Sometimes the path is just as interesting as the destination. That’s why we turned the camera around when filming our recent television spots for the newly rebranded Franciscan Alliance. If you’d like a glimpse of the process, just watch our Making Of video below. And if you haven’t seen the spots on air, don’t worry. They’re at the end of the video. And that’s a wrap.

Whether you work in public relations, advertising or marketing, it’s important to understand and keep up with current developments in the field. One of these ongoing evolutions is digital marketing. At Borshoff, we understand digital marketing is about meeting customers where they are most—the Internet. Whether on their smart phone at the grocery store, reading the news on their iPad, or viewing the latest sports replays online—let’s face it—our world has gone digital.

As more and more companies invest in digital marketing, it’s crucial to understand the lingo. Are you up-to-speed on the most common words and software? Check out our digital marketing terms glossary and tell me, what’s missing?

Most businesses and brands have a Facebook page these days. But simply having a page isn’t enough. You need to know what to do with the account once it’s created. Recently, I watched a webinar that challenged the way I think about social media marketing.

Facebook has 750 million users and half of them log in every day so there’s definitely potential to strengthen your customer base. But how? Here are a few tips I learned that anyone can do to enhance social media marketing efforts.

• Did you know that only a portion of your Facebook friends see your posts in their newsfeeds? I sure didn’t. A Facebook algorithm determines how many people see your posts and photos. If you want your content visible in more newsfeeds, increase the amount of activity your content generates. For example, ask questions in your posts or ask your friends to “like” a video if they enjoyed it.

• Did you know that companies that run contests and promotions have twice as many “likes” as companies that don’t? People like the opportunity to win things. And the most successful contests are simple, social and personal. Simple promotions are those that don’t require much effort from the participant – they’re easy and convenient. Social contents tend to do well because they encourage people to participate with their friends, or they offer group prizes, such as a girls’ night out. Contests with a personal touch tend to draw more participants as well. Inviting fans to share a photo of their pet or their tattoo will likely make them eager to join in.

• And did you know that cross promotion really is important? Most businesses and brands already have a Facebook button on their website. Consider doing the same on your electronic newsletter and other external communications.  You can also encourage fans to spread the word. Don’t underestimate the amount of buzz that internet users can generate for your business. Many people will decide to like a business after they notice that it’s liked by another friend on Facebook. This type of earned content can pay off.

Are there any other tips you would suggest to improve marketing on Facebook?

If you visit my Facebook site, you’d see that one of my philosophies I try to embody and instill in my children is to “Learn as if you live forever and live as if you’ll die tomorrow.” This oft-quoted adage was especially poignant for me last week as I witnessed a celebratory event unfold before me.

On the beautiful Friday afternoon of August 19, some of my Borshoff colleagues and I had the privilege to assist in planning and staging the commencement ceremonies for WGU Indiana, one of our integrated marketing clients. (You’ve probably seen their GoFurther billboards and watched/heard the commercials – thanks Gov. Daniels!)

WGU Indiana was established last year as Indiana’s 8^th state university, a non-profit, online, competency-based university to expand access to higher education for Indiana residents.

For me and most of my friends and family members who chose to go to college, we did so right after high school. Yet, for more than 730,000 Hoosiers, life got in the way of their educational journey and although they started down this “traditional” path, their pursuit to a college degree was interrupted for some reason. But, the dream of a degree never died.

Along comes WGU Indiana – where the average student is 36 years old and works full-time. WGU Indiana has come up with a model that allows technology to do the teaching and folks can finish what they started; to realize their dreams. This is what we celebrated on Friday in the Statehouse at the commencement.

As each graduate-candidate arrived, so did their moms and dads, their children and coworkers – all to witness the moment of dreams fulfilled. They learned that attaining a degree was hard work, but remarkably rewarding. That advancing in their careers meant proving themselves academically.  And that their mothers and fathers, sons and daughters were proud of them for improving their lives – forever.

As the VP of Collegiate Relations for the Indy AMA, I created the Indy American Marketing Association’s Marketing 360 event after working with and learning from students at various colleges around central Indiana. Students expressed great interest in going behind the scenes to learn about the day-to-day activities of marketing professionals. It’s important for students to get an idea of what working in their desired field is really like, and I wanted to show them that the opportunities in marketing are exciting, diverse and versatile.

