White Papers
A FUTURISTIC APPROACH TO CPG LOYALTY
As any competent consumer packaged goods marketer would do, let’s start with some numbers.
A NEW LIFT FOR CPG: ENGAGEMENT LOYALTY
For real breakthrough innovations, many Consumer Packaged Goods companies are looking beyond products and more closely into relationships.
AT THE HEART OF ENGAGEMENT
It’s the understanding that the very best business-sponsored meetings and events are about more than the menu items or the decor.
BANKS: GROWING GREEN PROFITS
Globally, there are enough banks making explicit promises about their Green offering for financial company executives without a Green strategy to pay attention.
BETTER BUSINESS RESULTS FROM ELITE FREQUENT FLYERS
For the many airlines now struggling within a turbulent industry expected to lose $9 billion this year, the importance placed upon the elite frequent flyers has never been higher.
BRINGING MOBILE SEGMENTATION TO LIFE
Mobile marketing is much deeper than a cool app or a simple SMS blast. Mobile marketing is as deep and different as every customer.
BUILDING STRONGER RELATIONSHIPS WITH FREQUENT FLYERS
With more than 70 frequent flyer programs worldwide, travelers have no lack of opportunity to be rewarded for their patronage.
CONNECTING WITH WIRELESS CUSTOMERS
For wireless, change isn’t simply constant—it is itself accelerating in unprecedented ways, driven by numerous and powerful challenges.
DON'T CHECK EMOTIONS AT THE DOOR
Smart companies will capitalize on, not quash, those emotions through employee engagement programs.
DRIVING BETTER RETURNS FROM RETENTION DOLLARS
The challenges around retaining customers profitably have multiplied: heightening competition, rising customer expectations and falling customer loyalty.
ENGAGEMENT LOYALTY PART TWO: BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS FOR CPG BRANDS
CPG companies are starting to view relationship marketing as a natural extension of their mass market brand building efforts.
GETTING IT RIGHT IN RETAIL
To thrive, a retailer must do much more than master the traditional approaches to retail success.
GETTING SMART ABOUT EVENT MEASUREMENT
Events have the power to change behavior in a way that is different from other marketing activities.
LOW COST CARRIERS AND LOYALTY
Growth – and it has been spectacular growth – has come from the rise of Low Cost Carriers (LCCs).
LOYALTY 4.0: THE NEW WORLD ORDER FOR CUSTOMER STRATEGY
Loyalty marketing continues to heat up around the world as a preferred business strategy, but with growth comes a need for differentiation and a demand for economic success.
MANAGING THE RISKY BUSINESS OF MARKETING
Despite all the efforts at market and product research, customers are hard to read, and they don’t always respond to offers the way marketers expect them to.
MAN AND MACHINE: EFFECTIVE RECOGNITION THROUGH HUMAN-CENTERED TECHNOLOGY
We live in a complicated world, thanks in part to technology. Who hasn’t been occasionally befuddled by the challenge of navigating the land mines of new products and services
MOBILE MARKETING TODAY
More and more, brands are getting on board to see how they can understand this new ad platform and drive growth.
SMART EVENT MEASUREMENT: MOVING BEYOND SPEND ANALYSIS AND SATISFACTION METRICS
88% of CEOs state that staying close to customers is the number one priority in the next five years.
STRATEGIC MEETING MANAGEMENT
With increased scrutiny around corporate meetings and events, focus on cost management and business effectiveness has become imperative.
THE IMPACT OF HIGH OIL PRICES ON FREQUENT FLYER PROGRAMS
A weakened US economy and reduced demand for premium traffic as a result of the credit crunch and volatility in the financial markets make for a perfect storm.
THE UNTAPED OPPORTUNITY IN FINANCIAL SERVICES
The financial services industry is widely credited as being among the most adept in using relationship strategies and tactics to improve customer loyalty and profits.
TURNING THE CORNER IN AUTOMOTIVE MARKETING
If today you are driving straight ahead on the conventional automotive marketing road, then expect more than a few bumps to come your way in the future.
UNTANGLING EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
A resource for assessing and managing a company’s culture is available through the Carlson Marketing Positive Engagement Model.
WHAT ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR?
As a leader in designing and executing programs that engage and motivate employees, Carlson Marketing constantly seeks innovative ways to add power to their solutions.
