If This Isn't an Argument for the Necessity of Public Relations

I don't know what is. The latest Nielsen Survey concluded that earned media is the most trusted. The full survey results can be found at the link and in the content below. As our graphic designer Sean Garza puts it "public relations is just how marketer's are reaching today's consumer." 


http://www.dmnews.com/report-earned-media-most-trusted-form-of-advertising/article/235915/?DCMP=EMC-DMN_iMktingNewsDaily

Report: Earned media most trusted form of advertising

JoAnn DeLuna

April 10, 2012

Print Email Reprint Permissions Text: A | A | A

Related Articles

• Report: Online ad spend hit $84.8bn in 2011, says GroupM
• Report: Pinterest third most popular social network
• Report: Many digital ads not delivered to right audience
• Report: Consumers more likely to engage with mobile ads

More Digital

• LinkedIn launches targeted marketing features
• Amazon launches in-app purchasing API
• Microsoft buys 800+ AOL patents for $1 billion
• Report: Online ad spend hit $84.8bn in 2011, says GroupM
• Facebook to acquire Instagram for $1 billion

RELATED TOPICS

• Ad Spending
• Trust

Company

• Nielsen

More in Digital:

Microsoft buys 800+ AOL patents for $1 billion

Read More >>

Ninety-two percent of consumers trust earned media, including word-of-mouth and recommendations from friends and family, above other forms of advertising, Nielsen revealed in its “Global Trust in Advertising Survey.”

Despite these findings, the survey also found the majority of advertising dollars are spent on traditional and paid media.

“Although television advertising will remain a primary way marketers connect with audiences… consumers around the world continue to see recommendations from friends and online consumer opinions as by far the most credible,” said Randall Beard, global head, advertiser solutions at Nielsen, in the report. “As a result, successful brand advertisers will seek ways to better connect with consumers and leverage their goodwill in the form of consumer feedback and experiences.”

Nielsen polled more than 28,000 online consumers in 56 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe and Middle East for the survey. The surveyed period was conducted in 2011 between Aug. 31 and Sept. 16.

Specifically, 70% of consumers surveyed indicated they trusted online consumer reviews, while 50% of consumers found emails they consented to receive were credible.

Nielsen also found 58% of respondents trust owned media, such as messages on company websites.

Confidence in paid television, magazine and newspaper ads has declined precipitously since 2009. While 47% of consumers surveyed said they trusted these three channels, over the last three years, trust in paid television decreased 24%, trust in magazines decreased 20% and trust in newspaper ads decreased 25%.

Faith in search engine results increased over the last five years. Forty percent of global respondents said they believed such ads, an increase from 34% in 2007. Forty-two percent of respondents also found the ads relevant.

“The growth in trust for online search and display ads over the past four years should give marketers increased confidence in putting more of their ad dollars into this medium,” stated Beard in the report.

There is also growing consumer confidence in ads on social media and mobile channels. Thirty-six percent of global respondents deemed ads on social networking sites credible and relevant. Twenty-nine percent of consumers said they trusted SMS ads, a 61% increase since 2007.

“Nielsen's survey shows that there is still much potential for marketers looking to reach the right audience through advertiser-driven messages,” Beard said in the report.

Cemeterians Seeking Alternatives to Traditional Bronze Memorials

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

Media Contact:      
Beth Parker
859.291.4302
Beth@TheEisenAgency.com


Facebook @ Aurora Casket Company
LinkedIn @ Aurora Casket Company

Twitter @ AuroraCasket

Cemeterians Seeking  Alternatives to Traditional Bronze Memorials

Rising costs blamed for decline of bronze memorial sales

Aurora, IN — April 4, 2012—Cemetarians are noticing a decrease in bronze memorial sales, with 62.5 percent citing cost as the major reason for the decline. In a recent survey, the majority of cemetery professionals indicated they would consider alternatives to traditional bronze memorials. Since 2002, the price of copper, the primary component in traditional bronze memorials, has risen from less than $1 per pound to more than $4 per pound.  The rising cost of bronze memorials has resulted in fewer sales and rising theft, said survey respondents.

