hypermediate

Capitalist Pig-gy Bank

2008-06-04T07:49:00.003-07:00

Check out the Capitalist Pig, a piggy bank for evil, money-hoarding capitalists to stay focused by listing or drawing object(s) of desire on the blackboard surface of the bank. And the value for money doesn't stop there, this piece of wonder comes with four sticks of chalk.

It's £13 from Giftlab.

From Cool Hunting

Brand Heaven and Brand Hell - Where is your brand?

2008-06-04T07:41:00.003-07:00

David Armano's nifty depiction of the ladder up to Brand Heaven and the ladder down to Brand Hell.

From Brand Autopsy

Skydivers spell Honda as part of campaign

2008-05-31T08:22:00.000-07:00

I wonder if this worked?

19 skydivers spelled out the word Honda in three minutes and 20 seconds for UK’s first live tv promo, inspired by the car manufacturer’s new advertising strapline: “Difficult is worth doing”

From NOTCOT.org

How to Pickup a VC

2008-05-30T07:04:00.000-07:00

From Guy Kawasaki's Sun column:

Many entrepreneurs ask me what is the best way to open a pitch to potential investors. I'll answer that question at the end of this posting, but first let me tell you the ten worst opening lines that you can use:

You say: "I'm bright and ambitious." Investor thinks: "That's a relief because I usually invest in stupid and lazy people."
You say: "I'm a blue sky thinker." Investor thinks: "You have no business model, and you don't know how to ship."
You say: "I don't know much about your firm, but I thought I'd contact you anyway." Investor thinks: "You're a lazy idiot--why are you wasting my time?"
You say: "I love to think of new ways to solve problems." Investor thinks: "Is this a high-school science fair?"
You say: "I have lots of great ideas, but I have trouble figuring out which one to try. Let me tell you about a couple." Investor thinks: "I want to know which idea you're going to kill yourself trying to make successful, not which ideas have crossed your idle mind."
You say: "I've always wanted to be an entrepreneur." Investor thinks: "I've always wanted to be a professional golfer. So what if you always wanted to be an entrepreneur?"
You say: "I'm sure you are aware of the growing need for security. Web 2.0, Open Source, whatever." Investor thinks: "If you're sure I'm aware, why are you telling me you're sure I'm aware."
You say: "If you sign an NDA, I'll tell you my idea." Investor thinks: "You are clueless. How can you not know that venture capitalists don't sign NDAs?"
You say: "The last time I contacted you, I..." Investor thinks: "I'm going to fire my secretary for putting this clown on my calendar again."
You say: "My goal is to build a world-class company." Investor thinks: "How about you ship and sell the first copy before we talk about world-class anything?"

Now you know what not to say. Here's what you should say:

"This is what my company does..."

It's that simple. What you're trying to do is get potential investors to fantasize about how your product or service will make a boatload of money. They can't fantasize if they don't know what you do. And they don't want to be your friend, mother, or psychiatrist until they understand what you do, so cut the crap and explain what you do.

The Made To Stick authors need to wake up and grow up

2008-05-29T14:44:00.002-07:00

If you haven't read Chip & Dan Heath's column in this month's Fast Company yet, read it here.

I liked Made to Stick a lot. I thought it was informative and practical. But the stock of the authors of the book just dropped through the floor. They are a policy consultant and a professor - and this academic view of the world came shining through in their column.

Basically, they call out a tactic they're calling "Stigma Marketing" - using embarrassment and/or shame to sell a product. They use Visa (when using cash stops a free-flowing checkout line) and Wisk Laundry Detergent (Ring Around the Collar) among others. And they call for "marketers" to stop tolerating such "icky" behavior.

This is a ridiculous, elitist and naive point of view. This is marketing - the job of marketing is to sell something to someone. In most cases, the customer doesn't really NEED the product, so you have to convince them they need it. What they call "stigma" is another man's "defining the pain in the marketplace."

Funny, they didn't put Apple in the "badly behaved" bucket, even though they employ "icky" marketing to put a stigma on PC users. I guess they must believe PC users ARE, in fact, dorky, suit-wearing, pudgy, clueless people? Their article only looks at the less sexy CPG and credit card industries? "Creams and detergents" solve a problem that is, frankly, unpleasant. Bringing up unpleasant realities to market a solution to those realities is not "icky" its marketing.

And by the way...when people discuss the latest pop business tomes, and Made To Stick (or Tipping Point, et al) comes up, and you hear a resounding "What! You haven't read Made To Stick?!?!?" - isn't that too a stigma?

If you still want to, check out Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas Survive and Others Die, it does have a lot of good concepts.

Branding is a part of marketing but it is also the other way around.

2008-05-29T09:54:00.003-07:00

Interesting post today about branding.

Key takeaway:

Company branding is not just a logo. It’s all about perceptions, how your customers or clients view your company and the products and services you provide.

I think this is true, and I BIG TIME believe branding is more than a logo, here here! But I also think the definition is incomplete. The real reason for branding, more specifically having a strong brand, is future sales. I hadn't thought about it in this way until I read Think Two Products Ahead - the book makes a very clear case for this reality (yes, I said reality). Bottom line, brands are important, they are the emotional tie to the customer, they are the perceptions, etc. All of the above are true. But the reason brands exist is to drive future sales.

Thanks to Beyond Madison Avenue

Ladies may love Cool James, but they don't love Sears.

2008-05-28T05:36:00.004-07:00

You just know this isn't going to work out well...

While its bad for Sears, because I don't think it will work and it seems completely off base from their, well, base. But what are Benetton and LL Cool J thinking? I understand they may not be at their peak either, but Sears?

More at Marketing Daily

Car Brands That Don't Deserve to Live

2008-05-27T07:51:00.003-07:00

Harsh but interesting thoughts on which of the big auto brands should stop wasting their time and pack it in. I have to say, they have a point. Check out the article and interactive bar chart at one of my favorite business magazines, Conde Nast Portfolio.

Hershey's House Parties - A Lesson in Tapping an Offline/Online Groundswell

2008-05-27T07:12:00.006-07:00

When experiential marketing, or WOM, or buzz, or whatever you want to call it works...it can work big time. Take Hershey's who has been having Bliss house parties. According to PROMO, looks like they're working - more than 129,000 people have attended the parties, plus 22,000 digital photos and 15,000 blog entries. Yowsers.

I'm just finishing up Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies. Good book for the most part, but they don't talk about the offline component that much - how an offline event like Hershey's Bliss parties can drive blog posts galore and social network buzz.

Check out the stories at CandySnob here and here.

Prominent Turkish Businessman "Rethinks Capitalism"

2008-05-21T11:23:00.002-07:00

"Adam Smith is probably dead. Maybe it's time to revisit Karl Marx."

These words were uttered by a Turkish businessman named Ishak Alaton, who is the chairman of $800 million conglomerate, Alarko Holding.

Why is it that some businesspeople decide to turn against the very ideals that helped them build their fortunes? Is it guilt? Is it an attempt to limit what others have now that they have theirs? I'm curious why Mr. Alaton didn't come to this Marxist revelation while he was less wealthy? Nothing like someone building their fortune one way, then telling the world how they should live their lives.

Regardless, I think people would be well served to read (or re-read) Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. It seems to me there are some universal business truths that still ring true today.

From BusinessWeek Turkey - Subscribe to BusinessWeek

Top 10 YouTube Brands

2008-05-21T07:00:00.001-07:00

Interesting...

1. Nike - "Ronaldinho: Touch of Gold" - Viewed 22.6 million times

2. Pepsi - "PEPSI (Britney Spears, Beyonce, Pink - We Will Rock You)" - Viewed 14 million times

3. McDonald's - "Fast Food Freestyle" - Viewed 11.8 million times

4. Coca-Cola - "Diet Coke+Mentos=Human experiment: EXTREME GRAPHIC CONTENT" - Viewed 8.5 million times

5. Unilever - "Dove Evolution" - Viewed 6.7 million times

6. Disney - "Internet is for Porn" - Viewed 3.3 million times

7. Budweiser - "Banned Super Bowl 2007 Bud commercial" - Viewed 2.1 million times

8. Microsoft - "Microsoft Surface Parody" - Viewed 2 million times

9. Ikea - "Banned Commercial - Swedish Midsummer" - Viewed 1.5 million times

10. Toyota - "Top Gear: Killing a Toyota Part 1" - Viewed 1.1 million times

Source: Custom Communications

Apple to add 2D barcodes to iPhone

2008-05-19T13:13:00.002-07:00

Packaging - Costco vs. Whole Foods

2008-05-14T06:06:00.003-07:00

VS.

Costco...bigger bag, brighter colors, disregard for "natural" looking packaging, photos of product, and the Lucky Country kangaroo is considerably different.

Whole Foods...brown bag (to make it feel more natural), drawings instead of photos, a more traditional looking kangaroo, and play up the "gourmet" and "soft."

Both have the star-shaped violator to make sure we know its "all natural."

Interesting, if you ask me. Not that Costco makes vendors change packaging to meet the warehouse store requirements, but that Whole Foods does the same. Let us not forget that while it may be natural, organic, whatever...you still need to market it properly.

From CandySnob

Candy Snob Launches

2008-05-14T06:00:00.003-07:00

Candy Snob gets picked up in the BlogHerald!

