When I Grow Up

Kicks for Kids, a non-profit organization dear to RGI, hosts a Career Day program for high school students to enlighten them about the possible job/career opportunities available to them.

For the second year in a row, RGI participated in the program by hosting a group of 12 high school students from Northern Kentucky.

We kicked the day off with a tour of our office, and along the way introduced them to employees and shared with them their role in the agency. Next our founder and CEO, Rich McGraw, talked with the students and told them the story of how he started the company 20 years ago.

The remainder of the time was spent giving the students a hands-on experience with marketing and what we do at RGI. To do so, we split them into groups and had them participate in a brainstorming exercise. They were tasked with creating a new restaurant that would cater only to teens. Through the exercise each group decided on a theme, color scheme, name, menu and so much more. They used all these ideas to create a brand board that they ultimately pitched to their client.

In the end one of the concepts was selected and than the group as a whole worked with a creative director to design a rough draft of the new restaurant’s logo. The whole process really helped to demonstrate to the kids the role of marketing, and we were able to demonstrate to them the different roles/jobs within the marketing world.

When they left, all of the students had an understanding of the marketing world and the opportunities available to them. And we like to think that we inspired at least one (or more) of them to explore a future in marketing!

Halloween Fun with Adopt-a-Class

RGI’s fourth year as part of the Adopt-a-Class program kicked off with a Halloween visit to our kindergarteners at Winton Hills Academy. Arriving at the door of Ms. Riley’s classroom, we saw what appeared to be an empty classroom lit only by a few strings of orange lights. We could barely make out the shape of desks and chairs in the eerie glow, but where were the kids??? As we slowly opened the door, the overhead lights mysteriously came back on and we were greeted warmly by the class. We jumped right into the Halloween spirit by acting out the poem “Five Little Pumpkins” with the kids, complete with gestures and props.

Following treats of apple slices and graham cracker snacks, and asking the kids what they were dressing up as for Halloween, the class taught us the “Alphabet Song” and gave us scarecrow cutouts they had decorated and signed. All to soon it was time for us to go, and like the five little pumpkins, we rolled out of sight!

Happy Halloween

It's an annual tradition this time of year at RGI to host a Halloween Costume Contest. This year celebrating her 40th birthday on Halloween.

Several co-workers donned Bengal's gear to represent the co-worker from her days spent in the 80's as a Ben-Gal cheerleader, while others represented what she may look like in old age. And one employee took a philosophical approach to the theme, and dressed as her inner-self.

All of the employees voted and wonderful prizes were awarded to the top three vote winners. A fun time was had by all! Check out the photos and see for yourself on in our Halloween Album on Facebook.

And you know they say "imitation is the best form of flattery." What do you think???

The Art of Inspiration

How many times have you heard someone say that there are no new ideas?

As marketers we see that as a challenge and are always trying to think beyond the everyday. And in doing so, continually strive to discover new, inventive and impactful ideas for our clients.

Inspiration can come from many sources. It could be from a book, a movie, a favorite piece of clothing or trip to a museum. Sometimes inspiration comes from the conversations we have with friends and family. Maybe it comes from a specific “need” but not being able to find exactly what you “need”…and thus the idea for a new product/service could develop!

Children playing and using their imagination inspired the timeless children’s toy, Tinkertoys. Charles Pajeau sat in his living room and, for the first time, really watched his children build small bridges with their collection of pencils and thread spools. Soon afterwards, he invented Tinkertoys.

Often times all it takes is stepping back, observing your surroundings and borrowing ideas from the world around you. We like to call this serendipitous inspiration!

And different things inspire people. Personally a long walk, trying a new food or perusing a store can stir inspiration in me.

But we want to know what inspires you? Where do you seek refuge when you need some new ideas or perspective?

Share your thoughts with us, because you never know what might just inspire someone else!

Are you ready for some football!!!

RGI kicked off the NFL football season, and our hometown darlings the Cincinnati Bengals with a tailgate party! The back parking lot was converted into a lively atmosphere with grilling, cornhole, some music and employee football predictions.

One lucky RGIer won a pair of tickets to the Bengals home opener, and a few others won tickets for upcoming Cincinnati Reds games. A modified cornhole tournament for a prize was held, with one RGIer ringing (all in a row) three holes in one!

Some employees showed their Bengals spirit by wearing orange and black, while a few others sang the official "Bengals Touchdown" song! It was a great day for tailgating and everyone enjoyed the beautiful weather and chance to start the football season off to a great start.

WHO DEY!!!!


To see the rest of the photos, check out the complete photo album on the RGI Facebook page.

RGI Tradition

It is tradition here in the offices of RGI to celebrate each months Birthdays and Anniversaries at a breakfast on the first Friday of each month. It’s a way to say we appreciate you and the work that you do to make RGI a special place.

