SMART Marketing & PR

Old Spice has new commercial writers

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 01:06:00 +0000

You probably don’t remember the lame commercials that Old Spice produced to try and boost their brand and sell more products years ago. They were not memorable.

But now, Old Spice has a new creative team. Quite simply, they’re nuts.

They’ve been known to shoot 200 commercials in 2 days. Then they put them on YouTube.

Old Spice has new commercial writers

Drowning at the party. One blink is all it takes.

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 15:49:00 +0000

Have you noticed all the drowning deaths in the news lately?

Holiday weekends are the most dangerous. According to the American Public Health Association, “Florida has the highest drowning death rate in the US for children ages 1-4 years (8.9/100,000) and during 1999-2003 recorded 356 unintentional drowning deaths among children in this age group. In children under age 5, swimming pool drownings are most common (68%).”

Click below to see how it can happen.

Drowning at the party. One blink is all it takes.

Will oil spill grassroots marketing campaign work for Palm Beach County?

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 15:46:00 +0000

Collateral damage is part of any disaster or emergency. Misinformation or the wrong perception is common. Florida is going through that right now.

Mention vacationing or buying waterfront property or near beach homes in Florida, outside the state, and many react, “The beaches are flooded with oil,” Property values are crashing because of the oil,” and on and on.

It’s just not true.

Click Below to See The facts:

Will oil spill grassroots marketing campaign work for Palm Beach County?

How do you find and hire a professional writer?

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Thu, 20 May 2010 17:55:00 +0000

More and more “writers” are appearing in the market. They blog, write email, use Twitter, and are rabid Facebook users. There is no shortage of channels for them to express themselves. Are these the people you should hire?

Click to read more: Marketing Works Today

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 16:19:00 +0000

Mobile marketing is heating up! http://ping.fm/hQeWE

Social Media Marketing Help at Hubspot

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 15:32:00 +0000

Check it out!

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/2010/03/17/social-media-marketing-help-at-hubspot/

Print Can Work as Part of a Marketing & PR Strategy

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 01:19:00 +0000

A good integrated marketing and PR strategy must incorporate the media types and channels that best fit the audience for a product, service, or situation. Many times print is a great fit. Read more:

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/2010/03/06/print-can-work-as-part-of-a-marketing-and-pr-strategy/

It Takes More Than a Single Bullet to Win in the Marketplace

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 01:44:00 +0000

Over the last month I’ve heard one employee after another, one senior executive after another, and one consultant after another tell me that they are looking for a magic bullet to solve their marketing and sales problems.

They didn’t phrase it that way. They said things like:
* “We’re jumping all over this social networking thing.”
* “I’m trying TV. I think that’ll bring in leads and traffic.”
* “I’ve got this really hot sales exec coming in. She’s going to make our numbers soar.”
* “The guy I was going to hire a year ago is available now so we’re ‘bringin him in’ because he’s a market maker.”

I asked, after each one of these statements, what else are you going to do and they each said, essentially, nothing. That’s it, nada.

Doing more than one thing makes it more complicated… harder to imagine.

Click here to read more:

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/2010/03/01/it-takes-more-than-a-single-bullet-to-win-in-the-marketplace/

3 Sources to Help You Take the Guesswork Out of Marketing & Advertising

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 01:39:00 +0000

I'll bet you want to find out how to get more qualified leads, prospects, clients, and sales? Especially for the lowest cost per customer.

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/2010/02/27/3-sources-to-help-you-take-the-guesswork-out-of-marketing-advertising/

Use Interesting Places and Situations to Attract Attention

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 18:44:00 +0000

One of my specialties is writing and producing feature stories for the web, print, and TV that shows a product in a unique place or situation. The uniqueness attracts attention and the payoff is showing how the product or brand would work in almost every place or situation. Here's a sample about Amangiri:

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/writing-samples/

Marketing Works Today: New Blog from Brown Ltd.

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:21:00 +0000

Click the link below.

http://brownltd.wordpress.com/

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:56:00 +0000

Mike is now on the new social network site Google Buzz. Check it out and connect: http://ping.fm/PyoBk

15 Minutes. Time-frame for a weblead to encourage them to become a prospect

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 14:46:00 +0000

15 Minutes. That's how much time you have to answer a weblead. In this article you will learn how to setup a system to take advantage of those precious webleads. Find our more: Marketing Works Today

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 17:57:00 +0000

Social network efficiency with Ping.fm. Create once, publish on all your networks.