Case Studies
Business Loyalty
VIRTUAL EVENT: VIRTUAL EXPERIENCE MAXIMIZES LEARNING IN A NEW WAY
This pharmaceutical customer had traditionally provided field sales training and business meetings using semi-annual National and Regional meetings. The content had varying relevance for each...
USER CONFERENCE: AN EXCEPTIONAL USER CONFERENCE THAT ATTRACTS MANY
Working hand in hand with this high tech customer, Carlson Marketing devised a strategy to impact sales with top partners and clients through a user conference that would attract...
USER CONFERENCE: DELIVERING CONSISTENT MESSAGING WORLDWIDE
Delivering globally with consistency isn’t always easy. That’s why this leading database and applications company chose Carlson Marketing: a partner who could effectively share...
USER CONFERENCE: COLLABORATIVE PARTNERSHIPS LEAD TO EVENT SUCCESS
One event. One city. Five venues. One crowd of 42,000 people. It takes trusted partners to deliver on that kind of scale, and Carlson Marketing has been part of the core team for this San...
FORD: ATTRACTING CROWDS TO THE HYBRID EXPERIENCE
When Ford Motor Company needed a partner to help launch their first major hybrid product effort to consumers and dealers, they turned to Carlson Marketing. The resulting multi-city tour...
COTTON INCORPORATED: AN EVENT THAT PRACTICES WHAT THEY PREACH
Few companies live their brand promise as effectively as Cotton Incorporated. As one of the most sustainable, renewable and biodegradable natural fibers in the world, it is a best choice for...
STRATEGIC MEETINGS MANAGEMENT: MANAGE GLOBALLY. DELIVER LOCALLY. SAVE HUGELY.
A leading database and applications company sought a partner that could deliver regionally on a worldwide basis, maintain consistent branding across the globe and leverage total spend...
SPONSORSHIPS: SUPPORTING EVENTS, GROWING REVENUE, ENHANCING RELATIONSHIPS
Business issue: Create and maintain a professional sponsorship program with continued revenue growth year-to-year. Objectives: Hire an experienced team to develop a...
SALES MEETING: ENSURING EVENT SUCCESS THROUGH EXPERIENCED MEETING PLANNING
A global medical technology corporation sought a well-trusted international event company to manage all aspects of their four day Pan – European conference in Marbella, Spain...
KIA: DEALER MEETING FOSTERS EXCITEMENT AND OPTIMISM
When 350 Kia dealers gathered in Las Vegas they experienced the Kia brand’s Power to Surprise first hand as Kia unveiled its most exciting product line to date. Dealers took home that...
SALES MEETING: AROUND THE U.S. IN 31 DAYS
A financial services company came to Carlson Marketing with a challenge. Locate hotel properties in 57 cities which can accommodate groups that vary in size from 25 – 300 financial...
SALES INCENTIVE: AN INCENTIVE THAT DROVE SALES... AND ENTHUSIASM!
Take your mark, ready, set, go! No, it’s not the holiday shopping season that got hearts pumping for this client’s sales force. It was the race to have an opportunity to spend 60 seconds in a...
INCENTIVE: REWARDING ON MANY LEVELS
Managing a rewards program for 1000 top performers, our client had a clear vision for their 2009 event in Hawaii. Carlson Marketing needed to demonstrate innovation, cost-savings...
SALES INCENTIVE: WARM REWARDS FOR A JOB WELL DONE
Make it a remarkable experience that will help drive sales results. But how to do that for nearly 225 high level well-traveled sales team members, and their guests, who want the experience...
CH ROBINSON WORLDWIDE: USING A MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY TO RECOGNIZE EMPLOYEES
There aren’t many locations that can accommodate 4,800+ guests under one roof for a 100th anniversary celebration and business meeting. That’s why CH Robinson Worldwide turned...
CASH BASH: A SALES EVENT THAT DRIVES SALES WITH SPLASH AND PANACHE
In a single, one-night event, Cash Bash offers winning Retail Sales Managers the opportunity to earn their share of cash and merchandise as a reward for outstanding sales performance...
REWARD & RECOGNITION: ONE RECOGNITION PORTAL. MANY REWARDED EMPLOYEES.
A major telecommunications provider had a number of disparate rewards and recognition programs with varying objectives and manual processes. As a result they saw low participation rates...
