Rawle Murdy was recognized with three Adrian Awards from the Hospitality Sales & Marketing Association International for its work with Wild Dunes Resort and Charleston Place Hotel. Two were “Silver” awards for an integrated campaign, “Stay More, Save More,” which promoted value with longer stays at Wild Dunes during a down economy, and Charleston Place Hotel’s Summer Leisure Campaign, which used personalized direct mail to drive bookings. Rawle Murdy also won a “Gold” in Public Relations Crisis Management for its proactive Wild Dunes Resort’s beach renourishment efforts that utilized social media in addition to traditional PR and marketing to keep bookings strong.

“We were so pleased to have the opportunity to nominate Rawle Murdy for one of our industry’s most prestigious awards,” said Andressa Chapman, director of marketing communication at Wild Dunes Resort. “They have been a true partner to us and we knew that our peers would recognize the stellar work we’ve done together.”

In November, the Charleston American Marketing Association presented Rawle Murdy with two Spark Awards for exceptional marketing campaigns. Rawle Murdy’s campaign to rebrand the Charleston Animal Society and launch the nonprofit’s new state-of-the-art center not only won a “Torch” award, it also received the highest score of any contest entry submitted in 2008. Rawle Murdy also won a “Fuse” award, which recognizes a campaign that takes a seemingly one-dimensional issue and builds buzz, for the agency’s “Pledge for Growth” initiative created with the South Carolina State Port Authority to promote responsible growth in and around Charleston.

Finally, Rawle Murdy’s “Say It With Beef” Valentine’s Day campaign for Piggly Wiggly Carolina Co. was awarded the People’s Choice Award for a Retail Television or Radio Advertisement by the attendees at the Certified Angus Beef annual conference in September 2008. The innovative campaign, created to introduce a new offering at the grocery store chain, even earned a mention on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” earlier this year.

“We are grateful to be honored with these recognitions, especially in light of being named a finalist in The Wall Street Journal’sTop Small Workplaces for 2008,” said Bruce Murdy, president of Rawle Murdy. “All six of these awards reinforce our focus on delivering thoughtful, strategic work for our clients.”

Before joining Rawle Murdy’s interactive team, Fabian worked as a senior account executive at imc², a full-service independent interactive agency located just outside Philadelphia, Pa. He also honed his skills in the growing fields of e-commerce solutions, SEM and online advertising by working with large retailers like Footlocker, Timberland, GNC (General Nutrition Center) and Linens N’ Things while at the leading interactive firms of GSI Commerce and Unreal Marketing Solutions.

“Lou’s strong background in digital planning and strategic interactive counsel will only further strengthen our interactive team,” said Rawle Murdy President Bruce Murdy. “We’re excited to have him on board.”

Fabian built his career in the burgeoning field of interactive marketing after earning a bachelor’s of Science and Business Administration from Shippensburg University in Pennsylvania in 2002.

Rather than just asking Rawle Murdy’s 60+ staffers to donate money for the Alzheimer Memory Walk in late October, the agency’s media department got creative–they set a goal of raising $500 and coordinated internal bake sales, raffles, and offered a “Wear Jeans Day” for $5. Not surprisingly, the brownies disappeared and donations rolled in. In fact, the team raised nearly $750, well exceeding their goal. And they capped off the effort by literally walking the Walk.

Without the support of direct mail, Internet sales declined. Makes sense, when you think about the value of multiple ways of communicating with a customer in multiple ways.

But the seduction of Internet communications (especially seductive because they can be so targeted and so measurable) risks blinding us to the value of a multi-channel approach.

There’s been some experimentation recently with introducing the personal touch to online selling by analyzing online visitors in to hot and cold leads and then making personal contact via online chat with the “hotties.” It’s a complex slice and dice of prospects, but by adding the personal dimension to just the right targets, it’s already proving to improve conversion rates by 15% or more.

All of this points to the need to continuosly improve and refine our marketing processes, never depending upon a single medium to carry the day. Furthermore, the selective infusion of personal contact in the Web-based sales process takes us back to the fundamentals of marketing and communications…building a bond with the customer, a bond that is customized and personalized.

