I remember a time when I slogged through developing a marketing plan that looked rather like a grid. It had sections, objectives, columns for deadlines. It was parsed out into separate pieces – PR, branding, internal communications, client services, business development. Each piece, if you will,…
Archive for December, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Social Media Is Not a Plug-In
Continue reading "Social Media Is Not a Plug-In"
How to Create Your Own Personal Brand
As the economy twists and turns with more layoffs mounting …. having a strong personal brand is becoming ever more important from a career perspective.
But what does that mean? Do you launch a blog? Do you start a Twitter account? Do you launch your own Vlog? Or maybe some combination of all o…
Friday, December 12, 2008
Can Your Brand Afford To Discount?
During a time when customers are asking themselves, “Do I need to spend this much on that?” Companies, across the board, are turning to discounting attract customer traffic. While it seems discounting has become a pre-requisite to drive sales this Christmas season, I can’t help but wonder long term…
Inspiration from the Factory Floor
Every holiday there emerges that one special story, so I hope you’ll pardon me for deviating from my marketing beat. This year the tale is not the stuff of Christmas miracles, but about 200 guys who, through fighting to be treated fairly, have inspired an entire nation.
If you’ve not been followin…
Thursday, December 11, 2008
The Role of Messy in Social Media
Everyone seems to be talking about “social media” these days. With an endless stream of new tools being launched every day, it is easy to focus on the services and ignore the “social” part of “social media.” After all, who creates a project plan for conducting a casual coffee chat with a couple of…
Is Some of Nike’s Current Success Due to Its ‘Running’ Social Network?
So how could Nike take its 48% share of all the running shoe business in the U.S. in 2006 and grow that business? The company’s marketers may have found the answer in its Nikeplus social marketing site.
Analysts debate whether or not the site is directly responsible for Nike’s current 61% share of…
A Silver Lining for B2B Marketers
In facing today’s turbulent times, it can be trying for even the most optimistic marketer. To somewhat restore a sense of balance, today’s post shines the spotlight on some positive developments in B2B marketing’s use of online media.
After reviewing the results of our recent survey of B2B market…
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
What Does Your Customer Look Like?
When I left the military and enrolled at the University of Florida Journalism School, I did so because the college had a reputation for teaching students how to write. Here was the school’s mantra: Don’t tell, show. Draw a picture for your readers. Thirty-plus years later, I believe that mantra…
Our New ‘About Us’ Page
On a company web site, the ‘About Us’ page can be a tricky thing. You need one, Jakob Nielsen says, because effectively explaining the company’s purpose and what it stands for “provides essential support for all other website goals.” Ah yes– but explaining it in a compelling and interesting…
CMO of the Future
The CMO title barely existed 15 years ago but it is already undergoing a significant transformation. There are some major shifts in landscape in which they operate: changes in Technology, Consumer Behavior and the Media Landscape. In a recent research report entitled Future Tense: the Global CMO…