SUZUKI: MARKETING PROMOTIONS WITH MANY PURPOSES
American Suzuki Motor Corporation uses cash in many ways to build relationships with their sales channel and customers for both automotive and motorcycle products. They rely on...
SMART PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS FOR SMART MOBILE DEVICES
It’s not easy to predict anything in the digital and mobile marketing business. A year ago, the pundits said display ads were fading online. They’re not. Even Google is in the display business...
OLYMPIC HOSPITALITY: IT TAKES A VILLAGE, AND CARLSON MARKETING, TO DELIVER GOLD MEDAL HOSPITALITY AT THE OLYMPIC GAMES
For gold medal results, Olympic sponsors have turned to Carlson Marketing to help them leverage their Olympic hospitality programs since the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games. Olympic hospitality programs...
SUN MICROSYSTEMS: CARLSON CRAFTS A MODEL SUSTAINABLE EVENT FOR SUN MICROSYSTEMS
Sunrise is Sun Microsystem's global award and recognition program, held every year to honor Sun's highest achievers, inspire continued high performance in the coming year and strengthen connections...
SATURN: MOBILE DRIVES RESULTS FOR SATURN
The ASTRA launch demonstrates the power of mobile. Making a personal connection with consumers is increasingly difficult for brands in this media and technology-rich world. When Saturn wanted an...
MEDIA STRATEGY: CONSISTENCY MEETS CREATIVITY
The results expected from purchased media, promotional placements and digital lead generation efforts are no longer based on vague marketing goals. In fact, media tracking and marketing...
ARLA FOODS: LURPAK
Good cooking is no great mystery. You don’t need years of training, just your five senses, appreciation of ingredients and enthusiasm. LURPAK’s purity has made it a favourite of many top chefs, giving it a...
LOOK-ALIKE CUSTOMER MODELING TAKES FLIGHT FOR MAJOR AIRLINE
They may be headed for a coffee, a quick email check, or maybe a place away from the crowd to sit out that nasty flight delay. But there’s a lot more to the customers who frequent an airline’s...
LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE: SHARING THE VISION AT A CONFERENCE OF GLOBAL BUSINESS LEADERS
When you look for a partner that can successfully manage 13,000+ hotel rooms at four hotels, 18 meeting rooms, 43 auxiliary meeting rooms, 124 networked computer stations...
GREEN FOCUSED EVENT: A MARQUIS INCENTIVE PROGRAM LEAVES THE WORLD A LITTLE GREENER
The charge was to design and deliver an experience that motivated and honored this global technology provider’s top sales, services and support engineer professionals from around the world…
NORTHWEST AIRLINES: A GRAND OPENING CELEBRATION ENGAGES A MARKETPLACE
It can be hard to engage one audience, much less a marketplace, but that is where Carlson Marketing excels. Northwest Airlines wanted to leverage the opening of their World Gateway Terminal into...
CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION ASSISTS MAJOR TRAVEL COMPANY GAIN INCREMENTAL REVENUE
Early in 2010, the CMO Council surveyed a sample of U.S. loyalty program members to determine why the average household belongs to 14.1 such programs, but uses less than half of them...
CUSTOMER ROADSHOW: A NEW APPROACH TO DRIVE DEALER ENGAGEMENT
How do you connect with your dealers that have traditionally communicated with wholesalers? Take it on the road! This program consists of more than 3,000 associate dealers in the U.S. and...
SAAB: BRINGING AN AD CAMPAIGN TO LIFE
When Saab wanted to bring an ad campaign and a well known tagline, “Born From Jets”, to life they reached out to Carlson Marketing to brainstorm, design and deliver the brand in a unique fashion. The result was...
GENERAL MOTORS: ACQUIRING NEW CUSTOMERS AT THE LOCATIONS WHERE THEY SHOP AND BUY
How do you effectively reach small business owners? This was the challenge General Motors Corporation had in exposing small business owners to the benefits of the GM Business Choice Program...
GMAC: CREATING BUZZ ON CAMPUS AND AT THE FIELD
What do you do when your largest target audience is busy studying for finals? You hire Carlson Marketing to help you leverage your sponsorship of a college bowl game by bringing the game to where college students...
COMMUNITY: A MOUNTAIN RETREAT. A MOUNTAIN OF GOOD.
