May 1, 2008

I've thought of myself as a writer since I was a little kid. I can get absolutely enthralled with how words sound in certain combinations and how they wrap around ideas and bring them to life. But today, I fear for them. Because I think we are wearing them out.

March 20, 2008

Promises of empowerment, lofty goals of collaboration, and heartfelt expressions that recognize the true value of human initiative. Toss them all into a blender and you have a confusion smoothie. And maybe a mission statement.

February 28, 2008

I was at lunch with a peer and friend the other day, telling her a story about how a mutual acquaintance had called me out of the blue to ask for some marketing counsel, which of course I gave her. My lunch companion said, "I hope you charged her." Gulp.

December 24, 2007

Twitter is often lambasted as a frivolous application that is jam-packed with useless information like what I had for dinner. Just like any conversation between friends, the many overflowing micro-conversations contain both the mundane and the truly profound. The mundane is entertaining, but the profound has the capacity to change lives. Such is the story of the Frozen Pea Fund.

December 13, 2007

Tis the season. (Be it Christmas, Hanukkah, or Kwanzaa. Or any combination thereof!) The gifts have started to arrive: Popcorn tins, fruit baskets, chocolates and more. And at my agency, we’re getting ready to deliver our holiday cheer to clients and special business partners as well.

November 1, 2007

I recently received an e-mail from one of my Marketing Minute readers. I think the honest fear he expressed is one that most of us had entertained more than once. With his permission, I'd like to share it with you and get your thoughts.

September 18, 2007

Here's how it plays out in many companies, state agencies and other entities today. The would-be client sends out a confusing, ambiguous document that suggests that they might be open to working with an outside vendor. They ask you to answer 328 questions and you must number them in the A1, A2, B1, B1.4 order, according to appendix 1.8.

August 28, 2007

The IBM Institute for Business Value recently released the results of their survey of more than 2,400 households in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan and Australia. The survey covered global usage and adoption of new multimedia devices and media and entertainment consumption on PCs, mobile phones, portable media players and more.

August 8, 2007

We have all seen companies that are constantly pushing to re-invent themselves based on what the competition is doing, or who spend too much time benchmarking their own efforts. Over at Harvard Business Online, Erich Joachimsthaler suggests that if the companies expended their resources studying the consumer rather than themselves and their competition, they would move from just a competitive advantage to a customer advantage.

July 25, 2007

Talk about a 180-degree shift. A month ago, I wrote about a company that was bypassing their agency and instead, holding a contest so consumers could compete to name their new product. But apparently, those same Average Joes and Janes who are more than qualified to create the name for the over-the-counter supplement are not capable of naming their own children.

June 28, 2007

Scenario: Your client is a large retailer, Cooper's Pharmacopia. Among their customer group, they are very well known and established. They have done a good job of consistently branding themselves. Both their logo and tagline achieve high marks on recall research. They are the market leader.

June 21, 2007

The Super Bowl seemed like the national debut of the notion that agencies don't have all the smarts and you might just get a good idea by running a contest and letting Mr. or Mrs. Consumer craft your Doritos message. Well, here comes the next wave.

June 7, 2007

Welcome to guerrilla marketing meets social media. For less than $30, you can create a marketing tool that automates permission-based text messaging. All from a t-shirt.

May 24, 2007

As spring rolled around, I started getting bombarded by resumes as college seniors figured out that pretty soon they'd need a real job. Every year I sadly shake my head at the typos, misspelling of my name and cookie cutter cover letters. So I did what any self-respecting agency owner would do - I blogged about it!

May 21, 2007

When I say Nike, you say...? When I Avis, you say...? When I say Pork, you say...? Was your last answer, "Don't be blah?" If not, I'm sorry... but you got it wrong.

May 10, 2007

I have never once had a client come to me and say, "My doctor thinks I sprained my ankle, what do you think?" Good thing, I'm not a medical expert.