Breakfast treats and juice were served…but more important than that a big round of thanks and happy birthday were served as well!!

This month was full of anniversaries…7 total! And 3 birthdays.

So, without further adieu join us in wishing Happy Birthday to: Kellee M., Barb P., & Judy J.

And Happy Anniversary to: Karen C., Larry M., Greg J., Tom G., Christian N., Mary Beth B. & Leslie C.

We’re a Nation of Pet Lovers

A recent survey showed half of all American pet owners considered their pets as much a part of the family as any other member in the household; while another 36% said their pet is part of the family but not a full member. As a marketer, this says to me that while pets aren’t the “decision-makers”, for some they are “decision-influencers.”

Some more stats that confirm pets are big business:
- Collectively, American’s spend about $35.9 billion on their pets each year.
- As of five years ago, there were more pets than people in the US: 377.8 million pets to 290 million people.

For many pet owners, their animals are a vital part of their life. And marketers can play on that emotional connection, even if their brand isn’t directly related to cats or dogs.

- Use messages that resonate with pet owners and clearly fit with your brand, products or services. These types of messages will catch the eye of a pet lover and may make them more inclined to buy what you are selling.

- Find ways to intersect your products with pets. One custom homebuilder started offering custom pet showers as an add-on for their homes, and the interest was overwhelming.

- Create a brand extension for pets, like the Harley Davidson’s and Gucci’s of the world have done. There may be ways for you to extend your brand to help pet owners pamper their animals.

- Initiate social encounters, like a Doggy Meet and Greet at a place of business or outside of “the office”. Providing owners with an opportunity to meet-up with other animal lovers will help to generate goodwill toward your brand.

At the end of they day, dogs and cats are more than just animals, they are an extension of one’s family. My dog and cat are part of our family…and they return the love everyday with their excitement for my arrival and many kisses!

What do you do for your animals to pamper them? Do you consider them to be a part of your family?

Beautiful Day for a Picnic

This past Sunday RGI held its annual Family Picnic at Edgewood Freedom Park. The day was filled with games, food contests, pony rides, water balloons, a pie throwing contest and more! Needless to say, a fun time was had by all! And the proof is in the pictures:






To see the rest of the photos, check out the complete photo album on the RGI Facebook page.

Shopping During a Recession

In this current economic climate many people are changing their shopping habits. Whether that means shopping at several retail stores to get the best price, cutting coupons, or even altering the products that they buy. And some shoppers who almost always just bought on impulse are now making lists and not deterring from those.

Major brands are even getting in on the change in shopping habits, and adjusting their marketing plans to reach their target market.

A recent article in BRANDWEEK titled Kraft Plays Up 'Fun' in New Jell-O Campaign talks about some marketing shifts that Kraft has currently implemented to reach the growing number of consumers who are shopping on a budget and are forgoing a dinner out for a dinner cooked at home.

Kraft had typically focused it’s marketing on refrigerated and pre-packaged gelatin products, but has just launched a new campaign that touts the fun side of a box of Jell-O. They are even branching out in their other product lines, focusing more on iconic and value-based products to help weather the economic climate.

And who hasn’t seen a commercial or print ad about a money-back promise if you lose your job, or aren’t getting the return promised. These offers now range from automakers like Saturn to Hewlett-Packard’s print services.

But does this shift in marketing message affect your product purchases? Are you more inclined to try/buy an item because they make a money-back or option-out promise?

Evian Roller Babies

Evian has brought back the babies from their 1998 “Swimming Babies” commercial and put a new spin on it. This time to get across their "Live Young" marketing message they’ve gone the viral marketing route, with a video depicting Evian-sipping babies, chilling out on roller skates, outdoing each other with their stunts, all to the tune of “Rapper’s Delight”. And at the very least the viral part seems to be working, with more the 6 million views on YouTube in its first week.

But for a viral campaign to be a “true success” it needs to maintain and/or further your brand, not just create lots of views. You want people to get involved and excited about your brand as a result of your campaign. And ultimately don’t you want people to fall in love with your brand so that they associate good thoughts with the brand and eventually will even buy the product/service.

Do you think the video effectively communicates the Evian “Live Young” slogan? Does it alter Evian’s brand character to appeal to a younger, more hip audience?

Share your thoughts in our comments section on this video and viral marketing in general.

What's on your summer reading list?

Summer time has officially begun, along with the weeklong trips to the beach and weekend getaways. And so start the ever popular published lists of the best summer reading.

And while we're sure there are a great number of fiction books on everyone’s list, we’d thought we’d provide some marketing and business books that would keep you entertained and maybe even help you in your job.

