Fuseideas was recently honored with two Silver Mark Awards

Fuseideas was recently honored with two Silver Mark Awards on November 9th, the 25th anniversary of the annual awards ceremony. The Mark Awards recognize outstanding achievement and excellence in marketing from networks, cable companies, and suppliers. There were 56 gold and 116 silver winners selected out of more than 900 entries.
“We are thrilled to see some our work honored by the cable industry,” said Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based agency. “We do so much work in the business that it really validates us when we get recognized for the great work we do.”
Fuseideas won silver awards in the Affiliate Marketing Kit and Direct Mail categories for their work with HBO Latin America and Comcast, respectively.
The project for HBO Latin America promoted their original series entitled “Capadocia." As part of the project, Fuseideas developed an engaging affiliate direct mail kit that went to executives of the cable affiliates in Mexico, South America and the Caribbean. The kit included an interactive DVD, promotional t-shirt, a brochure, as well as a combination flash drive/pen that held additional assets for affiliate executives to use for grassroots promotions and marketing materials.
The Comcast project was a direct mail campaign aimed at consumers in South Asian, Filipino and Russian households in the U.S. It was designed to increase Comcast Digital Voice subscriptions in various markets across the country. The response to the direct mail was over 3% activation of Comcast’s product in those households.
Fuseideas is an integrated advertising and interactive marketing agency based out of Somerville, MA. Fuseideas has an extensive amount of cable marketing experience, and have worked with a number of networks and affiliates including Comcast, Disney, ESPN, Univision, Fox Cable Networks, HBO and NBC.

Don't Skimp On Ad Budgets

Cutting advertising expenses can yield short-term gains--and long-term trouble.

With corporate managers under enormous pressure to control costs and maintain liquidity in the current credit crisis, advertising budgets often appear to be a dispensable luxury in the struggle to survive. Executives who succumb to that temptation, however, put the long-term future of their companies at risk, according to Wharton faculty and advertising experts.

"The first reaction is to cut, cut, cut, and advertising is one of the first things to go," says Wharton marketing professor Peter Fader, adding that as companies slash advertising in a downturn, they leave empty space in consumers' minds for aggressive marketers to make strong inroads. Today's economy "provides an unusual opportunity to differentiate yourself and stand out from the crowd," says Fader, "but it takes a lot of courage and convincing to get senior management on board with that."

According to Wharton marketing professor Leonard Lodish, with demand slack for advertising services, the cost of these services goes down, making advertising expenditures all the more defensible in a bad business climate. "If your company has something to say that is relevant in this environment, it's going to be more efficient to say it now than to say it in better times," says Lodish.

Research shows that companies that consistently advertise even during recessions perform better in the long run. A McGraw-Hill Research study looking at 600 companies from 1980 to 1985 found that those businesses that chose to maintain or raise their level of advertising expenditures during the 1981 and 1982 recession had significantly higher sales after the economy recovered. Specifically, companies that advertised aggressively during the recession had sales 256% higher than those that did not continue to advertise.

For companies that do stay the course and continue to advertise into a recession or increase their promotional activities, the key is to craft messages that reflect the times and describe how their product or service benefits the consumer. For example, companies might be tempted to emphasize price in a recession, but that only works for companies like Costco (nasdaq: COST - news - people ) and Wal-Mart (nyse: WMT - news - people ) that are built around a core strategy of providing low prices year after year, says Lodish. He points to the current Wal-Mart campaign, "Save Money. Live Better," as a successful approach to the recession.

Dean Jarrett, senior vice president of marketing at The Martin Agency in Richmond, Va., which developed the Wal-Mart ads, acknowledges the campaign began in 2007 before it was clear a harsh recession was building. "We can't claim we knew a recession was coming, but 'Save Money. Live Better' is dead on-point with who they are and what they want to be."

Eileen Campbell, chief executive of the Millward Brown Group advertising firm in New York City, says that while companies should probably not dwell on the recession and scare consumers into hoarding their pennies under a mattress, certain products require a straight-up approach--such as financial services. "If you are in the financial services category, to behave as you did a year ago is silly." At the same time, however, many consumers are weary of negativity generated by the recession and would be receptive to a more upbeat message, she adds. "If you can put a positive spin on how you can genuinely help without invoking doom and gloom, I think that's going to be more compelling."

