Blog - Page 2 of 53 - Bob Cargill

03Sep 2022 by Bob Cargill

The Dairy Queen Brand Extension

My wife, Barbara, and I recently had lunch recently with my mom at the same Dairy Queen in Bellingham, Massachusetts that my family went to back in the day. Only now it is a Dairy Queen Grill & Chill, not just a place to get soft-serve ice cream, milk shakes and other frozen treats. Talk about a big brand extension. I mean, this company has been around since 1940 and has over 7,000 locations today. When I was a kid, we'd get whatever we wanted for our birthdays. That was awesome. This time around, we got whatever we wanted, too.🙂 And I thought it was great. And the service, too. We got cheeseburgers. No ice cream. Times have changed. We went there for a meal, not dessert. The consumer in…

13Aug 2022 by Bob Cargill

Attracting the Attention of your Audience

Advertising, Branding, Business, Marketing

If you don't attract the attention of your audience in advertising and marketing, you won't have any customers and clients. It's that simple. And in this day and age, it's more difficult than ever to stand out among the competition and clutter, to get people to notice what you have to offer them. However, I couldn't help but notice a truck recently that was conspicuously parked in the huge, empty parking lot along Sudbury Street outside of Mill & Main, the old, historic mill complex in Maynard. Bull Spit. That was the name on the truck. Bull Spit. Catchy name for a business. Right? Attention-getting to say the least. Both the double entendre of the name of this brewing company and the fact that this truck was so strategically parked…

28Jul 2022 by Bob Cargill

Be Like Kevin

Branding, Business, Marketing, Social Media

Kevin Cronin is the lead vocalist and front man for the ridiculously awesome rock band, REO Speedwagon. He's a great performer and a great guy. But that's not why I want to talk about him today. I want to talk about how great he is on social media. Brands, businesses, professionals, people...everybody likes listening to Kevin and his legendary band perform, right? But not everybody knows how much they can learn from Kevin about how to use Facebook, Twitter and the like. It was more than 40 years ago when I saw REO Speedwagon at the Boston Garden. They put on a spectacular live show then, as I am sure they still do today. Yes, they're still touring, and I would love to see them again in concert. But in…

17Jul 2022 by Bob Cargill

Making My Book with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume

Blogging, Business, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Social Media

In this episode of my podcast, Bob Cargill's Marketing Show, I talk with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume about the making of my new book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media. Maria was the designer of the book and Morgan the editor. Both of them are recent graduates of Suffolk University in Boston, where I am an adjunct professor. I can't thank them enough for their skills, talent and support. To purchase your own copy of my new book via Amazon, click here.

28Jun 2022 by Bob Cargill

Hosting Live Conversations on Twitter Spaces in the Classroom

Marketing, Media, Social Media

Big THANKS to NU Media's Sudha Mathana Gopalan for writing a ridiculously awesome article - which you can read here - on the Northeastern University College of Professional Studies graduate-level course I taught this past spring on social media. As a student in this graduate-level course, Sudha participated along with her classmates in a series of three Twitter Spaces I hosted during class. In these Spaces, we talked amongst ourselves - albeit publicly - about our educational learnings as well as with an audience comprised of like-minded thought leaders who had an interest in the same topics and issues. Sudha also put together the video you see here during which she asked me to talk about Twitter Spaces and why it's such an excellent way to build a community of…

17Jun 2022 by Bob Cargill

My New Book is Available NOW on Amazon

Advertising, Branding, Business, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media

My new book, Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons - a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media, is available NOW in the Amazon Kindle Store here. It is a story for young professionals with bright futures in front of them and senior executives who have been there, done that. It may be my story, but it could be your story, too. See for yourself. Read it today.

19May 2022 by Bob Cargill

Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons – a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media

Business, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Social Media

Adjunct professor, marketing consultant, social media specialist and copywriter, Bob Cargill, has written and published a new book called Twenty Jobs, Twenty Lessons – a Long, Strange Career in Marketing, from Junk Mail to Social Media. Based on his career in the marketing industry since 1983, this book, according to the author, is about marketing, advertising and social media, but also business in general. Cargill offers advice to readers on how to pivot in the face of a big obstacle, how to bounce back from defeat and how to succeed against the odds. “It is a story of climbing the corporate ladder only to fall. It is a story about ambition, determination, success and failure. It is a story for young professionals with bright futures ahead of them and senior-level…

15May 2022 by Bob Cargill

Using Twitter Spaces in a College Classroom

Branding, Marketing, Media, Social Media, Twitter

Wait! What? You're not using Twitter Spaces yet? My students and I hosted a Twitter Space recently, and it was such a ridiculously awesome educational experience. In hosting this Space - a discussion about what's new in social media - we built a community, we positioned ourselves as thought leaders and we learned a lot from those who partook in this public conversation online. Hosting your own Twitter Space is a great way to engage with your audience and develop long-lasting, mutually beneficial relationships with like-minded professionals. See for yourself. Host one today.

07May 2022 by Bob Cargill

The Six Ps of Retail Marketing

Branding, Business, Customer Service, Marketing

There are four Ps of marketing...product, price, place and promotion. All are equally important. When it comes to retail marketing, though, there are two additional Ps, presentation and personnel. How you execute with regard to all these Ps can make a difference between success and failure for your brand or business. Many retailers are struggling in this day and age. Are they focusing enough on the two additional Ps, areas where they could possibly establish a competitive advantage over the competition? Amid COVID and a marketplace in which the only constant is change, nothing is easy today for brick-and-mortar stores. That's one reason why we're seeing more and more empty store fronts on main street. That's one reason why more and more retail is going etail.