QViews

Dialing up transparency with Andy Bond at Asda

2010-01-01T12:03:41-06:00

A grocery store with glass brick walls? Now that's transparency. Asda CEO Andy Bond makes me smile. Check out his Wikipedia entry (if not squelched yet it describes him as James Bond's brother), and the Aisle Spy blog. I appreciate Bond trying to DO everything he can to communicate transperancy, not just talking about it. More details about their innovative experiments with transparency at Reuters. WSJ.com: Grocer Asda Turns to Customers for Advice, 2009-Oct-2, by Lilly Vitorovich Asda, the second-biggest supermarket chain by U.K. market share behind Tesco, is hoping that involving customers more in business decisions will gain their...

Two ways sponsorships engage an audience

2009-12-22T10:27:31-06:00

As I observe the evolution of marketing and advertising, I am convinced that 'sponsorships' will become one of the most important ways for companies to gain and keep awareness among a target audience. Sponsorships take the pressue off a company to talk too much about itself (or theirselves, I guess). Your audience is interested in what you can do for them, but not in much else going on in the company. Unless your have employees who are particularly entertaining...if not, you can hire some entertainment by sponsoring a professional entertainer. For instance, Hewlett-Packard is sponsoring the online airing of The...

Which Companies Use Marketkeeping?

2009-11-24T15:12:43-06:00

Marketkeeping is the process of keeping your customers connected to you, as well as making sure your identified prospects don't drift away. This process requires identifying your desired contacts, maintaining an open line of communication, and responding to their needs. In many organizations, this process is managed by a sales staff, but top management cannot assume that sales people are doing the complete job. Who gets it? American Express, for one. I'm speaking from the point of view of one of their long-time small business customers, not from the view of their marketing team. They clearly recognize me as a...

Before You Join the Social Media Party

2009-10-28T12:36:17-05:00

Over at Brazen Careerist, Matt talks about what it takes for an individual to be successful in social media. If you think you'd like to join the rest of us using social media, or worse, if you feel competitive pressure to use Facebook, Twitter, or any other social media tool, please consider these 15 steps. I encourage you to read Matt's original post, which is very insightful, or click through to my paraphrase. Whenever I actually intend to use advice, I re-write it in my own language, so that it becomes part of my thinking. Thanks, Matt! Brazen Careerist: Invest...

Giving your customers more power

2009-10-02T11:10:00-05:00

T3 of Austin has developed the interactive components for Chase's new campaign targeting small business owners. Competing directly with the American Express 'Open for Business' campaign, 'Ink' focuses more on the entrepreneur's desire to 'do-it-my-way.' The most powerful marketkeeping component of this offering is the fact you have to configure and choose your reward options. Mediapost Marketing Daily: Chase 'Ink' Campaign Targets Small Biz, 2009-Oct-2, by Tanya Irwin Creative executions are built around the idea that behind every small business is a story about how they started, what they have accomplished and where they are going. The "This is the...

Top Ten Email Newsletter Designs

2009-09-28T08:59:18-05:00

Of all the email newsletters I receive, these are the ten best designed. All are excellent in a different way, so there's no ranking. le cool - most innovative Publishing Perspectives - best example of curating a topic ClickZ Experts Today - most effective at humanizing news and opinions Promo Xtra - best at discovering valuable tidbits First to Know - best at showing what news means (relevancy) Fast Company - the glitziest take on technology and business trends Springwise - best use of imagery to convey ideas quickly Fetchdog - most beautiful overall design Flavorpill - best information architecture...

Keeping up with the Sharing System

2009-09-26T11:52:00-05:00

Participating is social media is easier when you have ideas and links to share. Help your audience get into the game by providing them the right stuff to share in the right places. MediaPost Email Insider: Email Share-to-Social: Not Just About The Links, 2009-Sep-24, by Loren McDonald Be ready to educate: ... tell subscribers what's in it for them. Appeal to the reasons that motivate people to share information.... Know where your subscribers hang out: Yes, Facebook dominates social sharing. ... while not included as often as Facebook, MySpace and Twitter, actually had a higher email share rate (percentage of...