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.

Here are some tips on producing a good and effective campaign.

The Title or subject line is the most important part of the whole project. You have only about 40 characters to motivate your members to click and read on.

That’s why subject lines must be all about benefits. The best (if not the only) reason to open a message is to find a benefit within. The goal is to get people intrigued so that they’ll want to learn more. If you give them too much info or seem too aggressive, you risk pushing them away.

The recipient’s concern is literally, “What’s in it for me?”

Once your visitor does click onto to your mail one of the crucial elements of an email marketing campaign is a clear call to action. You want the reader to start reading and then, almost without thinking about it, scroll down and continue reading. Your copy needs to be concise and focused; it should be formatted with lots of white space so that it’s easy on the eye; and it should include a call to action with a link. Don’t distract with too many links or offers, and make not only the call to action clear but also what recipients can expect when they click through. This can be as simple as “Click here for a 20% discount on your next purchase.” You want them to go to your website.

Your email marketing strategy as a whole must be an integrate part of the overall marketing strategy. Similarly, the design (and the content) of your newsletter or email marketing campaign should reflect your corporate design.

Now you need a database list of people who give you permission to email them.

With a never-ending flow of spam on the Internet people are careful with every new message they receive. Some people immediately delete suspicious emails without opening them, others use anti-spam filters that block any email they consider as spam. Its great if you already have a list of subscribers, to which you are sending newsletters at a regular basis. People know who you are and most likely have your email address in their address books or whitelists, so your email is let through with no problems. As you meet new people at networking or other functions get their card and immediately add their email address to your database. Most everyone has their email address on their business card.

Finally, your presentation of your email marketing campaign needs to be professional and well thought out. It might be a good idea to hire a professional to design your initial template. You know the old saying “first impressions” and “you get what you pay for.”

The deeper our economy slumps, the more all size businesses that plan to stay around, will want to ramp up their exposure.The serious marketers with budgets will have ‘exposure’ advantage as they wisely invest their advertising dollars through these times…till the inevitable upswing returns.

The savvy types recognize
Investing in their brand with “Custom printed functional quality” items stretches and strengthens the brand recognition now, even more than in good times. (Ask yourself if you used a logo promo item used today?)

As business owners, marketers steeped in simple science, we hope for a cause and effect to our efforts; it is actually that domino effect with measurable rewards. No matter the venue- the sale, attendance at an event, a contribution to a charity, enrollment in a class, we all aim for Return on Our precious time, our psychic energy and emotional investment. (Ask yourself if you can recall the advertiser on your favorite promo item today?)

BRANDING can be as Memorable as the keepsake. A custom printed ‘gift’ doubles as a Reminder that soon penetrates the psyche, workspace, kitchen when Used handled and seen daily — it gets results. With prolonged exposure and experience with your brand – you can guess what can happen next. (Ask yourself if you have used the services from that promotional product you used today?)

SELLING is trackable – just ask your accountant. Invite your prospects repeatedly for a return dialogue, that test drive, that special offer, etc. The smart & serious avoids wasting time in this cycle. So, don’t start this advertising/marketing with out including a promotional product; And Don’t bother unless you are going to follow through from start to finish.

REPEAT EXPOSURE: Your promotional products will be hard at work repeating your message long after your personal encounter. (Ask yourself if you had to pick a promotional product for someone like yourself, what would you like to receive?)

The fun is crafting the plan, picking the item that fits budget, demographics and Distribution method – and tracking the action. Remember only those on the radar screen as ‘best prospects’ will see receive your promotional product

Promotional marketing items do not need to break your budget; their return is everlasting with the right product. Plus without waste, you can’t ask for a better medium.

PS This wildly popular industry has proven statistical results; if you are curious about how your answers compare to others or for the unconvinced or curious click www.ppai.org and find out how the mind recalls, remembers and how physical advertising effects behavior; Retention/ recalls studies are available.