Google recently announced a major reorganization that promises to achieve a long list of desired outcomes, from increasing accountability and agility, to pursuing new opportunities and expanding market share. Meet Alphabet – created by Google’s co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin. They are calling this new company a “collection of companies,” with Google being the largest.

Google Masters its ABCs

In practical terms, the change means a shake-up in management and trading. Page will now serve as Alphabet CEO and Brin as president, and Google will be led by new CEO Sundar Pichai (former senior vice president of Android, Chrome, and Apps at Google). Shareholders will also be interested to learn that Google is being replaced with Alphabet for trading purposes. While the stock market will still use the GOOG and GOOGL symbols, all Google shares will equally become Alphabet stock.

What does this mean for Google? It will continue to focus on its core business of search and advertising, supported by YouTube, Android, maps, and apps. According to Page, it is also “making all sorts of new products,” and has recently introduced Google Photos and Google Now, “an intelligent personal assistant.”

In addition to Google, Alphabet will serve as holding company for a host of other initiatives that have been part of Google until now. These include:

• Calico – a research and development company focused on increasing lifespan;
• Fiber – a high-speed internet solution available in certain select cities like Atlanta and San Antonio;
• Google Ventures – venture capital funding for “bold new companies”;
• Google Capital – a growth equity investment fund;
• Google X – a secret lab (seriously!) where Google is innovating advanced technology like auto-driving cars and Google Glass
• Life Sciences – formerly part of the Google X lab and developer of smart contact lenses that can monitor glucose levels in diabetics; and
• Nest – an innovator in home products like smart thermostats and smoke alarms.

These companies will be led by their own CEOs and leadership teams to provide more autonomy and flexibility.

Branding from Z to A

From a brand architecture perspective, this major corporate restructuring poses a challenge. Google is a highly established, world-renowned brand – but it will now be one of at least eight sub-brands under the umbrella of a parent brand.

While Google’s brand will certainly remain strongly recognized despite its acquisition by Alphabet, its marketing team must dually brand it under Alphabet. This presents a unique and most unusual (although not unheard-of) situation where a sub-brand is the preeminent brand – and the parent brand must be created and established in the marketplace. In addition, the other sub-brands must be launched in concert with the parent brand.

This Alphabet brand hierarchy is akin to reciting the alphabet from Z to A, or going backwards. The proven brand leader in the family (Google) is a sub-brand. It has removed the extra baggage of projects not related to its core functions, which have become fellow sub-brands (see bulleted list above). While this provides focus and a “slim down” (as Page referenced in his announcement), it must be communicated via its own sub-brand, prompting the need for a brand refresh.

On top of this, the Alphabet brand must become one that is both recognized and understood. This is vital to the success of all sub-brands and the parent brand itself. While stocks of Google will convert to Alphabet, the fact that the stock symbols will remain Google-related will be a point of confusion for the Alphabet brand. This presents a hurdle that will be difficult to overcome from a marketing perspective: getting Alphabet to be the go-to, tip-of-the-tongue brand name while its stocks are trading as GOOG and GOOGL.

One thing is for certain: the Alphabet brand evolution will prove interesting to watch. As a certified Google AdWords partner, Millennium Integrated Marketing will be observing the subtle –and not-so-subtle changes – that result from Alphabet’s brand formation.

If you’re looking to launch a new brand or explore the impact rebranding may have for your company, contact Millennium today at (877) 873-7445 or give me shout at [email protected] and connect with me on LinkedIn and Twitter.

 

One of the fastest growing methods for companies to promote their brand is the viral video. According to a recent article by Fast Company, companies that release videos that end up going viral often see up to 34 times more Internet traffic than companies that don’t do any video marketing. BuzzFeed has been rapidly growing, thanks in large part to the videos they produce and the dedicated 40 person staff who creates the videos. But why exactly are Buzzfeed videos so successful at online engagement? Believe it or not, they actually have viral video production down to a science.

The Growth of Online Video

One of the keys to any successful marketing campaign is knowing who your target audience is, and BuzzFeed knows exactly who their prime audience is. They know most of their ideal target comes from what is known as the “Bored at Work” network. The typical member of the “Bored at Work” network is someone who frequently uses a computer but may not be using it for work. BuzzFeed is constantly testing their content with their audience to figure out exactly what resonates well with them and what doesn’t.

The Statistics Don’t Lie

According to Forbes, 2015 is the year when Facebook will most likely overtake YouTube in video views, and this is key to BuzzFeed’s continued popularity. As of August 2015, BuzzFeed has amassed nearly 5.2 million followers on its Facebook page, with an additional 6.5 million followers on their page dedicated exclusively to BuzzFeed Videos. This is in contrast to the BuzzFeed Video YouTube channel, which has 7.2 million subscribers. Using social media helps BuzzFeed reach millions of followers on multiple social platforms almost instantly, followers who in turn share the content with their friends and family.

Brand Awareness

BuzzFeed has mastered the art of creating brand awareness in a way that is engaging, and often times fun, for the consumer. People who had never heard of BuzzFeed just a few years ago have now been drawn to their website, thanks in large part to shares from friends and family via social media. Many of their videos are not only humorous in nature, but informative as well. After all, where else are you likely to see a well made compendium of videos that shows you how to make a milkshake in 32 seconds?

