Archive for the ‘Marketing’ Category
Thursday, April 25th, 2013
The skills of great marketers are many, but are primarily rooted in an understanding of consumer or human behavior and all of its complexities. Marketing is a challenging field of endeavor because, while there are certain principles and tenets of practice that are widely accepted, there are also many exceptions that challenge the rules. I’ve been a marketer, I’ve worked with marketers, I’ve hired marketers–both as staff people and as external consultants or vendors. I’ve worked with both effective and not so effective marketers. What does it take to join the ranks of the effective marketers? In my opinion, those who will be most effective in marketing-related positions are those who: (more…)
Tags: effective marketing, Marketing, public relations, raising awareness
Posted in Marketing, Marketing and Branding | No Comments »
Thursday, April 18th, 2013
I was interviewed recently by a reporter with Inc. Magazine about the prevalence and value of outsourcing the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) role. It’s a topic that I definitely have an opinion about–one that may seem to be at cross-purposes with my own self interests. As a marketing communication consultant I’ve actually served in the role of an “outsourced CMO” on a couple of occasions. In one instance, the client was looking for not only my assistance with current marketing efforts, but my recommendations for how they should proceed in the future — should they continue to outsource this function, or should they hire someone to handle their marketing efforts on staff?
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Tags: Chief Marketing Office, CMO, Marketing, marketing communication, outsourcing, staffing
Posted in Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
Last night I showed students in my Advertising Copy & Design class a video that I’ve seen a number of times, now, but that continues to both delight and amaze me. It’s Google’s “Project Re: Brief” which tells the story of four classic advertisements and how their original creators teamed up with today’s new breed of advertising professionals–and some technical experts–to create some truly amazing advertisements. The iconic spots they recreated were: (more…)
Tags: ads, Alka-Seltzer, Avis, CocaCola, iconic, Marketing, Project Re: Brief, Technology, Volvo
Posted in Advertising, Brand management, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Strategic Communications, Technology | No Comments »
Thursday, March 7th, 2013
Despite the fact that the United States Postal Service (USPS) is struggling and about to cut back on their delivery, there are some (including me) that believe that traditional direct mail still holds benefits for both marketers and consumers. In an increasingly cluttered email environment, after all, marketers will be challenged to come up with new ways to “capture eyeballs.” Traditional direct mail may hold some opportunities for a number of reasons: (more…)
Tags: Advertising, direct mail, direct mail marketing, Direct marketing, email marketing, snail mail
Posted in Advertising, Direct marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing communication, Promotions | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 26th, 2013
Marketers often pose questions like: “What are the best practices when marketing to women?” In my opinion, that question is far too broad. Women are not a homogeneous market segment. There are a myriad of variations among them. I was recently asked this question; here’s how I responded: (more…)
Tags: Advertising, audience, copywriting, demographics, Marketing, marketing strategy, marketing to women, segmentation
Posted in Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing communication, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Thursday, February 21st, 2013
In our technology-driven world, the good news for marketers is that lead generation does not have to take a huge investment. Traditional media still have a place, but the Internet and social media make it more cost-effective than ever to raise awareness, generate leads and ultimately create sales.
The process of lead generation is the same as it ever was, but
(more…)
Tags: Advertising, Brand management, branding, Business development, communication tactics, competition, email marketing, Innovation, Marketing, marketing strategy, media relations, pr, public relations, Social Media
Posted in Advertising, Business development, Business Development, Innovation, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing communication, PR and Media Relations, Social Media, Strategic Communications | No Comments »
Monday, February 18th, 2013
Contributed by Rachel Vick
We saw a prime example today of the need for big brand crisis communication. That’s right; Burger King was hacked on Twitter earlier this morning. Nothing like an Internet hacking to threaten a company’s reputation and put them directly in the spotlight!
Burger King’s hackers tweeted around 11:00 am that Burger King had been sold to McDonald’s. Burger King’s Twitter profile was also changed, including the profile photo (which was changed to the McDonald’s logo) and company information, which stated: ”Just got sold to McDonald’s because the whopper flopped.”
The hackers continued to tweet for about an hour with obscene statements and false accusations, such as (more…)
Tags: burger king, crisis, crisis communication, crisis management, hacked, password, plan, Social Media, twitter
Posted in Advertising, Brand management, Business development, Community relations, Customer communication, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Media relations/PR, PR and Media Relations, Promotions, Social Media, Strategy, Web Sites | No Comments »
Tuesday, February 12th, 2013
Can you think of the last time you were engaged in a marketing research project? If you’re like most business people, when you hear that question you’re probably thinking about some long-range, very intensive, data-gathering exercise that involved a lot of time, a lot of money and a lot of data analysis. And, yes, that is research. But we’re guessing that you are engaged in research far more frequently than you realize. Importantly, your research efforts don’t have to be full-blown initiatives that involve extensive quantitative research and analysis. Sometimes, yes–but, often, no. The trick is determining when you need to gather more information. And that comes down to two important steps: (more…)
Tags: competition, data, data analysis, focus groups, marketing research, qualitative research, quantitative research, secondary research, surveys
Posted in Marketing, marketing research, Marketing Research, Strategy | No Comments »
Tuesday, January 29th, 2013
I came across two photos the other day with some ordinary people doing some extraordinary marketing campaigns, and generating phenomenal results via Facebook. (more…)
Tags: benefits, business, campaign, facebook, Marketing, marketing campaign, Social Media
Posted in Advertising, Community relations, Internet marketing, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Research, Media relations/PR, Social Media, Strategic Communications, Strategic Planning, Technology | No Comments »
Friday, January 25th, 2013
“Creativity has been and always will be at the heart of our brands. It fuels our business – with consumers, customers, fans, agencies and partners all over the world,” says Joseph Tripodi, Executive VP, CMO and CCO of The Coca-Cola Company.
Branding Magazine as well as other companies and people around the world consider Coca-Cola as one of the most recognized brands. In addition to ensuring a high quality product and positive consumer experiences across multiple touch points, every year, Coca-Cola spends billions of dollars on creative, hilarious, and inspiring advertisements. Branding, as we’ve discussed extends far beyond the logo and company colors. However, those elements are key in connecting with consumers over time and keeping your name front and center–and recognized!
Coca-Cola’s simple, colorful design, has done just that. It’s proven to be extremely effective in making connections with consumers to market the company, and its products, literally around the world.
So how do you cement your brand in the minds of your market as Coca-Cola has? Follow these three C’s. (more…)
Tags: ad campaign, Advertising, brand consistency, branding, creative, logo, Marketing, online
Posted in Advertising, Brand management, Business development, Marketing, Marketing and Branding, Marketing Research, Promotions, Strategic Communications | 2 Comments »
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