August 10, 2009 • 10:15 pm 1
A nice presentation created by Matt Dickman, and posted on his slideshare page.
Filed under: 2.0, Advertising, Branding, Business, Customer Experience, Design, Influence, Strategy, Twitter, Web, Web2.0, ideas, marketing, technology, web 2.0, word of mouth
April 17, 2009 • 3:18 pm 1
Filed under: 2.0, Advertising, Conversational marketing, Social Networking, Twitter, User Generated Content, Web2.0, YouTube, marketing, technology, web 2.0 , Twitter, Volvo, YouTube
March 23, 2009 • 10:55 pm 1
The Royal Mail (the national postal service of the United Kingdom) has to be part privatised by 2010, and in the run up to this date there is no doubt in my mind that the company is trying to raise its game. (Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turns operates the brands Royal Mail (UK letters), Parcelforce Worldwide (UK parcels) and General Logistics Systems. The Post Office Ltd., which provides counter services, is a wholly owned subsidiary).
One innovation I have spotted (and like) is the MMC – The Mail Media Centre. The Royal Mail’s vision is to be “demonstrably the best and most trusted postal services company in the world” and in this regard they seem to be on a big ‘win the hearts and minds’ mission.
And the MMC is a big step in the right direction. Its a cool resource for all direct marketers to immerse themselves in. By showcasing compelling creative and offering expert advice, it is clear they want to inspire excellence in direct mail.
Key contributors include Rory Sutherland, vice-chairman of Ogilvy Group UK, London, Patrick Collister, editor of Xtreme Directory and Amanda Phillips. They also feature expert content from Chris Arnold, strategic & creative director of Symple, Darren Burnett, head of data planning, Elvis, Mike Colling, managing director of Mike Colling & Company, Steven Day, director of UK Changes, Tim Dunn, head of marketing services at Mobile Interactive Group (MIG), Caroline Kimber, head of data planning at Stephens Francis Whitson, Jane Pritchard, head of strategic planning at Tullo Marshall Warren, Clare Taylor of Clare Taylor Consulting UK, coupon company Valassis, and Chris Whitson, planning director of Stephen Francis Whitson. Plus, they have made available selected content from an award-winning Redwood Publishing title - Contact magazine.
That’s some team sheet!
Yes the devoted online marketer will no doubt shout me down (“if you’re not with me, you’re my enemy” lol), and yes there is lots going on in online media that is down right impressive; but when used appropriately traditional direct mail still has a role to play in the marketing mix.
Don’t discount traditional direct mail just yet. It can still be very innovative and very effective when used well.
If you are going to take a peek at the MMC, if I were you I’d head straight to the Creative Showreel. Then take a look at their Knowledge Centre, Case Studies, Research, Facts & Figures, and the other Useful Tools.
Enjoy!
Filed under: Business, Design, Direct Mail, Media, Planning, Research, Strategy, ideas, marketing , Best practice, case studies, Direct Marketing, DM, Facts, Figures, MMC, Research, The Royal Mail
March 2, 2009 • 9:01 am 1
The 100 Best Business Books of All Time has been on sale for over three weeks now. I haven’t read it yet (or bought a copy) but it sounds very good.
The 100 books covered covered are listed here.
Filed under: Books, Branding, Business, Entrepreneur, Ideas and Riffs, Media, Planning, Strategy, ideas, marketing , 100 Best Business Books, 800ceoread, Jack Covert, Todd Sattersten
February 25, 2009 • 9:35 am 0
Futurelab is a marketing strategy consultancy with a focus on customer-centricity and innovation. They help:
Now I have never worked with Futurelab, nor can I say with any authority whatsoever, that they are good at what they do. But I was delighted when they emailed me with a nice report offer.
As a result of Futurelabs belief that something is “seriously broken in the land of marketing”, they have decided to encourage debate and thinking by producing and distributing two reports.
The reports analyse the disconnect that currently exists between brands and the agencies that service them – with the aim to encourage a global conversation on the renaissance of marketing as a profession that drives profit, innovation and customer-centricity.
Here is what they cover;
For each disconnect (between Brands and Agencies) they offer suggestions and tips brand leaders can apply to get their agencies to better deliver what they need.
Great stuff.
