Social Media

Bourbon is one of the iconic American drinks, and whiskey-makers in Kentucky are working to expand their market by pouring more money into international advertising.

According to Advertising Age, bourbon companies have started enjoying better sales overseas, driven in part by their marketing efforts, "favorable trading conditions … and a growing appetite among foreigners for U.S. liquor."

The author of "Bourbon, Straight: The Uncut and Unfiltered Story of American Whiskey," Charles Cowdrey, told Advertising Age that foreign consumers love American products. He noted that brands are packaging their goods - be they jeans, movies or whiskey - as America itself.

Domestically, higher liquor sales could also be a good indicator of economic conditions. The San Francisco Chronicle reports that following the release of the Distilled Spirits Council's annual industry review, analysts were saying the 4 percent increase in liquor sales was a sign that consumers were feeling more confident in the economy.

Council president and CEO Peter Cressy commented that social media development and other forms of "marketing innovation" also improved the sector's performance, as quoted by the newspaper.

Local beer brewers in Danville, Kentucky, have found a new marketing angle to draw in tourists and compete with the state's bourbon market, the Advocate-Messenger reports.

A coalition of breweries have signed on to be part of "The Brewgrass Trail," which lists a number of local establishments that are located across the Bluegrass state. 

"Marketing to the growing 'beer tourist' segment has shown great promise and is seen in the exploding growth of breweries, specialty shops and craft beer bars across the Bluegrass," Adam Johnson, executive director of the Danville/Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau, told the newspaper. "Our hope is to make things easier for the culinary traveler to find these uniquely Kentucky beer spots with this website and social networking campaign."

The trail's website lists a number of independent brewers, many of which are located in Lexington. It also offers directions for the wandering beer tourist and links to its social media sites - Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

Content marketing is becoming an increasingly popular and effective tactic in the advertising industry, and the Brewgrass Trail is doing anything but falling off the bandwagon. It's website features a news feed with updates about the latest happenings in the Kentucky microbrew industry.

Perhaps in an attempt to drive up public engagement rates, the University of Akron is asking for input on which television ad it should pick to air in Northeast Ohio during the Super Bowl.

The slot is a part of the school's "Energy of Innovation" campaign, the Plain Dealer reports, a program that also features radio, TV and print ads.  

Crain's Cleveland Business reports that the school has advertised in the Super Bowl every year since 1999, with this year's commercial focuses on the various types of research the university conducts.

One commercial features a contact for diabetics that is in the works, while the second covers how nanotechnology could mimic gecko's adhesive abilities.

"The campaign is really focusing on the practical benefits of the research that has come out of the university," Wayne Hill, UofA's associate vice president and chief marketing officer, told the news outlet.

Members of the public will be able to vote for their favorite TV ad between now and Friday at midnight, and can also interact with the campaign through its social media and online components.

A common stereotype of artists is that most of them are starving, because they can't get anyone to pay for their work. Kentucky is working to break that stigma by offering marketing programs to local professional artists.

The Kentucky Arts Council is rolling out several programs, grants and educational webinars to help artists learn how to brand themselves, advertise their products, secure funding and find clients. The agency will set up directories for teaching artists, performing artists, architectural artists and crafters.

Other programs include sessions on using social media to "be everywhere, all the time." The webinar, set for April 16, will address how artists can spread the word about their pieces and their ideas through social networks while also connecting with colleagues and their audiences, the council said.

The council also advertises a number of competitions, open contracts, workshops and exhibitions. 

One such exhibit will be a March event called Kentucky Crafted: The Market. The Lexington-based marketing and sales event has been running for three decades and attracts a number of art creators and buyers. Books, films, specialty food products, music and other forms of art will be available for purchase.

Ohio lawmakers and others who want to stub out smoking in the state have worked fiercely to develop smoke-free rules, but their marketing needs more spark, The Plain Dealer reports.

According to the newspaper, the annual American Lunch Association's State of Tobacco Control failed Ohio when it came to its efforts to prevent tobacco use. Even though smoking creates a $9 billion annual bill for the state, it has not invested in promoting a smoke-free lifestyle or curbing the rising smoking rate. Terry Allan, leader of the Cuyahoga County health department, told the news outlet that this rate had grown in proportion to the drop in advertising, cessation and education spending.

In 2009, Ohio shelled out $6 million for anti-smoking programs, but in the last fiscal year spent nothing. The smoking rate jumped from 20.1 percent to 22.5 percent over that period.

"We know from looking at other states that this law needs to be complemented by other efforts that include peer-to-peer education, counter marketing and the promotion of smoke-free schools," Allan said.

Yet Ohio is not alone in its cuts to anti-smoking advertising. WNED reports that New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has proposed a budget that would slash $5 million from the state's anti-tobacco programs.

