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Archive for the ‘Force 5’ Category
2011 Winner of A Force for Good
Monday, September 12th, 2011 by Jason StrattonThe winner of the 2011 A Force for Good non-profit awareness contest is “St. Joseph County Bridges Out of Poverty.” The winner was chosen by an outside selection committee made up local marketing professionals. The decision was difficult due to the wide range of highly qualified Non-profit finalists. Congratulations SJC Bridges! And a huge thank you to all our judges and voters.
“The St. Joseph County Bridges Out of Poverty Initiative (SJC Bridges) provides an innovative community wide approach to seek solutions to break the cycle of poverty. SJC Bridges puts concepts, tools, and relationships in the hands of people in poverty. With our partner organizations, more than 400 people graduated from a 15-week GETTING AHEAD workshop where participants make a plan to move to self-sufficiency. We’ve developed innovative programs that support graduates to take the next steps through employment, gaining financial knowledge and resources, and building social capital and relationships with community allies. We have also educated more than 1500 employers, educators, social workers and other professionals and concerned individuals and provided avenues to get involved. SJC Bridges is changing lives, impacting organizations and advocating for community investment. We are a national model supporting and inspiring other communities in the region and across the country.” – Bonnie Bazata, Executive Director
Again, thank you to all that participated! The Team at Force 5 is committed to doing good work for people who do good works. A Force for Good is an annual contest that will continue to grow. Please share your comments and be sure to let us know if you became more aware about any of our 19 nominees because of this contest.
What’s Your Voice?
Tuesday, August 23rd, 2011 by Jason StrattonWe have all done it, you see a cute puppy or kitten or any kind of baby animal. Your voice changes to that of a 4 year old as you try to talk and make this adorable creature smile – “hello little puppy”, “Your soooo cute”, you get the idea. You’re probably saying it out loud right now as you read this – I did every time I proofed this post. This honest voice is to be pleasant, soothing, trusting or to just share a smile. Usually the response is great, you get a purr or a wagging tail or even some polite slobber if you’re lucky.
So how in the world does this relate to marketing? Ask yourself this – “What is our company’s “customer” voice?” I’m not saying to talk to your customer like a puppy, unless that’s your customer, but to force yourself into that state of being the most honest and polite voice you can. By honest, I mean that your voice, or the voice of your employee is the voice of the brand, and your staff are the ambassadors of that brand. The way we speak to a customer, the way we “handle” them are reflections of the brand. We’ve seen it time and time again—we approach a sales counter—no eye contact, no hello, just “what can I do for you” in a monotone. That is your first impression of the brand. On the other hand, the glad-handing, high energy sales rep with a commission gleam in his eye is also a reflection of the brand. So if the brand experience, not to mention the product, falls short of your expectation, are you going to purchase from that company again? Not likely. That’s because those companies don’t care, or are talking to you in the voice they think you want to hear. But when the voice and the product live up to or exceeds your expectation, you become a repeat customer.
When you get to your true voice, your honest voice, then you are showing your brand, your identity, who you are and why it matters. Those who take the risk of being out there for the world to understand receive the largest gains. It doesn’t matter if you are trying to build more likes on your Facebook page or selling million dollar yachts’, your voice needs to say who you are in the most honest way possible.
Here is a portion of the definition for “human voice” provided by Wikipedia:
“The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal folds, a body part, for talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, etc.”
So you see, we are born with the ability to change our voice, but can you speak to your customer, your staff and/or your investors in your best brand voice? Do you need help with your Brand Voice? – Force 5 can help. Oh, we can help with the puppy voice too. Our staff members, Brady and Sophie can be ready at a moment’s notice!
A Force for Good – Voting has begun!
