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eCommerce Events Marketing

Boost Sales With Live Streaming

Did you know that people spend 3x longer watching live videos that they do watching pre-recorded videos? Boost sales with live streaming on Facebook and Instagram. Going live is a great way for marketing your business online and promoting your brand’s awareness. Whether it be a new product launch or a surprise sale, people love to shop with you online! 

Boost Sales With Live Streaming

Let’s say your business sells something other than clothing or accessories. If you sell electronics or musical instruments, your audience will more than likely need an in-depth tutorial on how to use the product. This is a great time to do a deep dive into the functionalities on your item of choice. By doing this, your customer also has the opportunity to ask questions on your live- further enhancing your engagement rate. 

 

Other Ways To Promote Live Streaming

Going live doesn’t always have to be about sales. Let’s continue with the idea that you sell guitars. Go live and show your customers how to nail the perfect guitar riff that can be difficult for some. When you take the time to educate your customers, instead of just selling to them, they take notice! 

 

The concept of live streaming on social media can also be used for events. Maybe you have a wedding venue or are a wedding planner. Live streaming a behind the scenes look of an actual wedding day can be very beneficial to your business. 

 

Remember, just because these videos are “live” doesn’t mean that you can’t use them as marketing materials in the future. You can download and save your live and use snippets of your film in the future. A win-win! 

 

How to go live on your mobile device on Facebook: Click here. 

Need further help promoting your business? We build stronger brands. Click here to contact us today!

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Business Events Marketing

October Marketing Ideas

Spooky season has arrived! Do you have a case of the October Marketing Scaries? We’re here to help! Keep reading to learn more about some of our favorite October marketing ideas. 

FOR ONLINE BUSINESSES 

Social Media:

Get people active on social media by engaging and having fun with your business page. Give out some kind of recognition or prize for these ideas:

  • BLAST FROM THE PAST: Tag us in your favorite Halloween Costume
  • Kid’s Edition: Share your child’s costume and receive a $10 gift card
  • Best Halloween Decorations: Tag us for a chance to win our Halloween Giveaway Basket!

 

Marketing Campaigns: 

At least once in October, send out a festive Halloween email campaign. This can be light-hearted and fun. Fill your email with all the fun graphics… Think jack-o-lanterns, ghosts, goblins, vampires – all the fun stuff!

 

Share a fun photo of your employees dressed up the year prior. People want to get to know you better!

 

FOR BRICK & MORTAR STORES

Storefronts:

Make your storefront a beautiful background for passerby’s to take family photos. Make sure your brand name is noticeable at all angles of where the photo may be taken. When people share their photos on social media, that’s free marketing for you! 

 

Trick-or-Treat:

Schedule a Halloween open-house and give away candy to the kiddos! If your store is targeted more towards adults, host a fall open-house with a unique autumn twist like “Boos and Brews”.

 

Fall Festivals:

This time of year we have many fall festivals, cake walks, barn sales and so on. Plan in advance and sign-up for a booth to showcase your business! 

Do you need help finding promotional images for the fall season? Click here to download free fall images from Pexels. 

We’re here to help up your marketing and advertising game. Contact us here for more info.

Categories
Business Events Marketing

Preparing Your Business For The Holidays

It’s the most wonderful time of the year… until you’re stressed! In this article we share five tips to keep your business organized and running smoothly throughout the holiday season. Start preparing your business for the holidays now!

 

Start a checklist:

Have a lot on your plate? We all know it’s hard to get much accomplished around the holidays. Start ahead of time and make a checklist of the things you need to accomplish before the end of the year. Seeing it on paper makes it real! 

 

Plan your advertising & promotions now:

You’re probably thinking, “But Christmas isn’t here yet!” You’re right, but it approaches quickly! Plan your advertising now. Set realistic goals of when you want to start your paid ads by thinking about what makes the most sense for your company. 

 

Bonus points: Plan your entire advertising campaign now. This will give you enough time to tweak anything before it’s live. You can even schedule your Facebook and Instagram ads for a later date. No sweat off your brow!

 

Vacation time:

Everyone wants to take off work at the same time. It’s inevitable. If you wish to make all of your coworkers happy, make them aware that everyone needs to plan ahead for time off. Try putting up a calendar in the breakroom or send out virtual calendar invites. Once all employees have their off-time scheduled, send out a calendar with who is off each day. 

 

Office Parties:

Yay… another office party. Kidding! These can be fun. Ask your co-workers to vote on a “theme” for your office party. That way everyone feels like they get a say in the event.