Original Article:

http://www.forbes.com/2008/12/01/advertising-recession-wharton-ent-sales-cx_1201whartonadvertising.html?feed=rss_news

Now Is Not The Time to Skimp on Advertising and Marketing

As the economy continues to be of concern to citizens and corporations, we wanted to share a recent article we came across concerning economic downturn and advertising. A question was asked on Google Answers about what companies did well during the Depression. The answer is interesting and offers some great, concrete examples. Following the article is a link to the original post and to references from which informed the answer.

It is important to note that whether the economy is in an upswing or a downswing, consumers still spend money, they still have needs, and they still have wants. Pulling back on advertising only allows your competition to take advantage of a conservative marketing environment, and the advantages that offers, such as reduced media rates, to step in to capture a greater mind share. Taking advantage of new technology and marketing channels is as effective now as it was then. Compare the use of social media and mobile now to Proctor & Gambles use of radio then. The troubled economic times we find ourselves in now can be as good for some as much as they can be bad for others. It's all on how you take advantage of the situation.

THE QUESTION

What industries fared relatively better and worse in terms of pricing and demand during the Great Depression of 1929? Do the industries reflect a hierarchy of demand from essential consumables to deferrable purchases to capital goods? What specific companies did well in any industry and what distinguishes those companies.

THE ANSWER

To begin, not all was gloom and doom during the Great Depression. It was a time when those who knew what they were doing made great economic strides and the very nature of the depression itself was an economic boon for them. It was a time when several companies benefited from aggressive marketing while their rivals cut back. A good example of that would be Kellogg besting C.W. Post during that time. Consumers didn't totally stop spending during the depression, most just looked for better deals and the companies providing those better deals came out stronger after the depression ended. When spending picked up, consumer loyalty to those companies remained.

To state a generality, those companies who not only survived but did well and grew during the Great Depression are those who continued to act as though there were nothing wrong and that the public had money to spend. In other words, they advertised. These are industries who didn't wait for public demand for their products to rise, they created that demand even during the most difficult of times. Because so many companies cut spending during that era, advertising budgets were largely eliminated in many industries. Not only did spending decline, these companies actually dropped out of public sight because of short sighted decisions made about spending money to keep a high profile. These advertising cutbacks caused many customers to feel abandoned and associated the effected brands with a lack of staying power. This not only drove customers to more aggressive competitors but caused a certain among of financial mistrust when it came to making additional investments in the no longer visible companies.

Both anecdotal and empirical evidence support the case that advertising was the main factor in the growth or downfall of companies during those years. To put it bluntly, the companies which demonstrated the most growth and which rang up the most sales were those which advertised heavily. The Great Depression offers classic examples of the power of brand advertising even during times of economic crisis.

Proctor and Gamble

This is a company which has a philosophy of not reducing advertising budgets during times of recession and they certainly did not make any such reduction during the Depression. P&G has made progress in every one of the major recessions and that is no accident. When their competitors were swinging the budget axe, P&G actually increased their spending. While the Depression caused problems for many, P&G came out of it unscathed. Radio took P&G's message into more homes than ever.

Chevrolet

During the 1920s, Fords were outselling Chevrolets by 10 to 1. In spite of the Depression, Chevrolet continued to expand its advertising budget and by 1931, the "Chevy 6" took the lead in its field and remained there for the next five years.

Camel Cigarettes

In 1920 Camel was the top selling tobacco product. American Tobacco Company then struck back with the Lucky Strike brand and by 1929 Lucky had overtaken Camel as the number one brand. Two years later in the heart of the Depression, Chesterfield also overtook Camel. Camel countered with a massive increase in advertising spending and by doing so demonstrated the power of advertising during depressed times. By 1935, it was back on top.

Now, these examples count as anecdotal. But in addition to these examples, studies have demonstrated that during times of recession, companies that maintain advertising during these periods experience higher sales and profits during the downturns and afterward than companies who cut their advertising budgets.

It was also the very nature of this advertising that spurred the growth of two other industries during the Depression. The first of which was radio broadcasting.

Let's return to Proctor and Gamble for a while. P&G first turned to radio in 1923 advertising Crisco on a New York station. Other products such as Ivory and Lava soap were advertised on 'product oriented' shows which were similar to today's infomercials. But in the heart of the depression P&G took a step which changed not only that company but the broadcast medium forever while creating great demand for its products. The president of P&G at the time was Richard Deupree. In spite of the fact that shareholders were demanding that he cut back on advertising, he knew that people were still buying essential household products. So he created radio programming that did not focus on a product. Because of that, we now have a cultural attribute known as the "soap opera."

