Thank God I'm A County Boy

Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards makes no bones about being a country boy at heart. Which is why it should come as no surprise that he recently installed a chicken coop on the front lawn of the Governor’s Mansion. As Edwards told WWTV in New Orleans, he did it to retain “a sense of normalcy” amidst the craziness of trying to solve the massive budget deficit he inherited. The coop is pretty snazzy, too, built brand new and painted to match the Mansion’s colors. And before anyone gets their tail feathers frazzled, Edwards paid for the structure - which houses 16 hens – with his own money. He also plans to take it with him when he leaves office, though he is planning to share lots and lots of eggs before then.

 

My Wife Sent Me

With many male-dominated legislatures passing strict abortion restriction measures, one South Carolina lawmaker has decided it’s time the men see how it feels. As the Hilton Head Island Packet reports, Rep. Mia McLeod introduced legislation last month requiring men seeking erectile dysfunction drugs to have a note from their partner attesting to their sexual performance problems, another from a sex therapist saying the problem isn’t psychological and positive results from a stress test to be sure the man’s heart can handle such activity. Even if all that works out, men would have to wait 24 hours before receiving the meds. McLeod noted the bill was somewhat tongue in cheek and has little chance of actually becoming law. She intentionally included the somewhat Draconian measures to mock similar elements in abortion bills. Serious or not, the measure (HB 4544) cleared its first committee and has a good chance of making it to the full House. 

For the Love of Prince

Prince’s shocking and untimely death shook the entire world last month, spurring a tsunami of tributes and condolences from musicians, athletes, fans and even President Obama. A wealth of state and national lawmakers also weighed in, though none quite as personally and as adeptly as Minnesota Reps. Peggy Flanagan and Mike Freiberg. As the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports, the duo took to the House floor, just steps in front of the Speaker’s podium, to perform a rendition of Prince’s 1984 megahit “Purple Rain” for their colleagues and the folks in the gallery, with Flanagan handling the vocals and Freiberg accompanying her on the piano. The Senate also passed a resolution and observed a moment of silence honoring the Minneapolis native. Well done, folks, well done.

 

They Should Have Asked for Change

And from the sublime to the ridiculous, there’s this. As the Associated Press reports, Missouri Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal led a filibuster of a tax bill she opposed last week by reading for almost an hour from a self-help book co-written by rapper 50 Cent. Not surprisingly, it didn’t take much for her colleagues to say, “Fine, we’ll kill the bill if you just stop!” Or at least that’s how we imagine it happened. Either way the bill died.

 

 

-- By RICH EHISEN

 

Marketing and Analysis Tips From CMAInsights 2016

Guest-written by Mariangela Ferrara

Recently, the Canadian Marketing Association held an event focused on how to use data to engage and persuade “both internal audiences and the marketplace.” It’s an ongoing juggling act for marketers, especially when a constant flow of new data means that you have more balls in the air than ever before. How do you cope with the pressures and still find the trends in your media data to inform marketing plans and achieve the performance (and profits) that your company expects? The event attracted a range of professionals—from marketers looking to gain greater insights from data and analysts working to collaborate more effectively with their colleagues to C-suite executives seeking for ways to bring marketing and data teams together to drive better decision making across the board.

Here are some of my observations, checklists and key lessons gathered from the thought leaders and industry experts at CMAInsights 2016.

The Definition of an Effective Brand

Brand is the sum of EVERY interaction with the customer. Effective brands engage the hearts and minds of customers by:

• Uncovering their needs, even when they haven’t yet realized it themselves.
• Showing them how the brand will help with a compelling, relevant story.
• Motivating them to overcome barriers they may perceive.
• Personalizing in a meaningful way.

Move from Information to Actionable Insights

In order to maximize brand effectiveness and affinity, marketers and data scientists need to team together to understand customers better. Here’s how:

• Identify the right questions to ask. Be clear on what you are trying to solve, and be open to new hypotheses. After all, the marketing landscape evolves constantly; you need to evolve with it.
• Focus on what matters. An overwhelming amount of data is available to you; avoid distraction by filtering out the noise with analytics. Finding a sophisticated media monitoring solution can help to cut through the clutter.
• Use storytelling—internally and externally—to engage your audiences more effectively. One speaker referred to this process as the “translate, recommend and advocate” approach. Data on its own generally isn’t interesting (unless you’re a data scientist); it’s the stories that you tell with data that resonate—whether you’re talking to customers or the C-suite.
• Analyze the trends: How are people shopping, buying, moving or reacting? Look for emerging opportunities.
• Stay skeptical—or as one speaker put it, “Be forcefully uncertain when it comes to analyzing data.” Scientists are the ultimate skeptics, hence the reason for constant experimentation. Analyzing data alone doesn’t supply answers. You need to verify your interpretation of the data by testing your theories and sticking with the ones that prove to be true – at least until new data comes along. 

Obviously the messages at CMAInsights resonated with attendees because 91% said they would register again. How are you connecting your data analysis to your marketing strategies? What lessons  have you learned and applied with media monitoring and analysis have helped you? Let us know.

3 Ways to Apply This Information Now

1. Read some of the other posts on uncovering insights using media monitoring and analysis here on the Biz Blog.
2. Register for a free trial of LexisNexis Newsdesk™ to experience it for yourself.
3. Share this blog on LinkedIn to keep the dialogue going with your colleagues and contacts.