This morning I stumbled upon a wiki entry on cosmology.  No, not hair dressing.  The article was really boring (I’ll admit I only got a couple paragraphs through it before I canned the idea of ever being a rocket scientist) but it did get my mind working.  It led me to some conclusions about the big bang theory of marketing.

I’ve been reading a lot on the internet lately about product release techniques.  An interesting theme seems pretty relevant in a lot of what I’ve been reading… release your product with a big bang.

This big bang theory of product release is not the most prevalent, by any means.  Traditionally product releases require a substantial amount of effort upfront, before the release.  When the product is then 75% ready for release, Continue Reading »

This morning I was up at the University of Utah when I saw a little sign off to the side of a walkway. What really got my attention was that the sign was partly hidden behind the low hanging boughs of a tree. My first instinct was to walk to the other side of the walkway so that I could read what it was advertising; The Ultimate Sidewalk Sale.

I immediately though that it was a rather weird placement for a sign. Why didn’t they put it out in the open where people would see it more? As I was thinking about this I saw several other signs, all partially hidden behind trees, planter boxes, etc. Then the marketer in me kicked in, and it hit me.

The reason why the campus bookstore was advertising in this overt and somewhat abstract way is because it gets attention. This is what I like to call ambient advertising. Place an advertisement in an ambient, somewhat out of the way and unusual place and it is sure to get noticed.

Why is Ambient Advertising So Effective?

Because of the advertisements unique placement, people that notice the advertisement notice it more than had it been out in the open. People tend to ignore advertisements that are slapped right in the middle of their view. On the flip side, if an advertisement is placed in their periphery or in a highly unusual location then they notice and they often think about it.

The more you can get a prospective customer to notice and think about your product, the greater the probability that they Continue Reading »

Today I was in the middle of a conversation and hit a proverbial wall. I needed a word to describe a potential product that I’ve been working on. The product is still in R&D and still ‘under wraps’ so I didn’t want to make the mistake of using it’s name. I needed something else to call it, but the word I normally would have used in a situation like this, widget, has been de-definitionized. What I mean to say is that the old definition that I’ve lived with for my whole life has been replaced by a new one. The new definition, while now only adopted by tech savvy geeks such as myself, does not allow for the use of the old definition in most conversations.

Definitions

Old definition: widg-et (wĭj’ĭt); an unnamed or hypothetical manufactured article

New definition: widg-et (wĭj’ĭt); an element that runs on a social networking site or a computer users desktop that provides useful and timely information Continue Reading »

If you are a new business you probably haven’t had too much exposure to the world of PR yet. Let me tell you a little about it.

A PR firm manages the flow of information between an organization and the public. Thats it. That is the main purpose of a PR firm. Sounds simple, right?

Well, it is and it isn’t. The great thing about PR is that it can be managed directly by the business if done correctly. The bad thing about PR is that it cannot be managed directly by the business if not done correctly. That might sound like a stupid redundancy, but it is hitting home on the point I will be making – if from business inception (or business youth at least) you handle your own PR effectively then you are on the right road. Big companies often rely on PR firms to manage their public affairs because they didn’t start right from the beginning.

Here are three simple ways you can keep on top of your companies PR, now and forever:

1. Be Honest and Forthright. Nothing can sink a ship faster than lying to the world and themselves that there are no icebergs in the water. A look at the Enron situation illustrates this point. Enron’s CEO, Kenneth Lay, had built a workplace culture of enthusiasm and business strength. In the background, however, things began to slip and the business was going to see cutbacks. To bolster his business up, he opened off shore accounts, opened the business to shady internet trading and did a lot of dishonest things to make it seem like their assets were larger than they really were. Just like the little white lie we’ve all told, Mr. Lay tried to hide his first lie with a second lie, his second lie with at third, and so on. Before long, Lay was embroiled in one of the largest accounting/business scandals the US has ever seen. The best PR a company can build for itself is the appearance and reality of 100% honesty. Because you and your employees are human situations may occur (dishonesty) for which you will need to set the record straight. It is imperative that you set the record straight and not just try to sweep it under the rug. As long as these situations are far and few between the public will respect you for coming out with the truth, especially when it is hard to do so. This is the best policy you can implement to maintain a successful PR campaign far into the future; if you never get caught up in a scandal you will never need a cleanup crew. Continue Reading »

Organizations that continue to cling to old media are refusing to open themselves up to new results.  Old media, including newspapers, television broadcasting and radio has been declining in effectiveness for marketing.

