Making It a Pleasure, Not a Pain, for Your Customers and Clients

Making It a Pleasure, Not a Pain, for Your Customers and Clients

Boston, Branding, Business, Communications, Customer Service
I was on the MBTA Commuter Rail Green Line recently heading home from work from Boston's Government Center station to Woodland in Newton. I've taken this route home, this train, the MBTA's Green Line, a lot, but never had I heard the driver of the train announcing the stops the way this particular driver was announcing them. She had a ridiculously awesome personality, a tone of voice that was making me feel like we were on a happy, celebratory tour of all the stops along the route of our luxury ride home, like those stops actually meant something to us as commuters about to call it a day. She wasn't reciting those stops in a listless, monotone voice like it was just another part of her job. Quite the contrary.…
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Treating Your Customers to Something Free

Treating Your Customers to Something Free

Advertising, Boston, Business, Marketing, Public Relations, Restaurants
Boloco, a chain of restaurants founded in Boston, offered free small bowls to its customers in three of its locations in the area the other day. I saw the long line of people waiting to take advantage of this ridiculously awesome offer in front of its Longwood Avenue store. Good for those happy customers, getting such a great deal on such great food. And good for Boloco, too, for being so kind and generous to those folks. From a marketing perspective, why would Boloco do such a crazy thing? There are plenty of reasons, actually. Besides just being a nice thing to do for others, in doing so, the business may see a lot of those seeking freebies buying additional menu items at the same time. They may have the…
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Humble Leadership – A Chat With AMA Boston President Bob Cargill by Trevor Stasik

Humble Leadership – A Chat With AMA Boston President Bob Cargill by Trevor Stasik

Business, Leadership, Motivation
Humble Leadership - A Chat With AMA Boston President Bob Cargill by Trevor Stasik I had the pleasure of meeting with Bob Cargill recently. He was humble; kind yet authoritative, just the type of leader you can admire. With over 30 years of leadership experience in the field of marketing and as the current President of the American Marketing Association (AMA) Chapter for Boston, he was nice enough to let me hear his perspective and philosophy on leadership. Bob is currently on his second tour of duty as the President of the Boston AMA, having served previously several years ago. Bob is also an adjunct professor with three different universities. He has been President of Toastmasters clubs. He was President of his running club, and has ran the Boston Marathon…
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The Dairy Queen Brand Extension

The Dairy Queen Brand Extension

Branding, Business, Marketing
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.πŸ™‚ 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…
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Attracting the Attention of your Audience

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…
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Be Like Kevin

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…
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Making My Book with Maria Antonia Silva and Morgan Hume

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.
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My New Book is Available NOW on Amazon

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

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. β€œIt 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…
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