The Lands End folks get it, as they spend time talking on the phone with customers talking about lots more than the company’s products. And Piggly Wiggly gets it, empowering Smile Managers not only to solve people’s problems but also simply to treat people as people. These companies most definitely have genuine relationships with their customers…building loyalty and trust and confidence. And, even in a tough economy, that’ll beat “price and item every day.”

It takes an optimal blend of channels, a strong dose of personal touch, and the ability to listen.

And Speaking of Listening…

I liked Geoff Livingston’s book Now is Gone which has been making the rounds in our office. A couple of quotes worth noting:

“Participation affects all marketing. Fewer and fewer companies are able to retain the public’s trust as faith shifts to the peer space. Today’s customers expect to be listened to and understood. By being involved in social networks, a company can be in tune with what their customers’ wants and needs are, and can apply what they’ve heard to their traditional and new media marketing programs.

…..

“I talk about brand, and people think you are talking about a trademark of a logo, but the brand itself is the way the consumer reacts when they hear your company name or see your logo or a product of yours on store shelves. That is all based on their experience and the one way, top down, pushed advertising and marketing is only part of that experience.” [my italics]

Updegrove brings Rawle Murdy two decades of leadership experience working with some of the world’s most iconic brands—from Time Magazine to MTV Networks to Yahoo!

Updegrove was vice president of sales and operations at Yahoo! Canada helping them expand their reach as the world’s second largest search engine. He launched Nickelodeon’s custom publishing division and helped build MTV Magazine for MTV Networks after serving as publisher for Newsweek in New York. Updegrove also spent eleven years with Time in Los Angeles, New York and Toronto, where he served as president of Time Canada.

“Mark’s relevant experience working with some of the top worldwide brands will certainly be an asset to Rawle Murdy,” said Rawle Murdy President Bruce Murdy. “We are thrilled and fully confident he will bring great value to the ongoing success and growth of our firm.”

Prior to his significant industry experience, he also spent time at marketing firms Rapp & Collin and Wunderman Worldwide in New York.

He is also the author of two books: “Baptism by Fire: Eight Presidents Who Took Office in Times of Crisis” (to be published in January 2009) and “Second Acts: Presidential Lives and Legacies After the White House,” which landed him spots on ABC News, CNN, Fox News, NPR and others.

Updegrove holds a bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Maryland and is married with two children.

For a high-res, downloadable photo of Updegrove, please visit here.

By David L. Rawle

Brian Finkelstein came home and found a Comcast technicial asleep on his couch. The technicial had fallen asleep waiting for Comast’s customer support line to answer the phone.

Finkelstein videotaked the sleeping technician and posted it on YouTube. Within hours, the video was viewed by more than h alf a million people. Needless to say, the video dealt a real blow to Comcast.

The Finkelstein video is but one of many examples of what is now referred to as “consumer-generated media.” Blogs, wikis, message boards, video-sharing sties and social networking pages are all part of the growing trend of consumer-generated media.

More than 112 million blogs are now in the blogoshpere. More than 200 million videos are viewed daily on YouTube. And more than 14 million photos are uploaded daily on Facebook.

Vincent Ferrari encountered a combative service representative at AOL. He recorded the call and put the audio file on his blog and YouTube. He even endedup on NBC’s Today show.

Consumers rule. Consumers control the dialogue. Consumers are talking about you. And there are tremendous benefits in listening.

Carefully listening to consumers does even more than protect your reputation and strengthen your sales. It can provide valuable market research information. It can help tell you where the weak spots are in  your product and service. And it can reveal  your personnel strengths and weaknesses.

Various methods exist for staying in touch with what consumers are saying about you. For example, Technorati blog search, Nielson BlogPulse and Google Blog Search each provide ways to monitor blogs. IceRocket searches across blogs as well as MySpace pages, news sources, images and videos. YouTube and Google Video Search, along with Flickr and other photo search sites, are valuable. And then, too, you can look at ratings sites like Epinions or Trip Advisor.

Beyond looking at these sites, analyze the comments that are out there — How many there are, where they come from, what issues they are addressing, what kinds of emotions they are expressing, what you can tell about the sources of the comments.

In short, there’s a lot of slicing and dicing to do, if you really want to understand and respond effectively to what’s being said.

