Blog

Marketing Miscellany II

Fundraising, Miscellaneous
Every once in a while, a growing legion of Seth Godin devotees, myself included, receive an email from the bestselling author, entrepreneur and self-proclaimed “agent of change” himself, reminding us that fresh, new content has been posted on his Web site. I’m there in seconds. And on my most recent visit, as always, there was the proverbial pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, as he had just announced the launch of his latest brainchild, ChangeThis, a revolutionary, new non-profit medium with the noble intention of facilitating the spread of manifestos – “thoughtful, rational, constructive arguments about important issues” – in order to “help people change their minds to a more productive point of view.” I don’t know about you, but any business model that can use one…
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Fundraising
Like Two Sticks Rubbed TogetherWednesday, August 11, 2004 – Coinciding with last weekend’s Pan-Mass Challenge (PMC), a 192-mile bike ride for charity involving nearly 4,000 cyclists, the August 8th edition of the Boston Sunday Globe ran a timely, insightful article on the growing popularity of pledge-based fundraising events. Such sponsored “athons,” as the Globe referred to them, make up a “$1 billion industry,” according to the newspaper, and apparently the PMC people are the leaders of the pack.“No other athletic event raises or contributes more money to charity than the PMC,” proclaims the organization’s Web site. “Since 1980, thousands of PMC cyclists have raised more than $102 million for cancer research and treatment at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute through its Jimmy Fund.”Good for them. And good for those on the receiving…
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Fundraising
Two Ways to Raise a Dollar for the DNCTuesday, August 3, 2004 – I could have sworn I saw John Kerry wearing one of Lance Armstrong's yellow wristbands on one of his televised campaign stops just prior to touching down in Boston for the Democratic National Convention. Good for him. Not that he needs it, but such strength by association certainly can’t hurt.Coincidentally, like Lance, John also knows a thing or two – literally – about timing a direct mail drop. Because less than 48 hours after he accepted the nomination on the floor of the FleetCenter, my wife, Barbara, and I were on the receiving end of not one, but two direct mail appeals from this indefatigable presidential candidate for campaign contributions to the Democratic National Committee.One of these…
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Live Strong for Lance

Fundraising
Tuesday, July 27, 2004 – Lance Armstrong's resounding, record-setting sixth Tour de France victory a few days ago was yet another demonstration of this man’s fortitude and resolve.  I mean, think about it.  His exploits in the saddle are near miraculous, given the fact that just eight years ago, he was far from riding high, confronted by a formidable foe not even he could be expected to be ready for: cancer.  But to say Lance has survived the disease would be an understatement.  He has thrived since his diagnosis, both on and off his bike, establishing himself as one of the top cyclists in the world – ever – and speaking up on behalf of cancer prevention and survivorship as founder of the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF).  Of course, if…
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Viral Marketing Gone Good

Advertising, Direct Marketing, Miscellaneous
Wednesday, July 21, 2004 – Chances are you’ve already seen the Flash parody of the Woody Guthrie folk song, "This Land Is Your Land," that’s been racing its way across the Internet this week at lightning-like speed.  My good friend, Michael Chinnici, emailed it to me a few days ago, and initially I didn’t think twice about it.  Spoofing President Bush and his Democratic challenger, John Kerry, it’s amusing, sure.  But at first glance, I though it was just another joke du jour encumbering my Inbox.  However, on second thought, turns out this clip (produced by the Los Angeles-based animation studio, JibJab) is an instant classic, the perfect example of viral marketing gone good.  So good, in fact, that JibJab is getting so many hits on its Web site that its principals,…
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Marketing Miscellany

Advertising, Direct Marketing, Fundraising
Wednesday, July 14, 2004 – Say cell phones, and my first thought is Nextel -- probably because I’m hooked on a clever, little walkie-talkie feature called Direct Connect. But now I have another reason to be enamored of this wireless communications behemoth: its new tagline, “Done,” which, in one four-letter verb, speaks volumes….However, just because I like it doesn’t mean Thomas L. Collins wouldn’t be able to suggest a better alternative. After all, perhaps no direct marketer out there has a more critical -- and more experienced -- eye than Thomas, "The Makeover Maven" columnist for DIRECT magazine. Seriously! Read him -- and reap….I have to hand it to the folks at the United States Postal Service for practicing what they preach in a glossy, tri-fold self-mailer that came to…
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12 Ways You Can Be a Direct Marketing Hero

Direct Marketing
Thursday, July 8, 2004 – Continuing a longstanding agency tradition, Yellowfin Direct Marketing is just days away from the release of our new fiscal year calendar, designed both as a useful time management tool (for those on the receiving end) and as a timely, self-promotional vehicle (for us). That’s right, in the spirit of practicing what we preach, this calendar is offer-laden, information-packed and just begging for a response all year long. (It’s also -- hint, hint -- absolutely free to anyone for the asking.) Each month of the calendar features a great, little tip on how to “take your organization’s direct marketing initiatives to the next highest level.” Along with this colorful, new wall calendar, we've included a dozen different coupons, each one good for one free half-hour consultation…
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The Brilliance to Which We Aspire

Copywriting, Direct Marketing
Tuesday, June 29, 2004 – Thumbing through the latest issue of Rolling Stone magazine last week, an ad for eBay Motors -- smack, dab in between the “Correspondence” and “Rock & Roll” sections -- stopped me dead in my tracks. An extraordinarily simple, no-frills composition, it uses a story about “Brothers John and Tom [who] want a great way to sell their cars” to illustrate the benefits of peddling wheels on eBay versus the old standby, the classifieds. After seven days, John, who uses eBay, “sells his car for a great price,” while Tom, who went the old-school route, finds his “ad is used as litter box lining.” It’s hip, funny and irreverent, sure, but it’s also textbook in formula, drawing on a case study of two young men and…
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The Law of the Name

Branding, Miscellaneous
Tuesday, June 22, 2004 – On page 73 of their incredibly insightful book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Branding, celebrated marketing strategists Al Ries and his daughter, Laura Ries, couldn’t be more succinct -- and sagacious -- in writing that “the most important branding decision you will ever make is what to name your product or service. Because in the long run a brand is nothing more than a name.” Of course, it takes much more than just a catchy name to succeed in business, but the Ries’ point is well taken. And they do expound on this law, reminding their readers not to “confuse what makes a brand successful in the short term with what makes a brand successful in the long term. In the short term, a brand…
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