Looking for a Great Toronto Internet Marketing Job?

Brand Mechanics is a new 2 year old marketing firm founded by industry veterans Bob Nunn and Brian Larter. Based in Aurora, just north of Toronto, we improve the marketing performance of our clients by taking a diagnostic approach to their internet marketing. We use over 90 internet marketing tools, best practices and checklists to combine the best of online metrics with an award-winning history of building strong, sustainable brands for clients such as Future Shop, Harley-Davidson and Auto Trader amongst others. Brand Mechanics is also an entirely new approach to the old ad agency model in that it’s a collective of independent experts in 7 different but complementary disciplines working under one roof (aka ‘The Garage’).

The Larter building in Aurora, Ontario; home of Brand Mechanics internet marketing

We’re Hiring!

We’re looking to hire a ‘junior mechanic’. Someone who will join us in this unique venture and help us build on the clients and process we’ve created so far. We’re looking for a technical person who has a marketing view on life or a marketer with a deep technical side, love of analysis and metrics. You’ll be working directly with clients and have a diverse range of activities in this energetic, free-flowing environment but you’ll also play a key role on the team on the technical side. You’ll be a problem detective searching (more…)

Online Branding: The Power of the Google Doodle

I’ve always loved the online branding power Google built through its Google Doodles. You know the…

Some people say that Google built its brand without traditional advertising.

Poppycock!

Putting aside its current use of traditional advertising to market itself…(ahem)

…Google also was smart as hell to create awareness of which search engine you were using by occassionally tweaking the presentation of its name. Along with other little proofpoints of differentiation like the speed and quantity of its results…

…this creative way of building good ol’ fashioned brand awareness and corporate identity is one of the secrets of its success. Something Yahoo, AOL, Netscape and others missed. And something that continues to be missed by even big online brands today like Facebook.

(It’s also a great example to point people to who believe “no, our logo and corporate identity is carved in stone” point. It shows when and why you can play with corporate identity can be played with.)

Now comes some facts (more…)

17 Statistics on QR Code Marketing

Should you be adding QR codes to your marketing toolkit or is it all just hype? I wanted to know but most statistics I see are – ahem – slightly promotional (QR scans increased 2,340%!). Being a brand mechanic with a fondness for tools that work, I’ve been on the hunt for some real data and so I collected 17 stats on QR codes to share with you.

What is a QR Code?

Quick primer: QR stands for ‘quick response’ and it’s basically a new type of consumer-friendly bar code that offers faster decoding and higher storage of data. Think of it as a secret decoder ring you give your customers.

Usage of QR Codes:

• 58% of people say they aren’t familiar with QR codes. (Lab42 survey of 500 respondents, Aug., 2011)
• 64% don’t know what they’re for. (Simpson Carpenter survey of 794 online respondents, 2011)
• 28% of smartphone owners have used a mobile bar code scanning application like a QR code. (Mobile Commerce Daily, Jan., 2011)
• Overall, 11% have ever used QR codes (Simpson Carpenter survey of 794 online respondents, Sept. 2011)
• 6.2% of total mobile audience scanned a QR code in June (Comscore)
• 47% of people who did scan found them very useful, 20% said they don’t offer any real advantage and don’t plan on using them in the future. (Simpson Carpenter survey of 794 online respondents, Sept. 2011)
• The data on which gender uses them is mixed but usage clearly skews younger and high-income.

Barriers to QR Code Usage:

(more…)

Online Branding Case Study: The Toronto Ski Club

We were absolutely thrilled to see some of our recent branding work was profiled as Logo of the Week by Australian-based Logo Chief. Since the snow has now melted and there’s a couple of facts to set straight we should provide our own profile of this successful case study.

The Marketing Challenge

The Toronto Ski Club is one of the oldest ski clubs in Ontario. And, along with the Collingwood Ski Club, owns about half of the ski hill at the popular Blue Mountain Resort in Collingwood, Ontario. It’s private clubhouse sits at the base of Blue and was built in the 50’s after the founding members had strapped on their skies and discovered the superior skiing north of Toronto.

But the clubhouse needed a little work. About $3 million worth. And, in order to fund that, the club needed to put on a push for new members.

Example of Publicity for New Clubhouse courtesy of Escarpment Magazine

The Branding Strategy

The club had a lot of assets.

• A great membership base famous for its warmth.
• A rich and colourful history in pioneering skiing in Canada.
• Access to the best ski resort in Ontario and, through it, potential exposure to tens of thousands of skiers and potential members.

But the club, despite its proud history, had been under-marketed and the research we conducted found that 40% (more…)

If David Ogilvy Was Starting Today, He’d Be A Search Marketer

David Ogilvy was one of the godfathers of Madison Avenue. His book, “Ogilvy on Advertising” remains a marketing bible and his agency, Ogilvy & Mather, a worldwide force.

What’s interesting is how he got his start.

He sold stoves door-to-door in Scotland during the heights of the Depression. In becoming successful at it, he became fascinated in how what he said made a difference between whether he got in the door or not.  He learned, tested new approaches and eventually became so successful they asked him to write the sales manual for the entire company. By the end of the 30’s he had followed his interest across the Atlantic to work for Gallup Research. He later cited their emphasis on meticulous research and adherence to reality as a major influence on his thinking.

His Approach

“I prefer the discipline of knowledge to the anarchy of ignorance.”

“Do your homework. Study the product you’re going to advertise.”

(more…)

Internet Marketing Strategy: Do You Have A Tagline Or A Proposition?

Last week, in my monthly guest post on the Search Engine People blog, I provided the backdrop for taglines vs. propositions and made the point that, with the decline of interruption media and the rise of relevant media, the ‘Just Do It’ tagline era is over as you lose in internet marketing by being vague.

In this post, I’ll share how to find out what you’ve got and steps you can take to improve it and, subsequently, your online marketing performance.

Why Is A Value Prop So Damn Important?

Call it what you want: Unique Selling Propositions or Value Propositions. I think they call them props because they prop up an old business to keep it from falling down or, when done really right, they pull a business forward, increasing its speed to help it fly.

Whether it’s an email subject line, your Pay-Per-Click ads or the landing page, if you don’t have a good prop, your internet marketing is just going to fall down or just sit there.

How To Build A Strong Value Proposition

Here’s 6 steps to get you (more…)