Our mission is to provide timely business solutions through creative thinking,
strategic planning, and unparalleled customer service.
RSA Happenings
Rethinking Soccer Moms
Marketers have always known that it’s a smart idea to target women – one that can lead to a lot of green, as women account for a whopping 83 percent of total U.S. consumer spending. But new research shows it’s time to rethink the way we market goods and services to women.
Today’s woman is often shown in flat-front khakis and sensible shoes, pushing a cart through the produce aisle or mopping the kitchen with a Swiffer. Very few ads place women in the board room, but in truth, women now make up half of the U.S. workforce and spend an average of five days per week on the job.
Drew Aultman, soccer mom turned founder and president of Watersall, Inc.
The Fine Line
Big-name advertisers have struggled to find a balance between the stereotypical soccer mom and the working woman. For example, look at the differing messages from Walmart and Target; Walmart ads tout stay-at-home moms in casual wear, usually making dinner or buying groceries. Competitor Target features women in trendy clothes and heels, running from the office to school to drop off their children’s science projects.
So what can you do to make sure your message is most effective? Don’t be afraid to address the realities of working women. They’re busy and life is hectic, so don’t just talk about the features of your product – show how it will make her life easier. Women continue to control most of the household shopping, so special deals and loyalty programs are still viable incentives, just be sure to make those offers easily accessible and shareable, using social networks and email marketing.
Further Perspective
Our special report, "Talk Their Talk: Marketing to Women Today" [PDF] sheds more light on the avenues and tactics that resonate most. The report includes research on important habits and behaviors to consider when marketing to women, with tips for making sure your message is effective for and reaches this all-important demographic. Download the report for free [PDF].
- Robert Sharp
Kudos
Day Of Excellence
The 2009 Leadership Rapid City class hosted the first annual Day of Excellence on May 18. The one-day personal development conference attracted more than 1,200 people and raised more than $4,000 for 11 different charities! As an event sponsor and designer, we want to offer congratulations to Leadership Rapid City for their hard work and contributions to local charities.
Rapid City Journal Taps RSA's Expertise
A recent story in the Rapid City Journal highlighted the rise of search engine marketing (SEM) – and the reporter turned to RSA as a trusted expert source. SEM Director Kyle McCabe talks about the growth of SEM and how it can work for businesses of any size. The article also features interviews with a few of RSA's clients, including Prairie Edge and Reptile Gardens.
Reptile Gardens
Congratulations to our friends at Reptile Gardens! In addition to celebrating their 73rd anniversary, the Black Hills family attraction recently threw a party to celebrate the 129th birthday of Methuselah the giant Galapagos Tortoise. At 600 pounds, we’re betting Methuselah ate a lot of cake.
Black Hills Fat Tire Festival
The Black Hills Fat Tire Festival, held the last weekend in May, saw record participants for their fourth annual event. One race in particular, the Super D, doubled its participants from last year. It’s been a great honor to assist with marketing such a unique event. Congratulations to BHFTF, and we can’t wait for next year!
Case Study
Wall Chamber of Commerce
The Challenge
Wall, a small South Dakota town off Interstate 90, was made famous by a certain drugstore and one big green dinosaur. The Wall Chamber of Commerce website didn't fit the Badlands community, so the Chamber wanted a new design that would draw in tourists and future residents, with better usability. They were also looking for a new brochure to entice tourists to visit.
The Solution
RSA approached this project by focusing on a major selling point for a visit to Wall: the Badlands. With this in mind, we developed a comprehensive website to mirror the atmosphere of the town and the surrounding landscape. The vivid imagery and fun new features injected a much-needed boost to the site. To keep their marketing consistent, we translated the same design concept to a brochure that showcases everything Wall has to offer.
The Results
Wall Chamber of Commerce is ecstatic about their new website, which has received rave reviews. They now receive more information requests per day than they used to in a week! The brochure will be used to encourage this summer’s tourists to pay a visit, and we expect this Badlands town will see a significant boost in visitor traffic this year.
RSA Service Trends
Interactive services
From web design to search engine marketing, the majority of our new clients are opting for web-related services. It’s more important than ever before to have a strong online presence, as users now have the ability to access the web anytime, anywhere.
Featured Projects
| Audio / Video | Web Sites | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Production Director: Sean Coyne |
Creative Director: Tony Dodd |
Print Director: Justin Mather |
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New Clients & Projects
We would like to welcome our new clients:
| Hunter Wise Commodities Search engine marketing |
Gold Strategies International Web development and search engine marketing |
| Black Hills Area Dental Television and print campaign |
Dakota Star Federal Credit Union Branding and radio campaign |
| Dakota Steakhouse Branding, media campaign and logo design |
Firefighter Combat Challenge Media campaign |
| Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Web development |
Chris Bro LLC Properties Web development |
| William Hook Luxury Home Web development and search engine marketing |
Black Hills Vendor Park Web development and search engine marketing |
| Comfort Suites Web development |
Ramada Sioux Falls Web development and search engine marketing |
| Century Company Web development and search engine marketing |
Hampton Inn Print design |
| Dreams Designs Web development and print design |
Sacora Station Restaurant Rebranding, product development and consulting |
| Time Equipment Rental Branding, video and audio production, search engine marketing and event planning |
Sturgis Police Department Audio production |
| Big D Oil Website development and marketing strategy |
We see our clients as partners and we want to share some of the latest happenings and achievements with them as well. If you would like more information on anything in this newsletter or have an upcoming event that you would like us to include in the next quarterly newsletter, please contact us at info@thesharpagency.com.