By Lane Casteix
Who needs an ad agency when you can buy Logo Enhancer? (We get emails all the time with offers to enhance body parts, but this is a new one.)
And if you buy the Logo Enhancer, you get a whole bunch of other stuff like White Space Eliminator, Florescencizer, Starburst Dust, and Emotionator. All for only three easy payments of $22.99.
How can you miss?
By Lane Casteix
Online privacy is an issue that concerns many - and also a non-issue that many more have not the least concern about. In a world that is ever forcing conformity and anonymity on us, we seek individuality and notice - "Look at me!" Thus we have tattoos and social network sites. In our head-long rush for notice, privacy is disappearing with the advent of social networking sites like You Tube, Myspace, and Facebook, not to mention the thousands of forums out there where one can find personal expression - and maybe 15 minutes of fame. On these sites people are pouring out information about themselves and their desires in unprecedented detail. This has marketing people salivating! "Look at me" is about to become for advertisers, "I see you. Now, you LOOK at me!"
Your activity on the internet is not anonymous. Advertisers have taken notice - and are taking notes. They are prepared to track your every move, and most of us don't even seem to care. Myspace plans to track everything you do on their site and offer ads tailored just for little-old-you. This is called behavioral marketing and is how advertisers plan to reach you with ads so targeted they are aimed at ONE person - YOU! Advertising dollars are currently vacating traditional media, because behavioral marketing promises incredible ROI (return on investment) with little of the waste often associated with mass media.
These social media sites (and who knows who else?) will know more about you and your habits than maybe even you know about yourself. The question is how do you feel about that loss of privacy?
By Lane Casteix
The act of creating consists of three steps:
1) Identify the assumption that limits the number of possible alternative choices.
2) Deny the assumption.
3) Explore the consequences of the denial.
From the book Beating the System by Russel L. Ackoff and Sheldon Rovin
By Lane Casteix
What is social media? Here is a definition on Wikipedia that is a good start. In this Wiki definition are some links to some of the most popular social media sites you can visit and see how these communities are functioning as viable living entities.
A tug of war of sorts is forming over social media. Is it a place whereby communities can form and socialize? Or is it a medium whereby marketers can reach and sell products to identifiable demographic groups? The first puts the emphasis on the word "social", and the latter on the word "media".
It is really both, but the "social" comes first, and marketers need to be very careful how they approach the "media" part. Exploiters and abusers will be quickly exposed by the largely self-policing community. Marketers don't seem to get this. Those that do will profit handsomely from it's proper use.
The key to successfully using social media as a marketing tool is to "join" the community and contribute meaningful and wanted content rather than "manipulating" the community simply to advance sales goals.
"A brand is ultimately a promise ... it is something that is not ownable by a corporation any more."
Nick Brian, Worldwide CEO, Universal McCann
By Lane Casteix
"Cyber Monday" is a term coined by Shop.org back in 2005 when online retailers noticed a spike in traffic on the Monday after Thanksgiving. It was assumed this was because of customers shopping when they got back at work on Monday where they often had faster connections to the internet.
That trend has continued as sales this year came in about $10.3 billion, which is up 8.3% from 2006. The increase came as something of a shock, as it was expected to be up no more than 4% or 5%! Traditional retail store sales on Friday after Thanksgiving were also up from 2006. This suggests the economy may be stronger than some think.
The one piece of learning we should take away from this is that online sales are growing faster than many suspected. Is your business positioned to take advantage of this?
By Lane Casteix
This article about a study done in the UK gives further evidence that the customer is in charge. As the article suggests customers reject online advertising as a buying decision tool in favor of customer reviews, forums, and blogs. What other customers think about the product is far more important to them than what you say in your advertising.
What this means is, as a marketer, you need to know what your customers are saying about your brand - and be prepared to take immediate action on that information.
