Great marketing is a beautiful thing.
That’s why Progress loves the Marketer of the Year stories, designed to show you approaches that work in different sectors and deliver bottom-line results.
Take Killam Properties and its fictional superhero, Landlord Lou. The storyline was perfect for university students, a transient market segment that loves social media and expects to be entertained. Sure, it was funny and popular. But for the region’s largest owner of residential properties, it was mission critical to move prospects from interest to rental.
So the marketing team created a slew of activities around LandlordLou.ca, including the cash-for-plungers campaign. In the first year, all but one of its student-targeted properties hit 100% occupancy. In year two, another record high. This year, the program is on track to exceed targets. For its sustained performance and innovative approach, Killam is the 2009 Progress Marketer of the Year.
The other finalists were SolutionInc, Acadia University, Moosehead Breweries, and Origin BioMed. Let me give you a quick sense of how good these guys are.
In the technology world, SolutionInc wanted to stand out and grow at the same time. Not easy in a down market. An old-fashioned “back-to-basics” customer approach (think hand written thank-you notes) differentiated the Halifax company from its global competitors. A comprehensive overhaul of materials and tactics used by customer-service and sales employees also worked wonders. Goals were tripled, and its end-customer base grew by a quarter within one year.
Recruitment is an ongoing challenge for universities. Last year, even though student satisfaction surveys were strong, Acadia’s enrollment situation was dire. New president Ray Ivany led a team that connected prospects with current students, faculty, staff, and alumni through a new portal. As a result, first-year enrollment is tracking at more than a 13%increase.
The beer wars are not new to Moosehead, but last summer retaining market share in the light-beer segment got even tougher. Cracked Canoe and Moose Light Lime were both launched in 2009. Different brands, different approaches. Results? These now comprise more than one-tenth of all Moosehead volume in the Maritimes.
The main challenge for Origin BioMed’s flagship over-the-counter pain-relief product, Neuragen, was brand awareness. So the product was heavily sampled to diabetic educators and promoted online, alongside traditional media programs. Since the rollout of its 2009 campaign, Neuragen sales have grown by 340%.
Origin’s marketing VP Jason Tutty, perhaps speaks for all of his Marketer of the Year colleagues with this confession: “My biggest challenge right now is doing better next year.”
Sales budgets, anyone?
