Sometimes you just can't say it better than Mark Twain.

I love marketing quotes – the wit, the punditry, the directness – and how an entire concept can be summed up in one sentence (or two or three).  Here are some of my favs:

“Tell a story that is memorable and remarkable and worth listening to.  Seduce your customers, because that’s exactly what they want you to do.” – Seth Godin

“Strategy should be developed from the bottom up, not from the top down.  In other words,  strategy should be developed from a deep knowledge of and involvement in the actual tactics of the business itself.” – Jack Trout

“The essence of good marketing is the commitment to be something.  … You cannot hold two divergent positions at one time.” – William H. Davidow

“In good times people want to advertise, in bad times, they have to.” – Bruce Barton

“When executed properly, an ad campaign will pay for itself, then buy you lunch.” -Robert D. Sharp

“Many a small thing has been made large by the right kind of advertising.” – Mark Twain

“Delay is the death of the sale.” – Gary Halbert

“Advertising is totally unnecessary. Unless you hope to make money.” – Jef I. Richards

“The spider looks for a merchant that doesn’t advertise so he can spin a web across his door and lead a life of undisturbed peace!”  – Mark Twain

“There is more money wasted in advertising by under-spending than by over-spending. Years ago someone said that under-spending in advertising is like buying a ticket halfway to Europe – you’ve spent your money but you never get there.” – Morris Hite

There are many, many more quotables out there (especially with all the great content now in blogs and Twitter).  Please feel free to add your favorite marketing quotes or witty sentiments in the comments!

(Image credit: Photo Mojo)

Marketing Quotes is a post from: RSA Blog

Sounds good, but why does this matter? Why is this important?

Increase the bottom line.

With the new-found ability to reach a wide audience coupled with the chance to engage and interact with their audience, businesses are not only reaching new customers, they are building relationships with people. This is important because these relationships build loyalty…and this ultimately translates into dollars. People who are loyal to the brand are buying more than just a product.

Take the French bottled water company, Evian.  They recently introduced a new advertising campaign to re-energize their brand in a struggling economy.  The new campaign combines a more traditional advertising medium, TV, with an innovative web strategy focused on sharable content and user interaction.

The new “Evian Babies” video features break-dancing, rollerskating babies. It began a sensation when the company first released the ad on YouTube and then later launched the popular commercial on television. The video’s objective was to project the brand’s values of health, youth and purity in a much more playful way than in the past.

To continue the experience, “Evian Babies” fans can visit their website, see the casting call, outtakes, and interviews of the cast (yes, 3 of the 96 babies are interviewed). Then, fans of these now famous (fake) babies are directed to their Facebook page where they have the chance to meet other fans, interact with these tiny celebs, and get the “inside scoop”.

So far, the campaign has proven to be a success – generating buzz, receiving millions of views, and thousands of fans. This is great, but, remember the main objective was to “re-energize their brand in a struggling economy”.

The true test of the campaign will lie in the coming months – the next time you go to the store, will you buy just any ‘ol water, or the one that reminds you of health, youth, purity…and cute rollerskating babies?

Web Strategies Extend the User Experience is a post from: RSA Blog

*It is far easier to ensure good customer service than to repair the damages of bad service – like trying to repair a broken window. (Photo credit: Shoes on Wires)

Why are any of us in business? I think that’s a question more people should ask themselves. Sometimes, I don’t know why some businesses bother to go on.

Lately service, or rather a lack of it, has really got to me. I recently ordered some replacement glass for my new house from a local (nameless) company. One of the windows was cracked when I moved in. It was delivered after two weeks which is when the trouble started. Not only was the glass too big, but I also had to pay a Glazier for a window that wasn’t fitted.

The glass company happily took the window back, admitting that it had measured it wrong (good so far). They said that they’d let me know when the new glass was ready. Fast forward six weeks; one more incorrectly measured pane of glass, and I am now fuming. For some time they weren’t even answering my calls; even the shop was closed when I went to visit. Eventually after several phone calls – and a call to the owner’s personal residence – I have a new piece of glass that is supposed to be going in this weekend (I’ll keep you posted). What really annoyed me was the lack of contact and severe delays with no explanation or apology. Rest assured I won’t be going back!

