January 2020

Introducing an updated brand or a launching a brand refresh is a common strategy to strengthen your company’s image and presence. A lot of successful companies have rebranded throughout the years for many reasons, including that their brand has evolved beyond its previous identity and is ready for new look and feel. Whether your company is introducing a completely new look, making a few updates to its logo, or creating a completely new brand from a merger or acquisition, you should have a process in place for a successful rollout. Follow the steps below to ensure a seamlessly executed and successful launch.

Step 1: Develop Your Story

Why does your company need to rebrand? It is because of a merger or spinoff? Does your company need to compete with a different, or larger, market? Or is it driven by modernization and/or simplification? Whatever the reason that led your company to rebrand, be sure to have a clear backstory that you can share with employees and customers about why your business chose to reinvent itself. People feel like they are a part of something when they hear the rationale behind decisions.

Step 2: Involve Employees

Involve your team with the rebranding process from the very beginning. Ask employees for their input and gather ideas as you create your new logo and messaging. Continue to keep your employees in the loop as you narrow down your options. By making employees feel like they are an important part of the rebranding process, you are letting them know they are valuable to your company and that their ideas are worthwhile.

Step 3: Schedule and Prepare

Create a timeline of the rebranding process and the launch dates using a simple spreadsheet or project management software. A timeline will keep everyone on track and will help you determine when specific audiences, such as employees and important clients, should be informed of the rebrand. In addition to determining dates, you will also need to plan for how your clients, customers, and the general public will be informed. Will you make an announcement on social media? Write a press release? Create a video for widespread distribution? Be sure to have a plan in place to generate buzz about your digital rebrand and inform all relevant stakeholders.

Step 4: Prepare Collateral

A common mistake in the rebranding process is forgetting to update key collateral and/or keeping old brand materials in circulation long after the rebrand launch. To prevent this from happening, make a list of all materials—digital and print—with your old logo and make it a priority to have everything updated before your launch date. Use our list to get started:

Physical signage (such as posters, displays, door adhesives, signs)
Letterhead and e-letterhead
Envelopes, notecards, labels, folders, and other stationary
Business cards, manuals, and reports
Merchandise, sales materials, and marketing collateral
Newsletters, e-newsletters, flyers, brochures, catalogs, and calendars
Email signatures
Website
Social media profiles (including profile pictures and header/cover images)
LinkedIn profiles for current employees
Online directories and online advertisements
Forums and message boards related to your business

Step 5: Create Momentum

Before the big launch day, let some of your loyal customers and followers in on the rebrand with email teasers or social media posts. Don’t reveal everything, just let them know that a changeover is happening soon to garner interest. You might add a “coming soon” page to your website or a countdown to your launch date to build excitement.

Step 6: Make a Splash

On the official rebrand launch day, it’s all about making a big impression. Cover as many outlets and avenues as possible. Send out a press release and post your blog on your updated website. Run a few digital and print advertisements. Create a video to share on social media—or better yet—have your CEO live stream the official launch to pique the interest of news media and the press. Saturate your audience with images of your new logo on your social media channels.

Working with a marketing and branding agency will help you create a new brand that you are confident about. The experienced branding and PR professionals at Millennium Agency can help you create a high-impact design with a strong brand identity to attract prospects, tell your story, and ultimately build brand awareness and market share. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you refresh your brand or design a completely new look.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a nationally recognized, top woman led B2B branding, positioning, and digital marketing firm who knows how to create value that emotionally influences your customer’s buying decision, giving you the competitive advantage. As your trusted partner in B2B software technology and manufacturing, we provide the branding and positioning framework that make an impact – so you can focus on what you do best – run your business successfully. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, and a worldwide presence, the professionals at Millennium Agency would like to learn more about your business.  Visit www.mill.agency or book time here.  

Creating a strong marketing strategy can make or break your brand. It’s often difficult to distinguish if a marketing trend that worked last year will be a flash in the pan or continue to rise in popularity. We wanted to note five marketing trends that will shape how brands advertise in 2020.

Voice Search

Voice assistants like Google Home and Amazon Echo continue to boom in popularity and accumulate in living rooms across the globe. Marketers looking to get ahead must recognize the growing popularity in voice search. 55% of homeowners are expected to own a smart speaker that’s able to draft to-do lists and order products on demand. These devices are gaining traction with early and late majority consumers as well (34% of consumers are thinking about purchasing one).

People are happy with their digital assistants – over 93% of people. The same trend goes for other technologies, with 71% of wearable device owners (think FitBit, Apple Watch) plan to conduct more voice searches in the future. All of these combined show that half of digital consumers worldwide could be engaging with voice assistants in the future – making shopping easier than ever.

