Everyone’s An Expert, Writes Seth Godin

Direct Marketing, Fundraising, Marketing, Public Relations
Seth Godin has just announced the release of his next free ebook, Everyone’s An Expert, which you can download here. The book, he says, “is for anyone who wants more online traffic, more revenue, more followers, more attention, more interest, more donations or more influence.” It’s a short book – you can read it in about ten minutes – about his exciting, new online company, Squidoo, and, as Seth says, “more important, about a new sort of online tool that might very well change the way you discover (and publish) information.” This new tool (which has to do with the development of a “lens,” described by Seth as a “a page, a single page, that highlights one person’s view of the Web – not the whole Web, just one tiny…
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26 Tales of Triumph, One Winning Campaign

Advertising, Boston Marathon, Cause-Related Marketing, Public Relations
Some 20,000 people ran the Boston Marathon just a few days ago (I was one of them, plodding my way along the legendary, 26.2 mile course – all the way from Hopkinton to Boston – in a painful, interminable 4:24:51), but only 26 of them had been selected to tell their stories prior to the mother of all road races and heralded as one of the Saucony 26. For the chosen few, it must have been a tremendous honor to be able to personify the marathon as such pillars of inspiration. From a marketing standpoint, of course, putting a warm, identifiable face on the company and its products was a brilliant way for Saucony to connect with its constituency. “While each person will have a very real and very intense…
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The Celtics Are Winning on the Court — and in the Marketing Arena as Well

Advertising, Fundraising, Public Relations
Believe it or not, the Boston Celtics are looking more and more like a team that will not only make the NBA playoffs this year, but one that could legitimately contend for the Eastern Conference championship.Of course, much of such new found optimism is a credit to three-time All-Star Antoine Walker, who recently returned to the team with which he played his first seven seasons in the league. In a handful of games with the Celtics since he was acquired from the Atlanta Hawks just a couple of weeks ago, Antoine is playing like the rejuvenated veteran he is, and his teammates seem to have stepped up their game as a result.Those who follow the Celtics have also responded enthusiastically in kind, packing the FleetCenter – on July 1, to…
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Why Advertising, Marketing and PR Pros Should Blog (Part Three)

Advertising, Blogging, Direct Marketing, Public Relations
7. Blogs are Enjoyable. There are many sound business reasons to blog, but let's not forget how much of a pleasure they are for both author and audience. Seriously, the fun factor should not be underestimated. Most blogs are quick and easy to absorb, and a refreshing change of pace from typical marketing riffs and age-old corporate-speak. Bloggers aren’t just writers, they’re also publishers, opinion-leaders, risk-takers and entrepreneurs. They’re people who are inclined to live by the mantra, carpe diem. They’re passionate about their craft and evangelical about their content. And in many cases, their readers are just as fanatical.8. Blogs are Authoritative. We’re not talking about those cathartic, diary-like blogs kept by moody, meandering teenagers. We’re talking about the most sophisticated among the blogosphere, the ones owned and operated…
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Why Advertising, Marketing and PR Pros Should Blog (Part Two)

Advertising, Blogging, Direct Marketing, Public Relations
4. Blogs are Immediate. A blog makes it possible for the everyday communications professional to distribute newsworthy, thematic content to a large, like-minded audience – without many, if any, layers of approval – almost instantaneously. If timeliness is a critical element of your publishing plan, it’s an irresistible platform. A blog allows you to draw out invaluable feedback, too, without having to lollygag through the traditional rites of business courtship. Comments from readers are akin to free market research. If your goal is to establish an open, online dialogue with prospects and influential people who might otherwise not give you the time of day, a blog just may be your entrée – it certainly is a unique ice-breaker. 5. Blogs are Infectious. Like any good viral marketing campaign, the content…
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Why Advertising, Marketing and PR Pros Should Blog (Part One)

Advertising, Blogging, Direct Marketing, Public Relations
Most advertising, marketing and public relations professionals know a blog when they see one, but when it comes to actually using this relatively new, self-publishing platform, there are still many skeptics and naysayers among us. This time next year, however, those people will likely have come to their senses. In 2005, I dare say you would have to be either misinformed or just plain obstinate to not at least consider adding a blog to your business plan. Here are ten reasons why: 1. Blogs are Interactive. In many cases, marketing is a monologue, a well-choreographed sales pitch to an audience of passive prospects. But one of the key attributes of a blog is that it allows readers to provide honest, public feedback that is posted below the author’s spiel. It…
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Good Juice, Good Guys, Good PR

Cause-Related Marketing, Public Relations
Everybody knows the story of The Juice Guys, Tom Scott and Tom First, who started their company, Nantucket Nectars, by selling juice from a boat off the island of Nantucket, Massachusetts over ten years ago. They were one of the earliest to market in the new-born, new age beverage industry, and, ultimately, one of the most successful. One chapter of their success story, however, that doesn’t get as much attention as their juice, is the one they began writing in 1998, when Tom and Tom (as they are affectionately known), created Juice Guys Care, the 501 (c) (3) not-for-profit division of their widely acclaimed company. Clearly, Nantucket Nectars believes that its high quality standards for its juice should be applied to all aspects of the company, including community involvement. Good…
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Tailor-Made for Two-Way Traffic

Public Relations
Monday, May 24, 2004 – While we’re on the subject of presentations (see previous post, entitled The Black Door), there’s one I made with a former colleague nearly six years ago that just begs to be resurrected here in A Fine Kettle of Fish -- for reasons you’ll quickly understand. At the time, I was working at CPS Direct, where they had a program called Direct Marketing University. The gist of this program was that employees of the company were to exchange their knowledge and expertise with each other, leveraging, if you will, our pool of intellectual capital. Brownie points of some sort were doled out, commensurate with how many of these “courses” you either attended or taught, but for the life of me I can’t remember all the details.…
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