And the Winner Is…

By Karen Preston-Loeb

Entering your company into awards competitions is an important aspect of your company’s marketing plan. Awards programs administered by reputable third parties bestow recognition on your company and help position your executives as leaders in their fields – all of which helps validate your business to existing customers and can help attract new customers.

While the daily grind can push entering awards contests to the back burner, making the effort to complete awards applications boosts the chance that your business brings home a shiny new trophy. Multiple entries can raise your chances of winning, as long as the entries are smart and well thought out. Undeniably, awards entries are time-consuming and can seem costly at potentially hundreds of dollars per entrance, but the benefits generally outweigh the labor involved in completing the application or nomination.

Benefits of award submissions

• Increase name recognition: Whether you win or not, if you are among your competitors in appropriate awards categories, your name gets out there as a credible member of the industry.
• Retain and acquire employees: Gaining accolades boosts employee morale and entices potential future talent.
• Generate great public relations: If you win a particular award, a press release can be distributed to generate free publicity for your company. Don’t forget to post it to your company’s website to drive traffic and further spread the news. 
• Gain customers: The free publicity generated can lead to new customers and more business—especially if you win.
• Improve industry positioning: Once you’ve won an award, your company’s marketing language should incorporate such descriptors as “award-winning,” which again acts as validation when seeking new business or retaining existing customers.

Awards submissions sometimes may be greeted with an inter-office groan, as they can be perceived as “extra” work that is outside of daily tasks. Though they can be time-consuming, awards entries can be tackled more easily when your company has an awards submission plan.

Tips to make your contest-entering process less daunting:

• Plan your award strategy by researching the types of awards your company would be suited to enter.
• Once determined, make a list of due dates, submission requirements and entry fees for each award.
• For annual awards, keep a calendar of due dates and set reminders as submission dates are approaching for the following year.
• Throughout the year, maintain a folder of projects that would be appropriate to enter into awards competitions. By saving PDFs of media coverage, marketing collateral, reports, data and other supporting materials, the amount of work needed to track down the items needed for entry requirements at submission time will be substantially lessened.
• Evaluate the impact of your initiatives once the awards have been announced to determine future award submissions.

When your company does win, take advantage of the PR opportunities to announce your achievement. In addition to distributing a press release to local media and posting it to your website, share the news in email newsletters, congratulate your company on social media platforms, and display your trophy or certificate with pride in the office for co-workers and visitors to view.

The awards-submission process may seem daunting but the payoff is worth the investment of time and effort. And remember – you can’t win it if you are not in it.

What's in a Name?

View image | gettyimages.com

By Rose Strong

It’s been a tough year for companies and organizations that use the name ISIS.

When I was a youngster, Isis was the name of a deity in Egyptian mythology, the goddess of health and wisdom. As I grew up, the name also referred to Isis, the female superhero in the TV show, Secrets of Isis.

Today, according to CNN, ISIS stands for Islamic State in Iraq and Syria. The splinter group of the terrorist organization Al Qaeda is also known as the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant and just as Islamic State, and gained notoriety after videos were posted online depicting the group’s barbaric and gruesome killings of western hostages.

Given this political backdrop, executives at companies that share a name or otherwise use the acronym ISIS have scrambled to find ways to distance themselves from the newest appropriation of the name. It is a difficult predicament for any business to be in, considering this name / acronym usage isn’t something easily controlled by the business itself.

A condo development in West Palm Beach, FL changed its name from ISIS Downtown to 3 Thirty Three Downtown.

A Belgian chocolate company changed its name from ISIS Chocolates to Libeert after their international customers were unable to carry the chocolates because of the negative connotation associated with the name.

Even the animated television series Archer had to rename an organization within the show as the producers didn't want to associate with the violence and horror of the terrorist group.

A few companies using the acronym of ISIS are making a conscious decision not to change their name. A feminist group affiliated with Fordham University has decided to keep the name ISIS which stands for In Strength I Stand. "People know who we are. Nobody thinks we are in any way an Islamic terror nationalist group. So I really don't see a need to change it because of that," Wallis Monday, the group's president told New York Magazine.

Rebranding is a huge undertaking. Oftentimes, a new mission statement must be developed to coincide with the core values, which may change from time to time as the business changes with the times and its demographics. When you consider having to redesign stationery, packaging, logos, websites, advertising and any other collateral a company uses for its brand identification, a rebranding project can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars as well as a potential loss of customers.

Of course, there are times when rebranding is needed. As a company grows over time, it may evolve to offer new products or services, or may be making a push towards gaining a new client demographic, or may want to keep up with a change in trends and fashions. Other businesses rebrand because the business name doesn't fit or it is easily confused with something else or is unpronounceable or in the case of ISIS, to change the negative connotations consumers may have.

Have you ever rebranded your business? Would you change the name of your company if it had unwelcome negative associations with forces you couldn't control? Let us know in the comments below, what you think about this predicament and how you’d handle it.

E-newsletters – How to Increase Your Open Rate

by Kim Tarasiewicz

Does your company send an e-newsletter? It’s a great way to touch a large audience and keep your brand in front of them in a positive, valuable way. The trick is how to get your audience to open your newsletter with so much “In-Box” clutter.

Your readers are more likely to respond, repost or take action on an event in the newsletter if they feel it is meant for them personally. Providing the recipient with a useful tip, guide or item of interest makes them more likely to share your newsletter with friends and expand your company brand. Industry tips can be useful and relevant, especially when they include a “Secrets of…,” “How to…,” or “Trends in…,”section. Trivia, interesting images and humor will keep your reader engaged while providing them a break from strictly business communications.

Keep a spreadsheet of topic ideas during the month and ask employees for input. Has one of your employees won an award or completed a community service project? –Share the link and alert that organization, which will boost their presence and show another side of your business. And be sure to keep the articles timely.

10 Best Practices When Creating E-Newsletters:

• Make the design consistent with your website and collateral materials. This maintains your branding and awareness.
• Add an opt-in subscription tool on the website and social media sites.
• Host all newsletter content on your website and only provide teaser copy with links in the e-newsletters.
• Be sure to review open rates, evaluate trends and readers’ habits over time, and adjust your newsletter content to meet the needs of the readers.
• Send at regular intervals.
• Send at optimal times.
• Use a “from” address that is identifiable with your company.
• Include engagement tools: surveys, polls, forums, ways to provide feedback, links to social media.
• Test everything before sending your newsletter. Once it’s gone, you cannot get it back. 
• Be sure to include an opt-out link. Familiarize yourself with the CAN-SPAM Act.

And remember, if you keep it interesting, your clients will look forward to opening your newsletter first when they check their emails.