Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Learning Technologies 2015 Exit Poll And it’s done! Our annual two days of polling followed by the through-the-night count has come up with the big winners, movers and shakers exhibiting at this week’s Learning Technologies show, less than 24 hours after the doors closed at Olympia. If you’re new to our Exit Poll, here’s the skinny:  Armed with no more than a clipboard, a cup of coffee and a ‘can do’ attitude, our top team of talented pollsters was let loose on the streets of West Kensington with orders to seek LT15 attendees. Several hours and hundreds of questions later, we crunch the numbers through the night to deliver the lowdown on delegates’ views of the show. Now, less than 24 hours after the doors closed on Learning Technologies 2015, "Hey presto": for your delight and entertainment, we present this year’s headline highlights from our Learning Technologies 2015 exit poll. Want more detail? Get the LT exit poll:Uncovered for your company. We asked: "When you planned your Learning Technologies 2015 visit, which company was on top of your must see list before visiting the show today?" LT15uk visitors said: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked: "In terms of visual impact, which company really looked fresh and stood out for you at the show today?" LT15uk visitors said: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked: "Without looking at any of the literature you’ve come away with today, can you name one of the event’s official sponsors?" The top five responses from most frequent (left) to least frequent (right) were: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked: "In terms of engagement, which company do you think you had the most profitable conversation with?" The top five most popular answers from our respondents were: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked: "Did you download the official Learning Technologies app?"  Yes 71% No 29%   Freebies, teasers and giveaways: We asked: "What free stuff, if any, stood out for you as you walked around the show?" The top responses were: 1 2 3 =4 5 We asked: "Without looking, name one company’s case study, brochure material or other information that you remember putting in your show bag?" The top five most popular answers from our respondents were: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked; "Of all the literature you’ve come away with today, what do you think you’ll be reading on the Tube home?" The top five most popular answers from our respondents were: 1 2 3 4 5   One to watch! We asked; "During your show visit, did you see  any new business or businesses previously unknown to you that looked interesting?" The top five most popular answers from our respondents were: 1 2 3 4 5 We asked: "When you studied the free seminar series, which presentations held most appeal for you?" The top five most popular answers from our respondents were: Day 1. 1. Lessons in presenting from standup comics - Fitch 2. More than a hangout: Insiders guide to using Google apps to create the ultimate blended learning environment - TATA 3. Why people aren’t using your online learning resources  - and what to do about it. Scott Bradbury 4. How we learn - iManage 5. When learning meets mobile - Redware Day 2. 1. Creating an interactive video course with articulate Storyline demo - Omniplex =2. Game on: How McDonald’s designed a successful addictive service game - Kineo =2. The impact of the the modern learner on content strategy - Xyleme 4. Why people aren’t using your online learning resources  - and what to do about it - Scott Bradbury 5. Using a virtual approach to deliver L&D qualifications at Rolls Royce - Watson Martin 6. Charles Jennings: Harnessing the power of 70:20:10 -Corporate eLearning Consortium See the full story Learning Technologies 2015 Exit Poll

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here ICE Totally Gaming exit poll 2015 All bets are off. After three days of polling followed by one through-the-night count, our ICE Totally Gaming Exit Poll has come up with the big winners, movers and shakers exhibiting at last week’s big show. Was your company the one that most visitors remembered as they left the cosy comfort of London’s Excel? Did your sales team dazzle visitors with their sparkling conversation? Were your brochures slick enough to get you on the shortlist or were your giveaways useful enough to avoid the recycling bins outside the venue? Armed with no more than a clipboard, a cup of coffee and a ‘can do’ attitude, our posse of pollsters were positioned outside London’s Excel last week asking ICE Totally Gaming 2015 visitors all the big questions you really want answers to. Think your company made a big impression at the show? Check out the ICE Totally Gaming exit poll results below for this year’s big winners or get the sports Gaming Exit poll personalised for your company. Question 1: We asked: "When you planned your ICE Totally Gaming 2015 visit, which company was on top of your must see list before visiting the show today?"  visitors said: 1 2 3 4 5 Question 2: We asked: "Which company really stood out for you at the show today?" ICE visitors said: 1 2 3 4 5 And what made them stand out? Well, no surprise here: Size and pretty girls are the order of the day if you want to retain the attention of your average ICE visitor (who’d have guessed attendees were almost exclusively male!?) And of the sports betting companies present, the following stood out for our respondents: 1 2 3 4 5 Question 3 We asked: "Which one company do you think you had the most useful conversation with?" The results were close here, but the  6 companies that came out on top were: 1 2 3 4 5 It’s always good to see the smaller younger companies mentioned in our surveys so well done Odobo and Optimove! Question 4: We asked: What giveaways, if any, stood out for you as you walked around the show?  