Cleaning out old starred items on Google Reader, I came across this quote from a McKinsey article in a post at Emergence Marketing:
“Once a fairly discrete department within the organization, marketing is more and more often being asked to fulfill a far more significant, strategic role with implications for the entire enterprise.”
This made me think [...]
Speaking of niche marketing, the New York Times ran an article about three weeks ago on how The Gap is struggling without a niche:
Gap has served up a steady diet of simple, unobjectionable casual clothing designed to appeal to everyone. [..] In an era of niches, when exclusion is as vital as inclusion, Gap has [...]
Think of things that get stuck in your head. Things you can’t get off your mind. Chances are a few songs come to mind. Or worse — jingles!Humans have excellent audio memory. Duct Tape Marketing provides a list of easy ideas for making sure that you connect with both earballs and eyeballs.I particularly like #4 [...]
This article in BusinessWeek reports on the spread of Firefox, a browser which has grabbed to 10% of the market from Internet Explorer in two years (I switched a while back from Safari).Several colleagues have happily switched to Firefox from Internet Explorer at the behest of a tech-savvy friend, vendor, or relative. None have looked [...]
Jackie Huba over at Church of the Customer blogged about a hand-written note she received sent by a sales associate at a retail store.Hand-written notes leave a strong impression — as follow-ups, a thank you, a reminder, or just checking in. I’ve observed that people appreciate the old-fashioned, personal touch.I know many professionals that spend [...]
Steven Levitt (coauthor of Freakonomics) commented on faking user-generated content (which I discussed here). Found via Emergence Marketing:
One conclusion which Steven Levitt at Freakonomics comes to when answering the question “what does or does not make Internet buzz translate into commercial success” is “One reasonable answer to that question may be that when the buzz [...]
Note to marketers attending conferences: provide a memorable experience, be approachable and noticeable, but don’t be pushy. See the Social Customer Manifesto Blog, which I found via Church of the Customer.
Scoble says:
Why have Google and Apple done so well in the last three years? Cause the grassroots loves them. That’s the powerroot of the industry. Ideas here don’t come from the big influencers and move down. No, they start on the street and move up. Anyone miss how Google got big? Not by throwing a [...]
The Brains on Fire Blog has a good overview on the Al Gore’s Penguin Army video.Essentially, DCI Group, a PR firm that holds Exxon Mobil as an account, released an ostensibly funny video on YouTube mocking An Inconvenient Truth (and misusing the Linux penguin).If their purpose was to send up a little flack on behalf [...]
Following up to my last post: If it’s true that traditional market research has a bias towards answers given in the convention form, what’s that mean for your business?Are conventions the ideal type of answer for those seeking insight into their customers’ behavior?I think no. As the insightful commenter mentioned on Gladwell’s blog, conventions such [...]