Today is the first business day of our Web site’s new look. This change isn’t just cosmetic. Instead, it highlights and incorporates the many valuable components that now make up MarketingProfs.
A little historical background: MarketingProfs was born in June of 2000, when USC professor Allen Weiss thought that the two camps of marketing professionals and marketing professors might have a lot to learn from each other. Initially, Allen published a simple Web site that was refreshed every few weeks with a handful of articles. Eventually, he launched MarketingProfs Today, which remains our flagship weekly newsletter. (The first issue is here.)
Today, MarketingProfs provides marketing know-how through its various newsletters, templates, guides, online seminars, case studies and conferences. It also provides platforms for learning and discussion through this blog, the Daily Fix, and its forum, the Know-How Exchange. You can see all of our various products and services, as well as a happy photo of the MP team on the lawn of the Upham Hotel in Santa Barbara, here.
But one thing definitely hasn’t changed: MarketingProfs continues to bridge the gap between theory and business practice, publishing some of the best thinking in the industry–to the benefit of all marketing practitioners. In fact, more than 278,000 marketers now rely on MarketingProfs to cut through the clutter to bring them the best content from the sharpest minds in marketing.
That “cutting through the clutter” bit is partly why we chose a bird–specifically, a blue jay–as our logo. Birds have many characteristics that we think align with MarketingProfs on a metaphorical, if not actual, level: rising early and getting the worm first, flocking together in a community, and maintaining views at both a 50,000-thousand-foot and ground level. But Jays also have a way of making their presence known–of cutting through the clutter, so to speak, and making themselves central to the action.
So take a look around the new MarketingProfs and please let us know what you think. BTW, this is a beta version of the site–so more changes are to come over the coming weeks and months.
P.S.: A lot of hands went into creating and implementing this new site–but a special shout out to CTO Aaron Lorentz and Membership Marketing Director Sharon Hudson, without whom none of this would be in place today. Thanks, guys!
Tags: MarketingProfs, redesign, web_site
Ann,
Looks great! Thank you for delivering MarketingProfs to my door everyday. It always is read cover to cover, and it always inspires fresh thinking. The photo is fabulous, by the way.
GREAT JOB…THE SITE NOW DEFINITELY PRACTICES WHAT MARKETINGPROFS TEACHES ABOUT WEB DESIGN, MARKETING AND CONTENT.
EXCELLENT!!!
Excellent! Now it’s a lot easier to understand the scope of services. And i like the little bird.
I love it, very clean and functional look. And it seems like only a couple of months ago that MP passed 200,000 subscribers to its newsletter, so the growth is obvious. Great job everyone!
Very nice!
Just a suggestion – you may want to move the email signup links above the fold, especially if growing your lists are a priority (distinguished from the search box though, natch).
What the new site desperately needs is a sorting system for a user’s saved articles.
This is a must!
I’m thinking a labeling system similar to Gmail’s or a tag system similar to Delicious.
The new look is good but we also need better functionality. It becomes tedious looking at a list of hundreds of articles in small 8 point type.
Congratulations on the new look. And thanks for all the great thought-provoking content.
Looks great, Ann. Congrats to the MP team.
Great stuff. Looks excellent!
Great new look to a very useful and inspiring sit. Thanks for keeping it full of ideas and fresh content.
Ann, congrats on the new look. It’s well organized and cleaner and I like the little birdie!!!
Kudos to you and the team.
Thanks for the kudos, all, along with the suggestions. This is the beta version of our new site, so hopefully you’ll be seeing new and better changes to come!
The site looks great, and y’all look happy in the photo, though I’m not sure there is enough “cacophony” given the co. is based in the most diverse state of our great Republic. However, I’m sure your team is “earnest, talented, and somewhat eccentric.”
Nice clear, clean look. And the bird is a happy, bright image. You should have a contest to name it someday. And, tho this ain’t new, I love the counter in bold red at the top telling me how many days I have before my subscription expires.
