All in all, I’d say about 92.5% of business bloggers out there have woefully inadequate answers to this question.  And thank god because it means I can command lots and lots of money just to answer that question for them.
But, being that it’s coming up on the holiday season and I’m feeling all we-are-the-world, I’m […]

For those of you who haven’t heard about the recent Motrin Mommy Mess, here’s a little background:  Motrin put out an ad about baby-sling wearing moms, then much to their shock and awe the exact community they were trying to court lashed out like your own mom would have if you had, say, put the […]

The blog is the “it” thing for the modern business. It’s a PR factory, advertising agency, newsletter and recruiting tool all rolled into one. If you don’t have one, then you may as well be sporting feathered hair and leg-warmers.
But, just because you have a business blog, doesn’t mean you know how to use it.  […]

Today I was talking with a client about the misguided marketing of a local lawyer who tries to get clients by  dressing up in a fedora and trench coat, as if he’s some kind of special agent attorney.
In response my client suggested that maybe the strategy was effective because at least I remembered it.
This, my […]

The New York Times recently had a great article on the role of WOM in political campaigns.
Here’s the article: Loose Lips Win Elections
And here are some highlights:
“Public trust in all kinds of communication is eroding, with a notable exception: word of mouth. A Roper poll found the number of people who said they get […]

Some of you may recall a post I wrote a while back on this very same subject. Well, here’s more evidence that the marketer’s dream of mind control is alive and twitching.
Introducing the mutant love-child of Neuroscience and Marketing: Neuromarketing. (bet you didn’t see that coming).
Evidently the whole Creativity thing didn’t pan out as […]

There was a time when marketing was actually pretty simple.
Step 1 : Pay some talented folks to create your brand — you know, all those pretty words and pictures that “capture the essence” of your business.
Step 2: Beat that brand into the public mind by any means necessary.
In the olden days that strategy actually worked […]

“Oh Nike, how I love thee.”
Sure, they’re good at making sportswear, but when it comes to marketing they’ve always been far ahead of the curve.
Today’s New York Times has an excellent article, The New Advertising Outlet: Your Life, highlighting Nike’s new marketing strategy. It seems that the shoe giant has revised its entire approach […]

A good newsletter can be a powerful marketing tool. But if you’re like most businesses, your newsletter sucks and you don’t even know it.
Here are some sure-fire ways to know if yours is one of the sucky ones:

It’s filled with canned information from one of those newsletter services: Even if the articles […]

Unless you’re a fan of media trade publications, you might be completely unaware that world of Old Media is crumbling as we speak. One might even say they are in the midst of their final death throes. No matter what they do they just can’t seem to reclaim the iron grip they once held […]

I’m sure you all saw this headline - Even carrots taste better at McDonald’s, kids say
This whole thing really pisses me off, but not for the reason you might think.
Evidently there was some scientific study looking at how branding influences kids’ perception of tastiness. And what do you suppose they found? They found […]

That profound piece of marketing wisdom is attributed to John Wanamaker, the “father of modern advertising.”
In the nearly 100 years since he first said those words, the quote has taken on a life of its own. In fact, it just might be the most repeated line in all of marketing.
Up until recently, a marketer could […]

This is a rough time to be a Chief Marketing Officer. All this new-fangled technology has created a big problem for them, one that they are almost entirely unequipped to deal with. As a result they’re getting canned left and right only to be replaced by other equally confused CMOs.
So what is this […]

This video is absolutely brilliant!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qltEtl7H8

For those of you who doubt the power of blogs, consider this snippet from Advertising Age:
“Consumers are…taking bloggers’ word before they buy. A late 2006 Ipsos MORI survey found that blogs were a more trusted source of information than advertising or e-mail marketing. One-third of respondents said they had decided not to buy a […]

That’s right. Anything and everything that makes people aware of your business, no matter how ridiculous or annoying, WILL get you clients and get you sales.
You know that chicken suit you’ve always wanted to wear, well you go put it on and grab a piece of cardboard and scribble out your business name and phone […]

Seth White of the Metropolitan Mortgage Group wrote in to ask about word-of-mouth hubs and how they fit in with the three essential elements of a target market (1. Shared Needs tied to your business, 2. Trusted Hubs, 3. Quantity).

