03Apr 2006 by Bob Cargill

Lose the Vowels, Gain a Following

Advertising, Branding, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing
I suppose I could change my name to BB CRGL. And as for my blog, that could be reinvented as NW MKTNG CMNTTR, or some other such cryptic arrangement of letters, sans vowels. That, at least according to an article I read in the March 19 edition of the Boston Sunday Globe (“Merchants X out A, E, I, O, and U” by Jenn Abelson), would make me hip to what the author characterizes as “a phenomenon that stems from the growing acceptance of shorthand in text-messaging, communication that encourages users to get as much said in as little time and space possible.” The article begins with the following… Vwls R so ystrdy. From Motorola’s SLVR phone to Levi’s DLX jeans, merchants are unveiling new products with compact names that feature…
Read More
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…
Read More
23Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Hill Holliday Enters the Blogosphere in a Big Way

Advertising, Blogging, Direct Marketing, Marketing
A little more than five months ago, I wrote right here about Union Square Ventures, an early stage venture capital firm that had shed its Web site entirely and instead staked a claim in the blogosphere. That was them. This is Hill Holliday we’re talking about now. Yes, not just one of the best known, but one of the best -- period -- ad agencies in the country has apparently gone the “all-blog format,” which is how Adrants’ Steve Hall recently characterized HH’s exciting, new Web presence, adding... The beauty of this approach, what many agencies still need to discover, will catapult Hill Holliday into the "conversation" about advertising. The site will get natural Google love, Technorati love and proliferation throughout the blogosphere's link-fest, something a static agency site can…
Read More
20Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Web Marketing Association’s Study Scores PR Web Sites Low

Advertising, Blogging, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Marketing, Public Relations
In case you missed it, the Web Marketing Association (WMA) recently released its Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR), which “provides industry benchmarks for Web site development and is based on data collected from 9,748 Web site evaluations since 1997.” You can sign up to get your own free copy of this report here. In his summary of the report, Adrants’ Steve Hall said “public relations sites ranked low across all categories,” a finding that prompted the following comment from another Steve in my blogroll, Micro Persuasion’s Steve Rubel… When I read this my gut says that the adoption of blogging and other social media technologies on agency sites will separate the men from the boys, the ladies from the girls. As agencies begin to blog (or not), their writing skills…
Read More
14Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Boston Marathon Runner Up for Bid on eBay for Children’s Hospital Boston

Advertising, Boston Marathon, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
If you've been reading A New Marketing Commentator over the course of the last few months, you know that in less than five weeks, I’ll be running the Boston Marathon once again for one of the best pediatric hospitals in the country, Children’s Hospital Boston. This year I have pledged to raise a minimum of $3,500 for Children’s, and I still have a little way to go. So if you would like to contribute to this cause, I certainly would appreciate it. To make a secure, online donation, simply click here or write a check – payable to Children’s Hospital Boston – and return it to my attention at 33 Oakwood Avenue, Sudbury, MA 01776. To be honest with you, I thought I was conducting a fairly ambitious fundraising campaign…
Read More
13Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Using Blogs to “Connect Up”

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Marketing, Public Relations
In a conversation with Allan Hoffman on Monster, Scott Allen and David Teten, authors of “The Virtual Handshake: Opening Doors and Closing Deals Online” (a book I've written about before in this space and which my neighbor to the north, Ted Demopoulos, just reviewed on his blog), explain how to use social software – including, of course, blogs – to advance your career… Monster: Your book views blogs as powerful tools. Should everyone be blogging? SA: A blog may become as important, if not more important, than your resume. The resume may get you onto the long list, but the blog is definitely a tool to get onto the short list. If you're trying to position yourself as an expert, then you should be blogging about your topic and building…
Read More
07Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

Using Direct Mail to Land a New Job

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Cause-Related Marketing, Client Service, Copywriting, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
If you’ve ever been between jobs, you know how much of a challenge it is to stand out in a crowd of those who are ambitiously jockeying for the same gig. After all, chances are you’re just one of dozens, if not hundreds, with relatively similar credentials in line for that one plum position. And unless you know someone in a corner office who can grant you the inside track, the odds of your resume getting past the gatekeepers and in the hands of the top dog are slim to none, never mind getting your foot in the door for an interview. With that said, in addition to going about my new job search in all the usual ways – posting my resume on online job boards such as Monster…
Read More
04Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

How to Subscribe to the NEDMA Conference Blog — and Maybe Win a $10 Starbucks Card for the Effort

Advertising, Blogging, Branding, Direct Marketing, Marketing
As you may recall, I announced here in January that the New England Direct Marketing Association had launched a blog to help promote its upcoming conference, NEDMA ’06, It’s a Brave New World. I also told you that, in addition to my position as co-chair of this conference, I couldn’t be more excited to be taking on the responsibilities of moderating this new blog. “Yes, like any blog, it’ll be a labor of love for all involved, but the truth is that using a blog as an online propagation tool should almost be a requirement for anyone staging a major conference amidst today’s new marketing landscape,” I wrote in this space some six weeks ago. Well, so far, so good. If I do say myself, I believe we have a…
Read More
01Mar 2006 by Bob Cargill

David Baker: “Clients Care More About How the Work is Managed and Delivered Than the Work Itself”

Advertising, Branding, Client Service, Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
In an article published recently in his firm’s newsletter, David Baker, Principal of ReCourses, Inc., a management consulting firm that works exclusively with public relations, advertising, and design firms, makes the rather startling claim that “your clients care more about how the work is managed and delivered than the work itself.” At first, that notion may seem preposterous to many of us agency folks, especially those of us who toil away in the creative department day in and day out. After all, why would our clients care how we get it done, as long we get it done well? However, having had the opportunity to have met David before and to have been on the receiving end of his professional advice, I’m inclined to defer to his experience and expertise…
Read More