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Building Relationships Through Tech

Social media has quickly become a go-to method for many B2B and B2C relationships. These fun infographics highlight just how much.

In the past few years, social media usage doubled and daily users quadrupled. Most people now surf the web while they watch TV. It’s interesting to note that 10% go to a TV show’s website while they’re watching the program, reinforcing that committed fans can never get enough. Oh, and almost 30% check out the latest on Facebook while watching TV.

Facebook Continues to Deliver More

Facebook recently announced a full-scale revamping of its “Gifts” initiative, aligning with big retailers including Apple, babyGap, Fab, Brookstone, Dean & Deluca, Starbucks, Lindt, ProFlowers and Random House. Users can send digital or actual physical gifts to other Facebook friends.

This is only available for a select few now, but the rest of us should see it soon. It works like this:

  • Log into Facebook and select the gifts icon. (It will be on the sidebar menu soon.)
  • Buy your friend a gift. Select what you want, add your message and it’s ready to ship – no address needed.
  • Your friend is notified instantly via Facebook. He enters his own shipping info and can swap for a different size, flavor or style before the gift ships. Talk about cutting down on returns. Brilliant.
  • The packaged gift arrives – delivered right to your friend’s door.

Should Your Business Be On Facebook?

Any business can sign up by contacting Facebook here. But should you put your business on Facebook? We get this question a lot. You may not always be able to make a business case for using social media, but most of the time distinctive, branded businesses can, whether that business is B2C or B2B. Consider merchandising.

Let’s be honest, most us love branded stuff, and even have life-long connections to it. I still have the maroon overnight bag that Flying magazine sent every year with my parent’s renewed subscription. My family always traveled with FlightSafety International CREW luggage tags, and I learned to tell time on a Yingling Aviation clock that mimicked an altimeter. You probably have similar experiences.

Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Google+ and the many other variations of social media all revolve around one thing, interaction. Sir Richard Branson said it best when he was asked, “What advice would you give to other company leaders about how to develop a presence on social media?” His response: “Be authentic and organic. It can’t be forced or it won’t work. And most importantly, have fun.”

It’s Good to Have Friends

As we follow new advancements and engagement opportunities in social media, we encourage those who feel they have no place in this dynamic environment to keep your options open. Don’t rule it out. The benefits can be great. You have customers/fans who are actively interested in your brand. Social media gives you another way to build and nurture those relationships.

And remember, two billion people are out there using these social platforms. Now.

11.30.12 · Ashley Bowen Cook

All Eyes on Dubai

Business aviation turns its focus to Dubai as the 2012 Middle East Business Aviation event prepares to open. More than 7,000 visitors are projected to attend this show – MEBA’s fifth. The three-day event takes place December 11-13 at a new location, Al Maktoum International Airport – Dubai World Center. The show promises many other firsts – from a first-ever dedicated U.S. Pavilion to the launch of new focus areas: helicopters, business airports and VIP interiors.

Poised for Growth

The last show, in 2010, featured 48 aircraft. This year visitors can check out a static display of 60 business aircraft, some making their premiere in the region. Manufacturers Bombardier, Dassault, Embraer and Gulfstream all plan to showcase their products – seeking to leverage projected business aircraft deliveries in the Middle East and Africa of more than 2,000 aircraft over the next 20 years.

Connecting at Points of Relevance

The Middle East is a place of deep tradition, but it also is a region in rapid transition. Although marketing engagement channels have yet to reach as far and wide as they do in some other developed areas, they do connect with the more affluent as well as a growing percentage of the general population. In this modern, technologically savvy area most universal marketing rules apply. Social media is huge. Environmental concerns resonate. Mobile is taking over. Pop culture influences the increasingly important youth faction. And – as with everywhere – content is king.

Shows such as MEBA offer unrivaled opportunity for the best connection of all: face to face. If you’re not at this year’s show, you may well want to rethink that when the next one comes round in 2014.

On With the Show

By now, exhibitor plans have been locked down – booths finalized, ads submitted to the show dailies. From our perch in the Air Capital, we extend our best wishes for a show that delivers bigger and better than ever.

Aviation photographer Paul Bowen (and father of Ashley Bowen Cook) has seen business aviation mature in the Middle East. The Middle East Business Aviation Association estimates that the aviation market will reach an annual value of $1 billion by the 2018. As in the States, ongoing education and heightened awareness continue to be key – reinforcing that these aircraft serve as critical tools needed for 21st century business success.

*This article originally appeared in the November 29 issue of BlueSky Business Aviation News.

11.28.12 · Ashley Bowen Cook

Website Responsive Design – Why You Need It Now

Lets start with the obvious – your website needs to play nice with the audience viewing it. That’s the website’s job. Because if your site is difficult to use or hard to see, your audience will leave. Which is bad. You already know this, but what you might not know is that more and more people are exclusively viewing websites on devices other than desktop computers. And unless you plan for this, your site might actually be driving away traffic by not giving viewers an optimal experience.