On April 15, I led 15 college students around downtown Indianapolis for the 2011 Spring Marketing 360 event — the third Marketing 360 event..Students from IUPUI, IUPUC, Ball State and Indiana Wesleyan came together to learn more about the marketing industry through a series of 90-minute visits including company tours, presentations and time for Q&A.

Throughout this jam-packed day, we visited:

• Keep Indianapolis Beautiful – a nonprofit organization with a mission to unite people to build community and transform public spaces through aesthetic and environmental improvement
• Hirons and Company – a full-service advertising and public relations agency
• Compendium - an innovative company that utilizes a software to make it easy for marketers to publish social content to blogs, landing pages, Facebook, and Twitter — all with the purpose of acquiring new customers
• Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association – an organization dedicated to the success and development of the city of Indianapolis.  By promoting the city on several levels, the ICVA works to gain Indianapolis recognition, tourism, and media coverage.

At each stop we sat down face to face and learned about each company from key members of the marketing, public relations, creative, sales and customer service teams.  The insights and advice were invaluable.

Quick tips for students to take away:

1. Intern – Make every effort to gain relevant and meaningful experience.
2. Be a generalist – Learn the about the whole marketing wheel; don’t pigeonhole yourself.
3. Volunteer – Get involved on your campus and in your community.
4. Learn – Lead, study abroad and take advantage of other opportunities for personal growth.
5. Connect – Meet with professionals and build your network.
6. Inform – Read, reflect and share; mentor and guide others.

To learn more about the Indy AMA’s collegiate programs, visit indyama.com or email collegiate@indyama.com.

Here’s a non-news flash: At 600,000,000 users and growing, Facebook offers marketers the potential to reach large amounts of consumers.

It’s the “how” of reaching audiences that spurs countless discussions, debates and arguments.

Help has arrived, however, from Facebook itself. With the creation of Facebook Studio, advertising agencies and marketing professionals can get a glimpse of how brands big and small are using the world’s leading social media site to sell their wares.

Facebook Studio features a Gallery section highlighting creative campaigns and their performance; a Spotlight area for the newest work; an Awards page dedicated to recognizing the most creative usages of the site; a What’s New blog; and the Learning Lab, a Facebook marketing primer.

Upon early review, the site seems like a useful (and overdue) resource. While predictably showing international brands like BMW and Coke, we also see how smaller concerns like OurJewishCommunity.org and the Boston Public Health Commission have used Facebook to effectively communicate to their core audiences.

It’s still up to agencies and businesses to decide the appropriate approach for their social media strategy. But Facebook Studio offers a helpful starting point.

As vice president of programming for the American Marketing Association (AMA), Indianapolis Chapter, I plan and moderate panel discussions on timely topics of interest to our members.

There are many important elements of planning and moderating a successful panel. Here are a few of my top tips:

1. Secure a panel of different points of views, backgrounds and experiences. We rely on word of mouth and research to make our selections.
2. Provide panelists with a clear understanding of the event format, types of questions that will be asked and what’s expected of the panelists. Several days prior to the event, send an email to the panelists, including logistics, dress code, room setup and expected attendance. Help them feel confident that the experience will be well organized and positive so they can focus on their own performance.
3. Invite panelists to arrive well before the session so that they may meet and interact ahead of time. The more chemistry your panel members have with each other, the better.
4. Test your audio-visual equipment before the panelists arrive and quickly once again after your panelists are in place. Don’t allow a bad microphone to be the most memorable part of your meeting.
5. Develop general questions that apply to all panelists as well as specific questions catered to each panelist. This allows each one the opportunity to provide individual value. Rehearse your questions with a friend or colleague to ensure the sequence and wording feel right. Save your best question for last.
6. Allow for audience interaction. Offer audience members the opportunity to submit their own questions to be answered at the end of the discussion.
7. Thank the panelists at and following the event. Ask them to tweet or blog about their positive experience speaking for your organization.
8. After the event, gather audience feedback on the meeting and topic, your panel and you. Share positive comments with the panelists. Use constructive criticism to improve your next panel and your own performance. Relax and have fun!

To learn more about upcoming Indy AMA events, visit www.indyAMA.com.

Branding is certainly not a new topic, but one that continues to get a lot of buzz as more and more companies understand the value of a strong brand, strive to differentiate themselves and work to remain competitive.

