Accelerating its digital integration, MARC USA is bringing on board Chris Heitmann and Chris Pointon as EVP Chief Innovation Officer and SVP Marketing Technology, respectively. They both bring over 20 years of expertise in digital strategy, product development and technical innovation to the agency’s already established cross-discipline digital capabilities.

“Chris Heitmann and Chris Pointon are new age technologists – not just digital agency guys,” explained Michele Fabrizi, President and CEO of MARC USA. “Chris and Chris build technology solutions that build brands. Their skill set will enable us to maximize the ideas we bring to clients to help them be successful in today’s multi-channel digital age. They’ve created games on multiple platforms, built CRM infrastructure from the ground up, refigured Facebook platforms for B2B and more. They are terrific additions to MARC USA.”

Chris Heitmann and Chris Pointon are new age technologists – not just digital agency guys”

In commenting on their move to MARC USA, Chris Heitmann said, “Chris and I are entrepreneurs. That’s why we’re excited by the value MARC USA places on new ideas and innovation. The agency has a trusted relationship with its clients where new solutions are welcome. You don’t see that kind of relationship with digital agencies. Being embedded within MARC USA will give us the ability to work collaboratively with all disciplines to create communications ecosystems that have a real impact.”

Chris Heitmann was most recently CMO at OTO in Boston where he also created marketing technology platforms. Before that he developed digital marketing tools for Sony Music and founded several cutting edge digital start-ups, primarily with Chris Pointon, who was formerly head of technology and Managing Director at OTO. Both Pointon and Heitmann met at AdTools, a digital technology company they helped develop before selling to Sony. Heitmann and Pointon will oversee a strong digital capability that includes strategists, developers, social media experts, creative teams, and analysts and will work closely with MARC USA’s hybrid media team of offline and online planners and buyers.

The agency has also brought on board Mark Tribble as SVP Group Account Director on Rite Aid. Tribble comes to MARC USA from Bernstein Rein. During his 18-year tenure, he led a number of major retail accounts – most notably Walmart, for which he led the rebranding and repositioning of the Pharmacy Department. He has also led highly successful rebranding and repositioning work for Haverty’s Furniture, Family Dollar, PetSmart, and Steve and Barry’s, among others.

The agency has been on a new business streak since 2011, particularly in the Pittsburgh office, and recently was renamed the agency for the Pennsylvania Lottery where it has achieved nine straight years of sales growth. The agency’s new business wins include recently announced MAV-TV as well as the American Heart Association. The agency also won the digital AOR assignment from Capital BlueCross and has expanded its digital work for current clients Cooper Tire, Rite Aid and others.

There’s no doubt that Pinterest is the next big thing in social media. If you haven’t used it yourself, you have likely heard about it and have been considering whether or not it’s right for your brand. Its simplicity is key – a “virtual pinboard” inspiring those with similar interests. Pinterest’s growth is astounding. In February 2012, unique users increased 52 percent to 17.8 million – making it the third fastest growing major U.S. website, according to comScore, Inc. Pinterest users are still primarily women (about 80 percent according to TechCrunch) in the 25-44 year old age range who mostly repin, rather than pinning new items.

What’s Being Pinned?

Brands that can create an emotional connection with their target through pictures do best on Pinterest. That’s why Pinterest, in its current form, isn’t right for all brands. Most popular categories include home, arts & crafts, fashion and food. In fact, 17.2 percent of all pinboards are categorized under Home, followed by Arts & Crafts (12.4%), Style/Fashion (11.7%), Food (10.5%) and Inspiration/Education (9.0%). (according to RJ Metrics). Of these, food is the fastest-growing category with the most repins.

Pinning Basics

Don’t Just Sell, Actively Participate

Don’t just pin your own images; engage with users who represent your target audience by actively repinning, liking and commenting on other pins. A following strategy is also important. When a user sees that you are following them, they’ll be more likely to follow you back.

Be Smart with Captions and Hashtags

One of Pinterest’s flaws is that you can lose track of the original content source in the repinning process. Captions can be changed easily and links can be lost, so it’s a good idea to add your website URL at the foot of your image. And use directional captions as mandates in any re-pinning contests. Also, help enhance search functionality by hashtagging relevant and popular terms in the caption. So if you’re pinning home remodeling tools, include the hashtag #DIY in the caption. This will also help associate your pins with other similar pins since hashtags are hyperlinked. For example, when you click on a #DIY, you’ll see all images with “DIY” in their captions.

