Shaw & Todd - Advertising and Marketing Communications

I recently read an interesting article in B-to-B magazine about Alpha vs. Nonalpha companies and their business styles. Briefly, companies are categorized into two distinct thinking patterns. Nonalpha companies live in the moment; reacting to market trends and competition, while Alpha companies continually look to the future, anticipating and even creating market trends.

Contrary to author Wes Ball’s opinion, I think being a Nonalpha company isn’t the worst thing in the world - after all, not every company should strive to be Google, Dreamworks Animation or Trump Organization - the Alpha-Alphas of the world. However, if a Nonalpha THINKS it’s an Alpha company, there’s bound to be problems. That’s just a downright identity crisis.

Using Mr. Ball’s classifications, we’ve worked with both types of clients - growing with Alpha companies, and sweating it out as Nonalpha companies reallocated marketing funds towards sales incentives and rebates. Personally, I think (hope) that the line isn’t so clearly drawn, and that a prosperous company benefits from a combination of these styles. Let’s call it…Midialpha thinking. Or Semialpha. Quazialpha.

No matter where a company lies in the Alpha dimension, it’s important to connect with the end-user. Not only that, but it’s critically important to pass on a value, not just a feature. It’s the value that creates loyalty and sets a company apart from the rest of the pack. For Alphas, Nonalphas, and Somewhereinthemiddlealphas.

I recently conducted an poll among friends looking to gauge their search engine habits (I know what you’re thinking, “Stay away from this guy at parties.”). I asked each person which search engine they typically use and to then take a guess at what percentage of U.S. searches went through Google. The results of the first question went as expected: an overwhelming majority use Google, while a select few search via their My Yahoo! page or Yahoo! toolbar. The answers to the second question ran the gamut: some thought that Google owned as many of 95% of all searches, while others pegged it somewhere around 65-70%. It was clear that everyone was confident of Google’s place as the search market leader, but to what degree there wasn’t a consensus.

Now for the actual stats. The numbers vary a bit depending on the source, but it appears Google’s search dominance in the U.S. falls within the 60-67% range. This shocked the more than a few that guessed it was somewhere around 90%. Ok, maybe shocked is a bit too strong of a word, but it did surprise them. Yahoo!’s share hovers around 20% according to the tracking source Hitwise. MSN (7%) and Ask (4%) come in a distant 3rd and 4th.

So the moral of this blog entry is this: for those of us who utilize pay-per-search as an advertising tool, it’s good to be reminded of Yahoo!’s search engine marketshare. If you currently are “Google Adwording” then you should definitely also advertise on Yahoo!’s paid search services.

(inside reference of the day: let’s not forget about eZanga, or boy will you be sorry)

This is probably one of the top 5 client requests, right up there with “too much white space” and “let’s bold the phone number.” Anyway, what’s the justification for super sizing a logo? For years, I’ve sought proof that a logo enlarged by 10% translates into more sales or even more awareness, but alas the proof is more elusive than the treasure in Capone’s vault.

In my experience, many advertisers don’t understand that a logo isn’t simply a trademark design representing a company. The logo is the embodiment of the organization. The logo must have meaning and that meaning not only comes from a customer’s experience, but also from carefully crafted messages and images in the form of advertising. Oftentimes, clients feel that the first thing that needs to be seen is the logo. Not true. In my mind, it should be the last. And most importantly, the messages that precede it should support and enhance the values that the logo stands for.