Love the new look – clean, easy and eye catching. the bluejay is a great choice!
I seldomly visit the site because it takes so long to load, but that is definitely changing now. Everything works much smoother and quicker!
I appreciate the hard work that goes into re-desiging a site. Congratulations!
This may exist and I simply can’t find it, but I would love to see a sorting tool based on method of download for your online seminars.
I often can’t listen live, but would like to download the seminars to my MP3 player for my walk home. Not all are downloadable as MP3s, so a way to sort via download format would save opening each seminar file to see if it is MP3 compatible.
Many thanks and keep up the great work!
WOW! Your new site is very intelligently designed and simple to navigate. All the things that I did not like about the previous site are gone. Your key content areas are more obvious and far easier to find.
Visually, the site is simple yet appealing. And you’ve added some great new features.
I would expect no less from an organization that focuses on gathering and publishing content from some of the best theorists and practitioners in the Marketing profession.
Marketingprofs.com has been an invaluable resource for me and my employees over the past few years.
Thanks for giving us “the bird”….I think.
Great look!
Long time fan. I have to say, honestly, I’m not impressed. The logo looks amauterish and doesn’t convey business or marketing, especially the blue jay. Blue looks ok, and seems a bit more organized, but pretty disappointed.
Rich
Love the new look which came as a bit of a surprise when I did my regular Tuesday morning scan of the site to see what’s new.
I always learn something new at MarketingProfs.
Keep up the good work.
Love the new site. Simplicity always wins and you’ve achieved it. The design is clean and simple and feels friendly. Fantastic!
I loooove marketingprofs.com That’s all I have to say:)
Excellent redesign. Much cleaner and great use of white space! Makes it much more inviting and easier on the eyes.
Your newly designed site is user friendly. Simple, clean and easy to navigate. I also love the fact Marketing Profs continues to expand its offerings to its subscribers and visitors. Keep up the great work!
Very nice! Simple and clean.
Ann, I believe you and the team have engineered a very effective website makeover. I have read the comments about the look being a bit “amateurish”, but I do not agree. The bird in the logo reminds me to lighten up, which is a strategy that will keep us all healthier longer. Thank you for what you do!
I love it! Thanks very much for all of your marvelous and inspiring work!
Change is inevitable. By changing, i believe you have catered for the continual change in the market place which also makes the page to be currently relevant. you are highly complimented
I’m a big fan of MarketingProfs. The e-newsletter, especially, is an incredible resource and one I look forward to each week.
Overall, great job with the redesign; it’s fresh, clean, and clear.
While I don’t love the new logo–the blue jay just doesn’t say business or marketing, to me–I’m here for the content, which continues to be excellent.
Keep up the good work.
Thanks to all for your feedback about our re-designed site. It’s gratifying to read your positive response and it’s instructive to have your suggestions for improvements.
We especially look forward to conversations about our new Blue Jay symbol and what the bird means for marketing and the promise of MarketingProfs.
I love the new look and flow of information.
The redesign is effective in showcasing the great resources you offer.
Note to Colleen: Every seminar we’ve produced since November 2005 should have an MP3 recording available. You may not see MP3s for the most recent broadcasts right away, however, because they take a little while to produce.
My favorite improvement to the seminar pages is the five-star rating! Those are based on how many participants said they would recommend that seminar to a colleague.
Hi Ann,
The look is good….the content, as always is better….
by the way, we’ve just celebrated our first 12 months at our new blog…now 60% of readers are from the US and Europe!!!
have a look at
http://strategicmarketingoutsourcing.wordpress.com
cheers!
Pete Jeans
CEO
SMO Sydney
Australia
Just the right combination – an uncluttered look but overflowing with quality information. Perfect.
Congrats for the cute and sleek look.the site looks much lighter and trim and the heaviness of the past has gone.
I have a suggestion.many members provide Taglines,captions on a daily basis.Why dont you give some token memento for members whose answers are most accepted.The memento can have the logo of marketingprofs.It will be a motivation to the active members.It will be a good PR exercise.Regards
Ann! Like the new look.