Hugh MacLeod's WOM Wisdom

2008-05-13T06:41:00.002-07:00

"Word of Mouth isn't created by marketers, it is co-created with consumers. People only spread your virus if there's something in it for them."

From Hugh MacLeod's twitter missives via Brand Autopsy

Candy Snob Helps Feed Your Candy Obsession with News, Reviews and More

2008-05-13T05:26:00.001-07:00

Candy Snob is the place to go to indulge your sweet tooth. Whether you're crazy for gourmet chocolate or a sucker for hard candies, we've got all the news, reviews, and information you can cram down your gullet.

(PRWEB) May 13, 2008 -- As more and more novelty and gourmet candy hits the market, it can be increasingly difficult to decide which confections will tickle your fancy, and which are sugar-coated duds. Candy Snob understands that candy can be more than a foil-wrapped treat to boost your blood sugar -- it can be a sensuous experience, the nougaty highlight of your day, the caramel apple of your eye. The blog will help readers rekindle their love affair with sugary treats, with an eye toward the confections of the past as well as a nod toward the future.

Blogpire Productions has the sweet pleasure of introducing Candy Snob to its growing list of consumer-oriented weblogs. Candy Snob was started to help bring the joy back into candy, offering candy reviews to help readers make decisions based on more than total grams of sugar.

"Most people think of candy as what they see in the grocery store," said Bob Wallace, an editor of Candy Snob. "Those are great, but there is a whole universe of chocolate and candy out there beyond the check-out aisle."

For the health conscious, Candy Snob will tell you about healthy candy products packed with natural ingredients. The blog will keep readers posted on the new treats about to hit the market, and will be reviewing new and upcoming candy treats.

"Chocolate is not unlike wine in that each piece comes with its own distinct tastes," added Noel Wallace, Candy Snob editor. "We're hoping to explain these nuances in a way that is understandable so you can get the best candy experience possible."

So whether readers are looking for unique gifts, new treats to sample, or simply interesting news and views about their favorite sweet indulgence, Candy Snob is the place to visit.

About CandySnob.com:
Started in 2007, Candy Snob is helmed by a capable staff keenly interested in all things confectionery. They come from a long line of sweet teeth and candy buffs, with tastes ranging from the nuanced flavors of bitter dark chocolate to the retro gooiness of Mallo Cups. Along the way, they also picked up a taste for jelly beans, hard candies, gummies, and anything else in the candy family.

About Blogpire Productions:
Blogpire Productions is a set of blogs bringing an influential audience to brand advertisers focused on product and category niches. Founded in 2004, Blogpire Productions continues to expand each month and build new and interesting web log titles for readers around the world. Many Blogpire Productions weblogs have received Yahoo! Pick of the day along with being featured in USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, The Boston Globe, FHM Magazine, and other magazines and Web site features.

Other Blogpire Productions weblogs include: SingleServeCoffee.com; KitchenContraptions.com; JustTheChips.com; TVSnob.com; ShavingStuff.com; FastFoodFever.com; GPSLodge.com; ShirtSnob.com; TheCookingNews.com; LiquorSnob.com; ReallyNatural.com; CheapFunWines.com; CriticalGamers.com; SingleServeEspresso.com; SuperCoolPets.com; ToolSnob.com; SuperCoolBaby.com; CasinoSnob.com.

State of the Social Media Union

2008-05-11T15:11:00.003-07:00

Very interesting article on the state of the union for social media on The Viral Garden.

Social Media pic via Flickr user Jeff Milner

3M again proves the best innovations are simple and useful

2008-05-09T06:36:00.003-07:00

How do you make one of the most storied innovative products in history better you ask? Leave it to the originators. 3M now has transparent Post-it Notes, so you can highlight things, etc. They call them Sheer Colors, we call them brilliant. Simple innovations make a big difference.

From Cool Hunting

Nike Head Tshirts - Logo abuse taken too far?

2008-05-02T11:23:00.003-07:00

Hey...I'm not one to get too bent out of shape when someone knocks off a logo. I understand there is equity in the logos, but in my opinion its usually not that big a deal - usually its free advertising.

Which is the case here as well...but I think this may be too much. Interesting to see how Nike reacts, if at all.

From SneakerFiles

How NOT to pick a slogan for your new business

2008-05-02T11:21:00.001-07:00

I'm going to list just 5 of the lame, uninspired taglines/slogans that Team Forty came up with. There are a ton more, click here to see them.

Create. Organize. Share. Connect. (blist)
Experience. Share. Connect. (geotract)
Connect. Share. Live. (KIJIG)
Create. Share. Connect. (Factory Joe)
Discover. Share. Connect. Discuss. (InfoAddict)

Why You Need to Read the Team Forty Blog

2008-05-02T11:20:00.002-07:00

Because if you don't you might miss things like this:

www.teamforty.com

Flip Video Camera - Great for Marketers

2008-04-30T12:15:00.004-07:00

Just bought a Flip Video camera a couple days ago. Light, small, and painfully simple to use. Sure, you can't do all the fancy stuff, but it works, you can download right into your USB port with no cords.

As I was playing around with it, I thought about all the cool things you could do with this from a marketing perspective. I was not alone, Community Guy covered the same topic, and here is what Marketing Profs writer Mark said about them:

Media outlets: Can give readers/viewers Flips to record events from their perspective and submit their own reports
Jeep: Use Flips to help feed the Jeep Experience site
Sports teams: Allow fans to cover their team and set up a site to “air” the reports
Travel-related businesses: Give them away so people can document and share their experiences
Packaged goods brands: Ask people to create their own testimonial of their product experience

From MarketingProfs Daily Fix via Community Guy

99 Designs: Crowdsourcing that Works

2008-04-29T08:25:00.003-07:00

So says the headline today from Web Worker Daily, and we agree. Having used 99Designs a few times, its efficient and typically can get pretty good results. We've used it for logo design and general icon and graphic design.

The Wisdom of Crowds, blah, blah, blah, crowdsourcing, blah, blah, blah...we know...but said another way, 99Designs works by simple economic and capitalism. Opening up a problem to a large group of providers allows supply and demand, and survival of the fittest to thrive. And in a lot of cases, you the buyer get pretty good work.

Predicting 2000 in 1900

2008-04-28T14:37:00.001-07:00

Ladies Home Journal, circa 1900, and their predictions as to where we'd be by 2000.

Crazy - read on

The Physics of Marketing - Newton’s Law of Gravitation

2008-04-28T06:52:00.002-07:00

If big brands - Coke, FedEx, Nike, etc. - are large enough entities that they have consumer "gravity"...how do little brands stand a chance of getting some of that “pull” with customers. According to davidebowman.com, proximity - the other part of Newton’s Theory.

Small companies must get close to the customer in order to stand any chance of survival. They can actually use this to thrive and exert considerable influence if properly executed.

Nintendo Won't Cut Prices On The Wii

2008-04-28T06:28:00.002-07:00

So you mean, if a product is truly innovative and good, it might be able to hold price? Fascinating...

Kudos Nintendo...read more.

Who risks more - entrepreneur or VC?

2008-04-28T06:26:00.002-07:00

Who takes more risk? The venture capitalist who funds a start-up, or the entrepreneur who founds it?

Answer? The entrepreneur.

Intrigued? Read more at Hank Williams' article on Silicon Alley Insider

Still not taking social media seriously??

2008-04-24T17:06:00.002-07:00

Can't believe that would be true...or at least I hope not...

According to a new study from the Society for New Communications Research, 72% of consumers use social media resources to research a company's reputation before making a purchase decision. Seventy-four percent of consumers report basing their decisions to do business with a company on their social media research. The study also found that 59% of those surveyed say they use social media as a place to vent their customer service frustrations. - WOMMA Word via ClickZ

And there are plenty of companies tracking online buzz...like Crawdad Technologies and new beta service Trendpedia.

Anti-Advertising Agency Participating in What It Condemns

2008-04-23T14:17:00.003-07:00

From The Consumerist

Homeowners rejoice, a new way to better manage contractors

2008-04-23T11:25:00.009-07:00

Ever been watching 20/20, 60 Minutes, or the local news for that matter, and you see a segment about some poor people who got royally screwed by their home contractor? Best case the contractor is incompetent, worst case its outright fraud. Either way the homeowners are out of a lot of money.

Well, now there is an answer - Buildproof - which launched today. From their press release:

The system provides a simple-to-use solution to the financial risks and anxieties long-associated with home remodeling. Arizona is the first target market for Buildproof and the company plans to expand nationwide in the coming months.

Arizona homeowners experience up to $25 million in annual losses due to contractor fraud. Buildproof protects these homeowners, but also provides contractors with the ability to secure payments before, during and upon completion of the home improvement project.

Buildproof brings safety and stability to the $300 billion home improvement and remodeling industry by providing a “Safe House” money system. Project funds are held by an independent third-party financial institution to ensure safe handling and timely payment processing. There is no cost for homeowners to use the Buildproof system and contractors are only required to pay a small percentage of the total project cost.

According to the most recent study by the NACAA, home improvement is the number one most complained about industry in the U.S. Buildproof’s project management system enables homeowners and contractors to streamline communication and track project milestones.