So, here are some recommendations from the RGI staff:

The Brand Gap: How to Bridge the Distance Between Business Strategy and Design (Marty Neumeier)

Outliers: The Story of Success (Malcom Gladwell)

Up the Agency: The Funny Business Of Advertising (Peter Mayle)

The Dream Manager (Matthew Kelly)

Juicing the Orange: How to Turn Creativity into a Powerful Business Advantage (Pat Fallon & Fred Senn)

Tribes: We Need You to Lead Us (Seth Godin)

My Years with General Motors (Alfred Sloan)

And here are a few favorite blogs that staffers follow:

Seth Godin’s Blog: www.sethgodin.typepad.com

Marketing Profs Daily Fix: www.mpdailyfix.com

The Dieline: www.thedieline.com

What are your favorite business/marketing books? Any blogs you find informative? Leave your recommendations in the comments section.

Happy Reading!

Chower of Baranding (Power of Branding)

Have you seen the new “SNICKERS Speak” billboard campaign? You can check it out at www.snickers.com.

Whether you like it or not, it does demonstrate the power of branding.

The campaign uses a new language called 'Snacklish' that incorporates its iconic logo and brand essence as its communication vehicle. The campaign doesn’t focus on the candy bar, instead using the brand equities of color and shape to engage brand recognition.

You can check out www.snacklish.com to translate any word from English to Snacklish. RGI translates to RGILICIOUS!

"By taking SNICKERS core equities like its unique ingredients and satisfaction, we are reminding our consumers why they love SNICKERS so much," said Carole Walker, vice president, integrated marketing communications for Mars Snackfood US. "'SNICKERS Speak' takes that to the next level by marrying SNICKERS core equities with the passions, interests and things in our guy's everyday lives to make the brand even more relevant."

What do you think of the campaign?
What billboards/commercials have you seen?

Here’s what some other bloggers thought:
http://theshermanfoundation.blogspot.com/2006/07/eating-snickers-may-make-you-nuts.html

http://advertisingforpeanuts.blogspot.com/2006/07/peanutopolis.html

http://adweek.blogs.com/adfreak/2006/07/this_cool_snick.html

Use the comment section below to share your thoughts or favorite Snacklish word.

Is your company prepared for a crisis?

A client recently contacted us during a mock-disaster drill, and the call got me to thinking about how prepared businesses are if an emergency were to arise?

Every business, big or small, should have a plan outlined in case of an emergency. It is much easier to handle a crisis with a plan already in place, than trying to work through it as it happens.

And a crisis can arise in many forms, from weather related disasters to product failures or even swift business closures. And as with anything in life, there are some situations that you simply can’t plan for, but having a basic plan in place before a crisis occurs can mean the difference between building a strong brand and just being another company that is criticized and looked upon negatively.

The design of an effective crisis communication plan will vary from company to company, but all good plans should contain a few basic components:

- A crisis communication team
- An internal communications plan
- A media strategy
- A list of potential crises/emergencies and plans to address them
- Updated information on the organization and its programs

These elements paired with a swift response to the media, public and customers can make all the difference when an unplanned emergency arises.

In the case of my client, they were holding the drill to ensure that in the event of a tornado all employees and vendors knew their role/duties within the crisis communication plan. And while the call caught me off-guard, we simply talked through our role and how we would help during an emergency. And at the end of the day I know I felt better prepared were an emergency to occur.

Does your business have a crisis communication plan? Have you reviewed it lately?

Seems better to take the time and resources now to establish or even update a plan, than to be frantically trying to establish one in the midst of a crisis.

Private Labels Gaining Share as Economy Struggles

According to The Nielsen Company, store brands are up 10% to $84.4 billion in annual sales across categories. And as the economy continues to struggle, it’s likely that more consumers will continue replacing their branded products with private label equivalents.

And today’s private brand labels aren’t the cheap alternative they were once considered. These products range from items that appeal to the economical and price-point oriented shopper, as well as gourmet and upscale items for the more culinary inclined shopper.

But with national brands one of the points of differentiation is trust. Many national brands have been in existence for years, or even decades and so consumers have been using them for a long time with consistent positive results. And aren’t willing to take a chance on something new and unknown.

In recent years both sides have come to the realization that in order to maintain or win new customers they need to create a positive brand experience for the consumers. And so the competition begins. With national brands looking to innovate and win-back the consumer, and retailers investing in their own brands more than ever, the battle between store brands and national brands is sure to get interesting.

And ultimately it is a win-win situation for the consumer, because both brands need to remain dedicated to providing a quality product that the shopper will want to buy again, and again.

Are there any national brands you just can’t give up? Or how about private label brands you’ve fallen in love with?

School's out, school's out...

On Wednesday, May 27, we made our last stop to see our Adopt-a-Class at Winton Hills Academy for the end-of-the-year-picnic. It was a fun filled afternoon with 15 kindergarteners! On the menu were hot dogs, chips and Juicy Juice. And no picnic is complete without mini-cornhole, juggling and animal bingo! Oh sure a couple beanbags almost ended up on the roof… but hey, at least the kids are cute. They’re a great bunch of little people whom we bonded with this year. From Drum Circles to Christmas Parties to Cookouts, we had a great time interacting this year.