Integrate into Other Online Channels

Online integration is critical to success on Pinterest. Your website, blog and emails should all include the “Pin It” button next to pinnable images. Wherever you’d include a “Share It” button, add “Pin It.” While you can’t yet pin images from Facebook, you certainly want to promote your Pinterest presence to your existing audience on Facebook.

Game-Changing Opportunities

At MARC USA, we leverage our expertise in brain science to create images that resonate strongly with consumers. We’re excited about the many opportunities that Pinterest now offers to reinforce the emotional connection we’ve built for the brand – particularly in food and home products – with images that go beyond literal representations.

Extend the Dining Experience with Appetizing Images

For example, restaurants can create pinboards for guests to browse before visiting or highlight locally-sourced menu items that many consumers value so highly today. Restaurants can even connect with consumers by linking to recipes, showing wine pairings and including nutritional information within the actual food photo.

Create Virtual Dream Books for Decorating

And when it comes to dreaming about or decorating their homes, many Pinterest users visit the site for inspiration. To make home products more pinnable, link back to decorating tips on your website as well as other lifestyle tips. A dream room makeover sweepstakes could be a great way to leverage Pinterest, where users would be asked to pin your products they’d like to use in their dream room. Participants would also be required to include a branded hashtag in their image caption.

Make In-Store Pinning Easy with QR Codes

Regardless of category, the in-store Pinterest component has yet to be executed effectively. QR codes lend themselves to easy in-store integration. Imagine a customer shopping for the perfect chair to complement her new sofa. Her “wish list” folder of magazine tear-outs has been replaced with pinboards on Pinterest. Make it easy for her to save your product by including a “Pin It” QR code on the chair’s hang tag. This QR code should also be included on all print ads.

Check List – Is Pinterest Right for Your Brand?

1. Do you have, or can you create, interesting and sharable content on your website?
2. Can your products be presented visually?
3. Are you willing to devote the time it takes to market on Pinterest? Often, brands are lured into social media because it’s seen as free, but the primary investment in social media marketing is time, not money. If you are not willing to devote the time to Pinterest, then it’s not right for your brand.

To further explore how Pinterest can help your brand connect with your target audience, contact me at 412.562.1189 or LTristanoMartin@marcusa.com.

 http://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/171187/to-interest-moms-try-pinterest.html

http://socialmediatoday.com/emoderation/480219/pinterest-are-new-terms-better-legal-view

http://mashable.com/2012/03/07/pinterest-brand-marketing/

Your research shows you have a strong product benefit to convey and consumers say they like your advertising. But you’re still not seeing the results you’d hope for.

Where else do you look to improve communications effectiveness?  If your advertising isn’t working as well as you’d like, is it because it’s not designed to work the way the brain works?  Consider this – every buying decision starts with neurons firing in the customer’s brain. And as much as 95% of decision-making happens unconsciously[1].

Today, thanks to brain science advances, we know much more than we used to about how to make the “magic” of compelling communications happen more reliably. Behavioral Economics is changing the way we think about consumer behavior because it helps us understand what is happening in that invisible 95% of brain activity.

So if advertising that drives results is your goal, try thinking about it through the lens of Behavioral Economics. Here are six insights about the often irrational aspects of consumer decision-making:

Last October, coinciding with the annual Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Mills Breast Cancer Institute wanted to dramatically increase bookings for mammograms.  Mills’ past programs had seen a bump in appointments, but they were unprepared for the wave of interest created by the new campaign. After all, women typically put off mammograms out of inertia, fear and concern over the scheduling hassle. What changed?

Putting Behavioral Economics to work.
Make it fun. Make it simple. Make it social.

MARC USA used colloquial language and in-the-know humor throughout the integrated campaign to overcome the inertia of scheduling a mammogram. By treating the subject irreverently, we defused the fear and broke through the clutter of the typical somber Breast Cancer Awareness Month communications.

The Mills Breast Cancer Institute made appointments easy through clear response channels and a “click here and we’ll call you back” feature online. But the big breakthrough in the campaign was MARC USA’s decision to utilize the principle of “Social Proof.”  We fostered dialogue and encouraged friends and families to remind each other to make appointments using a custom Facebook tab which enabled them to send a “mammo-gram.”

Extend the Booking Period!

The results were unprecedented. Social media engagement increased almost 2000% on the Mills Breast Cancer Institute’s established Facebook page. But even more impressively, mammogram appointment bookings were up 25% over a year ago, and Mills experienced a continued lift in appointments into the month of November.