Free Food For A Little Market Research Assistance

Through the suggestion of a blog I follow, I signed up for the O'Charley e-newsletter. O'Charley's is a great family restaurant and having two teenagers it's one of the restaurants that we all like to frequent.

By becoming a member of the O'Charley's e-club I received a welcome email with a free appetizer. Score! We went out to eat that weekend at O'Charley's, and yes, we got our free appetizer. In fact, my daughter treated it as her meal ordering the chicken quesadilla. That saved us over $8.00. 

Last week I received an email asking me to answer a short survey. I guess O'Charley's was doing a little market research. They asked simple questions like: how many in the family, how often we visited the restaurant and if we came with friends or family.  The survey literally took two minutes.

After I finished the survey, I immediately received an email with a certificate for a free dessert. A thank you just for taking the survey.  Not bad at all.  So, before the end of this month, my family will be taking another trip back to O'Charley's for dinner and a free dessert to share.

Smart on O'Charley's part. By giving us a few free items we'll keep coming back.  Smart on our part.  By signing up for an e-newsletter we get free items.  Win - win!  Yum - yum!

Plea To Trader Joe's

I'm a huge fan of Trader Joe's.  For the quality of food, the value is superb.  Just one problem with Trader Joe's . . . . there isn't one close enough to me.

So here is my plea.  "Trader Joe's will you build a store in Lewis Center, Ohio?  Yes there are two stores in the Columbus, Ohio area - Easton and Dublin, but I see I huge need for one in the northern part of Columbus."

Let me tell you why:

1. So many people in this area love Trader Joe's!
2. So many people in the northern part of Columbus want to eat healthy but have limited choices.
3. Currently there are no health grocery stores in this part of Columbus.  The closest is The Raisin Rack in Westerville.
4. Delaware county, is one of the fastest growing counties in the country.
5. In the Route 23 Corridor - between Powell and Delaware - retail establishment are popping up very fast.
6. Plenty of land is still available in above mentioned area to build a Trader Joe's store.
7. Lewis Center is a community that supports its schools and community organizations.
8. Home to Alum Creek State Park and many bike and walking paths, Lewis Center residents live an active, healthy life-style.

If that's not convincing then how about a little market research:

1. The median household income is $81,769
2. Estimated median household value is $289,997
3. Over 11,000 people live in Lewis Center, proper - that's almost 5,000 housing units
4. Average household size is 2.6
5. Percentage of family households is 72.8%
6. The median age is 30 years old
7. Profits from business +$13,693
8. Surrounding nearby communities have median household incomes of over $80,000 with median ages of 34.

So, what do you say Trader Joe's . . . is my plea and market research convincing?  

If anyone would like to comment and add to my persuasion please do.  I would greatly appreciate it!

Benihana Columbus Now Open

Just came back from my walk with the dog and picked up the mail.  Nothing but a bunch of junk except for the Benihana postcard.  The restaurant is now open at Polaris Fashion Place.  Our family information must have been included in their market research so we received a post card. The card let's us know they are open and also gives us a special promotional offer.  If we buy three entrees before April 23rd we receive one complimentary entree.  Good deal.  

Good deal for Benihana too.  We will definitely use the offer so for one free meal they are getting three paying meals.  Also, Benihana used the card to draw recipients to their web site building up unique visitors.  In order to get the free meal you have to go to their site (looks to be a hidden page) and print out the certificate.  To get the certificate we had to input our contact info and email.

Looks like more Benihana marketing will come our way.  Hey, at least we get a free meal out of it!

Brown Bag Marketing and a Free Burrito

This Sunday's Dispatch included a Chipotle brown paper bag.  

The bag simply says - "How 'Bout A Burrito?"

Bring in this bag by March 21st and we'll fill it with one of our giant, gourmet burritos FREE!

Chipotle

Looks like Chipotle is doing this in select markets across the country. A quick Google search showed that they recently did this in the Dayton, OH and Phoenix, AZ markets.  Possibly a new market research study?

