• Research Shows That Marketing Through Recessions Pays Off

    Research Shows That Marketing Through Recessions Pays Off

    Decades of Research-Based Results Prove That Marketing Through Economic Uncertainty Is the Best Way to Stay on Top.

    Matter EVP and PR veteran Tim Hurley recently shared 7 Reasons to Maintain Your Marketing Program in Uncertain Times. In full disclosure, we were supposed to tag-team the topic in a two-part post, but Tim nailed it in one! After reading his points, my first reaction was, “I’m not sure I have much to add.”  

    But it quickly dawned on me that, while I 100% agree with Tim’s perspective on why leaning into PR and marketing during tough times is beneficial for long-term brand growth and success, we could hardly be considered unbiased on this topic.  

    Fortunately, for decision-makers facing pressure to trim their PR and marketing budgets, there’s plenty of evidence to support these claims.  

    Client Success Story – Blue Yonder

    Before diving into all the studies that prove boosting marketing efforts while competitors scale back is a smart move, one close-to-home example is long-standing Matter client Blue Yonder. The company didn’t just maintain its PR and marketing program as COVID hit — it  expanded its efforts and saw business thrive in 2020 and 2021. 

    Yes, Blue Yonder is a supply chain and fulfillment technology leader, so it’s easy to say that pandemic-related supply chain disruptions were a driver for its business. That’s fair — but due to the marketing and senior leadership teams’ brave conviction to double-down, they were able to fully capitalize on turbocharging the company’s growth and market position during challenging times. 

    Too anecdotal for you? Well, we’ve got plenty of research, too. Below are articles and research through various recessions that prove the business value of maintaining marketing investments during periods of economic uncertainty: 

    MarketSense Study

    • The 1990s research (see infographic link at end of blog) concluded the best strategy for coping with a recession is to balance long-term branding with promotion for short-term sales. This study shows brands like Jif and Kraft Salad Dressing experienced sales growth of 57% and 70%, respectively, after increasing their advertising during the 1990-1991 recession.

    McGraw-Hill Study

    • A number of sources – including this Wharton School article – point to a McGraw-Hill Research study that looked at the performance of 600 B2B companies in 16 industries between 1980 and 1985, a timeframe that includes the 1981-1982 recession.  

    The research reveals that many companies maintained or increased their advertising spend during the recession while others reduced or cut it completely. The result? Those that maintained or increased advertising spend saw 256% higher sales post-recession than those who cut or reduced budgets. 

    The Strategic Planning Institute Study

    This article cites a study by The Strategic Planning Institute, which concluded that “bold marketing in a downturn resulted in strong performance while tepid marketing had undesirable consequences. In addition, the higher marketing investments did not hurt profits for the short-term.” 

    Meldrum & Fewsmith Research

    The above studies are cited again here, along with additional context from a series of six studies conducted by the research firm Meldrum & Fewsmith. The studies “showed conclusively that advertising aggressively during recessions not only increases sales but increases profits. This fact has held true for all post-World War II recessions studied by American Business Press starting in 1949.” 

    Making the case to maintain or increase marketing spend in the face of a potential recession is daunting. But as the examples and research above show, “invest and thrive” will always be a winning mantra — especially in an uncertain economic and business environment. 

    Jesse Ciccone

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  • Blog Writing from Dummies – How to Turn Your Idea into Must-Read Content

    Blog Writing from Dummies – How to Turn Your Idea into Must-Read Content

    A blog about writing a blog? We know — very meta. It’s like going to a play where the main character is writing a play, or watching a movie set in LA.

    So, you’ve been tasked with writing a blog. Lucky you! Before you lament about having another thing to work on, think of the positives: You get to add your voice to the hallowed ranks of every other great blog writer; you’re helping your brand form the way you talk to the world; and all your coworkers are going to be like, “oh damn, they’re smart!” Seems like a good deal to us.

    To quote everyone’s favorite Oklahoman, Brad Pitt, in the 2004 historical epic, Troy, “Immortality: Take it, it’s yours!”

    But now, you may be asking dear reader, how do I write this thing? Well lucky for you, we created this whole blog about writing blogs just for you! Ahead, we’ll walk you through the process of turning your idea into content so good, your grandma is going to hang it on her fridge. You ready? Let’s roll.

