Co-manager of Agency’s Gulfport Office Joins Board

JACKSON, Miss. – January 7, 2013 – Kami Wert, senior vice president and executive management team member, has become a partner and shareholder of GodwinGroup, a branding and integrated marketing firm with offices in Gulfport and Jackson.

Wert co-manages the agency’s Gulf Coast office, which oversees work for clients including  Hancock Bank, Mississippi Power, the Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership as well as pro bono and project work for community nonprofits such as INFINITY Science Center at NASA Stennis Space Center, Mississippi Gulf Coast YMCA, South Mississippi Chapter of the American Red Cross and Excel By 5.

“Kami has been an integral part of Godwin’s success in recent years, especially on the Gulf Coast,” said Philip Shirley, Godwin chairman and CEO. “She is energetic and passionate about partnering with clients to further enhance their brands and grow their business. Kami is also actively engaged as a volunteer in the Gulf Coast community.”

A native of Magee, Wert graduated from the University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts in speech communications. She joined GodwinGroup in 1997 as a brand coordinator. She moved to the Gulf Coast in 2004, and is a member of the Junior Auxiliary of Gulfport, The Gulf Coast Chamber of Commerce, the Krewe of Nereids and Trinity Methodist Church.

GodwinGroup, the largest and oldest marketing firm in Mississippi, is celebrating its 75^th anniversary and 20^th year on the Gulf Coast. The agency serves clients nationwide, primarily in healthcare, banking, finance and insurance, utilities, tourism, manufacturing, food and consumer goods. It has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies as measured in revenues by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin. 

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Here are some reasons to use mobile technology as a form of advertising:

1. Text messaging as a form of advertising is very cost effective.

• The cost of sending a text message is pennies compared to printing and mailing direct marketing letters (Some advertisements including pictures or videos may only be available to customers with smartphones).

2. When offering deals or coupons, the number of responses can be easily calculated based on the number of people who claim the offers.

• Remember to make the offer a limited-time offer as this will increase your number of responses. Additionally, a quick "thank-you" response to your customer via text message or e-mail will guarantee a higher percentage of return customers.

3. Responses to mobile marketing are almost 5 times higher than responses to print ads.

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5. Mobile marketing over cell phones is the fastest way to connect to your customers.

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Find a way to talk to your customers on the phone without really having to talk. Not only will you save money by utilizing the benefit of text messages, but you will gain business opportunities by offering time sensitive deals with your advertisements to create a sense of urgency. Take advantage of the mobility of our smartphones, and grab your consumer’s attention with your message.

#SmartphoneSelling

PASCAGOULA, Mississippi -- Carrying a message that the Mississippi coast is a vacation destination, the Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership has reached more than 100 million adults through various media, GodwinGroup CEO Philip Shirley told Jackson County supervisors today.

The partnership -- a public-private entity formed in April 2011 to administer $16 million in BP grant money -- has reached 76 million adults by television and 56 million by magazine.

GodwinGroup is one of several advertising agencies working to promote the area.

The ads and TV spots, along with associated websites and social media accounts, have highlighted gaming, the beaches, nature, events and other tourism features in Jackson, Harrison and Hancock counties, Shirley said.

The partnership is the culmination of a cooperative, tri-county approach to market and promote the coast as a whole, an idea that gained momentum after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

It includes representatives from all 3 counties, with Jackson County being represented on the board by Margaret Miller, of the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce, and Carla Todd, of the Jackson County Chamber of Commerce.

From January to August, the partnership spent about $428,000 per month on marketing, Shirley said.

With that marketing boost, gaming revenues were up through September.

When comparing March-September revenues in 2011 to the same period of 2012, there was a $5 million jump, he said.

Tourism tax collections are also up 4 percent this year, he said, and leisure and hospitality jobs are up 4.4 percent.

"Tourism is important to all of us," Supervisor John McKay said. "Y'all are doing us a good job."

Looking forward to 2013 and 2014, the group will focus on working with local industry to create more specific tourism offers, such as deals where vacationers buy two nights at a hotel and get a third free.

