Placing your cable TV commercial on YouTube for free is one way to leverage
your marketing expense.

Leverage your marketing expenses
Make your programs do double duty, and save

Issue press releases and reuse them as content on your Web site. Every business generates more news than even they believe. Newsworthy events include new hires, honors received, charitable contributions, conferences attended and more. Remember “names makes news” and use photographs to make a larger impression. Follow journalism “style” conventions for best results.

Use your cable TV commercial on your Web site and place a copy on YouTube. Your television production can be easily modified to run on your Web site in fast-loading Flash. Similarly, upload to YouTube for free and impress your prospects and customers.

Convert print ads into flyers, posters, postcards and Web content. You’ll not only achieve important brand consistency across media, but save on reuse of licensed photography. Your customers and prospects must see your message multiple times before they make a connection. You might even consider reusing this content on a portable and retractable banner stand (only about $300) for trade shows, fairs and networking events, or an inexpensive vinyl banner for your building.

Start an e-newsletter by reusing all of the above. E-mail newsletters save money on printing and postage. Consider a custom newsletter layout to stand out from all those using bland and overused templates from online e-mail marketing companies. Be sure to follow rules allowing recipients to opt-out.

Create a FaceBook page and create links to content on your Web site. FaceBook also allows you to automatically send Twitter “tweets.” “Pages” are different than “profiles” and allow people to become fans without sending you e-mails. You control whether fans may comment or post. Use your logo, properly formatted, as your main photograph.

Issue an electronic Annual Report. This version of your report doesn’t necessarily have to contain financial information.  It could be a “Community Participation Report,” for example. Reuse content from your press releases and print materials and publish a copy in Adobe Acrobat format for your Web site.

Use custom presentation folders for soliciting prospects. These 9" X 12" or 10" X 13" folders look more professional than generic ones and cost little more when purchased in larger quantities. Use the folders for proposals, media kits, reports
and more.

Use the backside of your business cards to help facilitate referrals.
Full-color business cards now cost as little as ordinary cards and often include free backside printing.

Finally, ask your advertising agency to refund the 15% “advertising agency commission.” Many agencies quietly receive this 15% kickback from the media and others. If you’re paying a fair price, should your vendor be compensated twice? Further, commissions may create conflicts of interest between your needs and those of the media.

Submit your comments to creative@cocoboston.com.

COCO+CO. promotes two
Sarmanian, Skorupka receive promotions

WARD HILL, Mass. — Claire “Teddie” Sarmanian and Gregory A. Skorupka, both of North Andover, were promoted last month to operations manager and art director, respectively, by COCO+CO. President and Chief Executive Officer Tim Coco.

Sarmanian is responsible for tasks in a variety of departments, including client services, human resources and accounts receivable. Skorupka oversees the art department, which includes advanced Web site development and graphic design.

“The pair play instrumental roles in serving client partners in this ever-evolving digital age, he said. Both staff members joined COCO+CO. three years ago and have since demonstrated unique abilities to help client partners achieve goals through brilliant implementation of COCO+CO.’s proprietary Connections Process,” said Coco.

Sarmanian earned her B.A. in Communications from University of Massachusetts, Amherst. She has a background in media and sales and has held positions at companies such as GSX Groupware Solutions in Reading, Western Media in Phoenix, Ariz., and WFXT-TV in Dedham.

Skorupka’s experience includes both traditional and digital arts, ranging from print advertising to computer illustration. He holds a B.A. in Digital Media Arts from Merrimack College in North Andover, Mass. He was a member of the Web Services team at Merrimack College, creating online virtual tours and assisting professors with Internet course-related materials.

COCO+CO. provides strategic corporate communications with an emphasis on brand consistency across media. COCO+CO. works with businesses in the financial services, quasi-public, energy efficiency and food manufacturing sectors. COCO+CO. may be reached at (800) 374-4103 or on the World Wide Web at www.cocoboston.com.