I find that this transcends to any type of business.  Looking back to my time as a Realtor, I had to be consistent in my daily duties as a Transaction Coordinator.  I had to set aside time to return emails, make phone calls, set up home inspections or schedule closings.  Each week, I had to send out newsletters to our buyers and sellers.  Each week, there was a Sales Meeting to attend.  The most important task was making sure properties and the Realtors I worked for were marketed and advertised in the appropriate magazines and online.  Brand messages and marketing communications need to stay consistent for businesses to help with recognition, which generates more clients.  You could say the same about Coke or Apple.  They are consistent with their branding and marketing strategies and are easily identifiable.  All this being consistent helps a business grow.

And now at B&A, I have to be consistent in preparing what our clients want and need.  Being consistent in attending meetings and returning phone calls are the key to growing our company and getting new clients. Plus, it is smart to practice what we preach.  We provide branding strategies and marketing messages to keep our clients consistent in their messages and grow their business, so it only makes sense for us to do the same.  Consistency to me is the most important attribute that is needed to be a successful businessperson or entrepreneur.

WTF is that? Let me explain a little better how this came about. I have been obsessed with TED Talks lately and I came across one with Simon Sinek called How great leaders inspire action. The big take away in this talk is that "people don't buy what you do, they buy why you do it." Its a simple enough concept. But so many businesses don't approach their marketing or communications this way. They tend to take the status quo route because we are trained to be normal and blend in with everyone else.

I took this "why" concept and made it my own. I have said it before and I'll say it again, I believe that to be successful you have to be true to who you are. I have talked about transperancy as a marketing strategy before and letting that drive marketing and brand communications and company culture. So, I took Simon Sinek's concept on people buy "why" and my believe that you should be true to your inner rockstar and came up with the "Authentic Why Process" that B&A follows. I mean it is natural that the two go hand in hand with one another. Not only do we follow it internal for ourselves, but this the process that we lead our clients through to discover their culture and build their brands. It's who you are. Why you do what you do. What you believe. It's those words that you keep saying over and over again and don't know you are saying them. It's our job to spot those trends that you already know. We just string the themes together to make the story. The story of you and why you believe in what you do.

Do you ever wonder why some people are so successful just by showing up and it seems so effortless for them? Here you are and it's so hard and you just can't seem to be as happy as they are. It's because you are trying to be them, which works for them but isn't you. People see right through that and won't buy what you are selling if you don't believe. Once you believe, then you have to tell them why you believe it. That's the Authentic Why Process. We just help find it and facilitate it. We have always worked in this format but have never really given it a name or its own "brand" to be able to explain it in simple terms. We want to know, what is your authentic why?

However, this potential never-ending horror story has proved to only a myth.

As far as internships have gone, I have had nothing but great experiences. From working for a local record label to an acclaimed, newly established food culture magazine, it has been an eclectic experience.

My most recent endeavor at finding an internship for this semester has gratefully landed me at Bartles & Associates, where I could not be more excited to be a part of. A company that helps clients create the best and most professional brands possible, Bartles & Associates is a company that I am very much looking forward to working with. Providing a company with great press is essential for their success in the business world, therefore I feel as if a good deal of pressure has been put on my shoulders and that surely is not a negative responsibility to take on. As my dad used to tell me, quoting the ever-famous Bruce Springstein, “Walk tall or don’t walk at all.”

Considering that I am in my fifth year at the College of Charleston as a communication major, with a concentration in media studies, this is where what I have learned thus far is put to the test.

And of course that is a huge endeavor in itself: finally finishing my college career. Although college has been an entertaining and, obviously, educational experience, I am ready to take what I have learned and begin my professional career in the field of public relations. Here’s to a good semester at Bartles & Associates!

~Jessica Raymond

Born and raised in Pennsylvania until she was seventeen, Jessica had the, “privilege”, of moving to Spartanburg, SC before heading down to Charleston to start her college education at the College of Charleston, majoring in Communication with a concentration in media studies. Jessica is working towards a successful career in public relations, but in the mean time enjoys the strenuous labor that comes with the food and beverage industry. In her free time, she enjoys reading Kurt Vonnegut, watching violent historical films, and playing basketball. 

