Green Marketing

Posted on April 20, 2012 by admin

Green Marketing Inspired by Earth Day, we thought we would write a blog on Green Marketing, also known as Sustainable Marketing.

 Green Marketing is the process of placing traditional marketing strategy and tactics behind services and products that fall into the environmental category. Although there are no rigid guidelines that can categorize what is officially a green or sustainable company, it is becoming more common for marketers to claim this status in hopes to generate favorability amongst their customers. People now want to be more green and eco-friendly in every way, including marketing one’s business.

According to the American Marketing Association, Green Marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe and constantly growing. Thus green marketing incorporates a broad range of activities including product modification, changes to the production process, packaging changes, as well as modifying advertising.

At The Marion Group, we are concerned about our environment.To minimize the impact to our planet’s natural resources we prefer to use electronic communications versus printed communications which require paper, ink and fossil fuels for delivery.

So Happy Earth Day and go for a  green marketing strategy!

What do you think of green marketing? Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. Share with us what you think. #mariongogreen

Posted in Annual Design Report, Brand Building, Brand Positioning, Brand Strategy, Brochure Design, Catalog Design, Technology | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Forum Energy Technologies Goes Public!

Posted on April 16, 2012 by admin
Forum Energy Technologies

Forum Energy Technologies

A client of The Marion Group, Forum Energy Technologies(FET), a leading global manufacturer for onshore and offshore stocked and custom oilfield products and technical services recently announced its Initial Public Offering (IPO) on April 11th.

Marion has performed a number of marketing services for them such as Graphics, Web Design, Content Management and Branding, which we hope helped them reach their goal of going public.

The shares are expected to begin trading on the New York Stock Exchange on April 12, 2012 under the ticker symbol “FET”.

Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook.
*Sources: Forum Energy Technologies (FET)

Posted in Brand Building, Graphic Design, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Mobile Web Design is a Marketing Must-Have!

Posted on April 12, 2012 by admin

It should come as no surprise to anyone that more people are browsing the web from their smartphones than ever before.

In 2011, the statistics only got more interesting: of those that own smartphones, 87% said that they use it for email or to browse the internet. 68% said that in a typical day they use their smartphones to access the web.

And fully one quarter of those surveyed said that they access the internet mostly on their smartphones. That’s right, for 25% of Americans, the smartphone has essentially replaced the personal computer.

Obviously smartphones have become a huge part of our society in a relatively short time which means that having an easily browsable, functioning mobile site is more important than ever. If your business doesn’t have a mobile site, your competitors could be scooping up those 25% of customers who exclusively use mobile devices to research products and services, read reviews and make purchases.

Keep the following in mind when designing your mobile site:
•Content should be simple and to the point (i.e. location, hours, contact info)
•Graphics and animation should be minimal (so the site loads quickly)
•Side scroll bars should be avoided whenever possible (difficult to navigate with touchscreen)

Contact the mobile web design experts at Marion to learn more. We’ve created numerous mobile sites and can give you expert advice on how to make the mobile web work for you.

What do you think of mobile marketing? Join the conversation on Twitter and Facebook. Share with us what you think. #marionmobile

 

*Sources: Pew Internet & American Life Project 2011

Posted in Mobile Marketing, Mobile Web Design, Web Design | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Take our Social Media Test!

Posted on April 2, 2012 by admin

The Social Media Test

Social Media QuizPull out your scantrons and No. 2 pencils folks. It’s time for a pop quiz.

Answer true or false, tally up your score and post how you did. Good luck!

 

  1. I have the gift of gab. So in regards to social media, I do most of the gabbing.
  2. I have so much going on with my company, so I mainly use social media to talk about our awesomeness.
  3. I’ve read a lot of asinine posts and I typically enjoy telling people how asinine their posts are.
  4. I don’t (or my company doesn’t) have a Facebook business page.
  5. I don’t (or my company doesn’t) participate in LinkedIn discussion groups.
  6. I think social media platforms are mainly for pushing product.
  7. Business profiles are supposed to be professional. No fun allowed!
  8. I’m a leader not a follower, even if it is on Twitter.
  9. So many people “Like” me on Facebook. It’s like high school (in my imagination) all over again – BUT I haven’t liked them back. I’m just not that into them…
  10. That’s right, a blog…I completely forgot I have a blog…
  11. No my business card does not feature my social media links…but I do have my fax number…
  12. I don’t respond to negative posts on my social media profiles. I delete them. I don’t have time for this hater-ation.
  13. It’s my account so I should be able to control the discussion.
  14. I don’t ask people to check-in to my location, I’m not their mom (and if I was, I’d be too cool for that).
  15. I’m not the “Mayor” of any location in my area…and I don’t plan on running…
  16. My company logo is the profile pic for all social media accounts. My mug is just not meant to be in a ¾ x ¾ inch square.
  17. There’s not a real person posting to my account. One less thing I have to do…
  18. I say “Find us on Facebook” instead of providing the link…scavenger hunts are more fun anyway.
  19. I don’t need to blog or tweet or anything. I just did all that jive a month ago…
  20. It’s all about ROI. What the H-E-double toothpicks is ROE??
  21. Social media is about ME!
  22. Sharing is caring…Psyche!

All of your answers should be false. Give yourself a point every time you answered false.

…And in case you’re wondering what your score means…

0-15 “False” Answers: The bad news is you failed, but the good news is your hair looks great. Also, there is ample opportunity to improve your social media marketing strategy.

16 “False” Answers: So you passed with a ‘C’. It won’t go on my refrigerator or anything, but it’s ok. Work on changing those “Trues” to “Falses” and you’re on the right track.

17 -22 “False” Answers: So you’re the overachiever that messes up the curve for everybody. This is great news and your work has gotten you on Marion’s Dean List. Don’t stop there! Make sure you strengthen all facets of your online presence. Is your website optimized?

Read other “Dont’s” in social media, compliments of Don the Idea Guy.

Posted in Entertainment, Internet Marketing, Just For Fun, Social Media Marketing, Social Networking | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Houston Oilman’s Tennis Tournament

Posted on March 29, 2012 by admin
Male Doubles Green Divison

Britt Mars of Troy Construction and Jeff Mysak of the Marion Group

This past weekend, the Marion Group and Troy Construction teamed up and won the Men Doubles, Green Division in the H.O.T.T. Oilman’s Tennis Tournament , one of the largest oil and gas industry sporting events in the Southwest which has been held continuously since 1981.

The tennis tournament was held at Giammalva Racquet Club. Our doubles team, Jeff Mysak of the Marion Group and Britt Mars of Troy Construction played incredibly well and led their team straight to victory. The Marion group is very proud of our team and happy to be involved and participate in this great event. And of course, a special big thanks to our sponsor Flexpipe Systems, who helped make our win happen!

Posted in Just For Fun | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments