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Category: Account Service

Good Brand Strategy Is Good Business Strategy

Posted on by Bill Barna, Account Executive

I lived the life of an entrepreneur (genetic-testing startup) a few years ago. The experience left me wiser but, sadly, a billion dollars short of the Zuckerberg, Musk and Bezos billionaire entrepreneur club. Luckily for me and this story, there were lemonade-out-of-lemons moments to make the time a lasting asset.

The experience affirmed, for instance, something I knew but didn’t always verbalize: specifically, the similarities between brand strategy and being a successful entrepreneur. The success of each I believe is grounded in five similar tenets. 

The first is vision. Successful entrepreneurs and brand strategists are always on the lookout for opportunity in markets. Each looks at today to see what is possible for tomorrow and uses business acumen and intuition to make a plan for growth. 

The second similarity is a focus on relevant differences. Strategists and entrepreneurs know sales and brand loyalty growth require distinguishing what you sell from what your competitors do. Entrepreneurs seeking funding know too that the first question investors will ask is “How are you different?” Failing to answer means there will be no second question and no funding. The value should be ownable (no other company can say the same thing) and voiced consistently across all touch points.

The third tenet is customer focus. Brand strategy and good entrepreneurs look at problems through the eyes of the customer to start and sustain conversations and sales.

Urgency is the next of similarities. It’s critical in entrepreneurship and often not a high priority in everyday business. Funding isn’t finite in the entrepreneurial world. Investors may give a fledgling business 18 months to show a profit. Brand strategy can bring that “clock is ticking” energy and drive established brands to hit key marketing KPIs.

The final and most important of the tenets is a bottom-line mindset. Making money is the goal for brand strategy as it is for entrepreneurs. Success in competitive, crowded marketplaces means walking a fine line between dreaming and getting lost in your dreams. Discipline is a must because the bottom line needs to be, well, the bottom-line of all marketing efforts.

So when you’re ready for next level growth, think like an entrepreneur and put an experienced brand strategy team to work for your business. The outcome will be a results-oriented plan of action and, who knows, maybe even a Zuckerberg-like success.

Smith Kroeger is a full-service advertising agency grounded in business. We offer proven, imaginative, ROI-driven brand strategy services to clients big and small in a variety of industries.

How to Know if You Should Hire an Agency

Posted on by Annie Bradford, Associate Account Executive

In today’s quickly evolving marketing landscape, managing a campaign  – or multiple campaigns – on top of all of the other communication duties can become time-consuming, labor-intensive and challenging for an in-house team to keep up with. 

Fortunately, changes in marketing opportunities has positioned businesses to target new audiences through innovative marketing tactics. Staying up-to-date with trends can be rewarding to early adopters, but can be damaging to brands who don’t evolve with competitors. 

Without an outside perspective, how do you know if you’re staying current with marketing trends? Or using a marketing budget effectively? Hiring a marketing agency ensures that your company stays relevant with the target market, keeps up with marketing best practices and uses  a marketing budget effectively. 

Why should a company hire an agency to accomplish their marketing goals? 

  1. Time and budget: One of the first things a marketing agency will ask you regarding a marketing campaign should be your timeline and budget specifics. Projects should never take too long or cost too much. Staying on time and on budget is important for any successful marketing project. However, you should have an idea of what that time and budget looks like before starting to plan.
  1. Modernize: The explosion of social media and time spent on mobile devices has made it easier to reach and communicate with a business’s target audience through modern marketing strategies. Website development, targeted email, e-newsletters, sponsorships, public relations, search engine optimization/keyword search, addressable geofencing and over-the-top media are a few examples of modern marketing tactics. An agency will have the experience, knowledge, and expertise within these tactics to create a strategy that creates the best value and opportunity for a client. 
  1. Specialized knowledge: An agency is made up of people who are experts in their respective departments. Hiring an agency means you’re hiring a team of professionals in various areas of marketing, such as media planning/buying, marketing strategy, copywriting, design, video/photography, website development, social media and more. Collective knowledge will make marketing campaigns more effective by combining the expertise of 10+ marketing professionals to accomplish a client’s goal. This can be far more cost effective than augmenting your own team with all of these disciplines. 
  1. Consulting: A huge asset that an agency can bring to a business is auditing marketing plans and past marketing campaigns. Analyzing previous marketing plans, creative and media placement can reveal new opportunities and guide a strategy to set up future marketing plans to accomplish a company’s marketing goals, budget and timeline. 
  1. Unbiased Perspective: An agency brings fresh ideas, questions and perspectives, which leads to creative problem solving. An outside point of view can be critical to the success of a business. In the wise words of Albert Einstein, “No problem can be solved from the same level of consciousness that created it.” It’s natural for a company to develop tunnel vision and it’s hard to see things from a different angle, which is why an agency – which has seen many different challenges and even more solutions – can become a trusted partner to solve problems and build solutions. 

At Smith Kroeger, we understand that marketing is a process. That marketing process should always be examined and challenged, tested, optimized and improved – but never stopped. If you want to learn more how to advance your business through marketing, read our team’s insights on our blog and reach out at SmithKroeger.com.