We are all living under the critical microscopes of consumers. So, what’s the best way to thrive in these conditions?

First, do a reality check on your product or service. Make certain that you are delivering on your promise.

What matters most to consumers is your credibility. They want to feel that they can truse you, that you’re being open and straight with them. they want to feel that you’re listening, and that you’re responsive to their interests, issues and comments.

Second, make communicating with you really easy for your customers. Don’t hide the opportunity in small type on  your Web site. Say it loud and clear. Encourage consumer participation.

Put all commnets on your site, even if they’re negative. Make your Web site a listening platform that nurtures a sense of community. And make every interaction with your customers a positive experience.

Just look at the kinds of companies that are thriving in today’s challenging economy. In the airline industry, Southwest stands apart from all others, in personality as well as profitability. They have successfully created a community with their customers.

So has Lands’ End, where customer service reps are encouraged to chat with customers.

And what about Comcast? Well, they learned their lesson from Brian Finkelstein and others. they now have a full-time department dedicated to monitoring all consumer-generated media, listening carefully to it and responding responsibly to it with both words and actions. As Comcast now says, “When you’re having a two-way conversation, you really get to clean the air.”

By Bruce D. Murdy

I was interested in a recent article in a leading marketing trade magazine, Advertising Age, about the relatively flat “advertising” spending in the past year - up about 1.7%, led by super-marketer Proctor and Gamble’s 7.1% increase in measured media. This is a significantly smaller increase than in any year since the recession in 2001.

While most point to the troubling economic times we’re now in as the main culprit - and I agree that’s certainly part of it - I think it’s something else at work.

The business of communications used to be simpler: An ad was “advertising,” a press release was “public relations.” But the reality is far different today. And the measurement of spending just hasn’t kept up.

For years, direct marketing, point-of-sale advertising and a handful of other types of communication were referred to as “below-the-line” spending…somehow not owed the dignity of measurement. Today, what was once called “nontraditional” as well as “below-the-line” communications are the fastest growing means of communications. The lines of communication are blurring, and the 20th-century model of measurement hasn’t kept up.

The same holds true for categorizing communications. While “advertising” geniuses gather annually in Cannes to celebrate the world’s best advertising, the message is clear: They’re confused. What IS an ad? Not only are categories of advertising not keeping up, but the ability to categorize some types of communication is just not clear.

Technology has driven much of this change, and confusion, as we put consumers more in control of the dialog. But “ad fatigue” and added sophistication of consumers is also a key reason.

Marketers want to build relationships, talk with (not to) consumers, and build third-party dialog that ultimately moves the needle. While traditional advertising and PR may be a part of that mix, they must be combined with other types of communication to be effective.

There are literally limitless emerging ways to talk with your customers. Like social media engagement - actually talking online with your customers. How about blogs? And electronic customer retention management?

But it’s not only about technology. There are countless creative ways to communicate that have nothing to do with technology, like the McDonald’s billboard that actually grew grass - or the company’s recent coffee promotion in Times Square that actually “pours” coffee into a giant cup. And there are the dinosaur throwbacks that still work as well, such has flyers on car windshield wipers, or having your store mascot in the local parade?

The trick is how to measure all the activity in these non-traditional communications. Whether it’s high-tech, high-creativity, or old-fashioned high-touch, the measurement of effectiveness has been a lot less science and a lot more art.

In terms of the industry measuring how much money is actually poured into these alternative communications, there are many small players trying to keep up with the changes, but the creative ideas of today are harder to pinpoint than traditional media. So there is a lot of speculation.

At the same time, there is movement for greater measurement, greater accountability. The Web has shown all of us that analytics can be our friend, and allow for almost constant refinement to our messages and our delivery. With more and more focus (and budgets) on non-traditional communications, we’ll see tools that help us as marketers track better and more scientifically.

In the meantime, the challenge is to be bold, especially in these tough times. Tried and true might be measurable, but these are times when aggressive marketing tactics need to be the norm, not the exception.

So take a look at what you’re doing, and challenge yourself, and your marketing team, to add creativity to your messaging. It will pay off!