So, why do organizations still cling away?  Because old media is strong media.  Erik Schonfeld said in his TechCrunch blog:

industries that are used to control don’t like to give it up. Old media is like that. Even in this day and age, its struggle with control issues continues. Old media knows the relationship with its audience has changed, but it is still not quite sure how to deal with it.

Because they are not completely sure how to handle the situation they just keep plugging away with their current efforts.  Because they print case studies that say traditional advertising is still very effective, the masses believe it.  In reality though, traditional advertising is loosing it’s effectiveness and isn’t reaching as many true impressions.

Businesses can improve marketing results by finding new methods of marketing – through capitalizing on the social media and TEXT GENeration phenomenon.  Read these articles to see how this can be done:

Get Digital :: Get Noticed

Viral Video Marketing

Marketing for the TEXT GENeration

Thomas Friedman, in his best selling book The World is Flat, writes about the boom in technology as “steroids” that have the potential to heighten our abilities.

I call new technologies the steroids because they are amplifying and turbocharging all the other flatteners (the idea that the world is becoming an open global market). They are taking all the forms of collaboration… – outsourcing, offshoring, uploading, supply-chaining, insourcing, and in-forming – and making it possible to do each and every one of them in a way that is “digital, mobile, virtual, and personal,” … thereby enhancing each one and making the world flatter by day.

Through this mention he coined the idea that technology can act as steroids which can inseminate business and personal growth with success and achievement. He focused mainly on how technology enriches our abilities to collaborate, work more efficiently, and to be more innovative. He didn’t touch on how technology acts as a steroid in the social media and marketing aspects, however. I’ll go out on a limb and say that it was because his first edition was published in 2005, long before the rise of the Twitter/Facebook/MySpace empires.

I would like to take the opportunity and build upon his theory that technology is a steroid to success. In today’s world technology not only increases our productivity but also provides us with with many new methods by which we can market ourselves, our ideas, our products or our businesses.

Here are three steroids that can help you get your idea/product/self to market:

Medial-TEXTalin. This steroid increases strength of marketability and gives your marketing muscles a lot of WOW factor. Om Malik, a popular tech blogger I like to follow, wrote in a blog this morning about how text messaging was used with American Idol to generate a lot of cash. “AT&T says the most recent season of American Idol show generated 78 million text messages — up from 67 million last season.” This is not to say that you, who probably don’t have any revenue sharing contracts with AT&T, can make money directly off utilizing text messaging in your marketing. It does show how successful text messaging in marketing is becoming. Teens are texting a ton! Capitalize on it! Check out how Projective Marketing delivers results in text message campaigns it runs for clients.
Continue Reading »

I’m sure you’ve all seen some great online videos. They’re funny, they make you laugh and then they get spread to all your friends when you email them a link or post the video on your blog! The purpose behind these videos is entertainment… sort of.

The reason why people post these videos is for entertainment, usually. Some people have really gone all out making a fun to watch video and have then become famous because of it. I think it is safe to say that these videos are being posted primarily for entertainments sake. That being said, a HUGE underlying factor behind a lot of these video postings is web traffic. Why would someone want more web traffic to their blog or website? Because web traffic is the currency of the internet. If you have a lot of unique visitors to your website then you are wealthy.

Do viral videos really help someone market themselves, their business or their idea?

You bet they do! Take Blu for example (Blu is his pen name… not totally sure who he is. A Google search turned up nothing, so I went to see who his website is registered under and it is registered to a Sabbadini, Gilulia… maybe that is his real name?). He has been blogging for a couple months at least. He also has a sweet website. However, his web traffic was quite low until he released an awesome video online.