Why should you consider showing videos as part of your marketing strategy? Videos, especially videos that end up going viral, can help extend the reach of your company and its message in an interactive way that truly engages your customers. You can use videos to promote the products you’re selling, to profile your staff, or even to showcase customer reviews. In BuzzFeed’s case, videos are used as a medium to show their fun side in action, which then helps drive traffic to their website. Who knows? If your company starts using videos in your marketing campaigns, you might become the next BuzzFeed of your industry!

Join us in welcoming Marisa Bingham to the Marketing Support Staff. Marisa is a Mass Communications and Public Relations major entering her junior year at Boston University and we’re delighted to have her on the team. With an engaging writing style, a proclivity for picking great reads, and a fondness for chocolate, she fits right in here at Millennium.

To learn more about Marisa, her love of marketing, and how she’d pass the time on a desert island, check out her interview below.

MB: I was originally drawn to Millennium Integrated Marketing for their emphasis on brand marketing. I learned that Millennium also specializes in content development, website design, and ROI measurement. I was eager to learn these new skills from their internship program.

What about marketing excites you?

MB: I love the idea of helping someone establish a brand, product, or service through innovation and creative thinking. Marketing allows you to work with many different people with many different perspectives. I want to be exposed to those diversities in order to develop new, unconventional strategies.

Where do you see yourself in five years?

MB: Ideally, I’d really like to be living in a southern city doing corporate PR. I’d also like to own a cat and, hopefully, frequent the gym a lot more than I do now.

Favorite hobby/thing to do when you’re not hitting the books?

MB: Besides singing really loudly in my car, I’m an actress on BUTV’s (and America’s longest-running college soap opera), Bay State.

What’s your favorite thing to do in New Hampshire?

MB: Hiking! Or anything outdoorsy.

What’s your favorite movie?

MB: Legally Blonde (No shame.)

What’s your favorite book?

MB: The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien

 

If you were stuck on a desert island, what’s the one album you’d want to have with you?

MB:Taylor Swift’s Red album (Again, no shame.)

Favorite candy bar?

MB: Milky Way

Favorite cereal?

MB: I don’t eat cereal, but if I had to pick I’d go with Rice Krispy Treat cereal. It’s essentially a dessert in milk.

What color is the dress: white and gold or blue and black?

MB: DEFINITELY white and gold.

If you could only eat one food for the rest of your life, what would it be?

MB: Bagels.

If you could have dinner with one famous person, living or dead, who would it be and why?

MB: Jane Goodall! I used to be obsessed with her and her study of chimpanzees when I was little. I’ve read all of her books at least once. My life goal is to meet her!

Top three places in the world you’d like to visit?

MB: The Pyramids in Egypt, Macchu Picchu in Peru, Mt. Kilimanjaro in Kenya

Would you rather fight 100 duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck? Please explain.

MB: Hmm… I’d have to say 100 duck-sized horses only because I’m really short. I need the height advantage over my opponent, otherwise, I’d get trampled in a second.

Any public relations professional will cringe at the use of a cliché. Clichés are cheesy, overused, and at some point, become meaningless. PR gurus know the necessity for innovation and authenticity if they want to excel. However, clichés are useful when talking about company culture. In the PR world, company culture can make or break a business. Great company culture allows for great accomplishments. Bad company culture, on the flip side, can only be destructive. Here are three commonly used clichés that companies should practice in their daily routines for a great company culture.

Actions speak louder than words.

Remember when Nike denied the use of sweat shops and employing children to make their products? Or the BP oil spill catastrophe? Consumers are becoming more and more wary of big businesses these days. PR professionals have evolved from campaign pioneers to full-on reputation ambassadors. Instilling brand trust in a customer is a huge responsibility. Saying something in a press release is one thing, but following through with it is a much harder task. Practice honesty in the office. Companies that have an open, accepting atmosphere will foster a positive work environment. This honesty will penetrate into client relationships and the content you produce. And not only will your client become a trusted brand, but so will you.

You are what you eat.

Ok, let’s take this one figuratively. It’s impossible to avoid negative people in the workplace. But, if positive company culture doesn’t already exist, it won’t grow in an environment where people are putting each other down and creating distrust. Companies that host employee parties and outings, offer a plausible amount of vacation time, and employ people who treat others with respect are more successful. Why? Because they are fostering a workplace that allows you to “eat” good stuff – creativity, integrity, and fairness.

It’s not written in stone.

Lastly, it is crucial for companies and their employees to adapt. The world is changing and so are the rules for the communication. New strategies are implemented all the time. New technologies are produced faster than you can say iPhone 6 Plus. The ability to change with the industry and with a client is an integral aspect any successful business. This goes for company culture as well. Employees who are stuck in their ways or who are unwilling to ditch their old habits are a ticking time-bomb. Sooner or later the company will be outdated and out of clients. Empowering employees in the office to think outside the box and look through a different perspective will result in smarter thinkers and an environment that sparks creativity.

