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US Acrylic Launches Integrated Marketing Campaign For Clarus Brand US Acrylic has embarked on a fully integrated marketing communications campaign to support the unveiling of the company's new Clarus brand at the International Home + Housewares Show. The campaign, created by housewares marketing communications firm H+A International of Chicago, will include trade and consumer PR and advertising. "The investment we are making in this integrated marketing campaign is simply a testament to our confidence in the new Clarus brand," said Jerry Lee, CEO. "We believe that the campaign's awareness-building capacity, paired with the collection's innovative features, will position Clarus as a global category leader within the housewares industry."
Halligan Appointed to Board of The International CHICAGO – September 29, 2009 — H+A International, an integrated
marketing communications company, announces the appointment of Beate Halligan,
President, to a three-year position on the board of The International Center
for Exhibitor and Event Marketing (ICEEM). Survey Reveals
In addition, the Show will also include Special Features that offer practical
information, certification and in many cases, continuing education credits.
These include:
The 2010 AHR Expo is endorsed by 31 leading HVAC/R industry associations and is cosponsored by the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) and the Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI). The Heating, Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Institute of Canada (HRAI) is an honorary sponsor. ASHRAE's winter meeting is also held concurrently with the AHR Expo each year. Photos from the 2009 AHR Expo are available at www.oscareinzig.com/ahrpressroom2009 About the AHR EXPO Since 1930, the AHR Expo has been the HVAC/R professional’s best resource for new products, new ideas and new services. It’s a hands-on, interactive event that showcases a wide spectrum of equipment, systems, and components. This unique industry forum creates a dynamic marketing environment unequaled in size and scope by any other industry event. The AHR Expo is produced and managed by International Exposition Company, 15 Franklin Street, Westport, CT 06880; telephone: 203-221-9232; fax: 203-221-9260; e-mail: info@ahrexpo.com; website: www.ahrexpo.com. Financial Experts Agree: ELMWOOD PARK, NJ (October 7, 2009) – According to recent
surveys from leading business publications and organizations, participation
in trade shows and other in-person events is critical for producing profits,
maintaining clients, and developing new business. These claims are supported
through recent data published by Forbes, “The Oxford Economics
Study,” Wall Street Journal, and Tradeshow Week. About the Craft & Hobby Association Do Not Try This At Home: Best Practices for Non-Traditional Public Relations Most conversations about non-traditional PR involve social media—the newest kid on the block. A Retailer’s Social Media Starter-Kit By now you’ve likely heard many people discussing the emergence of social media technology such as Facebook and Twitter, but have you thought about how these increasingly popular websites can help your business? Sure, many people use social media as a means of entertainment, but don’t dismiss its value if the only information you’ve seen on these platforms surround Britney Spears’ latest shenanigans. Roger Halligan, CEO of H+A International, a Chicago-based marketing communications company and CHA’s MarCom agency, explains how you can use social media as a powerful marketing tool to help boost sales. Halligan commonly recommends five primary social media platforms to businesses for promoting their products and services: a blog, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube. However, for small retailers, he says the best and simplest opportunities for promotion are within Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube. You can use these social media platforms strategically to start online conversations about your store, its products, and your special events. If done strategically, these conversations can bring customers into your store. Facebook is a social networking site with more than 200 million users worldwide. It has a business section where hundreds of retailers from Macy’s and Best Buy to small independent stores have a presence. Within Facebook, you can set up a fan page where other Facebook users can become a “fan” of your store. Solicit fans using in-store signage and a sign-up sheet, as well as through a simple email to your database. You can also search existing craft groups, join them, and communicate with the other members, encouraging them to follow you. Once you have solicited and garnered a fanbase, use your fan page to alert customers to sales, send out special offers or coupons, and announce new product arrivals. Encourage your customers to post photos of projects they have completed using product from your store, and consider holding a special contest or giveaway for the best project. Your fan page will help build excitement and inspiration among your followers, urging them to come into the store to shop. Twitter is the fastest growing social media community with 20 million members and thousands more joining everyday. As with Facebook, Twitter is all about soliciting followers, exciting them through 140 character messages called Tweets, and motivating them to come into the store. Solicit followers much in the same way that you solicit fans on Facebook – through incentivized in-store and email promotions. Much of the same content used on Facebook, such as sale announcements, specials, and new products, can also be used on Twitter as long as it is condensed to 140 characters or less. YouTube has become the number one repository for video uploading and sharing on the Internet. Millions of people go to it everyday to watch videos for not only entertainment, but also for product research and business training, among other things. You can use YouTube to post video tours of your store, in-store events, product demos, and project how-to’s. Don’t have a video camera? Halligan suggests purchasing a Flip Video Camera - a small, high-quality, easy-to-use video camera that costs less than $200. Your content will appear in the results when people search the web for your store, or even for scrapbooking product info and project ideas, spreading awareness and creating excitement about your business. Find out more about social media, as well as other emerging technologies you can use in your business, at the at the CHA 2010 Winter Show. To learn more about the Show visit www.chashow.org. H+A International Launches New Social Media Group CHICAGO – May 28, 2009 - H+A International, a marketing
communications firm based in Chicago with clients worldwide, has formed a new
Social Media Group within the firm to help organizations enhance their online
presence.