Can you recall the brand? Stress balls, sweets and free alcohol were the main favourites in the freebie stakes, while German sports betting service won the battle for brand recollection with their popular bags (which included a number of show essentials (energy drink, cigarette lighter, pens and bottle opener!) Question 5: We asked: "Without looking, please name one company whose brochure material or other information you remember putting in your show bag." Perhaps not surprisingly, the responses were pretty broad, but coming out on top were: 1 2 3 4 5 Although, rather scathingly, when asked which brochures they would make a point of reading, almost 50% said they couldn’t think of anything and no one company standing out from the crowd. So is all that effort your marketing teams have put in on glossy brochures a waste of time and money? Question 7: Ones to watch! We asked attendees "Can you name one new business previously unknown to you that looked interesting?" And in a show which seems to attract new companies and products year on year, it’s no surprise we had a broad range of answers. The top five "newcomers" according to ICE attendees are as follows: 1 2 3 4 5 Now we’re not entirely sure all of the above are strictly newcomers, but for whatever reason they seem to have caught the eye, perhaps as first-time exhibitors, or through stronger stand design? whatever the reason, they can rest easy knowing show visitors took notice! Question 7: Seminar and conference attendance: Of course, ICE is not just about the exhibitors: there’s a whole programme of conference and seminar activities on offer too. although Not that many of our respondents seemed to care! We asked: Which of the conference and free seminar events did you attend at ICE Totally Gaming 2015: Now, to be fair to the event organisers, we can’t claim to have questioned everyone exiting the show for our ICE Totally Gaming exit poll- not by a long way, (there were 20-odd thousand of them, so percentage-wise, the odds were always stacked against us!) but we’d love to know your thoughts on the relevance of the conferences to the rest of the show. Feel free to add your comments below. See the full story ICE Totally Gaming exit poll 2015

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here ICE 2015 - 5 takeaways for trade show success The ICE 2015 Totally Gaming show was an eye opener for a number of reasons, but aside from the promo girls, the green Lamborghinis and the flashing neon lights, there were more pertinent insights to be gained by B2B marketers at the show. Specially created for B2B sports marketers keen to maximise ROI on the trade shows they attend, our 5 takeaways for trade show success bundles all the big learning we gathered while conducting the ICE Totally Gaming exit poll into one simple checklist. 1: Differentiate yourself from the crowd It’s easy to get caught up in an arms race with other exhibitors to build the biggest and brashest stand, and there’s no doubt that size and garish colours can make a big difference: The most recalled stands among visitors at ICE 2015 were Novomatic’s colossal (4,500 sqft) stand and Playtech’s multi-level, multi-room, mini conference centre. but few of us have the budget to compete with players like this, so what else can be done? Go colour crazy: If your brand allows it, go bold! It’s a great way of achieving real standout on a smaller stand: even shell schemes can be dramatically improved with a good use of colour. The guys and girls over at Papaya demonstrated how judicious use of lime (or papaya?) green can make even the simplest of stands jump out of the crowd. Employ promo staff - sparingly! Promo staff are relatively low cost and can help bring a drab stand to life (two staff members in London will probably set you back in the region of £300/day). But it can be a double edged sword. Just remember that you want to be remembered for your products rather than as "that stand with the angel girls on it" (our exit pollsters heard that a lot - and not one person could tell them the stand name - sorry EGT!). Go interactive: show goers are inquisitive, but they are overwhelmed with paper: If you can demo your products on an ipad or other interactive display such as Intralot’s Kinect‘s penalty game you’ll engage them much more easily. If you can’t do that, splash out on a big screen and a storytelling video that gives a short taster of what your company does. It’ll help filter out stand visitors who aren’t after your products and reel in those who are. 2: Do the hard work pre-show! Take the pressure, and the element of chance, away from the show itself: Make sure your current and target customers know you’re exhibiting well in advance are informed in advance by pushing out comms ahead of the event and locking down meetings before the show. Advertise your show presence on your website, in your newsletters, and add it to email footers across the company - not only will that ensure all your company’s contacts are informed, it’ll help generate a bit of buzz and understanding among departments not usually involved in the shows. 3: Make sure your stand’s fit for purpose One noticeable trend at ICE, which differentiates the gaming sector from others we work in is the number of on-stand meeting rooms - some, such as the Sportsman Cube almost gave the impression that if you didn’t have a meeting, you weren’t welcome! That’s because exhibitors aren’t relying on their stands to fish for custom from passing foot traffic, they’re using them as a base to conduct proper meetings and presentations. For an industry with such a multi-national vibe, this makes a lot of sense, because you can meet clients from multiple countries in a single day. But that only works if your stand can properly accommodate them - open plan benches and bar stools are great for quick chats, but don’t offer the privacy, presentation tools or comfort for proper meetings, so make sure you’re stand builder knows exactly what your intended use is. 4: Give and you shall receive! Everyone loves a giveaway, right? but how many marketers have really considered what impact that order of 500 squeezy footballs will have on the year-end balance sheet? We’re guessing none… So how do you create a compelling giveaway that gets further than the hotel wastepaper basket? Make it useful, make it relevant, and make it unique (pick at least two!) The two most talked about giveaways we heard about at ICE (discounting the x-rated calendars) were at different ends of the spectrum, but by the end of the show, both were being actively sought out by attendees: 1: The TipBet goody bag which contained show (and post-party) essentials: cigarette lighter, energy drink, pens…) all good practical stuff in a bag which was robust enough to carry all the other junk you picked up that day 2: The InPay venu’s flytraps - a true conversation starter, quirky but relevant - all part of InPay’s message to clients to "leave no trace" of their current payment providers! Ours isn’t growing yet, but when it does, we’ll still be remembering who gave it to us. Other great gifts we’ve seen at shows in the past include the Racing UK riding crop - a regular at Sportel which always raises a smile while managing to retain close links to the company’s product. 