Monday, August 15th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwZIP! POW! VOTE NOW! That’s right, the Force for Good contest has 19 nominees in the running for the $5,000.00 service package from Force 5 and voting is now open. The Team at Force 5 would like to take this opportunity to thank all who nominated their favorite local hero. Now we ask that you do your part and vote for your favorite non-profit. Pay it forward by becoming aware of all the nominees and the good works they do right here in our community. You can vote 1 time per 24 hour period during the 12-day voting period which ends Friday, August 26 at 5:00 p.m. So, make sure to tell all your friends to visit www.force4good.org and vote every day. The 10 NPO’s who receive the greatest number of online votes will be considered based on application strength, need for service and community impact potential. The winner will be announced on September 6, 2011. Here is a list, in no particular order, of the 19 NPO’s that have accepted their nomination. Good luck to all!
- Heroes Camp, Inc.
- Youth Service Bureau of St. Joseph County
- Big Brothers Big Sisters of St. Joseph County
- Hannah’s House, Inc.
- IN*SOURCE
- Unity Gardens, Inc.
- Heartland Small Animal Rescue
- Crooked Creek Ranch Horseback Riding Ministries, Inc.
- Food Bank of Northern Indiana
- YMCA of Michiana, Inc.
- American Red Cross, St. Joseph County Chapter
- Alcohol and Addictions Resource Center
- The Rhema Project
- The Rotary Club of South Bend
- Near Northwest Neighborhood, Inc.
- Fishing Abilities, Inc.
- Public Education Foundation, Inc.
- St. Joseph County Bridges Out of Poverty Initiative
- Neighborhood Resources Corporation
Force for Good update
Friday, August 5th, 2011 by Deb DeFreeuwWell, we are at the end of the first week of nominations in our Force for Good non-profit awareness contest! Last I checked, we had 16 nominations. Actually, there were many nominations, but a fair number were duplicates. You non-profits have a lot of fans!
I have been reading the acceptance write ups from the organizations as they come in, and I have to say I am so happy to NOT have to make the final decision! The descriptions of the passion they have for their cause, and why they feel they deserve the award, almost always brings me to tears.
We look forward to more nominations and eventually helping a worthy cause make the world a better place. You’ve heard it said, it is in giving, that we receive – I believe that is true.
A Force for Good Goes Prime Time!
Friday, July 29th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireA Force For Good makes it on WNDU News Center 16! Check out Force 5′s David Morgan on video here.
“A Force for Good” Non-Profit Awareness Contest
Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
Real Superheroes Don't Wear Capes
The greatest heroes don’t wear capes, can’t fly and aren’t from a distant planet. They are ordinary people doing extraordinary things every day. They lead, operate or volunteer at the many non-profit organizations (NPOs) in our community in an effort to make our world a better place. And like all heroes, when they are empowered, they become a Force for Good.
Our agency, Force 5, (South Bend) is committed to doing good work for people who do good works. So, we would like to help empower one NPO based in St. Joseph Country, IN, by offering them $5,000.00 in brand development and marketing communication services—enough to help them let the community know who they are, what they do and why their work matters. Because there are so many great organizations in our area, we need to select one that we can help empower in 2011. So, we’ve come up with a little contest called, A Force for Good. Our contest will allow anyone to nominate and vote for their favorite NPO.
Nominations will be open from Aug. 1st – Aug. 12th. Voting will begin on Aug. 12thand last for two weeks. Our selection committee will announce their selected organization on Sep. 6th.
Our “Force for Good” website and will have more details about our contest, selection process, and can be found at http://www.force4good.org. Make sure to tell all your friends to nominate and vote!
The SPAM Litmus Test
Friday, July 15th, 2011 by Butch Whitmire
As part of my role here at Force 5, I make unsolicited contact with potential clients almost every day. I do this through a variety of means - letters, phone calls, emails – to let people know about the great things our company can do for them. I realize my activity can be an invasion of a busy person’s privacy, so I always do my best to be courteous, professional, and respectful in all my communications.