    What’s the Story?

    “But what should my blog be about?”
                – You, right now

    Great first question, we love where your head is at. To start, you need to identify a problem, one that your brand can help solve. When explaining how to mitigate the issue, you don’t need to call out a specific product or offering for every point you make, but you should have one in the back of your mind. Lastly, make it fun, make it interesting, add some of your personality into it. We know you have one — that’s why you’re writing this thing.

    But you’re not here to simply answer a question. You’re here to tell a story, which can sound trite, but it’s true. And to tell it, you need an arc: a beginning, a middle and an end. The best stories aren’t lists of hard facts. They are journeys that guide the reader through each new idea in a way that will inspire and captivate them. Don’t worry, we’re not looking for Lord of the Rings here. Just try to be empathetic to your audience’s reading experience.

    Before you spin your yarn, there are some key steps to take:

    1. Research!
      We’re not saying you’re not a leading expert in your field, but your audience might not be up to speed. To ensure what you write is trusted by your readers, you need to do a bit of googling. A piece with good, well-cited stats and facts gives you authority and credibility. And hey, you might even learn something new.

      But please, and we cannot stress this enough: Save those links! You might find some awesome stats, but if you don’t save those sources, the universe guarantees your boss will want to see where the citations came from. So, save yourself the effort of looking twice.

      Research isn’t just about having foot-long footnotes. It’s also about learning what kind of writer you want to be. So, read works by your favorite journalists, authors, Twitter personalities and whoever else, determine what it is you like about them, and see how you can fold it into your own writing. Good writers start by being good readers.
      xxxx
    2. Build an Outline
      All great treasure hunters know you need a map to find the gold. In this case, the gold is solid content. To tell your story in a coherent way, build an outline that hashes out your intro, the order of your main points and you conclusion — all while threading those sections together, so your piece does not appear as separate ponds, but a stream flowing from the beginning to its nexus.

      Outlines can feel tedious – which, they are – but they are essential to elevating the quality of your writing. We even wrote an outline for this! And look how it turned out.

      Outline: Burritos Are Better than Pizza
      Do we believe this? Not necessarily. But the point is to show, as a writer, you can get excited about and evangelize for any topic.

      Intro: While both pizza and burritos are delicious and hold cult-like followings amongst Americans, burritos are the superior food item.
      ○ From building the dish to eating it to enjoying your accomplishment, burritos are easier and more satisfying than pizza.

      1. Easier to Acquire
      ○ Frozen options – the worst frozen burrito is still much better than the worst frozen pizza
      ○ Smaller price range – price gap is tighter, whether it’s at Taco Bell or a fancy sit-down joint
      ○ It is much easier to acquire a good burrito than a good single slice of pizza
      ○ Versatility of ingredients – can be used to make filling aspects of many other meals
      xxxx• Pizza cheese, sauce, toppings can really only be used on pizza or as an ingredient in a larger meal

      2. Easier to Make Yourself
      ○ Don’t need to let dough rise, time perfectly.
      xxxx• If you burn one burrito, you have supplies to make another quickly. If you burn a pizza, you need to start from scratch.
      ○ More customizable
      xxxx• Get weird – you can add a lot of toppings from other cuisines into a burrito that would not fit on a pizza: Korean-Mexican fusion, Mexican-Mediterranean fusion
      ○ More versatile – options for breakfast, lunch, and dinner

      3. Easier to Enjoy
      ○ Burritos offer both transportable options (wrapped in foil) and plated options, meaning you can enjoy one on-the-go or at a nice dinner
      ○ The filling-ness/transportable ratio is higher with a burrito than pizza
      xxxx• One burrito is very filling and can be easily carried. To get the same level of fullness from a pizza requires carrying several slices — pretty awkward!
      ○ No leftovers, no problem – burrito leftovers don’t keep as well, so you need to finish it in one sitting
      xxxx• No wasting fridge space or worrying about your roommate stealing it

      Outro: Whether you need a quick fill or a lasting meal, whether you have every ingredient you need or are going to wing it, burritos are superior. In fact, I’m going to make myself one right now.
      xxxx
    3. Get Writing!
      Now, for the big event: You’ve got to write this thing. The best stories aren’t lectures. They are journeys. To capture our audience’s attention and walk with them through each topic, you must uncover each new discovery together. Don’t come in as the expert — become the navigator, guiding the reader along the path to knowledge.         