 

Idea: Instead of a gift swap, schedule a fun time out on the town. We’re thinking, paintball wars, renting out an entire movie theater, axe throwing- you know, all the fun stuff. 

 

Website Updates:

If your business has an e-commerce site, do all of your updates now. Do you have new products coming? Try and upload as many as you can before the “rush of the holidays” arrives. 

 

Remember that the New Year will bring new things! After Christmas is the perfect time to update your website. If you are needing new imagery for your website, here is a great site to download free images!

Now, are you ready to start preparing your business for the holidays?

If you need further help growing your business, we are here to help. Contact us today to learn more!

Categories
Events Marketing

Why Brands Should Embrace Experiential Marketing

In today’s world, it’s harder than ever to get the attention of consumers. Brands are always looking for new ways to stand out against all the noise and truly engage their customers. An increasing amount of businesses are turning to experiential marketing, which offers immersive, memorable campaigns that help deliver a brand’s message without distractions.

So, What Exactly is Experiential Marketing?

Experiential marketing has been a buzzword over recent years and is gaining increasing momentum in the marketing world. This powerful campaign strategy brings a whole new light to the way consumers experience a brand.

Experiential marketing focuses on direct engagement with consumers by using creative interactions to leave a lasting impression. These experiences could include a live event or a pop-up installation. Its central focus is to provide consumers with a live, engaging experience.

Many brands have found huge success in experiential marketing. Check out some great examples of successful campaigns below.

JetBlue- The Icebreaker

Who doesn’t want to take a trip to the beach in the middle of freezing cold winter? JetBlue airlines used this opportunity to promote their new direct flights from New York to Palm Springs in a very clever way. They put various summer-themed prizes such as beach attire, golf clubs, and free tickets to Palm Springs inside a huge block of ice and told passing New Yorkers that anything was up for grabs.

A social media campaign was launched along with this unique experiential strategy, resulting in a huge success for JetBlue. Everyone loves free stuff, right? Giving away prizes in a unique, creative way gave consumers an engaging experience they wouldn’t forget.

Gatorade Combine

The Gatorade brand is widely known for its close association with professional sports. To create an engaging experience for consumers, Gatorade used experiential marketing strategies to test individual athletic abilities in the form of a combine. A combine is an examination of athletic skills that athletes must complete before going to the professional league. Gatorade worked with a number of companies such as Xbox, Kinect, and Sparta Science to create electronic stations that executed interactive combine tests for each participant.

The results for the Gatorade combine tests provided accurate information for consumers, giving them data and knowledge to apply to other areas of life whether it be workout routines or dieting. Experiential marketing proves extremely impactful to consumers when it not only offers entertainment but also valuable information.

Red Bull- Stratos

The whole world held its breath when Redbull performed a record-breaking, supersonic skydiving jump. Known for its bold actions and involvement in extreme sports, Redbull decided to take its marketing strategy to new heights – – 24 miles about the earth’s surface to be exact! Redbull developed an experiential marketing campaign known as “Stratos” and partnered with Felix Baumgartner, a skydiver from Austria, to accomplish this incredible stunt.

Redbull streamed this event on YouTube and received over 8 million views (the highest viewing traffic of any live stream broadcasted on Youtube!) Don’t be afraid to think big and push the limits with your marketing strategies. Leave a lasting impression on your consumers by using the power of suspense and giving your audience something new to experience.

Categories
Events

When in Doubt, Flat Out- Spectruss Racing Results

After months of preparation, rebuilding the Spectruss RZR and the long 2,000-mile journey to Las Vegas, the results are in from the brutal test out in the dessert from last Sunday’s Mint 400.

 

Sam started just after 6:45 a.m.,  59th on the grid. After 3 nearly sleepless nights, Sam and his crew had the car running perfectly. After lap 1, Sam and his co-driver, Cory Wilson, pitted and replaced the left rear drive axle, due to a malfunction.

After an underpowered first lap due to drive train issues on the left side, Sam started lap 2 at around 9:35 a.m. At around mile marker 33, Sam entered a rough part of terrain which sent the car airborne, bucking the car sideways and rolling it over at around 60 mph.

Sam and Cory and the Spectruss Team completed around 130 miles of the mint 400 before an official DNF (did not finish) was declared at around 10 a.m.

Watch the full action below.

 

Categories
Events

Spectruss is Competing in the Largest Off-Road Race in the U.S.