In 1933, P&G went on the air with its first "soap" - "Ma Perkins," sponsored by Oxydol. P&G was so satisfied with the increase of sales, they went on to introduce "Vic and Sadie" for Crisco, "O'Niells" for Ivory Soap and "Forever Young" for Camay. By the time 1939 rolled around, P&G was sponsoring 21 radio programs and they doubled their radio advertising budget every two years during the Depression.

Radio was one of the fastest growth industries of the depression. P&G virtually built daytime radio with its advertising budgets and programming. Two industries were thriving from the advertising budget of one.

The print media was also a growth industry during the Depression. To give some reason for this, we now return to Chevrolet. the first ads for Chevrolet appeared in print in 1914. In 1927, they began to increase their print advertising budget. As the country moved into the Depression a couple of years later, Chevy did not let its commitment to print advertising falter and its car ads not only kept some publications afloat, it helped many to grow. In as much as the term "print media" covers many outlets, they pioneered the outdoor advertising medium, billboards. Chevrolet also went into radio and sponsored such Depression Era classics as Fred Allen and Jack Benny. Chevy's print ads appealed to the "emotional" side of a buying decision which was a great move in light of the economic uncertainty of the time.

So once again, those companies which took advantage of the Depression and came through in good form were those who kept their name in front of the public in spite of a lack of purchasing power.

Your question asks about a hierarchy of demand from essential consumables to deferrable purchases to capital goods. In reality there was no such hierarchy. I have tried to balance the examples given to show some spectrum across the board. Proctor and Gamble represents essential consumables, Chevrolet represents deferrable purchases and Camel represents non-essential products. So as you can see, the so called hierarchy of necessity and want was sidestepped by those who had the marketing gumption to ignore such distinctions.

However, capital goods information needs to reflect the entire economic structure of the Depression and not just those companies which were successful. Overall, new production of capital goods less capital goods consumed during the years 1929 - 1939 was near zero. The increase in the money supply during the 1920s also increased the prices of capital goods relative to the prices of consumer goods. This disparity set in motion a boom in real estate and stock market prices and interest rates were driven down by the "increase in Fed money.

It must also be noted that the preceding statement on capital goods is only one of many competing economic theories about the Depression. There are some who say this compounding of assertions is wrong from beginning to end. But in composing an answer such as this, there needs to be one which best meets the nature of the question and in conjunction with the material about public visibility covered above, this is the one your researcher ties into the equation. When money has entered the economy from whatever sources during business fluctuations in the past, has there been a disparity between the increases in prices of capital and consumer goods? That alone is a subject which would take volumes to answer. In fact, it would take volumes just to cover the debate without any resolution coming about.

As far as the end of the question as to what distinguished the companies that did well during the Depression? They were the companies that kept their name in front of the public and created brand name recognition even during the worst of times.

ORIGINAL ARTICLE
http://answers.google.com/answers/threadview?id=178334

SEARCH - Google

TERMS
great depression, company growth great depression, great
depression success stories, brand name awareness great depression,
advertising history, new industry great depression, benefits of
advertising

REFERENCES:

"America's Great Depression - Causes and Cures" -
http://www.amatecon.com/gd/gdcandc.html

"H102 Lecture 19: The Great Depression and the New Deal" -
http://us.history.wisc.edu/hist102/lectures/lecture19.html -
University of Wisconsin, Stanley K. Schultz, Professor of History

"Sliding into the Great Depression" -
http://econ161.berkeley.edu/TCEH/Slouch_Crash14.html - University of
California at Berkeley

"Great Myths of the Great Depression" -
http://www.uaca.ac.cr/acta/1998nov/lreed.htm - Universidad Aut noma de
Centro America

"Economic Surpluses" - http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/surplus.htm
- San Jose State University

"Accounting for the Great Depression" -
http:/www.stern.nyu.edu?~fperri/papers/account.pdf - a PDF file,
Acrobat Reader needed.