Read their launch press release, or visit Buildproof.com.

Top 10 Most Powerful Brands

2008-04-23T05:28:00.001-07:00

1 Google

2 General Electric

3 Microsoft

4 Coca-Cola

5 China Mobile

6 IBM

7 Apple

8 McDonald's

9 Nokia

10 Marlboro

Source: Millward Brown Optimor's 2008 BrandZ Rankings

I repeat, let the airlines go out of business

2008-04-22T17:25:00.001-07:00

JetBlue To Charge $20 For Second Checked Bag

See Let the airlines go out of business

From Consumerist

Starbucks goes retro

2008-04-20T06:46:00.003-07:00

Starbucks is using a special brown logo to evoke the chain's beginnings and restore some goodwill for the brand.

A "nostalgia" effort by Howard Schultz and the Starbucks team - what do you think?

Get Starbucks stuff

Article & image from BusinessWeek

Is there an entrepreneur gene?

2008-04-17T07:06:00.002-07:00

VC Fred Wilson was interviewed by a reporter on Monday, on the topic of what makes an entrepreneur an entrepreneur. Thanks to Found/Read, here are three Q&A:

Q: What is entrepreneurship?
A: It’s the art of turning an idea into a business.

Q: Can entrepreneurship be taught/learned?
A: I don’t think so. It’s like a personality disorder. You are born with it.

Q: What do you look for in entrepreneurs?
A: First and foremost, they need to be magnets. For talent. For money. For attention. And for much more.

When someone strikes out in an entrepreneurial endeavor without really being an entrepreneur, Michael Gerber (of E-Myth fame) calls it an "entrepreneurial seizure." What do you think?

Let the airlines go out of business

2008-04-17T06:57:00.002-07:00

Delta will start charging passengers $25 for checking a second piece of luggage starting in May, joining United and US Airways in instituting the new fee.

U.S. Airways (or as we Pittsburghers like to call it, U.S. Scare), is going to start charging people an extra $5 for an aisle or window seat. I have a question, what happens if there are no other open seats but I wanted a middle seat, do I get punished?

ENOUGH!

How f-ing stupid. So we're in a bad economy, times are tight for everyone, fuel costs are through the roof. I got it. But these guys are doing the exact OPPOSITE of what they should be doing. They should be giving consumers a break on price, not making the flying experience that much more shitty. Will this impact short-term revenues? Yes. But will it possibly increase people flying and maybe (God forbid) build some goodwill for the airline's brand and the industry? Definitely. And can they honestly say that an extra $5 on the already overpriced ticket is going to offset the hatred that will be caused? I am (make that was) a Delta fan. It costs me, my wife and 2-yr old almost $1000 to fly somewhere together. Now, because we're a traveling family (isn't that what they f-ing want?), we're going to get dinged another $50-75 at least? Idiots.

The government needs to stop bailing these airlines out. Let capitalism and the market work. Let the airlines go out of business. That is the only way to make them start listening to the consumers...hey, isn't that what the businesses and the government are supposed to do?

Delta info from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via Consumerist

Common Craft - Taking the UPS Whiteboard to the masses

2008-04-17T06:50:00.004-07:00

We first learned about these cats from Community Guy (so thank you!) - they take the UPS whiteboard idea and have made it a business. They make short videos to explain complex ideas and products, from twitter to Redfin, RSS to wikis. I'm working with several clients who could use this service. They also resell the videos, another good idea and free advertising for those whom they have made videos. This whole idea of simple drawings as a medium to effectively communicate complicated ideas is also featured in this month's Fast Company (article not online yet).

Check out Common Craft

Photo from Community Guy

If you ever wished you could have Peter Parker as a MySpace friend

2008-04-13T15:16:00.002-07:00

Now you have your chance...

"To get the word out about its crossover event "Secret Invasion," Marvel Comics is tapping a variety of social media outlets. Efforts include a fictional MySpace profile featuring video blog posts from a teenage girl whose brother is involved in events that unfold in "Secret Invasion." Thus far, the videos have generated nearly a quarter of a million views, and the profile has attracted "friends" from demographics that Marvel rarely penetrates -- specifically 18- to 22-year-old girls."

From WOMMA Word

Weekly Top 10 Kindle Books on Marketing

2008-04-12T07:08:00.003-07:00

The Discipline of Market Leaders: Choose Your Customers, Narrow Your Focus, Dominate Your Market - by Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersema
eBay Business All-in-One Desk Reference For Dummies - by Marsha Collier
The Hero and the Outlaw - by Margaret Mark and Carol S. Pearson
Superior Customer Value in the New Economy - by Art Weinstein
Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace - by Mary Furlong
Key Account Management and Planning - by Noel Capon
MySpace Marketing: The Promotional Revolution, 2nd Edition - by Nick Jag
The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Toolkit : All the Tips, Forms, and Strategies You'll Ever Need! - by Beth Goldstein
Monitoring, Measuring, and Managing Customer Service - by Gary S. Goodman, PhD
How to Hire and Develop Your Next Top Performer - by Herbert M Greenberg and Harold Weinstein

According to Amazon.com as of 04.12.08

When to listen to your agency's crazy ideas

2008-04-11T06:23:00.003-07:00

Interesting article today in Marketing Daily by Phyllis Dealy titled "You Say Your Agency's Annoying Like It's A Bad Thing" We've all been there, I know I have, when an agency comes up with a crazy idea that at first glance seems both insane and probably expensive, so its dismissed. But sometimes there are times when you need to trust your vendors/partners, especially if they are persistently pitching these ideas. Those times, according to the article, are:

1. Testing a mobile marketing program - OK, I can bite on this one, especially if I'm a consumer goods company, and maybe if I sell B2B depending on the situtation. It has lagged to date, but at some point US mobile use will catch up to Asia and Europe and it will become a major media vehicle.

2. Brandcasting - "The ultimate multi-channel play" according to the article, the idea is brand as channel. I think this can only work in two cases. One, you truly have an iconic brand (Apple, Harley, Nike, etc.). Two, you are completely a new company with no brand recognition and you're in effect branding the channel and then using the exhaust on this to brand your product. Both cases are rare, and everyone thinks they can be a YouTube success story which often makes you look lame, so wade into these waters carefully.

3. Pushing a creative or media idea that's 'too big' 'too expensive' or has 'nothing to do with your brand' - - Again, I agree with this. Within reason, you have to let your agency do what they do best, trust them, and measure the results as best you can.

Weekly Top 10 Bestselling Entrepreneurship Books

2008-04-11T06:14:00.002-07:00

According to Amazon.com as of 04.11.08

The 4-Hour work Week: Escape 9-5, Live Anywhere, and Join the New Rich - by Timothy Ferris and Ray Porter
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People - by Steven Covey
Earth: The Sequel: The Race to Reinvent Energy and Stop Global Warming - by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn
The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don't Work and What to Do About It - by Michael E. Gerber
First, Break All the Rules: What the World's Greatest Managers Do Differently - by Marcus Buckingham and Curt Coffman
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind: Mastering the Inner Game of Wealth - by T. Harv Eker
Leadership and Self-Deception: Getting Out of the Box - by Arbinger Institute and The Arbinger Institute
The Leadership Challenge - by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
The One Minute Manager - by Kenneth H. Blanchard and Spencer Johnson
Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies - by James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras

Weekly Top 10 Marketing Books

2008-04-10T15:52:00.003-07:00

According to Amazon.com as of 04.10.08

Guerilla Marketing, 4th edition - by Jay Conrad Levinson
Purple Cow: Transform Your Business by Being Remarkable - Seth Godin
Brand Gap: Expanded Edition - by Marty Neumeier
Internet Riches: The Simple Money-making Secrets of Online Millionaires - by Scott Fox
Emotional Branding: The New Paradigm for Connecting Brands to People - by Marc Gobe, Marc Gob, & Sergio Zyman
Strategic Marketing Analysis, 2nd Edition - by Alexander Chernev
Differentiate or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition - by Jack Trout
Email Marketing By the Numbers: How to Use the World's Greatest Marketing Tool to Take Any Organization to the Next Level - by Chris Baggott and Ali Sales
Branded: The Buying & Selling of Teenagers - by Alissa Quart
Life After the 30-Second Spot: Energize Your Brand With a Bold Mix of Alternatives to Traditional Advertising - by Joseph Jaffe

Does no one know what the definition of "marketing" is?

2008-04-10T15:39:00.004-07:00

167 B2B marketers, 86 B2C marketers and 130 hybrid marketers answered a survey conducted by the Association of National Advertisers and BtoB. Some of the findings of the study are below. As I sometimes do in email conversations...my comments below in ALL CAPS.