Aurora Casket Company issued the survey to cemetery professionals around the United States. Aurora recently partnered with Michigan-based Whitehall products to develop an alternative to traditional bronze memorials.  The Aurora Memorial has a similar appearance and performance to traditional bronze memorials, yet they are composed of recycled aluminum encased in solid bronze.  According to Aurora Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing Tim Dugan, Aurora Memorials are up to 40 percent less expensive than traditional bronze.

“Aurora Memorials allow us to offer a great value to our families,” said Jeff Gamble of Gamble Holding Company in Decherd, Tennessee.  “We can now give them the appeal, look and durability of traditional bronze memorial at a more affordable price.”

Aurora Memorials are available with a 30-year warranty and a defect-free guarantee. For more information on Aurora Memorials, visit www.AuroraAdvantage.com.

###

About Aurora

Founded in 1890, Aurora is the largest family-owned funeral service supplier. Aurora caskets are proudly made in the United States and Canada, with headquarters based in Aurora, Indiana. For more information about Aurora products and services, visit www.auroracasket.com.

Aurora Casket Featured on Aging Care

Our favorite casket company was featured on Aging Care, a website dedicated to those taking care of elderly relatives. The full article is at the following link and below. Glad to have been involved in this project.

http://www.agingcare.com/Articles/funeral-planning-in-advance-149751.htm

The Legacy Conversation: Talking About Funeral Arrangements

By Lacy Robinson

Text Size: - +

0 Comments

Follow This

 Print

 Email

Of the many less-than-pleasant tasks a caregiver must take on, one is making arrangements for how a loved one will be remembered. Fear is often a motivating factor as only a fourth of Americans pre-plan their funeral, according to the Funeral Memorialization Information Council. It is emotionally challenging to think about end-of-life decisions. Yet by initiating this conversation now, everyone involved will be in a more comfortable position later. Planning at the time of loss can be a difficult experience as emotions run high or arguments and brash decisions may occur. Here's how you can respectfully encourage those you care for to verbalize their desires and plan a personalized, meaningful goodbye.

Breaking the ice

This is an instance where getting started is at least half (if not more) of the battle. Similarly, the sooner you have this conversation, the better, as the focus will be on a legacy rather than loss when your parents are younger and healthier. However, regardless of their age, what is most important is that you take the first step now.

There is no formulaic way of broaching this dialogue as each family is unique in the way they handle sensitive topics.

Many people recommend setting a time and starting with a statement that demonstrates that you care about your parents' interests and the well-being of the family. For example, you may begin with "Mom and dad, I know this may be an uncomfortable topic, but would you be open to talking about your funeral service and some of the ways you wish to be remembered? When the time comes, I want to know that we are carrying out a ceremony that you want rather than stressing with one another over the details."

Others recommend talking about your own funeral arrangements or pre-planning efforts as a way of breaking the ice, perhaps even inviting them with you to a funeral home so you can go through the arrangement process together.

Another method is to start informally, asking your parents about some of their favorite traditions and how your family will continue those traditions for generations to come before finding a natural transition to the memorial service.

Your parents may resist, saying "Don't make a fuss. I don't want a ceremony. Just bury me and be done with it." It is best to gently remind them the purpose of the funeral service – that it serves as a time for the living to come together as a community and celebrate a life lived as an essential part of the grieving process. Keeping this larger focus in mind will help guide both of you when deciding on the finer details of the ceremony.

Guiding the conversation

After you've taken the first step, what is it that you talk about? Your funeral home is your best resource as its staff can clarify the different services and selections available and help you create a meaningful, personalized ceremony based on your loved one's final wishes and the emotional needs of your family. If your parents are willing, a funeral director can sit down with them to discuss the arrangement process in detail, at no cost to you and your family. If you so desire, you can put your family member's wishes on file with the funeral home and even elect to prepay to secure today's prices, particularly as inflation affects everything from college tuition to dry cleaning.

While this process does cost money, it is another way to negate expenses in the future and can be funded through life insurance, a bank trust agreement or an insurance policy through the funeral home. Although this is an option to consider, it is not a necessary part of the planning process.

Funeral homes have other resources you can use outside of this meeting, such as funeral planning guides and online forms. Some have even adopted online platforms, such as Aurora Casket Company's Advisor, to lead you through the process, allowing you to plan collaboratively with your parent at your own convenience. If going to the funeral home is unrealistic at this time, families can download a free planning guide, find answers to common questions and locate funeral homes at www.FuneralPlan.com.