A little background

In the beginning (somewhere around 1995) web developers built websites for desktop computers. Because that’s all anyone had. We built websites to fit the smallest monitor that was still being used and left it at that. Viewers were happy and life was good.

Then the iPhone came along and screwed everything up.

The iPhone was the first phone to include a web browser that was actually any good and that people regularly used. The problem was that a website built for a desktop computer looked tiny on the handheld screen, and required a lot of pinching and zooming to really use. Links were difficult to click on. Flash wouldn’t work. Drop down buttons didn’t function properly. Images didn’t display correctly. So developers began to design separate mobile websites, tailored to the needs of mobile users and their devices. That meant taking your website’s branded look and feel, but reprioritizing information, understanding that people primarily use their phones for research. Things like hours of operation, location(s), a critical phone number. We designed graphical user interfaces (GUI, pronounced gooey) appropriate for small screens. We leveraged the use of touch-screen functionality – tapping, sliding – optimized photo file sizes for fast loading, and more. Although it was more work to create two separate sites, we adjusted and everyone was happy again.

Then tablets like the iPad came along and screwed everything up again. Half of U.S. adults now enjoy a mobile web connection through a smartphone or tablet. And usage is exploding. This holiday’s gift giving is expected to push up tablet ownership to 75 million in the States alone. Speaking of purchases, more commerce is now happening on a tablet than a desktop computer. Recent retail data shows

Today we have all sorts of devices with all sorts of screen sizes – televisions, gaming consoles, home appliances and more. It seems like everything has a web browser in it. We want to make sure our websites look good on all devices or risk losing our audience, but creating separate sites for all of them isn’t feasible. The solution is a relatively new technique called responsive design, which doesn’t care if your screen is two inches or two feet wide.

Responsive design to the rescue

Responsive design is a way to build your website to ensure that it looks good on the current crop of desktop computers, tablets and smartphones. In addition, it future proofs your website because if a new device comes out with a screen size that haven’t been seen before, the design of the site will adjust itself accordingly. Photos on your website can automatically resize, text can enlarge to be more readable, and content can rearrange itself onscreen or even drop off if necessary. Smartphone users typically see a very pared down design compared with the experience a desktop user has, only showing them the information they’re interested in. Tablet users might see different designs depending on which way they’re holding the device. All this is possible with responsive design.

You can see responsive design in action at our own site, www.gretemangroup.com, by resizing the browser window on a desktop computer running a modern browser like Internet Explorer 9, Safari or Chrome. Notice how the design of the site changes depending on how wide the browser width is.

Is responsive design right for you?

Greteman Group recommends that most websites should be responsive. It’s generally the best practice. But that doesn’t mean that all sites have to be responsive. There are a number of factors that you need to consider. Responsive design takes more time and costs more than a traditional desktop website because of the additional planning, design and programming. Since sites using responsive design might not function correctly on very old browsers, extra time needs to be spent testing and correcting for this. And although highly unlikely, the audience for your website might not be using more than one screen size to view your website.

If you’ve decided to take the plunge and invest in responsive design you’ll probably find through your analytics that visitors using mobile devices are spending more time on your site. That’s because you’re providing a better experience for them. They’re able to find what they’re looking for instead of looking elsewhere. And if you haven’t thought about responsive design, now may be the time to do it.

Opportunity’s there for the taking. Or the missing. Only 21 percent of large retailers have mobile friendly websites. But data clearly shows the path today’s on-the-go consumers are on. It’s all about getting what they want, when and where they want it. If you don’t deliver, they’ll quickly move on to the site that does. So, if you’ve been standing on the sidelines thinking your unresponsive, non-mobile website’s good enough, step into the fast lane. Create a site where customers come and engage. And return to often.

*This article originally appeared in the November 21 issue of BlueSky Business Aviation News.

11.21.12 · Todd Gimlin

Marketing by the Numbers: Don’t Abandon Your Knowledge, Instincts

For better or worse, the 2012 U.S. election is in the books. Whether you favored one candidate or were simply an interested observer, the one sure thing is that you weren’t certain of the outcome until the actual returns rolled in.

The predictions were all over the board. Mitt Romney supporters, including such luminaries as Karl Rove, cited reputable pollsters who predicted his victory – some going so far as to forecast a landslide. Obama supporters, likewise. And we’re not talking in-house Republican or Democratic polling.

As Forbes publisher Rich Karlgaard told the National Business Aviation Association convention last week: “Someone’s really going to lose their reputation.”

Indeed. Wednesday morning, Republican prognosticators were admitting that they had relied on overly optimistic assessments or mistakenly discounted information that ran counter to their hopes.

