Crystal clear, unarguable insight. That's what I like. Sure, articulating complex stuff usefully can be most impressive, but stating the obvious when it's only obvious with hindsight or with the assistance of an able guide, that's cool in my book.
Graham Jones gets the complex stuff... he's known as the "Internet Psychologist" after all! But he's rather good at seeing the world for what it is, when the rest of us are running around with our costs-per-click, bounce rates and adword strategies.
Check out his post this week "How to ensure your web site makes money from offline marketing". Seems he's found some excellent examples of the right hand not knowing what the left hand is doing, and all in a quick scan of the daily press.
Have a super weekend.
Best regards, Philip and the MarCom Professional team.
The Art of the Publicity Stunt: Not for the Faint-Hearted, But Still as Effective as Ever!
by Trevor Young PR Warrior of Parkyoung
I love a cunning (publicity) stunt.And now, with the full gamut of social media in full swing to help spread the word, there's even more reason to consider adding the occasional stunt to your brand's marketing mix (but only if it makes strategic, creative and economic sense!!).
In the marketing PR business, one of the hardest gigs is to create and deliver a creative stunt that ticks all the boxes - and even then you need Lady Luck on your side in terms of making a media splash.
Taylor Herring's Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - CHECK IT OUT!
I ran across this recently - the Publicity Stunt Hall of Fame - very cool, a brilliant list of some of the best publicity stunts ever, compiled by UK-based Taylor Herring Public Relations. More...
Why your agency needs a "customer advocate"
by Rebecca Caroe of Creative Agency Secrets
Image via Wikipedia
Aviva is trying to get its hands on a shedload of cash called a 'landed estate' made up of retained profits from some of its investment policies over the past 20 plus years. A long process of negotiating how much to give to policy holders; how much to give to shareholders and how much to keep back for future payout needs. The company appointed Claire Spottiswode as the independent voice of the policyholders, calling her an 'advocate'. This post is not about the work she's been doing (excellent in case you are curious) but the amazingly well handled communications that her office has created via her communications director, Jonathan Haslam. More...
Event: Measurement Camp London
by Ben Matthews of Pudding Relations
This piece is cross posted with the 33 Digital blog.
Always keen to learn what other people in the industry are doing with measurement and metrics on their campaigns, 33 Digital went down to the latest Measurement Camp in London. Hosted by Will McInnes from Nixon McInnes, the event took place at The Good Agency and was attended by about 60 people.
The format of the event was to have two presentations from different campaigns that acted as case studies for how people are measuring their campaigns. More...
B2B Corporate Hospitality. Is It Worth It?
by Scot McKee of Birddog Ltd.
Corporate Hospitality. Is it going to flourish as companies try to secure the loyalty of their clients in the face of difficult economic conditions, or is it going to die a horrible and painful death as budgets are cut and redirected to the tried, tested and instantly measurable?
I’ve never really been big on accepting corporate hospitality. I don’t have the slightest idea how cricket works for instance – they’re in, they’re out, they’re not out, they play for days, then draw. More...
Blogging is doing you more harm than good
by Graham Jones of Internet Psychology
Bloggers the world over are sitting in front of their computers at this very moment trying to write something. As you read this, someone, somewhere else in the world is struggling to write something. Why? Because someone, somewhere has told them that blogging is good for them. Stuck for ideas? Then stop blogging And true enough, blogging is good for you; but only if you are a good blogger. The problem is that of the millions of bloggers in the world, there aren't that many that are actually any good at it. More...
This is Not a Sponsored Post: What You Need to Know About Sponsored Conversations & the FTC
by Brian Solis of PR 2.0
What follows is the unfiltered version of my latest TechCrunch post, "This is Not a Sponsored Post: Paid Conversations, Credibility & The FTC."
Credit: Kevin Dooley
In the eyes of imaginative and opportunistic advertisers and marketers, bloggers and online influencers are the new celebrities and athletes. Brands are showering them with endorsement deals rich with products, cash, trips, exclusive access to information, and VIP treatment each and every day, creating a new genre of star spokespersons. More...
10 things you absolutely have to know about mobile advertising
by Andrew Grill of Gigafone
As suggested by the UK arm of the IAB.