A major multi-national company is getting help on its Super Bowl marketing campaign from an Indianapolis business.

Skydive Indianapolis was recently enlisted by Visa to help it stage a skydive landing as part of its series of national TV commercials, long-form web film and online webisodes, according to a press release published by Inside Indiana Business.

"When you consider the investment it takes to do a national campaign such as this, it’s great to know a small business like ours was involved in such a high dollar marketing effort," stated Bob Dougherty, a skydiving expert and the owner of Skydive Indianapolis. Dougherty added that the experience would have benefits for both parties - Visa got its shot and his company may gain some national exposure.

Much of Visa's Super Bowl marketing campaign centers around the city. In November, the company announced its advertising push would feature commercials and webisodes starring a fictitious NFL fan who wins a sweepstakes, following his journey with 10 of his friends to the big game in Indianapolis. The company used a combination of social media, digital techniques and traditional tactics to spread the word about the sweepstakes.

In marketing, sometimes success is determined by the distribution, and sometimes it's all about the message.

Miami University in Ohio recently refocused its marketing efforts to establish itself as a school that offers a great education and good value, The Washington Post reports. That shift paid off, as the school measured a 96 percent jump in the number of high school students who submitted early decision applications.

"Parents want to know, what is my child going to get in terms of return on investment," Michael Kabbaz, the school's associate vice president for enrollment management, told the newspaper. "All we started to do was to be much more explicit about the outcomes."

Broadcast advertisements were part of the campaign, as were  billboards, Facebook and Pandora commercials. It also involved having teams of regional recruiters based in Chicago, San Francisco and Connecticut, the Post says.

The school is engaging in other marketing efforts, notably with the installation of a new scoreboard that will enhance games also serve as a tool for marketing and sponsorship, according to Mac Report Online.

Cincinnati-based marketing optimization software company ThinkVine recently announced that it had secured more funding that will help it develop additional ways to help advertising firms launch cross-channel campaigns and make their efforts more automated.

"It's a pivotal time for both ThinkVine and the industry as continued media fragmentation and an increasingly complex set of marketing choices are forcing business-to-consumer marketers to find new ways to plan and adjust their marketing," stated Mark Battaglia, ThinkVine chief executive officer.

ThinkVine said its products aim to make ad agencies' jobs easier, by creating tools that will give them insight into how their marketing materials are affecting consumers buying decisions. Battaglia also noted that by knowing which efforts are performing better than others, organizations will be able to devise strategies that maximize their marketing ROI. In addition to using the $8 million in Series C investment to "accelerate delivery" of its products, the company will also apply some of the funding toward its own sales and marketing goals.

With the proliferation of channels used for marketing purposes, adopting tools to automate the process can give advertising firms and their clients a competitive edge. In an article for Business 2 Community, Bob James writes that marketing automation can lead to greater collaboration between the promotional and sales teams in an organization, which may have a positive impact on their performance.

Unseasonably mild weather across the U.S. may be great news for most people, but for the ski resorts in northeast Ohio, no amount of marketing can convince tourists to travel to snowless peaks.

The Plain Dealer reports that several resorts have been forced to stay closed through December, while others have only been able to open up a limited number of slopes.

Steve Mackle, the marketing manager at Boston Mills/Brandywine, told the newspaper that the company was "doing the best we can with what we've got," adding that it was the warm weather that was causing the issue.

At least if it was cold enough to make the fake snow that so often powders ski slopes, "we could go an entire season without natural snow if we had to," he said.

In past years, ski resorts were dealing with another challenge, Advertising Age reported in 2009. Back then, when social media was first gaining traction as a powerful marketing force, consumers were making much faster decisions on ski trips because of the networks.

The magazine said that some slopes, such as ski giant Vail Resorts, started using social media and various other channels to engage skiers in realtime, rather than through more static campaigns.

Indianapolis-based TrendyMinds, a marketing, publicity, research and creative design company, has plans to increase its presence in the industry, as well as its physical footprint on its home city.

Earlier this year, the agency announced that it was buying the former Carpenters' Union Hall building in Indianapolis and would be spending approximately $1 million to remodel the facility. The new offices will also include more conference space, state-of-the-art communications technology and a rooftop deck for client gatherings and events.

Tyler Murray, the COO and senior vice president, said the redesign aimed to "spark creativity and encourage collaboration among our staff and clients."

The company has also pledged to create 20 additional jobs by 2014 to help fill out its new location.

"We feel very fortunate to be able to grow our company in Indiana," said Trevor Yager, president and CEO of TrendyMinds. "This expansion will help us to meet our growing needs and continue to recruit top talent and forge stronger relationships with our clients."

Other agencies in the Midwest are celebrating their own successes. In Kentucky, the Center for Rural Development recently took home seven Kentucky Association of Government Communicators awards for brochures, newsletters and other marketing materials.