"Four Myths About America's Great Depression" -
http://www.libertyhaven.com/theoreticalorphilosophicalissues/economichistory/fourmyths.html
- From Liberty Haven

"EAP Vocabulary - Exercise" -
http://www.uefap.co.uk/vocab/exercise/buscycl.htm - some interesting
information about capital goods and business cycles here but mostly in
a modified glossary format

"Creating Mass Culture" -
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/am485_98/graham/mass.html -
University of Virginia

"The Visitor in Your Living Room: Radio Advertising in the 1930s" -
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~CLASS/am485_98/graham/visitor.html -
University of Virginia

Fuseideas helps launch NBC’s “Crusoe”

Fuseideas has partnered with UCG Marketing and NBC to launch an experiential and digital campaign for NBC, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based integrated advertising and interactive marketing agency. The campaign is for NBC’s new show called “Crusoe” which premieres on October 17th on NBC.


“We were very excited to partner with UCG Marketing to help support this campaign,” Franczak said. “We wanted to support a promotion where users could literally experience what the show is all about.”

UCG Marketing created a tree house, based on the real “Crusoe” set and put it in Times Square with an actor living there for the 5 days leading up to the premiere. Fuseideas created a website at www.savecrusoe.com, where users can vote on what tasks Crusoe needs to do and also they can send him food and items to help him survive. The most innovative part of the site is that the tree house has a live streaming camera where users can watch Crusoe go through his tasks live in real time. In addition, users can also enter a sweepstakes to win a series of prizes.

In addition to the website, Fuseideas used social networking tool Twitter so users can follow his escapades as he gets used to his new surroundings. Twitter was used to drive traffic to the site and increase impressions and sweepstakes entries.

The promotion ends on October 17, 2008 when the show airs.

Fuseideas launches their new website

Fuseideas has launched their new website (www.fuseideas.com) on October 1, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the independent agency.



“I am really proud of this website and the team did a great job.” Franczak said. “I wanted us to create a site that showed all the innovation that we have as an agency and this site accomplishes it. It puts the work right up front and it also ensures that users have a limited number of clicks to get to the important information on the site. We also wanted to create a non-Flash site to promote our excellent ability in web development for multiple platforms without having to have the latest plugins.”



The site updates with new creative each time a user comes to the site and also instead of clicking down for information, users simply open and close the home page tabs to reveal the information.

"The site was developed for enhanced for SEO as well as easy mobile use. We often deal with mobile deployment of a site, often as a separate web presence." added Michael Durwin, Fuseideas' creative director "What we wanted to do with our site, was create a hybrid that looked as good on a desktop monitor as a smart phone screen. With more mobile engagement it's like the 90s browser wars times 10. Plus, a third of the office has iPhones and regular websites are annoying to view on them."

"SEO is better with all of our content on one page, yet to the user, the design has a multi-page feel."

The website can be found at www.fuseideas.com.

Fuseideas moves to new office space

Fuseideas has relocated to new space in Davis Square, Somerville, MA, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the independent agency.



“Our growth necessitated this move.” Franczak said. “We really needed more space and our new location offers brick and beam, individual offices for the account team as well as a creative lounge for the company to brainstorm on new campaign ideas. We are just thrilled with the space.”

Fuseideas moved into the new space on October 1, 2008. For new contact information, visit our web site at www.Fuseideas.com.

Fuseideas Launches New Micro-site for Reebok Basketball

Fuseideas recently launched a digital campaign for Reebok basketball, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based integrated advertising and interactive marketing agency. The campaign, run in partnership with Champs Sports promotes Reebok's new shoe called Talkin' Krazy.

“We were very excited to partner with the people at Reebok to help support this campaign,” Franczak said. “We wanted to create a site where users could easily see the benefits of the product and how fun the shoe actually is. We felt the shoe itself really told the story for us.”

Fuseideas created a website (talkkrazy.com ) for Reebok that supported a print campaign. They also partnered with Buddy Media on a Facebook application which allows users to smack talk their friends in Facebook. The site has many features, including one where users are able to "smack talk" and send e-cards to their friends who in turn recieve an email with the message written onto the shoe. In addition to the email feature, users can also turn the shoe 360 degrees as well as see how the shoe looks in different color combinations. The site also has a store locator which will help users determine where they can purchase the shoe. There are also numerous videos on the site with young players talking about the product. One of the videos also features Jason Terry of the Dallas Mavericks.

