AJRoss Blog

Build off of perception:

Don’t believe everything you hear in the media about the economy. While it is true that in the last two years, we’ve suffered a significant economic decline, you can’t wait for news broadcast saying “the worst is over” before your company invests in marketing again. The world is a more cautious and thrifty place now and it will take time and more companies to take that step forward before consumers will start to believe in the recovery. But again this presents a “good opportunity.” Let your company be one of those that consumers have been waiting for. Show them that in the face of what is still perceived as a down economy, you are strong and so are you services. Instill confidence now in the face of your competition and shape a clientele that will be with you through thick and thin.

The economy is recovering all around you, car sales are improving, homes are starting to sell and banks are able to allow for individual/business investments again. If your company doesn’t take advantage of the opportunities that are in front of it now, the only down economy in the near future will be yours.

According to an article in About.com:

“McGraw-Hill Research conducted a study of U.S. recessions from 1980-1985. Out of the 600 business-to-business companies analyzed, the ones who continued to advertise during the 1981-1982 recession hit a 256-percent growth by 1985 over their competitors that eliminated or decreased spending.”

“Similar findings were shown for the economic downturn of the mid 1970s. These studies reaffirm the notion that in good times and bad, it pays to advertise”.

“Customers will identify with and remember those companies who stuck it out during a tough economy”.

One major opportunity now exists in today’s economy, but only the savviest of entrepreneurs will seize upon it. The opportunity right now is for a business to be leader of the pack, a standard bearer who clearly tells consumers that the economic recovery is at hand. I must caution you that this opportunity will not last very long and in fact, while some business owners are still waiting for confirmation of a recovery, others are already getting a jump on their competition. It’s still not too late! No matter what the state of the economy, there is never a bad time to seize opportunities and build your brand; but it’s always the wrong time to stop.

AJ Ross Creative Media celebrating its 20^th year in business, is located in the Hudson Valley’s historic Chester, NY and was founded by Allan Ross. A former NYC session musician, jingle writer and producer, Ross parlayed that experience into the development of a full-service strategic marketing agency. AJ Ross offers brand development, print, radio, and TV advertising production, graphic design, website development, and public relations. Some of AJ Ross’s accounts include Orange County Tourism, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Finkelstein and Partners, Jacoby and Meyers amongst others. To learn more about AJ Ross Creative Media, visit www.ajross.com, call 800-723-4644, or email info@ajross.com.

No matter what business you’re in, it’s always about expectations, isn’t it? It’s about meeting expectations or exceeding them. There are no other options.

If you play things by the book, meeting expectations isn’t really that difficult.

Exceeding expectations is another matter entirely and it’s never easy. Because this is where hard work, dedication, and a passion for doing things better become paramount. This is where people who only make promises are separated from the people who actually fulfill them and then surpass them.

At A.J. Ross Creative a full-service Advertising, Marketing and Web Design Company, has been in business for nearly 20 years. And in this “here today and gone tomorrow” world nobody lasts that long by merely meeting expectations.

So, what are your expectations? In terms of creative work and service, what is it you really want? This could be a very productive exchange. And while we’re learning what you expect and want, we’d like you to see how we’ve taken many clients to places they never expected to go.

Who Is AJ Ross Creative Media?

AJ Ross Creative Media opened its doors in 1991 and that’s exactly how you’ll still find them today: open. Open to new ideas, open to new ways to reach people, new technologies, open to all the things that can help our clients be more successful.

Of course, you can’t do anything without the right people, and we’ve been very fortunate to work with many of the best people in the communications industry. Our real and “virtual” staff includes writers and art directors who’ve occupied positions of leadership in such major agencies as Saatchi & Saatchi, Grey Advertising, and Young & Rubicam.

When we combine our veterans with our young and dedicated staff members, we can put together teams that are current, experienced, energetic, and successful—qualities that we are certain generate the results that exceed your expectations.

A.J. Ross Creative Media, a full-service Advertising, Marketing and Web Design company located in Chester, NY. Some of AJ Ross’s accounts include Orange County Tourism, Hudson Heritage Federal Credit Union, Finkelstein and Partners, Jacoby and Meyers amongst others. For more information go to http://www.ajross.com or call 845-783-5770 783-5770.

When we talk about building brands today, we have plenty of history to reference. From the members of the century club led by Coca-Cola and Procter & Gamble to the relative youngsters like Microsoft, each successful brand story provides us with a richness of learning we would be foolish to ignore.

Imagine if the founders of Arm & Hammer nearly 150 years ago had the knowledge of advertising, marketing, merchandising and public relations we have now. Talk about an unfair advantage!

So why is it that despite everything we know, regardless of all the history we can call upon for advice and guidance, creating and introducing a new brand remains the single most difficult thing to do in modern business. In fact, only out of every 1,000 brands that come to the marketplace in 2009 will still be around in 2010.

They say knowledge is power. That’s true, unless, of course, you’re attempting to bring down an established brand. We are speaking of those brands customers depend on as if they were old friends. These are the brands with a personality. Successful brands that forge a bond with customers so strong, the power of knowledge alone cannot break it.

Needless to say, if you have a brand that’s 5 years old, 50 years old, or 500 years old, and you have customers who know it and rely on it, who pay to use it and will recommend it to others, it would be best to keep an eye on it. Please, never take it for granted. It is the most important business asset you will ever own. Consider this: in the R.J. Reynolds buy out back the 80’s, the brand name “Oreo,” just those four letters, was calculated as being worth five times more than the capitalized value of all the bakeries that produced the cookies.

