Below you'll find a list of all posts that have been categorized as “Blog”
A lot of our clients understand how important influencers are in today’s marketing climate for travel, beauty, fashion, and other upscale industries. Utilizing these partnerships can be a cost-effective way to bond with new audiences, generate content, and for hotels, even turn unused rooms into powerful opportunities. Too many properties, however, think they can accomplish all of that by bringing an …
You’ve heard about the importance of using multiple marketing channels to give your audience an “omni-channel” experience. Sounds easy enough, right? Hold on. Contrary to what you might think, though, using multiple marketing channels doesn’t automatically mean you’re providing an omni-channel experience. The key to omni-channel marketing is consistency across those channels. Even if you’ve got a great website and …
When a new year rolls around, people make big goals and sweeping proclamations: “I’m going to lose 20 pounds.” “I’ll pay off my credit card by the end of the year.” “I’m done with smoking as of Jan. 1.” The problem is, there usually isn’t a plan behind those grand resolutions. And a month or two from now, many (if …
The most successful luxury resorts and hotels have a lot in common: superior service, exceptional amenities, refined accommodations. Those things are all important, of course, but they’re not differentiators: They are things that guests expect. So how do these properties set themselves apart? When luxury is expected, how do you provide the unexpected? By telling unique stories—stories that are as …
Buzzwords can be great for your marketing—until they aren’t great for your marketing, that is. What do we mean? Buzzwords have a lifespan, and even though they don’t necessarily die out completely, their effectiveness changes over time. Let’s take “spa,” for example. A lot companies in the last 20 or so years changed their names to include “Resort & Spa” …
In this blog series, we’ll look at how to create a more authentic brand—and combine it with effective performance marketing to generate better connections, increased loyalty and higher ROI. Read part 1 here, and part 2 here. The importance of influencers for Better Brands Brand partnerships with influencers have continued to grow over the past several years, and for good reason: Research …
In this blog series, we’ll look at how to create a more authentic brand—and combine it with effective performance marketing to generate better connections, increased loyalty and higher ROI. Read part 1 here. Marketing your Better Brand You know that creating a Better Brand requires being transparent, having conversations with your customers and building true relationships. Your marketing can play a …
In this blog series, we’ll look at how to create a more authentic brand—and combine it with effective performance marketing to generate better connections, increased loyalty and higher ROI. Three steps to a Better Brand If you follow trends in marketing and branding, you’ve probably heard a lot about “authenticity.” It’s the idea that a brand perceived as honest and …
How many Facebook friends do you have? Now, how many of those friends would you say are actual friends—people you engage with and who pay attention to what you post? If you’re like most people, the second number is far lower than the first. The same concept can be applied to working with social influencers. You might think an influencer …
We’ve said it before, and it still holds true—video and photography assets are more important to your brand than ever. Why? Because they do more than just tell your story; the best visuals will create a feeling. They transport potential guests into an experience, rather than an obvious sales pitch. Audiences don’t like being sold to—and they can tell when you’re doing …
We’re more than halfway through the year already, which means it’s about time for ownership groups to start asking for business and marketing plans. However, too many organizations create “plans” that are more like strategy documents—they outline a direction for the next 12 months, but they don’t include the tactics necessary to achieve the desired objectives. A successful marketing plan …
As marketers, we’re all used to getting donation requests. Some properties might receive dozens of requests a year, while others might get just a few—but all of them can be difficult to evaluate. Can your property afford a giveaway? Is the organization a good fit for your support? Those two key questions probably come to mind immediately when you’re asked …
Somewhere along the way, most companies missed the point of social media. Think about how hospitality businesses used it, even just a few years ago. Three or four times a week a post would appear, almost always promoting a package or an event. Every message was carefully written and (usually) salesy. Business feeds had all the excitement of a corporate …
Hospitality and travel marketing has shifted dramatically in recent years—the traditional “directory-based” approach, with a few pictures of your property and a list of details about the services and amenities you offer, just won’t cut it anymore. Today, the most effective strategies and tactics focus on creating emotional connections. Think about lifestyle brands in the automotive and luxury retail spaces. …
It’s easy to make assumptions about generations—but doing so can be dangerous for your business. For example, if you’ve missed our other installments, you might think that Millennials don’t buy luxury products or services because they don’t have as much buying power as other generations. In fact, they’re the most likely of any generation to have done so in the …
In our last installment, we learned about the unique challenges of marketing to Millennials—a segment that might not include your target customers of today, but one that could be absolutely vital to your business in the future. While you’re trying to build a lasting relationship with them, however, what are you doing about the customers you need right now? Your …
