Bob Cargill’s Marketing Show

A Chat with Kate Cwieka about Marketing During a Pandemic

Episode 98 - A Chat with Kate Cwieka about Marketing During a Pandemic

I had an excellent conversation recently with Avidia Bank's Katelin Cwieka recently about marketing and social media during a pandemic.

 

These are difficult times for everyone. We all need to hunker down and take care of ourselves, our families, our friends, our colleagues, our neighbors, even complete strangers.

 

As professionals, of course, this is not business as usual. How can companies and organizations adjust what they're saying to their customers and prospects in order to show empathy, concern, support and understanding. That's what Kate and I talk about during this conversation. Listen...

 

Kate Cwieka, AVP - Communications Manager, Marketing, Avidia Bank 

This social media marketing maven got her start with her own fashion and event blog.  After working as a freelancer and agency, she moved on to the financial marketing life at Avidia Bank.  

Kate isn’t limited to marketing and banking.  Kate is a lover of music and IPAs, so you may have even heard that she coordinated a beer collaboration between Avidia Bank and a local brewery which was launched at a music festival!  Her quest is to find ways she can make Avidia stand out in the market, usually through a long, thought out PR Stunt.  You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @BankSmartKATE.

A Few Words with Wendy Pease

Episode 97 - A Few Words with Wendy Pease

In this episode, I had the pleasure to speak to Wendy Pease, a Sudbury, Massachusetts neighbor and friend of mine, about marketing, communications, her company, Rapport International - which provides written translation, spoken interpretation and multilingual communication services - and how we are both dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. 

About Wendy Pease 

Wendy Pease is owner of Rapport International, a translation, interpretation and language services company that eliminates spoken and written language barriers in 200+ languages. Prior to this, she served in corporate senior management positions in international marketing and business development.  She has an MBA from Dartmouth College, and a BA in Foreign Service from Penn State. She’s a frequent speaker and writer on language, culture, marketing, HR, entrepreneurship and exporting. Wendy has lived in Mexico, Taiwan and the Philippines and is passionate about languages, cultures and communications.

 

Staying in Touch With Your Audience During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Episode 96 - Staying in Touch With Your Audience During the Coronavirus Pandemic

Al Roker is delivering his morning weather forecasts for NBC’s TODAY show from his kitchen.

Late-night talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel are presenting new DIY incarnations of their shows from home, too.

Popular musicians and celebrities of all kinds are live-streaming on Instagram, Facebook and almost everywhere else on social media, performing hit songs and connecting with fans.

 

They are doing whatever it takes to keep the show going on, making a huge positive impression on viewers and listeners during these difficult days.

Brands and businesses can be doing the same thing, too. In fact, some of your most meaningful communications could be taking place during these tough times. Your customers and prospects will appreciate hearing from you.

How Marketers Can Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak

Episode 95 - How Marketers Can Respond to the Coronavirus Outbreak 

Amid the rapidly worsening coronavirus outbreak, marketers, advertisers, brands and businesses might need to adjust, if not pause their messages to consumers.

It is important to be sensitive to the seriousness of this situation. The economy may be threatened, but lives are at stake.

Take a look at any of your existing marketing campaigns and make sure to bring them up-to-date. Authenticity is always a priority in marketing, but now more than ever, what you say to your audience is a representation of how you feel as a brand.

Business must go on, but think how you might be able to do things in a better way.

Think like CVS Health. They announced the other day that they will deliver prescribed medications to customers for free. That's a win-win situation if ever there was one. That's how to do things in these tough times.

What can you do now as a marketer, advertiser, brand or business to show that you care as much about - ideally, more than - your constituents as you do about the bottom line? #Marketing #Advertising #Coronavirus

A Few Words with Rebecca Lennartz

Episode 94 - A Few Words with Rebecca Lennartz 

In this episode - recorded over coffee at Cafe on the Common in Waltham, MA, on Friday, February 21, 2020 - I talk to Rebecca Lennartz, a trade show marketer and exhibit consultant, about marketing, social media and much more. 

About Rebecca Lennartz 

A results driven, detailed and creative professional who can help create and orchestrate a message when more than words will matter. 

A Good Bedside Manner Goes a Long Way

Episode 93 - A Good Bedside Manner Goes a Long Way

My wife, Barbara, wasn’t feeling well one day earlier this winter.

After talking to her doctor’s office on the phone, we decided to go to a local on-demand healthcare facility, CareWell Urgent Care in Marlborough, where she could get the quickest treatment possible.

