Blog - Page 49 of 59 - Bob Cargill

02Sep 2005 by Bob Cargill

Hurricane Katrina: A Reason to Give, A Reason to Blog

Blogging, Cause-Related Marketing, Fundraising

If you’re looking for a reason to blog, you need look no further than the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast, from Louisiana to Florida, where Katrina’s fierce winds and brutal, punishing rain resulted in what could be America’s deadliest natural disaster since the 1906 San Francisco fire and earthquake. As I wrote here back in December, 2004, “a blog makes it possible for the everyday communications professional to distribute newsworthy, thematic content to a large, like-minded audience – without many, if any, layers of approval – almost instantaneously. If timeliness is a critical element of your publishing plan, it’s an irresistible platform.” Today, there’s no valid reason for any organization involved in the business of providing disaster relief not to have a blog in its communications toolbox. A blog can be set…

26Aug 2005 by Bob Cargill

AFP Makes a Splash in the Blogosphere

Blogging, Fundraising

Why simply dip a toe in the water when you can make a big splash? I'm guessing that’s what the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) had in mind when it recently begun publishing not just one, but seven different blogs. In a press release on August 1, the association said it is “experimenting with blogs as a way of keeping members better informed about stories, events and trends in the charitable sector.” The AFP blogs (on such topics as youth and philanthropy, the Southeast Asia tsunami relief efforts, National Philanthropy Day and the 2005 International Conference on Fundraising) can be found here.

20Aug 2005 by Bob Cargill

Blog is Not a Pretty Word

Blogging

While we can safely say that business blogs have not only arrived, they’re here to stay, that doesn’t mean there are still not a number of good reasons why someone might not want – or be able – to establish a presence in the blogosphere. Indeed, even if you’re comfortable expressing yourself so openly to so many – think transparency (which, by the way, should be listed among every organization’s set of values, right up there with integrity, accountability, etc.) – there are still a few impediments to overcome (what I would call The Immutable Three T's) if you want to be a bona fide blogger... The Immutable Three T's of Blogging 1) Time – Most blogs take at least a few hours a week to write and maintain, the…

12Aug 2005 by Bob Cargill

Donald Trump Has a New Blog

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing

The blog has come a long way in just the last year alone, but with Donald Trump now waxing eloquently in the blogosphere, a good argument could be made that this revolutionary self-publishing and marketing platform has gone from the outhouse to the penthouse. Read all about it here in Information Week. Elsewhere…DIRECT magazine reports that DM hiring is on the rise. The NonProfit Times issues its 8th annual Power & Influence Top 50. FundRaising Success magazine weighs in on the state of online fundraising today ("From Buttons to Blogs" by Paul Barbagallo). Bob Bly pits blogs versus white papers in his most recent reader survey. Mike Westfall, on Annual Fund Inc. (August 11, 2005), shares some best practices for e-solicitations to college and university alumni. And finally, for the…

04Aug 2005 by Bob Cargill

In Defense of Rubber Wristbands as a Fundraising Tool

Direct Marketing, Fundraising

In the latest issue of Details magazine (June/July 2005, p. 99), columnist Jonathan Sabin plays the devil’s advocate and argues that rubber wristbands – such as those ubiquitous yellow ones that have helped the Lance Armstrong Foundation raise so much money for such a good cause – should be banned. Who would have thought that one man’s solution to cancer prevention and survivorship would be another man’s problem with marketing and philanthropy? “Today nearly 50 million are looped around self-righteous wrists as the cheesy trinkets metastasize like the cancers they’re supposed to help cure,” writes Sabin, taking an unseemly, cheap shot – in my opinion – at not just one of the most popular charitable organizations going right now, but at the business of direct response fundraising as a whole.…

29Jul 2005 by Bob Cargill

Why Executives Should Blog

Blogging

Many executives should consider blogging, according to Ted Demopoulos, who’s not only an expert on information security and IT entrepreneurial issues but also a – surprise, surprise – prolific blogger himself. “It [blogging] helps publicize company news as well as executive viewpoints and opinions, and adds to a company’s personality. Executives can blog extremely effectively as their thoughts are usually well regarded and trusted, and their blogs tend to get an instant large readership,” says Ted. Naturally, I couldn’t agree with him more. A blog is tailor-made for storing and managing intellectual capital. It’s a centralized repository for experience and expertise, an incredibly easy way to disseminate key, timely information to an audience of readers who are already interested in what you have to offer. While I’ll be the first…

21Jul 2005 by Bob Cargill

The Cure for the Common Headline

Advertising, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing

If you were a neighbor of mine, you’d know what I mean when I say my lawn isn’t going to win any beauty contests. It’s so thin, brown and malnourished, it’s embarrassing – especially during the dog days of summer. So when The Scotts Company wrote to me recently about growing a thicker, greener lawn, its timing – and targeting of me as a potential customer – couldn’t have been better. After all, like any other proud homeowner in this day and age, I need to be doing everything I can to keep up with the Joneses, no? Which reminds me of a direct mail package Scotts sent out a few years ago, bearing the words, “Now the grass can be greener on your side.” While these folks didn’t earn…

14Jul 2005 by Bob Cargill

What Pauly Shore May Have Learned from Direct Marketing

Advertising, Direct Marketing, Marketing

I may not be a big Pauly Shore fan, but he scores big points in my book for putting his money where is mouth is and guaranteeing his new TV show, Minding the Store, (which is premiering this Sunday, July 17, at 10 PM EST on TBS). “I am so confident that my new series will make people laugh,” said Shore in a press release, “I’ve convinced the network heads at TBS to let me offer this special guarantee. It’s our way of saying we value people’s television-viewing time, and we know they’ll feel their time spent watching Minding the Store is well worth it.” Viewers who fail to laugh after watching the first episode of Minding the Store are invited to mail a self-addressed, stamped envelope to Shore, care…

07Jul 2005 by Bob Cargill

Marketing on Martha’s Vineyard

Advertising, Branding, Direct Marketing

To know Martha’s Vineyard, an island seven miles off the southeast coast of Massachusetts, is to know The Black Dog logo, which in recent years has come to represent this vacation paradise almost as much as the tavern, bakery café and general stores for which it was designed. Yes, this logo is that ubiquitous. First emblazoned on a T-shirt in 1979, today The Black Dog is found on practically every article of clothing you can imagine, not to mention on bumper stickers, coffee mugs, tote bags and key chains. For tourists, it’s a status symbol and a fashion statement, a logo that tags them popular by association. For the business people who own the rights to this logo, The Black Dog must be, well, a cash cow. Spending a little…