Marketing today is harder than ever, because not only are there are more options than ever—online, mobile, video and email, to name a few—but your audiences expect more than ever, too. And if you don’t choose the right options for each, and deploy those options effectively, your message will get lost in the shuffle. So what do you do? It …
It’s impossible to say for sure what travel will look like in 10 years. But organizers of the inaugural Young Travel Professionals FutureTravelLab conference, held in New York this past January, took a unique approach to getting answers: They actually asked the people likely to be driving those changes—Millennials in the industry. About 80 of them attended, according to Skift.com, …
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a 60-second video may well be worth a few million (well, depending on the frames-per-second rate, anyway). But the point is this: The impact of an effective video can blow away even the best photos, blog posts and other content. Sure, videos cost time and money, but the marketing opportunities they provide …
If your marketing is still focused on things like pay-per-click, SEO and print advertising, that’s fine—but it’s not enough. NOT EVEN CLOSE. This year, you need to think bigger. Bolder. So far outside the box that you can’t even see the box. Marketing is constantly evolving, and what you did yesterday is so… yesterday. What you do today is what …
Happy New Year! Hope you enjoyed a wonderful holiday season with your friends and family. This year, my New Year resolution is to continue bringing luxury hospitality, travel and tourism clients the most innovative and affordable marketing support in the industry. After managing marketing agencies for 15 years, I know how expensive and frustrating it can be. New account managers …
With budgeting season wrapping up, I thought it might be a good time to remind you of the scope of services Brown Marketing & Public Relations can provide. After managing 6 different agencies simultaneously over the last 9 years as Director of Brand Marketing for Montage Hotels & Resorts, I know the annoyances and inefficiencies with a client/agency relationship. I’ve …
So you’re shopping online, and you’re on the fence about a pair of shoes. If you buy them, and you don’t like them, it will cost you $10 to return them. Do you order? Maybe, maybe not. But what if returns cost nothing? Wouldn’t you be a lot more likely to order, knowing that your purchase was risk-free? Smart companies …
Many brands—particularly luxury brands—sell more than just products and services. They sell an image. A lifestyle. An experience. And in order to truly enhance and reinforce those brands, their social media outlets need to maintain that focus. That means doing things that might at first seem counterintuitive, such as avoiding direct links to a product page. Why? Because moving beyond …
Brand partnerships can have significant benefits, including an increase in awareness, an expanded customer base, and ultimately, more business. Think Ford and Eddie Bauer. Target and Michael Graves. The James Bond film franchise and Omega. Each of those pairings was memorable, but brand partnerships need to be appropriate, too. After all, KFC’s partnership with Susan G. Komen for the Cure …
There was a time for us marketers when it was all pretty easy. Design a print ad, buy ad space, run “said” ad, maybe issue a press release via a wire service, then call it a day. Today, marketing is multi-channeled, multi-layered and much more complicated. Consider this: a single promotion, new product line, restaurant opening or new hotel package …
Implement design at the very beginning and engage the user at a gut level every step of the way. Apple’s bitten Apple, Tiffany’s robin’s egg blue. These visual elements both feed and define each entity, and are unforgettable. The beauty of good design is that it speaks to consumers at a level that transcends words. It’s a nonverbal connector, actually, …
According to a recently study by WBR, luxury brands are spending more money than ever before on digital marketing and advertising [source]. High-end brands are keeping pace with consumers who enjoy (and demand) the convenience and privacy of shopping online. The tipping point has arrived, and the money luxury brands have invested in digital proves it. The survey indicated that …
You know it when you see it—the perfect ad in the perfect place that hits all the right notes at just the right time. Nissan UK did this with its Royal Baby tweet—a smart move that worked before the baby was born and is just as relevant now that Princess Charlotte Victoria Diana has finally arrived. This is an example …
As marketers, we’re all familiar with the story of Michelle Phan. Of how, as a video blogger on YouTube, she gained such influence that beauty giant L’Oreal wanted to be a part of her sphere. Thus Phan’s own makeup line, em, was born, and the topic of social influence spread like wildfire in the marketing world. Social influence is the …
The importance of brand in luxury marketing can’t be overstated. Think quality and prestige so you distinguish the brand and justify the price. Think history and relevance in order to position the brand as alluring and fresh. And, finally, think exclusivity to appeal to people’s desire for status. By weaving these three tenets of luxury brands into your marketing approach, …
It’s indisputable that social media has brought about a sea change in marketing. Also indisputable? The change is still occurring. No matter your level of engagement on Facebook or your track record of videos going viral, your brand no doubt still has room to grow in the social sphere. Here are three recent shifts in social strategy that brands are …
It’s a new year! Time to shake off everything old that’s bogging down your brand and turning customers away to make room for fresh, new ideas that will enliven your brand and attract customers. So, just what are the ideas and tactics that will transform your brand in 2015? Here are the top five marketing trends you need to know …
