Author, Investor, Speaker, Mentor
Seth Godin highlights a great marketing idea in his latest post:What if your new rock group appeals to fans of the B52s? Or if your new book is just perfect for people who like Brad Meltzer? If you have a CD or a book or an idea that will appeal to a certain psychographic, it … Continue reading Exploit eBay To Cheaply Reach Your Target Market
This is flat out brilliant. The makers of the cult hit Gossip Girl (sorry, don’t watch it, I’m not a teenaged girl) are running ads for their second season that feature *negative* reviews. “A Nasty Piece of Work” proclaims one ad. “Mind-Blowingly Inappropriate” says another. The most hyped promo of all? “Every Parent’s Nightmare”. I … Continue reading Brilliant Marketing: Promoting *Negative* Reviews
The U.S. Navy has always been at the forefront of marketing. It’s innovative use of Hollywood as a recruiting tool (Top Gun, The Hunt For Red October, Pearl Harbor) far exceeds what the other branches of the service have accomplished. And now, the Navy has taken another pioneering step, by allow documentary filmmakers to produce … Continue reading The Persuasiveness of Imperfection: What You Can Learn from the U.S. Navy
One of the major advantages that Barack Obama currently holds over Hillary Clinton in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination here in the United States lies in how his campaign has managed the media. Clinton’s campaign has complained that the media coverage is more sympathetic to Obama (which is pretty evident to anyone who … Continue reading To Sell Your Story, Be The Story
One of the skills every marketer (if not every person) needs to master is the art of managing expectations.Managing expectations is a “Goldilocks” task–too high, and they’ll be impossible to meet; too low, and they’ll detract from your accomplishments; just right, and you’ll be a hero. Of the potential pitfalls, high expectations are perhaps the … Continue reading Great Expectations (Management)
“The easiest way to build a brand is to sell fear. The best way, though, may be to deliver on hope while aiming for love…”–Seth Godin
One of the most important principles of marketing is persistence. Every marketer I’ve ever worked with has said that a target has to be exposed to your message at least six times before it sinks in.At first, I wasn’t certain if I believed them. After all, six times seems kind of arbitrary, and I never … Continue reading If at first you don’t persuade, try, try again (The Rule of Six)
When I started my first company (long, long ago in a valley not so far away), I learned a valuable lesson from Jim Fitzsimmons, the guy I recruited to be CEO. Jim had experience both as an entrepreneur, and as a corporate manager (he had been assistant controller of all of Pepsico), and he had … Continue reading You Get What You Inspect, Not What You Expect
It’s so seldom that GM does anything right, that I’m always shocked when they do something “not dumb.” Which made it even more noteworthy when they actually latched onto a stroke of genius this summer. “Transformers” promises to be the monster hit of the summer. As one movie reviewer put it, “It has cars that … Continue reading Marketing Salute: General Motors
I read a great little post in FastCompany about how valuable and easy it can be for a business to create a sense of abundance and generosity: When I arrived, the restaurant was packed and we were told we’d have towait a short while for a seat. The wait ended up being a minute or … Continue reading It’s Easy To Be Remarkable. So Why Don’t We Do It?