Filed under: Advertising, Branding, Business, Media, Planning, Strategy, ideas, marketing, technology , agencies, Branding, brands, Bridging the Brand Divide, customer, disconnect, Futurelab, innovation, investment, marketing, profit, Reconsidering the Advertising Industry
February 23, 2009 • 8:05 pm 0
One of the big things about the web as a platform imho is that it places ‘people’ not ‘corporates’ at the centre. With people come opinions, ideas, thoughts and conversations. And lets face it: People work and move faster than bloated, process based corporates.
But there are issues.
Whilst the work from venerable web firms like Twitter, Google Docs, Acrobat Connect, Meebo and Octopz are certainly a step in the right direction towards a Real Time Web (and technologies like XMPP, SIP, HTTP extensions (Comet), and RTMP are helping too), I can’t help thinking that as the Real Time Web becomes a popular term and trend, it will be marred by negativity around real time syndication or overuse of various RSS feeds and APIs.
Take a look at an example below (click image to enlarge)
Now I am a fan of e-Consultancy.com – but is there any value for me (the customer) seeing multiple tweets on the same subject? I don’t think so. It really makes me feel like I am sat in the middle of an echo chamber.
I am sure there is a big difference between genuine Real Time Web Applications, and Real Time syndication. But it is sure annoying to seeing more and more web properties displaying ‘real time content’ in this way.
Real Time web without de-duplication? No thanks.
Filed under: 2.0, Ideas and Riffs, RSS, Semantic Web, Twitter, Web, Web2.0, digital, ideas, marketing, technology, web 2.0
January 25, 2009 • 10:21 pm 0
In a rare UK presentation Seth Godin will present on how marketers must go beyond attracting eyeballs to tightening the interconnection and deepening commitment with their clients and staff alike. You can read more about it here and buy tickets here.
In addition to his presentation, as usual Seth will lead a dynamic Q and A session giving audience members the opportunity to ask direct questions relevant to their own situations and receive answers from the leading marketing mind of today.
If you have not heard him speak before, here are a few tidbits.
Filed under: Business, Entrepreneur, Events, Ideas and Riffs, Strategy, ideas, marketing
January 23, 2009 • 10:14 am 0
Although this is only likely to be relevant to my UK readers, I’ll post it all the same. Its also not very B2B’ish, so my humble apologies…..
As you can see Compare The Market’s campaign Compare The Meerkat is getting some funny PPC tactics applied to it by rival Confused.com. Nice work.
Filed under: Advertising, BBC, SEO, SEO / SEM, Search Engine Optimisation, marketing , comparethemarket.com, confused.com, Funny, insurance, Meerkat, PPC
December 21, 2008 • 10:05 pm 1
I wanted to draw you attention to a FREE resource for those of you who want to benefit from a community of the world’s digital marketing and ecommerce professionals. Econsultancy exists to help its members “sharpen their strategy, source suppliers, get quick answers, compare notes, help each other out and discover how to do everything better online.” I have to say that it is a great source of independent advice and insight on digital marketing and ecommerce.
imho there’s no shortage of marketing opinion online, but being ten years and with 71,000 marketers Econsultancy is pretty special. Bronze membership is FREE and there is more info here.
These are complimentary reports you get for free upon joining (there’s another 20+ too!). Great, er, value!
————————–
Online PR Industry Benchmarking Report
By Michelle Goodall and Aliya Zaidi, December 2008
Overview Authors: Michelle Goodall and Aliya Zaidi Pages: 35 Features: Survey-based research about the Online PR Industry, with expert input from respected industry commentators.
By Econsultancy, December 2008
This report, produced in association with Lemon Digital Production, is aimed at agencies who are interested in the business case and challenges associated with outsourcing digital work.
November 2008
By Econsultancy, November 2008
The third annual Online Customer Engagement Report has been produced in partnership with cScape. This research is based on a survey of 1,300 respondents carried out in September and October 2008.
By Econsultancy, November 2008
This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Email Marketing held in autumn 2008.
By Econsultancy, October 2008
This DoubleClick-sponsored research is based on a survey of retailers and agencies carried out in August and September 2008, with the aim of understanding more about the use of comparison shopping.
By Econsultancy, October 2008
This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Paid Search.
By Econsultancy, October 2008
This free, 11-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Affiliate Marketing.
By Econsultancy, September 2008
This free, 12-page briefing contains a write-up of an E-consultancy roundtable on Measurement, Analytics and Optimisation.