If I contrast this with another story of poor service, it illustrates how things can start out bad, but turn out for the best…

In 1998 my niece was born. She was living in Germany and I was living in England. At the time I wasn’t flush with cash, so, saving for a flight took some time. Nevertheless, I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see my sister’s first child, a beautiful baby girl. So I ended up in Dusseldorf, Germany, and spent a week there, taking pictures of my new niece and having a generally great time (I am a big beer drinker, eater of fresh pretzels, ahh… Ahem, that’s another blog).

So I got back to England and rushed the pictures to the developers – I didn’t have a digital camera at the time and in England, I used to use a well known chemist who also developed photos. Unfortunately, I did not use the 1-hour service which means that your photos stay in the store. Instead, I used the more affordable option, which took longer, but meant the photos were sent away to a processing center. The developer then lost the photos. I angrily explained the importance of these photos as they were of a newborn far away in Germany; therefore not immediately accessible for more snaps.

A week went by and I received a letter from the company’s Operations Manager, who apologized for the loss and gave me a check for £100 (about $155). While it was nice to receive a check, and also a signed letter, it did not bring my photos back. So I wrote back and enclosed the initial check, explaining that the photos were worth far more than this. A few days later, the company called me, and suggested that they pay for first class plane tickets back to Germany over Christmas for me and my family (three of us). I couldn’t believe my ears – I was ecstatic and accepted the offer – we spent a delightful Christmas and New Year in Dusseldorf.

Even after all of these years, I recall this story easily; it truly restored my faith in this company and it also demonstrated that humanity and dignity are a considerable element in quality service. It also proves a point, that while some customer experiences are negative, they can be turned into a positive if managed in the proper way.

Everyone accepts that things go wrong, we all make mistakes; doctors remove the wrong kidney; our troops are hit by “friendly fire”; it’s not intentional – it’s regrettable. I don’t for one minute believe that the harsh realities of modern warfare or mistakes in the medical profession are comparable to my customer service stories. But ultimately the most important thread in all of these analogies is how we deal with the aftermath, how we deal with difficult situations. In my view we need to embrace our mistakes; put measures into place that eliminate their reoccurrence and constantly evaluate our performance. Ultimately, a great customer experience should be at the heart of all we do. We just need to remind ourselves of that sometimes because in this day and age, customer service is a matter of survival. Customer service should never be an afterthought.

Why Good Customer Service is so Important is a post from: RSA Blog

Designer's rendering of the playground

The Vickie Powers Memorial Park Playground Project gets underway today.  It’s an exciting event – 5 days of building by hundreds of volunteers, and in the end the community will have a brand new playground in the park.

What’s cool about this playground is that it was designed with the help of children, so you know they’re going to love it. As part of a “community design, community build” concept, Rapid City’s Parks & Recreation Department teamed up with Leather’s & Associates, out of New York, to make this project happen.

The concept of this park’s “community design, community build” is classic and essential.  Whether it be by getting involved in social media, encouraging higher levels of customer and community service,  relationship building, or by hosting/contributing to community events, the community theme has been a common thread for many of our clients lately.  Sort of as a way to get back to the basics.  Back to the human connection.  Working together toward a common goal.

It’s encouraging to see so many people give so much to such a cause as this park, even in the midst of a recession. This generosity, this sense of community, is now more important than ever. I hope this playground and park will benefit the community by/for which it was built, and perhaps serve as a way to grow our sense of community in the days ahead.

Giving Back to Our Community is a post from: RSA Blog

According to the Twitter website, ‘Twitter is a service for friends, family, and co–workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent answers to one simple question: What are you doing?’

Relatively new to the ‘twittersphere’, my first reaction to this question ( just as the video ‘Trouble with Twitters’ comically conveys) was a simple answer:  ‘Does anyone care?’…

I think Chris Brogan said it best – ‘Instead of answering the question, ‘What are you doing?’, answer the question, ‘What has your attention?’