His video, seen here, has been viewed 1.2 million times! It has been posted on blogs (like I’ve done here) over 400 times! There have been over 6,000 people that have commented on his video! According to the viral video chart it is the most viral video right now.

According to Alexa (one of the top dawgs in tracking web traffic) his website has grown hundreds of times over in the past two weeks.

The way he brought in all this extra traffic is through putting his web address at the top of the video, like is seen in the video here.

How can I use viral video marketing to push my own business or idea?

Great question! Keep watching this blog to find out. Nate, VP of Sales at Projective Marketing and I are both really excited about this viral video marketing project we’re working on. We’re going to release the case study on our own video bit by bit over the next couple of weeks, so keep reading to find out more!

“This ‘telephone’ has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication.” ~Western Union internal memo, 1876.

“The concept is interesting… but to earn better than a ‘C,’ the idea must be feasible.” ~Yale professor on conceptual paper that became FedEx.

How crazy these early assumptions were! At the time though, most people having read or heard these quotes direct from the horses mouth probably would have legitimized them through popular consent. Starting with 14 planes in 1973, Fred Smith took his “not feasible” concept and created an airfreight shipping platform based around localized hubs – an idea that was new to the industry. Many people, his business professor included, thought Mr. Smith was making a costly mistake. Two years later he was turning an impressive profit, and FedEx hasn’t looked back since.

In business I’ve come across many skeptics – most of whom I come across actually – who immediately dismiss my ideas on mobile marketing as being ‘pie in the sky’ and not feasible. However, when I show them how well mobile marketing has done in Europe and East Asia and how quickly it is taking off here in the United States they change their tune.

Several brainstorming sessions at the Projective Marketing firm have turned to near brawls as decision makers make assumptions about what will and will not work. This is not all bad, by any means. A little conflict and critique is good in any business. A lot of the criticisms pan out and end up saving the company money. If such criticism had existed in the Projective Marketing structure since the beginning, however, the business would have never left the drawing board.

Unvalidated assumptions are bad. I call them unvalidated because they are assumptions based upon what ’seems’ will happen and not upon what has been experienced through vigorous validation testing. Good businessmen/women don’t so much as take risks, they manage risks. Part of managing risks is discussing with others an idea, measuring the risks and returns involved and then making a decision whether or not to manage that risk further and act on it. This process is validation. Sometimes validation won’t make it past the first few steps and thats okay, but it always needs to make it past the discussion stage.

How can we avoid making unvalidated assumptions?

Be creative! A lot of people say that they aren’t creative and there is nothing they can do about it. That simply isn’t true. Read blogs, books and the news. Garnish an opinion on what you read. How can you share that opinion? There, you were creative! This is how creative business works. Sometimes it is idea stealing. That’s okay. You don’t have to be the first person to come up with an idea for you to write about it or build upon it. This blog entry, for example, was inspired by an excellent article, “What’s the Ultimate Creativity Killer”, over at the copyblogger website.

Use the 5 Minute Rule. If someone pitches you a new idea, if you are in a brainstorming session or if you are trying to decide between white or wheat bread you can use the 5 Minute Rule to make a validated assumption. The rule goes like this: when a new idea is pitched only focus on the good qualities and possibilites surrounding that idea for 5 minutes. After that, feel free to bust in the idea with a stick. This greatly decreases the chance that you will make a decision you will regret in the future.

