I *love* the ETrade baby ads. I’ve said it before. I absolutely love them. But, do they work? I really wonder if – aside from the buzz value – these ads have achieved any meaningful, measurable goals.
A recent piece in Fast Company (March 2010) Continue reading “Sure the babies entertain – but do they get results?”
An article I was reading recently in AdWeek – Lessons of Tiger’s Tale – made what I thought was a very valid point related to the media frenzy now surrounding Tiger Woods and the impact on his advertising endorsements. “Using celebrities is effective and makes business sense. Just make sure you always have a plan B in mind — just in case.” Good point. Continue reading “Having a Plan B for Those “Tiger moments””
I know there’s something just “wrong” about blogging early on Thanksgiving morning, but I acknowledge the fact that I’m a workaholic and frankly what better time for a little peace and quiet to actually think without interruption!
This blog was prompted by an email from a friend/colleague who is pulling together a list of resources for small businesspeople/entrepreneurs and asked me if I had anything to add. I did – more than I thought I would actually. So, I decided to share my list Continue reading “No cost/low cost resources for marketers and entrepreneurs”
This morning as I was applying my L’Oreal Revitalift which I received in the mail free (more about this later) I was struck by the brilliant use of word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing that the company I got it from has capitalized on.
I’m a BzzAgent. BzzAgents Continue reading “Bzzzzz – Wrinkle free – free!”
Travelers’ well-known logo – a red umbrella – remains a key element of its new branding campaign which launched last year. I first learned of the campaign recently when friends told me about some wonderful commercials with a dog that was intent on protecting its bone from real and imagined risks. The message: Continue reading “Travelers’ Branding Campaign Works”
Location. Location. Location.
Traditional marketing wisdom would lead one to believe that where a business is located makes a difference. And that makes logical sense, most of the time. A recent experience, though, suggests that location can be trumped by other things – Continue reading “It’s Not Always About Location”
There’s a raging – and quite interesting – debate taking place in a LinkedIn forum I participate in on the relationship between PR and marketing. I’ve found it especially interesting since I recently was engaged in the same debate while teaching PR courses at a local university.
Surprisingly to me, there is a group that believes quite strongly that PR *is not* part of marketing. That it is a separate and distinctly different function within an organization. That’s “crazy talk” to me – Continue reading “Crossing the Line Between PR and Marketing”
Apparently KFC’s recent launch of a grilled chicken sandwich so exceeded expectations that KFC ended up damaging relations with consumers, the media and franchisees, according to a recent item in Public Relations Tactics (a PRSA publication). Continue reading “Overpromise – Under-deliver?”
I just read a piece in The Economist about a movement to pay advertising agencies for value, not hours, and how this trend is catching on. Currently, the American Association of Advertising Agencies estimates that about 10 percent of compensation agreements are value-based, according to this article. (Not sure that figure supports the suggestion that this is a trend that is “taking off”…)
Anyway, my initial reaction in reading this was: “Well, why not? Why should agencies just be paid for being “creative,” and racking up what can be enormous fees? Continue reading “Pay for Performance – Good Idea, or Not…”
Not many people remember a product called Zima and that’s the point of this post. As a marketing professional I’ve always been interested in new product introductions and advertising campaigns in general – how well do they work? how long do they “run” (suggesting that the positive effects are continuing to produce results or, if nothing else, that the agency and client haven’t “pulled the plug” prematurely). Continue reading “When Awareness and Preference is Not Enough.”