What do you find interesting right now at this very moment? The impulse to share this information with others shines a whole new light on Twitter…it isn’t about anyone individually, it’s about a community, it’s about sharing original or found content, thoughts, ideas, or impressions you think will provide value to others and passing it on to them…the trick is to listen, assess, and communicate!

And, as I ascend even higher into the twittersphere, I am finding that to communicate effectively in 140 characters or less involves actual thought and strategy.  TwiTip’s post ‘10 Ways to be Useful on Twitter’ relates some great tips for harnessing the power of Twitter.  Here a few of my favorites:

1. Be Nice – If you like what someone is saying, Follow them.  If they just posted a great article, tell others about it.  If they Re-Tweet one of your messages or link to your blog post, say thanks.
2. Retweet – Retweeting is an effective way to spread information quickly.  If someone you’re following tweets something interesting, ‘retweet’ (RT) it – help good ideas get exposed to tons of people.
3. Be You – Engage.  Help people.  Share your knowledge. You’ve only got 140 characters to get your point across.  Be brief and get to the point, but at the same time, be yourself.  Tweet like you speak and talk about things that bring value to you.
4. Don’t Spam – It’s tempting to talk about all the great things your business can offer, but you need to be personable, authentic, and join in the conversation, don’t just broadcast to the crowd.
5. Keep Your Profile Current – Make sure you have links and a good description of yourself in your profile.  Potential followers and friends use this to get a sense of who you are, what you do, and use it as a way to find additional content you might be putting out.
6. Be Useful – Don’t overdo it.  Don’t tell us incessantly about stuff we don’t care about. Engage, have fun, and can help the conversation.

In the end, the basic thing to remember is – Twitter is a new technology and we are all still learning. The way we communicate changes drastically with the advent of any new technology, from the telegraph and then the telephone to the inception of email, each time we must learn how to utilize the ‘new thing’ effectively.

So what’s the buzz about Twitter? is a post from: RSA Blog

Photo credit to spodzone

Social media campaigns should have a start and finish. BUT campaigns are only a piece of the social media marketing puzzle.

For several months, I’ve had an issue with people using the term “campaign” when talking about social media marketing. This bothers me because, overall, social media marketing needs to be looked at as ongoing process/strategy and it should not be thought of with a beginning and an end.

Last week, Tracey, Kyle and I attended a presentation by social media strategist Jason Baer.

His talk was lively, entertaining, to the point and right on – breaking down 7 ways to use social media:

#1 – Reputation Management (Heard that before)

#2 – Customer Service (Excellent point, but I knew that too.)

#3 – PR (Same story)

#4 – Client Acquisition (So I already know that’s a perk of social media. Wait, what’s this about campaigns and having a beginning and an end? Now I’m listening.)

And then it hit me. When done for client acquisition, you can/need to have a beginning and an end (campaigns). Depending on your marketing objectives, promotional campaigns (with a more precisely targeted strategy and objective) are an excellent component of social media and traditional marketing. BUT…don’t forget that the campaigns are ONLY a COMPONENT of the complete and ongoing online marketing strategy.

Social media marketing is NOT a series of campaigns!

Given the nature and purpose of social media marketing (relationships and conversation), campaigns have no place on their own. The big picture (strategy) needs to be the foundation of all social media marketing endeavors.

Promotional campaigns (with a beginning and end), should only be used to fan the flame of your social media marketing efforts. If you plan to survive in this realm, your strategy will have no end – you’re in this for the long haul. The strategic foundation is essential as, when done right, the conversation and social media presence will continue for months or maybe even years after a campaign is over.

What do you think? Please, feel free to leave your thoughts, comments, questions, etc. below!

I’m not going to leave you hanging. In case you were still wondering what Jason’s last three points were:

#5 – Customer Loyalty

#6 – Thought Leadership

#7 – Networking

His complete sideshow is embedded below.