5: Leave the stand! Much of the best networking at ICE, as with many other shows, is done away from the stands. Whether it’s grabbing a coffee in the foyer, a lunchtime pint in The Fox, or over several pints at one of the many satellite parties during ICE week. Make an effort to check social media to see where everyone else is heading, or just chat to the guy behind you in the coffee queue - the lack of expectation that accompanies most stand conversations may open up all sorts of new opportunities. And finally: follow up fast It’s pretty tempting to take a timeout after an event like ICE Totally Gaming, but all the evidence shows thst the faster you follow up on the new prospects you met on the stand, the more successful you’ll be with new business leads. Need help Turn a bucket full of new prospects into a hotlist of scored leads within 30 days using our awesome content and marketing automation combo. See the full story ICE 2015 - 5 takeaways for trade show success

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here 5 and a half things to try after you’ve exhausted all your list blogging options We’ve been addicted to lists ever since Moses published the "Top 10 things thou shalt or shalt not do" post, and for busy copywriters on multiple deadlines, they’ve been a God send ever since. Lists posts, or "listicles", are the bloggers’ get out of jail card. They work because they promise something really specific in the headline: "10 critical factors for success in topic X" or "5 must have tips to help you achieve Y". But all too often these blogs over promise and under deliver. Think how many times that "10 indispensable things…" headline has hooked you in, then led you to some turgid compilation of facts no one either knows or cares about? List blogging is popular because it makes creating clickable headlines easy, but if it becomes the default tactic in the blogger’s toolkit, something’s gone wrong. Think your list blogs have lost their lustre? Here’s five and half things to try next time you want to perk up your post. The How-To blog Does what it says on the tin. "How to" blogs work because they educate before they sell.  These blogs offer step-by-step guidance to help readers achieve really difficult things like, How to squeeze more out of the B2B marketing budget, Getting started with Google Adwords or How to win B2B business awards. For the old timers in B2B marketing, this "teach them how to fish" approach takes a bit of getting used to. Why, they wonder, would we want to teach our prospects how to do the very thing we’re trying to sell them?  Anyone who’s ever tried to remove a radiator after watching this youtube video knows the answer to this: the professionals make things look easy because they’re professional. The What blog "What" blogs introduce or explain a basic concept, as in What B2B marketers really need to know about free newswires. They’re great for promoting authority but frequently, they’re just lists blogs in disguise.  Truth is, if the example blog above uses the headline "Top 10 free newswires for B2B marketers" it works better. As an aside, if we use the headline "Top 10 free newswires for B2B marketers: Reviewed", it works better still. 3. The Why blog Knowing what is happening is important, but knowing why something is happening is critical.  "Why" blogs get to the source of an argument.  They detail the drivers behind the "what". When you’re launching new products or services, "Why" posts can be invaluable. Knowing why the time is right or the market is ready for the new offers you’re introducing is always more compelling than knowing that you’re launching them.  Our Why B2B sports marketing just got more competitive blog, or our Why we think sports and technology are a winning match post position the B2B marketing products and services we sell in context and make them more relevant for the prospects we need to target. 4. The Curated blog Curated posts are probably the most helpful posts you can offer. The best of these work because they compile really valuable information or resources that your readers just can’t get anywhere else. The top 20 most influential tweeters in Learning Technology is an example. Well curated blogs can take days or even weeks to create, but their long-term value can be priceless. 5. The Infographic blog Here’s the thing: As the blogging business matures, words are stepping aside and making way for higher impact, more graphic content. Strong infographics communicate key points faster than words and play well on social networks like Facebook and Pinterest. The best of them require strong design skills, but the new wave of DIY services like piktochart, infographicreator or venngage mean infographic blogging is a viable option for any blogger. Oh and finally: 5.5 The awesome just because it’s awesome blog Let’s get one thing straight: Awesomeness doesn’t need a format, it needs a great idea. Any of the formats above work so long as the expectation set in the headline is matched by the content offered up post the click.  Blogs are awesome when they deliver on the detail and deal with the big questions your customers have only just started to care about. The good news is that every business already has what it takes to deliver awesome content to their customers and prospects. The great ideas, opinions and innovations that make your business special are powering your business now. Need some help finding your awesomeness? Talk to us now about building better blogs for your business See the full story 5 and a half things to try after you’ve exhausted all your list blogging options