Keep in mind you do not have to follow these guides in order. As previously mentioned, it may be best to start with discussions such as your parents' favorite places to visit, favorite songs and favorite memories before transitioning to more difficult topics. These types of conversations will assist you in planning a personalized ceremony. You can also start with larger topics such as rather they would prefer to be buried or cremated before progressing to other aspects of their remembrance service.

Do your research

For most, planning a funeral is not a one-day affair. Take your time, do your research and create a service that is best for your family, ensuring the ceremony is personalized and within your budget.

Pay careful attention to what your parent has to say, committing it to writing and verbalizing it back to them to communicate understanding. If there are certain topics they would rather not discuss now, ask if they would be comfortable talking about them later. Respect your parents' decision to decline comment on certain topics as over-persistence may make them feel as though you have something other than their best interests in mind. Being prepared and timing can mitigate these kinds of negative reactions.

You never know, what feels like a daunting task may be rewarding for both parties in the end. Take this as your opportunity to have some authentic conversations with your loved one and let your parents know the legacy they have had in your life.

Next: Funeral Planning Checklist

---

Lacy Robinson, CFSP and senior professional development trainer at Aurora Casket Company, specializes in helping funeral directors partner with families to create funerals that honor both their basic and personal needs at the time of loss. For more information on Robinson and Aurora, visit www.AuroraCasket.com.

Twenty Percent of B-2-B Companies Do Not Measure Marketing Campaigns

Scary, eh? Makes me extra vigilante about making sure we work hard to for our clients. Remember, everything we do has an end point of driving sales, as you'll read later in this piece. The original article from Direct Marketing News is available here: 


http://www.dmnews.com/report-b-to-b-marketers-dont-measure-capaigns/article/232805/?DCMP=EMC-DMN_iMktingNewsDaily 

Report: B-to-b marketers don't measure campaigns

Erin Dostal

March 20, 2012

erican advertising spend to increase in 2012

Read More >>

Twenty percent of b-to-b marketers don't measure the effectiveness of their campaigns, particularly when it comes to generating marketing-sourced sales leads, said Adam Blitzer, COO of Pardot, a marketing automation company that specializes in b-to-b.


The statistic, said Blitzer, comes from Pardot's “Marketing Metrics Survey” that asked 65 b-to-b marketers—many of whom from Pardot's own pool of 900 clients—what metrics are important and how those metrics are measured.


“The results were a bit surprising to us,” Blitzer said. “We would've guessed that close to 100 percent were measuring at least basic metrics.” The survey found, for instance, that 20% of b-to-b marketers don't measure the number of new sales leads generated by each marketing campaign.


The current survey was inspired by Pardot's Q4 2011 study on how marketers used and measured social media, Blitzer said. The 2011 study found that one-third of marketers don't measure the results of their social media campaigns.


“If this was five years, ago, this wouldn't be surprising,” Blitzer said of the findings. “You didn't have the tools for it or, if you did, it was just too tedious to do. I'm surprised that this is still the case because there are so many measurement tools today.”


The Pardot study also found that 30 percent of marketers lacked the tools they needed to track marketing leads. Another 30 percent weren't tracking marketing-sourced opportunities, or other metrics, he said.


Blitzer attributed this to the fact that b-to-b is a heavily sales-centric field. One way to help change this culture would be to “justify the existence of the marketing team as a revenue driver as opposed to a cost center.” Marketers, he said, ought to use CRM just as much as their sales-team counterparts; they should leverage CRM to track marketing campaigns from lead generation to sales, which would allow marketers to quantify success. The should also determine exactly how much revenue each campaign drives.


Ultimately, marketers and sales teams need to work more closely together to get the most from marketing campaigns, he said. “I think when those two sides work well together, things really hum from an operational standpoint.” Salesforce.com, Blitzer said, is an example of a large company that does this well.


“They always spend a lot of money on sales and marketing compared to more traditional software vendors,” he said. “They've had a lot of growth that way. They have a good, tight play between marketing and sales.”

Media Relations Workshop Tomorrow at 9 a.m.

Just a reminder, our next Professional Development series networking breakfast and seminar is THIS Wednesday at 9 a.m. at The Eisen Agency. Register at www.TheEisenAgency.com/PDS. This month's topic: More and Better Publicity for Yourself, Your Business and Your Brand.