      Think of the podcast Radiolab or the grandfather in The Princess Bride. While you may know how the story ends, tell it as if you too yearn for answers to the same question the reader is asking. The writer and the reader are in this together. Share the journey.

      But even getting started can be intimidating. So, here are some tips we use on the regular:
      xxxx
      ○ Write like you talk – Okay, maybe not like you talk. But write conversationally, like you’re talking to one person.
      xxxx
      ○ Get passionate – Even if you don’t care about supply chain dynamics, trick the reader into thinking you are stoked about them. Figure out how to make it a piece you would want to read. Your enthusiasm is contagious.
      xxxx
      ○ Conjure the voices in your head – Sometimes writing with a specific character’s voice in your head can help you find weak points and elevate the copy. (This also works for editing). Our top choices are John Hamm, Tina Fey and David Sedaris.
      xxxx
      ○ Write for Goldilocks – Not too long, not too short. For a blog, 500 words is a good minimum. However, if you’re on a roll, don’t stop because you hit a character count. Keep going! You can trim the fat later.
      xxxx
      ○ Start with a hook – Catching fish is easiest when you have a hook on the line. Snagging readers is pretty much the same. Set up the problem, add some mystery, make a joke. They’ll eat it up. And as our PR friends know, don’t bury the lede!

      Also, don’t start off with “Webster’s Dictionary defines….” Your piece will be about as exciting as reading the dictionary.

      ○ Break it up – Big walls of copy can be daunting. So, break up your piece with bullets, stat callouts, quotes — all that good stuff. Look, we even did it here! Didn’t it help?
      xxxx
      ○ Concluding your piece – No one likes when a movie ends without tying up loose ends, and folks won’t like it if your blog doesn’t either. Make sure you have an outro that resolves everything nicely (and, if applicable, includes a CTA to reach out to your team).

      Also, pro tip: never title your conclusion “In Conclusion”
      xxxx
    4. Editing
      Now for everyone’s favorite part! It can be hard to edit your own work, and it can hurt to cut a well-crafted sentence when it just doesn’t fit. But this is necessary. Most copy can be cut by 25% (If you think this blog is long, you should have seen the first draft).

      Once you’ve cut your ego the extra fluff, it’s time to proofread. This can be especially difficult – our brains will autocorrect mistakes. But, we’ve got some tips:

      ○ Read it outloud, as your mouth will get snagged on mistakes your brain glosses over.
      ○ If you have to read it twice to understand it, rewrite it.
      ○ Ask for help. It takes a village to write a blog, so ask your peers to give your piece a proof.

      This last tip can be difficult to tackle — we’re all super busy! However, no piece of writing should get posted without two sets of eyes on it. It ensures your brand look good and everyone is happy. So, everybody lend a hand!

      Note: If you are the editor, please be kind. Offer suggestions and point out stuff you like (spoon full of sugar and all). If someone is struggling, be sure to take time to help them get the blog back on track. None of us are Mark Twain, so try to have a little chill.

    Be Generous to Yourself

    Writing a blog is a skill, and skills take time to master. Just because we share a language with Jane Austin and John Steinbeck doesn’t mean we’ll be writing our Pulitzer acceptance speech anytime soon. Crawl, walk, run — that’s the name of the game here. And as always, English is a stupid language, so there are no stupid questions. If you need help, ask. Helping each other is what makes a team great. It also helps to make for some pretty good writing.

    Looking for some help turning your great ideas into must-read content. We’ve got the writers for the job. Reach out!

    Rory Nolan

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  • 7 Reasons to Maintain Your Marketing Program in Uncertain Times

    7 Reasons to Maintain Your Marketing Program in Uncertain Times

    There’s no question that companies have a lot to balance these days: the war in Ukraine; inflation/stagflation; supply chain challenges; stock market volatility; tightening company valuations. These events call for careful consideration by brands across industries as outcomes impact nearly every facet of their businesses – and marketing is no exception.

    We’ve seen this movie before – periods of tremendous growth followed by budget tightening, a few speed bumps and, in some cases, contraction. Everyone from business consultants to investors are quick to issue warnings during challenging times: Exercise caution. Tighten the financial and operational belts. Hunker down. Ride out the rough patch.