Fuseideas Conducts National Search for an Executive Creative Director

Fuseideas has launched a national search for an Executive Creative Director, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the independent agency.

“As more of our clients are requesting our full-service expertise, I felt it was necessary to really add some senior experience to our team,” Franczak said. “The ideal candidate must have a copywriting background and have a reel as many of our clients are looking for us to develop engaging television spots as part of the multi-platform campaigns we specialize in.”

Fuseideas Appoints 2 New Account Executives

Tara McLarney and Jim Franz have joined Fuseideas as Account Executives, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the independent agency. Ms. McLarney and Mr. Franz will be responsible for managing many of Fuseideas’ accounts in the retail, sports, cable and entertainment sectors.

“We are very excited to have Tara and Jim on the team,” Franczak said. “We work with so many clients, we need to be able to service them at the level they expect.”

Prior to joining Fuseideas, Mr. Franz was a managing partner at AF Direct Solutions, an IT and web consultancy company. Ms. McLarney came to Fuseideas after a year at VistaPrint.

Fuseideas Launches Campaign for ABC News NOW and Mediacom

Fuseideas is launching a multi-platform campaign for ABC News NOW, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based integrated advertising and interactive marketing agency. The campaign will run in Iowa from July 27th - August 30th.

Fuseideas created a campaign which included print ads, radio ads, and an online promotional component designed to support ABC News Now and its affiliate Mediacom in Iowa. In addition to the campaign materials, Fuseideas also deployed a street team at the Iowa State Fair to generate additional awareness. The campaign also had a sweepstakes element for participants with the grand prize being a trip to New York City to visit the set of Good Morning America, one of ABC News' flagship programs.

IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Championships Get Support From Fuseideas

The International Paralympic Committee, Bonn, Germany, is getting support for their 2008 Sledge Hockey World Championships from Fuseideas, according to Dennis Franczak, president of the Boston-based integrated advertising and interactive marketing agency. The Tournament is being played between “A” and “B” Pool Teams at the New England Sports Center located in Marlborough, Mass. through April 5th.

Fuseideas created a :60 second commercial highlighting the games and showing some of the action from the Torino Games in 2006. The spot will run in Boston’s TDBanknorth Garden throughout the games. Creative credits belong to Creative Director Michael Durwin, editor Tara McClarney, and producer Jake DiMare.

Ten teams and 150 athletes will compete at the free event. The A Pool will have most of the teams that competed at the 2006 Torino Paralympic Winter Games including Canada, Norway, USA, Germany, Japan and Italy. The B Pool will host Estonia, Czech Republic, Poland and Korea.

Ice Sledge Hockey is the Paralympic version of Ice Hockey. Since its debut on the Paralympic Programme at the Lillehammer 1994 Winter Paralympics, it has quickly become one of the largest attractions for spectators at the Winter Paralympics. It is fast-paced, highly physical, and played by male athletes with a physical disability in the lower part of the body. In 2006, Ice Sledge Hockey is practiced by athletes in 12 countries and is governed by the IPC with co-ordination by the IPC Ice Hockey Technical Committee. It follows the rules of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) with modifications. Instead of skates, players use two-blade sledges that allow the puck to pass beneath. Players use two sticks, which have a spike-end for pushing and a blade-end for shooting

Fuseideas Adds Vermont Teddy Bear to Client Roster

Everyone’s favorite stuffed animal company, Vermont Teddy Bear, has picked Fuseideas to be its agency of record. The account, previously handled on a project basis by local firms, was awarded after a review of several regional and national advertising agencies.

Working with Vermont Teddy Bear’s VP of Marketing, Irene Steiner, the first assignment for the Fuseideas team will be creating a network television commercial for the company's largest holiday, Valentine's Day. The agency will also support the company’s marketing efforts with online. New television work is expected to break February 1st.

“The team at Fuseideas quickly grasped the Vermont Teddy Bear feeling of fun, love and meaningful involvement that is part of every handmade bear. I’m sure they will help us tell our story in a way that captures that spirit and I can’t wait to see the final version of our Valentine’s Day spot,” said Ms. Steiner.

The Vermont Teddy Bear Company is the nation’s largest maker of handcrafted bears, making more than 450,000 a year for its nationwide Bear-Gram® gift delivery service. For more information about The Vermont Teddy Bear Company, call 1-800-829-BEAR or log on to www.VermontTeddyBear.com.