From Print to Phone to Web. And a Sale?

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:39:00 +0000

"Item Level Intelligence" (Radio Frequency Identification) will eventually replace bar codes on products. Smartphones will integrate that function to make point-of-sale more interactive and possibly ad/PR more interactive. In the meantime, to get more product info available to shoppers and ad/PR measurement for business, publishers are using scan/web/text messaging to get consumers to interact.

Smartphones that can read bar codes are allowing magazines to add Internet-like interactivity to print graphics and advertisements.

NY Times

By STEPHANIE CLIFFORD

Published: January 10, 2010

Print may be a flat medium, but that has not stopped magazine publishers from trying to add dimension to their pages. For at least a decade, they have been experimenting with bar codes and icons that could take readers to Web sites, trying to add a bit of Internetlike interactivity to their pages.

But the average consumer did not own a bar-code reader — until now. With the sudden ubiquity of smartphones, which have apps that can read bar codes, and cameraphones, which can easily snap pictures of icons, magazines like Esquire and InStyle are adding interactive graphics to their articles, while Entertainment Weekly and Star are including them in ads.

Click to Read NY Times Article

Use Wikipedia as a Marketing Tool

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 20:19:00 +0000

In the age of social media, you can use Wikipedia -- the world's online encyclopedia –- as a marketing tool. Small businesses are finding that getting a listing in Wikipedia can help validate their existence and more.

By Minda Zetlin Use Wikipedia as a Marketing Tool

Copywriting that Works in Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 18:31:00 +0000

You can write anyway you want to market your products, services, and relationships. Are they listening? Are they acting on your words? Do you get more qualified leads, traffic, sales, or relationships that matter?

I’ve always written to engage people as simply and personally as possible with the idea that a personal, helpful approach leads to a relationship.

The point is to add value to someone else. Adding value in relationships leads to two-way influence. A sale can come from that relationship – or not. You might get something better… world changing advice, a great friend, a business partner, or more.

Many in the Social Media world write like they speak or sound like they do at work.

As William Zinsser says in his classic book On Writing Well, “Clutter is the disease of American writing. We are a society strangling in unnecessary words, circular constructions, pompous frills, and meaningless jargon.” I would add acronyms to that list.

When I was writing speeches for IBM and Motorola executives, I would ask to interview the speaker at their home. Most thought it strange but went along with it. The reason was to find out what they sound like when they are a real person. Not their work voice - their personal voice. A spouse or kids won’t put up with corporate-speak. Those tech and “leadership” words make executives all sound the same at work and bore an audience.

They make you sound the same as everyone else on social networks too.

If you aren't getting more leads and meaningful business relationships on social networks, consider hiring a professional writer. Social Media has become a vortex of content.

Professional writers help your content break through the clutter. They know, and have practiced, how to reach your audience and start relationships. To learn more about my freelance writing services, click here: Get Words That Work For You!

CMOs Want Measurable Results From Social Media

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 14:47:00 +0000

CMOs Want Measurable Results From Social Media : MarketingProfs

Traditional Media: Motorola TV Spot that Works

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:51:00 +0000

Finally. Motorola has a spot that works. It speaks for itself. They should have hired Ogilvy a long time ago. I just wonder if they are buying any media so others can see it. You decide and let me know if you've seen it on TV:

Click Here then Click on "The latest spot" to See the Commercial

2009: Year of the Social Network

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:34:00 +0000

As 2009 draws to a close, it's clear that the year was a watershed for social networks and the firms that own them. The year saw major changes at sites like Facebook and Twitter as millions of non-technical users became regular users of social networks. See the numbers:

Click Here to See the Article from PC World

E-Marketing Outlook for 2010

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 18:29:00 +0000

SMART Marketing & PR is advising clients to act on the following advice in 2010.

This will be a year in which social network advertising will intersect with other types of advertising.

