February DIG: Hammers & Thumbs
Today, I had the distinct pleasure of serving as tour guide to a group of trusting fellow marketers through the world of marketing blunders. We relived New Coke, grumbled at the iPhone repricing debacle of 2007, and laughed at Snapple’s big idea of 2005 to create the world’s largest ice pop. (It melted – everywhere – in the middle of New York.) What we learned today is that if we make marketing decisions based in strategy, we are far less...
YouTube’s Only Five Years Old?
In advertising these days, the holy grail is “viral video” — a spot that gets hundreds of thousands of impressions online, even if it only runs a few times on traditional broadcast television. Ad agencies spend tons of time and money trying to make the next “viral” spot, because internet buzz proves more cost-effective — and often just plain effective — than spending millions placing an ad on television. So it’s hard to believe that,...
At Right Angles
Yesterday, Tim and I had the great opportunity to speak to the Bowling Green Professional Marketing Association. The presentation, “At Right Angles,” was about brand congruency. We discussed what “branding” really is, as well as how to approach branding by wearing the hat of a strategist. We covered a lot of ground, but the moral of the story is that branding — and staying congruent in your message, tone, design and delivery — is a choice....
Marketing and an Old House
Those close to me — actually, almost anyone that’s met me — know that over the past few years, I’ve become somewhat obsessed with tools. The idea of the “marketing toolbox” likely spurred from very literal (and neverending) experiences with tools as my husband and I fully renovated our home. I live in a very old house. When we bought it in 2006, we knew it needed a lot of work, though we may have underestimated just how much work. Then...
Sky-high marketing
One of the many great things about marketing — and by “marketing,” I mean the art of getting a client’s message out in an effective and eye-catching way — is the way it inspires those behind the scenes to go above and beyond for a project. Take, for example, a film shoot that could have been routine… routine, that is, if it weren’t for a director who’s willing to go above and beyond to translate big ideas into small-screen reality. In...
Building Werkshop (or “How We Learned to Practice What We Preach”)
Giving advice is easy… taking one’s own advice, however, is a little tougher. Recently, I’ve taken a dose of my own medicine: For the first time in several years, I had to re-evaluate the marketing strategy for my own company. This was painful. The reason for the dose of self-prescribed marketing strategy was huge – Fresh Dirt was merging with a complementary company. The news was BIG — and we had to keep it a secret. Wait… Let me backtrack. Many...
We say “Toolbox.” You say “What?” Let us explain.
At Werkshop, we talk about the Marketing Toolbox. To us, it’s as familiar as the alphabet, and what we pull out of it is different from client to client. Many companies and small businesspeople come to us with tool malfunction. Agencies, experts or ad sales executives, offering a grab-bag of marketing tactics, led the client to choose a marketing tool without knowing what they were getting into. Now, they need guidance to fix the problem they...
September 2009 DIG – Brand Congruency
Thank you to everyone who attended our September DIG on Brand Congruency. Tim Earnhart of Earnhart + Friends in Bowling Green, KY was our guest speaker. Along with Tim, we discussed an overview of Branding Congruency. Tim was nice enough to pass along his notes to share: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tim Earnhart, Principal, Earnhart+Friends Advertising Notes from presentation given on...
AIGA Social Media Buzz
Thank you to everyone who came out the the AIGA Buzz this morning. This was the second time we have had the opportunity to have a Social Media discussion with a group and we continue to enjoy the contributions and questions from everyone! Many have requested the white paper that we handed out so we have posted it below for you to share and reference. Remember that to “use your tools wisely” you need a plan! Keep the conversation going....
Email Marketing
Thank you to everyone who attended our Email Marketing DIG this morning. As promised, we wanted to share with you the CAN-SPAM Act information with you. Please see the below info. The takeaway can be viewed on our website. __________________________________ FTC FACTS for Business The CAN-SPAM Act: Requirements for Commercial Emailers The CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 (Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act) establishes requirements...