————————–
The Services Econsultancy Provide:
Reports: Econsultancy is an award-winning online publisher of reports covering best practice, user experience benchmarking, market data, supplier selection, template files, trends and innovation aimed at internet professionals who want practical advice on all aspects of e-business.
Training, Learning & Development: Econsultancy operates a highly popular training division, used by the world’s leading brands for staff education, both in-house and via public courses. We provide training across all areas of digital marketing and ecommerce and at all levels from accredited one day courses to formal qualifications including diplomas and a Masters in Digital Marketing.
Events: Econsultancy hosts over 100 events a year, including conferences such as the Online Marketing Masterclasses, Future of Digital Marketing and Digital Cream as well as regular Supplier Showcases, Roundtables, the annual Innovation Awards and a range of social events.
————————–
Free memberships of marketing clubs, and online resources are ten a penny. You just have to surf, or browse LinkedIn groups to see that. But Econsultancy is very different. I’d highly recommend you join if you are an internet professional who wants practical advice on all aspects of e-business.
Filed under: Affiliate Marketing, Analyst, Analytics, Blogging, Branding, Business, Buzz, CRM, Customer Experience, Design, Direct Mail, Email, Events, Media, Mobile, Online, Planning, Research, SEO, SEO / SEM, Search Engine Optimisation, Social Media, Strategy, Usability, User Generated Content, Viral, Web, Web2.0, digital, marketing, technology, web 2.0 , development, ecommerce, Econsultancy, Events, Free, learning, reports, Strategy, training
December 15, 2008 • 11:31 pm 1
You’ve probably heard it a thousand times.
“You’re call may be recorded and used for training purposes.”
I no longer believe it when I hear it. And if I don’t believe it, I’d expect many others don’t either.
By all means record calls, make improvements: call centre representatives are a very important bridge to a brand. But keeping these types of disclaimers on ALL of the time is not the right thing to do. Far from it. It’s a lazy and fake way of pretending that you care about customers – and it has a negative effect now.
Could a company be more insincere? If a company wants to try they might want to throw up a library shot of beautiful call centre representatives as a starter!
Filed under: Branding, Business, CRM, Customer Experience, Customer service, ideas, marketing , Branding, call recording, Customer service, training
December 12, 2008 • 2:53 pm 0
Oh dear. Buzzword use is on the rise. And like a deadly virus ‘buffling’ (business waffling) is believed to be mutating such that it is on the rise even outside the work place. Yikes!
You can picture the scene at home right? No? Here you go.
Nearly half of you us (as indicated by 46% of respondents in a yougov survey commissioned by Ramada Encore) believe that Buffling is on the rise. Shame on you us.
….and don’t think for a moment this is restricted to the home either.
Filed under: Business, Entertainment, Fun, marketing , buffling, Business, buzzwords, Ramada Encore
December 11, 2008 • 6:53 pm 0
Fail
Oh the irony. Ouch.
Filed under: Direct Email, Email, Fun, marketing , Direct Mail, Fail
December 4, 2008 • 7:29 pm 1
If you are a tech marketer (and lets face it, you probably are if you are reading this), or even better a software marketer, you should read Judith Hurwitz’s Top 11 predictions for the software industry.
Filed under: IT, IT Planning, Research, Strategy, marketing, technology , marketing, Software, technology
December 2, 2008 • 7:41 pm 0
Here are some micro postings and bookmarks, c. November-December:
Merriam-Webster’s 2008 Word of the Year – from Boing Boing.
Too be honest it will be a few years before the American Dialect Society’s 2005 Word of the Year (“truthiness”) is beaten imho.
The Book Design Review blog’s top book covers for 2008 – from Boing Boing.
The Trouble with Physics wins for me.
The leading application and service providers laying the foundation for the Top 500 retailers’ e-commerce operations – from Internet Retailer.com
Everything is an Emotional Buy – from CSM
(Poor spelling aside, this piece makes some good points)
B2B Branding – from Neutron
The Death of Blogging – (How Twitter, Flickr, Facebook Make Blogs Look So 2004), from Wired.
Luckily no mention of Pownce in the title. Personally I think that the rumours of the death of the blogosphere are perhaps greatly exaggerated.
Filed under: Art, B2B, Books, Branding, Design, Micropostings, Twitter, Wired.com, marketing, technology , B2B Branding, best book cover design, ecommerce technology, neutron, truthiness, Wired death of blogging
Recent Comments