10May 2006 by Bob Cargill

A New Marketing Commentator Goes on Hiatus

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Client Service, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Miscellaneous, Public Relations
After more than 26 months and 62,000 words, I've decided to give this blog a rest. It may not be the end for A New Marketing Commentator, but it will be at least a short hiatus. Thank you so much for your support, love and friendship. As much as you've given me, I hope I've given you even more in return. Bob Cargill Copywriter and Creative Director May 10, 2006 Bob's Bio and Contact Information Bob's Work History (Resume) Bob's Speaking History Bob's Commercial Portfolio Bob's Nonprofit Portfolio Bob's Interactive Portfolio Tags: Bob Cargill copywriter creative director copywriting creative direction blogger direct marketing advertising marketing A New Marketing Commentator
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05May 2006 by Bob Cargill

A Few Words on Word of Mouth Marketing, Part Two

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
Two days ago, I wrote here in this space about word of mouth marketing, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association and BzzAgent. Today's post is a continuation of that same article, in which I write about my own personal use of word of mouth marketing on behalf of BzzAgent and its client, Atkins Advantage Bars... On more than several occasions, I chose to Bzz on behalf of Atkins Advantage Bars by sharing the product with others. I gave a bar to the computer technician who was kind enough to make a house call when my laptop almost crashed. I shared two – the Caramel Fudge Brownie and Chocolate Chip Granola bars – with my 17-year-old step-daughter, Sophie (who liked the latter flavor better). I gave bars to a couple of…
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01May 2006 by Bob Cargill

Blog, Interrupted

Advertising, Blogging, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
After more than 26 months and 62,000 words, I’ve decided to give this blog a rest. It may not be the end for A New Marketing Commentator, but it will be at least a short hiatus. I’ve spent between five and ten hours a week since February of 2004 in the blogosphere, most of those hours researching and writing original posts, and my gut tells me it’s time to pause and refresh. I want to concentrate fully on my search for new work and free up more time to spend with my family and friends. I also need to measure the benefits of independent blogging for me at this point in my career and give careful consideration to expending such creative energy – sigh – in other areas instead. Please…
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26Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

Student Blogs: A Sign of What’s to Come

Advertising, Blogging, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing
Last Friday, I was invited by my friend, Leslie Dangel, to deliver a guest lecture to a class of marketing students she teaches at Stonehill College in Easton, Massachusetts. She’s asked me on a number of occasions in the past, and I always enjoy the experience. This time around was no different. I first spoke about running the Boston Marathon for charity and the five different fundraising campaigns I’ve conducted – on behalf of the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute (’96), The Home for Little Wanderers (‘02 and ’03) and Children’s Hospital Boston (’05 and ’06) – as part of the Boston Athletic Association’s Charity Program. I then showed the class a wall calendar we used as a self-promotional, lead-generation piece when I worked as a creative director at Boston’s Yellowfin Direct…
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17Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

Boston Sunday Globe: “Blogs ‘Essential’ to a Good Career

Blogging
Going a long way towards validating all the time more and more ambitious professionals are spending in the blogosphere, the most recent edition of the Boston Sunday Globe lists eight reasons blogging helps your career. “Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field,” writes Penelope Trunk in a front page, above-the-fold article in the BostonWorks section of the newspaper. According to Trunk, one of the reasons blogging helps your career is that it “creates a network...” A blogger puts himself out in the world as someone who is interesting and engaging – just the type of person everyone wants to meet. To read this article (Blogs ‘Essential’ to a Good Career” by Penelope Trunk in the April 16 edition of…
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13Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

It’s Easy to Fall Silent Amidst the New Din of Agency Blogs

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
So many advertising, marketing and public relations agencies are dipping their collective toes in the blogosphere lately that unless it’s the likes of Hill Holliday or Edelman we’re talking about, it’s not really big news anymore when any single one of them takes the plunge. That was certainly not the case as recently as just a few months ago, but blogging has finally eclipsed the tipping point and suddenly everyone and his or her brother wants to get in on the action. Understandably so. Given the paradigm shift toward transparency and immediacy that’s now underway in corporate communications, the benefits of business blogging – as long as you do it right – far outweigh the costs. As I wrote here in this space back in December of 2004, “a blog…
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10Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

A New Marketing Commentator Wins NEDMA Gold

Blogging, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing
I’ve been blogging for more than two years now, and I can’t say there haven’t been days when I’ve wondered if all the time and energy I put into A New Marketing Commentator is worth it. But last Thursday wasn’t one of them. That was when the 25th Annual New England Direct Marketing Association’s Awards for Creative Excellence were handed out, and this blog was honored with gold. Yes, this labor of love of mine was the first blog ever to win a NEDMA award, and that award just happened to be first place in one of the Interactive categories (Other Interactive, B-to-B: CD-ROMs, Videos, Interactive Kiosks, Blogs). How cool is that? Not to toot my own horn, but I was also fortunate to receive three awards for the direct…
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31Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Ted Demopoulos on BusinessBlogWire: The Four Types of Business Blogs

Advertising, Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Public Relations
Ted Demopoulos (public speaker, consultant, blogger and co-author – with Shel Holtz – of the book, "Blogging for Business" ), guest posting on Business BlogWire, writes about the four types of business blogs… 1) Internal blogs: Internal blogs are used for internal company or project communications, and are not available on the Internet. 2) Problogs: I call blogs started primarily to make money, for example through advertising and affiliate programs, problogs. 3) Company Blogs: These are blogs started to help support an existing company or product. 4) Independent professional blogs: These are similar to company blogs, but are written – and owned – by individuals. About the latter type, Ted cites two examples of independent professional blogs, Steve Rubel’s Micro Persuasion and my blog, A New Marketing Commentator. And I…
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27Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Sports Illustrated: “Start Your Own Blog”

Blogging, Miscellaneous
Writing in the March 27 issue of Sports Illustrated, Chris Ballard notches a refreshingly candid, thoroughly modern story about his online brethren: the journalists, columnists, reporters and, yes, just plain bloggers who cover sports on the Web. From the lead-in... The Internet is changing sports coverage. Columnists who seldom leave their couches hold forth. Athletes break their own “news” on their personal websites. Rumormongering is rampant. Don’t like it? Get rowdy. Start your own blog. An insightful overview of how sportswriting has evolved over the years, this article is worthy of high praise and much attention not as much because – ironically – it’s published offline, in a magazine (what the snarkiest and most cynical among us might refer to as a dead-tree medium), but because so much of what…
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