Among companies that had undergone a reorganization (some 70 percent in the past three years, according to another ANA strudy), 62 percent of the B2B marketers cited marketing communications as the primary role of marketing prior to the reorganization. TRULY AMAZING. THE WHOLE WORLD SEEMS TO CHOOSE TO DEFINE MARKETING BY ITS ORGANIZATIONAL TITLE RATHER THAN WHAT IT REALLY IS. HAS NO ONE EVER HEARD OF THE 4 P'S? DOES ANYONE KNOW WHO PHILIP KOTLER IS? THESE PEOPLE SHOULD READ KOTLER FOR GOODNESS SAKE!
Marcom was cited as the primary role following reorganization by 47 percent of B2B marketers. SAME COMMENT, SAME DISGUST.
One of the biggest shifts has been in the primacy of strategy: Only 14 percent of B2B marketers identified strategy/innovation as their primary role prior to reorganization; 24 percent said strategy/innovation was their primary role following reorganization. STILL TOO LOW, THESE RESPONDENTS DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE THERE TO DO, WHICH IS SELL MORE PRODUCTS TO MORE PEOPLE MORE OFTEN FOR MORE MONEY (TO PARAPHRASE SERGIO ZYMAN, SOMEONE ELSE I'M SURE THEY DON'T KNOW).
Another function seeing elevated status among marketers is directing new business development: Only 10 percent of B2B marketers said new business development was a primary goal prior to reorganization, compared with 23 percent following reorganization. RUNNING OUT OF WAYS TO VOICE THE SAME COMMENT...
Though B2B marketers' role has become more strategic, only 11 percent said marketing "always" makes strategic decisions in the organization; 37 percent said "most of the time." PAIN TOO GREAT...CAN'T...GO...ON...
That's in contrast to the 17 percent of B2C marketers who said marketing "always" makes strategic decisions, and 39 percent who said "most of the time." I WOULD VENTURE A GUESS THAT THIS IS BECAUSE B2C MARKETERS FEEL THAT THEY ARE CLOSER TO THE CONSUMER THAN IN B2B CASES, WHERE OFTEN THE SALES FUNCTION COMMANDEERS THAT ROLE.
Just 49 percent of B2B marketers said marketing works in partnership with the CEO "most of the time" or "always." That's in contrast to 58 percent of the B2C marketers who said so. BOTH OF THESE ARE PRETTY HIGH, WHICH GIVES ME HOPE, AND ENDS THIS POST MERCIFULLY ON A HIGH NOTE.

From MarketingCharts

Want to know where to buy ads? Ask the people!

2008-04-10T06:37:00.003-07:00

Silicon Alley Insider had a post today about Hilary Clinton's online plea to raise money for her do-or-die Pennsylvania primary campaign. She did it in an interesting way, she built a widget that asked the people (novel idea) where she should buy ads, and also solicited donations. I actually think this is a very smart, albeit woefully late, idea. I think with all the distrust, frustration and overall disgust with both sides of the campaign finance issue, putting more voice in the hands of the people is a good thing. Not to mention, its just plain good marketing, especially in this day and age. Had she been this innovative and, dare I say, truly democratic, she might not be in the hole she's in currently.

Another interesting site to give people more of a voice this election season with their political advertising is Pixelection. You buy pixel ads, like the Million Dollar Homepage, but the difference is you buy an ad to promote your candidate or cause, and 20% of the proceeds go to that campaign.

From Silicon Alley Insider

Spending on Chotchkes Hits Record High

2008-04-09T07:35:00.002-07:00

Marketing Daily reports that industry revenues for "advertising specialties" reached $19.6 billion in 2007, up 5.4% from 2006 and a new record. What is a little crazy is that the spending was 83% greater than radio advertising, 73% greater than Internet display ads and nearly five times larger than outdoor advertising for the same period.

Some may call them advertising specialties, some may call them promotional products, I call them chotchkes. They are items and incentives branded with a company logo or marketing message. I typically am not a huge fan of these types of items, mostly because they typically are wastes of money. That's not to say all promotional items are a waste, but what I think many people fail to look at is whether the items they want to give away accomplish a business/marketing goal.

Think of it this way. You're basically giving $1 bills away each time you hand something out, so shouldn't you be thinking about whether that item has the potential to get you $2 in return? The answer is yes.

So when I'm looking at promotional items, I look at two criteria. One, does the item itself, both what it is and its quality, match your company's brand? Two, does the item have lasting value. In other words, is it something that the recipient will use, will it last, will they see the logo (this is an advertising medium after all, by the way).

For example, I have a client with an online service for homeowners and contractors (Buildproof). When we exhibit at events, we have three promotional items: branded carpenter pencils, coffee mugs, and stickers. The pencils make sense for the brand (home remodeling & construction), and the target audience will use them (exposure). The mugs, same thing, nice coffee mugs will sit on people's desks or work areas, making a mini-billboard for the company. The stickers, stickers are, in my opinion, maybe the best chotchke around. You stick that somewhere (in this case on your bumper, which many contractors do), and you have a nearly permanent billboard for your company.

Here are two short lists of the good and the bad promotional items in my mind:

Good

Stickers
Mugs
Mousepads
Writing instruments
T-shirts & Hats
Notebooks, tablets, etc.

Bad

Flash drive (decent but expensive, and don't expect anyone to look at the files you load on it)
Candy or most anything edible (unless its your own product)
Stress balls
Bottled water
Puzzles
Stuffed animals

From Nina M. Lentini, Marketing Daily and The Advertisinmg Specialty Institute; Image from OneStopPromos

Slow economy? Cut marketing...big surprise...not.

2008-04-08T11:23:00.003-07:00

"Big marketers are cutting back overall budgets this year, but not not online spending, which is being largely left intact or getting a small increase in 2008.

Total budgets down: 60% of large companies had either cut or are planning to cut marketing budgets 2008, the survey says, compared to 29% of midsized marketers and only 13% of small ones. Only 16% of big marketers said they were increasing budgets, and 19% reported no change.

Online budgets flat, or up slightly: 38% said they planned to increase online spending, while 45% said online spending would stay the same in 2008. Only 17% said they expected to reduce online marketing, compared to 36% for offline media."

This is always the case, cut marketing to save costs, right? Wrong. This idea is based on an incomplete definition of marketing that causes an incorrect assumption. Most companies believe marketing is advertising, promotion, PR, collateral, logos, etc. (who here hasn't had to shoehorn your marketing budget into the bean counter's "A&P" line item?). One SUBSET of marketing is all of those things, but how soon we forget that there are 3 other "P's" to the marketing equation - Product, Price and Place.

Marketing is identifying a need in the marketplace and fulfilling that need, profitably. It is reading the market, translating those needs into products, building demand for the products, and then getting the product in their hands. So...doesn't it stand to reason that in a down economy, with people having less money and more anxiety, that companies should be embracing those new market requirements and finding a way to still serve their consumers? Doing so, of course, makes the companies money as well as keeps the economy moving.

In other words, shouldn't these companies be spending MORE on marketing in a down economy?

Now, the upside of the stats above is that they're not cutting back where they can measure, i.e. online. So this is good news overall. The ability to measure marketing online is one of the ways we can fight the knee-jerk reaction to cut "marketing."

From Silicon Alley Insider

Three Books to Read on Online Marketing

2008-04-07T11:31:00.003-07:00

In case you don't have a big enough pile of books to read, here are three to check out if you're interested in

Groundswell: Winning in a World Transformed by Social Technologies
"Groundswell is must-read material for all Marketing Managers and Marketing Directors who want to use the power of the Internet as an extension of their marketing department." - Brand Autopsy, read the whole review here

Web Analytics: An Hour a Day
"this book demystifies web analytics in an easy to read, enjoyable manner." - Online Marketing Performance

Call to Action: Secret Formulas to Improve Online Results
This book covers the "concept of Persuasion Architecture—a methodology which, at a high level, combines consumer psychology, business goals and website design with an overall goal of maximizing" Online Marketing Performance

How to promote a blog for free

2008-04-07T11:26:00.002-07:00

Web guru, Scott McAndrew, doles out some free advice on how to promote your blog for free. Some may seem like no-brainers, but I bet if you write your own blog, you haven't done several of these things. Read more here.

AT&T Wades Into the 2d Barcode Waters

2008-04-07T11:19:00.004-07:00

One of the keys to companies (most notably Google) truly getting into the 2d barcode game, and making it the potentially profound marketing tool it could become, is the involvement of the big carriers. Well...here we go...

"AT&T is supporting a mobile marketing technique that's popular abroad, but has yet to catch on here: Ads that can be read by cell phone cameras. The idea: Users point their phone at an ad, coupon, or some other enticement, and get something cool or valuable back in return. MediaPost says AT&T has "quietly" agreed to support a system designed by Lexington, Mass.-based Mobot, and that Verizon and T-Mobile are expected to follow suit."

Other hypermediate posts on 2d Barcodes:
Google's 2d barcode plans
Google's 2D Barcode Program Getting Traction

From Silicon Alley Insider, AT&T Wants To Turn Your Cell Phone Into A Coupon Reader

How to get your product into Whole Foods

2008-04-03T08:01:00.004-07:00

Brand Autopsy summarizes the key points of a recent BRANDWEEKarticle that explains how you can get your products on the shelves at Whole Foods. I'll do my best to summarize one step further. Future Odwalla's out there, take note.

Make sure your product not only has the right ingredients, but also that it doesn't have the wrong ingredients.
Be product-focused, not sales-y. Don't be slick, be genuine and real.
Be patient, and take whatever limited shelved in a limited # of stores that you can. National distribution starts small.
Sell the regional and/or local buyer, not just the national buyer. Local management can make buying decisions at Whole Foods.