Force 5 was recently contacted through our “contact us” page on our website. The email tone was friendly enough, but it appeared to be cut-and-paste and was written using bad grammar. At the bottom of the email was the following disclaimer:
Note: This email is not spam, it was manually sent by us, our sole purpose being to introduce ourselves to you with no obligation on your part. Your email address was found to be publicly available on your website and it has not been added to any list. We consider this to be a polite way to contact you and apologize sincerely if you have been inconvenienced in any way. We are obliged to offer you an ‘OPT-OUT’ from future mailings from us; should you wish to exercise this right, please reply with “OPT-OUT” in the subject field.
Polite enough, I think. So, what do you think? Was this SPAM or not?
My litmus test: if you have to explain to someone why it’s not SPAM then it probably is.
Bringing Next Generation to This Generation
Thursday, July 7th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireForce 5 remains steadfast in its commitment to be a “next generation brand development and marketing communications firm.” Determing what that next generation technology is and how to bring it to clients in an effective and practical way is the real challenge in fullfilling our commitment.
One next generation technology is mobile. Today, all indicators show that in the foreseeable future, mobile will play a larger and larger role in marketing strategy. As mobile continues to expand rapidly, enabling clients to embrace that technology in a manner that delivers a solid ROI is crucial. Recently, Visibility Magazine published a case study about Force 5′s client, Starcraft Marine. To help starcraft more fully embrace mobile technology and utilize their existing marketing collateral, Force 5 developed a practical mobile interface. (detailed info can be found here.)
The interface utilized MicroSoft TAGs, and Starcraft Marine’s existing video and web to leverage the growing power of mobile. Because it continues to utilize effective legacy strategies, this Force 5 solution brings clients closer to the next generation today.
The Cost of Free
Thursday, June 16th, 2011 by Butch WhitmireI emailed a respected marketer and he made a statement that was quite profound. He said, “Free stuff we’ll take all day long. But I also don’t want to work with somebody who gives away their products or services too cheap – if they can’t sell their own stuff, how can they help me sell mine?”
I loved his perspective in a time when open source code, free downloads, Groupons, free newsletters, “kids eat free,” are running rampant. People seem to crave “free” and statistically, they move in big numbers when the see the word “free” attached to a marketing campaign. However, I have big concerns with “free” (or the ridiculously reduced.)
As I wrote in an earlier post about scarcity, for things to be valuable people must perceive them as both a) useful and b) scarce. So, when we say something is “free” (meaning zero monetary value) people intuit that the service or good is either not very useful to them or it is abundantly available to all. Free lowers perceived value.
Another reason I am concerned about free is that people intrinsically intuit that “nothing is free.” So, clients assume there are strings or other cost attached. For example, our developers utilize an amazing open-source CMS/CMF called Drupal. This PHP-based code is available to us and everyone for no cash outlay. However, learning Drupal has been anything but free to Force 5. Our team has invested scores and scores of unbillable R&D hours to learn this protocol. “Free” usually has a cost attached – somewhere.
So, why are so many sales people and marketers using “free” (or ridiculously under-priced) to gain business? For me, there are only four plausible explanations:
1) You are lowering the barrier to entry. Free trials can lead to sales but they must be made scarce; meaning they are limited. Free one time to get to know your product or service. After that, it’s time to charge – drug dealers have known this for years.
2) You are relying on the social norm of reciprocity. (You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.) This is a risky approach. As I mentioned, people usually assume “nothing is for free” so they will take and take from you with little compulsion to give you anything in return.
3) You don’t believe your product or service is really very valuable. If this is the case, it’s time for a gut check. It’s time to evaluate and change your product or service to meet the demands of a crazily competitive market.
4) You’re a little lazy or at least not very creative. Free is easy. Free is fast. Free is simple. Free creates a lot of activity. Free doesn’t require you to make a compelling case for your product. Maybe it’s time to work on your marketing or selling skills, at least a little.
So the question must be asked: Are you overusing “free” and at what cost?