This is great marketing for so many reasons:

1. It had to be cheap - small lunch size brown paper bags (for 32 packs of 500 it only cost $12.60 each through Fetpak Inc.)
2. Printing in black ink is very inexpensive
3. Visitors getting a free burrito will most likely purchase other items - drink, chips and guac, or other food entrees
4. Creates awareness for Chipotle
5. Putting brown bag in paper is cheaper than paying a mail house to deliver promotional piece

Office Max is another brown bag marketer offering 15% off of everything in the larger brown shopping bag in the past.

The amazing realization for me though was when I pulled the bag out of the paper I immediately knew it was Chipotle even though the Chipotle logo was hidden by the fold in the bag.  Now that is great brand recognition!

Hope you found yours in the paper before you threw it in the recycling pile.  Enjoy!  All those calories don't seem as bad when you are eating for free!  Hey @CherylHarrison, maybe we can use the bags when we meet for lunch this week!

Lenten Marketing?

Today marks the first day of Lent.  An important season in the Catholic faith.  During the season of Lent Catholics prepare for Easter and one way they do that is to eat more fish.

So is it coincidence that yesterday I received a marketing postcard from BoneFish Grill, or a smart target marketing tactic?  Are they using Lent as a marketing angle?  Wendy's does.  If you've noticed, Wendy's only has fish sandwiches around the Lent/Spring season and they use advertising dollars to make everyone aware they do.

Maybe some market research revealed to BoneFish Grill that I was Catholic, but nonetheless it made me want to eat there.  I have made a mental note to make reservations for the restaurant one of these Fridays within the next 40 days.  

Bang Bang Shrimp appetizer, here I come.

Would You Like Cream With Your Coffee? Ice Cream That Is.

A co-branding deal has been struck between Tim Horton's Coffee and Cold Stone Creamery. The co-branding test in Rhode Island passed, so by this spring 50 stores in each chain will feature items from each establishment.  So now, you'll be able to get coffee in the a.m. and ice cream in the p.m at one location.  Could be a smart move since Tim Horton's is practically empty after lunch and Cold Stone rarely sees a steady stream of customers before evening.

This weekend the first central Ohio co-branded location opened on the South Campus Gateway with a few more locations expected to come later this year.

We can't wait to see the coffee and ice cream concoctions they will be coming up with.  We see unique coffee shakes, like cake batter cappuccino or ice cream mix-ins, like joltin' java and jelly donut in the near future.

Enjoy!

Social Media, Is it the New Marketing?

The other day I had lunch with a friend who I haven't seen in quite some time.  It was great catching up and sharing stories about our families and busy lives.  Also, because we are both in marketing, we spent quite a bit of time talking about marketing and social media.

My friend is the marketing director for The Diamond Cellar.  Over the years The Diamond Cellar has relied heavily on traditional media, mostly radio to market their message.  While this has been successful, they are now beginning to look at non-traditional avenues, mostly social media.

The Diamond Cellar is experimenting in Facebook and just recently built a products page.  You can see it here.  While there, why not become a fan, we did.  They are linking their page with the Facebook pages of the product lines they carry in their jewelry store to maximize their exposure.  Smart move!

I told her about Twitter and the benefits it has brought columbus imPRessions.  By burning our feed through twitterfeed, we direct more visitors to our site, and create awareness to our media followers on stories we want to get in the news.  It's almost like having a PR coordinator on staff sending out press releases on our behalf.  I highly recommended it for the Diamond Cellar.

I also talked to her about having a blog.  We strongly feel blogs are important for business. Because of the economy, potential client's are becoming more cautious about signing a contract so quickly.  With this in mind, we always encourage potential clients to visit our blog.  This is where they learn more about us.  Not only professionally but personally as well.  On our blog we share our personality, our styles and our feelings.  Potential clients start to develop a personal relationship with us on-line which makes them more comfortable and confident to do business together.  

I think a blog would be a great opportunity for the Diamond Cellar too.  They could include personal stories from customers, introduce staff, highlight product lines and the designers, use polling to get customer feedback, advertise exclusive promotions, and provide special offers to blog followers.  This would develop deeper customer relationships, give customers an interactive experience and can also serve as great market research.

We both left the lunch charged and ready to tackle the social media world. So charged it prompted this post and the word of mouth marketing for The Diamond Cellar.  The opportunities are endless and we continually learn new things each day.  