“Social Media can be
a very powerful marketing tool if it is done strategically,” said
H+A International CEO Roger Halligan. “It can help organizations drive
sales, increase website traffic, promote special products and services, create
valuable new communities, and reinforce their industry leadership role.”
MARCH 2009 Need a simple solution to keep your show in front of prospective exhibitors and attendees year-round, but don’t have time for a laborintensive project? Consider an aggregated e-newsletter that repurposes news from around your industry such as the MarketPlace Monitors produced for clients by marketing communications firm H+A International. Using provocative headlines and just a sentence or two to pull readers in, the full story is housed on the show Web site. More than just show or association news, however, the Monitors provide news from industry magazines, related associations and mainstream media. Each issue also includes an item or two about the show — session and speaker announcements, special offers and the like — designed to build and maintain interest in the event year-round. In addition to driving traffic to show Web sites and positioning the show as a leading source of industry information, these newsletters add a vehicle for cross-promotional opportunities with other organizations, and sponsorship revenue.
Today’s Market: Spreading the Word In most cases, the do-or-die that the success of a tradeshow depends on is whether the marketing accurately hit its target audience and not only drove buyers to the showfloor, but also convinced exhibitors it was the place to be to sell their products. But, with red pencils carefully dissecting every bit and piece of show managers’ budgets right now, everything – including the services provided by outside marketing firms – is being scrutinized. Denise Paccione, president and CEO of San Diego-based Marketing Design Group, said it would be a big mistake, even more so when times are tough, for tradeshow managers to think about cutting back too severely on their marketing budgets. “We have to get people to our events, and we have to advertise and bring people in the door,” she added. “Statistically, if you cut your budget, you create the perception in the marketplace that (the show) is not doing well, and you leave the door wide open for competitors to walk right in.” Marketing Design Group handles the accounts of 12 Tradeshow Week 200 shows, and, Paccione said, “If you cut back too much, it sends mixed signals and people think it’s OK not to exhibit or attend.”
“Shows have cut back on other areas, but the ones we work on are all strong shows, and they know marketing is important,” he added. Marketing may be a key element for a show’s success, but, according to Jean Whiddon, president and CEO of Bethesda, Md.-based Fixation Marketing, which handles the Intl. Assn. of Amusement Parks & Attractions’ TSW 200 show, IAAPA Attractions Expo, and a new account it just landed, Pack Expo Intl., among others, that doesn’t mean it isn’t getting a closer look from show managers. “I think they are, rather than cutting, taking a scalpel and being very judicious about being conservative with budgets,” she added. “(For example,) instead of cutting direct mail, they are really looking at the list and zeroing in on people who might attend.” Sharyn Collinson, Fixation’s managing director, said other methods of marketing an event, such as putting a show’s conference program online as an e-brochure, instead of sending it out by mail, are being used. “It’s very interactive and a great way to reach international audiences,” she added. Kevin Miller, president of Bethesda, Md.-based Frost Miller Group, said now is the time for shows to be “marketing smarter” by partnering as much as possible. One of Miller’s clients, the quadrennial MinExpo Intl., also a TSW 200 regular, gave its exhibitors the opportunity to buy direct-mail pieces about the show in batches of 250 to 500 and send them out with customized logos and messages when it ran in September. “We sold a lot of those, and it doesn’t really cost that much because you don’t have to buy lists,” Miller said. Halligan agreed it was crucial for show managers to reach out to partners as much as possible. “We are trying to push the message that we are all in the same boat,” he added. “For example, housing bureaus tie down prices on shows way in advance. Now is the time to take a look at renegotiating those contracts.” The shift in marketing away from direct mail to the Web also is an effective, cost-efficient strategy, Halligan said. His company educates its clients on the benefits of search engine optimization and search engine marketing to get as much visibility as possible for the show, he added. “We’re pushing this really hard,” Halligan said. “On Google, you have to make sure you come out up top. Studies say that if you are not one of the first five (listed), chances are people will not go to the second page to find you.” Paccione said she helps her clients take a strategic look at their marketing plans and ensure they hit the right audiences. A big part of that strategy, she added, has been increased spending in new media channels and reductions in direct mail and print-media advertising. “Direct mail is not being eliminated all together because it’s still the most effective in bringing in attendees, but we’re cutting down on the sizes of brochures and only sending out things in standard sizes to save postage,” Paccione said. There is a downside to the urge to blast out as many e-mails as possible in hope of snagging attendees, she added. “There is e-mail list fatigue, so we also look at consumer behavior,” Paccione said. “People want what’s real and genuine, and they don’t want to feel like they are the target of generic marketing-speak.” Instead of flooding someone’s inbox with messages, another use of the Web that’s successful in getting the word out on the show, and likely more enticing for potential attendees, is social media tools, such as Facebook, Twitter and blogs. “Right now, the economy is forcing the shows to look at social media more than ever,” Collinson said. “We’re putting social media in all of our clients’ (marketing) plans. All of a sudden, they’re interested.” Miller agreed that Web 2.0 was an effective marketing tool, but cautioned, “I definitely agree show organizers should take maximum advantage of all the tools out there, but they need to be careful it’s geared toward their audience.”
