Speaking 101: How to Keep Your Branding Consistent

“Your brand is your promise to your customer. [It] is derived from who you are, who you want to be and who people perceive you to be."

- John Williams, Founder of CMOsmart

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Whether you’re a VP within a large organization or a small business owner, an effective brand strategy is what gives you the edge in an already saturated market.

Your brand is what lets customers know what they can expect from you. Here, we've pulled together a list of four key elements you need to get the word out and establish a consistent brand:

• Logo. You need a unique logo that won’t need to be changed every year. Once it's perfected, place it everywhere. Note: This may require an investment in time and resources. (Consider hiring a designer to ensure your logo is done correctly the first time.)

• Messaging. Spend time developing your key messages, slogan or tagline, etc. There’s nothing like a catchphrase to capture attention and help customers remember what your company has to offer.

• Templates and standards for marketing materials. To maintain consistency and establish your company’s visual brand identity, use the same color scheme, font, and logo placement on your website, social media profiles, and non-digital assets.

• Voice. Again, consistency is important. Will your brand have a formal, polished tone, or are you more like Wendy’s, whose Twitter account roasts anyone brave enough to take them on? (Looking for more great social media voices?)

While each of these elements is important, your company’s mission is the most essential. Don't sweat the small stuff - like your logo - until after you've properly defined your company’s purpose and have the means to deliver upon promises. There’s no point in developing stellar marketing materials if your services are unreliable.

For more branding rules your company needs to survive, check out this article.

Why Smart CEOs Are Social CEOs

These days, it’s a given that your company needs to have an active social media presence. But what about the members of your C-suite?

A recent Edelman study revealed 78% of the highest-rated CEOs were present on social media channels. Executives like Marc Benioff utilize social media to not only share company updates but also provide insight into aspects of their personal lives.

When used correctly, CEOs can use platforms like Twitter and LinkedIn to expand thought leadership and boost marketing efforts. However, the benefits gained by engaging on social go beyond boosting business. Compared to peers who are not active on social media, Social CEOs are 89% better at empowering others, 52% stronger at communications, 46% more influential, and 36% better at cultivating networks. 

Here are four other reasons why CEOs should make time for social:

1. Connect with customers: Not only does social provide a direct line of communication with those who purchase your product, but it’s a practical way to always have a finger on the pulse of your company and industry. A good example is when Airbnb’s Brian Chesky took to Twitter last year to ask people what they wanted his company to launch in 2017.

2. Build trust: 80% of consumers are more likely to trust a company whose CEO uses social. Think of social as a place to share details that humanize you and prove your accessibility to the public.

3. Strengthen public perception: In the midst of a PR crisis, brands who put their CEOs on the frontlines see a significant boost in public perception. For instance, AirAsia’s CEO Tony Fernandes was lauded for providing updates via Twitter after an AirAsia plane crash in 2014.

4. Create brand awareness: John Legere builds time for social media into his day as CEO of T-Mobile. While sometimes controversial, he’s a prime example of the many ways you can use social to your advantage. He frequently engages in conversations with customers, and his public tweets help spread T-Mobile’s message and set the company apart as the “Uncarrier.”

For more insights about execs on social media, check out thesE articles, here and here.

¡Holy guacamole! cred turns 2

It’s hard to believe, but cred celebrated its 2nd birthday last week!

How’d we celebrate? We started by combining two of our favorite things: margaritas and man’s best friend!

On May 5 (it’s true - our birthday falls on Cinco de Mayo), the cred crew hosted Mutts & Margaritas - a “nacho ordinary” happy hour and bake sale for everyone at 600 California WeWork.

Complete with photo props, custom Snapchat filters, and lots of four-legged furballs, ~120 people attended, making it WeWork’s largest happy hour to date. The team also sold a variety of homemade baked goods and raised close to $200 for a local SF animal shelter, Family Dog Rescue. (Fun fact: Kyle, cred’s Events & Operations Specialist, adopted Seymour, a blind/partially deaf Border Collie, from FDR last year.)

With two successful years under our belt, the party is just getting started!