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Digital bastards like Kayvon Beykpour make our blood boil Digital bastards like Kayvon Beykpour make your blood boil don’t they? He sells his first start-up to learning business Blackboard for $4 mil before he’s even 21 and now, at the tender age of 27, he’s just banked $120 mil from Twitter for his latest brainwave Periscope, which he describes as being "like a mobile teleportation service". What the **** is a mobile teleportation service? Does Twitter actually think it’s bought an app that beams people from one side of the planet to another? Even Scotty from Star Trek needs a whole desktop to do that! The trouble with people like Kenyon Beykpour is that they make getting acquired look easy. Google has spent more than $28 billion acquiring a whopping 163 companies over the past 14 years. Facebook now has more than 40. So when fresh young start-ups with big ideas and no customers tell us they don’t need B2B marketing because Google, Twitter, Facebook, or whoever, is watching them,  we can empathise (Hey, we’re still waiting for the angel or VC cash ourselves!) Taking your eye off the real business of actually building a business, to gaze doe-eyed at your potential suitors is tempting, but what happens when they do their due diligence and uncover the feeble sales pipeline? Well unless you’ve just invented something better than Kayvon Beykpour’s mobile teleportation service that big paycheque gets a bit smaller. That’s if they don’t walk away completely.  Investors are rarely dumb - that’s why they have money to invest - and they do pay attention to things beyond that glossy PowerPoint deck you’ve been burning the midnight oil on: They read the same trade mags, twitter streams and go to the same trade shows and conferences as the rest of the sector, and they’ll be sure to ask why your competitors have a bigger and better presence than you. Newsflash: not every startup wants to sell out to the big boys Browse the tech blogs and you’d be forgiven for thinking every 20-something entrepreneur with a computer science degree is getting bought out by Google or Facebook. What doesn’t make sexy headlines is that most don’t. The world’s full of successful businesses who’ve bootstrapped their way to success - take a look at this list curated by those bright sparks - and bootstrappers themselves - at 37 Signals. Inspiring isn’t it? Marketing makes your business sustainable So how do you build a longer-term business that still makes you good money? Well, if you’ve been rigorous in your marketing, ensuring your brand is well-known, reaching out to potential customers, and reinforcing relations with existing ones then your dependency on that VC cash diminishes. Build Trust: Present your audience with irrefutable evidence that you’re as good as you say you are: Be "real" and accountable - add your team pics to your website, be active in responding to comments on your own blog / social media accounts, and where you’re mentioned elsewhere. Don’t be tempted to create"fake" reviews or testimonials. Customers aren’t stupid and it will come back to bite you (just ask this author). Document current success stories: Leverage the good work you’ve already done and the goodwill already built up amongst your client base. If you’re really doing things well for them, they’ll be happy to share their experiences. And there’s nothing quite as powerful as third-party endorsement to really get your message across. Be a font of knowledge in your sector: Of course you know your stuff, but how many people outside your company know how much you know?  All that knowledge bubbling around in the heads of your staff is worth its weight in gold from a marketing perspective, so get it out in the public domain:  Convert it into downloadable white papers, shareable Infographics and SlideShare presentations, and start drip feeding it into your blog (what do you mean you don’t have a blog? Start one!) Why? Because knowledge = value, and if potential clients can gain value from you for free, they’ll start to see you as an ally who can help solve whatever problems they have. Be Consistent When we talk about consistency, we mean it on multiple fronts: Of course, you should be 100% consistent in your messaging and use of brand & identity - fight the temptation to try and be everything to everyone, focus on what really matters and what’s true for you. Equally importantly from a marketing point of view, is maintaining a consistent presence in your sector:  There’s no point just ramping up your marketing and PR efforts around key events only for them to fall off a cliff again after the event. Online marketing in particular rewards regularity:  regular updates keep your website high in Google search results while regular paid for ads, for example, have a better "quality score" (rank higher on a page for less money) than occasional ads. But it’s equally true offline: Whether it’s regularly putting in appearances at networking events or finding good reasons to regularly distribute press releases: being consistently front-of-mind is key to building a sustainable brand image and competitive advantage in your market. Need help doing all of that?  that’s fine - we know you’ve already got more than enough plates spinning to add another to the pile. That’s where we like to think we add value. You see, we run brand building and lead-generation campaigns for companies who just don’t have the resource to do it themselves.  And we measure everything, so you’ll know exactly what’s working (and what’s not). Have we convinced you yet?  No?  OK then let us buy you a coffee and we’ll try harder. The only thing you’ve got to lose are your preconceptions. We have convinced you?  Great!  Give us a call or drop us a line and we’ll get in touch (yeah, Ok, we’ll buy you a coffee too - we might even throw in a croissant) and let’s work on building that long-term success for your business.   See the full story Digital bastards like Kayvon Beykpour make our blood boil

