Archive for September, 2008

Marketing News Radio recently ran a podcast by Jonathan Salem Baskin,  author of “Branding Only Works on Cattle”. He talks about his book and about how brands should think of places other than the marketing department to do branding. I think one of the most insightful things he states in the interview is that it (branding)  continue reading

Science Fiction and Fantasy publisher Tor.com recently completed an experiment with distributing free e-book downloads.  The publisher used the free downloads to promote a new Science Fiction community complete with blogs, bookmarks, etc.  To encourage engagement, only members connected through the newsletter were provided download access.  Participating author John Scalzi noticed a 20 percent increase in  continue reading

Prior to reading the following statement, please prepare for a mind-blowing revelation. Trusting relationships are integral to creating Sustainable Word of Mouth.   Building those foundational relationships requires conversation.  Well, the statement may not have shattered your preconceptions about Word of Mouth Marketing, but the emphasis on conversation does help explain why Word of Mouth  continue reading

Direct connection with customers is desirable for most companies. So why is the term direct marketing often used as a pejorative?  The answer exists in the complexity of relationships between customers, companies, and marketing/PR groups.  Let us examine the historical foundation of direct marketing to discover where “direct” lost its mojo.  Early direct marketers such  continue reading

Sustainable word of mouth marketing means forming persistent, authentic relationships. It means defining conversation as more than an email exchange. To foster sustainability, a transparent liaison between community and company must demonstrate favorable intentions and consideration for each contact they make – and maintain those relationships through meaningful actions and correspondence. There is an important  continue reading