The board of the Collage Savings Program of Mississippi awarded AKF Consulting, Broderick Advertising, and Mojoloco a 3-year marketing contract for MACS and MPACT, the state’s 529 and supplemental college savings programs. AKF Consulting of New York was selected as the primary contact, Broderick Advertising was selected to handle traditional media, andMojoloco was designated as the new marketing & social media specialist. We are very excited to be working with AKF Consulting and Broderick Advertising on this account! It’s a great opportunity to interface with other talented marketers, which we enjoy. Further, we tip our hats to Tate Reeves and the board of CSPM for recognizing the need for social media and new marketing as a key part of their marketing strategy. This is uncharted waters for the State of Mississippi, and for 529 programs in general. So, we look forward to the opportunity to implement something new, exciting, and successful!

In a prepared statement today, GM vice president of sales service and marketing, Mark LaNeve, said, “GM’s viability plan calls for fewer, stronger brands as well as fewer, stronger dealers. We have taken a very difficult step by identifying those dealerships we’d like to keep in the GM dealer network and those with whom we will have to wind down our business relationships.”

This seems to support the notion that good things happen when you narrow the focus. This is contrary to the train of thought that in order to build a book of business, one should dum down products to appeal to as many people as possible. Salesmen might insist that it’s good strategy to extend the success of one brand by investing in another.

History, as an impartial judge, tells a different story about what happens when this manner of good salesmanship is used to define brand strategy.

Our move to Highland Village was originally scheduled for July 1. However, thanks to a lightning-fast build-out and our own itching & raring to go, we’ve bumped up our move date to June 1. The new place looks fantastic. We’ve opted for a dark, rich, gallery-style design…with chocolate walls, black ceiling, track lighting, and antique heart-of-pine flooring. Brent did an excellent job picking colors and lighting. The crew at Highland Village has taken to calling it “the bat cave” but we think it’s perfectly suited for Mojoloco. If anyone is bored on the 29th or 30th, we’ll be happy to put you to work moving furniture!

A good salesman will take a good product to as many people as possible, flooding the market, inundating prospects with his/her message. It’s unheard of…near treason…for a good salesman to run out of supply or pass on an oppotunity to make a sale or to cut himself out of a segment of the market. However, scarcity is a fundamental tenant of our economy. It impacts supply and demand. This is difficult for the master salesman to swallow. From a sales perspective, it’s important to push as much as possible…build a store on every corner…open 24/7…yada yada yada. But when you’re brand-building, there’s alot to be said for scarcity. In fact, scarcity can be your greatest ally. Scarcity creates perceived value and drives demand. When something is everywhere, then the perceived value is less, and demand begins to lessen.

What’s in a name? Is a rose by any other name just as sweet? In the business of naming businesses, EVERYTHING is in a name. But the core values and behaviors of the business must support the name. If they do, then yes, “that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” If they don’t, then the name itself becomes just another sticking point to ridicule the brand. For instance, the name “Paypal” implies that the brand is a friend, is casual, is easy…that’s the story they want you to believe. But the recent experience of one of our clients tells a different story.

Take a look at this table, outlining total advertising spend by category, projected out from 2006 through 2010. New marketing is definitely on the rise…

You’d think that, with the emergence of newer, better ways to engage the market, that marketers would have learned that the medium is no longer the message. Particularly with social media…social media is not a marketing medium, it’s a communications medium. The difference might seem minimal, but it is vital in understanding the value of the medium and in how to craft your message. The consumer-centric mentality is and always has been the driving force behind the emergence of social media as a dominant category.

15 years ago, when the medium was the message, then the message could (and should) be brand-centric. However, when the medium is no longer the message, then the message becomes crucial…and very much consumer-centric. Social media promotion always presents an interesting dynamic…how to be true to the brand, while maintaining a consumer-centric approach?

We have a new team member at Mojoloco. Robie Rossi joins the team to take on business development. While she may be new to Mojoloco, Robie is not new to the REVOLUTION. A graduate of the Ole Miss School of Business Administration, Robie brings 25 years of experience in business development, sales and marketing, brand management and launch strategy. On her long and winding road, Robie has blazed new trails in health care delivery models, implemented innovated name recognition strategies and has launched everything from a new retail brand to cutting edge pharmaceutical products as well as flagship corporate operations models for business. We’re excited to have Robie join our team, and look forward to an exciting new perspective.