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Our blazingly simple backlinking strategy Backlinking is probably the most important tool in the SEO toolbox these days. Sure, optimising everything you publish on your own site helps you get found, but having other quality sites link to yours: well that’s what Google really loves. These days Google’s algorithm is clever enough to sniff out sites using cheap SEO tactics that worked a couple of years ago. Using these tactics (Frankly we don’t even like to say them out loud anymore) will not go unnoticed. Google will penalise you. Your blog or web site will go down in the rankings or disappear from Google search altogether.  Tactics to avoid include posting content (news releases, articles, offers, anything) on many free newswire sites or blog directories. Almost all of these have low authority. Tactics to encourage are blazingly simple. Just create lots and lots of awesome content then get influencers talking about it. This, together with some essential hygiene factors, like making sure your site is frequently indexed, is the backlinking strategy that Google wants you to adopt. Alternative approaches are available, but if they don’t cost you dearly today, they will come back to bite you tomorrow. Here are the highlights to our blazingly simple backlinking strategy. 1. Do the hygiene stuff first We said earlier that Google isn’t keen on free newswire distribution sites and blog directories, but there are some aggregators in every industry worth having a presence on.  Register your business and blog on respected feeds that you know are trusted. Doing this won’t set your site alight with new traffic, but it will make the most of the free valuable opportunities that won’t potentially harm your ranking potential in the future (don’t know which feeds or directories to trust? click here). 2. Do everything you can internally to help SEO Principally this is about encouraging work colleagues (salespeople, marketers,senior staff) to link from their social network profiles to somewhere on your site. There’s a trick to this: some social networks tag hyperlinks as NO FOLLOW link (that means that Google will disregards the link to your site). Others like Google+ or Linkedin don’t. If you’re not sure which social networks will help kick-start your backlinking programme, download our blazingly simple guide. 3. Develop relationships The key to success is developing relationships with high-authority sites. There are no shortcuts here. A personal approach is required and trust must be developed.  Success here will set your site alight with new traffic, but it takes time. You’ll need to pinpoint the authority sites in your industry then develop unique content partnership strategies with these media properties. Not sure which high authority websites you should be targeting? No sweat, our blazingly simple guide has collated the best of them for you. 4. Make personal bloggers feel special Give the leading bloggers in your industry some personal TLC. Personal blogs from your industry’s leading lights are always difficult to influence. They won’t be sold to but they can be won over by flattery. Start mentioning/quoting these people in the blogs you write yourself. Hyperlink to them in references and take the time to comment on the debates they create. When they see that you are engaged in what they do, their next move is to make sure they know what you do. Need a hotlist of the personal bloggers worth engaging with in your space, here’s one we made already. See the full story Our blazingly simple backlinking strategy

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Why "Fit" is so critical when choosing a B2B marketing agency Having worked agency and client-side during my marketing career, I’ve seen a wide variety of briefs for agencies ranging from Financial PR and Annual Report provision through to consumer facing web design and exhibition stand builds. Yet despite the diversity of the projects - in terms of budgets, deliverables and the profiles of client organisations, success or otherwise often came down to a fairly common set of criteria. And in my experience, it’s rarely the glitziest, most expensive looking agency that gets the gig (and when it is, the projects often fail). Here’s my take on ensuring you pick the right agency for the job: 1: Don’t be blinded by "bling" There is alway something seductive about seeing your brand re-imagined in story boards and funky creatives, and it’s easy to get swept up in the excitement of a glossy pitch document. But it’s always worth looking behind the gloss: If there seems to have been more time and effort spent on making things look pretty than how things are actually going to be delivered,  this could well be an indication of where the agencies weaknesses lie. Dig below the surface, ask the awkward questions and make sure they’ve actually answered the brief in full. The last thing you want to do is appoint an agency purely based on pretty pictures. 2:  Do they "get it"? You’ve probably spent hours writing a thorough brief to be sent out to your chosen agencies, so you’d expect them to have spent a similar amount of time reading and understanding it, right?  You’d be amazed (or maybe you wouldn’t) by the number of pitches I’ve sat through where the presenter just hasn’t grasped the issue needing to be tackled. I’ve had people try to sell me in to creating sales presentations in Keynote, despite being categorically told everything needed to be windows based. I’ve also had agencies try and apply B2C metrics and marketing techniques to complex B2B problems.  And this to me is a deal breaker - If you’re in a complex market - or just an unusual one - an external consultant or agent who really understands your sector, your company & products, and even how to help you manage any internal politics can be worth their weight in gold.  That’s why here at Now, we start most of our client programmes with a #hackday - it gives everyone a chance to work collaboratively, and in real-time to achieve a set of well defined goals and outputs. 