Hope to see you there!

Finally! Acknowledgement that PR Has Been Around Quite a While

Evolution of the PR pro (infographic)

By PR Daily Staff | Posted: March 12, 2012

77
inShare

From Julius Caesar to Mark Zuckerberg, this infographic from PRWeb tracks the evolution of the PR pro:

An Extrospection on Hummus

What the Popularization of the Sand-Colored Goo Tells Us About Marketing

It is lunch hour and I am trying to decide whether or not to break up with my hummus, whether it’s me and the fact I don’t really care for it unless it’s masked by some other flavor or if it doesn’t care about my needs as it has gone bad quickly. After a quick discussion, it is agreed it should head to the trash can and suggested that I eat from one of the many other containers of the paste that nest in our refrigerator. There are five packages in there which prompted me to ask, “Was hummus always this popular?”

“I don’t recall seeing it in stores, my mother always just made it” Holly said.

“It’s really taken off in the past few years,” Kelly agreed. “Probably because hipsters are all about it.”

After much debate, we mutually conclude that grocery stores are more than likely selling more hummus then ever and a quick Google search confirmed our hypothesis. But why? If you think about it, it’s just mashed-up chickpeas, nothing too special. And yet, I believe that the popularization of hummus can provide us with a rhetorical analysis of what consumers are wanting and how marketers can intersect current societal tides with what they offer.

It’s Customizable

You can either buy or make hummus in a variety of flavors from garlic to red pepper or even opt for similar substances such as baba ghanoush. The flavor you choose is unique to the individual and as the United States is host to the most individualized culture in the world, we love our customizable options. Consider the popularity of the iPod or the popularity of monogrammed towels. What is interesting about customization and options is that we like it, but within reason. Consider your mall stores. Sometimes it’s nice to go to Forever 21 and have every option of white skirts in front of you but many times I opt for the tranquility of Banana Republic for variety without feeling overwhelmed.

It’s Global

By origin, hummus is a Levantine Arab food product that is popular in the Middle East and can be found in restaurants of the same descent in the U.S. While I imagine that for all of time man has been fascinated with food and goods of different origins, I do believe that the tendency to embrace different cultures is the direct effect of postmodernism, globalization and to some degree our educational curriculum (I recall in second-grade an assignment to do a report on Italy as my family’s country of origin, mother’s maiden name Cella).Travel Channel notes that since the film Sex and the City 2 and the show The Real Housewives of New York, women have forsaken shopping trips to Fifth Avenue and Rodeo Drive in lieu of excursions to browse bazaars in destination getaways. We’ve come a long way from my Italian grandfather who is reluctant to try any cuisine not American or Italian to myself who was happily raised on Chinese take-out and enchiladas. In the future it will be interesting to see what Americans adopt (such as the Middle East’s hummus) and what we dismiss (such as some Middle Eastern nations’ views of women’s roles). I’ll leave that to the ethnographers and sociologists out there to predict.

It’s Vegetarian

Simply stated, there are more vegetarians out there today than in generations past and hummus is a terrific nutrient supplement for those who choose this lifestyle. As someone with several vegetarian friends, many have selected this dietary path after self-education on the way livestock is raised and produced. For some, it has simply been a matter of personal preference. Regardless, one could argue that the ideals of postmodernism, defying conventional standards and the Millennial theme of “question everything”, even when it comes to what is an acceptable lunchtime platter, have likely influenced and perpetuated this trend. Tied to the first theme of this post, a USA Today article also supports that vegetarianism has become popular simply because there are now more vegetarian options available.

It’s Green

The article also notes that some choose a vegetarian lifestyle because of environmental concerns. Now, I do not know too much about the way hummus is produced, but I’m willing to bet it is a reasonably “green” product (especially if it’s made from edamame, but I digress). With few by-products, preservatives, dyes and chemicals, it’s not only environmentally green but also healthy as my personal trainer cautioned against “foods where the ingredient list was bigger than the product itself.” The environmental factor is furthered by the fact that some of my favorite hummus comes from farmer’s markets.

The fact that I’ve thought so thoroughly about my lunchtime choices leads me to believe I need a hobby. Nonetheless, hope you enjoyed and happy Friday!