Cheers to a great team and many more trips around the sun.

Speaking 101: 5 Presentation Tips to Become Pitch Perfect

Whether it's for an intimate meeting or a huge conference, public speaking requires practice, and there is always room for improvement. Fortunately, there are a few tried-and-true ways to get ahead of the game.

This week, we’re taking pointers from Bill McGowan, Founder and CEO of Clarity Media Group, public speaking expert, and author of Pitch Perfect. We recently had the privilege of attending his talk at General Assembly, and also purchased his book!

Our favorite take-aways:

1. Don’t buy time with the phrase: “That’s a great question.” Too often, it’s used to stall or flatter, and people can see right through it. According to McGowan, this phrase is as outdated as telling speakers to envision the audience in their underwear.

2. Vary your delivery. Switch up the 3 P’s - that is, your pitch, pace, and projection. When delivering a key point, help it stick by slowing down, pausing, or changing your volume.

3. Never start your presentation with an apology. Whether it’s 9 am and you’re the first session of the day, or 1 pm and the crowd is in a post-lunch slump, don’t feel like you need to preface your talk with a “I promise to keep this exciting…” or “I just want to take a little bit of your time.”

4. Don't sweat the details. If something happened two years ago instead of three, don't worry about backtracking and correcting yourself. Press on, or you'll lose momentum - and audience interest.

5. Stop wasting time with sign posts. That is, there's no need to begin your talk with a preview and/or give a recap afterwards. As McGowan says, don't tell your audience what you're going to tell them, tell them, and then tell them what you told them. Instead, dive right in!

For more tips, check out Top Tips for Effective Presentations. 

What’s To Come In Digital Marketing? cred Clients Share Their Answers!

Last night, cred and The Commonwealth Club hosted an expert panel discussing what’s to come in the future of digital marketing. Panelists included Ming B. Wu, CRO of MightyHive, Nikesh Desai, CEO of InvestingChannel, Mason Garrity, VP Strategy of 3QDigital, while CPO of LiveRamp, Anneka Gupta, moderated the conversation.

What were the hot topics? The evening’s conversation circled around the past, present and future of marketing, issues around data privacy/intent, and the changing role of the CMO. The panelists agreed that data has become more vital in the conversation: from targeting audiences and understanding their mindsets, to driving content creation itself.

Who are the ones to watch? While Google and Facebook are dominating the space, panelists agreed that Amazon is a key player to watch. “Amazon is very well positioned; if you think about all the data they have, they have a ton of different ad formats they can use. They’re one of the companies that can challenge Google in the search domain as 50% of commercial searches are happening on Amazon.” -  Mason Garrity, VP Strategy of 3QDigital

What’s to come in the next 5 years? Machine learning will likely continue to bombard the market with advancements. As it becomes more integrated, panelists agreed we’ll see marketing become more predictive, rather than reactive, with more ads seamlessly integrated to enhance the consumer experience. Younger generations will also likely grow up interacting with other mediums and realities, so marketers will need to keep a watchful eye on AR/VR to connect with consumers wherever they are.

The panel in its entirety is now available for download via The Commonwealth National Podcast.

Yes, We Like Piña Coladas! (#credDoesCabo)

2017 has already been quite a year for cred - we’ve secured 850+ events, expanded the event management side of the biz, and seen a record number of referrals.

As a result, one SF afternoon in February, Executive Director Caitlin and Managing Directors Steph and Laura walked into the office, bumping “Escape (The Piña Colada Song)” with ice cold Coronas in hand.

The reason? A very unexpected announcement that the entire team would be going to Cabo! Cycling through stages of surprise, disbelief, and sheer excitement (but mostly disbelief), the rest of us were ready to spontaneously combust.

A few weeks later, we traded fog for sunshine and jetted off to Cabo San Lucas in Mexico for a long weekend. Not only did we have the chance to fit in some much-needed R&R, but it was a great team-building opportunity as well.

When we weren’t hanging out by the pool or catching a few rays, we took the time to really reflect on everything that’s brought cred to where it is today. We discovered the perfect team meeting location: Beachside with chips, guac, and margaritas; and also learned some fun facts about one other, including:

• Managing Director Stephanie once had a pet gecko named Winston. (She later ended up getting a henna of him!)