U.S. presidential political prognostication has become relentlessly more sophisticated – and small wonder. It was widely reported that spending topped $6 billion this election cycle. That’s a lot of incentive to find out exactly where things stand, and to get it right. You can be certain that Republican pollsters will be evaluating and revising their methods.

Still, despite increasing analytical refinement and the investment of billions to influence the outcome, the election remained in doubt until the votes were counted.

The Takeaway for Marketers

There’s an important lesson here for marketers. Yes, you need to harness the most sophisticated analytics you can afford.

Yes, you need to pay frequent and consistent attention to them and heed what clear guidance they provide. If either candidate had taken the position that, because election predictions were in doubt, they needn’t pay attention to their surveys or analysis, that candidate most assuredly would have lost.

We rely heavily on numbers and analytics to help our aviation clients target their markets, refine their messages and positioning and assess the effectiveness of everything from websites to email campaigns to advertising.

You can’t afford not to use Google analytics and other more powerful tools to ensure that your digital presence is doing what you need it to do. A simple tool such as SurveyMonkey – used correctly – helps you understand yourself and your customers better. A-B testing helps you sharpen your email campaigns. And for larger, thornier questions, scientific polls are really the only way to pierce the veils of assumption, preconception and bias.

No matter what you do, and how meticulous you are, some uncertainty will remain. Just ask the Romney camp. That uncertainty makes it clear that you can’t become a slave to your numbers. Let numbers help point the way. Inform your decisions. Don’t let them dictate what you stand for, but do let them help determine which channels and messages best resonate with your target market. You know your business.

You know your customers. Analytics can confirm what you know, and sometimes dispel incorrect assumptions. Where the numbers end, let your knowledge, experience and instinct bring it on home – into the winner’s circle.

*This article originally appeared in the November 8 issue of BlueSky Business Aviation News.

11.09.12 · Sonia Greteman

BlueSky Business Aviation News; Lindbergh Foundation announces Aviation Green Alliance awareness campaign

November 8, 2012 BlueSky Business Aviation News

Lindbergh Foundation announces Aviation Green Alliance awareness campaign
The Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation’s Aviation Green Alliance is running a five month awareness campaign to highlight advances in green aviation. The campaign, carried in most major aviation publications, begins this month with an informational ad about Joe Clark, Aviation Partners Inc., and Blended WingletTM technology. The Foundation’s Aviation Green Alliance, whose vision is progress through balance, is using the ad campaign to bring awareness to the aviation community of the significant technological advances that have been made in the last 35 years that have also benefited the environment. The campaign features full page informational ads which will run from November 2012 through March 2013. The ads will feature the stories of the individuals behind the initiatives and highlight the significant contributions that they have made. The Foundation announced that its December ad will feature Burt Rutan, and his work on composites.

Space for the ads was donated by the many publications carrying the series, which include FLYING, Professional Pilot, AOPA Pilot, Sport Aviation, Aviation Week, Space Technology, Business and Commercial Aviation, Aviation International News, AircraftOwner Online, Flight International, and Trade-a-Plane. The ad series’ concept, copywriting and design were donated by the Greteman Group.“We’re honored to partner with the Lindbergh Foundation on an environmental initiative designed to both celebrate past advances and inspire future ones,” says Sonia Greteman, agency president and creative director. “Innovation and ingenuity can help achieve what we all want: blue skies and fields of green.”

“This year the Lindbergh Foundation celebrates its 35th anniversary,” said Lindbergh Foundation Chairman John Petersen. “As part of that celebration, we are presenting this awareness campaign to show the great strides that the aviation industry has made during that time in fostering breakthroughs that have resulted in significant benefits for the environment. The Foundation is extremely grateful for the generosity and support provided by the participating publications and the Greteman Group. We believe that this campaign will go a long way toward changing what our community thinks about our contribution to making the planet a better place to live.”

Aviation Green Alliance The Lindbergh Foundation leads the aviation community to encourage and acknowledge innovation that balances the advances of technology with the needs of the environment. Through its Aviation Green AllianceTM, it brings together corporations, organizations and individuals to facilitate innovations that enhance all aspects of flying while benefiting the planet and quality of life. AGA is interested in initiatives that create solutions such as cleaner fuels, noise reduction, fuel efficiency, reduced drag, greater aircraft operating efficiencies, more sustainable buildings and business practices, and reduced contamination of the air and earth.

