B.M.M.O. Consulting’s Top 2011 Chicago Stories

As we approach the last day of the year, B.M.M.O. Consulting took a look back over the year and wanted to note our standout Chicago moments.  This has been a long year full of lots of news, below are a few stories that stood out most to us.  Take a look and leave us comments on some of your most memorable Chicago stories.

Blago Found Guilty – Rod Blagojevich, former Governor of Illinois was found guilty on 17 charges of corruption.  Blagojevich was all about the media; too bad it wasn’t enough to keep him from being found guilty.  He loved the camera, he said it was to make money for his family; we secretly believe he was just trying to find his next career.  Well now he has at least 14 years to figure out his next career move.  Let’s see if jail silences his bold personality.

Neighbors From Hell Ends in Victory – The current Mayor of Chicago, Rahm Emanuel, not only had to fight other candidates to become mayor, but he also had to fight to get back into his own house.  Emanuel faced every challenge there was to get into office, but he was victorious in the end.  He is now the Mayor of Chicago and making big changes, while living comfortably in his own home. 

Maggie Daley Gives Cancer the Fight of its Life - On November 24, 2011, the former first lady of Chicago Maggie Daley passed away at the age of 68.  Mrs. Daley was first diagnosed with cancer in 2002; she fought a long fight with cancer.  While it may look like cancer got the victory, Daley got the victory.  She organized several after school programs to keep Chicago youth off the street.  Despite her disease, she stayed active in the community doing what she could to make Chicago a better city.

Snow Lock Down  - In February of this year Chicago experienced it’s worse snowstorm in a long time.  This storm brought lots of snow and left people and cars stranded on Lake Shore Drive.  People were advised to stay in if at all possible.  There was a record 20.2 inches of snow that fell.

Oprah Leaves Chicago – After 20 years on Chicago’s television as the leading talk show host, Oprah decided that she was taking her talents to LA.  She did her last two shows at the United Center that was filled with lots of celebrity guests who celebrated her and her success she had gained over the years.  In order to be in the audience for this show individuals had to sign up on her website and they were randomly chosen.  While no free cars were given away, guests received a fully loaded concert and up close star sightings.  Oprah has gone on to work on her “OWN” network with a different variety of shows.  Her studio Harpo still resides in Chicago, other shows are now being taped out of there.

Entrepreneur's Top 10 Franchises & The Marketing Decisions That Put Them On Top

Even though much of the world is in a recession, there are some franchises that have seen great growth in 2011.  We want to share with you those franchises and what strategies, ideas and products brought them their success.  We took the list Entrepreneur put together and gathered the information below.  

10. Dunkin' Donuts - Dunkin' Donuts isn't just your typical donut and coffee shop anymore.  This year Dunkin' Donuts decided to concentrate on their breakfast sandwich offering to help increase their profits; they also brought along a few new flavors for their bagel twist.

9. Pizza Hut - Pizza Hut is traditionally known for pizza, wings and breadsticks.  This year Pizza Hut took a risk and ventured into the world of pasta.  This move along with specials on Tuesdays and Wednesdays proved to provide them increased profits for the year.  

8. H&R Block - In 2011 H&R Block started offering to file taxes of individuals who had a simple 1040EZ for free.  Their plan behind this was to gain customer loyalty and make them repeat customers.  H&R Block also bought out rival businesses.

7. Denny's - An extensive growth plan was Denny's marketing strategy to increase their profits for the year.  They began by targeting areas where they did not have number 1 & 2 market share, and chose these locations for expansion.  Incentives were provided to franchisees that opened four or more restaurants.

6. McDonald's - This comes to no shock that McDonald's made the list, maybe a little shocking where it falls.  McDonald's has attacked the market at every angle to keep up their profits.  For McDonald's, 2011 was all about getting healthy and updating their technology.  They introduced oatmeal into their menu to compete with the health craze, along with making changes to the kid’s menu to make them healthier.  Technology improvements provided more drive-thru lanes, along with faster service.

5. Days Inn - Expansion, Upgrades and Social Media were the goals for 2011 for Days Inn.  They wanted to design a hotel that will appeal to consumers for generations to come.  