So how do you hang on to this invaluable asset? How do you protect it? How do you build on a brand and make it an even more frequent choice? Well, it would be a good idea to have people around you who understand it’s value, conscientious, dedicated people, relentless in their pursuit of success. These people, in simpler times, were often called “brand champions.” Today, we have another name for them: brand stewards, or more specifically, 360 degree Brand Stewards. This is an idea that, literally and figuratively, looks at the concept of brand management from every possible perspective. The Stewardship process begins with careful analysis to define precisely what makes your brand different – what it stands for now, its customer appeal, it’s personality, and potential. Then, with this data in hand, you can move on to identifying new opportunities, possible threats and effective responses as well as business building ideas that encompass every touch point with customers, the full 360. Wherever the brand meets the customer, at the point of sale or in the media, a Brand Steward will be there to help you the deliver the right message.

Sometimes, your brand may need totally new creative work that enriches its image, or gives it a bold new look. Other times, the solution may require staying the course but with a new twist. In either case, the right result will require people working together, all on the same page, with clear goals and objectives; stewards who never take their eye off the brand.

Knowledge. History, Learning. Experience and Stewardship. They are very powerful tools indeed, and today you can never have enough of them. Visit A.J. Ross Creative Media at www.ajross.com for more thoughts and examples that will get you thinking and, hopefully, working to protect the brand that keeps you in business.

2009 was a year of budget creativity! With the economy in crisis and jobs on the line, clients felt the pressure to gain more results from advertising than in the past. BUT, this had to be done with smaller budgets. The result was more one-piece advertising and fewer campaigns to drive multiple messages, as well as relying on one medium (vs. several) and smaller size advertising, thereby generating space for their competition.

Although this created complications in branding business pressure, in this instance it also strengthened the working relationship between the agency and client. For clients, it instilled the need to be more focused in working with their advertising agencies. It also made those who never worked with agencies recognize the need for advertising for their business this year.

We have seen two completely different reactions among our clients: half are financially focused and the other half has taken the competitive edge in the marketplace while their competition is laying low.

The financially focused clientele have decreased their media placement and increased their online presence by creating new websites as well as using banner advertising, email marketing, social media, and blogging. This direction allows for stronger branding and an increased message through various vehicles without the limitations printing costs or media placement taken from budgets.

Among the other half of our clientele, we’re seeing the trend of redirecting finances from other areas of the business and focusing it on advertising. They are taking advantage of the lack of competition in the media market place. They increase their media budgets and create several timed campaigns that span a few months and send the same messages through print, radio, online advertising, and social media. This strategy not only takes advantage of the lack of competition in front of consumers but also establishes a stronger placement in the market for those companies in a better market in the future.

For those clients with financial concerns, email marketing is the new direct mail; websites and banner advertising are the new print campaigns; social media is the new networking; telemarketing and blogging are the new PR. Print advertising is, well, still print advertising!

If you’re like many of the companies I encounter, your web site has become your most important marketing tool. It allows you to deliver countless amounts of new information without printing or mailing expenses. It is your online portfolio.

It’s the voice of your company 24 hours a day. It can offer customers your latest promotions or house an entire catalog of information.

Simply having a website however is not enough. It needs to be built properly and maintained to suit users needs and the needs of your company. So, if you’re spending money on hosting and a domain name just to have a website, you may be letting your site take advantage of your checkbook.

Your site is a tool, and like every tool works best when it’s used properly. To make sure you are putting it to proper use start by determining what your needs are and what style of website suits you best. Website design offers many options; be sure you are familiar with them to best serve your business needs.

First, understand what your customers’/audience needs are, and what kind of web site works best to bring information about how your company fulfills those customer’s needs. There may be elements of one kind or another, that you find you can combine to build the perfect power-seller site for your business. If your information is simple and updates rarely, it may suit you best to have a web site administrator offsite to make any changes. It can save a lot of valuable time and money.

CMS: (Content Management System) A web site with a built-in CMS gives you the ability to manage the content of your web site. Some companies update their information frequently. This can get costly and slow you down. With CMS you can do it yourself.

E-Commerce: If your business sells products, consider a web site that functions as a store, allowing users to view and choose sizes, models, colors, styles and quantities, as well as pay securely via credit or debit cards, or even PayPal.

Database: If you are in real estate or carry a heavy volume of products, you need a database to store information, which in turn allows for search features built into your site that would retrieve the data the users are looking

Intranet: For a lot of companies it’s important to have a private company-only viewed web site to share documents, information memos, forms, calendars, meetings, or email systems with 1 database they can all draw from.

Once you’ve selected the style website that works best for you, there’s one more very important piece to keep it from taking advantage of your pocketbook – keep your content fresh. You have the potential to connect with millions of people, now it’s up to you to hook them and keep them interested with new information.

If you write articles or newsletters make sure you post them on your site and change them every month or two. If you’re selling a product, make sure you have the latest merchandise. It will keep your site visitors coming back.

Nothing looks worse than a “News” or “What’s New” section that hasn’t been updated since 2004. Keeping your site fresh and functioning effectively is a critical business tool, and will help your company rank higher in search engines.

Be smart: make sure your web site works to your best advantage in the business world every second of the day.