Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Tradigital : The Link Between Traditional and Digital Marketing?


Just when I though I heard it all I came across a term that was a new one for me “TRADIGITAL” on a post written by fellow Pratt Graduate David Darmano. I checked the term out and it’s not in any dictionary or on Wikipedia
but it is a very simple way to understand the link between traditional and digital marketing.

To me simple is always good when I give seminars. I like using “outbound vs. inbound” to describe the difference between new and old media. With outbound we send our messages “out” to the world, using all forms of traditional advertising. With inbound we depend on people finding us and coming “in” and hopefully sharing with their contacts their experiences, hopefully positive. But what links the two together? Enewsletters, eblasts, ecampaigns, banner ads fills that gap. With these tools we have the opportunity to say what’s on our mind and tell our own stories about our firms. Then if we have added interesting links we get to hear opinions and a conversation can begin. The best part, we can evaluate what works by those responses; who opens it, where they go, who opts out and who passes it on. But what do we call that link?


As I was preparing for a seminar I was giving to the Association of Development Officers last week in Westchester I decided to use the term “tradigital” and see how my audience responded. It was fun watching peoples expressions and even more fun when they tried to say the tongue twister for the first time! Thanks David, it has real stickiness and it will definitely be in my next seminar as well! Check out David at
darmano.typepad.com.

–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group


Wednesday, April 7, 2010

What's Your Brand Story : Why the Promises Our Firms Make Matter


“Brands are stories, containing a promise to perform, at every possible contact point. These stories are accepted or rejected by consumer audiences based on performance.” –Neal Mendelsohn, Chief Experience Officer at Fourth Wall, LA


I agree with Neal, stories matter. It’s the way potential clients are engaged, acquired and retained. In my years helping firms with branding and marketing I sometimes see a gap between the promise a clients story makes and the experience people might have. What I try to stress moving forward with them is the importance of an honest message. Hiding our real capacity from other people will eventually lead to diminish our capacity for real. This is not about lying, it’s about being transparent. And once you cross the line it becomes a slippery slope becoming impossible to ever catch up!


Whenever I give seminars on branding and social media I use a great definition Howard Levy, Principal of Red Rooster Group shared with me.

Promise + Experience = Brand


I like it because it’s such a simple way to understand that an experience that doesn’t live up to a firm or organizations promise impacts how their brand is seen not to mention their bottom line. The lesson that keeps resonating with me is something a mentor shared with me years ago, “under promise and over deliver.” It sounds so simple and so logical that we almost take it for granted. And now with social media and ambient awareness, it’s a big, virtual world out there and whether you like it or not, people are talking about you! Every time you can give more than promised it’s like giving a little present that people aren’t expecting.

*Oh, and by the way Neal Mendelsohn is my very talented cousin. (My dads brothers left NY to follow their dreams in California in the 60s and their kids never looked back) Visit his blog: staytruetoyourbrand.com

–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group