A leading database and applications company hosted a “meetcentive” in Banff, Canada for 4000 top qualifiers who met or surpassed their sales goals. Elements of the program included senior leadership...
SATURN: INSTILLING CULTURAL VALUES. LEAVING BEHIND SMILES.
Given changing business practices and new cultural requirements, Saturn looked to Carlson to create a foundational training course to instill updated culture and values messaging. Carlson brought Saturn...
AGRIBUSINESS: ANALYZING THE EFFECTIVENESS OF LOYALTY PROGRAMS
There is a ‘seasonal business cycle’ in the United States economy, and its characteristics mirror closely those of the conventional business cycle.” So said the U.S. Government via the National...
A 70TH ANNIVERSARY...EXCITEMENT...CELEBRATION
How does a company celebrate its 70th anniversary? Just Imagine! A global travel and hospitality leader was looking to create a world-class event which assembled global business and...
BUSINESS CLASS: FLYING WITH BEHAVIORAL CUSTOMER SEGMENTATION
Sometimes a company can do everything right, drive what appears to be a successful loyalty program, and still miss the details. But those details are never farther away than a rigorous data...
C-LEVEL BOARD MEETING: HIGH PROFILE EXECUTIVES. HIGH PROFILE EVENT. EXCEPTIONAL SATISFACTION.
A global leader specializing in the financial services, infrastructure, and media markets was looking to create a world-class event for its Board of Directors, comprised of Fortune 500...
COI/DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
We know that if we do nothing, 9 out of 10 kids today will be at risk of obesity by 2050, costing the NHS £50 billion. We had to create activity that would reach families most at risk and raise the issues surrounding...
CONFERENCE AND TRADE SHOW: UNDER ONE ROOF, A PLACE FOR TRAINING AND NETWORKING
Every two years this petroleum giant brings dealers, jobbers and distributors together for three days of product training, business training and networking with all major vendors...
ORACLE: AN EXCEPTIONAL INCENTIVE PROGRAM LEAVES BEHIND A LEGACY
This SITE “Most Sustainable Incentive” Crystal Award winning program was a proud achievement for Carlson Marketing U.S., Carlson Marketing U.K. and Oracle. Beyond providing the design...
SHELL: LEVERAGING A SPONSORSHIP FOR CUSTOMER APPRECIATION AND COMMUNITY CONNECTION
Often times corporate sponsors do not adequately activate their sponsorships to leverage their investment. This is not the case with the Shell Houston Open...
Customer Loyalty
SATURN: REINVIGORATING A BRAND ACROSS ALL AUDIENCES
As Saturn Corporation’s marketing “agency of record,” Carlson Marketing was challenged with the mission to revitalize the Saturn brand. Saturn, a brand long known for its superior customer...
SMART PREDICTIVE ANALYTICS FOR SMART MOBILE DEVICES
It’s not easy to predict anything in the digital and mobile marketing business. A year ago, the pundits said display ads were fading online. They’re not. Even Google is in the display business...
HALLMARK: OLD SYSTEM LIMITED MARKETING
For over 12 years Hallmark's Crown Rewards program was run on a mainframe system. Business rules were embedded in code, manual intervention was required on data feeds...
LOOK-ALIKE CUSTOMER MODELING TAKES FLIGHT FOR MAJOR AIRLINE
They may be headed for a coffee, a quick email check, or maybe a place away from the crowd to sit out that nasty flight delay. But there’s a lot more to the customers who frequent an airline’s...
Client Work
Following is a representation of work we’ve done for clients showing much of our creative work. If you have questions about a specific capability that’s not shown here, contact us through the link at the bottom of this page. We love showing off the great work we do for clients.
Testimonials
We’re partnering together on what’s new and what’s exciting so we can innovate together on some things. One of the most exciting things lately is to work on the future, but also to do it with folks you really enjoy working with. They are real people, they are fun to work with, easy to work with and we really appreciate that.
Jay Dittman— VP, Marketing Strategy
Hallmark
Services Delivered: Strategy/Planning
If I could sum up my experience with Carlson Marketing in one word, I would use the word “partnership.” From initial strategy of how do we do this, what’s our opportunities, to what is our next steps and how do we engage going forward.
