patrick's Day, not one holiday has driven positive sales to the retail industry.

So, take your future in your hands and revisit your holiday marketing plans to make them stronger!

I don't know you or your business, but I'd bet a good buck that your holiday marketing plans (and your marketing plan for the days in between) are weak!

Change now or else!

OK, sales were down last Christmas and sales were down for every other holiday to date (Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day).

Now consumers are planning to cut back for Easter so says The National Retail Federation.

ARE YOU GETTING THE HINT THAT THE HOLIDAYS ARE GOING TO BE SALES TOUGH?

For those of you who depend on the retail sales lifts from traditional holidays, you better take a hard look at your plans for every upcoming holiday starting with Mother's Day.

You better be more brilliant, be more daring, be more different!

If you're not, the holidays won't be a time for you to celebrate!

If this Valentine's Day is any indication, you can count on Holiday sales periods to under deliver the entire year because of these tough economic times we're all in. So, you'll need to amp up your holiday sales marketing planning because the same old same old is not going to cut it.

Consumers plan to spend an average of $102.50 on Valentine’s
Day gifts and merchandise, down from last year’s $122.98 per person,
according to the National Retail Federation’s (NRF’s) “2009 Valentine’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions” survey, conducted by BIGresearch.