Tragedy Postpones Branding
The tragedy in Boston on Monday was a horrific and saddening event. It also served a lesson in digital marketing. Monday afternoon was a challenge for marketers in the digital space. The ability to schedule social media posts and emails is a wonderful asset to marketers, and is a part of our distributed marketing software. The scheduling of social media posts and emails has become a common practice, and during the vast majority of times, it helps brands drive top of mind awareness and brand engagement. However, during a tragic event when lives are lost due to a coordinated act Read More
The Screens Are Seemingly Unavoidable
Many of our lives are consumed by access to devices with screens. You are reading this in front of a screen. It is possible that screen is on a mobile device. Are you noticing screens popping into your life in unexpected places? If someone is running late to meet you or going to the bathroom while you wait for them to return, are you engrossed in your smartphone? Do you see people with their smartphones at a sporting event or even when they are doing something athletic, like going to the gym or playing a sport? In an exercise class Read More
Counting Down to the Life Insurance Conference
The Life Insurance Conference* is right around the corner. We are only 5 days away from the start of the conference, which runs from April 15-17 in New Orleans. This blog has had a number of posts in recent weeks that have been centered around the themes of the conference. For a quick recap, I’ve listed our specific posts below. The Low Interest Rate Dilemma Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate Social media will be touched upon some of the presentations at the show, including “E-Processing: From Application to Issue” and “Social Read More
Where’s the ROI in Social Media? (Part Two)
In February, we posted Part One of this series. Part One was meant to be just an introduction to the topic. Part Two is a more in depth look, emphasizing mindset to measure ROI. One of the thought leading pieces on this topic came from a 2010 article in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Although a number of the examples are rather dated at this point, most of the key themes touched on in the article remain true today, even with the drastic changes in social media in the 2 and a half years since it was released, confirming the Read More
SEC Approval Shows Pervasiveness of Social Media
Earlier this week, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) released a report declaring that companies could use social media channels to communicate newsworthy events. A key caveat in this ruling is that companies have to disclose where they will be breaking key news items. The SEC report highlights the pervasiveness of social media. As an institution, the SEC is not necessarily known to be on the cutting edge of marketing communication tactics. However, the SEC has observed that companies are turning more & more to social media to get messages out there as fast as possible. The key driver in Read More
No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate
One of the themes at this year’s Life Insurance Conference is product innovation and differentiation in a low interest rate environment. In any industry, there’s a need to innovate and differentiate. Brands that fail to do this risk a loss of relevance in the marketplace; more importantly, they risk negative consequences on the income statement. With life insurance, product offerings tend to be moderately complex. It’s not a product category like racquetballs or chicken wings. However, the relative complexity of the category allows for life insurance brands to create and market products that can broaden the marketplace and establish points Read More
Nothing Foolish About Distributed Marketing Software
It is April Fools’ Day, a fun annual calendar event. What was once just a day for pranks has actually become a marketing event for numerous brands with the evolution of digital marketing channels. One of the best known examples of this is Google, which unleashes a prank on unsuspecting searchers every April 1. This year’s prank is Google Nose, a faux offering designed to produce search results by smell. While numerous brands use April Fools’ Day to get some publicity for rattling a few cages with a well thought out prank, brands in industries that are highly regulated like Read More
Springing Into Life: Does Your Brand Need to Revitalize?
In the Northern Hemisphere, the spring season is upon us. Spring is known as a time of rebirth. The brand world is not all too different from the world of living organisms. Like all living things, brands need to be cared for in order to demonstrate signs of vitality. This is the essence of the product life cycle, a fundamental marketing concept. Brands are developed, grown, and reach the state of maturity. A challenge comes in the latter part of the maturity stage, which is avoiding the onset of a brand decline. Through revitalization, brands can extend the spring like Read More
Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma
On March 14th, I posted The Low Interest Rate Dilemma, which detailed how the current low interest rate environment is impacting the insurance industry. At the upcoming Life Insurance Conference, this is going to be a significant topic. Low interest rates are affecting pricing, the price-value proposition of product offerings and a variety of corporate finance aspects of these companies. With regard to life insurance, some of the product offerings are rather complex financial instruments, but one commonality is that no matter how they are structured, they are negatively impacted by low interest rates. Generally, these policies invest policyholder premiums Read More
Is Non Participation in Social Media a Great Danger?
Trade publication “Insurance & Technology” recently featured an article about social media’s dangers. The article cited a quote from a VP at a life insurance company and a consultancy in the insurance industry. There was some alignment in their perspectives. The VP at the life insurance company stated that “the value in terms of selling” for social media hasn’t “warranted a huge investment.” The consultancy discussed the dangers in the social media space, but also mentioned social media monitoring as having value. What the executive in the life insurance company said may hold value in their organization. At the time Read More