Stephanie Hammes Betti—VP, Payments Marketing & New Media
U.S. Bank
Services Delivered: Social Media, Strategy/Planning
I wanted take a minute to thank you so much for allowing us to work with Courtney. He does such a great job and I cannot imagine an OpenWorld without his help. He is invaluable at keeping me organized and on schedule and he’s really great at helping me manage my time. I seriously want to talk about adding him into our contract. I always say no one is irreplaceable, but managing without his help would sincerely be a struggle that would take a huge toll on me personally as well as our entire team.
Joyce Schroeder—Senior Conference Operations Manager
Oracle
Services Delivered: Events Management
I want to compliment the staff of fine individuals that handled the events at the R.E. Michel trip to Cancun. Excellent, friendly, professional group of reps.
Paul Campitelli—VP Marketing
R.E. Michel Company Inc.
Services Delivered: Events Management
I just want to let you know what a great Service Heroes program we had this year. Many of our leaders and previous attendees have expressed this one was the best yet. We haven't received our post-survey results yet, but I anticipate very favorable results. It is a pleasure working with everyone on the Carlson [Marketing] team. Andrea was flawless in the preparation leading up to the event and also during the event. Her efforts and long hours reflected the same as the event ran extremely smooth from beginning to end. She made my job a lot easier as a result of her organizational skills. Candace, Chip, Jane, Christina and Josh are all top rate. We really appreciate how Candace leads the team at the site to high performance levels. She leaves no stone unturned. I must also say how much I enjoy working with Philip. I know he stepped into the program while it was in progress but he was superb in his execution, leading and assistance. I appreciate his can-do attitude. I also want to thank you for the room gifts you provided us while there. It was nice to come back to the room after a long day and have a nice gift waiting for you. Thank you. We look forward to beginning the plans for next year very soon.
Dan Thompson—Project Manager
UnitedHealthcare
Services Delivered: Events Management
Please let me THANK YOU for the OUTSTANDING JOB on this year’s dealer meeting. Everything was great and the events at the Art Institute and Subapalooza capped off a memorable meeting for our dealers. Last night’s party was the best event I think we have ever done. The band was outstanding as witnessed by all the dancing!! I enjoyed watching the festivities. Thank you again for all of your hard work in making this dealer meeting such a success. Please pass along my comments your staff.
Tom Doll—Executive VP & COO
Subaru
Services Delivered: Events Management
Thanks to all who helped to make the 2011 Subaru National Business Conference a success. Based on feedback I’ve received both from dealers and field staff, many felt that this was Subaru’s best National Business Conference to date. There are many moving pieces to most come together to make this level of execution a success. Thanks for all you hard work in making this happen. Please pass this thank you onto your teams as well.
Ted Dicks—Shows & Events Manager
Subaru
Services Delivered: Events Management
As always, I am struck by the tremendous teamwork that makes our company and the vendors who support us unique. Once again, it was an honor to help bring the messages of “Visualize, Energize and Capitalize” to life. The power of working together was once more demonstrated loud and clear. Thanks for the chance to part of the effort!
Linn Calder—National Director of Sales & Product Training
Subaru
Proprietary Tools
RSx
RSx is a proprietary research instrument developed and refined by Carlson Marketing over the past 12 years and has been used across a number of industries, including travel, hospitality and financial institutions. It is based on the premise that the strength of relationships that brands have with their customers drives customer loyalty and advocacy. RSx provides a deeper level of insight and enhanced predictive outcomes than traditional loyalty indicators such as NPS.
RSx has two core components:
- A competitive benchmarking score and diagnostics identifying key areas of relative strength and weakness
- The ability to inform and enable the selection and prioritization of activities (from brand experience to marketing communications and promotions) that will impact relationship strength and desired outcomes such as repurchase and advocacy
Positive Engagement Model
Carlson Marketing’s Positive Engagement Model serves as a resource for assessing and managing a company’s culture through a framework encompassing the six critical facets essential or building authentic employee-to-organization bonds: Achievement, Mastery, Connection, Well-Being, Appreciation and innovation. With the benefit of research emerging from the new social sciences on positive psychology and positive change, these disciplines are uncovering insight related to the growth of individuals and organizations through strengths, rather than problems and gaps. Positive engagement is a precursor to developing strong relationships, both inside and outside an organization, through decisions and actions that benefit the organization as a whole.