A time for everything, even social media campaigns is a post from: RSA Blog

Remember watching VH1 back around 1996-2000 when they had ‘Pop-up’ video?  It was the biggest thing going for a little while.  Basically, VH1 would take music videos from all genres and play them with fun little pop-up cartoon bubbles that showed funny little comments like trivia, wardrobe style comments (or lack thereof), and mocking the plot of the video.  It was always very entertaining, sort of like a music video ‘roast’.

In June of 2008, Youtube started playing with the idea of Annotation, based on the same concept as pop-up bubbles except these are INTERACTIVE (if you want).  Users who uploaded videos have the ability add pop-up bubbles or invisible ‘hot spots’ to their youtube videos on their youtube channel. Why is this a big deal?  It’s INTERACTIVE!  Users can create hotlinks from their video to other videos in their archive or elsewhere on Youtube.This is awesome, especially for guys like Chad, Matt, and Rob who used the concept to make a ‘choose your own adventure’ movie.  At the end of every clip, you must choose the next destination for Chad, Matt, & Rob via clicking on a interactive bubble.  There’s lots of other ideas out there too.  Enjoy…  Annotations get even better NEXT…

NOW,

you can also invite the world to add annotations to your video or invite specific people too.  You have complete control. To learn how to use annotations… watch the video at the bottom of this blog.

The upside is that Google is doing a great job of pushing the envelope of idea’s and giving the creative control to the users, not limiting it.  The downside is that this little opportunity could possibly muck-up a lot of videos if they aren’t managed well.

As for me, I love it!  It’s a great new playground to enjoy and might even take me back to when I actually watched tv and VH1 pop-up videos (I can still here the jingle…Pop-up vid-eee-ohss…..lalalalla)

Be Bold Minded.

Youtube, Pop-up Video Annotations is a post from: RSA Blog

No. It is not so. *sighs of relief* The advertising world is changing, though – and rightly so.

Advertising is not dead; it just needs to be less of a one-sided conversation and become a more social dialogue with the consumer. (Sorry Kyle, I’ve got to say consumer to go along with her shirt.) As long as there is such a thing as competitive business, advertising and marketing will continue to live, ever flourishing in the perpetual evolutionary dance that is society…or something like that.

With the rise of social media, people truly are looking for more/needing more from us (advertisers), and from you as a business. Now, online social venues are excellent platforms to do the following:

• Know the consumer.
• Love the consumer.
• Feel the consumer.
• Engage the consumer.
• LISTEN to the consumer.
• INTERACT with the consumer.

But, online communities are not the only method of connecting with people (prospects, consumers, friends, etc.). You may also find that a live fleshy handshake, pat on the back or handwritten note will help to bring the love back and open the door for this much needed connection.

Making this connection will not negate the need for advertising (as you still need to stay on the top of people’s mind), but it will render your advertising more effective – helping you get the most out of your ad/marketing dollars.

The top video (“The Break Up”) is a comedic portrayal of a divorce that the Consumer files from the insensitive Advertiser. The bottom video (its sequel, and better half – “Inspiration, anyone?”), demonstrates how Advertiser comes around and finds inspiration to re-connect with Consumer.

In short, Advertiser needs Consumer, and (to a certain degree) Consumer needs Advertiser.

Today’s consumer doesn’t need yesterday’s advertiser, though, but a new and improved advertiser that is inspired by who the consumer is. Advertising is not dead, and will not die as long as it stays symbioticly in touch with those consuming it.

What are your thoughts? Please feel free to comment below!

Is advertising really dead? is a post from: RSA Blog

And the digital TV conversion saga continues. On Wednesday (Jan. 28), the House defeated the bill to delay the big switch. But the Associated Press states that the “battle over a delay may not be over, with some predicting the House will take up the measure again next week.” If you’re hungry for a complete update on the situation, check out the above referenced article.

(Original Post)

The Big Buzz in the TV world is that, come February 17th, all full-power broadcast stations in the United States are to stop transmitting on analog airwaves and begin broadcasting in digital only.

www.dtv2009.gov

However, Senate voted yesterday, January 26th, to delay the big switch for nearly four months. The new deadline: June 12th.