A Chattanooga-based marketing agency takes their talents off-road

 

Chattanooga, TN – March 5th, 2019– Spectruss, a full-service marketing agency based in the Chattanooga, TN area, is competing in the most celebrated, prestigious, and challenging off-road race in the United States, the Mint 400, in Las Vegas, Nevada, March 10th at 6 a.m. Spectruss is only one of the three teams competing in the race east of the Mississippi.

Known as “The Great American Off-Road Race”, this annual four-hundred-mile marathon between the top off-road racers in the world includes over five hundred and fifty race teams in twenty-four different classes of off-road vehicles. The four-wheel racing with the Pro UTV Classes and more limited race vehicles will be held Sunday, March 10 at 6 a.m., with pre-race festivities beginning earlier in the week on Fremont Street East in downtown Las Vegas. Click here to view the full schedule. The world famous Mint 400 has always attracted celebrities and racers from around the globe. This year Formula One Champion Jenson Button, NASCAR Racer Casey Mears, and two-time UFC Champion Cain Velasquez will all join the field of racers.

“We’re very excited to embark on this all-new adventure in racing and to showcase who Spectruss is to all these outdoor enthusiasts. Spectruss is all about new challenges, but this is a big one. I couldn’t be more excited,” said Sam Silvey, President of Spectruss.

When the racing gets underway, the event will be live streamed online here, http://themint400.com/live/,  and will later air on national TV. Last year 250 thousand viewers tuned in for the live stream and the event amassed over 300 million impressions on social media. This year they expect those numbers to grow and ABC will air the event on TV, reaching 80 million homes nationwide.

For more information, go to spectruss.com/racing.

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ABOUT SPECTRUSS

Spectruss is a full-service creative agency based out of Chattanooga, TN area that specializes in brand identity, web design, paid media, e-commerce, videography/photography, digital marketing, public relations, and more. It has distinguished itself by creating beautiful and cutting edge work, fueled by market research and data analysis, that produces a guaranteed return for their customers.

For more information about Spectruss, its clients, and services, visit https://spectruss.com.

 

Categories
Events

How Sponsoring a Local Event Can Grow Your Business

 

6 Smart Reasons Why Your Business Should Sponsor an Event

 

There are many unique ways to attract audiences, but businesses are overlooking some of the opportunities right in front of them. According to an infographic, sponsoring an event is one of the channels most businesses have yet to even try. Little do they know, event sponsorship (like a festival or charity event) is an extremely effective marketing tool to reach local audiences.

What does it mean to sponsor an event? Sponsors offer funding or products and services to support events, trade shows, nonprofit, or organizations. In exchange, you receive brand exposure and a chance to connect with new customers.

With six years of experience sponsoring a local event, Lookout Wild Film Festival, Spectruss found many benefits of event sponsorship within your local community.

Brand Awareness

As a sponsor, your brand is placed in front of large audiences who haven’t heard of your business. The bigger the event, the more press and social media mentions you get before, during, and after the event day. With many sponsorships, you get featured ads, signs, or media sports that boost brand recognition. Also, you can build local search visibility because SEO gets your website seen across the entire internet and targets an audience closer to home.

Authority in Your Field

We all know that public perception can make or break a company. Well, event sponsorships build credibility and authority around your business. Customers who attend will see your brand as reliable and trustworthy, ultimately leading to lead generation. One survey found that 74% of customers are more likely to buy a product of a brand they were exposed to via event marketing.

Direct Access to Your Target Market = Lead Generation

Events are known to generate a good number of quality leads. If you carefully chose the right event, your sponsorship will bring your target audience directly to you with highly interested customers. Event holders typically provide data about attendees in advance so you can do your research well and plan a strategy for meeting as many people as possible. By simply attending the event, you can learn about customers by engaging one on one, showcase your products, spur word-of-mouth promotions, and build a mailing list.

Content & Social Media Marketing

Event sponsorships provide fresh material to expand your content strategy. By connecting with the event holder on social media, you can find relevant audiences to target. According to ESP, 98 percent of sponsors use social media to promote their involvement. Popular events get a lot of engagement, which you can use to create content themes.
Even better, event promotion doesn’t end with sponsors. The Event Marketing Institute reported that 98 percent of consumers create social content during events. When attendees share photos, quotes, videos, and blogs, you get exposure to much larger networks. User-generated content has a greater impact on customers, so make it easy for people to tag your business on social media.

