Marketing Craftmanship

NOVEMBER 5, 2012

This is where I found Elmer, the Volunteer Craftsman. One week ago today, my wife and I spent most of the night in total darkness lying on a mattress we had dragged into the front hallway: the location we determined to be the safest in the house…other than the basement, which we considered our retreat of last resort. On the other side of our front door, Hurricane Sandy lived up to expectations.

Cable 139

Cable Marketing Management Statistics Distribution 139

Marketing Craftmanship

JULY 18, 2012

Stephen Gough a/k/a the “Naked Rambler” As reported today in The Scotsman , after spending six years behind bars for walking around Great Britain with no clothes on, 53 year-old Stephen Gough – known as the “Naked Rambler” – was released from prison in Perth, Scotland. Mr. Gough, who left the facility naked, vowed to continue his “vocation in life,” which involves not wearing clothing to demonstrate his non-conformity with social norms, and to prove that people are prejudice.

Paid Search Agency 138

Paid Search Agency Positioning Organization Spending 138

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 20, 2012

A Compromised Value Proposition? If the biggest loser in disgruntled employee Greg Smith’s recent OpEd piece was Goldman Sachs, then the apparent winner in this high-profile media sideshow was The New York Times. Rarely has an opinion piece on any topic, published in any major newspaper or periodical, attracted so much attention and controversy. The veracity of Mr.

Opinions 132

Opinions Viral Marketing Profiling Advertisements 132

Marketing Craftmanship

JANUARY 5, 2012

Learning to Live With Employee Opinion. Since its founding in 2007, Glassdoor.com has become an important research tool for job hunters, corporate recruiters, and anyone looking for unvarnished behind-the-scenes insight into what really goes on behind corporate doors. Although Vault.com – established more than a decade earlier – serves much the same purpose, Glassdoor.com represents a far greater online brand risk…largely because the website provides free access to remarks posted by real, bogus

PR 122

PR Social Media Tools Media 122

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 6, 2012

Stormy Weather for BMW? For a fee, Germany allows people or companies to sponsor the names of weather fronts. So last month, to promote the “wind and weatherproof” capabilities of its Mini Cooper line, BMW’s marketing agency purchased naming rights to a high pressure system that originated in Siberia. But the Cooper storm turned out to be far more than weather forecasters and BMW expected.

PR 109

PR Forecasting Paid Search Agency Advertising Agencies 109

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 22, 2012

Quote Approvals Lower the Risk of Media Burn. The practice of requiring journalists to submit on-the-record quotes for approval by a source in advance of publication has long been a sore point between the media and the PR profession. A new spotlight has been cast on the issue, with writer Michael Lewis’ acknowledgment that he’d agreed to quote approval for his Vanity Fair profile on Barack Obama, and the new policy issued by the New York Times , which forbids their reporters from agreeing to “af

PR 100

PR Media Press Blogger 100

Marketing Craftmanship

SEPTEMBER 2, 2012

Harvard University announced last week that the school is investigating 125 students for possibly cheating on a take-home final exam for “Government 1310: Introduction to Congress.” After reviewing more than 250 take-home exams turned in last Spring, the Harvard College Administrative Board has opened cases involving nearly half the 279 students enrolled in the class.

Public Relations 100

Public Relations PR Press Class 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MAY 4, 2012

The Rolls Royce of Vacuum Cleaners. My connection with advertising legend David Ogilvy is that, early in our careers, we both sold consumer appliances door-to-door. Long before he founded Ogilvy & Mather in 1949, and following a short-lived career as a chef in Paris, David Ogilvy sold AGA cooking stoves to housewives in Scotland. Long before I founded Highlander Consulting, as a college student seeking money for gas and beer, I sold Fairfax vacuum cleaners to housewives in Connecticut.

Paper 100

Paper Tactics Advertisements Advertising 100

Marketing Craftmanship

APRIL 19, 2012

Everything Counts in Brand Management. LinkedIn has become an important business channel, not only for individuals to showcase their professional credentials, but also for companies seeking to promote their value proposition and to establish or manage brand awareness. LinkedIn is no longer simply a social media tool that enables corporate executives to put themselves in play for a better job under the guise of “networking.

Enterprise Management 100

Enterprise Management Work Management Marketing Management Ideal Customer Profiles 100

Marketing Craftmanship

MARCH 16, 2012

Publicity Must Be More Than Noise. Companies of all sizes believe that more publicity is always better, as a means to raise brand awareness and drive business results. But there are several reasons why this noisy carnival barker publicity is a losing game. For starters: There are too many distractions within traditional print, broadcast and digital media channels to ensure that target audiences will notice your company’s brand exposure, remember seeing it, or be influenced by the coverage; Many

Merchandising 100

Merchandising PR Lead Scoring Lead Ranking 100

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 16, 2012

LtoR: Heather Fuller, Andrew Crisp, Percy, Gary Thompson, Mickie Kennedy. Missing: Nimmi, the acrobatic dog. eReleases competes with dozens of electronic news distribution services, all seeking to charge companies and PR agencies hefty fees to put their press releases in front of journalists, in hopes of capturing the media’s attention and coverage.

Cost 100

Cost Guerilla Marketing B2B Marketing Paid Search Agency 100

Marketing Craftmanship

AUGUST 21, 2012

Darla and Condi Have No Reason to Celebrate. Augusta National Golf Club, long revered by the golfing world as the Sistine Chapel of their sport, announced with great pride (a “joyous occasion,” according to Augusta Chairman Billy Payne) that it had invited bureaucrat Condoleezza Rice and financier Darla Moore to join the club as its first female members.

Class 132

Class Validation Transparency Profiling 132

Marketing Craftmanship

FEBRUARY 10, 2012

Hedge Fund Craftsmanship. By most measures, Ray Dalio has achieved great success during his 62 years on earth. Unlike Donald Trump, Dalio didn’t inherit wealth. As a middle-class kid, he delivered newspapers, shoveled snow and was a caddy during the summer. The company Dalio established in his apartment in 1975, Bridgewater Associates, is now the world’s largest and most successful hedge fund manager, with more than $120 billion in assets under management.

Enterprise Management 138

Enterprise Management Work Management Transparency Marketing Management 138