They will promote the casinos and beaches, which have the most interest, and shift their media attention to TV and digital, which have proven to be most effective.

Also, they will give additional exposure to weddings, golf, eco-tourism and fishing.

Jeff Wilkinson, of Gautier-based Eco-Tours of South Mississippi, told supervisors and partnership representatives that his business has grown as a result of the marketing, and small businesses should remain a priority.

Before, he said, most vacationers were on the coast for some other activity when they ended up at Eco-Tours as a side trip.

But over the last 2 years, he said, Eco-Tour is getting calls from people who want to visit Gautier specifically to take a swamp tour, and then they're building their vacations around that.

With the Gulf Coast Regional Tourism Partnership and the Harrison County Tourism Commission both working separately toward a similar goal, he said, "I just hope political turf wars don't get in the way of building something that will help small businesses."

Reporters weren’t the only ones. As a former New York and New Jersey resident, I was communicating with my family who lives in New York City and New Jersey via text because they had no power and therefore no access to news on the storm. When I jumped on Facebook to see if anyone I knew had any resources or insight into handling the storm, this is the first image I saw:

This is actually a screen grab from the Hollywood Motion Picture “The Day After Tomorrow”. Needless to say, I clearly didn’t catch that one when it was in theaters.

Based on the hype associated with this storm, the photo above looks credible, right? Well, at least that’s what I thought, so I also shared it on Facebook, hoping my friends without power would make better preparations. This photo went viral and much to my and the dismay of many others, it is Photoshopped and a complete FAKE!

I also saw this photo:

Turns out this one was a combination of a generic photograph of New York Harbor with one from storm chaser and photographer Mike Hollingshead.

I was duped and some of our most trusted national news sources also reported false news, the most widespread story being that the New York Stock Exchange had been flooded by three feet of water.

Lucky for us, now, we can correct information as quickly as it’s reported incorrectly. Real-time data exchange has changed the impact of misinformation going viral much more quickly and forced these “newsjackers” to come clean.

How do we stop these “newsjackers” from spreading false information? Short of being careful of what we read, there’s nothing that we can truly “do”. However, now that we can report the news on a 24/7 basis, we can correct these mistakes and rival false news reports by sending the correction story into a viral spin. Since we have such ease of access to social media, news cycles are moving more quickly than before. The rapid fire correction stories have led to the following samples of today’s headlines:

USA Today – “Hurricane Sandy shows dark side of social media” 

The Star Ledger – “Hurricane Sandy: Fake photos shared on social media” 

The Atlantic – “Sorting the Real Sandy Photos From the Fakes” 

Mashable.com even went as far as putting together a compilation of all the fake Sandy photos that caused such a stir.  Do people actually believe that a shark would be swimming through New Jersey floodwaters?

Lesson learned.

Contact:

Lisa Bynum, lbynum@godwin.com

601.360.9481

GodwinGroup Names Hawkins Project Manager

 Jackson, Miss. – October 19, 2012 – GodwinGroup,   Mississippi’s largest and oldest marketing and communications firm, recently named Don Hawkins, of its Jackson office, as project manager.

 “Don has demonstrated that he possesses the organizational and management skills needed to help manage our client’s work to achieve great results,” said Philip Shirley, GodwinGroup chairman and chief executive officer.

 As project manager, Hawkins will work closely with clients to meet their marketing objectives.  A native of Ocean Springs, Hawkins is a graduate of the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where he received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in business management.  Hawkins joined the agency in 2004.

 GodwinGroup, founded in 1937, is headquartered in Jackson and has an office on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It serves clients nationwide, primarily in healthcare, banking, finance and insurance, utilities, tourism, manufacturing, food and consumer goods. It has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies as measured in revenues by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin. 

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Lisa Bynum, Public Relations Manager

lbynum@godwin.com

601.360.9481

Beneke Magnolia Selects GodwinGroup

as Branding and Marketing Agency

Columbus, MS (August 21, 2012) – Beneke Magnolia, a full-line manufacturer of molded wood, injection molded solid plastic, aircraft, healthcare, manufactured home, OEM and soft vinyl toilet seats, has selected GodwinGroup as its branding and marketing agency. In March, Beneke Magnolia purchased Mississippi-based Sanderson Plumbing Products, manufacturer and marketer of the Beneke and Magnolia brands.