Boost Sales

Beyond leads, consumer events allow you to rack up sales on the spot. Events attract people who are ready to buy, sorting our the “window-shoppers”. If sales are your top priority, choose an event with high foot traffic and few direct competitors. For bigger events, you can often pay more for category exclusivity. That way, you don’t have to worry about selling the same products as another vendor. From 2016-2017, companies who used event marketing saw, on average a 22% lead decrease and a 14% sales increase.

ROI

Whether you plan to sell or not, events are about starting quality relationships. The goal is to leave with a list of leads to follow up on afterward. You don’t necessarily need to make a huge profit on event day, as long as you have a long-term way to leverage your investment.

 

Categories
Events

Lead Sponsor For This Year’s Lookout Wild Film Festival From Jan. 24-27th

A Cinematic Celebration of The Best Outdoor Adventure and Conservation Films From Around The World at “The Jewel of the South”

 

The Lookout Wild Film Festival (LWFF), presented by Spectruss, is excited to host its 7th annual four-day film festival from January 24-27th at the Tivoli Theatre, “The Jewel of the South”, to celebrate “wild” places and the people they inspire alongside hundreds of other adventure enthusiasts from around the world.

This one big movie marathon is a celebration of “wild” places throughout the world, of outdoor sports and the extremes that people will go to in order to experience Earth’s rugged, natural beauty, and the conservation efforts of our most precious resources. The judges received a record-breaking number of 138 hours of film submissions from 36 countries for this year’s event. After reviewing, the judges finally narrowed it down to 17 hours of film selections, each chronicling another filmmaker’s unique experience.

In addition to the films, this year’s festival will feature virtual reality caving, live music, backstage yoga, a dinner with a lecture on wildness, a silent auction and an advocacy expo of area non-profit groups.

“Our goal has always been to show films about wild places and the people they inspire. We had no idea that along the way we would inspire so many audience members to go explore and protect the wild places around us,” said Andy Johns, founder of the Lookout Wild Film Festival.

This year, LWFF returns to Chattanooga for its 7th year with a new identity and theme from their lead sponsor, Spectruss, dedicated to going back to the roots of what the festival is all about, battling the elements, conquering fears and celebrating triumphs. Below are a few marketing materials the agency designed: 

Due to the outstanding growth of the festival, this will be LWFF’s first year at the Tivoli Theatre, featuring a new movie screen that is that largest of its kind in North America. “At the heart of the festival, we’re just gathered together and telling stories. Because of partners like Spectruss, we’re able to share those stores to an even bigger audience in a fantastic venue,” said Johns.

Below is the 2019 LWFF Schedule:

Thursday, Jan. 24th

Lobby doors: 6 p.m.

Theater doors: 6:30 p.m.

Films: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (15-min. Intermission)

Feature Film: Dirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey http://dirtbagmovie.com/

Friday, Jan. 25th

Lobby doors: 6 p.m.

Theater doors: 6:30 p.m.

Films: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (15-min. Intermission)

Feature Film: Confluence https://amymarquis.com/portfolio/confluence-official-trailer

Saturday, Jan. 26th

Backstage Yoga and Time-lapse Films: 1 p.m.

Advocacy Expo 1 p.m.- 8:30 p.m.

Lobby doors: 1 p.m.

Theater doors: 1:30 p.m.

Matinee Films: 2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. (15-min. Intermission)

Feature Film: Bears of Durango https://www.facebook.com/bearsofdurango/

Rock/Creek Lecture Series and Dinner: 5:45 p.m. – 6:30 p.m.

Lobby doors: 6 p.m.

Theater doors: 6:30 p.m.

Films: 7 p.m. – 10:30 p.m. (15-min. Intermission)

After party in Lobby: 10:30 p.m. – 11 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 27th

Backstage Yoga and Time-lapse Films: 1 p.m.

Lobby doors: 1 p.m.

Theater doors: 1:30 p.m.

Matinee Films: 2 p.m. – 6 p.m. (15-min. Intermission)

Feature Film: Bikes of Wrath http://bikesof-wrath.squarespace.com/

Tickets can be purchased here, https://www.tivolichattanooga.com/events/725980/Lookout_Wild_Film_Festival_2019 for a $40 general admission weekend pass, $60 VIP weekend pass with exclusive lodge seating and souvenir item, or a $12.50 individual viewing block.

Previously, with the help of Spectruss, LWFF has sold out shows in The Walker Theater with 3,600 attendees in 2018, making this event well known within the community. 

