by Sue Horner | Aug 5, 2022 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
When you were a kid, you probably loved birthdays. Cake and presents and being king or queen for the day made you feel special, didn’t they? These days, when you hand over your birth date to marketers, they have a chance to make you feel special, too. Of course,...
by Sue Horner | Nov 27, 2021 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
You want to know how well your company is serving customers, or if employees feel a part of the company. Or you want to know if customers loved that product you sell or had a good experience with service. Surveys can be the answer, highlighting trouble spots and...
by Sue Horner | May 21, 2020 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Businesses are struggling with advertising during the pandemic. It’s a tough balance, to show that they’re still around, still looking for business; yet they are sensitive to the situation. The result has been a lot of vague “We’re here for you” statements and...
by Sue Horner | May 1, 2019 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
My husband and I have never taken a cruise, but somehow we’re on a mailing list that leads to regular promotions for ocean and river adventures. We also get frequent invitations to events where we can get more details. Finally, we accepted one, and set off to learn...
by Sue Horner | Sep 27, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
When I first went out on my own, I cold-called my way through a battered copy of The Canadian Writer’s Market. Although the effort eventually resulted in some freelance writing work, the experience was painful, as I recently recounted. The tactic is unlikely to...
by Sue Horner | Apr 18, 2018 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Maybe “The Weed Store” was taken. For years, beer drinkers in Ontario bought their 12-packs and two-fours (24-pack) at an outlet called Brewers Retail. Unofficially, people called it “the beer store,” and The Beer Store it officially became in a 1985 rebranding. Then...
by Sue Horner | Sep 14, 2017 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
(Updated April 30, 2018) If you run a small business, you want to be found for both your company name and the products or services you offer. At a meeting of IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators this week, speaker Ray Litvak shared some tips for doing...
by Sue Horner | Apr 20, 2017 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Email newsletters are back – or maybe I should say are still – in the spotlight. And whether sent by large companies, media giants or solo entrepreneurs, email newsletters can be a powerful marketing tool. For example, the content marketers at Copyblogger get massive...
by Sue Horner | Nov 17, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
Branding is more than a logo or a tagline; it’s a promise. That’s the basic message of a recent panel discussion on “3D Branding” for IABC/Toronto’s Professional Independent Communicators (PIC). Here’s a brief look at what each...
by Sue Horner | Oct 19, 2016 | The Red Jacket Diaries blog
I recently met someone whose company had “gone totally digital” — no business cards. She admitted it was often awkward. Yes, a business card may seem unnecessary in a digital world where your contacts are easily found on LinkedIn. A business card may...