With budgeting season wrapping up, I thought it might be a good time to remind you of the scope of services Brown Marketing & Public Relations can provide. After managing 6 different agencies simultaneously over the last 9 years as Director of Brand Marketing for Montage Hotels & Resorts, I know the annoyances and inefficiencies with a client/agency relationship. I’ve …
“Smart Marketing” is the key to holding onto existing customers and attracting new prospects. A successful marketing strategy begins with a plan. Not the kind of plan you write for owners and stick in a drawer never to be seen again — but, a detailed tactical plan with actionable steps, a critical path schedule and a line item budget. Daunting? …
Thinking of dusting off your marketing plan from years past and revising it here and there for 2015? Not so fast. In today’s constantly connected world, your brand needs to feel up-to-the-minute fresh. Any hint of outdated messaging and technology and you risk losing customers. As of January 2014, according to the Pew Internet Project, Americans who own smart phones …
You’ve been hearing for years that print advertising is dead. For millennials, it really is. They go online to research your brand, and they want information in quick, easy-to-digest snippets. Think responsive website design and Twitter feeds, and you’re thinking like a millennial. But why should you think like a millennial? By 2015, this generation – three times as large …
Just take a look out your window and you’ll see it: People using their mobile phones to make a restaurant reservation, start their cars, share their location with friends. These devices are so ubiquitous and so addictive because they help us in so many ways. Would you engage with your own smartphone as often as you do if it weren’t …
We live in a predominately visual, predominately online, predominately social-sharing society — and therein lies a roadmap for your social media strategy. Communicate visually on social sites that support photos, videos and more. Because, when it comes to social media, the character counts may be limited but the potential for visual communication is infinite. Between Pinterest, Instagram and many other …
The essential aspect of any customer experience is to have a customer-centric culture. Developing a brand requires a unique cultural environment. The culture starts at the management level and trickles to the line staff and then directly to the customer. Does your management team understand the culture? What is your mission/vision statement – do they know, appreciate, understand and live …
These days marketing directors are flooded with more opportunities than they can manage. It is overwhelming to try to keep marketing strategies current and effective. This Spring, consider these five quick tips to turbo charge your marketing efforts. Yes, you’re already connecting on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, Vine, and Instagram, but are you capitalizing on the effectiveness of video to …
Although every client has different needs and the effort that goes into every marketing program is unique, the marketing process itself remains constant and can be created through a phased approach. A detailed plan will allow you to communicate a single strategy to all of your partners, agencies, owners, employees, as well as assist in holding others accountable for their …
With budgeting season wrapping up, I thought it might be a good time to remind you of the scope of services Brown Marketing & Public Relations can provide. After managing 6 different agencies simultaneously over the last 9 years as Director of Brand Marketing for Montage Hotels & Resorts, I know the annoyances and inefficiencies with a client/agency relationship. I’ve …
“Smart Marketing” is the key to holding onto existing customers and attracting new prospects. A successful marketing strategy begins with a plan. Not the kind of plan you write for owners and stick in a drawer never to be seen again — but, a detailed tactical plan with actionable steps, a critical path schedule and a line item budget. Daunting? …
Recent grads are entering the work force this fall, and if you’re lucky, many will be on your marketing team. Fresh, young minds inspire, motivate and sharpen a marketing team with on-trend insights and new energy. But you have to groom your new grads for real-world expectations. Set the stage for them to have a rewarding, successful marketing career, while …
There was a time for us marketers when it was all pretty easy. Design a print ad, buy ad space, run “said” ad, maybe issue a press release via a wire service then call it a day. Today, marketing is multi-channeled, multi-layered and much more complicated. Consider this: a single promotion, new product line, restaurant opening or new hotel package …
We live in a predominately visual society. When it comes to social media, “characters” are limited while the potential for images is infinite. The video craze is drawing more and more eyeballs every day—from viral sensations to “how to” segments and in-house company commercials. Video, is without question, the most engaging online medium available; a fact that’s now brought us …
The essential aspect of any customer experience is to have a customer-centric culture. Developing a brand requires a unique cultural environment. The culture starts at the management level and trickles to the line staff and then directly to the customer. Does your management team understand the culture? What is your mission/vision statement – do they know, appreciate, understand and live …
Between Pinterest, Instagram and many other up and coming social media sites, there exists a new world of unlimited opportunities for rich media. Photography, B-roll, and videos used to be a “nice to have.” Now they’re a MUST. To compete in today’s marketing world you need assets – lots of them. Invest in photography and B-roll and you won’t be …
“Smart Marketing” is the key to holding onto existing customers and attracting new prospects. Yes, you’re (hopefully) already connecting on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Pinterest, and Instagram, but are you capitalizing on the effectiveness of video to trumpet your brand story and to drive traffic? Consider investing in B-roll that can be developed into small 20-30 second videos. Use these videos …