Conversational Marketing

Instant gratification from brands is more important than ever. We’ve seen the rise of chatbots and live chat in Facebook marketing but also on other websites as well. Actually, 36% of companies use live chat for marketing, sales, or other customer service needs. It’s better at engaging with customers in real time as well as generally being faster, giving consumers the instant answers they want and need.

Chat is continuing to be an effective way for marketers to communicate (87% of worldwide smartphone owners use messaging apps). Not only that, but it’s also becoming a popular way to begin consumer relationships. During a global survey, 40% of people said chat was how they first started shopping online. What’s more? 65% of people from that survey said they were more likely to shop from a business they can contact via chat.

Diversity in Marketing

While this trend isn’t new, diversity marketing continues to be a key part in many marketing plans. One of the biggest reasons is that their market is changing. In fact, the US Census shows that 50% of America’s population will be composed of minority groups by 2024. It makes sense that brands want their advertisements to look like their market.

It’s crucial that brands understand this impact as well. Successful campaigns have the impact to not only sell but can change people’s mindsets after a purchase.

Digital Detox

Social media’s popularity is rising, but so is cell phone addiction. Originally, 2.82 billion users were projected to be using social media in 2019. Now, it turns out, that number is much higher – by almost a billion. It’s shown to be a popular tool for marketers and influencers, but 18% of adults cite technology as a significant source of stress. Even big companies like Apple are pushing limits on screen time, with new updates to iOS systems.

65% of Americans surveyed believe that a digital detox is needed in their life, but the follow through is not as strong – only 28% have done so.

Interactive Content

So, people are putting down their phones more and more? There are still creative ways to get consumers to pay attention. An average person’s attention span is getting shorter, but interactive content, like video or a survey, are becoming one of the most popular ways to combat it. 91% of consumers now prefer visual and interactive content as opposed to plain text.

Not sure how to fit these new trends into your marketing plan? Give Millennium a call – we can help your brand expand into new markets in 2020.

About Millennium Agency

As Google and Facebook continue to change the way ads are seen, marketers must adapt their strategies to strengthen their spots in their target’s feed. Looking for some guidance? Here’s what marketing tactics worked well in 2019.

Storytelling

Bringing your brand to life with storytelling continues to be one of the biggest trends of 2019. Stories tend to be remembered up to 22 times more than just facts alone. Burt’s Bees took this approach and continued to build upon it by introducing Burt himself. They gave him the opportunity to share what drove him to start his business, what values he holds, and “Burtisms” such as ‘If the shoe fits, wear it. Unless it’s my shoe.”

With help from a strong branding campaign, Burt’s Bees was successfully able to launch into the highly competitive cosmetics market and emerged as the leading lip balm brand in the US in 2019.

Social Justice

Storytelling has been proven successful with big and small brands. We saw this firsthand when brands aligning themselves with social justice issues made waves during the election in 2018. Multiple companies emphasized the importance of voting in last year’s midterm elections in an attempt to turn out voters young and old. But self-proclaimed Secretaries of Ice Cream Ben and Jerry’s continue to take it a step further with their blog, with a collection of recipes, quizzes, calls to action to contact Senators to pass the Equality Act, and other posts highlighting opportunities for social justice.

Even with their political bias, Ben and Jerry’s continues to grow with local farmers and fill freezers across the globe. After posting their support of the Green New Deal in April, Ben and Jerry’s spiked to its highest popularly on Google Search in 2019.

Influencers

You don’t always need an expensive marketing plan like Ben and Jerry’s; influencer marketing is still a powerful way to reach consumers. After seeing success in their Facebook advertising, Native, a natural deodorant brand, worked to partner with multiple influencers who raved about them – and added an affiliate link at the end of their video. In fact, their reviews are something they never stop highlighting, making them a key focus on their website.

With the feedback from influencers and customers, Native continued to improve their product. The result? They now boast over 500 5 star reviews on Amazon. They’ve also expanded their products – now featuring body wash, toothpaste and more, and striking up deals to be sold in Target. But the biggest success comes from their rate of growth. In 2.5 years they earned over a million customers. That’s not all: in 2017, they sold to Procter and Gamble for $100 million.

Podcasts

From internet celebrities to recruiting websites, podcasting continues to be an important trend in any marketing plan. Listening to online audio content has hit an all-time high in 2019, with most people reporting that they listen to podcasts (or other online media) for seventeen hours a week.

But podcasts can convey more than just updated industry practices. Makeup mogul Sephora is taking it a step further with the podcast #Lipstories. Partnering with Girlboss, host Kristina Zias gathers powerful women from the beauty industry every week to talk about how to feel self-confident in a chaotic world. Blue Apron is doing the same, tackling the issue of where our “local” food comes from, and how to expand your palate.

Data Privacy

Podcasts are a great way to begin interacting with your customers. But the relationship you maintain with them (and their personal data) is just as important as the initial interaction. Hackers that are attempting to get into your system are getting better. In fact, data breaches increased by 54% in the first six months of 2019.