When Is It Time for a Rebrand? Signs From the Pros

Posted on by Mike Duman, EVP Co-Creative Director

First thing’s first: What is a brand? In reality, it can be one or more of the following:

  • A promise
  • A logo
  • A reputation

Really, a brand is the sum of what comes to mind when people think of you. It’s the culmination of thoughts and images that enter a consumer’s mind when encountering your brand.

We know – it sounds ambiguous. And it can be! But at Smith Kroeger, we have a formula to help our clients decide if it’s time for a rebrand. Often it comes down to a multitude of different reasons.

There are also different types of branding. Some rebrands might require only a few updates, as opposed to an entire rebranding effort that could call for a total overhaul of assets. Below are four examples of each type of rebrand – including Google’s latest rebranding effort changing their icon visuals from the former G Suite into what is now Google Workspace:

1. Brand Alignment

2. Brand Update

3. Brand Evolution

4. Brand Revolution

So, how do you know if it’s time to rebrand? Here are a few key indicators:

  • Brands need to be merged so that multiple products can be marketed together
  • The overall look and feel of the brand is outdated
  • A major merger or acquisition has taken place
  • Significant growth, change or service expansion has occurred

When thinking about the logo, ask yourself:

  • What emotions does it evoke?
  • What do you think about the color?
  • What do you think about the elements that make up the graphic?
  • What do you think about the font?
  • What do you think about the tagline?
  • Overall, what does it say about our brand?

These are the things we considered when Community National Bank Retirement Plans Division came to us with a rebranding project. In addition to these foundational questions, Smith Kroeger implemented a research process that included an assessment of the competitive landscape, distribution of an online survey to customers and phone interviews with employees and select customers.

The new logo chosen used the bank’s original burgundy color and a slightly updated crescent “C,” which were unique and important to the brand, but added orange for a dynamic highlight. The shortened name CNB Custody and the tagline both resulted from our customer research. They defined and differentiated the organization and positioned it as a premier partner.

So where do you go from here? Start at the heart of your brand. Remind yourself “why.” Then, reach out to our team so we can help do the heavy lifting, from the website redesign to the digital and traditional media buys.

5 Ways to Grow Your Business Through Community Involvement

Posted on by Annie Bradford, Associate Account Executive

At Smith Kroeger, we strive to accelerate our clients by accomplishing their marketing goals, but as a company we don’t stop there. Smith Kroeger has been building successful brands locally, regionally and nationally since 1962 in Omaha, Nebraska, and we know the importance of a strong and involved community. 

If you’re a small-business owner looking for ways to make authentic connections in the community while simultaneously improving your brand reputation and public awareness, consider some different ways you and your employees can get involved. 

5 ways a business can get involved in its community:

1. Shop and Partner Local

Shopping locally makes an investment back into your community. For every $100 spent in your area, around $68 returns back into your local community, while only around $43 stays when you shop at a chain store. 

Area businesses can support each other by partnering to cater lunches from local restaurants, printing branded merchandise at an in-town shop, ordering office supplies in-store rather than online, featuring neighborhood businesses on your social media and so much more. Being mindful is the key to shopping local. 

2. Promote Volunteering

In every community there are many opportunities for people to get involved with nonprofits, but a big reason people don’t volunteer is they don’t have the time. Encouraging employees to take PTO to volunteer or scheduling opportunities during office hours not only gives them a chance to make time for giving back, it helps employees feel more connected to the company and the leadership teams they’re working for.  

3. Donate to a Local Cause

Same as donating your valuable time volunteering, donating financially to an area cause or nonprofit organization is invaluable as well, and can open the doors for additional volunteering opportunities in the future. Can’t swing a financial contribution this year? Consider donating your business’s services at a discounted rate. Donating your time, money or event space makes a big impact within a local organization. 

4. Become a Mentor 

A mentorship can be between colleagues, a professional and a student, or business owner to business owner. Learn and grow from each other. A mentorship program within a business’s organization builds employee engagement, increases employee retention and improves productivity. Also, getting involved in mentorship helps fuel success within a community’s youth. How can you share what you know to grow people around you?

5. Start an Internship Program

An internship program increases the local workforce in a community by retaining young workers. Interns can bring energy and a positive work ethic, which can improve a business’s work culture. Interns are generally eager to learn more and easily accept any undertakings.

There are many ways to get involved in the neighborhood and it’s important to make your presence known. Getting involved shows the community that you care, but it also builds relationships and generates trust with your customers that can lead to even more business down the road.

A community is only as strong as the people who decide to get involved. Reveal the human side of your business and get out there!

Alisa Suntken
Digital Content Designer

Alisa adores the outdoors and spends as much time as she can hiking and camping. She’s a creative at heart, which accounts for her moustache tattoo. She also spent two years in the events industry managing venues (sadly, all of them indoors).

1 year at sk

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Robbie Owens
Web Designer & Email Specialist

Family, music, autos and websites are Robbie’s passions. On weekends you’ll find him with his wife and daughters at a car show or other community event. If there was such a thing as a model-car-building convention, you’d find them there, too.

4 years at SK

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