3:  Do they fit culturally with your organisation? Creative types can be a funny bunch, and some agencies seem to have developed a kind of group-think that means their employees are perpetually in an agency "bubble" "we’re creative, we’re supposed to be different" seems to be the mantra among many. Now there’s a lot to be said for bringing in different perspectives - especially if you’re looking to breathe new life into a tired product or brand, but there is a flipside: There needs to be a connection between agency and client if projects are really to deliver great results. If your sales team or your CEO can’t connect with your chosen agency, they’re unlikely to buy into the work they produce. And likewise, if agency staff can’t appreciate the dynamics of your organisation (sign-off procedures, pace that things happen, internal politics, etc)  then they’re likely to get frustrated and lose enthusiasm.  Taking the time to introduce the agency team to a other internal stakeholders that they might interact with will help you gauge this. 4:Have they got diverse experience? Often, the first thing on a potential client’s wishlist for an agency is direct sector experience. And that makes an awful lot of sense - an agency with a track record in your industry will need to spend less time getting to grips with the market and will hopefully tick off some of the items above as a result.  However, you really can have too much of a good thing: Exposure to a range of sectors generally means a wider base of knowledge and creativity as lessons learnt in one sector can inform decision making in another. Too much exposure to a single market can actually be detrimental - it stifles creativity and can lead to a temptation to roll-out standardised" solutions to clients. That’s why we make a conscious effort to  involve all our staff across the sectors we work in and encourage cross-pollination of ideas across our clients in Sports, Learning Tech and Security. 5: Don’t expect the finished article at the pitch (and don’t ask for it!) From an agency perspective,  a client asking to see creatives at the pitch stage can strike fear into your heart. Clients don’t do themselves or their selected agencies any favours by insisting on this. The problem is, no matter what caveat is given about  "not  being judged on it" it puts a marker in the sand which can become a real hangup for everyone in the room. What starts off as a quick few first thoughts to keep a client happy can soon take on a life of its own and take away from what else is being discussed and presented. Don’t run the risk:  treat pitches a bit like a first date - you should be looking for some chemistry rather than thinking about what your kids might look like.   See the full story Why "Fit" is so critical when choosing a B2B marketing agency

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here What marketers can learn from the Football League Well, that’s another Football League season all but over with. There’s been some notable teams exceeding expectations (Bournemouth, Burton), a fair few underachievers (Fulham, Wigan, Tranmere) and an awful lot of teams being, well, just average. As a bunch of Brentford and Bristol City fans, here at Now Towers we’re all congratulating ourselves on a rare good year. We’re sure we’ll be back to mid-table drudgery by this time next season though, so let’s make the most of the opportunity to see what we can learn from the beautiful game. Prepare yourself for a whole host of bad, footy related puns! First off, we’re by no means the first to draw parallels between the worlds of sport and business. There have been Harvard Business School Case Studies of Fergie’s management style (that’s the ex-manager, not the one from Black-Eyed Peas) and there seems to be an increasing appetite among execs to learn from the likes Gareth Southgate or Steve Backley, so we must be on to something. There is of course, a lot to be said about successful football managers’ passion, their desire to win, and their tactical nous - we don’t doubt that if Jimmy-Floyd Hasselbaink managed Burton Menswear instead of Burton Albion, he’d still be a success (though arguably not as well dressed) but there are more transferable lessons than these to be learnt from our ball-juggling counterparts. Here’s our league-inspired lessons to ensure you stay at the top of your marketing game for what remains of 2015: 1: Consistency is key Whether on the football pitch or pitching for business, being inconsistent rarely brings long-term results. Yes, you get the odd day when you feel like you’ve hit the jackpot: that big deal comes in out of nowhere or the consumer press picks up on a press release and drives a heap of new traffic to your website, but if you’re still dining out on that a month later, something’s wrong. It’s the marketing equivalent of knocking 5 past your local rivals then losing at home to Crewe in the next game. Being consistently above average - delivering a steady drip of content with which targets engage, rather than just concentrating on the big-ticket campaigns - is like picking up those scruffy 1-0 away wins on a wet Tuesday night - no-one notices at the time, but they will at the end of the season: no-one ever won anything with inconsistency. If you don’t have that base of solidity, it just makes the overall job tougher. Just ask a Derby County fan Derby’s inconsistent season Our Awesome Sticky Content programme is the "1-0 to the Arsenal" approach to marketing: it creates a year-round, rock solid foundation to your marketing that brings in consistent sales leads and web traffic - no peaks, no troughs, just solid regular interaction. Think of it as signing Kevin Davies: you’re not going to be the envy of your local rivals in the glamour stakes, but he’ll do a solid job. 2: The sum’s bigger than the parts Just ask Eddie Howe what a difference it makes when everyone has a shared view of success and work together to achieve it. There are no single big names carrying Bournemouth to the top flight - it’s all down to team cohesion and hard work. And that’s how good marketing should work too: Relying too heavily on any one conduit will almost inevitably end in failure: All elements of the marketing mix - Social, DM, web, events, and everything else - MUST present a cohesive, joined up front. We work with our clients from the off to get this right, with Marketing Hackdays involving your marketing, sales, products teams - in fact whoever you want in the room - to ensure that your programme gets goals from all over the pitch.   