• Client Relations Jr. Associate Roya is a brown belt in karate.

• Executive Director Caitlin and Events & Operations Specialist Kyle were both elected Senior Class President in high school.

• Client Relations Jr. Associate Ariana has mad pool volleyball skills.

The trip definitely left us refreshed, rejuvenated, and ready to accomplish our next goal:

Confirming our 1000th event!

(Stay tuned.)

RampUp 2017 Recap

That's a wrap! For the past few months, we've been working closely with LiveRamp to put together the agenda and speaker line-up for RampUp 2017. (cred also helped with RampUp 2016!)

In its fifth year, the annual summit has carved a name for itself in the MarTech industry, delivering insightful content around artificial intelligence, data quality, mobile, and more.

One of our favorite sessions was "Hot Zone: The Marketing Industry's Most Difficult Questions Answered," moderated by SafeGraph's Auren Hoffman. To start, Auren offered a $2 bill signed by the panel to whoever asked the most controversial question. Touching on topics like data attribution, democratization and ethics, the panel featured: Kamakshi Sivaramakrishnan, Drawbridge; Aaron Bell, AdRoll; Brian O'Kelley, AppNexus; and, Kishore Kanakamedala, Google.

Another attendee favorite was "Proximity Marketing is Ready." Moderated by LBMA's Asif Khan, the panel featured: Thomas Walle, Unacast; Brian Handly, Reveal Mobile; Walt Doyle, GasBuddy; and John Dokes, AccuWeather Network. A key takeaway? Mobile without location data is just another screen.

This year, the two-day conference took place at The Masonic and The Fairmont, atop Nob Hill in San Francisco. In total, there were more than 2,300 attendees, 130 great speakers, and 55 engaging sessions across the Pre-Conference and Main Day of the event. 

We can't wait to see what next year has in store - hope to see you there!

Entering the Hot Zone...

For more insights and key takeaways from #RampUp17, check out the following articles:

• Gearing Up for RampUp 2017

• RampUp Day One: Key Takeaways

• RampUp: Blood, Sweat And Tears As Major Marketers Transform From The Ground Up

• RampUp 2017: Trends and Topics from MarTech’s Best

NEED HELP PLANNING YOUR OWN EVENT?

CONTACT EVENTS@CREDPR.COM.

South by Southwest: The Countdown Begins

Thirty years later, what was once a local music festival has transformed into an utter phenomenon as one of the largest, most influential technology events in the world. SXSW is iconic in today’s tech scene, spanning music, film and technology - it is one of the few conferences bringing together hundreds of powerful speakers and thought leaders across all walks of life.

Kicking off in one week is the SXSW Interactive Festival, a portion of the conference that features emerging technologies and innovative startups. This year, we’re excited to have secured speaking engagements for Tim Chang, Partner, Mayfield Fund, and Aarthi Ramamurthy, Founder & CEO, Lumoid.

The two will be joined by Steve El-Hage, Founder & CEO, Massdrop for a panel discussion on how eCommerce can still be successful despite the threat of Amazon, as well as how the “access over ownership” mentality has impacted retail. Check it out:

Future of Retail: The On-Demand, Peer Economy

Monday, March 13, 2017 at 9:30 – 10:30 AM

Retail, meet collaborative consumption. Pioneers of the sharing economy, like Zipcar and Airbnb, understand today’s consumers: we want access over ownership, and we want it now. More and more brands are tapping into this technology-impelled model for retail, offering services like peer-to-peer closet-sharing and the option to try-before-you-buy products. It’s a nod to the immense purchasing power of millennials–– and their unique perspectives on consumption. It’s also a sweeping transformation of the retail experience.

Speakers:

• Tim Chang, Partner at Mayfield Fund

• Aarthi Ramamurthy, Founder & CEO at Lumoid

• Steve El-Hage, Founder & CEO at Massdrop

Interested in any of the other speaker sessions? Check out the full agenda here.