Robot Creative - Design and Marketing Weblog

Annual Marketing Planning Checklist

It's the time of the year when you need to look back on your marketing activities from 2009, evaluate what worked and what didn't and plan ahead for 2010.

Download this planning checklist to help you get your materials organized.

Jumpstart Your 2010 Marketing Plan

Whether you have a formal written marketing plan or have yet to think about it, this structured session will provide feedback and help you leave with concrete direction and goals for 2010. Bring any planning or ideas that you have, and learn from the experience of the group in this non-competitive environment.

The workshop will provide practical, effective ideas for staying on top of your marketing efforts by simply putting aside one hour a week. By implementing even the most simple form of a marketing plan, you will see improvements in your client and vendor relations and your sales. Come learn how!

At this workshop, we will cover:
    •    Realistic planning for your business size and goals
    •    Setting specific business goals
    •    How to measure success and ROI

For more information on Marketing Gyms, visit our website >>

Where:
ROBOT Creative
1114 S. Saint Mary's, # 200

When:
Tuesday, November 17th
11:30 am to 1:00 pm
OR
Wednesday, December 9th
11:30 am to 1:00 pm

Cost:
$45 (includes boxed lunch)

Space is Limited - RSVP Today!
Contact Katie Rider, katie@robotcreative.com, (210) 476.8801


Workshops are limited to 8 participants in non-competing industries. Due to space considerations, RSVPs and prepayment are required, and spots will be filled on a first come, first served basis.
 
 

What Past Attendees Have Said:

"The format was excellent. There is a huge benefit from making the workshop interactive. Being able to hear other small businesses' current marketing plans and goals and then receive feedback from Lara is a highly effective model for learning"

"Great job! Will recommend highly to others and look forward to the opportunity of attending another Gym."

"Very good workshop. I think I have a lot of new ideas I want to work on!"

"Great information. It's very helpful to see marketing activities from the standpoint of another industry to give you a new look at how to make that activity productive."
 

So a Captain, Pumpkin and Geisha walk into this bar...

by Andrew Watson

"It's the most wonderful time of the year...."  Sorry Mr. Williams, but I'm talkin' about HALLOWEEN! What other day do you get to dress out of the ordinary and act like a kid again? No, not Casual Fridays...HALLOWEEN! A few of us got into the spirit of dressing up for this most festive of themed nights and we have the photos to prove it.

Lara wins the Art Mimics Life category with her baby pumpkin costume. Looks like she's ready to pop, and she still has a month to go. It really is the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!

Our newest web developer, Holly, wins the Most Likely to Kick Your Butt in a Fight While Still Looking Stylish category. Look at that form - that stare down! Not only does this geisha need just a small paring knife to put the smack-down on this ninja, but she adds insult to injury by fanning herself in the process.

Once again, I've gone shopping at the rummage sale that is my brain, and come back with costume ideas that skirt the line of childish nostalgia, originality and quite possibly good taste. Even if it's only for one night of drunken stupor, Captain Kangaroo lives again! Mr Green Jeans can't be far behind...

Introducing Taryn Pate, ROBOT's New Marketing Manager

Taryn Pate joins the ROBOT machine as our Marketing Manager in charge of executing client marketing initiatives - from marketing plan development to research to copywriting.

Taryn spent the last four years as the Meeting and Event Coordinator for an investment company with over 1400 associates. She coordinated all on- and off-site events and also developed and oversaw creative marketing strategies for the company's on-site cafe.

Originally from El Paso, Taryn journeyed to New Mexico to study Entrepreneurship at New Mexico State University. She found herself back in El Paso after graduation, and aided in managing numerous food service start up companies. Soon after, Taryn traveled to England and France, where she completely fell in love with the culture. She had full intentions of moving to England until she found out they would quarantine her dog for three months. This being unacceptable, San Antonio was clearly the next choice.

Ever the perpetual learner, she lives by the saying, "you learn something new every day" and forces herself to do just that. Taryn brings her love of creative thinking and entrepreneurship to helping ROBOT's clients expand their horizons.

ROBOT's New Business Development Manager, Katie Rider

Katie Rider joins ROBOT as the Business Development Manager. With over 9 years working in advertising sales, ranging from direct mail to newspaper and internet advertising, her breadth of experience gives her the perfect background to help educate and assist our small/medium-sized business clients. In addition to her media sales experience, Katie has also worked in sales promotion and marketing for a major West Coast lifestyle magazine and a well-known skin care brand.

A native Californian, Katie was raised north of San Francisco near the wine country of Napa Valley where she learned to appreciate the intoxicating beauty the nearby vineyards had to offer.

Katie attended Chico State University where she graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English. She moved to San Antonio expecting to be surrounded by cacti and tumbleweeds, but has since learned to appreciate the abundance of oak trees and rainfall. That's right, compared to Napa, it rains plenty here in San Antonio.

Katie's sales philosophy is to establish long relationships and to fulfill the creative needs of our clients by tapping into the the ROBOT team's pool of talent and expertise.

When she's not out chasing down prospective clients for ROBOT, Katie's taking in stray kittens, shopping at local Farmer's Markets and watching the Food Network.

Audio Visual Aids - A New Website for New Audiences

When Audio Visual Aids decided to use the internet to approach two new audiences, ROBOT designed a marketing site that would address the new groups without alienating the original audience and would also integrate with an existing product catalog.

New Audiences Require New Messaging
Throughout most of the company's history, Audio Visual Aids has focused on marketing to the Education industry as an authorized government vendor. The website use was limited to customers shopping through an online catalog. Orders are typically for individual pieces of equipment and replacement items.  Audio Visual Aids is now targeting commercial and government customers who need consulting on full A/V solutions, so it was crucial that the website communicate to the needs of to a broader audience.

ROBOT began by researching Audio Visual Aids' different target audiences and profiling their needs. We found that business customers are looking to connect with vendors and clients, so they need specific applications such as video conferencing systems, presentation systems and network integration. Government clients are concerned about cost and security of their vendors. ROBOT designed the homepage to clearly address these audiences, as well as the original education audience, allowing visitors to quickly navigate through information pertinent to them.

Catalog Integration with the New Site
Because Audio Visual Aids still serves education clients, this group's need to easily access the online catalog could not be overlooked. Working closely with the existing catalog provider to integrate the catalog with the rest of the new marketing site, ROBOT applied new graphic styling to the header and background of the catalog and updated the navigation. This cost-effective solution allowed Audio Visual Aids to continue their working relationship with an established and dependable vendor.

Initial Results
In the first month after the site went live, average pageviews per visit increased by 23.9% and the bounce rate decreased by 28.0%. The improved navigation and usability of the site also helped increase the site's ranking with Google, and traffic from Google's search engine increased by 57.2% in the first month.

"We've had nothing but positive comments about the new site since it went live," said Chris Thompson of Audio Visual Aids. "It looks a lot more professional and really communicates our consulting services to our customers more clearly."

Visit AudioVisualAids.com Now >>