When it comes to branding, people typically are not on the same page. Individual interpretations, definitions and experiences all shape one’s understanding of what a brand actually is.

Some are quick to think of it as a new logo or tagline; others believe it’s a company’s product or services. There’s also the perspective that it’s something only big companies need to be concerned about.

The truth is – every company has a brand whether they know it or not; and that brand is defined by the stakeholders (employees, customers, board members, etc.) through their experiences with that organization. This is not to say that a company can’t create its brand – it can. But branding is a complex process with many considerations.

By strengthening market position, engaging employees and building more loyal customers/clients, companies can ultimately influence their brand. And, the most effective brands know how to forge strong relationships and deliver experiences that align with the organization’s goals and values.

Each and every interaction between a company and its stakeholders is critical to a brand – especially communications.

So if you ask Borshoff to define a brand, we’ll likely reply, “Everything.” And if you ask us what our company does … well, let’s just say, “Build, protect and strengthen brands.”

Borshoff has impacted a number of brands over the past 26 years. Recently we’ve developed new brands for Indianapolis Power & Light Company, RW Armstrong and Hoosier Park Racing & Casino – to name a few. Click here to view some of our work.

An interesting article was posted to the Bulldog Reporter site yesterday about the growing influence of social media and need for PR practitioners to keep up. Three take-aways pulled directly from the article:

1. The use of social media at public relations and public affairs firms has jumped 12%-15% in the past year. Currently, the total percentage of work devoted by firms to social media as opposed to traditional media is 30% overall, and next year, the percentage will increase to an average of 42%. In a year or two, the percentage will be over 50%.
2. PR practitioners — and firms in particular — must get increasingly up to speed to know what the online dynamic is all about and how to use it. They will need new skills, because mastering this space is a lot more than just setting up a Facebook account — PR people need to know how to create online advocacy programs that address issues, marketing support initiatives that help to push products, surveys that keep customers and others involved in what their clients do. Most important, they have to understand the of the need to create a strategic plan, not just throw stuff up helter-skelter like it is being done now by many firms.
3. Some people are interpreting our prediction of the dominance of social media as an outright replacement of traditional media — that won’t necessarily happen, but social media will become the primary focus of PR efforts in the next few years, overtaking traditional media as the dominant focus.

Think nothing has changed with trade shows in the last decade? Guess again. For many marketers, trade shows can be a valuable forum for face-to-face interactions with potential clients and for making direct sales.

Did you know that 77 percent of people attending trade shows have buying power?  Of those, 63 percent have buying plans. So how can your company make the most of their trade show interactions? Below are some tips Lori Reitz, trade show marketing consultant at Skyline, presented to the Indianapolis chapter of the American Marketing Association last week:

• Make appointments with people at the event. Contact current or potential clients before the show to let them know you’ll be exhibiting and then set appointments to meet with them while your there.

• Use social media. Ramp up your booth attendance with social media. Companies can use mobile marketing (text messages), blogs and other social media forums to drive people to their booth with information about special features, events or prizes.

• Add events to the marketing communications mix. Hosting a special event or sponsoring a luncheon can bring more people face-to-face with your company, brand and staff.

• Go green. While it can be more expensive, companies that go green with their products or exhibits can draw more attention from potential clients.

• Fewer giveaways. How many stress balls does one person need? Instead of random giveaways at your booth, create reasons to connect after the show. After all, trade shows are about selling; and offering to contact people or send brochures after the show is the next step in the sales process. Plus, you’ll get more qualified leads by talking with people who are actually interested in your product and not just the freebies. The days of people dropping business cards in fishbowls for a chance to win a “grand prize” are over. Giveaways are not totally gone, but now people can “text-to-win” grand prizes after they visit the booth and talk with your staff.

When you’re participating in trade shows, make sure you set clear and measurable objectives ahead of time. That way you can track your progress and identify areas for opportunity. And make sure to staff your booth with the best, most knowledgeable people who have a great attitude because 85 percent of what people remember after the show is your staff.

Consider these trends when preparing for your next trade show – and set yourself up for success.

On Friday, the Borshoff hallways were buzzing with more voices than usual when we welcomed 15 college students who were participating in the first American Marketing Association (AMA) Marketing 360 event to our agency. The students are marketing, public relations and communications majors from schools across Indiana, including Ball State, Indiana Wesleyan, the University of Indianapolis and more.