From Brand Autopsy

Subscribe to BRANDWEEK

Angels Have Anted $26 Billion in 57,000 companies

2008-04-03T07:59:00.002-07:00

From Don Dodge on the Next Big Thing:

The Center for Venture Research at UNH today released their annual Angel Capital report for 2007. Angels invested $26 Billion in 57,120 companies, up slightly from last year. The report says there are 258,200 active angel investors in the USA. By comparison, Venture Capitalists invested to $29.4B in 3,813 companies in 2007.
Software accounted for the largest share of Angel investments, with 27%, followed by Healthcare Services/Medical Devices and Equipment (19%) and Biotech (12%).
Angel Investors continue to be the largest source of seed stage and early stage start-up capital, with 39% of 2007 angel investments going there.

How Zappos Does It

2008-04-03T07:43:00.003-07:00

75% of Zappos' sales come from return customers. And those customers are coming back based in large part on the company's phenomenal customer service model, as well as because of its unique corporate culture. How do they do it? You'll have to find out at ClickZ.

via The WOMMA Word

Amazon Launches TextBuyIt

2008-04-02T12:53:00.003-07:00

The malls and retailers better hope they do not suffer from Marketing Myopia, because Amazon has just launched its text-based mobile shopping platform. Its called TextBuyIt, and it allows shoppers to buy products by sending text messages. All they have to do is text the ISBN or UPC code to "AMAZON" and up will come Amazon's inventory to browse. It sounds like it gets a little clunky after that step, though. If you like a product, you select it and enter the email associated with your Amazon account. Then a call is placed to your phone to finish the last purchasing steps.

Clunky or not, this is the start of a fundamentally new way for people to shop, and traditional brick and mortar retailers better take notice if they want to survive. This provides the ultimate in comparison shopping to consumers, which will mean retailers need to get their house in order on pricing, merchandising, experience and service.

From MarketingVOX and AP

"Corporate social responsibility is a sham."

2008-03-31T14:24:00.002-07:00

"Corporate social responsibility is a sham. True social responsibility comes from individual consumers. "- Inspired by James Gilmore & Joseph Pine, authors of Authenticity: What Consumers Really Want

From FastCompany.com

T-Mobile Wants Engadget to Drop Its Colors

2008-03-31T14:18:00.003-07:00

From AdRants:

"In yet another display of corporate legal idiocy, T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom sent a letter to Weblogs, Inc.'s Engadget Mobile asking them to stop using the color magenta in their logo. The letter states T-Mobile uses the color magenta in its logo and, as a result, people might somehow become confused as to what T-Mobile does and what Engadget Mobile does."

And in perfect new media form, Engadget responded in kind by outlining, in a side-by-side chart, the idiocy of the whole thing on its blog...you know, the one with a 665 Alexa rank and millions of page views every day.

Deutsche Telekom and T-Mobile aren't the only ones taking themselves too seriously and discounting the intelligence of their consumers. Check out Lacoste, who recently sued a UK dentist for logo infringement...a dentist! (See When brand policing runs amock - Lacoste loses court case against dental practice)

Heads up from AdRants, graphic from Engadget

AdAge Concludes that Marketers Must Learn Digital Marketing

2008-03-31T14:09:00.004-07:00

AdAge ran an article called People, Process and Organization Must Evolve Now by Richard Rawlinson and Christopher Vollmer of Booz Allen Hamilton. Its a painful read, but AdRants makes it not only bearable, but funny. Funny because it couldn't be more spot-on. I couldn't have said this better myself, AdRants should be on everyone's must-read list is you're looking for the straight skinny on today's advertising. If you read that AdAge article and are shaking your head up and down, saying "man, these guys in ties really know what's going on..." just pack it in.

Read the article by Steve Hall

Age of Conversation - Groundbreaking book launches on Amazon

2008-03-31T06:48:00.002-07:00

The Age of Conversation is a compilation of 400-word essays on the topic of "conversation," by the world's leading marketers, writers, thinkers and creative innovators.

In today's business world, it seems to me that not only is this a sign of how many books will be developed in the future, but its also a must-read for anyone looking for insight into how to better engage their customers.

From Diva Marketing Blog (a contributor to the book):

"From the view point of a reader, the breadth of global insights about the emerging industry - social media marketing (yes, social media marketing is an industry!) - are fascinating and bring home that all over the world social media is not only impacting a change in marketing but in how we will/are beginning to conduct business .. which makes this book an important read for every business person who wants to understand why the future is Now and why there is no turning back."

Check out The Age of Conversation

From Diva Marketing Blog

Nicely played, Netflix

2008-03-28T14:43:00.001-07:00

"To appease customers whose service was disrupted by a Monday system glitch, Netflix sent out slews of apology emails and offered affected customers a 5% discount -- to be automatically applied to their next billing cycles. Because the Netflix apology was quick, thorough, and sincere, most customers didn't even have a chance to get angry. In the face of a potential PR disaster, Netflix came out swinging with the kind of amazing customer service that makes Netflix's customers instant fans."

From WOMMA Word

Batman: The Dark Knight continues its viral ways

2008-03-28T14:37:00.004-07:00

We covered the viral "Harvey Dent" campaign that the new Batman movie is using at the beginning of the month. Twenty-one days later, the LA times gets in on the game (read article here) and goes into more detail regarding the various viral ways they are hoping to hook movie-goers.

Check out Dark Knight stuff here.

Nearly 73% of respondents sometimes or always use blogs in their research

2008-03-28T14:34:00.003-07:00

So reports Henry Blodgett in his Silicon Alley Insider post today. He is quoting from the 2008 PRWeek/PR Newswire Media Survey which surveyed 1,231 journalists. Learn more about the findings here.

Couple that with the fact that social sites are spurring the spread of political content and you have yourself a scenario that is screaming for an online buzz monitoring tool for the 2008 presidential campaign - Wonkosphere.

"According to MSNBC, recent research about young voters found that they tend to be not just consumers of news and current events, but conduits as well -- sending information and links out to their social networks. They also rely heavily on friends and other social network connections as news sources. In essence, they are replacing the professional filter -- traditional news media -- with a social one."

From Silicon Valley Insider and WOMMA Word

Most consumers don't accurately comprehend the term "spam"

2008-03-27T13:00:00.002-07:00

Check out these interesting, but oddly disheartening, stats from a recent Q Interactive survey on email and spam. Since when does "not interesting" mean "spam." Sort of scary.

Over half of survey participants — 56 percent — consider marketing messages from known senders to be spam if the message is "just not interesting to me."
50 percent of respondents consider "too frequent emails from companies I know" to be spam.
31 percent cite "emails that were once useful but aren't relevant anymore."

Read the rest of the post at MarketingVOX.

Spot Runner Launches Political Site, Stock Footage Still Iffy

2008-03-27T12:51:00.004-07:00

MarketingVox just reported that Spot Runner has launched a site designed for political candidates - chock full of spots on education and taxes. It'll probably do well given the amount projected to be spent on political ads this year. However, MV posited that "It may also prove attractive to candidates that are gun-shy about TV advertising, following embarrassing news about the use of stock imagery in a recent Hillary Clinton ad. But that doesn't make sense. How does using Spot Runner's stock footage remove the fear of using stock footage (which is ultimately why Clinton's spot ran into trouble)?

The reality is, stock footage is typically a craps shoot. Either you don't know who else has used the footage, or you pay exorbitant prices for royalties. But there is a new site called Element Tank, which provides art-directed, royalty free, HD footage - so there is hope.

Zappos Advertises at Airport Security

2008-03-26T09:27:00.002-07:00

Brilliant ploy in my opinion, by Zappos. Relevant, brand-building advertising to all the folks in the airport who have to take off their shoes. Read more at Diva Marketing Blog.

Powerlines, the latest buzzword - this time for great copywriting

2008-03-24T11:24:00.003-07:00

Powerlines: Words That Sell Brands, Grip Fans, and Sometimes Change History - A book that surveys the propaganda in our lives. What's a "Powerline"? Think Coke's "The pause that refreshes" and "We can do it!" featuring Rosie the Riveter. From AdRants:

People exposed to an ad will probably pass judgment on it based on the visual and the most visible print. (Typically that's the tagline.) Ad-heads spend plenty of time on pictures, but few consider what impact a resonant string of words can deliver.

A powerline is different from a slogan or tagline. In a way, it's what these things aspire to become. Like viral video, a powerline can't be identified at outset; it earns this title after demonstrating its potency.

FOX Business uses competition's flubs in ads

2008-03-24T09:04:00.007-07:00

We would expect nothing less than nimble, aggressive and cut-throat marketing from FOX, or in this case the new FOX Business channel. The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, quote CNBC's (FOX Business' chief rival) Jim Kramer as saying, "No. No. No. Bear Stearns is Fine... Bear Stearns is not in trouble... Don't move your money from there. That's just being silly. Don't be silly." FOX jumps on it as fast as Eliot Spitzer at a call girl convention, with the ad shown above.

It is worth noting, however, that Henry Blodget of Silicon Valley Insiders notes that Cramer isn't totally wrong if you listen carefully. "Cramer never mentions shares of Bear Stearns, and was referring to money held at Bear Stearns, about which he's been proven right, not wrong."

