08Jul 2009 by Bob Cargill

Meet Me at the Intersection of Social Media and Marketing

Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
While I’ve always believed in the principles and power of direct marketing, as soon as I started blogging in early 2004, I realized I had discovered something that could very well have a huge impact on the future of the industry in which I earned my livelihood. I'm no prognosticator, but I saw for myself what the authors of The Cluetrain Manifesto had written in their groundbreaking book, that, among other things, "markets are conversations" and that “there are no secrets. The networked market knows more than companies do about their own products. And whether the news is good or bad, they tell everyone” and that "companies that don’t realize their markets are now networked person-to-person, getting smarter as a result and deeply joined in conversation are missing their best…
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02Jul 2009 by Bob Cargill

Retrospective: What I’ve Written about Social Media in the Last Year

Blogging, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Marketing, Social Media
While I haven’t posted much here on A New Marketing Commentator lately, I have been active in the blogosphere via Internet Marketing Strategies and Secrets, a blog that is published and written by the team at Nowspeed. I’ve written a number of long posts there, most about social media, something I’ve been preaching and practicing and incorporating into my everyday marketing activities – where and when appropriate, of course – like there’s no tomorrow. So as a way of kickstarting this long overdue re-launch of the blog that I reluctantly put on hiatus for so long, I thought I would share some of those posts with you here. If you have the time, reading through this retrospective of mine will give you an idea of what I’ve been up to lately and will, hopefully, help you start, or improve…
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25May 2009 by Bob Cargill

My Blog and My Career, Then and Now

Advertising, Blogging, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations, Social Media
This blog, A New Marketing Commentator, was a labor of love of mine from February 17, 2004 to May 10, 2006. Since I signed off here more than three years ago, I have continued to write articles, essays, commentaries and blog posts on direct marketing, advertising, PR and social media, most recently as Creative Director at Nowspeed on our blog, Internet Marketing Strategies and Secrets.  I have also staked out my turf on both Twitter and Facebook, where I invite you to follow and friend me. So please...what you see here is by no means a complete and accurate reflection of what I'm up to nowadays. Everything from the sidebar to the masthead of this blog needs an update and a full makeover. I continue to keep A New Marketing Commentator public only as a way of illustrating my history in…
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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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03May 2006 by Bob Cargill

A Few Words on Word of Mouth Marketing, Part One

Advertising, Branding, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
Unofficially, word of mouth marketing has been around for a long time, but only in the last few years has it been so formally recognized and widely embraced as a bona fide discipline and tool of our trade. Given such sudden appeal, it's understandable that a relatively new association of the same name is experiencing a similar degree of popularity. Founded in late 2004, the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA) is the official trade association for the word of mouth marketing industry. WOMMA’s mission is to promote and improve word of mouth marketing by: · Protecting consumers and the industry with strong ethical guidelines · Promoting WOM as an effective marketing tool · Setting standards to encourage its use What is Word of Mouth Marketing? Word of mouth is…
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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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24Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

Why Johnny Can’t Brand: “Action is Branding”

Advertising, Branding, Client Service, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing
“Too many folks think “branding” is what airlines do when they repaint the planes every few years, or what banks do when they refresh all the signage in their lobbies and reengineer their logos,” write Bill Schley and Carl Nichols, Jr. (partners at david, inc., an international brand consulting firm), in Chapter Two of “Why Johnny Can’t Brand: Rediscovering the Lost Art of the Big Idea.” “In the airlines’ case, they spend millions to update the image on the tails of their airplanes," add Schley and Nichols. "Then they arrive late, stick you in a cramped seat with your knees bumping the food tray, charge you $1,000 more than the guy sitting next to you because you committed the crime of not including a Saturday night stay, and lose your…
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