1. DEAR READERS
From the desk of Taylor Abbett, President of Tailored Marketing Inc.
Summer has arrived and we are having one of the nicest stretches of decent
weather that I can remember. So, what new pearl of wisdom can I give you to
help market your company? As I have said in other newsletters, there is a lot
of noise in the market place. I think the best way to stand out is to tell a story.
Since the dawn of time, people like to hear great stories. And how do you
create a story for a company? Every organization, no matter how big or small,
has stories that make them unique, so what is yours? Once you have it, share
it through the web, social media, newsletters, etc. Tell the world!
GPS Shuttle Finder on FlyPittsburgh.mobi,
Grant Oliver Corporation
OLD/NEW ARRIVALS
Many thanks to our Spring interns, they did a great job: Kathryn Walker, The
University of Pittsburgh; Jocelyn Wolfe, Duquesne University; Lindsay Palmer,
Duquesne University; Aytac Akkan Karaguzel, Pittsburgh Film Markers; and
Michael Lastig, Duquesne University.
We would also like to give a warm welcome to our Summer interns: Ashley
Burk, Washington & Jefferson College; Kevin Ray, Univeristy of Pittsburgh;
Taylor Beisell, Carnegie Mellon University; Danielle Lebo, Art Institue of
Pittsburgh.
Mobile Website,
Alco Parking Corporation
CLIENT SPOTLIGHT:
SPORTS & EXHIBITION AUTHORITY
The Sports & Exhibition Authority and Alco Parking wanted to help the
Port Authority in introducing the new T service to the North Shore that
has a stop positioned under their parking garage. After years of
construction and millions of dollars, the new line was finally ready to
open. The challenge was breaking people’s habit and get them to
consider parking on the North Shore and then ride the train.
Strategy: The main focus was on the major corporations to see if they
would be interested in shifting some of their lease parking from
downtown to the North Shore and promote the service to their
employees. In turn, we created collateral material, an animation of the
new route, and supporting information on the website.
Results: Since the opening of the North Shore Connector, the garage
has performed well, with daily usage reaching capacity and event
parking increasing.
Tailored Marketing provided an effective campaign promoting the West General Robinson Street Garage in conjunction
with the opening of the Light Rail Transit station in the North Shore. Their engaging print materials, website design and
imaginative animation clearly shows the value and convenience of the Authority's Garage, and surrounding lots.
It was a pleasure working with Tailored Marketing on this project.
– Rifat Qureshi, Development Manager, Stadium Authority of the City of Pittsburgh

2. SOCIAL CORNER:
PINTEREST BENEFITS FOR BRANDS
On the surface, Pinterest may seem too niche to benefit a wide range of
brands. As with any network, once Pinterest grows there will most likely
be features added specifically for businesses (promoted pins?
sponsored boards?). For now, there are 3 main benefits for brands using
this network…
1. Get Seen – Pinterest levels the playing field for smaller retail
businesses that don’t have the budget or resources to compete in
search results. If you search for jeans on Google Shopping, you’re going
to see Levi’s and a bunch of other brands that sell jeans. “Discoverability”
is a word that has been thrown around a lot regarding Pinterest.
Meaning, Pinterest helps people find new products/brands/styles they
would normally not come across by plugging keywords into a search
engine. Chances are, the people you choose to follow on Pinterest have
similar taste to you. More than likely when you check out their pin
boards, you’ll probably see pins of jeans that would suit your taste. If
you do a search for jeans on Pinterest, you will find trendy options and
smaller brands you didn’t know about, or even a DIY project for turning
an old pair of jeans into a mini skirt. If you search for jeans tomorrow,
you will see something new since results change as new pins are added.
2. Building Links – Anytime someone pins something from your site, it
automatically pulls in not just the image from your site, but also a link.
There is a possibility for that pin to be repinned multiple times (even
hundreds of times, in some cases), building up a healthy amount of
backlinks. You can see if people are pinning things from your site by
replacing “yoursitename.com” in this link with your URL in
http://pinterest.com/source/yoursitename.com/
3. Brand Advocacy – If people love your products and they’re on
Pinterest, they will not only pin your stuff, but they might dedicate an
entire pin board to your brand.
Need proof people are voluntarily hawking products? Just look at
some of the Diet Coke-related things that have been pinned...
TELLING YOUR STORY THROUGH VIDEO
Written by Taylor Abbett
One of the first jobs I had was working for a video production company. We made TV commercials
as well as any number of training videos, and even did production for some regional sports shows.
At the time, video was very expensive to do and only the big companies really took advantage of it.
While today you can film and produce your own videos using only your smartphone. Video is a
great way to engage every sense but smell. (Remember the idea of having smells released in movie
theaters. What ever happened to that idea?)
Here are some ideas for using video: Use humor to personalize your staff and company; tell a story
about great customer service or a funny experience; in a very brief 3-4 minutes, educate your
audience on a topic that benefits them. Finally, create a short promotional video of your company
that talks a little about you. Try sending it out to your next prospect instead of a brochure and see
what happens! Spread your story by posting your videos on your website, YouTube, Facebook, or
burn them to a CD. Marketing is all about telling a great story, so go tell yours.
The videos pictured can been seen at www.worldmemoryproject.org/video
and http://youtu.be/-rTzIAWI4Ms