How do you keep 15 college kids engaged for more than an hour? In our case, after giving them an office tour, five Borshoff staff members told the students a little about our widely different careers and what makes them challenging, interesting and fun. And since we were a diverse bunch (including our founder Myra Borshoff Cook and others who represent account management, events, public relations and art direction), we had a blast telling the students different stories about why we love what we do.

It was a big day for those students. After leaving Borshoff, they went to Printing Partners, The Children’s Museum and Exact Target to meet with employees at those companies, so the students really did get a diverse, 360-degree perspective of different companies and how their marketing and communications teams work.

We enjoyed the students’ visit, and apparently they had a good time, too. Many commented that Borshoff was “their favorite stop” of the day. And who knows? Maybe we had a future account associate or art director in the bunch!

College students may keep in touch with their friends and family via Facebook and Twitter, but when it comes to networking for jobs, there’s nothing like an old-fashioned meet and greet.

While the theme of my presentation at the University of Indianapolis’ guest lecture series on Tuesday, Feb. 9 was “Careers in PR,” students really wanted to learn about networking. After all, while the 40 or so students were there to learn more about my career, the majority just wanted to know how to land their first job in our down economy.

Ron Dow, assistant director for the university’s Institute for Emerging Careers and the driving force behind the guest lecture series, said he can lecture all day about face-to-face networking, but an 11-year working professional holding out business cards poses an opportunity too good to pass up.

The impressive collection of students listened attentively, and many waited afterward to talk to me. My advice? Ask for help if you need it; every working professional had to land his/her first job. We really will take a few minutes to talk with you. (But also understand that we receive a lot of requests for informational interviews and unfortunately can’t honor every one.)

My networking connections so far from students at UIndy?

• Zero old-fashioned phone calls
• One business card (yes, for a student!)
• Two very well-written e-mails
• One resume

Now I’m just waiting for my new [Twitter] followers and [Facebook] friend requests!

As a graphic designer at an advertising and PR agency, I’m charged with finding creative ways to send information on behalf of our clients. While it’s becoming increasingly rare to send direct mail, it still happens. The problem with direct mail is it’s often as well received as a telemarketing call – except instead of being hung up on it gets thrown away.

And that’s the challenge: make the mailer so interesting that the recipient’s gut reaction isn’t “trash, trash, bill, trash” but something more like “trash, trash, bill, oooooooh.” There’s a lot to consider before getting creative on a mailed piece: Can it be any shape? How small or large can it get? How much postage does this bad boy need?

To help us answer these questions (and to have a little productive fun in the office), we set up an experiment: find objects around the office we didn’t think would make it through the mail, slap some postage on them, and drop them in the mailbox. No envelopes. No containers. No packaging. Au naturel, if you will.

We began with sending a CD. Then, we sent a Kleenex, a business card, a dollar bill, a drum head and finished up our experiment with a fully inflated Jerry French doll from the French Paper Company. I won’t lie; I was very surprised to find almost every item successfully arrived at its destination, especially Jerry.The one item that didn’t make it through, sadly, was a big yellow highlighter.

Frankly, we were surprised that so many items did. Even the Kleenex made it through without any damage. Now it hangs, with the rest of the successfully mailed pieces, on the wall above my desk.

As market researchers, we learned how few limits there are on what can be mailed. With enough postage, it’s just about anything! So kudos to the post office. They even put some items in “we care” plastic bags or envelopes to protect them, and complied with our highlighted request to not deflate Jerry.

Borshoff principal Erik Johnson, APR, Fellow PRSA, shared his views on “Marketing in a recession: advertising agencies’ approaches to actively sustain client goals in the current economic environment.” Erik was part of a communications panel before executives from Indiana convention and visitors bureaus (CVBs) or destination marketing organizations (DMOs) during a June 18 Indiana Tourism Council meeting.Erik and other panelists spent much of the time stressing the importance of understanding today’s consumer mindset. They recommended giving special to your existing customer base, developing targeted audience lists, creating strong and well-thought-out key messages (including a break-through creative platform), and using efficient communications channels from advertising to news media to social media, as appropriate, to get the word out.

The program, held at Conner Prairie, also included Bruce Hetrick, CEO, Hetrick Communications; John Palmer, senior digital strategist, MediaSauce; and Jen Perry, account supervisor, Williams Randall Marketing.