Over the past two years, we’ve been involved in the Adopt-a-Class Foundation, which connects members of the business community with students in pre-K – 8th grades, to provide positive role models and help develop practical and social skills for the students. And we couldn’t be more proud to be a part of it!

Now when does the new school year start???

Getting a “Taste” for the Izzy’s Customers

According to a May 20th article on cincinnati.com written by Polly Campbell, “Taste of Cincinnati has been a reliable marker on the Cincinnati calendar ever since it was first held on Memorial Day weekend in 1980.”

Polly wrote about things that have changed over the years at the Taste, like location and participants, but she also mentioned a handful of familiar vendors you could expect to see. One of those tried and true treats and a client of RGI’s for the past four years is Izzy’s, a local sandwich shop and Cincinnati tradition.

As a familiar favorite, Izzy’s has been feeding Cincinnati natives and her visitors since 1901. Their website, www.izzys.com touts “World’s Greatest Reuben”, famous corned beef and potato pancakes among many other delectable menu items.

With this long and memorable history, plus the growing trend of brands engaging more with their core consumer, RGI and Izzy’s wanted to find out a little bit more about their fans. So that is exactly what we did!

A handful of RGIers set out on the first day of the Taste with 88° temperatures and hair-raising humidity to help out at the Izzy’s booth. We dove in headfirst and surveyed a sampling of the Taste visitors to find out who they were and what they thought of Izzy’s. To reward their participation Izzy’s gave out a 25% off coupon on their next purchase at an Izzy’s restaurant.

We met some great people, ate a ton of potato pancakes and reubens, but what we are most excited about is that the data we collected will impact the future of Izzy’s brand. The insight we gained will help us customize Izzy’s restaurant promotions and the foods customers love to eat! And that is just the beginning…

Great day for a race!

The 13th Annual RGI River Run, presented by Duke Energy and benefiting Kicks For Kids (KFK) launched the Tri-state's summer running season on Saturday, 5/23!

And this year’s run was full of sun, music and good cheer. It was nice to see so many people out to support kids with mental/physical disabilities and kids from disadvantaged homes. The RGI Brand was definitely out in force! The race was great, warm for a morning run but all in all, the conditions couldn't have been more perfect. As usual the post race banana and bagel were the "best I've ever had!" Music by the Rumrunners added a nice backdrop. They were rockin’ it out. This event only gets bigger with 1300 runners this year! The New and Improved KFK Brand was rolled out here as well, reflecting a new, more emotive and life-long approach to caring for the kids. Now it's off to the KFK Golf Outing!

Turning a Negative into a Positive

In the last several months, several companies have launched new products using free samples as a way to lure new customers. While at its basis the tactic has the ability to bring in new customers and build a brand, if all doesn’t go well there is a chance for a negative impact on a company’s brand. But with the right response these companies, and anyone in a similar situation can turn the negative into a positive.

Last week KFC partnered with Oprah to offer customers a free sample of their newest product, grilled chicken. The response was overwhelming, with their Web site being inundated by downloads, and according to some report stores have been turning coupon holders away. For a brand trying to convince consumers that it's more than a fried-chicken joint, the possible negative impact of the snafu is troubling.

And in this day and age, when a crisis of this nature can lose you 100 customers for every one turned away, a positive spin on the situation can make a world of difference.

Quiznos had similar problems with its "Million Subs Giveaway" earlier this year. They used customer service to help reconcile with some disgruntled customers, And in the end, despite the issues, Quiznos had built a million-customer database with which to begin targeted marketing efforts.

For KFC the overall impact of being endorsed by Oprah Winfrey could outweigh the negative impact of upset customers. And KFC’s efforts to remedy the situation, by mailing refunds in stages so people can enjoy their meal in a more relaxed setting, could go a long way to keeping and maybe even converting some new customers.

In most situations, a swift response especially if it appeases the masses and positions your company in a good light will certainly help to turn the negative into a positive.

RGI Joins the Blogosphere!

Welcome to the RGI Blog experience! Not familiar with who we are, well here’s the scoop:

• We create and activate brand strategy for customers, shoppers and consumers.
• We are shoppers, customers and consumers too, so our insights and opinions form the breeding ground for great ideas.
• We check our egos at the door.
• We collaborate with our clients long-term to build brands that are bold, responsive and whole.
• We are a talented and experienced group of people always challenging ourselves to take it to the next level.

And now we are bloggers!

We don’t want to bore you with a bunch of content irrelevant to you and your time, so we’ll keep it simple, thought provoking, and fun too!

Got some things you’d like to see us blog about…send us a message or leave a comment.

And keep checking back for new blogs and exciting news from your friends at RGI.