    But for marketers, there’s a fine line between reacting to macro-economic forces and demonstrating fiscal (and brand) responsibility. What is seemingly prudent for the balance sheet and short-term execution is not always best for long-term brand goals, customer trust and the sales pipeline.

    So, how can CMOs and marketing managers make the case to “keep the marketing lights on” as their companies brace for economic uncertainty? We’re sharing seven reasons why maintaining PR and marketing during a downturn will help your brand come out on top.

    • Slamming the Brakes Causes Accidents. We saw countless brands do exactly that when COVID hit. They instituted deep and immediate marketing cuts – to internal staff as well as agency partner budgets – only to realize they had overreacted instead of slowing down and assessing the road ahead. Those who stayed the course enjoyed a seamless acceleration into the fast lane as they remained top of mind to their customers. Those hitting the brakes found themselves climbing a steep and slippery slope back into the race. Some never recovered.
    • It’s the Perfect Time to Increase Mindshare + Market Share. During extremely challenging periods – the Dot Com bust, the post-9/11 malaise, the 2008 financial crisis and the COVID-19 outbreak – many leading and lasting brands were forged and fortified. Competition thins in times of crisis. The opportunity for innovation and leadership is ripe for those who can both bring it to market and create demand. When others pull back on PR, search marketing and brand awareness, forward-looking organizations can increase their share of voice with strategic investments. With less competition taking center stage, you’ll have a greater share of the media spotlight with more opportunities to establish growth and market leadership, build pipeline, and attract top talent.
    • Communication Is Critical During Tough Times. Esteemed VC firm, Sequoia Capital, issued a stern warning to its portfolio companies to rein in expenses, but noted “communication” at the very top of its “pillars of leadership” when advising on how to respond to this “crucible moment.” No argument here, as clear, transparent and honest communication with internal/external stakeholders has never been more important. Communication is like oxygen to brands – it’s not something you can turn on and off haphazardly. Any brand unable to honestly and effectively communicate during difficult times risks harming their reputation permanently.
    • PR Is Extremely Cost Effective. Earned media is one of the most cost-effective marketing disciplines – not to mention the most credible. It provides an external endorsement for your brand’s mission, products and services, customer support, and company culture. Awareness through positive media coverage can have a far greater short-term impact – and staying power – than any slow stretch of business. There’s no better way to ensure your stakeholders, both internally and externally, know that your business is thriving now.
    • Build Trust Now, Grow Later. No company has ever successfully cut its way to growth. This is a commonly heard mantra from the investment community. Consistent communication coupled with strategic investment will allow you to continue to generate demand while building trust and confidence in your brand, your products and your services. No company has ever successfully cut its way to growth.  Focusing on delivering value – through content, guides, communication, and more – will help you outgrow, outlast and outexecute your competitors.
    • Marketing Supports Your Loyal Customers. During recessions, it’s more imperative than ever to remember that loyal, recurring customers are every business’s primary and enduring wellspring of consistent cash flow and organic growth. Marketing isn’t optional – it’s a fundamental cost of doing business, essential to generating revenues from key existing customers and creating revenue-producing relationships with new ones.
    • Your Sales Team Will Thank You. What do salespeople care most about? Leads and closing deals, of course. Modern marketing is as much about driving sales as it is about building brands. Targeted demand gen programs coupled with smart PR campaigns are critical and hugely effectively for driving leads, which drive sales.

      Reducing marketing budget can hinder your sales team’s ability to attract and close deals, as buyers will have fewer resources to reference when doing their research – fewer positive articles about your product; fewer user reviews about your service quality; less educational content on your brand. If your marketing engine is running efficiently, you can thrive while others pull back – and that is how you get through tough times.

    Keep Your Marketing Programs Going

    Uncertain times call for strategic, creative and cost-conscious thinking to ensure your brand stays on track to reach both its short- and long-term goals. Making tough decisions is inevitable and businesses need to prioritize essential spend, like paying salaries, benefits, overhead and more – there’s no arguing that. However, deeming what’s essential versus what’s “nice-to-have” leaves much room for debate. For companies to successfully stay in front of buyers, they must build long-term brand affinity and trust to position themselves for long-term growth beyond any downturn — and they must carefully evaluate the essential value of brand building.

