What is in a connection?
Like James Burke's show "Connections" from the late 70's on the BBC, Chris Linnet over on Search Engine Land also outlines the linkage between two disparate events. This time it is the launch of Sputnik in 1957 and today's ability to search for local options, like pizza.
Seems people really like connections, linkage, etc. -- something marketers should consider as part of branding. In fact, Hill and Lederer propose this notion in their 'brand molecule' approach where a product is part of an overall network of connections, some explicit some not.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Campaign Dips
What are the benefits of slogging through the tough patch?
In both Seth Godin's new book, "The Dip", and Chris Matthews' "Life's a Campaign" the central concept is about sticking with your dream/goal/objective and overcoming the hurdles thrown in your face; including the fact that most things take seriously hard work to achieve. The "Dip" argues that there is a trough between the beginning of something and a successful final outcome; "Campaign" argues that nobody wants a level playing field, no matter what they say. So, when launching a new campaign or product there is a very natural tendency for the world to conspire against you.
Sometimes it is worth the effort to persevere, sometimes it isn't.
"Superstars" know when they're in a dead end; they quit, move on and don't take it personally. Marketers should do the same.
In both Seth Godin's new book, "The Dip", and Chris Matthews' "Life's a Campaign" the central concept is about sticking with your dream/goal/objective and overcoming the hurdles thrown in your face; including the fact that most things take seriously hard work to achieve. The "Dip" argues that there is a trough between the beginning of something and a successful final outcome; "Campaign" argues that nobody wants a level playing field, no matter what they say. So, when launching a new campaign or product there is a very natural tendency for the world to conspire against you.
Sometimes it is worth the effort to persevere, sometimes it isn't.
"Superstars" know when they're in a dead end; they quit, move on and don't take it personally. Marketers should do the same.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Internet History and Web 2.0
How did we get to here?
In a recent article published in Chief Marketer, I argue that a fundamental issue with the Internet is that it was and remains a collection of destinations. Born out of the need to connect computers in the event of disaster, we're still leveraging destinations as a core marketing concept. So every new idea is yet another place to go. - just try to come up with a unique domain.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to go anywhere new anymore. Like any and all forms of advertising before it, the concept of a hot new website will diminish.
In a recent article published in Chief Marketer, I argue that a fundamental issue with the Internet is that it was and remains a collection of destinations. Born out of the need to connect computers in the event of disaster, we're still leveraging destinations as a core marketing concept. So every new idea is yet another place to go. - just try to come up with a unique domain.
I don't know about you, but I don't want to go anywhere new anymore. Like any and all forms of advertising before it, the concept of a hot new website will diminish.
DMA - Buzzless Again, But Steady
What was new at the DMA?
Last year I wrote that the annual conference was a bit flat. This year was more of the same, but maybe that's the way it should be -- we're just working hard o achieve our clients' objectives. The best practices of 'being direct' are crossing the chasm with other forms of marketing. In a note on spending, "DM will make up more than half of all US advertising."
Another sign of the times, the interactive pavilion was integrated into the main area -- no more trudging underground to a place far, far away. More importantly the concept of integrated campaigns started to make sense to vendors from all walks of life.
Last year I wrote that the annual conference was a bit flat. This year was more of the same, but maybe that's the way it should be -- we're just working hard o achieve our clients' objectives. The best practices of 'being direct' are crossing the chasm with other forms of marketing. In a note on spending, "DM will make up more than half of all US advertising."
Another sign of the times, the interactive pavilion was integrated into the main area -- no more trudging underground to a place far, far away. More importantly the concept of integrated campaigns started to make sense to vendors from all walks of life.
Monday, October 08, 2007
Goldilocks and Article Length
What is the right length for content?
Readers' attention span varies by medium - print, online and blogs. Emailing with Tim Parry of Chief Marketer about an upcoming article we discussed a submission that was "WAY too long for the Web." This got us thinking about the 'ideal length'.
Here are my PowerPoints:
Readers' attention span varies by medium - print, online and blogs. Emailing with Tim Parry of Chief Marketer about an upcoming article we discussed a submission that was "WAY too long for the Web." This got us thinking about the 'ideal length'.
Here are my PowerPoints:
- Blogs -- 100 words or less and focus on one point.
- Online articles -- 600 to 800 words to communicate a single idea with support
- Printed articles -- 1,200- 1,500 words to develop and explore a concept
Monday, October 01, 2007
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Management Summary
Where are the cliff notes for management?
You've heard people quote this strategy, method, or theory - Porter's Five Forces, BCG Matrix, Balanced Scorecards, etc. -- and want to know what the hell they're talking about.