Jen, if the Diamond Cellar needs some social media pointers, let me know.  Would love to help and learn of other social media opportunities with you along the way.

How To Execute Your Nonprofit Marketing Idea

The other day we shared a nonprofit marketing idea that worked for us - the milestone campaign. Now that you have it, how do you execute it?  WHO do you tell?  

Making some of these decisions can be overwhelming, but they don't have to be.  You just need to focus.  Our campaign worked because before we started we did a little market research. We needed to find our "WHO" and then define our prime prospect or target audience.  Using surveys through mail, phone, and email, as well as internet research we got our answers and more.  We also found out what would keep our "WHO" engaged and loyal.

Our conclusion:

1.  We needed to personally connect people to our mission.  By doing so they would not only stay connected, but would invite others to connect to the mission as well. 

2.  We needed to define our area to "play".  Defining community areas within our demographic kept things focused and gave us a greater ROI.

3.  We needed to find ways to make a connection.  Because our "WHO" showed strong community support we used community engagement marketing to create awareness.

By staying focused we made a personal connection in the area with the greatest return using a strategic approach.  We created awareness, excitement, a sense of purpose and a call to action with successful results.

You can do this too.  Want to find your "WHO" and learn ways on how to engage them? columbus imPRessions can help.  Contact us at info@columbusimpressions.com.

Brand Extensions in 2008

Best and Worst Brand Extensions of 2008 (results determined through market research)

Best

1.  Coppertone Sunglasses - makes sense - suntan lotion and sunglasses are in brand balance with one another.

2. Mr. Clean Car Wash - cars as clean as floors.  Perfect marriage in our books.

3.  Campbell's V8 Soup - V8 juice has been the broth of my soups for years.  This one makes perfect sense.

Worst

1. BK underwear - have your boxers your way?  This one is just crazy.  No connection between burgers and boxers.

2. Kellogg's Hip Hop Street Wear - Tony the Tiger isn't that cool.  Can't image any rapper wearing these clothes.  

3.  Playboy Energy Drink - not touching this one.  Can't really see how the brand could extend here.

Best Cause Marketing Campaign

Girl Scout Thin Mint Blizzard supporting Children's Miracle Network. Even though this is full of fat, it's a good use of the brand/product for a great cause.  Not to mention it's delicious too!

Worst Cause Marketing Campaign

Pink Panther Pinkitude supporting Susan G. Kohman.  Not everything pink should support breast cancer.  When I see Pink Panther I think insulation.

Top Holiday Ads

When money is tight retailers tug on the heart strings to get consumers into their doors. Emotional branding at its best.  But does this type of brand advertising really work?

It worked for Best Buy this year.  Their employee's sharing heartfelt stories of helping customers find the perfect gift spot moved them up in the ranks from last year.

According to an Ad Age article, of the consumer surveyed only 17.5% felt motivated by the spots to go shopping, 43.5% were not motivated by the spots, and 39% didn't care what the spot was because they already shop at these retailers.

Did you have a favorite holiday commercial?  Did it motivate you to shop at the store?  We'd love to hear your comments.

See the top ten comparison below.

Top Ten Holiday Ads: Consumers rank the retailer they think had the best holiday commercial.
2008 Rank	2007 Rank
Target	Target
Wal-Mart	Wal-Mart
Best Buy	Macy's
Macy's	Best Buy
Kohl's	Sears
Sears	Kohl's
Kmart	Kmart
JC Penney	JC Penney
Old Navy	Publix
Toys R Us	Meijer

Non-Profits Should Use US Census Suburban Reports

Non-profits should take some time to review the recently released American Community Survey reports, paying extra attention to the suburban portraits. These suburban portraits can be used as warm leads in finding major gift donor prospects.  

Take for example Franklin county.  Dublin and Upper Arlington are hot spots with the highest household income, housing value and bachelor's degrees. For more highlights on Franklin County click here.

Once you have researched, captured and analyzed the data, find a connection to your program that will directly affect those suburbs. Then put community engagement marketing into motion. Everyone wants to help their community to make it a better place.  Make a direct appeal to suburbs that can financially support your mission making a connection between your mission and their suburb.  Once you do that, you will soon see your number of major gift donors, and your revenues your growing.