    If you’re ready to take a deep dive into your brand and where it stands in today’s market, reach out below!

    Tim Hurley

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  • Matter Opens Dallas Office to Support the Region’s Booming Healthcare + Tech Presence

    Matter Opens Dallas Office to Support the Region’s Booming Healthcare + Tech Presence

    Integrated Agency Expands Its National Footprint to Further Support Global Healthcare + High-Tech Brands While Tapping into the Region’s Diverse Talent Base.

    BOSTON, July 12, 2022 – Matter Communications — a Brand Elevation Agency specializing in PR, creative services, digital marketing and strategy — announces the opening of its Dallas office to further support the region’s rapidly growing global healthcare and high-tech presence, as well as recruit and retain diverse talent. The decision to open the Dallas office will help the agency not only capitalize on the metro area’s growth opportunity in healthcare – with year-over-year job gains nearly twice the national average – but will also position Matter closer to other key industries while supporting its ambitious recruiting goals.

    “Dallas and its surrounding markets have become hot beds for growth and innovation, with some of the industry’s biggest players in healthcare, technology, education and financial services putting down roots throughout the region,” said Ryan Lilly, General Manager of Matter Health. “We are thrilled not only by the business opportunity in Dallas’ $52 billion healthcare community, but also the chance to support and accelerate the myriad organizations that are advancing greater economic growth, locally and abroad.”

    As one of the nation’s largest healthcare ecosystems, Dallas aligns with the intentionally broad client portfolio of Matter Health – the agency’s dedicated healthcare team – covering subsectors across the continuum of care, including health systems, hospitals, outpatient clinics, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, health tech and more.

    Matter already works with some of the area’s most innovative brands, delivering integrated, results-driven communications programs for companies including:

    • Catalyst Health Group, the creator of Texas’ largest clinically integrated network for primary care providers, supporting more than 1.5 million patients and generating more than $100 million in community savings.
    • symplr, a software company providing comprehensive, cloud-based healthcare operations solutions anchored in governance, risk management and compliance that enable enterprise customers to efficiently navigate the unique complexities of integrating critical business operations in healthcare.

    “While our partnership with the Matter Health team predates their office opening, we are thrilled to welcome the team to Texas,” said Mason Hering, VP of Marketing, Leading Reach. “Operating out of Austin and supporting provider organizations throughout Texas, we’ve become very in tune with the community and growing healthcare market. There is no shortage of innovation happening in this area, and Matter will be a wonderful resource to help other organizations like ours tell their stories, elevate their brands and ultimately move healthcare forward.”

    Consistently recognized for its diverse – and rapidly expanding – population, the Dallas‐Fort Worth metro area offers a strong candidate pool that aligns with Matter’s efforts to continue recruiting and retaining varied talent as part of the company’s expanded commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion. Matter has already hired six Texas-based professionals for full-time positions, with more than a dozen additional Dallas-based roles to be filled.

    For more information about our Dallas office, visit our Dallas location page.

    To learn more about our Matter Health team, visit our Healthcare page.

    Looking to join one of the fastest-growing PR and marketing teams and let your career take off? Check out our full list of job opportunities.

    With 250+ professionals across offices in Boston and Newburyport, MA, Providence, RI, Pittsburgh, PA, Dallas, TX, Denver, CO, and Portland, OR, Matter is one of the fastest-growing PR, creative services, digital marketing and strategy firms in the country. Recently named to Forbes List of America’s Best PR Agencies for 2021, Matter has won 14 “Agency of the Year” accolades and has been consistently recognized as a top place to work.

    About Matter Communications

    Matter is a Brand Elevation Agency unifying PR, creative services, digital marketing and strategy into content-rich communications campaigns that inspire action and build value. Founded in 2003, with offices throughout North America, Matter works with the world’s most innovative companies across healthcare, high-technology, consumer technology, professional services and consumer markets. For more information, visit https://www.matternow.com.

    Contact

    Matter
    Greg Amaral, 401-330-2800
    [email protected]
    www.matternow.com

    Matter

  • Video Just Hits Different in the Summer

    Welcome to the Q2 2022 LATEST + GREATEST from the MATTER VIDEO + PODCAST team!