But in the world of marketing, and the knife-fight that is cable television, perception is reality.

From Silicon Alley Insider

Is your company a vitamin or a pain killer?

2008-03-22T11:52:00.005-07:00

"Is your product a Vitamin (nice to have) or a pain killer (got to have it)?"

Great question, from a great blog post by Don Dodge on his blog.

"Many products fall into the vitamin category. Things like productivity tools, content aggregators, mashups, utilities, collaboration applications, measurement and monitoring tools, in fact anything that is a tool, development or otherwise, is by definition a vitamin.
Pain killer products are products that solve for a specific pain point. Sometimes the pain is measurable in terms of ROI, winning sales that could not be won before, or satisfying a regulatory requirement."
....
"Think real hard, right now. Make a list of the pain points your product solves. Make a list of trigger events that cause the pain to happen. Now think about how to identify these "trigger events" as they happen among the hundreds or thousands of potential customers. Get this right and your sales productivity will sky rocket. Get it wrong and your sales people will end up "dialing for dollars" and wondering why they are not being successful."

From Don Dodge on The Next Big Thing via Anil Jayne @ Endeavor Innovation Partners

Does Walgreen's Matter?

2008-03-22T11:37:00.002-07:00

Talk about a devastating question for a brand when the answer is "no." It is a question we should all be asking.

Does Walgreens provide such a unique product and customer experience that we would be saddened if it didn’t exist? Does Walgreens treat its employees so astonishingly well that those workers would not be able to find another employer to treat them as well? Does Walgreens forge such unfailing emotional connections with its customers that they would fail to find another retailer that could forge just as strong an emotional bond?

Image and story from Brand Autopsy

Dilbert cartoon gets guy fired

2008-03-22T10:38:00.002-07:00

Talk about taking things too seriously...read this from this week's Business Week.

Google's 2D Barcode Program Getting Traction

2008-03-21T11:47:00.002-07:00

We told you a little bit ago about Google's 2d barcode plans. Well, looks like they're getting a little traction (as if we ever doubted it). The program lets advertisers put the 2d barcode next to print ads. People who see the ad take a picture of the barcode with their mobile devices and view promotions right then and there. The companies testing it out: Blue Nile, eHealth and Cruise.com. Read more at Marketing VOX.

Railroads go customer-centric to reinvent themselves

2008-03-21T06:48:00.003-07:00

Originally hailing from a once-prominent railroad town that was and is suffering from Marketing Myopia (the Theodore Levitt classic; hypermediate covered this idea way back in 2004), I was glad to see that railroads are realizing they can still compete on service and being customer centric. Traveling by train is like nothing else, an experience that still has legs in the marketplace. Read the whole story at strategy + business.

Subscibe to strategy+business

Illustration by Daniel Pelavin

Crazy Ad for Bicycle Safety

2008-03-21T06:44:00.002-07:00

via Team Forty

How many record execs does it take to screw in a light bulb?

2008-03-20T17:32:00.004-07:00

“First of all, before we change anything, is the light bulb really burned out? Maybe we just need to breathe some life into it; repackage it, maybe the light bulb could do a duet with somebody (Sheryl Crow? Tim McGraw?) in hopes of getting some crossover appeal, maybe it could be in a beer commercial, maybe we could get it out on the road with a brighter light bulb. The other thing to think about is that this summer, Honda is rolling out a 100 Million dollar campaign for a new car aimed at thirty-somethings who consider themselves adventurous/spontaneous but can't really afford something like a luxury S.U.V. and it might be a perfect campaign to tie this light bulb into, at least it would be the perfect demographic, in terms of age.

Also, and this is just an idea: what if we found out what video games are being released in the third quarter and maybe pitched the idea of having our light bulb make an appearance in the video game at some certain level of completion; like, you get to a dark cave, let's say, if it's an adventure game, and if you have enough points you can get the light bulb - and it would be our light bulb, obviously - and then it's easier to see in the cave. The other thing is this: worst-case scenario the light bulb is, in fact, burned out. Is that really the end of the world? I mean, maybe that's actually of more value to us in the long run: Picture this for voice over: "The light bulb is dead. . . but the legend lives on. . . re-released, re-mastered, revealed. . . the light bulb. . . IN STORES NOW." It almost makes more sense than taking the time changing it, plus, if it's dead we can sell it without dealing with it, you know what I mean? No demands from it, no hotels, no road expense, no delays in the project from its end, etc.

But, like I said, I'm just thinking off the top of my head here, just brainstorming, and none of this is written in stone. But the first thing we should do is figure out how we want to handle this, because the light bulb's manager is a total nightmare and we're going to have to take a meeting and listen to him sooner or later, and we should know what our plan is before we sit down with him. And let me tell you right now that the first thing out of his mouth is going to be, "This light bulb should be the brightest light bulb in the world, and it could be the brightest light bulb in the world, but you need to support the light bulb, you need to give the light bulb TV ads, you need to be more active in giving the light bulb tour support, we need to have some promotion from your end!" and on and on. And in that meeting, if you're in it, the only answer from our side should be that we're obviously very excited to be working with the light bulb, that we don't think it needs to be changed, that the only problem is people haven't seen how bright the light bulb could be, and our plan is to do everything we can to make this light bulb happen.

I'll send out an email to everyone before the meeting to remind people of our position on this, but the bottom line is we don't have the budgets right now, and basically we need to see something happening with the light bulb before we go throwing good money after bad, but obviously we can't have the light bulb's manager hearing that. I can tell you all that I'm personally very excited to be working with the light bulb, I think it will light up very brightly, and we're not going to stop working the light bulb, in whatever ways budgets will permit, until it does, in fact, light up very brightly. . . the light bulb is a very big priority for us from the top of the company to the bottom. Period. We can talk more about this when I am back from Barbados next week, and I'm going to need everybody's help on this. I know we can do it, but we need everybody working hard.”

From Dan Kennedy's new book: Rock On: An Office Power Ballad

Thanks to our friends at Ubiquity Public Relations for sending this along.

Modernista takes a bold step, fully embraces social media

2008-03-20T11:17:00.003-07:00

Boston agency, Modernista, fully embraced social media. They did away with their website, and instead utilized a small nav bar which they attach to wikipedia, Google, Flickr and the like to show off their goods. Kudos. These guys have been pushing the envelope since they started, and I think they have done it again this time, in a very relevant way.

Read the full write-up at AdRants.

Check out the Modernista site here.

Small Businesses Leverage the Blogging World

2008-03-20T07:13:00.002-07:00

Check out some small businesses leveraging the power of blogs in today’s WSJ, such as Bean Bag chair maker Sumo Lounge International. They worked with tech blog powerhouse Engadget to successfully get exposure for their products directly in front of the right audience. "2 years after the initial deal with Engadget, Sumo Lounge has been reviewed by 250 bloggers and has tripled profits."

From WOMMA Word via MarketingEnvironmentalism

Ten Things Every Marketer Should Know About Wikipedia

2008-03-20T07:04:00.003-07:00

Pete on ConsumerGeneratedMedia.com provides a list ten things to take heed of when thinking about Wikipedia. Here's the list, a tease I know, click here for the whole article.

Participation
Shelf positioning
Transparency
Counter-advertising
Inquiry
Globalization
The self-promotion reality check
Unlimited, free legal review
Fast turnaround
Trial and error

From WOMMA Word via Pete on ConsumerGeneratedMedia.com

Fast Company showing a lack of creativity

2008-03-19T16:04:00.006-07:00

The April issue of Fast Company shows a nice image of Barack Obama, which makes sense since the feature story is about the presidential candidate. Why do I think the mag is showing a lack of creativity? Two reasons. One, they had basically the same cover in their July/August issue. Again with a democrat heavyweight, Al Gore. Black and white photo, white space background, red and black headline. Two, the headline reads, "The Brand Called Obama." Enough with the "Brand Called You" thing already, they've been milking this for nearly a decade. We still love you though, Fast Company, don't worry.

Check out Fast Company here.

2008-03-19T10:48:00.002-07:00

Thank you Springwise, who alerted us to 5starbaby.com, which offers personalized birth announcements fashioned after movie advertisement posters. Not the cheapest announcements ever at USD 2.50 but what a great, unique way to announce the birth of your baby.

From Springwise

Century 21 Creates First Real Estate YouTube Channel

2008-03-19T10:42:00.000-07:00

The gold blazer people have launched a dedicated channel on YouTube -- the first such channel by a real estate company.

From Realogy via WOMMA

Companies Court Blogs to Hit Niches

2008-03-19T10:32:00.004-07:00

This is why smaller, more nimble consumer companies have a massive opportunity to cut into the market place against big companies. This AP article talks about how convenience food makers are courting bloggers (such as HeatEatReview.com), saying that using bloggers to promote products allows marketers to cherry-pick more niche audiences to spurn WOM for more obscure products. This is not new news, consumer blogs have been out there for years, making a significant impact on retail sales of niche products. Just look at SingleServeCoffee.com, CandySnob.com, GPSLodge and CheapFunWines.com - just a handful of blogs from BlogPire Productions, who does nothing but focus on niche product categories.