Nice set of quotes from well known practitioners in this space. Worth a quick look and a re-tweet etc
Simply use http://tr.im/tenthings to re-tweet easily.
1. It’s an always on medium. Consumers love their mobile phones so much that researchers found when they took peoples phones away for a day they claimed to feel a phantom ‘tingle’ in their pocket that normally proceeds the excitement of a text/call.
Stephen Upstone, Managing Director of European Business Development, AdInfuse. More...
Mobile web take up across Europe up 4% on last year says Forrester
by Andrew Grill of Gigafone
According to a report in New Media Age, mobile internet usage has grown by 4% in Europe. According to the Forrester report, some 24% of Europeans regularly access the internet on their mobile phones.
The research found mobile internet use increased over the past year, from 20%, and found the growth in take up increased for consumers who owned smartphones.
Some 35% of iPhone owners and 30% of smartphone users regularly accessed the internet.
Forrester revealed cost perceptions and the lack of transparent and affordable mobile internet tariffs were key barriers in growth in take up. More...
The New Rules of Social Media book series
by David Meerman Scott of David Meerman Scott
Today, my publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc. announced a new series of books that I will be editing called The New Rules of Social Media book series.
The idea of the series is to expand on the ideas of my book The New Rules of Marketing & PR with books that expand on the ideas and provide valuable detail on different aspects of social media marketing.
We've got two amazing books to kick off the series:
The first book, scheduled for publication in October 2009, is Inbound Marketing: More...
sneak peek at upcoming UK mobile advertising survey
by Andrew Grill of Gigafone
Ahead of the UK mobile advertising conference to be held in London on June 15, where the results of a groundbreaking survey on UK mobile advertising usage will be revealed - we have some interesting stats that have just been released below:
64% of consumers would grant permission to receive mobile advertising if they are incentivised
FIVE advertisements per day is the most accepted by consumers
52% of consumers don’t mind listening to a brand message while waiting for someone to pick up the phone
54% of consumers would send an interesting offer they have received to More...
Gazing into the Twitterverse
by Brian Solis of PR 2.0
Twitter connects people through a rich and active exchange of ideas, thoughts, observations, and interests in one, highly collaborative and promising ecosystem. The Twitterverse advances micro interaction and connections through an expanding network of applications, engendering the potential for macro reach and resonance online and IRL (in real life).
Following the recent debut of The Conversation Prism v2.0, Jesse Thomas (@jess3) and I proudly introduce an alpha version of The Twitterverse. While the landscape for Twitter approaches 1,000 different applications, this map visually charts the important tools to help communications, service, marketing, and community professionals more effectively navigate, engage, analyze and measure participation on Twitter. More...
Half your online contacts will disappear
by Graham Jones of Internet Psychology
The people you knew online seven years ago are a different bunch to the group you now spend most of your time with. That's the conclusion from an interesting research study conducted in Holland which showed that you lose about half your contacts from your social network every seven years.
Your social network will lose half its contacts in seven years Admittedly the study was conducted with "real world" social networks, but the same effect is likely to happen online in places like Facebook and Twitter. More...
How to ensure your web site makes money from offline marketing
by Graham Jones of Internet Psychology
Newspaper readers are often enticed by advertising offers which give them savings - "half price", "two for one" and so on. Many advertisers now add their web site details to the advert. But they may as well not bother.
No sign of hay fever at Boots.com Take adverts in yesterday's "The Times". Tesco was advertising "Joint Savings" - half price leg of pork which it said was available at its web site, tesco.com. So, what happens when you go to the link? Well, you firstly have to decide which section of the shop you want. More...
10 Beautiful Blog Designs
by David Knowles of
Spending hours on a blog post can be a waste of sweat and tears if visitors don’t stop for a read, which is why blog design is so important. Blogs should be functional, easy to navigate and easy on the eye. So you should think carefully about the elements you need to include and how your blog can reflect your personality.
Good blog design aids readability, and provides an elegant frame in which your carefully chosen words can shine.
Pulling readers into your content
Web visitors are a judgemental bunch, with the attention spans of gnats. More...
