Ongoing Marketing Counsel and Implementation Grow Bank’s Market Awareness and Customer Loyalty

New Market Bank

New Market Bank is a family-owned community bank with three locations in the Twin Cities south metro. It runs a lean operation, often relying on its team members to help with responsibilities, such as marketing, that may be outside their job description or expertise. Their full-time banking responsibilities take priority when times are busy, often leaving little time for marketing.

Objective: Consistently deliver strategic, integrated marketing communications throughout the bank’s geographic footprint to build customer loyalty, goodwill among the community and awareness among prospective consumer and small business customers.

Approach: Renown Marketing Communications collaborates with the client’s internal marketing committee to evaluate and implement marketing opportunities that align with the bank’s brand and leverage relationships with respected community organizations.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Scout for, evaluate and recommend fresh marketing approaches to creatively extend the bank’s visibility and share of voice.
  • Use Adobe InDesign to create on-brand graphics and ads for submission to magazines, newspapers, digital newsletters and sponsored organizations.
  • Support the introduction of new products and services across communications channels.
  • Develop monthly MailChimp email marketing communications.
  • Create ongoing social media posts and accompanying graphics.
  • Write thought-leadership articles for LinkedIn on behalf of bank experts.
  • Regularly develop and revise website copy.
  • Conduct media outreach on corporate hires, milestones and other newsworthy opportunities.
  • Compile nominations for industry and business awards programs.

Results: Working with Renown Marketing, our marketing is the best it’s ever been. We’re more organized now, which has helped us accomplish more. We’ve also gained visibility in our geographic markets, within our industry and in the broader Twin Cities community that has supported our reputation and business.”

Anita Drentlaw, CPA
President and CEO
New Market Bank

Effective Marketing Counsel and Implementation Equip Client’s Sales Team for Success

NutriStudents K-12

Objective: Introduce NutriStudents K-12 to the school foodservice marketplace, leveraging the company’s extensive intellectual property to establish it as a first-to-market, plug-and-play foodservice platform equipping districts with delicious USDA-compliant menus, training resources, and streamlined ordering and reporting procedures.

Approach: Act as outsourced marketing department, providing ongoing counsel on corporate matters and take-to-market strategy, as well as execution of print and digital marketing communications, proposals for important national cooperative purchasing contracts, and ongoing sales and customer service communications.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Consult regularly with company executives and advisers on corporate structure and operations, product enhancements, take-to-market strategy and ongoing marketing
  • Crystalize NutriStudents K-12 value proposition for school districts and distributors
  • Collaborate with company executives and partners to craft succinct, articulate responses to requests for proposals for national cooperative purchasing contracts
  • Provide marketing support to franchisees responding to requests for proposals for foodservice contracts
  • Brainstorm and write an email campaign for prospective clients/trade show leads
  • Assist with client onboarding process through the creation of an automated email series
  • Write and oversee design of numerous sales collateral pieces
  • Create new marketing collateral from existing templates
  • Maintain library of collateral materials, refreshing pieces as needed
  • Write and maintain public website as well as portions of client portal
  • Ideate, write and expand Cafeteria Connection newsletter, a series of pieces to help clients educate parents on the nutritious, chef-created meals served in schools
  • Create ongoing content for blog and monthly newsletter during school year
  • Craft easy-to-understand communications introducing system enhancements
  • Profile client success stories in case studies
  • Support the company’s presence at national and regional trade shows

Results: In part due to Renown Marketing’s ongoing counsel, messaging and marketing communications support, NutriStudents K-12 is growing each year, adding enthusiastic distributor partners, franchisees and school districts across the country. It successfully secured a 3-year contract with Sourcewell, a national cooperative purchasing organization, which introduced NutriStudents K-12 to its more than 50,000 members nationwide. Ongoing content development and email campaigns continue to attract sales leads and convert prospects to clients.

 

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Team Approach Leads to Successful Product Launch

Eastman Chemical Company

Objective: Successfully launch Eastman’s new acetylated wood brand, Perennial Wood™, into the building products marketplace, establishing awareness, credibility and trial with consumers, builders and remodelers, lumber materials dealers, and architects and designers.

Approach: Partner with the Perennial Wood Marketing Communications team to create extensive brand-supporting collateral materials to support the brand launch at the International Builders’ Show, where an aggressive public relations campaign gains exposure to target audiences through the media. Build on the launch momentum with intriguing case studies, ongoing public relations outreach and continuing education coursework for architects.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Identify and coordinate demonstration projects to showcase Perennial Wood in market applications
  • Write and oversee design of multiple collateral pieces to support launch to trade channel
  • Create annual public relations and architectural marketing plans
  • Train 13 spokespeople for media interviews and trade show booth discussions
  • Assist with planning and implementation of media launch event at the International Builders’ Show
  • Script talking points for the brand’s internal corporate launch event and the media launch event
  • Plan and implement extensive ongoing public relations outreach, including writing and distributing targeted media pitches and news releases regularly
  • Develop and manage continuing education program for architects
  • Create awareness of new applications of Perennial Wood through public relations
  • Facilitate media interviews at several industry trade shows throughout the year of launch
  • Measure effectiveness of media coverage

Results: The media launch party was a resounding success thanks to the Renown Marketing team and its ability to interest many key trade and consumer shelter media to attend. Many editors who were unable to attend the event, visited with spokespeople in the booth during the run of the trade show. All told, the initial PR campaign netted over 2.08 billion positive impressions of the brand in the four months following launch, for an equivalent advertising value of nearly $238,000. The media coverage helped educate audiences about the brand’s value proposition relative to competitive products. In addition to being the public relations agency of record for Perennial Wood, Renown Marketing continued to help the Perennial Wood team wherever help was needed, including with writing and research work, showcase project scouting, coordination and oversight of photo shoots at project locations, and architectural marketing.