NOVEMBER 2008 Public Relations and Crisis Management: The field of public relations has evolved over the past decade. While the framework of the profession has remained consistent, changes in technology have made information gathering and communication more challenging for public relations professionals and their clients. As media outlets diversify into online and offline personas and information, consumers become less tolerant of traditional styles of communication and the job of delivering important company messaging has turned from tactical to strategic. With crises of every flavor looming large on the corporate horizon, having a solid strategic communication plan in place can make the difference between success and failure for an organization. The Internet and social networking have changed the public relations landscape. The control over information flowing from and about companies to the media and into the hands of customers has been compromised. Roger Halligan, president of H + A International, Inc., a Chicago-based marketing and communications firm specializing in the exhibition industry characterizes the shift. “Up until 10 years ago, you did not have e-mails or Web sites. We delivered faxes [press releases] to the media. Now you have to be on top of all media including blogs. Technology has changed the way people want to be communicated with,” he says. Halligan’s firm is taking advantage of the shift. They have developed an e-newsletter format for their exhibition and trade association clients called the MarketPlace Monitor, which blends the spontaneity of the Internet with the credibility of the trade publications. The Monitor is a listing of links to relevant articles, white papers and other resources with brief descriptions of the content. Online videos have also become a very popular medium for some of H + A’s clients. “The Craft and Hobby Association produces a very ‘touchy feely’ show. It is a huge social media setting with crafting blogs and lots of uploaded videos,” says Halligan. The convergence of media has created a need for firms that can manage the entire marketing and communications strategy for clients. As the core competencies of advertising and media relations – formerly the domain of advertising and/or public relations firms – merge with expertise in social networking, search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimization (SEO), a new type of firm is emerging to more efficiently manage the flow of information to the end user. The field of public relations has shifted from a tactical enterprise to one involving strategy and planning that incorporates technology and new media. Halligan recommends a strategic review of communication objectives with clients at least every six months to discuss changes in the organization, business climate, customer behavior and potential risks and challenges. His firm also maintains solid relationships with trade associations, editors, publishers and thought leaders in order to learn about changes and trends that may affect his clients down the road. In addition to technology, changes in the global political and economic landscape have also influenced public relations. Crisis management has become an integral part of the communication strategy for many firms including exhibitions and trade associations. With acts of terrorism, weather disasters and financial market fluctuations now a part of the normal business climate, a written crisis communication plan allows a company to take immediate control over the flow of information in the event of an emergency. The plan should designate a company spokesperson to address media inquiries and disseminate information. It should list the procedure for communicating to stakeholders such as sponsors, exhibitors and attendees and list the cell phone numbers of internal decision-makers and key personnel. A quick response to crisis can make or break a company. “Get a statement out right away and only communicate what you know for sure,” Halligan advises. Proving a tangible return on investment for an intangible service such as public relations has always been challenging for firms in the field. Most firms with exhibition industry expertise provide such services as media clippings, advertising equivalency reports, attendance summaries, surveys and third party testimonials. With the refinement of Web monitoring tools, they may also be in a position to track Web site visitors, e-mail responses and online purchases. “The more that you can do to show your value the better, but after all is said and done, it is still a gut level feeling that clients get for what they feel they have received in value,” says Halligan. Public relations firms that have made the transition to marketing and communications companies able to manage information flow from a high level strategic perspective, stay abreast of changes in technology, interpret trends and crises in the marketplace and get important messaging into the hands of consumers efficiently, are an invaluable asset for many organizers and associations.
© H+A International, Inc. 2010 |
Roger
Halligan