Thanks for the question, Seth.
To understand hubs, think of it this way – a hub is […]

Amy Woidtke wrote to the D/C Answer Department asking about how to come up with a good tagline.
It’s a great question and one that many businesses, small and large, struggle with.
With taglines a common mistake is to believe they can somehow build your credibility. But credibility is something that can only be proven. […]

The folks at Embarq must think they’re pretty clever. Right now they’re offering a very special deal on broadband that surely, or so they think, will have the phones ringing off the hooks. And what might this game-changing innovation be? It’s broadband service for just $24.95 a month for as long as you […]

We’ve all seen them — the wildly gesticulating, six-foot chickens who want to lure you in for a One-Day-Only mattress sale or an auto dealer’s Grand Opening. Sure, they get our attention, but to what avail?
It’s not that wearing such suits is an inherently bad idea. Take Seattle’s Waxon Spa for example. To […]

Looks like a lot of people want to know about the Four-Stage Process that’s at the core of everything I do. Let’s get right down to it… FAQ style:
Q. Where did the stages come from?
A. I made them up. They’re the product of probably thousands of hours of intensive mental labor, tons […]

In case you missed it, yours truly made the front page of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Ok, well, my client Phoenix Rudner made the front page and they didn’t mention the mastermind behind the plan until the end of the article, but I’m tickled pink nonetheless.
The article, Real estate agents take dramatic turn for sales, […]

Ok, it’s not the last time. I’ll tell you 100 times more if I have to.
If you do it right, here’s what a blog will do for you:

PROVE crediblity
Show relevance
Open a vast world of (free) promotion opportunities
Creat a reason to pay attention to you in the first place
Sustain attention
Attract the clients you WOULD like and […]

This just in:
“Better ROI From YouTube Video Than Super Bowl Spot”
According to Advertising Age, “With not a penny of paid media and in less than a month, ‘Dove Evolution,’ a 75-second viral film …has reaped more than 1.7 million views on YouTube and has gotten significant play on TV talk shows ‘Ellen’ and ‘The View’ […]

From the outside, the advertising world seems to be plugging along right into the new millennium. Ads saturate our environment and they’re contstantly coming up with innovative strategies to make them utterly unavoidable. To the consumer it might look like advertising is stronger than ever. But if you peak behind the curtain, […]

Your mom is the only person who actually reads your wordy website. She’s the only one who gives your pretty mail piece more than 10 seconds. And she’s the only one who believes you when you say, “I take the time to truly understand my clients’ needs.”
Everyone else is just looking for a […]

The first Marketing University turned out so incredibly well that we’re going to jump right into another one. And this time, thanks to the D/C Philanthropy department, we’re offering one free space for one lucky first-year indie.
That’s right - if this is your first year as an independent professional, you just might be able […]

Join me for the first ever D/C Strategic Marketing University Intensive.
The goal: take 12 indie professionals and turn them from confused and out-of-date marketers to lean mean Word-of-Mouth MACHINES… in just 30 days.
The Intensive will consist of four two-hour sessions over the course of a month. To maximize your progress, you will be given an […]

Here’s a great commentary from Brand Autopsy on creating competitive advantage:
Some highlights:

Don’t Just Get Bigger, Get Unique
Why Compete? Create New Markets
Obsess about Customers, Not Rivals

The big message is this: You choose your competitors. And you can choose to have none at all.

Here’s a great example of the power of a business blog –Blogging with the Whales.
For more reasons to start your own blog, read my post, Why You Need a Blog.

Here’s article about an eye-tracking study that reveals how people actually look at websites.
Survey offers a ’sneak peek’ into Net surfers’ brains
Some highlights are:
–When there is less on a page, users read more.
–People are extremely good at screening out things and focusing in on a small number of salient page elements.
–Consumers are blind to banner […]