Keep up the good work here guys.
cheers
The new look is nice and clean. However, the images used overpower the text. It takes some time to figure out what is located where.
The search option seems to search the whole Internet (using Google) and not the Marketing Profs site…..a pity.
Not sure about the twittering bird as an image for “Smart Thinking. Pass it on”
All in all, I love receiving the Marketing Profs newsletter. It’s a great source for all marketing professionals.
Debra De-Jong
Unexpected step with an expected attitude…expected looking and information flow…
Thank you all..
The idea of the blue jay is excellent.
Note to Debra: We are using a Google Mini device we installed on our servers that searches only the MarketingProfs site..it is totally unrelated to searching all of Google. Thanks for the comments.
Roy, you asked for input on the Blue Jay and the link with Marketing and the MarketingProfs value proposition. Well, like Greg back there is it difficult to make the connection without reading you guys notes on why you chose this simbol. Understand the logic but it is not clear, does not convey a straight connection with business ou Marketing. Like the blue, like the new features and the rearranged looks. But, as someone says, the content and the forum and the blog is working and is great so lets move on. Maybe the bird will opens the wings and fly away while we read an article (just kidding, Roy).
Please keep up with the great work. Congrats to all the team. Miguel
Hi R. Miguel and Greg,
Thanks for the helpful comments. I’ve been thinking your comments about our image (the bird) and some people questioning its relevance to marketing and business. I think Ann (our Chief Content Officer) did a great job explaining our decision, but here is a possibly interesting thing to think about. What relevance does a Penguin have to Linux as an operating system? What relevance does a cow have to computers, like Gateway. In fact, before Apple engaged in a tremendous ad campaign a long time ago, what relevance does an apple have for computers? The key idea, it seems to me, is to choose an image that people like and tell a story that bridges the whole concept together. At least, that’s my opinion.
Allen
Hi, Allen. As always good to have you on that side. Look, you are absolutely right and the examples you just gave are great images for businesses that have innovated in the sense that they were not deeply concerned by a classic “standard” close relation between the graphic design and the industry or the service they were providing.
Apple is a great example. Comments from Apple´s president on the most famous logo–the rainbow Apple: “One of the deep mysteries to me is our logo, the symbol of lust and knowledge, bitten into, all crossed with colors of the rainbow in the wrong order. You couldn’t dream of a more appropriate logo: lust, knowledge, hope, and anarchy.”
It says it all and has great justification, even if apples do not connect with tech. It is one of the most recognizable logos all over the world (I love Apple).
Allen, MarketingProfs´s value comes from the people promoting content (keep it coming, Ann…) and from the fact that this is a great network and a great group of people, I happen to now some that contribute directly to it. This is the biggest value proposition of MktProfs.So… let´s hear the bird sing the Marketing toon, folks.
Talk soon. Miguel
Love the new look! Topic heads now pop and format allows the eye to follow text easily. Content is great, as always.
Great job and keep the information coming!
The site redesign is great … much cleaner looking and easier to navigate. I was already a fan of your content but thought the site was cluttered and a little overwhelming; this is a vast improvement! Thanks!
While the design looks great, clogging my email with duplicate mailings each issue is a problem since the first week in June. The design could be horrible, but I’m a “captive” (interested) reader. However, I find myself ignoring multiple identical emails. Too spammy . . . .
;-{( DB
Hi, Nick. It sounds like you might have signed up on our site with more than one email address. (That happens more often than you’d think.) Contact Penny at support@marketingprofs.com and she can help you figure things out.
Your new bird logo invokes an image of the phrase, “a little birdy told me”. That seems to fit right in with this community Marketing Profs has created. It also lends itself to WOMM and Marketing in general. Awesome Choice!!
Your new bird logo invokes an image of the phrase, “a little birdy told me”. That seems to fit right in with this community Marketing Profs has created. It also lends itself to WOMM and Marketing in general. Awesome Choice!!