 

Categories
Events

How to Survive Your Company’s Holiday Party From Start to Finish

‘Tis the season of office holiday parties and cheers to making it a memorable one and not an embarrassing one

Despite having the word “party” in the name, this is still a work event. However, we all know mixing booze, coworkers, and clients can be volatile. The night could go well or it could turn into a drunken disaster. You don’t want to be “that guy or that girl” who people remember because of poor choices. So, here are a few survival tips to avoid humiliating yourself and not becoming “that” guy.

1. Eat beforehand

Your party will more than likely have food available for guests and you’re obviously allowed to eat some. But, you should still eat at least some before the party begins for many reasons. The first being you don’t want to be that “guy” who lingers around the food table and is too busy to mingle because he constantly stuffing his face with mini-sandwiches. The second being, if you plan on drinking, you’re putting yourself in a situation to become more intoxicated than you intended.

2. Acknowledge the dress code

Whatever you choose, remember that this is still a business event and not a bros night out. You need to find out what the dress code is from your co-workers and dress appropriately. Not doing so can result in conversations behind your back about not getting the memo or you simply feeling uncomfortable. Showing up in an ugly Christmas sweater at a formal event won’t be considered funny or professional. In reality, it would be really creepy.

3. Show up

Whether you’ve been with the company for a while or you’re a newbie, a holiday party is a great way to build relationships with your co-workers and a great networking opportunity. To show that you’re committed to the company, make sure you show up for at least 30 minutes and introduce yourself. You don’t to that “guy” who never shows up at company events.

4. Know your drinking limits

You only get one first impression, so you need to prepare yourself ahead of time by setting guidelines, whether that’s one or two drinks max. While indulging in more than a few drinks helps combat any shyness or nervousness, it’s better to be introverted than to make a fool of yourself. Overall, you want to make a great impression so people will remember you.

5. Go beyond your usual circle

Company holiday parties are not just for employees, you’ll also be seeing new faces, including clients or your colleagues’ spouses and friends. It’s easy to spend the party around the same people you spend most of your work time with. But, this is a great opportunity to make new connections and build relationships. Arrive at the party with a goal to speak to at least three new people. Make sure to ask open-ended questions as you chat so the conversation flows well and keep good eye-contact.

6. Be mindful of social media

Remember that social media is open to the public and you’ll want to avoid posting photos of anyone who has had too much to drink. Even though they are dropping it low, it’s a huge no-no to post anything negative about your company or its holiday party. In general, it’s best to always stay positive and ask permission before posting photos on social media, especially if it’s someone else.

7. Avoid talking work

Since this is an office event, it’s obvious that some business-related conversations will come up, but this isn’t the time to ask about new openings or eligibilities. This is supposed to be a party, not a company meeting. You’ll end up annoying people who are there to just relax, which is also what you should be doing. It’s important to avoid any gossiping about your coworkers, politics, religion, and so on as well. Things can get awkward real quick. If you’re not sure what to talk about, try movies, Netflix series, weekend plans, pets, travel plans, and food.

8. Know when to leave

It might be a fun night, but don’t make a nickname for yourself as the party animal by being the last one to leave. Learn to read the room and take your cue from the majority. If you note the is party slowing down, this might be a good time to make your exit.

9. Say goodbye and thank you

If you don’t say your goodbyes, it will leave the wrong open-ended questions about why you snuck out. You also need to make a point of going up to the people who organized the party and thank them for doing a great job, whether you loved it or hated it. Expressing your gratitude about the party if a professional and polite way to acknowledge the time and money they put into the party.

10. Make it to work the next day

If you don’t make it to work, everyone will know why you didn’t show up…because you drank way too much. If you’re not there, everyone will sit around and talk about your bad behavior the night twice as much. You’re already in trouble, don’t let it escalate.

Categories
Events

The Spectruss Holiday Event

‘Tis the season for holiday festivities and cheers to everyone who made ours a successful one!

 

The team at Spectruss would like to give a very warm thank you to everyone who joined us for our holiday party on December 6th, 2018. As always, we had a wonderful time gathered together with teammates, clients, and friends to celebrate the merry and bright season.

Also, a special shout-out to Gallery 1401 for the amazing event venue and Rick Rushing & the Blues Strangers for laying down some sick tunes!

Please tag or share with us any images you took at the event so we can post them on our website and social media pages! You can view all the event photos here, https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1948899268551346&type=1&l=66ca07b653.

Thank you and happy holidays from all of us at Spectruss!