For an excellent summary of hundreds of approaches to management the 12Manage site provides 1 page summaries organized in a spectrum of categories. Well worth a visit.
So the next time a consultant or job applicant spouts off "I'm a proponent of using Ohmae's 3C's Model tempered by Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism to develop a profitable CRM strategy" -- you can call their bluff.
You've heard people quote this strategy, method, or theory - Porter's Five Forces, BCG Matrix, Balanced Scorecards, etc. -- and want to know what the hell they're talking about.
For an excellent summary of hundreds of approaches to management the 12Manage site provides 1 page summaries organized in a spectrum of categories. Well worth a visit.
So the next time a consultant or job applicant spouts off "I'm a proponent of using Ohmae's 3C's Model tempered by Kapferer's Brand Identity Prism to develop a profitable CRM strategy" -- you can call their bluff.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
New Visualization Element Discovered
How many ways can we look at data?
The folks at Visual Literacy summarized a wide range of visualization techniques in a periodic table format. It organizes approaches into data, information, concept, strategy, metaphor, and compound visualization. It covers 100 techniques ranging from the bar chart to the affinity diagram.
I submitted the data cloud (see previous post from August 02) for submission; might have a "discovered" a new way of presenting information.
The folks at Visual Literacy summarized a wide range of visualization techniques in a periodic table format. It organizes approaches into data, information, concept, strategy, metaphor, and compound visualization. It covers 100 techniques ranging from the bar chart to the affinity diagram.
I submitted the data cloud (see previous post from August 02) for submission; might have a "discovered" a new way of presenting information.
Campaigning is Not Marketing
Just what do they think they are doing?
The coming onslaught of commercials, billboards, radio spots, banners, search jacking, etc. focuses on the immediate and short term world of getting a vote. It might be called advertising, PR, bullying, or just plain silly --- but it is not marketing.
Marketing takes (well it should) the long term view of what need needs to be satisfied. In the world of products, and what politician isn't a product at the end of the day, the prevailing wisdom is to focus the needs of a single user defined by a persona. This is our target market - nothing more - and the features align specifically to her. The trouble with the political and election process is that there fundamentally isn't any way to focus on the needs of one segment and still win an election. This flaw creates wish washing, flip-flopping, and some of the best sound bytes that don't really say much.
In marketing we should be able to clearly articulate a benefit statement -- politicians work hard to avoid that in fear of alienating some other group. No wonder they often fail in satisfying our needs.
The coming onslaught of commercials, billboards, radio spots, banners, search jacking, etc. focuses on the immediate and short term world of getting a vote. It might be called advertising, PR, bullying, or just plain silly --- but it is not marketing.
Marketing takes (well it should) the long term view of what need needs to be satisfied. In the world of products, and what politician isn't a product at the end of the day, the prevailing wisdom is to focus the needs of a single user defined by a persona. This is our target market - nothing more - and the features align specifically to her. The trouble with the political and election process is that there fundamentally isn't any way to focus on the needs of one segment and still win an election. This flaw creates wish washing, flip-flopping, and some of the best sound bytes that don't really say much.
In marketing we should be able to clearly articulate a benefit statement -- politicians work hard to avoid that in fear of alienating some other group. No wonder they often fail in satisfying our needs.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Fast Tracking Startups
How fast can a company be created?
A weekend appears to the be answer. An interesting approach is being taken by Startup Weekend. Invite people (over 50 showed up), give them an idea (poll your friends via phone), put them in a space for a weekend and see what happens.
For an interesting read on what comes out and how it is progressing check out the first idea --http://www.vosnap.com/. While not fully formed yet, it is interesting to watch.
A weekend appears to the be answer. An interesting approach is being taken by Startup Weekend. Invite people (over 50 showed up), give them an idea (poll your friends via phone), put them in a space for a weekend and see what happens.
For an interesting read on what comes out and how it is progressing check out the first idea --http://www.vosnap.com/. While not fully formed yet, it is interesting to watch.
Friday, June 08, 2007
Clouds Aren't Just for Web 2.0
Can we treat old dogs new tricks?
The use of clouds to display information isn't just for tags and search terms. They are a useful metaphor for any repeated data. Typically a cloud represents the relative number of times a term is repeated by changing the size of the font -- think search or tagging. They become even more interesting when the color is used to measure another metric.
Here's an example of using clouds for lead generation based on TV.
The font size measures the frequency of airing spots and the red indicates the lead volume for that spot.