From AP via WOMMA

Getting a handle on social media

2008-03-18T10:17:00.003-07:00

Solid post yesterday on AdAge by Beth Snyder Bulik. Correctly realizing that many companies are still stymied by social media and how to use it as a marketing tool, she answers some important questions that may be vexing a lot of folks. Here's the Cliff Notes version:

Quit talking about whether blogging is a fad - blogs are here to stay so get on board.
Before you launch your blog because everyone says you need one, do your research and make sure you have the blog staffed properly to make sure the right stuff is being posted regularly and the blog is being actively managed.
Don't try to game the system because you're scared of what people might say. "Nothing always works, and blogs have seen their share of disasters."
Don't do a fake blog (flog) like Wal-Mart, Coke, McDonald's and Sony did, they all turn out badly.
Learn what SMO stands for (hint: social-media optimization).
Embrace the groundswell of customer insight, and use it in a way that makes sense for your company - research, awareness, promotion, sales, improving customer support, product development, etc.
Come to terms with the fact that social media is not yet a great ad network and may not end up being a great long-term traffic generator or brand builder. But that doesn't mean you don't get involved in the right way now anyway.

There's also an interesting case study for the article - read the whole thing here.

From AdAge via The WOMMA Word
Image from liberatemedia.com

Product Naming Sparks International Crisis

2008-03-16T08:30:00.002-07:00

Well, maybe not a crisis, but it certainly has Denmark's knickers in a bunch. They claim that Swedish home furnishing giant IKEA names its rugs and doormats after Danish locales - saying it in effect says to the world "Denmark is the doormat of Sweden." IKEA says its just coincidence.

From BusinessWeek

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Naming rights for Dubai Metro

2008-03-16T08:22:00.002-07:00

I guess the folks at Dubaimetro didn't pay attention to the naming debacles during the Internet boom, where start-ups instantly had enough money to buy the rights to sporting venues, only to have to sell them off once the market tanked. Then again, Dubai doesn't really fit the mold of any other situation, so more power to them. This print ad (pg. 14 of this week's BusinessWeek), caught my eye. Even more than the idea of advertising the naming rights themselves, check out the bottom left corner...the process is being handled by IMG, the super agents of celebrities and professional athletes. Building's as celebrities...hmmm.....

More Entrepreneurs Make Hay with Spitzer

2008-03-14T06:54:00.002-07:00

Like Virgin Mobile's print ad, everyone's getting in on the Spitzer situation. Check out the Spitzer "No. 9" t-shirt from ShirtADay.com. The company, besides having funny and unique t-shirts, has an interesting model, not unlike woot, where they focus on a specific design every day. And even more cool, they have a progressive discount that builds based on the volume of shirts sold during the day.

From AdRants

Book Recommendation: The New Rules of Marketing

2008-03-13T10:59:00.004-07:00

A few very smart people recommended this book to me last night, so its time I checked it out, you should too. I had no idea there was a rule book to new marketing, but apparently there is and its really good!

Check out The New Rules of Marketing and PR: How to Use News Releases, Blogs, Podcasting, Viral Marketing and Online Media to Reach Buyers Directly

Direct mail meets targeted product trial

2008-03-13T10:52:00.005-07:00

Its about time direct mail got a shake up. Check out Matter, who is taking an unconventional approach, sending out boxes of "interesting stuff"

"London-based Matter works with product manufacturers to compile collections of items carefully designed to please specific audiences, and it sends them out to consumers at no charge. Each participating company creates and contributes an item—something that explains what the company does, says something about its ideas or values, or can be tried out."

Check out Matter

from Springwise

Why Starbucks Closed its Doors for a Day

2008-03-13T10:24:00.002-07:00

Up until last night, I thought I knew why Starbucks closed its doors back on Feb 25, 2008 - they were stopping to re-educate their baristas. Publicizing it as they did, it thought it was a pretty clever PR effort, sending the message that they are refocusing their efforts while training at the same time.

Interestingly enough, MarketingVOX posted today, based on some new market research, that not many actual consumers received the message that Starbucks was doing it to improve the customer experience. It seems that Starbucks' competition pounced on this - Dunkin' Donuts offered a $.99 latte, and Biggby Coffee and Coffee Klatch gave drinks away.

But as I mentioned, there is more to this story than simply whether consumers got the message. Back on Feb 21, Starbucks laid off 220 employees, another nugget of info that I don't think too many people knew (including me admittedly). I was moderating a panel for TiE-Arizona last night and one of the panelists (Sam from David & Sam PR) mentioned how Starbucks did the closing not only to train, but to make the most of the layoffs situation - staying in front of the story, showing that they're making good moves, and also to motivate the remaining employees. Again, pretty smart if you ask me.

Virgin Mobile moves deftly and brilliantly with Spitzer ad

2008-03-12T08:26:00.004-07:00

Eliot Spitzer got nailed for being "Client #9" in a prostitution bust - I imagine much to the joy of the businessmen he put in Sing Sing.

But leave it to Virgin Mobile to make even more hay about the story, and drive their brand and business in the process. AdRants reported on the print ad Virgin Mobile in Canada put out which shows a picture of the NY Governor waving to the congress with a thought balloon that reads "I'm tired of being treated like a number..." The ad copy says "At Virgin Mobile, you're more than just a number. When you call us we'll treat you like a person, not a client. Whether you're #9 or #900, you'll get hooked up with somebody who'll finally treat you just how you want to be treated."

It sheer genius - not simply because its shocking and brash, but more importantly because its relevant to the value message of their business. And kudos for being so opportunistic to move on this while it was a hot story.

MarketingSherpa’s 2008 Email Awards

2008-03-11T06:27:00.002-07:00

As always, there are a ton of great ideas in this year's Email Awards Gallery from Marketing Sherpa. The list features 47 companies, B-to-B and B-to-C campaigns, newsletters, ‘Welcome’ letters and triggered campaigns. Top brands represented include: Pepsi-Cola, SAP, Royal Caribbean, Dell … even the US Army. Read more here.

Other useful reports from the Sherp:

How to Get Better Results from Your Email Newsletter - a step-by-step handbook gives you 29 ways to get more subscribers for your newsletter list; how to create a newsletter readers open and respond to; and how to measure your results.

How to Avoid Email Filters - At least 18% of your email campaigns and newsletters are blocked or filtered by mistake. Practical handbook details the 10 specific tactics to improve your delivery rate, including AOL and Hotmail delivery. Also check out Permission Emailer's Guide to Avoiding Filters.

Airwalk decides MySpace might be on to something

2008-03-10T11:04:00.005-07:00

Always "Johnny-on-the-spot," Airwalk decides that this MySpace thing is going somewhere and that they better get on board. The Payless-owned lifestyle brand is going to tie its print ads into the MySpace pages of popular celebs it endorses. Novel...

"MySpace personalities will star in a fall campaign from lifestyle brand Airwalk, which hopes to connect online social media with traditional print ads. The campaign, themed "A Day in Our Life," will spotlight, among others, indie rock band Lorene Drive and Airwalk pro skateboarder Rodney Mullin, both of whom have big followings on the Fox Interactive social networking site."

From BRANDWEEK

Divinity Metrics Measures Brands' Online Video Presence

2008-03-06T14:33:00.002-07:00

Divinity Metrics has put together a chart measuring the top 20 brands in online video. Top 20 brands are static and were chosen beforehand by analysts. They are: BMW, Disney, Audi, Nike, Pepsi, Toyota, Mercedes, Sony, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, EBay, McDonald's, Budweiser, Hyndai, Motorola, Taco Bell, Chrysler, Dell, Fedex, and American Express. BMW is currently leading with 129,953,103 streams. Streams are based on videos aggregated for the brand by Scope, a video measurement platform.

From AdRants

Batman movie launches another viral campaign

2008-03-03T17:11:00.003-07:00

The upcoming Batman movie (Batman the Dark Knight) seeded its trailer recently, which successfully made its rounds in the viral video world. Now, they have let loose the second installment, I Believe in Harvey Dent, where you provide your email to help get Harvey Dent elected. Its a great program and I think it will work very well. Its timely (an election year) and it has high pass-along value. Plus it opens up the communication line (all you need to do is enter your email), and builds anticipation (I can't wait until they start sending me stuff).

But what makes this really a great program is that it builds anticipation with exactly the right people (i.e. real comic book aficionados) and in the right way (uniquely building anticipation for a supporting character who only these people would appreciate). As a comic geek, I know who Harvey Dent is - he's the DA who eventually turns into the villain Two-Face. By getting people that "get it" they have hit the right people who will get excited and spread the word - I've already told a few friends - the "influencers." Now I know I'm not always on the bandwagon with the influencer idea (read more), but in this case I stand corrected.

And, I'm guessing not coincidentally, it also diverts attention to the untimely death of Heath Ledger, who plays the lead villain, Joker.

Visit I Believe in Harvey Dent

New report says Google's clicks have risen, not fallen

2008-03-03T17:05:00.002-07:00

The plot thickens...

According to SearchIgnite in a report just released, Google's had a 40% rise in ad revenue, with paid clicks up 45.7 percent. This obviously runs very much counter to the comScore report that said that clicks had reduced (When $471 per share is "Falling Back to Earth"). The report came from a survey of 800 million impressions and 53 million clicks logged by SearchIgnite clients.