3: The stats don’t lie It’s easy to let emotion get in the way of clear decision making - just ask Leeds United’s chairman - he’s made more rash decisions than most this year, and look where that’s got the club. Marketing can be the same: Too many times we’ve seen projects protected from change because the CEO likes X or doesn’t like Y, or good projects being dumped because a new marketing director wants to make his or her mark. "Observation is the final part of my management structure…The ability to see things is key—or, more specifically, the ability to see things you don’t expect to see." Sir Alex Ferguson, HBR, October 2013 Without proper observation (or analysis, in our book) of what’s working and what’s not, it’s impossible to see what decisions should be taken and what change shouldn’t be changed. Fergie could see that and that’s why we use Really Intelligent Web Analytics. Think of it as the "Moneyball of marketing" - we analyse what’s performing, what’s not, and work with you to make the right changes, in the right areas to ensure your marketing delivers results. 4: Seek wise counsel Like a football manager, everyone thinks they can do a marketer’s job. In in-house roles, I’ve had everyone from accountants to customer service temps offer their two pennies on how I should be doing my job. (the suggestions are usually along the lines of "you should do more facebook"). It’s the equivalent of sitting for 90 minutes listening to that bloke behind you offering pearls of footballing "wisdom" to anyone who’ll listen. Having the courage of your convictions and having trusted , independent support and counsel outside of the business can make the world of difference in getting intelligent insight and gaining buy-in from other stakeholders. We help clients do this in lots of ways: Perhaps as a "caretaker manager" until the right internal resource is found, but more often than not as "assistant manager" - working alongside you to share the pressure and get the job done well. Think of us as the Terry Connor to your Mick McCarthy. 5: You’re only as good as your last match …Or your last comms piece if we’re being marketing-y. That long campaign of activity is plugging away, gaining your company the respect and results expected of you, but clients and colleagues can also have short memories - just like football fans - and if your last campaign was the marketing equivalent of a 4-nil drubbing, that’s the one that’ll be remembered. Marketing Automation is our way of mitigating against that: think of it as your on coaching and scouting team - keeping an eye on what what elements are getting cut through with your clients, which need relegating to the subs bench, and which need a bit more attention to get the most out of them. Our MA programmes enable you to understand exactly what happens when your campaigns leave the tunnel - it identifies who’s clicked on what, which web pages they’re interested in and, over time, develops a full picture of which of your services they’re receptive to. By the time you’ve nurtured them to a qualified lead, your sales guys are left with a simple tap-in to seal the deal. Have we missed something? Let us know if there’s any marketing lessons you’ve picked up this season (except, perhaps that you should never apply to be Nigel Pearson’s press liaison) in the comments box below See the full story What marketers can learn from the Football League

Content from the nowcomms.com: the B2B marketing company for tech busineses in education, sports, security & ID. See the full story here Have you got your game face on yet for IGSS 2015? 3,500 delegates, 120 exhibiting companies and no less than eight different conference programmes. That’s the iGaming Supershow in one sentence. So how do you get cut through amongst all that lot and ensure that your company’s brand, products and services resonate beyond the 30-second pitch your sales teams have mastered? Well, we’ve been talking to delegates and exhibitors at shows in gaming and other sectors over the past 5 years, and we’ve run a few stands ourselves in our time so we reckon we’re pretty well placed to provide some helpful tips. Fellow exhibitionists, lend me your ears… Visitors don’t like being sold to at seminars This is not news. There’s not a person reading this who’s not sat through a presentation - at the iGaming SuperShow, ICE, or elsewhere and wanted to walk out due to the overt selling on stage. Yet at every show we’ve ever been at, companies are still doing it. Whenever our exit pollers have asked exhibition visitors to study the seminar timetable and pick out a talk that sounded really interesting, not one of them has ever picked a topic that explicitly mentioned a product or an exhibiting company. Presentations like this just don’t generate sales - in fact, if anything they lose them: I’ve organised dinners where guests have changed seats because they were placed next to a supplier with a reputation for being too sales-y. That’s not a position anyone wants to be in. More discursive seminar topics like iGaming SuperShow’s "digital advertising and player acquisition" panel, which brings together a number of diverse viewpoints, work better for everyone:  they provide genuinely useful insights for the audience, and enable speakers to position themselves as thought leaders. Get to know SuperShow visitors before the show starts As any sportsman knows, you don’t win on matchday without putting in the hours on the training ground beforehand. and trade shows are exactly the same (err, sort of) yet we’re continually surprised by how many exhibitors and visitors leave their show success to chance by rocking up on the day with no idea who they’re going to talk to about what. Not only is that a colossal waste of time, it’s a waste of money too. by the time you’ve shelled out for this stand space, design & build, hotels, glossy brochures and squeezy rubber giveaways, you can be well on your way to six figures. Not priming existing and potential customers is just dumb. Pre-event direct mail has a role to play here but it’s not an easy option: Visitors often recall receiving emails inviting them to "come visit us at stand X, Y or Z", when what they’re really looking for a compelling reason for why they should visit.One off eShots, isolated newsletters or social campaigns carry little weight at the best of times, so actioning one of these in the build-up to the country’s biggest trade show has about as much impact as sending a cheap card at Christmas.  