We can quickly see that the distribution of ads in the media plan is relatively flat (all similar sizes) but certain programs generate better lead flow.
Thursday, June 07, 2007
The New Sticky Note
Where is text marketing valuable?
It seems that an under-appreciated value of text messaging from a marketing perspective is the ability to provide the consumer with a sticky note. Texting becomes the analog to jotting things down. Too often I see billboards with a long URL that I never remember or I'm in places where doing something else is not going to happen (like being in a theatre) and need a means to capture information.
The use of a short code to retrieve a reminder (phone number, URL, event, location) is an interesting approach.
It seems that an under-appreciated value of text messaging from a marketing perspective is the ability to provide the consumer with a sticky note. Texting becomes the analog to jotting things down. Too often I see billboards with a long URL that I never remember or I'm in places where doing something else is not going to happen (like being in a theatre) and need a means to capture information.
The use of a short code to retrieve a reminder (phone number, URL, event, location) is an interesting approach.
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
I Don't Know Much
Why is there so much to learn?
I spend part of the rainy weekend catching up on newsletters, articles, and other general reading in the areas where I'm supposed to know a thing or two. Usually reading one or two emails a day gives me a glimpse into what others are thinking.
But running through 200+ in one sitting left me a) breathless, b) curious, and c) just a little dejected. There is simply too much going on at break-neck speed to ever hope to be 'on top of it'. Maybe this is why blogging, newsletters, feeds and other forms of communicating are becoming so much more important.
Now, to figure out the wheat and chaff.
I spend part of the rainy weekend catching up on newsletters, articles, and other general reading in the areas where I'm supposed to know a thing or two. Usually reading one or two emails a day gives me a glimpse into what others are thinking.
But running through 200+ in one sitting left me a) breathless, b) curious, and c) just a little dejected. There is simply too much going on at break-neck speed to ever hope to be 'on top of it'. Maybe this is why blogging, newsletters, feeds and other forms of communicating are becoming so much more important.
Now, to figure out the wheat and chaff.
Yahoo Widgets
Where's the beef?
Yahoo Widgets is a collection of functionality that are smaller than applications (applets??) and bigger than a snippet. There are thousands of them, kind of like tribbles, and I played around with the pretty little doodads over the weekend. On the one hand there are some very clever and elegant tools out there but as of today I don't see the killer application.
Not to mention installing them changed the behavior of my computer -- definitely not cool.
Worth checking out and following.
Yahoo Widgets is a collection of functionality that are smaller than applications (applets??) and bigger than a snippet. There are thousands of them, kind of like tribbles, and I played around with the pretty little doodads over the weekend. On the one hand there are some very clever and elegant tools out there but as of today I don't see the killer application.
Not to mention installing them changed the behavior of my computer -- definitely not cool.
Worth checking out and following.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Innovation on Gilligan's Island
Why did the Professor and Gilligan succeed?
In a recent article Michael Megalli uses the analogy of Gilligan's Island to show the balance required between marketing and engineering to create innovative solutions.
The struggle to leverage both process and gut-feel is not just an issue with individuals but rather one of corporate culture since organizations take on the persona of their leaders. The risky part of all of this is that both points of view, while valid in certain times, are internal and lack the focus of understanding precisely what the customer needs done.
Who made a better customer: Mary Ann, Ginger or the Howells?
The referenced Booz, Allen, Hamilton report on global innovation can be found here.
In a recent article Michael Megalli uses the analogy of Gilligan's Island to show the balance required between marketing and engineering to create innovative solutions.
The struggle to leverage both process and gut-feel is not just an issue with individuals but rather one of corporate culture since organizations take on the persona of their leaders. The risky part of all of this is that both points of view, while valid in certain times, are internal and lack the focus of understanding precisely what the customer needs done.
Who made a better customer: Mary Ann, Ginger or the Howells?
The referenced Booz, Allen, Hamilton report on global innovation can be found here.
Monday, May 21, 2007
Viral Marketing
Do viruses have sensibility (or branding rules)?
The debate over what makes a campaign interesting often ends up on those topics that restrict its spreading, not those that might accelerate it. For a campaign to sustain momentum the number of people reached in each succeeding generation must exceed the number who drop out.
In consumer packaged goods we might be concerned about repeat rate where successful products often have 'only' 40-50% of year-one buyers repeating the second year. Significant marketing effort is spent to both prime the pump with new buyers as well as limit the decay function.
Viruses kill their hosts. As a marketer I'm more interesting in keeping my customers alive and giving them the ability to leverage the message.