So why the big delay? The answer, Digital Converter Boxes, or the lack there of. For awhile you couldn’t find them anywhere (not even in a back alley of New York). To multiply the problem, many of the government issued coupons expired while the consumer waited on more converter boxes to arrive. So now the consumers are yet again requesting coupons. Currently there are about 2.5 million Americans waiting on government issued coupons ($40) to offset the cost of converter boxes. The government ran out of them in early January.

Is the government to blame? Not necessarily. West Virginia Senate Commerce Chairman John Rockefeller said delaying the digital switch was the right thing to do because the United States was not ready to make the transition yet. Rockefeller also said:

Senator Rockefeller

“The Senate acted responsibly to give the Obama administration time to attempt to bring order to a mismanaged process.”

My big question, why did the government put such a short expiration date on the coupon in the first place (90-day redemption window)? Their reason: to encourage the consumer to use their coupon promptly (must have been part of their economic stimulus program). Hindsight is 20/20, though. They should have used X-Box or Sony Playstation as a supply and demand example. How long were stores’ shelves empty of these high demand electronics?

The FCC is prepared to help with the digital transition by giving away coupons towards the purchase of Digital Converter Boxes. You can get more information on the FCC’s Converter Box Program here. So if your coupon expired, or you forgot to request one in the first place, you still have time… again.

Hold on to your Digital Converter Boxes! is a post from: RSA Blog

This is where the true beauty of  modern technology comes in…people begin talking, sharing what they see with other users and the video spreads…like a virus, hence the term ‘viral marketing’.

Here is the most watched video on youtube.  Guess how many times it’s been viewed…nope, higher.  Come’on…HIGHER…how about 111,124,422.  Over one hundred and eleven million views!

Let me give you a quick lowdown on how important online videos is in today’s world.  These statistics are from the January 5 press release from comScore.com showing video statistics from the month of November 2008.

- Internet users viewed 12.7 billion videos in Nov. 2008 (up 34% from 1 year ago) – YouTube has 40% of that market share.

- Out of the more than 146 million viewers, each of them watched an average of 87 videos – YouTube had 98 million of those users, about 2 out of 3 users.

Here’s some more useful stats from the report.

• 77% of the total U.S. Internet audience watched a video online
• The average online video viewer watched 273 minutes of video
• 97 million viewers watched 5.1 billion videos on YouTube.com (52.3 videos per viewer)
• 52.5 million viewers watched 371 million videos on MySpace.com (7.1 videos per viewer)
• The duration of the average online video was 3.1 minutes
• The duration of the average online video viewed at Hulu was 11.9 minutes, higher than any other video property in the top ten

Okay, so this is the deal.  Like every marketing strategy, you MUST know your customer.  Who they are and where they find their information.  The internet isn’t the only destination for information, but it is the number one destination.  That’s why its the information super highway.

smile!

Today’s marketing strategy is changing and it’s no longer based on what I, the marketer, wants to say about my product. It’s moving towards what the world is saying about my product.  The businesses and marketers learning how to distribute original content that encourages social interaction related to their product, and work towards building an emotional relationship between their product and the customer will have the leading edge. It’s  old-school friend/enemy making.  It’s like having a birthday party and inviting  your friends, except today, your friends can twitter, video, and blog about how good or bad it was.  Uncle Bernard isn’t the only one with a video camera now.

Video is a gigantic tool that is becoming easier to use, more accessible, and easier to share.  Every trend hunter out there is projecting a huge increase in the use of viral video for online marketing and user generator content.  If you want to see what BBM Studios is doing, keep and eye on our Youtube Channel.

The curtains are moving off to the side and every passerby now has the ability to take their cell phone camera, record a video, and post it to the world … and then ask opinions.  Now that’s viral marketing.

More posts on video to come including ‘how to’s’, new technology, and how to harness the power of this innovative tool.  Click on our RSS feed at the top of the blog and follow us to stay connected.

New Marketing Trends – Viral Videos is a post from: RSA Blog