Finely Crafted Communications Articulate and Executive’s Vision, Spurring Increased Market Share and Client Loyalty

CKC Good Food

Objective: Help dynamic school caterer increase its market share in a highly competitive and strictly regulated industry.

Approach: As the marketing communications agency of record, Renown Marketing Communications works closely with the company’s chief executive officer to articulate her voice and vision in sales proposals, ongoing marketing communications and regular client communications. By being immersed in the client’s business and industry, Renown Marketing Communications creates persuasive, easy-to-understand, on-brand communications that make complex issues understandable while succinctly addressing school food service directors’ pain points and foster loyalty among existing clients.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Collaborate with graphic design agency to formulate brand definition
  • Incorporate brand throughout print and digital marketing communications
  • Develop responses to requests for proposals for school food service contracts based on the CEO’s direction, and the company’s brand and competitive differentiators
  • Write and maintain public-facing website
  • Create ongoing content for blog and monthly e-newsletter during school year
  • Bring to fruition a creative contest to encourage nutrition education among students at client schools
  • Ideate, write and expand Cafeteria Connection newsletter, a series to help clients educate parents on the nutritious, chef-created meals served in schools
  • Monitor industry news and legislative action that may impact client’s business and its client schools

Results: Renown Marketing Communication’s work has helped CKC Good Food create a consistent brand voice, gain new clients, maintain existing clients and become known as the company to emulate by competitors.  Each year, CKC Good Food welcomes new clients and attracts accolades from current clients, partners and even, regulatory officials.

Robust Trade Media Relations Builds Brand Awareness for Manufacturer

Weather Shield Windows & Doors

Objective: Maintain national visibility of Weather Shield Windows & Doors through editorial coverage of new products, expert spokespeople and profile projects in consumer shelter publications, architectural and building trade publications, home improvement television producers and networks, and general consumer media.

Approach: Build relationships with editors by delivering relevant story content and expert sources. Cultivate story ideas about new products, manufacturing and corporate advancements, environmental initiatives and unique projects, and offer to media through continual outreach.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Establish and strengthen relationships with editors by responding to requests promptly and delivering materials they need to meet their deadlines
  • Monitor and proactively provide content for editorial calendar opportunities
  • Write and distribute new product news releases
  • Work with company salespersons to scout extraordinary projects that may be of interest to media as profile stories
  • Coordinate tours at company facilities
  • Plan and facilitate editorial visits at editors’ offices and conduct briefings with company personnel

Results: Weather Shield has reaped ongoing rewards of strong editor relationships. Because Renown Marketing Communications is committed to responding to editors’ needs within 24 hours, editors often called Renown first when working on a story about windows or doors.

The media results are a testimony to these efforts, generating millions of impressions over the course of a single year. The coverage extended the company’s visibility and credibility through perceived third-party endorsement not possible through advertising. Because of the ROI Renown Marketing delivered, publicity was a mainstay Weather Shield’s annual marketing communications plans.

CaringBridgeAnnualReport_2010_150dpi_Page_01Highlight User Stories in Compelling Manner to Increase Donations and Platform Users

CaringBridge.org

Objective: Inspire people to tell others about CaringBridge and its free websites for persons facing long-term health care conditions. Thank donors and sponsors for their ongoing support of the nonprofit service.

Approach: Share the positive experiences CaringBridge site authors and subjects have had with the service in an engaging and professional annual report. Incorporate a theme highlighting the importance of community and a direct call to action to spread the word of CaringBridge’s free service.

Renown Marketing’s Responsibilities:

  • Interpret client’s vision for the annual report
  • Summarize year’s accomplishments and future plans in an executive letter
  • Interview profile subjects and write their stories
  • Develop compelling “Tell a Friend” copy to encourage word-of-mouth marketing
  • Direct photographers on photo shoots
  • Coordinate layout and design with graphic design agency
  • Proofread and finalize report for printing

Results: CaringBridge is a valuable connection between individuals in the midst of unforeseen events and their loved ones, coworkers and acquaintances. It becomes a lifeline. The 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009 annual reports written by Renown Marketing highlighted the value of community through heart-warming stories of families and their support communities that were held together by CaringBridge sites. The photos subtly drew the reader into the subjects’ communities while the graphic design skillfully wove the theme throughout the piece. According to feedback from CaringBridge, Renown Marketing successfully articulated the delicate balance of urgency, compassion and support in the reports.