Social media, search optimization, and content marketing may be the front stage performers in marketing these days, but there’s a tried and true marketing star you should not forget — the postcard. A good postcard is a marketing workhorse. The key is to hone the message and design of your postcard carefully and expand your mailing list to new prospects who don’t already know you.
To start off, let’s congratulate the RAVENS! We are, after all, a Baltimore-area company (and I for one love the Ravens!).
I glanced down… the ground was 300 feet below me and I had to jump. I had to trust that I would make it down safely. My heart was pumping fast and I was more frightened than I’d like to admit, but I leaned back, as instructed, and took the leap. I was rappelling into a cave. Initially I was scared, but once I jumped I was able to sit back and enjoy the beautiful views around me.
We all receive them and we all send them. Some more than others, but for the most they are an integral part of conducting business on a daily basis. What are they? Emails! Emails are meant to engage, excite or inspire your current and potential clients but can have the opposite effect of what you were aiming for if you don’t follow some simple rules.
At the beginning of this year, 110-year-old retailer, JCPenney began making changes to its brand in an effort to restore it’s integrity and transform the way shoppers feel about the experience of retail stores. Their aim is to get rid of the frustration and make shopping “simpler” and it is all part of a brand overhaul planned by Apple exec turned new JCPenney CEO Ron Johnson. Johnson plans to completely revamp JCPenney’s image by 2015 and his plan is to do that by taking big risks. Johnson draws his inspiration from his former boss, the late Steve Jobs. His new marketing strategy will all be about product, place, price, and promotion – the 4 P’s of marketing. But he will also add in presentation and personality to increase curiosity and interest in JCPenney.
If you are a fan of the history of branding and advertising like we are at insight180, check out “Art & Copy,” a documentary that delves into the history of the advertising industry and the advent of the artist and copywriter actually working together in the same room. The film does not tout “trashy” advertising, but rather sought to gather insights from the greatest advertising minds of the last 50 years. Director, Doug Pray, describes these great minds as fiercely independent mavericks. Some cast members include Wieden+Kennedy’s Dan Wieden and David Kennedy, responsible for Nike’s “Just do it” campaign, Mary Wells, founding president of Wells Rich Greene and the first woman to own and run an ad agency, Rich Silverstein and Jeff Goodby of Goodby, Silverstein and partners who conceived the simple yet effective “Got Milk” campaign; additionally, Lee Clow, Chairman and Global Director of TBWAWorldwide, responsible for the groundbreaking 1984 Apple ad. This all-star cast really shows the audience how advertising works and the ideas behind “good advertising.”
William Caxton set up the first printing press in England. Caxton was a merchant by trade, but learned printing later in his life. He is responsible for being the first to print many well-known books, including Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales (BBC). He was also, the first to publish an ad in English.
Just read an interesting article in Advertising Age that had my attention. Thought I’d share it and see what you all think.
No, I’m not talking about the swine flu. I’m talking about marketing messages and how you can get them to go viral. Viral marketing has become a hip, low-cost way to reach a lot of people quickly. While its not easy to do, following a few rules can help, according to Dan and Chip Heath, in the May issue of Fast Company.
The economic stresses businesses are facing right now make it seem like the whole world is upside down, that running a business now is different than before. And everyone's fear is, do we have the skill set to be able to see it through?