PowerPoints:
1. Marketing campaigns must be seen as beneficial by the host.
2. The message must reflect the host's point of view and reinforce their image among friends.
3. Control is a four letter word.
The debate over what makes a campaign interesting often ends up on those topics that restrict its spreading, not those that might accelerate it. For a campaign to sustain momentum the number of people reached in each succeeding generation must exceed the number who drop out.
In consumer packaged goods we might be concerned about repeat rate where successful products often have 'only' 40-50% of year-one buyers repeating the second year. Significant marketing effort is spent to both prime the pump with new buyers as well as limit the decay function.
Viruses kill their hosts. As a marketer I'm more interesting in keeping my customers alive and giving them the ability to leverage the message.
PowerPoints:
1. Marketing campaigns must be seen as beneficial by the host.
2. The message must reflect the host's point of view and reinforce their image among friends.
3. Control is a four letter word.
Monday, May 14, 2007
Lost in Transposition
Why don't these numbers add up?
The recent issue of Revenue Magazine has an article on fund raising for presidential elections. A number of the stats come from the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet. www.ipdi.org.
One slightly confusing table in both sources is the breakdown of online vs. offline donations, by amount, by age group. So, we have three sources of information but only two are shown in the chart.
Were 87% of the <$100 donors under 35? Nope.
Did 87% of the 18-34 crowd give <$100. Nope.
Of those who gave less than $100 and were between 18 and 34, 87% donated online.
The communication of information on the web has about 2.0 seconds to register. This example takes to long to register and runs the risk of being misquoted.
The recent issue of Revenue Magazine has an article on fund raising for presidential elections. A number of the stats come from the Institute for Politics, Democracy and the Internet. www.ipdi.org.
One slightly confusing table in both sources is the breakdown of online vs. offline donations, by amount, by age group. So, we have three sources of information but only two are shown in the chart.
Were 87% of the <$100 donors under 35? Nope.
Did 87% of the 18-34 crowd give <$100. Nope.
Of those who gave less than $100 and were between 18 and 34, 87% donated online.
The communication of information on the web has about 2.0 seconds to register. This example takes to long to register and runs the risk of being misquoted.
Aggitation 2.0
Where do I find what others are thinking?
There's an interesting collection of blogs on the impact of participation on what it means to be in the 'media' arena. The Media 2.0 Workgroup highlights general commentary as well as specific aspects like PR/Marketing, Tools, Content, Social Media, and Analytics.
They're looking for additional insight.
There's an interesting collection of blogs on the impact of participation on what it means to be in the 'media' arena. The Media 2.0 Workgroup highlights general commentary as well as specific aspects like PR/Marketing, Tools, Content, Social Media, and Analytics.
They're looking for additional insight.
Thursday, May 03, 2007
Marketing Defined
Should 'testing' be part of the vocabulary?
Marketing Experiments' recent article on email copy and the book "Selling Blue Elephants" both loosely define marketing as testing.
Marketing's creative mandate to change the status quo has always involved experimenting and sometimes even taking a flier but more recently that concept needs to be backed up with a show me the money attitude.
The article covers a variety issues around email copy ranging from format to natural vs. artificial offers.
For those with a market research background, the book covers the use of 'conjoint analysis' as a discipline for concept testing. Basically, let technology do all the heavy lifting around which combinations of ideas to test and how they perform together. There are lots of examples across all kinds of industries and marketing issues; like magazine layout, package design and politics. Although the term "RDE" (Rule Developing Experimentation) didn't quite sit well with me.
Marketing Experiments' recent article on email copy and the book "Selling Blue Elephants" both loosely define marketing as testing.
Marketing's creative mandate to change the status quo has always involved experimenting and sometimes even taking a flier but more recently that concept needs to be backed up with a show me the money attitude.
The article covers a variety issues around email copy ranging from format to natural vs. artificial offers.
For those with a market research background, the book covers the use of 'conjoint analysis' as a discipline for concept testing. Basically, let technology do all the heavy lifting around which combinations of ideas to test and how they perform together. There are lots of examples across all kinds of industries and marketing issues; like magazine layout, package design and politics. Although the term "RDE" (Rule Developing Experimentation) didn't quite sit well with me.
Saturday, April 28, 2007
Spreading the News: Evangelism
What's worth reading?
While John Mayer might be "Waiting on the world to change" Guy Kawasaki writes on "How to change the world." Nice set of interviews and 10 questions with .... series.
While John Mayer might be "Waiting on the world to change" Guy Kawasaki writes on "How to change the world." Nice set of interviews and 10 questions with .... series.
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