At Sapha, we work hard to increase your website’s conversion rates. So when it comes to evaluating ad campaigns, our main (but not sole) criteria is how well they get people talking about a product or service, deliver a clear call to actions, and turn eyeballs into customers.

And since the Super Bowl is the time most companies launch expensive advertising campaigns, there’s no better time to see how well their ads were focused on increasing the number of leads or customers in their sales pipeline.

This year’s winners.

Denny’s–The FREE Grand Slam is back-as long as the chickens produce the eggs. If Denny’s is packed on Tuesday their ad and promotion qualify as a smashing success. Let’s just hope all Denny’s franchises agree to uphold their end of the agreement this time. (Watch the ad here.)

Dockers–Can’t say it was fun to watch a group of guys walk around without pants, but they did encourage viewers to go win a free pair of Dockers on their website. Let’s see how many people give up their name and email address to become part of Dockers’ marketing machine for a chance to win free pants. (Watch the ad here.)

Tim Tebow/Focus on the Family–The controversial anti-abortion ad turned out to be nothing of the sort. In the end Tebow’s family and Focus on the Family got weeks of free press and millions in free advertising leading up to the game. And for those who want to know more, there was a clear call to action at the end. (Watch the ad here.)

Honorable Mention

Brett Farve/Hyundai–Using Farve was good as it fit in nicely with the Super Bowl audeince and made fun of something they’d understand. Also a nice way to tie in their 10-year warranty. The problem? No clear call to action where they could learn more. (Watch the ad here.)

Yesterday the Detroit Lions unveiled a new logo.  Bubbles, the lion mascot that has adorned the team’s helmet since the 1960s, underwent a makeover. Instead of a somewhat shapeless Honolulu Blue lion, the new logo has a fiercer look with muscular accents and teeth.

In talking about the logo Lions President Tom Lewand said, “It says to everybody else who’s looking at us, ‘Don’t forget about Detroit,’ ‘We’re tough. We’ve got character. We’ve got motion. We’ve got animation. And in contrast to the old lion, you might not want to take on this one.’ ”

The question is whether or not rebranding is enough to save one of the worst managed franchises in the NFL.

I think not.

A logo can help give the company a new look and maybe set the tone for the new and improved organization. In the end, however, it’s the product(s) and the employees that make a company or a sports team successful.

Last year the Lions were the first NFL team to go 0-16. Without a top-notch leadership running the organization, talented players on the field, and a coach that can get the most from his players, the new Lions logo might be all the fanfare the Lions achieve this year.

It’s not what we say (or write), but how we say (or write) them that makes a difference.

Hat tip: Grokdotcom

They say you only get one chance to make a good first impression. It’s an axiom I believe that applies not only to our personal lives but our businesses too.

In my previous post, I wrote about the importance of following up with your leads in a timely manner and how that can lead to a good first impression of a company and their product or service.

So what impression is left if companies don’t follow up quickly with leads or are unable to keep sales promises they make on their website?

Last week one of my assignments was to explore options for hosting an upcoming webinar. I did a Google search and clicked on some of the paid links as well as the natural search engine links looking for a solution. After a couple hours of research, I narrowed the list to four possible alternatives and filled out the contact forms on their websites.

One of the forms I filled out stated that the company would follow-up on every lead within 30 minutes during business hours. Since there were still three hours left in their business day, I filled out the form, noted the time, and waited for a call.

Twenty minutes later the phone rang. It was a sales representative following up with my contact form. However, it wasn’t the organization that promised to follow up in 30-minutes. I talked with the sales representative for about 15 minutes before hanging up. Thirty-five minutes after filling out the form, there was no call from the company with the promised response time.

By the end of the business day, I had received calls from three of the four companies I had requested information from. The one I didn’t receive a call from? That’s right, the company that said they would contact me in 30 minutes.

Personally, I would have been fine with a call back within 24 hours. But the fact that they promised a call in 30 minutes and fell through on their promise made me wonder if their product would do all the wonderful things that were touted on the company website.

A sales representative from the company finally called the next morning. I half-heartedly listened to the sales pitch about their product, but I just couldn’t get excited about it. After I hung up, I crossed the company and their product off the list of solutions we were considering.

In business, as well as our personal lives, commitments and follow through on those promises are important. If you’re going to make a big, bold promise on your website, you should be able to keep it. If not, prospects will flee to a competitor.