A friend recently expressed amazement that, in the process of conducting a Google search, Google somehow magically knew what she was searching for. She deemed the experience “creepy,” and many would say the same thing. Regardless of how creepy it may or may not be, though, it’s just the tip of the iceberg of something that consumers are experiencing more and more as they navigate the online world through laptops, tablets and smart phones. Continue reading “Contextualized Content: Where Will It Go From Here?”
Category: Technology
Why You May Want to Avoid the Visual When Communicating With a B2B Audience
Like virtually every industry, marketing has been transformed dramatically by advances in technology, particularly the increasing ease with which high quality digital media can be produced and distributed relatively cheaply online. Professional audio and video can be incorporated into a website or distributed through email marketing with ease, and this has led to an increase in the use of such media when marketing for a variety of products and services.
Marketers have taken advantage of new technology and digital content techniques by increasing their use of such material to promote their products and services. According to a dual survey of content marketers and the B2B audiences they serve, Continue reading “Why You May Want to Avoid the Visual When Communicating With a B2B Audience”
Do Your Metrics Reflect Value or Vanity?
Measurable, reliable, quantitative data is constantly being sought after by marketers. In comparison to relatively more concrete elements of a business, such as finance and operations, marketers often feel pressure, whether real or perceived, to provide some sort of measurable return on investment for their efforts. Sure, your new website design looks great, but has it directly contributed to increased online sales? Unfortunately, for many marketing efforts, it can be difficult to convincingly tie a dollar spent on marketing to dollars earned in new business.
This pressure is evaluated in a Harvard Business Review article by Eric Ries called “Entrepreneurs: Beware of Vanity Metrics.” Vanity metrics, Ries explains, Continue reading “Do Your Metrics Reflect Value or Vanity?”
7 Digital Advertising Trends You Need to Know Now!
Digital has taken the world by storm, upending the world of traditional advertising and requiring 21st marketers to become savvy about a broad range of digital advertising options that can include anything from SEO, to social media, to mobile and more.
There’s much to understand, much to keep track of and much to stay on top of. That’s the bad news.
The good news is that digital advertising, unlike traditional advertising, is far more trackable, allowing marketers to determine what is working for them and driving the results they desire and what may not be as effective. Continue reading “7 Digital Advertising Trends You Need to Know Now!”
De-teching From Time to Time Can Fuel Innovation
A few weekends ago, for one glorious afternoon, I turned off all of my tech devices, pulled out a pile of Harvard Business Review magazines (the hard copy kind) and, with nothing but a legal pad and pen in hand, set out to engage in some thinking time. I sat on my deck, without even my Bose SoundLink, and just lost myself in learning. I literally Continue reading “De-teching From Time to Time Can Fuel Innovation”
Who Needs a Physical Location? You May Be Surprised!
Some of my favorite authors/social economists do a great job of cautioning us to beware of “conventionally held wisdom”–Dan Ariely and Steven Levitt are two that immediately come to mind. It’s so easy to get swept up by conventional wisdom and then, unfortunately, to act based on that wisdom–whether it reflects reality or not. Continue reading “Who Needs a Physical Location? You May Be Surprised!”
No, Paper Isn’t Dead and Isn’t Likely to be for a long, long, long time…
The demise of paper has been predicted for a century, but the end is nowhere in sight according to a recent article in “The Week.”
I heartily agree with this sentiment and I’ve seen interesting examples of just why this is likely to be the case in classes I teach at a local university. While most people today claim that “the millennials prefer electronic communication,” that’s not necessarily true–just ask the millennials! Continue reading “No, Paper Isn’t Dead and Isn’t Likely to be for a long, long, long time…”
Want to Excel at Generating Response From Your Market? Focus!
Client question: “What’s the best way to communicate with the under-35 market?”
It’s a legitimate question and certainly marketers need to think carefully about how they will communicate with their market, recognizing that markets are different. The only problem with this question (and it’s one that most marketers ask in one form or another) is that it doesn’t go far enough to identify a specific market focus. The group of individuals who are under 35 is a very, very broad group, after all. What is the likelihood that there would be a single, “best” communication strategy for them?
When it comes to targeting marketing messages, the advice I offer, regardless of what you are attempting to sell or what response you are attempting to attain, is to Continue reading “Want to Excel at Generating Response From Your Market? Focus!”
DVORAK, QWERTY, AC/DC, CD, MP3 — AND QR CODES
A writer with Ragan Communications contacted me recently for my response to an article suggesting that QR codes were “dead.” He was writing an article in response to this claim and seeking input from those with opinions to share. My response: Continue reading “DVORAK, QWERTY, AC/DC, CD, MP3 — AND QR CODES”
Iconic Brands Revisited With a Boost From Technology
Last night I showed students in my Advertising Copy & Design class a video that I’ve seen a number of times, now, but that continues to both delight and amaze me. It’s Google’s “Project Re: Brief” which tells the story of four classic advertisements and how their original creators teamed up with today’s new breed of advertising professionals–and some technical experts–to create some truly amazing advertisements. The iconic spots they recreated were: Continue reading “Iconic Brands Revisited With a Boost From Technology”