• Integrate Social Media Into Your Advertising
- Find Customers, Where They Are, Online
- Contact Your Repeat Customers (easier to keep than get): LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
- Prospect for New Customers Based on Your Best Customer Profiles: Groups in LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.
- Create Content Once – Publish Many Places
- Use the One Campaign, One Message Technique and A/B Test: Don’t Sell – HELP!
- Use the Mixed Media in Multiple Channels That You KNOW Your Customers & Prospects Use
- Separate Landing Pages & 800 Numbers for Each Channel to Measure Results
- In Addition: Social Ad Networks Will Expand
Expect more momentum behind advertising that is targeted based on information from social network user profiles. News Corp.’s Fox Audience Network (FAN) and services from startups 33Across, Media6° and others are already up and running. Meanwhile, some advertisers, such as Discovery Channel, have tested ad formats that are personalized on the fly by using Facebook profile data.

• Continue Search Engine Marketing and Target the Right Social Networking Sites and Groups in Those Sites.

• News Release, News Release, News Release at Least Twice a Week. When you are successful at this, the press will come to you – the expert.

• Expand Your Content Marketing Strategy. Helpful Content is King and It Makes You the Expert in Your Field.
- Twitter is Expanding. Make Sure You Follow the Influencers and More Importantly, Get the Influencers to Follow You.
- Think Beyond the Desktop. Mobile is Moving Into the Mainsteam!

> Look to the 55+ Age Demographic for Internet Usage Increases
Does your product or service "fit" the 55+ market? Internet usage will continue to rise, as consumers find more ways to access the Internet. Plus they have CASH. The continuing proliferation of laptops, smartphones and Internet-enabled TVs, MP3 players and gaming consoles will be the main force behind this trend. Teens and young adults are already active Internet users with many devices. The change will be seen among adults ages 55 and older, many of whom have always had an interest in consumer electronics and now are discovering social networks and other media.

• Traditional Off-Line Media Must Have Online Measurement Components
Set Up Separate Landing Pages and 800 Numbers For Each Channel/Ad. Measurement Saves You Marketing Budget.

If you need help implementing this advice, contact me! mikebrown@BrownLtd.com

SMART Marketing at the Right Place to the Right Audience

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 03:16:00 +0000

Even a fifth grader Gets It.

This sign is on a community dog "Poop Can." It's advertising a dog sitting service.

STRATEGY TO MEET THE GOAL & TARGET: The message goes only to prospective customers. It does not intrude on anyone who would have no interest in the service, like in a mailbox or a doorhanger of a home without a pet.

RIGHT MEDIA MIX IN THE RIGHT LOCATION: Sign on the Can

CREATIVE THAT SELLS: Hand drawn picture of a dog that attracts and headline that lets you know what's for sale instantly.

BRANDING THAT STATES THE BENEFIT: "I Will Be There"

TACTICS TO FIT THE SITUATION. CALL TO ACTION THAT CAN BE MEASURED (# of calls): "Call xxx-xxxx"

Most Lemonade Stand Entrepreneurs Get IT Too!

Original Post From www.contentmarketingtoday.com

Citizen 2.0

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 22:26:00 +0000

Check out this SlideShare Presentation. Don't let the date on this presentation deter you. This is a movement that is long in coming, just like Government 2.0 has been evolving.

Citizen 2.0

View more presentations from Jesse Thomas.

TiVo to Provide TV Viewing Data to Google

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 20:25:00 +0000

It's all about tracking and measurement. That's what makes SMART Marketing successful.

Every executive has an opinion. True life stories:

- They'll "order" you to use Grateful Dead like music in a radio spot because they're a fan... and then tell you to jack the volume up real loud so you can't even hear the message. Without measurement, you won't be able to fight back.

- Others will tell you to run TV commercials on a mass media channel (because they like the channel) to drive traffic to some small real estate development buried in the middle of that vast viewing area. If you don't measure the results, that executive will continue to ruin your sales and waste your marketing budget.

Facts must overrule personal preference. This announcement is another big win for measurement ammo.

Click Here for TiVo and Google Announcement

Inc. 500 Increases Social Media Marketing Use to 91%

noreply@blogger.com (R. Michael Brown) — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +0000

Social Media Marketing is in use by the Inc 500. Forty-three percent of the 2009 Inc. 500 reported social media was “very important” to their business/marketing strategy. An incredible 91% of the Inc. 500 is using at least one social media tool in 2009 (up from 77% in 2008). In addition, as they ramp up their usage, the Inc. 500 companies are also seeking to protect themselves legally, with 36% having implemented a formal policy concerning blogging by their employees.

Click Here to Download a PDF of the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth Study