    We can’t speak for anyone else, but so far 2022 has got us twisted up in knots. Like, good, strong, metaphorical knots. Our team is growing, our clients believe in the power of video and podcasts, and as we look ahead to summer, we’re feeling some combination of exhaustion and excitement. TL;DR… this summer is going to be awesome! 

    But this blog post isn’t about forecasting – we’re here to relax and reflect on this past quarter. And let us tell you, it was a doozy. Nick Cage got weird (again) and showed us his Massive Talent. Season Four of Stranger Things has us pulling out our old Dungeons and Dragons campaign books. And for some reason they remade Father of the Bride?  We’re split on whether all these developments were for the better, but one thing we’re certain of is that we produced some killer work this quarter. And you know what? We’re excited to share! So, slap on some sunscreen, dip your toes in our reel, and then if the vibe is right, dive into some full videos with context and production notes below. 

    Thank you, clients and collaborators! 

    MiCROTEC – “You Can Count on Us” 

    David Bowie once said, “Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes – turn and face the strange.” And that couldn’t be more true for businesses caught in the middle of big transitions. In MiCROTEC’s case, they’d acquired an Oregon-based company called Lucidyne in 2020, but hadn’t found the right time or way to announce it publicly. See, in the LumberTech industry, the combination of legacy (think: lumberjacks and frontier economies), connection to the land, and the technology that enables efficiency and sustainability means announcements of change can create kind of a delicate PR dance. And our agency’s leadership in public relations is why MiCROTEC turned to Matter in the first place. As part of a broader announcement strategy, they tapped our team to create a Brand Anthem video that could not only help manage the transition, but also live beyond the campaign with just minor tweaks. With a powerful script in hand, our crew packed up our axes and steadicams and made the trek to the Lucidyne headquarters in Corvallis, OR, and to the Idaho Forest Group. The result? A moody masterpiece that even Twilight fans would swoon over (#TeamJacob). 

    Horizon3.ai – “Focus on What Matters”

    OK, picture this. You’re sitting at your computer, just clacking away at the keys, trying to get some work done before your 8:30 date at the local Cantina. When all of a sudden, your comms are jammed and alerts are popping up all over your screen – you’re the victim of a cyberattack. What are you supposed to do? Do you… grab your lightsaber and prepare for righteous battle against the forces of darkness? Oh, get real, people. This isn’t an episode of Obi-Wan Flippin’ Kenobi – and these hackers don’t have space magic or Death Stars to break into your computer and steal your data. Which means you don’t need a Force of your own to be the hero of this story. You need a partner like Horizon3 to come in for the assist. Just click a button and your data is safe – well, that was easy!  

    But let’s say you’re Horizon3, and your problem is one of Brand Awareness and Trust. How do you convince an audience – inundated by cybersecurity options – that your product is easier but also better? Well, that takes more than a single click. Enter, Matter Video. With Horizon3’s cinematic vision, sketched out on notebook paper, our team brought to life a futuristic story to premiere at this year’s RSA Conference. Now, we’re not comparing ourselves to George Lucas here, but to plan, shoot and otherwise produce a jaw-dropping product video on a razor-thin timeline from a hand-drawn idea? That took a bit of our proprietary video space magic (and a bunch of hard work). Looks like we’ve all earned that trip to the Cantina tonight. 

    Conversica – “From What If to How Much”

    Summer is a time for cold drinks, spicy tacos and beach volleyball tournaments. Ya know, fun times with friends and loved ones, not menial tasks. After all, it’s not the season to be sitting in a windowless room with drop ceilings, cold calling leads until the whistle blows and you’re finally allowed to go home. No way! So, when Conversica approached us about a summer launch for an animated explainer, we nearly blew out a flip flop in excitement. See, Conversica’s Conversational AI takes those menial tasks like cold-calling/emailing off the plates of sales, marketing and customer success teams, giving them the time to focus on more important tasks. See where we’re headed here? Sure, the video itself focuses on the real-life results you can expect by using Conversica’s technology. But the results of those results? If you want the answer to that, meet us at the beach and we can discuss. 

    Looking for help with your video marketing strategy or starting your branded podcast? Fill out the form below to schedule a free strategy call with our team.  

    Nick Murray