GodwinGroup will guide strategic brand development and create a long-term marketing strategy for both brands. The strategy will initially focus on crafting a new brand identity and competitive positioning.

“Sanderson Plumbing has a history spanning over 100 years,” said Beneke Magnolia CEO Tom Whitaker.  “We want to revitalize the brand by capitalizing on the strengths of innovation, on-time delivery, and value that have kept this company in business for over a century.”

“Beneke Magnolia is a company with a fascinating history.  For instance, they were the exclusive manufacturer of toilet seats for the NASA space shuttle program,” said Philip Shirley, GodwinGroup’s chairman and chief executive officer.  “For decades, this company has made a product found in homes and businesses across the world.”

For more information on Beneke Magnolia, visit www.sppi.com.

GodwinGroup, founded in 1937, is headquartered in Jackson, Miss., and has an office on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It serves clients nationwide, primarily in healthcare, banking, finance and insurance, utilities, tourism, manufacturing, food and consumer goods. The agency has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies as measured in revenues by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin.

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Image: FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Chances are, you know someone who blogs. Just in my little social circle alone, I have friends that blog about their family and their kids, friends that blog about current events and hobbies, and friends that blog as a way to promote their businesses. In this huge world of 6.9 billion people, blogging has given previously unknown people a voice. Just ask The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond.

At the end of 2011, there were 181 million blogs in existence in the world according to NM Incite, a Nielsen/McKinsey company. CNET reports that two new blogs are created every second, meaning that number has grown exponentially in the last eight months. That doesn’t necessarily mean every single one of those blogs has something interesting to say. Out of that vast number, about a quarter update their blogs regularly and have a dedicated following. Those who have taken the time to carve out their niche in the blogosphere are often perceived to be a leading authority on whatever topic they choose to write on. In short, their readers listen to and value what they have to say.

Case in point, Thermador—a kitchen appliances manufacturer—teamed up with the author of one of my favorite cooking blogs. I have been following her blog, Steamy Kitchen, long enough to know that she doesn’t typically promote a product unless she has actually used it and genuinely thinks it’s worth purchasing. Her Thermador post intrigued me enough to do a search on the company. Perhaps one of her readers is contemplating building a house or remodeling a kitchen. That one post could influence a buying decision.

So how do you get a blogger to tell your story? Why, with a good old-fashioned pitch, of course. But pitching to a blogger is different than pitching a story to traditional media. It’s their blog and they don’t want to be told what to write about.

Below are a few guidelines to keep in mind when approaching a blogger:

1. Become familiar with their blog. Subscribe to their feed and read their posts. Leave comments if you feel you have something to add to the conversation. This interaction will put you on their radar, but it is not the place to make your pitch. Leave a self-serving comment, and chances are, it will be deleted and you will be written off.
2. Personalize the pitch. Generic press releases will probably be sent straight to the recycle bin.  Write a customized pitch in the same tone that the blog is written in. If there was a recent post you enjoyed, mention it. It shows you are paying attention. Don’t forget to include why you feel your story or product is relevant.
3. Offer to send a freebie. Who doesn’t like free stuff? If your product is relevant to their audience, consider sending a free sample for them to try out or, even better, to hand out as a giveaway to one of their readers. Before you do this, however, be sure to read over the FTC guidelines regarding bloggers and product endorsements. Both parties must disclose the relationship within the post itself and in any social media promotions. If you fail to do this, both the blogger and your company could face hefty fines.
4. Discuss beforehand what happens if the blogger tries your product and doesn’t like it. Will you and the blogger just agree to go your separate ways? Or will they write an honest review about the good, the bad, and the ugly? There is not a lot you can do to prevent them from writing a bad review of your product, but at least you can be prepared.
5. Offer traffic or referrals to their blog. All bloggers want more traffic. Especially if your site is a highly trafficked area. For well-established bloggers, that translates into additional advertising dollars. For lesser-known bloggers, it gives them more visibility and higher page ranks. Again, be sure to disclose your relationship.
6.  Respond quickly. If a blogger is receptive to your pitch, be sure to respond to their interest sooner rather than later. You want to provide them with all the info they need while the topic is still fresh on their mind.
7. Remember that everything you say is “on the record.” Even private communication can be used as content for a blog post. Before hitting that send button, make sure you are okay with the possibility of your words being shared with the World Wide Web.