Did you think big companies were safe? Think again. After the Cambridge Analytica data breach, Facebook tightened down its security, assuring users their data was safe. But it April of 2019, it was found that over half a billion profiles were being stored on unprotected Amazon servers, and were accessible to be downloaded by anyone. Facebook released a statement in April, and later in September revealed that it was much bigger than people had expected, with tens of thousands of apps suspended.

Today, people are more interested in what big tech companies are doing with their personal data – and how businesses are profiting from it. It’s easier than ever to find articles on how to keep Facebook from accessing your data. And with another election coming up in less than a year, Washington still has quite a few questions, too.

Missed these trends this year, or unsure what trends to lean on in 2020? Partner with us today and jump-start your branding in 2020.

About Millennium Agency

Millennium Agency is a national, award-winning, digital, creative, content/PR, and video marketing firm. With offices in Boston and New Hampshire, our team unites creative branding and data analytics to accelerate our clients’ growth, while combining our clients’ vision with our marketing expertise to increase sales opportunities and drive brand success. From video advertising and web design to social media and PR, Millennium can guide your marketing efforts every step of the way. Contact the professionals at Millennium Agency to learn more!

Social media is now more than two decades old, and like it or not, it’s become an integral part of our modern lifestyle. Almost everyone with access to the internet—from your former classmates to your 80-year-old neighbor—has a social profile.

Not only are more people utilizing social media, but users are also spending more and more time scrolling through posts. According to Statista, the average person spends about 153 minutes on social platforms—an increase of 60 minutes from 5 years ago. With a record-breaking number of participants across a wide range of social networks, social media is a marketing must, but if you’re not able to offer your viewers something new, exciting, or worth engaging with, you’ve just lost your social currency.

That being said, if you’re fresh out of ideas for your next social campaign, the experts at Millennium Agency have just the thing: five creative content ideas for your social media platforms.

Blog Posts

Blogging is a content marketing no-brainer. Blogging establishes you as a thought leader in your industry, helps with your SEO, and provides content for your social campaign. Promoting your blog on social media will entice viewers to read your blog, browse your website, and perhaps become a future customer.

Cross-promote your blog posts on each social network and tailor your message to the audience you are intending to reach. For example, on LinkedIn you might promote your blog to business associates using different wording than you would on Twitter, which has a 280-character limit. Instagram is image-focused, so you’d need to post a captivating photo along with a link to your blog.

Hashtags

Hashtags are a great way to label your content and make it discoverable by other people and businesses. Initially, hashtags were most widely used on Twitter, but they are now common on other social platforms such as LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest.

Companies can use hashtags to participate in internet trends such as #ThrowbackThursday or #tbt as it is also known. Showcase that your business has longevity by posting pictures of your company’s old headquarters or have a little fun by posting staff baby photos. You can research trending hashtags on Twitter and, if they have crossover with your business, create a social post to capitalize on the trend.

Many businesses also create their own hashtag social campaigns. By creating a one-of-a-kind hashtag specific to your business or event, you can create brand awareness and promote your events.

User-Generated Content

The internet is chock-full of user-generated content (UGC), which is defined as videos, texts, images, reviews, or any content created by people and not brands. Instagram is saturated with UGC, and many Instagrammers will tag the product (and/or company) they are using in their post, making it searchable by others. UGC social campaigns often start as branded hashtag campaigns and/or contests that spark more likes, comments, posts, and engagement with your company.

Make sure to ask for permission before using any UGC in your social campaign and be sure to credit the user in your post. A well-executed UGC campaign will help potential customers identify, like, and trust your brand.

Social Media Influencers

You can also pay social media influencers—users who have established credibility within a defined industry, have access to a large audience, and can persuade others to buy things based on their recommendations—to promote your product or company. Influencers can be celebrities as well as bloggers and entrepreneurs.

If you find an influencer that is already engaged with your target audience and has a large following, he or she can an easily and quickly expand your reach with a few simple posts.

Contests and Giveaways

Running a social media contest is an ideal opportunity to promote your brand organically with a minimal social budget. Some simple contest ideas include asking your followers to:

Like and comment on your post.
Share or re-tweet your post.
Tag a friend (or friends) in the post comments section.
Write a caption for a photo you post.

Make sure to include the entry deadline and any rules or guidelines in your contest post.

Creating a social campaign can be a daunting task. The team of digital experts at Millennium Agency can help you grow your online community and drive traffic to your website with a comprehensive social media campaign strategy. Contact us today to discuss how we can help you plan, create, launch, and manage a successful social promotion.

About Millennium Agency

Linda Fanaras is the CEO and Founder of Millennium Agency (www.mill.agency) located in Manchester, NH and Boston. She can be reached at 877-873-7445 or [email protected].