When Ronii approached me to come work at B&A, I jumped at the chance. I get to sharpen and expand my business marketing skills and still get to be at home with my two handsome boys. I also hope to help B&A expand into other areas of the country, being as how I live in Martinsburg, WV.

Now don’t get me wrong, I am not all business. I am a people person and love to socialize and partake in an adult beverage on occasion, especially being around a 5 and a 3 year old all day, every day. I do need adult girl time. One would say my weaknesses are jewelry, shoes, and purses. However, my boys are my #1 weakness. There is nothing more rewarding than those loving moments only little boys can give their mommy. But I need to be Jenn and not just Mommy all the time.

Being a 1999 graduate of Shepherd University majoring in Business Marketing and having backgrounds in real estate, office management, and direct sales, I feel that I am going to be a perfect fit with Bartles & Associates. I can’t wait to start working with current clients and bring in some of my own clients from West By God Virginia!

~ Jenn

Granted, I don’t own the business I’m doing the planning for, but that certainly doesn’t make it any less important. I still feel the weight on my shoulders and am constantly pondering the outcome of every decision Ronii has asked my opinion on. But then, how does that really differ from planning a wedding? There are still deadlines, budgets, appointments and meetings, changing minds, slackers, and people “yessing” you.

Can you tell I’m feeling the pressure of planning a wedding? I shouldn’t even use the word plan. I’m more or less doing this frantic, scramble-y type of dance thing. I’ll decide on something and finalize it, and then feel so accomplished from this fractional bit of progress that I don’t do anything for two weeks. Then it’s back to the frantic dance when my Mom calls, asking how the groomsmen are going to get to the venue and where are the Grandparents going to stay since we can’t get a block of rooms and why aren’t you going to throw a bouquet?! Because I paid $80 for this damn bundle of flowers and I’m about to just chuck it across the room!

So, is planning for a business really any different? I mean, you sit down with a client and grill them about their pursuits: what is the personality of their business and what are their goals and who’s their audience and what’s their budget?  So they give you the answers and you begin to draw out a plan, but a day later they call you and start changing things around, and right after you hang up another client calls to see if you can meet them at the drop of a hat across town and on the way your assistant emails you saying she has writers block and didn’t write a blog this week.

I think that planning a wedding and planning for business are very similar, indeed. A lot of pressures and changing dynamics, a lot on the line, and you are constantly learning new things about yourself. But you know…its kind of fun! People are counting on your experience and best judgments to guide them into uncharted waters and there’s this rush of panic and accountability, followed by a sort of regal calm. You’ve made it this far by trusting yourself and your decisions and listening to your clients (or in my case, my mother) about their preferences and concerns, and now they are trusting you to make the right decisions for them and their company. The fact that we think its fun just tells us we’re doing it right. 

It is inherently important to remain motivated in the plans you have laid in front of yourself. Ronii recently laid a solid foundation for planning strategies in the “2012 Marketing Planning” blog post so I will focus on the motivation behind its importance. Someone told me once, “if you do not have any idea where you want to be, you will not be anywhere for long. Self motivation is key.” Every individual will hold different tactics in regards to pushing themselves through demanding situations, but a similarity that is universal in getting the job done centers around self-actualization. Where am I at? Where do I want to be? How am I going to get there?

This may be presented as a daunting task when the ever present overwhelming feeling surfaces. Take heart, because if you have created a plan chasing after a goal then you are already a step ahead of the game. It is a new year after all, so tap into your inner motivational pushers and grab success by the horns. With that being said, I am excited about the experiences I will receive at B&A and how they will fit into my future goals. I will leave you with a short quote by Johann Gottfried Von Herder for thought.

“Without inspiration the best powers of the mind remain dormant. There is a fuel in us which needs to be ignited with sparks.”