4. Servpro - This year has been a year full of weather changes, which has brought great financial gains to Servpro in their damage restoration business.  Servpro's marketing plan is to strategically place themselves in locations so that wherever tragedy takes place, they are ready to deploy and meet the needs of the people.  

3. 7-Eleven  - Global domination has been 7-Eleven's plan.  This year they aggressively sought to convert convenience stores and other gas stations to their brand, while also expanding their store-brand offering and upgrading current facilities.

2. Subway - The breakfast game has brought increased revenue to Subway.  When people come in for breakfast, they are also buying lunch; this doubles the value each customer contributes.  In 2012 Subway plans to add more drive-thru locations for increased convenience.  

1. Hampton Hotels - Hampton Hotels are number one because they are at the heart of the consumer.  They sit down and talk to their guests, but the most important part is they listen and they implement the information they are given.  Some of the suggestions they took on were in-room Wi-Fi, complimentary breakfast and money back guarantees.  They have also made improvements and expansions to international locations.

One major marketing tool that rang clear with the franchises was expansion.  You have to place your product or service in a place where the consumers can get to it; it's the only way to meet the needs of the people.  The second tool was upgrades, small upgrades can go a long way to provide a new look and attract a new crowd.  These organizations have been very successful at doing both; we are excited to see what 2012's list will look like and the marketing themes that stand out.

Tips on How to Manage Stress

During this time of the year, people stress out for a number of reasons.  B.M.M.O. Consulting wants consumers to be informed on how to handle stress in tough times.  It’s our goal to provide our viewers with information to keep them knowledgeable about all areas of life that impact them.  It’s the end of the year and time for the holidays; what are you stressing about?  Are you stressing about finishing up end-of the-year-work, hosting the holidays, getting the right gifts or just life in general?  During these difficult economic times it doesn’t take much to get your feathers ruffled.  So today we want to provide you with some tips on how to handle stress when it arises.

Some signs of stress are headaches, nausea, dizziness and lack of sleep.  All of these symptoms have an even harsher effect on your life.  It can affect your productivity at work, your mood, energy, and ability to make sound decisions. 

Look at the Big Picture – Things happen that can make you upset for a moment, but don’t live in that moment.  Take a look at the situation and determine if after time has passed, will it still be as important.  You have to keep things in perspective and determine, in the long run, how important is this situation.  That will help you to handle your emotions and keep your stress levels down.

Strategize – When you have a problem that you have to make a decision on, take some time and come up with possible solutions.  Weigh the pros and cons and determine which is the best solution to your problem.  By seeing that you have options, it makes the situation seem less stressful.  You can't fix every situation that comes along, so distinguish which ones you can and work to fix those, and ignore the ones that you can’t.  They will figure themselves out without your stress levels being affected. 

Treat Yourself – Things happen daily that will force you to have moments that cause you to get upset.  This is why every day you should treat yourself to something that calms and relaxes you.  Different things work for different people, try reading, writing, candle-lit bath or just listening to music.  Whatever you do, just make sure you take some time for yourself to move past the woes of the day. 

Don’t Take On More Than You Can Handle – Many times individuals become stressed and overwhelmed because they say yes when they should have said no.  It’s okay to say no.  If taking on an additional project will take away what is already limited time, or peace of mind, no is the appropriate answer.  Don’t overextend yourself. 

There is no way around never being stressed, but how you handle it can be controlled.  We hope that the few scenarios we have provided above will aid you in managing your stress and keep it from getting to a heightened level to have an adverse affect on your health and emotions.  

Marketing Happenings This Week

 

State Farm Lowers Auto Rates

Good news to those drivers who have State Farm as their auto insurance provider.  Depending on your location, and make and model of your car, your rates will be going down.  State Farm insures one in every three vehicles in Illinois; rates are expected to decrease on average by 2%.  All decreases are definitely welcomed; this decrease will bring it back to where average rates were in 2007, per Crain’s Chicago.  State Farm’s archrival, Allstate, has increased their rates this year.  Both State Farm and Allstate have seen a decline in clients from online insurance agencies such as Geico and Progressive.  B.M.M.O. Consulting hopes you’re in the number of those getting their rates decreased, and it comes just in time for the holidays!

Who’s Left in the Illinois Lottery Race?