Try to keep in mind that most bloggers don’t blog for a living—many have full-time jobs, busy schedules, and maintain their blogs on their own time. If their site attracts a large audience, they may only have five minutes to wade through emails from fans and other pitches just like yours. Taking the extra time to establish a rapport in the beginning may just be the extra push you need to get your pitch noticed and establish a long and mutually beneficial relationship.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Kay Maghan, kmaghan@godwin.com

228.388.8511

GodwinGroup Promotes Wert to

Senior Vice President, Brand Supervisor

 Gulfport, Miss. – August 13, 2012 – GodwinGroup, a Gulf Coast and Jackson-based marketing and advertising firm, recently promoted Kami Wert to senior vice president, brand supervisor and also appointed her to the agency’s executive management team.

 “Kami has demonstrated her leadership with many of our clients, progressing steadily up the ranks of our company for 15 years and earning this opportunity,” said Philip Shirley, GodwinGroup chairman and chief executive officer.  “We are excited to have her join the agency’s senior leadership and help with the management of our coast office operations.”

 As senior vice president, Wert will continue to work closely with clients to develop an effective strategy that meets their marketing objectives, as well as remain actively involved in Gulf Coast business and community development.  She is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi in Hattiesburg, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in speech communication.  Wert joined the agency in 1997.

 GodwinGroup, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Jackson, has had offices on the Mississippi Gulf Coast since 1992.  It serves clients nationwide, primarily in healthcare, banking, finance and insurance, utilities, tourism, manufacturing, food and consumer goods. It has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies as measured in revenues by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin. For more information visit www.godwin.com and www.webmetrogodwin.com.

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Contact:

Lisa Bynum, Public Relations Manager

lbynum@godwin.com

601.360.9481

GodwinGroup’s Graves Named One of

Mississippi’s 50 Leading Businesswomen

JACKSON, Miss. (July 23, 2012) – Susan Graves, executive vice president, chief financial officer and partner at GodwinGroup, has been selected by the Mississippi Business Journal as one of the 50 Leading Businesswomen for 2012.  Recipients of this annual award are among some of the most influential female business leaders and senior decision-makers in Mississippi.

Graves joined GodwinGroup, an integrated marketing, advertising, and digital communications firm, in 1998 as director of finance.  She was later promoted to executive vice president and chief financial officer.  In 2010, she became a shareholder and partner and serves on the agency executive committee.  Graves currently oversees all financial decisions for the company in addition to day-to-day supervision of the human resources, information technology, accounting and administrative support departments.   She is a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi, where she received a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting.

“Susan’s leadership has played an important role in our agency’s growth and success, particularly in the last few years,” said Philip Shirley, GodwinGroup’s chairman and chief executive officer.   “Her knowledge of financial management, tax strategies, information systems and facilities planning has helped us proactively respond to our client’s needs.  We are proud of Susan’s recognition and feel the distinction is well-deserved.”

Winners will be honored during a two-day retreat in August at the Hinds Community College Eagle Ridge Conference Center in Raymond.  As a Top Fifty winner, Graves will also be eligible for consideration for the Mississippi Businesswoman of the Year, which will be announced early next year.

GodwinGroup, founded in 1937, is headquartered in Jackson and has an office on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  It serves clients nationwide, primarily in healthcare, banking, finance and insurance, utilities, tourism, manufacturing, food and consumer goods. The agency has been recognized numerous times among the nation’s leading agencies as measured in revenues by Ad Age and AdWeek. GodwinGroup provides branding, advertising and reputation management services, as well as web marketing services through its digital arm WebMetro/Godwin.

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