Hamdi Ulukaya, Chobani Yogurt’s chief executive officer, announced yesterday that he is awarding his nearly 2,000 full-time employees a combined 10% ownership in the privately held company. Ulukaya, who came to America from Turkey, says that he wants to pay back his employees who have helped him build his thriving company. Some estimates indicate that these awards may be valued at as much as $150,000 if the company becomes publicly traded or is sold.
When it comes to marketing, it is difficult to beat good press and the Chobani Yogurt company, which has had positive press before, made news again with its announcement. In the less than ten years since the company started, Ulukaya has also signed Warren Buffet and Bill Gate’s Giving Pledge, which encourages billionaires to give away much of their wealth.
No advertising firm or creative agency could have likely created a plan that would have garnered as much attention or good will as the Chobani announcement.
How Would You Pitch Your Company in a 30 Second Elevator Ride
While the upstate New York yogurt company may have garnered its attention in a huge employee give away announcement, a group of entrepreneurs in New Mexico are trying another method to attempt to advertise and market their small business ideas. While many people have heard of the 30-second elevator pitch, these New Mexico business leaders are extending the time for the pitch to several minutes. On a day in April of 2016 investors and entrepreneurs were paired to ride a ski lift together. During the lift ride, the entrepreneurs have instructions to pitch their business plan or idea to an investor. At the end of the day, the investors meet to compare notes and select the winning proposals. Those winners were awarded a cash prize to invest in their business plan.
The task of a creative agency is actually a combination of the benefits of a great press release about profit sharing with employees and a four to five minute ski lift pitch about the goal of your business plan. And while press releases and ski lift pitches may get many words and several minutes to get their points across, a creative agency also needs to also develop short catch phrases that consumers will associate with a product or a service.
In Today?s Digital World Ad Agencies Compete for Attention
In addition to advertising more traditional ways, a creative agency also understands the importance of having a strong online presence. In fact, as many as 80% of consumers indicate that they do ?a lot? of online research before making major purchase decisions. Additionally, 46% of consumers indicate that they also consult social media when making such choices.
Advertising agencies and marketing firms must understand that 65% of the advertising revenue from the social media platform Twitter is from mobile tablets and smart phones, not desktop or laptop computers. As a result, advertising firms need to only create appealing digital content, that content must be able to work on several platforms with multiple screen sizes.
It should come as no surprise then that 5% of digital marketers indicate that their greatest challenge is meeting the expectations of customers who are always connected. Another 14% Indicate that their greatest challenge is in finding ways to execute consistent and continuing campaigns that drive desired business outcomes, like leads or revenue. Additionally, another 13% indicate their big challenge is finding ways to compete with the proliferation of channels across paid, owned and earned media.
As businesses, both large and small and new and old, attempt to compete in today’s digitally connected world they find they must understand the latest approaches to marketing and advertising. While a favorable news story about giving back to the community or employees or a unique ski lift competition may garner some attention for a product or a service, advertising agencies must address the digital platform as well. In fact, a thorough and consistent approach that will reach today’s constantly connected consumer is essential. Without a digital approach, companies will never receive the traffic that they need to survive.
If your in house marketing team cannot meet these challenges, it is essential to hire an experienced and proven marketing and advertising agency.