We didn’t have to wait more than a few minutes before she was seen by two different nurses and thoroughly checked out.

Not only did she receive exceptional care at this facility, the medical team’s bedside manner was ridiculously awesome.

They spent a lot of time examining her as well as just plain comforting her.

They weren’t just extremely professional, they were incredibly personable as well.

BIG thanks to Kristen and Virginia, the two nurses who took care of Barbara during our visit.

You. Me. We can all learn a lot from this dynamic healthcare duo. Being good at what you do is one thing, being nice is another. Both are equally important. Affability matters as much as ability.

Every business and brand should care for its customers as well as this place cared for Barbara.

A good bedside manner goes such a long way, whether you’re in the healthcare field or not.

Be nice. Be kind. Be good to those around you in both your professional and personal lives.

A Few Words with Sarah Ginand

Episode 92 - A Few Words with Sarah Ginand

In this episode – recorded on Thursday, January 16, 2020 – I talk to Sarah Ginand about her work as an independent marketing consultant and how she provides her clients with such exemplary service.

About Sarah Ginand (From Her LinkedIn Profile)

Proven strategic marketing consultant focused on helping small businesses grow. Recognized as a versatile leader with experience in driving marketing strategy, planning, execution, and implementation. Expertise finding innovative ways to present implementable solutions to clients in the areas of strategic marketing; market positioning, competitive analysis, process improvement, CRM, social media marketing, integrated marketing, corporate communications, and training, managing, and mentoring staff.

How Close Are You to Your Customers and Prospects?

Episode 91 - How Close Are You to Your Customers and Prospects?

In business, we want to think of our customers and prospects as relationships, not transactions.

We want them to like and respect us, to think so highly of our businesses, brands, products and services, that they’re loyal to us forever.

We want them to feel close to us, to know that we’ve got their backs, that we’re listening to them, that we care about them, that we want them to be happy with everything they get from us.

I recently read a blog post written by Mark Schaefer in which he talked about something called parasocial relationships. As Mark explains in his post – which you can read here: https://businessesgrow.com/2019/12/12/parasocial-relationships – a phenomenon that started out in the ‘50s, with people feeling so close to the stars they watched on TV that they felt they were friends, is now associated with social media.

You. Me. Anybody can take advantage of this idea.

We may see it in ourselves as viewer, readers, listeners and consumers.

But as marketers, we can capitalize on it. We can use social media and other forms of communications to form long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with those on the receiving end of our content.

Bad Ad, Good Ad

Episode 90 - Bad Ad, Good Ad

You’ve probably seen the ad. Surely you’ve heard about it.

I’m talking about the recent Peloton ad, the one where a woman is gifted a Peloton stationary bike by her husband and looks like she’s under pressure to use it.

For many reasons, it’s not a good ad, if you ask me, and it has received a ton of negative publicity. The ad comes across as sexist, insensitive and out of touch with reality.

In a word, clueless.

The star of this controversial ad, however, Monica Ruiz, reappeared very quickly on screen in an entirely different ad for Aviation American Gin, which was clearly poking fun at the Peloton ad.

This time around, she’s sitting at a bar with her friends, they toast to “new beginnings” and she guzzles her drink. Too funny.

Not only did Aviation American Gin (actor, Ryan Reynolds, apparently has a stake in the company) move fast in rolling out this spot, they newsjacked the Peloton ad debacle and went viral for all the right reasons. Their ad was timely, funny, topical and authentic.

Good for them. Good for Monica Ruiz. Not so good for Peloton.

Humanize Your Brand

Episode 89 - Humanize Your Brand

Real success in business is achieved when you use real people in marketing and sales, real people in real time being really honest with their audience.

When I saw Mark Schaefer speak earlier this year, he emphasized the importance of being human as marketers.

I saw Seth Godin a few months later, and he pointed out that human marketing takes time.

They're both right, of course. Consumers are tired of being bombarded by the constant cacophony of cries for their attention from brands.

There must be a better way to win friends and influence people in business.

That’s why I’m such a huge proponent of social media.

Social media levels the playing field, making it possible for companies to engage with consumers - and vice versa - as human beings. Social media keeps it real, allowing for discourse and disagreement, ensuring everybody has a voice, for better or worse. Social media, used correctly, works faster than you may realize to separate yourself from the competition, connect with your constituents and turn prospects into customers.

Put a face on your brand and a smile on your face. Put the social in social media to work for you today.