In today’s hectic world, how nice would it be to have everything you could possibly need right by your side? A company called BauBax did just that by designing clothing equipped with all your travel essentials built right into the fabric of their sweaters and jackets. Aside from the warmth and comfort of you favorite outerwear, a BauBax jacket includes 15 extra perks from a neck pillow and eye mask to a drink pocket and earphone holders. After raising over $3 million on Kickstarter, with an original goal of only $20,000, BauBax’s product design is indicative of how a master plan with ability to provide all the elements of value in one easy to implement structure can lead to success.

BauBax redefined the efficiency and functionality of their clothing line by strategically building solutions for the everyday traveler right into the framework of their product. A good social media strategy should do this too. Your audience is hard to reach. They have hectic schedules and an array of online stimulus tapping their short attention spans on a daily basis. Your social media interactions need to be personalized, consistent, and adaptable to achieve success, but this takes a plan. Just like the intricately woven details of a BauBax jacket causing it stand out against the competition, your social media plan should incorporate these eight elements to plan for social media success:

1. Identify Your Goals

Be sure your goals provide your company with a concrete direction of where you want to go. The important thing to remember is to keep your goals at a reasonable number. Having a few strong goals with a clear direction is better than having several general goals that are hard to measure and cause your resources to become constrained.

2. Understand Your Audience

Always deliver relevant content. Understanding your customer, what interests them, and how they interact with your content is essential to having a successful dialogue. Creating buyer personas containing detailed characteristics of your target audience(s) is a great way to determine how your social exchange will be crafted.

3. Analyze The Competition/Influencers

Take a look at how other companies and influencers in your industry are interacting on their social media channels. You can use this research to get started with methods that have shown success and also determine how you can set yourself apart to make your engagement unique and memorable.

4. Develop Your Content

Content is vital to any marketing initiative, but not all content is created equal. Don’t just produce copy to fill an empty space. Good content has a personality and that personality reflects your brand. It delivers an authentic message using a style and tone that aligns with your company’s brand and in a range of formats (text, infographics, images, videos) that resonates best with your audience. Content development is the oxygen to your social media strategy. Your message is important and the connection you make with your audience can create recurring value, so take care in how you craft your communications.

5. Choose Your Channels

Always remember you do not have to be active on every social media platform to be successful. Investigate which social channels would be a good fit for your brand and the social connection you are trying to make first, then invest in creating the right atmosphere for those channels with your content strategy. You can always add new social channels down the road, after learning how to make valuable connections with the initial set.

6. Choose Your Tools

Content calendars, publishing automation, editing tools and analytic reporting programs are all available to you to help make implementing your social media strategy as easy as possible. Once you have a thorough content plan in place you can make it more efficient with a range of social media tools.

7. Monitor Your Activity

Once your content is published be sure to continuously monitor it. It is important to see how customers are engaging with your content. You can build new, more relevant content from the feedback and positive interactions you are receiving, while also moderating negative encounters with responsive follow-ups.

8. Measure The Results

Lastly, always be sure to measure and report your results. Almost all social media programs provide some form of analytics. You can identify trends, make competitor comparisons, and evaluate aspects such as the timing and frequency of posts. Using data to review key performance indicators, especially what your customers like and dislike, will determine if your strategy is on target or if your methods need be adjusted to achieve future success.

Finding the right balance between these elements can be tricky. But, if you listen to your customers, curate engaging content, and continually monitor your efforts, then you will see a great social media strategy come together. When following a well-designed strategy, your internal resources will flourish and your customers will be anxiously awaiting the next serving of hand-crafted social content. Not only will your company succeed, but your customer’s preference will become more favorable and your audience will grow. Just like the BauBax jacket, creating something that contains all the right elements for efficiency and functionality can lead to great success.

To learn more about creating a social media strategy for your company contact Millennium Integrated Marketing today for a free consultation.

(MANCHESTER, NH | BOSTON, MA) – Millennium Integrated Marketing (Millennium) is excited to welcome Gina DiVenuti to the team as Content Marketing Manager. Gina will oversee Millennium’s content strategies, social media, and message development for both the firm and its clients.

Gina has a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of New Hampshire. With a foundation in science and a passion for the creative, Gina is skilled at leveraging the strategic combination of analytics with an intuitive marketing sense to create highly-engaging content for improved brand awareness and customer interaction.

“Gina’s insight into the consumer perspective, and ability to align individual marketing goals into a big picture strategy will be a great asset to our team,” says Linda Fanaras, President of Millennium Integrated Marketing. “Her skill for lead nurturing strategies and persuasive messaging will facilitate our continued success for developing impactful marketing campaigns.”

About Millennium Integrated Marketing

Millennium Integrated Marketing is a data-driven digital marketing, creative design and public relations firm that focuses on optimizing the digital customer experience. Millennium is a nationally recognized women-owned business and certified Google AdWords Partner with offices in Manchester, New Hampshire and Boston. The firm works with companies across industries, including higher education, technology, healthcare, non-profit, and professional services and can be found on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. For more information, call Linda Fanaras at 877-873-7445 or visit www.mill-im.com.