The Illinois Lottery has decided to drop Energy BBDO as their advertising agency.  Fifty local firms competed to become the new ad agency for the Illinois Lottery; there are now five finalists left.  Those agencies are DDB Worldwide Communications Group Inc., Downtown Partners Chicago, DraftFCB, Element 79 Partners and Y & R Chicago.  Lottery Superintendent Michael Jones is happy with the competition for the contract; he was hired last year to improve the Lottery’s performance.  With the new ad agency and new superintendent the Lottery is sure to have a new look.  We will be watching to see who wins the contract.  Good luck to them all.

Digitas Primary Ad Agency for Sprint

Sprint has announced that Digitas will become its primary advertising agency for the Sprint Brand.  This will include managing the brand, strategy, advertising, digital, media and analytics.  Digitas President Tony Weisman will head up this new venture.  The agency will create 300 jobs in Chicago to work on the account.  This is very timely as they just moved into a larger office this past spring.  In case you missed that, if you’re in the advertising or marketing industry, you need to be looking to see if they have a job that fits your career needs.  Leo Burnett will also assist on the Sprint account.  Digitas is a child company of Publicis Groupe.   Publicis also handles T-Mobiles’s advertising; let’s see if we start to see similar campaigns.  We will be watching the ad campaigns of both and doing some comparisons. 

Sun-Times Newspaper, charging for online viewing

This week the Chicago Sun-Times announced that they would begin charging for readers to view their publication online.  After 20 page views within a month you will be charged to continue to view the newspaper online.  For customers who already subscribe to the print paper, they will be charged $1.99 a month for online viewing.  Customers who want digital viewing only will pay $6.99 a month.  A discount will be given to digital viewers who sign up for a year’s subscription.  Other publishers have begun charging for online viewing, so the Sun-Times feel it’s only right if they do also.  Certain parts of the website will remain free, including the homepage, classifieds and advertorial sections.  Chicago Tribune, the largest paper in Chicago, still has free access to its online publication.  Tribune right now believes that it isn’t necessary to start charging for online access yet, but it plans to keep watching to prepare for the day when they do.

What are people saying about B.M.M.O. Consulting?

 

Word of mouth promotion is one of the best promotion tools to have.  So we wanted to share with you what some of the clients of B.M.M.O. Consulting have been saying about them.  Take a look at some of the great things clients are saying about B.M.M.O. Consulting.  If you like what you’re reading, recommend us and try us out yourself.  You will be so glad that you did!  We can be contacted via email at tonisha@bmmoconsulting.com.

"From the very moment May Vora Jewelry asked B.M.M.O. Consulting to take us on as a client, there was immediate positive growth, for which we are truly grateful! We have nothing but great faith that our marketing as well as advertising goals will be met and superseded with B.M.M.O. Consulting." - LaReana Nichole of May Vora Jewelry

"B.M.M.O. Consulting has provided great feedback on my business plan and given great marketing suggestions for my own consulting practice. I would recommend B.M.M.O. to anyone." - Victoria of B.A.F.F.L.E.D. Blog

"Tonisha Hood of B.M.M.O. Consulting did an amazing job for me when assessing the Mary Kay career opportunity! B.M.M.O. provided insights and perspectives that helped to reinforce and equip my workforce. This insight was instrumental in pinpointing strategies that are effective and identified others that should be incorporated! Ms. Hood's perspective was truly helpful! I am certain that B.M.M.O. will be a groundbreaking company!" - Franchon, Senior Director of Sales, Mary Kay

Do You Know Your Status?

Today is World AIDS Day; do you know your status?  It only takes 15-20 minutes to get the results from an HIV test, go get tested now!  The purpose of World AIDS Day is to unite in efforts to fight the spread of HIV and to show support for those living with it, while also celebrating the life of those who are now gone.  World AIDS Day was the first ever, global health day, it was first celebrated in 1988.  90% of people who become infected with HIV get it through sexual contact.  With all the sexual protection available this should not be a fact.  You have to be smart and take responsibility not only for your own health, but also for those around you.  Practice safe sex and get tested, medicines have advanced over the years and if caught early on, the chances are better for longer survival.  So go out today and get tested, take a friend along!  B.M.M.O. Consulting wants you to be informed in all areas of your life.  The decisions you make today may greatly affect the life you live in the future.

For more information read World AIDS Day Website