Dear Chief Marketing Officer, It’s time for your January Gut Check.

Today is the last business day of the first month of the year. Sometime in the next week, Chief Marketing Officers throughout the Fortune 500 will be called to the CEO carpet to report on your marketing effectiveness for January. Are you ready for these four questions? 1. “Last year you told me you needed [...]

Ten Steps to Direct Marketing Success….or not?

James Hipkin put together a deck on Direct Marketing 101. (see below) The “Ten Steps to Direct Marketing Success” gave pause for thought. What’s missing from this list in modern direct marketing? (Please leave a reply below.) 1. Develop a master financial plan 2. Select suitable products/services 3. Make your offer irresistible 4. Use lists [...]

Get Caught Doing Good.

Pepsi announced in late 2009 that it would sit out the Super Bowl. Instead, they focus on a new cause-oriented marketing campaign early next year. This campaign is a long term term, multi-millon-dollar grant program for charitable causes selected by consumers. According to Steve Drake, Cause Marketing happens when a not-for-profit and a for-profit partner [...]

YouTube Top Videos of 2009: #3 – JK Wedding Entrance Dance

Marketing Value: Low* (but note the asterisk below) Views: Over 33,000,000 The video generated over 127,000 comments for a comment to view ratio of 76 for every 20,000 views. (High interaction. People were talking about this video.) Did you see it?: [Me: Yes] Did you forward it?: [Me: No.] Reaction: This video inundated Facebook. It [...]

YouTube Top Videos of 2009: #4 New Moon Movie Trailer

Marketing Value: High Views: 31,000,000. The video generated about 70,000 comments for a comment to view ratio of 45 for every 20,000 views. (Medium interaction.) Did you see it?: [Me: No. Although I'm quite certain my wife watched it. Multiple times?] Did you forward it?: [Me: No] Reaction: By all accounts this was a lousy [...]

YouTube Top Videos of 2009: #5 – Evian Roller Babies

Marketing Value: Medium to High Views: almost 14,000,000 The video generated about 7,000 comments for a comment to view ratio of 1 for every 20,000 views. (Low interaction.) Did you see it?: [Me: Yes] Did you forward it?: [Me: Yes] Reaction: Some people thought this video was truly entertaining, although many commented that it was [...]

Q: What is Google Wave? A: Next big thing. Here’s Why This Matters for Business

100,000 invitations are being sent today for the launch of Google Wave, but what is it? Google wave combines the best features of the most popular Web 2.0 tools including wikis, social networking, photo sharing, video sharing, chat and email. Imagine Wikipedia, Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, instant messenger and email all rolled up into one. Business [...]

I Stole Your Bike and Your Company Profit

Step 1: Engineer the perfect bike lock. Step 2: Build a Website and Optimize Search in Google so it is the top hit. Step 3: Realize that someone posted a YouTube Video showing how to open the perfect bike lock with a bic pen and it regularly hits Google just under you. Step 4: Go [...]

Vanilla Ice, Bobby McFerrin and Me.

Remember when Vanilla Ice put out a Greatest Hits album? It was a cassingle with “Ice Ice Baby” on one side and directions to the dollar store on the other. Two years earlier Bobby McFerrin brought the music world to it’s knees with “Don’t Worry Be Happy”. Just try and get that little medley out [...]

The Average Attention Span is six….Did I Tivo Hell’s Kitchen?

Let’s be clear: this post is pure self indulgence. The average American attention span is six seconds. 87% of statistics found in blogs are made up on the spot. It is really hard to get the attention of most consumers today. We are all subjected to near constant stimuli.  But when something REALLY grabs our [...]