AGA is focused on producing unambiguous benefits for the aviation community and the environment. AGA achieves its goals throughout the year with very practical, substantive, value- producing initiatives. “Aviation Green Alliance is creating common conversations and initiatives to benefit aviation and humanity,” said Yolanka Wulff, Lindbergh Foundation Executive Director. “Through programs such as this awareness campaign, we want to highlight the environmental implications of flight and to begin to change the internal perception within the aviation industry about the level of engagement and accomplishment that has been and continues to be active in almost every significant player.”
BlueSky Business Aviation News | 8th November 2012 | Issue #199
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11.08.12 · Greteman Group

Wichita Eagle; Featured business person: Randy Bradbury

November 8, 2012

The Wichita Eagle
Joe Stumpe
Pg 2C

Bradbury spent 30 years as a newspaper reporter and editor before going to work for the Greteman Group marketing agency as a writer in 2006.

“It’s certainly different, although writing is writing,” he said. “I probably approach advertising writing more as a reporter than somebody who came into advertising straight from school. I still think of myself as somewhat of a reporter. I find out or research what’s going on with a client or the issue at hand.”

This month he was named a vice president at Greteman. He said he will continue to write for most of the agency’s clients, including FlightSafety International, Flexjet, USAIG, Signature Flight Support, Dallas Airmotive and Bombardier Aerospace.

He said the new title reflects a greater involvement in agency strategy. Bradbury, 58, grew up in North Dakota and South Dakota, where his parents owned weekly newspapers. He earned a degree in political science from the University of North Dakota, spending a memorable summer in Washington, D.C. – the summer President Nixon resigned – as a page in the U.S. Senate.

After college he worked for the Bismarck Tribune, Fargo Forum, Rapid City Journal and Grand Forks Herald, helping the latter win a Pulitzer Prize in public service journalism for coverage of the city’s 1997 flood. He also amassed most of the credits necessary for a master’s degree in spaces studies from UND. He moved to Wichita in 2001 to take a job as night city editor of The Wichita Eagle.

Thanks to Greteman’s focus on aviation, he said, he’s learned “as much as possible for a non-pilot” about the subject. But the actual writing for clients is varied – “everything from Christmas cards to email blasts to technical brochures to advertisements.”

Outside work, Bradbury enjoys photography, reading, hiking and camping. He’s also passionate about music, whether listening to it, playing it or making guitars and mandolins to play it on.

“I’ve been to (the Walnut Valley Festival) in Winfield every year since I’ve been to Kansas,” he said.

© The Wichita Eagle, 2012

11.08.12 · Greteman Group

Greteman Group promotes Bradbury and Groene

November 5, 2012

WICHITA, Kan.- Wichita-based marketing communications agency Greteman Group has promoted Randy Bradbury to vice president and Rachel Groene to brand manager.

Bradbury joined Greteman Group in 2006 in part to help serve client FlightSafety International. He writes everything from technical bulletins to internationally circulated corporate advertisements. In addition, Bradbury has written for nearly every Greteman Group client, including Bombardier, Flexjet, Signature Flight Support, Dallas Airmotive, United States Aircraft Insurance Group and many others. Bradbury can turn from website nitty gritty to high-touch holiday greetings, from email notices to complex aviation-specific brochures – and might do all of the above on any given day.

Groene joined Greteman Group in 2009 as a strategic communications intern. During her time with the agency, she has supported clients in a wide range of industries: aviation, hospitality and healthcare. In her now role, Groene’s main accounts include the Kansas State Fair and FlightSafety International. Groene will also serve as the agency’s primary media planner and buyer by planning, negotiating and implementing buys ranging from $10,000 to $1 million-plus.

11.05.12 · Greteman Group

Aero-News Network; Lindbergh Foundation Announces Aviation Green Alliance Awareness Campaign

November 1, 2012

Aero-News Network

Campaign Will Run Five Month Informational Ad Series

On Tuesday the Charles A. and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation announced that its Aviation Green Alliance is running a five month awareness campaign to highlight advances in green aviation. The campaign, which will be carried in most major aviation publications, begins this month with an informational ad about API’s Joe Clark and his company’s Blended Winglet technology.

The Foundation’s Aviation Green Alliance, whose vision is progress through balance, is using the ad campaign to bring awareness to the aviation community of significant technological and environmental advances that have been made in the last 35 years. The campaign features full page informational ads which will run from November of 2012 through March of 2013. The ads will feature the stories of the individuals behind significant green advances and highlight the contributions that they have made. The Foundation announced that its December ad will feature Burt Rutan and his work on composites.

Space for the ads was donated by the many publications carrying the series, which include FLYING, Professional Pilot, AOPA Pilot, Sport Aviation, Aviation Week, Space Technology, Business and Commercial Aviation, Aviation International News, AircraftOwner Online, Flight International, and Trade-a-Plane. The ad series’ concept, copywriting and design were donated by the Greteman Group.

“We’re honored to partner with the Lindbergh Foundation on an environmental initiative designed to both celebrate past advances and inspire future ones,” says Sonia Greteman, agency president and creative director. “Innovation and ingenuity can help achieve what we all want: blue skies and fields of green.”

11.01.12 · Greteman Group