05Oct 2019 by Bob Cargill

Advertising is Everywhere

Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media
Advertising, marketing, PR and social media …all this is changing at breakneck speed. What strategies and tactics worked for us a few years ago, or as recently as last year, could easily backfire on us today. We can’t afford to have whatever messages we’re sharing with our own respective audiences be anything but relevant, timely, engaging and even amusing. Never mind the glut of content people are trying to sort through and digest, many consumers, customers and clients won’t tolerate anything that even resembles a sales pitch anymore. Stop begging for business and start earning that business. Stop trying to fool those on the receiving end of your messages and start trying to help them. Stop hitting listeners, viewers and readers over the head time and again and start listening…
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24May 2019 by Bob Cargill

The End of Advertising as We Know It

Advertising
I’m not going to lie. Advertising is interruptive. Advertising is annoying. Advertising is a waste of time unless you’re doing it differently than you did back in the day. You can only throw so much money into advertising before those on the receiving end are going to completely ignore you. I read a ridiculously awesome article written by Frank McKinley recently, "Why Advertising Doesn’t Work." You can read it for yourself on Medium here. In this article, Frank talks about how much the world has changed and how ineffective “buying interruptions” is these days. Stop the insanity, I say. Personally, I love advertising. I love marketing. I love social media. But the same old same old simply isn't working anymore. You. Me. Everyone of us in this business has to…
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06Sep 2018 by Bob Cargill
Take a Stand Like a Big Brand

Take a Stand Like a Big Brand

Advertising, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Marketing
Good for Nike. I think it's incumbent upon brands and businesses to speak up for what they believe in...not just on behalf of sales. It doesn't matter how they feel about the issue. What matters is that they realize they have the platform and the responsibility to say something...as long as they believe they can make a positive contribution to the dialogue. The marketer in me thinks this may even help, not hurt Nike's revenue. But much more important, as a human being, I have greater respect for those who are authentic, transparent, open and honest. People do business with people, not corporate logos. Iconic swoosh or not, Nike just let consumers know that they are just like us. Like it or not, they dared express an opinion and join…
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21Aug 2018 by Bob Cargill

200 Boston-Area Agencies on Twitter

Advertising, Boston, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media, Twitter
Who knows how many marketing, advertising, social media and PR agencies are located in and around Boston? I doubt anybody knows exactly how many there are around here, but I have found 200 of them on Twitter for you to follow. Large, small, old and new, together these agencies represent the best and brightest our industry has to offer. Seriously! Under their roofs right here in Beantown, you could arguably find enough talent, prowess, knowledge and expertise to launch the most sophisticated and successful campaigns in the world. While what they can they do in 280 characters or less on Twitter, of course, isn’t quite the same as what they can do on a blank canvas and an unlimited budget for their clients, that doesn’t mean they’re not worth following…
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30Jun 2018 by Bob Cargill
Podcast: The Importance of Authenticity on Social Media in the Fake News Era

Podcast: The Importance of Authenticity on Social Media in the Fake News Era

Advertising, Branding, Business, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media
Fake news is all around us. Turn on the TV. Listen to the radio. Read the newspaper. Liars, cheaters and stealers abound. Who knows who and what to believe anymore? That’s why it’s more important than ever for businesses and brands to have candid conversations with their connections and constituents. Honesty has always been the best policy, but today the truth will set you far apart from the competition and the clutter. Today, the more transparent, authentic and immediate you are, the more successful you will be in business. Use social media to engage with your audience as human beings, not logos and corporate colors. Use Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and the like to establish long-lasting, mutually-beneficial relationships with your customers and prospects. Keeping it real as never been more…
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10Nov 2017 by Bob Cargill

Robert Solomon’s Book, The Art of Client Service

Advertising, Business
Are you a good listener? Do you listen more than you talk? Do you give those on the other side of the table the attention they deserve? It is so important to listen to others in both our professional and personal lives. People will think more favorably of you if you give them the floor. They will appreciate your interest in what they have to say. "Listening is more important than talking." That's just one of "54 things every advertising and marketing professional should know" according to Robert Solomon's book, The Art of Client Service. Watch. And, yes, listen...
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02Feb 2015 by Bob Cargill

Six Brands That Are Killing It on Instagram

Advertising, Branding, Instagram, Marketing, Social Media
Having recently turned four years old, Instagram’s user base of just north of 200 million may pale in comparison to Facebook’s 1.35 billion, but the engagement rate for brands on this visually oriented app is hard to beat in the social media ecosystem. In fact, pretty much anyone who uses Instagram knows just how superior the ratio of likes and comments to followers on it is compared to other comparable online communities. Instagram makes it easy for businesses and consumers alike to share high-quality photos and videos with one another whenever, wherever. What’s not to like? Maybe that’s why such a tech behemoth as Microsoft didn’t just dip a toe into the Instagram waters, but jumped in with both feet last month, announcing they’ve hired a photojournalist who “will travel…
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05Oct 2014 by Bob Cargill

10 Reasons Why You Should Use Vine to Build Your Brand

Advertising, Branding, Marketing, Social Media
If your bandwidth is limited, the best social networks on which to set up shop and share are probably going to be sites such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest, four of the most popular players in the field today. But if time is not an issue and you really want to make a splash in the social media waters, you should try making videos with the mobile app, Vine. Sure, with more than one billion unique users visiting the site each month, your potential audience on YouTube is going to be gargantuan. And with over 150 million monthly active users on Instagram, you’d be hard pressed not to experiment there as well, even if your videos can only be up to 15 seconds in length. If you want to…
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