Originally from New York, Polito served as senior account manager at Kaleidoscope Youth Marketing in Mount Pleasant, S.C. and assistant account executive at Ketchum Public Relations in New York City. Polito has worked with such powerhouse brands as Johnson & Johnson, Listerine, Cingular and Frito-Lay and specializes in strategic and program management as well as post program resulting and research. Polito earned a bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from Syracuse University and will be responsible for developing and managing results-driven public relations solutions for clients.

As part of the College of Charleston’s most recent graduating class, Kauck earned a bachelor’s degree in Corporate Communication and completed two consecutive internships at Rawle Murdy before joining the team permanently. In addition to her past experience at Rawle Murdy Associates, this Cincinnati native has worked with restaurant and hospitality public relations firm Wagstaff Worldwide.

by Bruce Murdy

Every day we receive contrary reports about whether the economy is OK or is going down the drain. With prices skyrocketing for the basics of life, from food and gasoline to what we once thought were necessities, like our daily Starbucks, we are feeling the pinch everywhere we turn. In this type of environment, marketers can be confused about the value of a brand.

There are so many unbranded choices today. Whether it is linked to professional services or a can of beans at the supermarket, is the value of a brand name really still there? Should a marketer spend any effort to create or maintain a brand, when unbranded choices are omnipresent and typically lower in cost?

Perhaps you could look at it this way. With an unbranded product, you’re marketing based primarily on the utility of the product. Does the product perform within customer expectations?

And when the product is recognized as being undifferentiated, utility is the only motivator. Does your accounting firm do tax returns — yes or no?  Does your napkin wipe up spills — yes or no? Does your soft drink quench thirst and taste good — yes or no?

And does it perform adequately for less than what others cost? Commodity time, folks.

With branded products, there’s a utility consideration. You still need to perform the function for which your product or service was created, with reasonable efficiency. Then there’s more.

There’s an implied promise of trust and quality. Consumers know that your product is good, and that any product with that brand on it is likely to be good, and probably better than the others.

One of my favorite examples of this is milk. In my hometown, the store-brand milk is exactly the same as a popular name- brand milk. Exactly the same — no additives, no fancy packaging or labels. Just the name is different.

Yet the brand commands a price premium of more than $1 per gallon. And people shell out the difference because they believe the brand is worth it. They trust it to be better; they believe it tastes better. That’s power.

Part of that brand power is also the social value of a brand. Just ask anyone about highly branded products, like soft drinks, athletic shoes, cars, etc.  Some people are Coke people, not Pepsi people.  Some prefer Fords, and would never consider buying a Chevy.  Personally, I like New Balance running shoes, and believe they are superior to Nike.

There’s a strong social value in a brand. That’s a big reason why people like shopping at Target, and Kmart struggles. That’s why major accounting firms win the big contracts when the smaller ones may be equally or better qualified.

Study after study indicates that in uncertain times, people cling to those things which they value. So while the pocketbook may scream “Buy generic,” there’s another, equally strong voice that says, “Stick with the utility, quality and social value of the trusted brand.”

It’s an indulgence that we’re willing to pay extra for, maybe because most don’t see the brands they believe in as indulgences but ones that provide real value — social value.

This means you should continue to invest in your brand. We certainly know that Wall Street values brands. But everyday consumers and businesses do, too. We want the real and perceived value of brands. We want value in the product or service that goes beyond its functional value. And consumers are willing to pay a premium for it.

So guard your brands. Invest in your brands. And market your brands. It will pay off in the short run and in the long run.

Prior to joining Rawle Murdy, Nelson filled the role of media supervisor at R&R Partners in Las Vegas, best known for the “What Happens Here, Stays Here” campaign, and for Agency 212 in New York. While at R&R Partners, he and a team of colleagues won a National Effie award in the 2008 Government/Institutions/Recruitment category for their work with the Southern Nevada Water Authority. Nelson also brings seven years of experience from his work at Metro Newspaper Advertising Services, Media Planning Group and Initiative Media in New York.

“Eric’s focus on smart and creative thinking and integrated solutions makes him a perfect fit for Rawle Murdy,” said Bruce Murdy, president of Rawle Murdy. “We are pleased to welcome him to our media team.”