From MarketingVOX

When $471 per share is "Falling Back to Earth"

2008-03-02T13:38:00.004-07:00

I understand Google's stock is off 36% from its peak of $741.79. But c'mon, the sky is not falling - the stock is still at a whopping $471 per share. It still has a stranglehold on the Internet.

However, the comScore report that BusinessWeek mentions this week is something to really think about if you're an advertiser.

...It found that just 6% of Web surfers account for more than 50% of all clicks on display ads, such as the rectangular banner ads that stretch across the top of many Web pages. In addition, most of these heavy clickers earn less than $40,000 a year, and they account for less than 15% of the actual shopping online.

It is about conversions, not clicks. Is your site up to snuff from a usability standpoint? Is it purposed to make certain actions happen? Are you using effective landing pages? Have you specifically thought, "what do I want a visitor to do when they land on my page, and have I made whatever that thing is excessively easy for them to do?" Simple questions that are often overlooked, but very much need to be addressed if you're going to place ads on Google or Yahoo!.

Read More

Chart from Business Week

K-Swiss realizes sex sells

2008-02-29T13:13:00.003-07:00

AdRants recent post, K-Swiss Makes...Half-Dressed Tennis Hotties That Want Me? is hilarious, but also poignant. Here's a snippet:

K-What? I'm sorry, I know you want me to look at your logo and go visit your website but I just can't take my eyes of that figure of perfection lying on the tennis court as if she's channeling Christina Ricci in Black Snake Moan and wants it...NEEDS it really, really badly!

OK, so we know sex sells. And K-Swiss, as it gets more and more into the pro tennis scene, realizes this obviously. Not to mention, and I say this as a lifelong tennis player and fan, they realize that pro tennis is full of babes. They are the first tennis brand that I know of to blatantly play this angle, and I think its very smart. One, its different - they can't unseat Nike or adidas from the "winning" angle. Two, they realize that they are not simply a tennis brand, they are a lifestyle brand, as can be seen in their other ad campaigns and website. Selling the tennis babes builds a broader base of consumers than just tennis players.

From AdRants

A True Buyer's Market - The Intention Economy hits real estate

2008-02-28T11:38:00.006-07:00

"The Intention Economy grows around buyers, not sellers. It leverages the simple fact that buyers are the first source of money, and that they come ready-made. You don't need advertising to make them.” - Doc Searls

Dutch bank ING has a new program called WoonWaarUWilt ("LiveWhereYouWant"), which launched yesterday. It lets people make an offer on a house they'd love to own but isn't necessarily for sale. Its a partnership with online real estate firm iBlue.

Here's how it works:

Potential buyers fill out an online form on with the home's address and the initial offer.
iBlue contacts the them to discuss whether the offer is reasonable. A mortgage consultant also determines whether the buyers would be able to finance the purchase.
iBlue sends a preliminary offer to the property's current owners, explaining the situation and inquiring whether they'd consider selling.

It is all about giving the homeowners "an offer they can't refuse," to get them thinking about selling their house when its not "on the market." Aside from the financial upside for sellers, the program takes some anxiety out of the process as well.

So, the question is how to facilitate your buyer's intentions? This shift in thinking could change the whole market dynamic in your industry and give you a competitive advantage.

From Springwise

When Viral Video Isn't...

2008-02-27T13:16:00.004-07:00

AdGabber, Steve Hall to be specific, nailed it on his critique of this lame "viral video." Note to overly ambitious, frustrated creatives out there...all video is not viral.

This isn't Hall's first foray into critiquing viral video, my personal favorite is "Giant Fake Boobs? Hmm, Must be a Viral" in which he states what any sane marketer should know, but many don't acknowledge because its easier to think everyone can have viral success,

"A viral is not a viral until it has become a viral. Viral is a result, not an intent. Just because I call something viral does not mean it will become a viral."

Find more videos like this on AdGabber

Read the critique.

Read Giant Fake Boobs?

My name in print! Hypermediate blogger gets letter in Conde Nast Portfolio

2008-02-21T06:10:00.003-07:00

If you're a reader of this blog (all 10 of you), you may have seen the post in December called "Robert Reich Gets It All Wrong." If so, you no doubt know about my feelings towards Reich's article in Portfolio that month.

Well, I did what I have never done, I wrote a letter to the editor. Lo and behold, they chose it. Who would have thunk it? They edited the letter a bit, so my point is a little diluted, unfortunately, but oh well. Here is the link to the letter in this month's Portfolio - and below is what they printed.

Nobody wants big companies to have more power than the government does, but Reich's worldview is fundamentally different from that of most capitalists. He doesn't seem to trust the market to agree with his views, so he calls for government to mandate them. And he fails to mention that for every government mandate placed on a business, there is a direct cost to that business. More costs equal higher prices. That doesn't sound like a consumer-friendly idea to me.

Contrast Reich's article with Roger Lowenstein's review of Daniel de Faro Adamson and Joe Andrew's The Blue Way ["The Wild Blue Yonder of Markets," January]. The book's authors note that companies that back Democrats and populist causes outperform those that do not. They are 100 percent correct.

I mention this because it gives proper credit to the real driver of the economy and the government: the individual. We get what we ask for, on the shelf and in our government. Reich thinks that price is the sole driver of consumer preference and that the people aren't capable of driving social change. Tell that to Toyota as it sells the Prius in high volume. Tell that to Method, whose safer, cleaner, more environmentally sound cleaning products are selling like hotcakes. Tell that to Patagonia, which leads the apparel industry in social causes as well as performance outdoor wear.

Why are these companies successful? Not simply because they are more socially conscious, but because that social consciousness is combined with great design, quality, service, and a reasonable price.

—Robert Wallace, Chandler, Arizona

US Retail E-Commerce Sales Up in 2007

2008-02-21T06:04:00.003-07:00

Despite all the doom and gloom you hear incessantly on TV about the economy, the Department of Commerce has reported that US retail e-commerce sales in 2007 were up 19.0 percent from 2006, while total retail sales were up 4.0 percent in the same period.

Retail e-commerce sales in the fourth quarter of 2007 (adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes) totaled $36.2 billion — an increase of 4.6 percent (±1.8 percent) from the previous quarter.

From MarketingVOX

ad:tech Survey: Best and Worst Online Tactics

2008-02-21T05:58:00.002-07:00

Some highlights from ad:tech's Best & Worst List of 2007:

SEO is gaining in popularity among marketers: 57 percent of those surveyed in 2007 said it outperforms other tactics ("great ROI - outperforms other tactics"), compared with 45 percent in 2006.
Email marketing from house lists, a top tactic of 47 percent of marketers in 2006, was cited by 42 percent in 2007.
Behavioral targeting offers a stronger ROI than contextual targeting, marketers again said - but in greater proportions: 44 percent said so (up 10 percentage points from 2006), while 21 percent cited contextual advertising (down 8 points).
Paid search remains a strong money maker for 34 percent of those surveyed, but that's down from 49 percent in 2006, likely due to increased competition that raised keyword prices and lowered ROI.

What's on the 2008 horizon?

Some 32 percent of marketers cited PPC (i.e., agreed that they plan to increase their budgets for the tactic more than 5 percent).
Strong ROI from behaviorally targeted ads is likely to attract more investment - 27 percent of marketers said they'll increase their spend, compared with 18 percent in 2006.
93 percent said agencies recommended an increase in spending or begin spending on viral video.
87 percent were asked to start or increase viral marketing spend on social networking sites.
60 percent were urged to try, for the first time, wireless ads on mobile networks.
62 percent said agencies advised advertising, for the first time, in games and virtual worlds.

From MarketingVOX

Some truly creative OOH ads

2008-02-18T06:11:00.004-07:00

Check these out. No doubt, these are some of the more creative OOH ads we've seen in a long time. You may have seen some of them in emails that are being passed around.

The big question, however, is whether they get you to think and/or remember what they're selling. You be the judge.

To us, the ones that get you thinking about the product and brand the most are the coffee cups and the ASPE bag. Sadly, in the case of the ASPE bag, what makes for effective advertising may also make for getting yourself shot.

Are young, educated men being hurt by online usage?

2008-02-15T07:56:00.005-07:00

Two interesting demographic articles caught my eye this week.

The first reported that the vast majority of ad clicks are generated by a small percentage of online users, according to a report from comScore, commissioned by ad agency Starcom and AOL's Tacoda. The study finds 80% of online ad clicks are generated by 16% of internet users. And that 16% is skewed toward young men that don't earn much money.

The second is that bloggers are also younger, better-educated, but earn less than the general US adult (18+) population.

Of users that blog occasionally or regularly (26 percent of those polled):

53.7 percent are male.
Nearly half (44.7 percent) are married.
One in 10 (10.4 percent) are students.
28.4 percent hold a professional or managerial position.

Bloggers have a lower average income than most adults ($55,819 vs. $56,811) and are better educated (14.3 years of education vs. 14.2).

They also tend to be younger, with an average age of 37.6, compared with 44.8 for the US adult population:

It would appear that these two groups are likely the same people. Why the lower income? Are they becoming apathetic by being online so long? Are they simply becoming more a part of the online community than the real world and thus making less "real world" income?

Read more at MarketingVOX here and here.