~Laura

From the upstate of South Carolina, Laura is currently a senior at the College of Charleston working on finishing up her degree in business and arts management. Being a visual artist at heart, hers goals are to contribute her creativity in the field of advertising. While she isn’t buried in the books or behind her sketchpad, Laura enjoys all things athletic, a nice glass of wine, the joys of the food and beverage industry, and the great sport of people watching. 

We have a little trick that makes it easier for us. Get online and download the calendar of events for the groups and associates that you participate or your target customer participates. You can use serveral social calendars from your local area of events, associations or holidays. Then, determine which events are pertainent to your company and start creating some creative concepts based on how your organization will be involved in each of these events or around these events. Remember to make them relevant to the target and true to your brand and what you do. Once you have those down, work backwards on the calendar and set deadlines for specific deliverables for each event/creative concept (be realistic and give yourself and your team some time to work on things and don't push too close to hard deadlines like getting material printed). There you go, you have your marketing plan for the year. All you have to do is put it in a document to track and make the calendar available to all those that now have deadlines to meet.

For example, B&A's 4th Birthday is July 1 and this year our creative concept for a birthday campaign will be 'Stand Out From the Rest'. We will run the campaing for 1 month before and 2 weeks after and will set our deadlines for print and consumables at May 23rd for distribution on June 1 and we will set our content writing dealine for May 30th for social media and any traditional mediums that we incorporate. That's just one campaign for the year but it will give you an idea of how we plan it.

Planning ahead like this will keep you from scrambling at the last minute to put something together for campaigns and only doing it half as good as you should have. B&A will be getting its calendar this week and starting our planning for 2012, then everything will go on our digital public calendar and we have no excuses to miss any deadlines (missing Champagne Thursday deadlines is just inexcuseable here). Do you have any quick tips or tricks for your marketing planning? We would love to hear them, so drop us a line and chat. Have a safe and happy holiday!

~Ronii

When we first see those displays go up our gut reaction is to go, "CRAP! I'm not ready. Its not even Thanksgiving yet. Where did the year go?" No, its not Thanksgiving yet and in the fall we judge months and time by the holidays because they fall about a month apart from each other. BUT the United States is the only country on the planet that celebrates the wonderful food fest that is Thanksgiving! (I know I'm going to get comments out there about how we are not the only country to celebrate Thanksgiving. But no one celebrates like we do though).

Here's my logic behind this. While I was home in WV last week visiting my brother who is home visiting from South Korea (he has some top secret governement job that I'm not allowed to know anything about, so don't ask) he was showing us some pictures of his new puppy, Lily. Every single person that he showed the pictures to commented about the Christmas tree in the background and he made a joke about how their Christmas tress has been up for 3 months already. I forgot to mention that Brett's wife is Philipino (that will help you understand my point here). Everyone was like, "why, it isn't even Thanksgiving yet?" And Brett would have to respond with the same answer about how in Korea and the Philippeans they don't celebrate Thanksgiving so they begin to celebrate Christmas early because, well, they can and they really like Christmas.

Hmmmmm. (Light Bulb with a bright idea moment) The United States only makes up about 5% of the global populations, companies that have holiday displays up already are global organizations, the whole world (outside of the U.S.) starts celebrating Christmas in October. Do you see it? We are the only country in the world that celebrates Thanksgiving. Companies are cashing in on their global sales not just the U.S. Global organization need to understand its consumers as a whole and we are just a small portion of that, hence holiday displays at Halloween. I'm one smart cookie, huh?

What are your thoughts on starting holiday promotions in October? Do you panic when you see those displays and wonder where the year went?

~Ronii

Sometimes when you get caught up in thinking of branding schemes you forget that the ultimate decision is made by the client not you. This can be frustrating because you may feel that they are choosing the wrong option but it doesn’t matter because it’s the client’s happiness that matters most, and if the client is not comfortable with the branding scheme than they will not embody it to the fullest.

For me this concept has been difficult to grasp. In the world of college education we are taught some principles that are just not true for the real world, one of them being that people are rational and the other being that people will only do an action if the return is greater or equal to the amount of units spent on it. This is just not the case in reality. So perhaps the most important lesson I have learned from interning is that the principles one learns in college are far from absolutes. 

~Blake