About

Strategic Insight Marketing Inc. is a Toronto-based consulting and advertising firm founded by Sheryl Johnson, a 25+ year former corporate officer for Kraft, Intuit, Kellogg’s and Manulife. As a marketing leader, I have helped build the equity, revenue and profit for global Blue Chip brands. I love connecting brands to people and people to brands. Through Strategic Insight Marketing, I am using that passion to help businesses reflect, engage and include the diverse audiences they serve

Implicit Bias

In Canada, we have heard, ‘we are different’ than our US counterparts. ‘We are diverse, respect each other’s differences and are inclusive from our hiring practices to our products and brands’. To that, I would ask, how many employees from the Black Diaspora hold positions as executives, senior staff and marketers? Their lived experiences could help shape messaging? How do you know your language, brands and execution are as diverse and inclusive as they could be? Because no one has made you aware? Are there biases you may not be aware of? These implicit biases may be suppressing your ability to truly reach your audience and in the worst-case scenario, implicit biases may become the reason you make headlines for the wrong reasons.

Hire an External Trusted Advisor

While people, brands and organizations are reflecting on their own impact within the Black audiences they serve, a substantive action that can be taken is to have an experienced Black Communication /Advertising expert consult and advise your brand. 

A diversity marketing audit by Strategic Insight Marketing can help. 

Strategic Insight Marketing will audit your marketing practices, your advertising and your communication to identify any potential biases. We will also identify and recommend changes / improvements (if required) and continue to work with you as an additional set of cultural eyes. 

Brands will learn: 

• Are your brands as inclusive as they could be?

• Are your brands as diverse as they could be? 

• Are your brands reaching a truly diverse audience? 

• Is there room for improvement? 

Diverse Marketing Audit Services include:

1) Forensic Communication Audit

Review of previous 3-6 mths of internal communication (company wide memos, announcements, newsletters to internal staff) - Are there any hidden biases in your communication?

2) Ongoing review process

Include Strategic Insight Marketing to your marketing approval process

3) Social media monitoring

Before headlines become viral - stay on top of how your brand is being talked about within the black community

4) Develop a marketing strategy to engage, support and/or position your brand to the Black community (Let’s discuss)

5) Develop a marketing campaign/message to engage or support the Black community

To be quoted based on strategy (Let’s discuss)

Marketing - Cost or investment?

Is marketing in your cost centre or in your investment centre? If marketing is considered a cost, then cost is your determining factor. If marketing is in your investment budget then long term results should be your barometer of success. Even when budgets are tight, leveraging marketing as the fuel to build your brand, drive volume and maximize your return on investment.

Building brand strategies for small business and NFP is my jam! It’s not that larger corporations don’t want smart, quick, cost-effective marketing partners. Small businesses and NFP NEED services that will work with their time famished team and run independently if needed to build awareness building, consumer or B2B facing engaging campaigns.

How brands can benefit from partnering with an independent agency:

• Business and brand strategy developed by senior/experienced strategists

• In-House Media planning - mix of traditional and digital, or digital only

• Development and execution of marketing tactics (i.e. communication templates)

Online vs Offline Marketing

Winning brands engage consumers both on and offline. The digital landscape has become (in many cases) a disorganized mall of specials, offers, can’t miss deals and out-of-date information in exchange for your email address. Sometimes breakthrough the clutter means using offline to bring attention to your online presence.

Segmentation - Know Who Wants or Better Yet NEEDS Your Product/Service

If there is one guiding principal I have learned in my years (yes, many many years :)) of marketing, is to find those who need you, not want you. When your the special purchase, or the purchase that can wait, it becomes expensive to keep finding those consumers for 1 or 2 time purchases. But…..if you can identify, find and shape your offering to those who NEED you, word of mouth, reviews and sharing become your marketing plan. Engage the consumers, the people, the moms with kids under the age of 5 working outside the home and you will have loyal customers for life.

Top 3 Dos and Don’ts of Consumer Engagement

Dos

1. Deeply understand your offering/service - are there insights about how it’s used that could be shared?

2. Focus on segmentation - despite how wonderful you product is, unless you’re WalMart it probably is not right for EVERYONE. Who’s your target?

3. New product or service? Test and Learn - Using research or our gut, let’s test our way into understanding who the true target for your product/service is or could be.

Don’ts

1. Default to digital because it’s ‘cheaper’ - A shotgun approach will cost you more in long run with less than optimal results.

2. Sample to ‘everyone’ because your product has universal appeal - see Don’t #1.

3. Hire a tactics specialist without a strategy - tactics without strategy is another opportunity to throw good money after bad planning.

Services

•Strategy & Planning

•Content & Channel Development

•Digital Marketing

•Branding, Name generation, Logo Development

•PR & Crisis Management

•Competitive Environment Scanning

•D&I Consultation & Strategy

•Trade Marketing Strategy

•Innovation Brainstorming

•Marketing/Business support for Under-resourced marketing teams

Get in Touch.