Think about what makes your products visitable - how are they going to help show visitors come away from your stand better off than they were beforehand? if you can distill that into a compelling mailshot (which we do all the time, by the way!) you’ll be 2 steps ahead of the pack. Be seen on online channels In our view, B2B marketing and social media can often be an awkward mix. It can sometimes feel a bit like a dad trying to look cool at a teenager’s birthday party. The one time where we see the real benefits of B2B social though, is around  events and tradeshows. it’s a great place to listen to - and contribute to less formal (and often more genuine) debate, and for marketers as individuals to create one-2-one relationships with others in the space.  Individual accounts are WAY more engaging than faceless company accounts in this context. People want to  build personal relations at trade shows, even online. It’s also a great way to find out where the aftershow parties are happening, and whether those elusive targets you’ve been trying to pin down will be at them Aside from the parties, There’s a lot of downtime before and after show days with bored delegates sat on trains to and from the show, idly flicking through their social accounts so it can be a great way to get in front of them in a more relaxed manner, but at a time where your message can be incredibly relevant get them to your stand the following day. Just as importantly, keeping an eye on those show hashtags (which surprisingly the show hasn’t printed on its brochure, but we can confidently assure you will be #iGSS2015 and inevitably #igamingsupershow) Remember the people who aren’t even there: might be more important than the people who are Picture the scene: your biggest target - the one guy (or girl) who you just know needs your product - has declined your meeting request saying he’s unable to make the exhibition this year. OK, that’s bad news, but the good news is, he’s not meeting any of your competitors. and if he’s a show regular, chances are he’ll be keeping a watchful eye on things online. So there’s an opportunity to build your authority and keep front of mind: add value by live tweeting stuff you know he’ll be looking for, direct message him with (non-salesy) messages about content you’ve found that he’ll be interested in. Grab a copy of a useful industry report and tweet him to say you’ll stick it in the post. You’ll look like an ally - or even his BFF! Giveaways and girls… your clients aren’t really that shallow are they? We don’t really get stand girls - not because we’re coming over all PC - we’ve just never met one that’s influenced our buying decisions. We’ve met plenty who’ve distracted sales managers from doing their jobs, a few who actually put people off visiting a stand for fear of looking like a lech, and lots who’ve dragged us into pointless meetings with sales guys because, well frankly because, we struggle to say no to a pretty face. THEY DONT WORK! If the outcome of your show is your stand being remembered as "that one with all those girls" you’ve got real problems  (IGT - we’re looking at you!) The same applies for iPads / apple watches / whatever the flavour-of-the-month gizmo is this week. You’ll get a nice easy metric from the show that tells your boss you got 100s of business cards, but you can bet your bottom dollar 90% of them are irrelevant. Believe us - there are people at these shows who do nothing but hoover up the freebies and drop their cards in goldfish bowls - they’re not people you’re ever going to make money out of! If you want business cards - relevant ones from people you want to talk to - revise the steps above and give your sales team a big kick up the @ss. here’s a list of 5 rubbish giveaways that didn’t convert me into a customer: Miniature boxing gloves Cigarette lighter (newsflash - this is 2015, not 1985) An x-rated calendar (err, see above?) A swimming cap (Really! and it wasnt even at a swimming related show!) Umpteen mini footballs - (Because nothing says "we’re innovative" like a cheap mini football…) A Galaxy tablet (OK, I really liked the tablet, so did the wife, but I can’t even remember who gave it to me!) Here’s an idea - save your money, and do something your (true) clients and targets will appreciate. If they’re from out of town, show them the sights. If your last meeting of the day’s rushing to catch a plane, pay for his taxi (and ask for a follow up meeting once he’s back home). Or just get a fridge on your stand and save them paying over the odds for a lukewarm coke from Upper Crust that’s the kind of thing people really appreciate and will live long in the memory (OK, they might not remember the coke for long, but it’ll keep them engaged a damn sight longer than a girl in a catsuit) Not sure your event plan for IGSS is all it could be? You’re not the only one. Give yourself credit for recognising the fact early enough to do something about it. It’s (almost) never too late to take action so give us a call on 020 8783 9602 or email chris@nowcommunications.co.uk and share the burden with us. We’ve done hundreds of these things and we’re sure we’ll be able to help  - and even if you have that rare problem we really can’t fix, we guarantee we know someone who can. See the full story Have you got your game face on yet for IGSS 2015?

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