Create a Culture of Creativity. Most people have heard about the Google 20% time where employees are given 20% of their work day to innovate and be creative on individual projects. Scott Berkun does a great job of explaining that it is not the actual Google rule behind this idea that has created the Google empire, but instead the Google Culture of Creativity that has built the empire. In short, businesses can create a Culture of Creativity by:

• utilizing a horizontal hierarchy. Allow your employees to vote, peer review or debate upon which ideas and directions are best for the company. As smart as you think you might be (being the BOSS and all) you really could learn a lot from your employees who work directly with the consumer.
• giving a little leeway and expecting a whole lot more. Treat your employees like you would a very responsible child. Realize that people need leeway so they don’t feel repressed. Realize that good employees are willing to work hard and want to work hard but sometimes need a little more leeway so they can. Extend your employees leeway and expect their work to improve. If it doesn’t improve or if they take advantage of the leeway then FIRE em! There are better employees out there.
• empowering employee collaboration. Make sure you are giving employees credit for hard work they do but also make sure they are collaborating with others and mixing the ideas around. There are no super stars on the most successful teams. Provide them with tools to share and build on each others ideas, like the Google Aps online word/data processing suite (FREE).

Validations in a nutshell:

If you are avoiding rash assumptions and creating validations instead then you are sure to succeed in life. This doesn’t guarantee your business success, but it does guarantee that you will be able to make the right decision about when to drop your business and walk the other way.

While I’m not an expert, this advice isn’t all mine either. The advice is time tested and proven by the pros. It is what has differentiated Google and helped them create their empire.

A final word on creativity:

Being creative requires that the environment in which you work allows you to be creative. Google environment allows for creativity = Google comes out with new innovations every day. Microsoft environment does not allow for creativity = Microsoft borrows a lot of Googles and Yahoos and Twitters and…you get the point… innovations every day. The end result? Different profits.

This age group is made up of teens and young adults who use advanced technology multiple times a day to communicate, work and learn. They frequently use some or all of the following:

• Social Networking – 75% have a Facebook account
• Text Messaging – 94% own a cell phone
• Instant Messaging – 76% use instant messaging
• Blogs – 44% read and 28% write blogs
• mp3 Players – 60% own an mp3 player
• peer to peer file sharing – 49% download music via file sharing
• SOURCE: Reynol Junco and Jeanna Mastrodicasa Connecting to the Net.Generation: What higher education professionals need to know about today’s students, NASPA; First edition (March 29, 2007)

Before now, terminology for this age group has been so diverse (called Y or Z Generation, Internet Generation, Millenials, etc.) that it was very confusing as to who is who. A coworker of mine coined the phrase TEXT GENeration and it has stuck at our marketing firm. It is more fitting than all the other naming terminology because it incorporates the word TEXT. If a person is more inclined to use TEXT than SCRAWL they can be considered the TEXT GENeration. Some might argue that this is too diverse a group in that some elderly are quite “hip” on technology and use text messaging, instant messaging and social networking regularly. They are the exception though.

To keep in mind when you market to the TEXT GENeration:

• They have embraced technology and uses it in their every day lives.
• They understand computers and technology and are not afraid of it.
• They are the busiest generation yet. As such, they are rarely at home.
• They watch less television, listen to less radio and read fewer books and magazines.
• Many are keen on marketing and can easily say no to traditional advertising calls to action.

Traditional advertising – television, news print, magazines, radio – is still heavily utilized by many large corporations.  Even small businesses can utilize these forms of advertising on a small local level.  I’ve looked into advertising my own business in a new local newspaper, The Afternoon Buzz.  However, after a Google search for SLC (Salt Lake City) Buzz turned up no immediate results I had to really dig in with my super power searching abilities before I could find their website.  It was so laborious that it actually took about 1 minute to find, versus the 5 seconds it should have taken.  Oh, pampered world that I live in…

Traditional advertising is still a great way to market your products or services, if you have a lot of money.  If your advertising budget is under $1000 a month though, then you may need to look at Guerrilla Marketing as your primary marketing source.  Guerrilla Marketing is an unconventional system of product/service promotions on a low budget.  It includes techniques such as viral or ambient distribution, text message advertising, or tissue-pack advertising – all discussed more fully below.

What is the benefit of using Guerrilla Marketing?

Simply put, the TEXT GENeration is no longer watching, listening too or reading traditional advertising.  With the advent of Tivo, internet video streaming, downloadable mp3 content, etc. there are fewer and fewer opportunities for businesses to target this age group with traditional advertising.

Guerrilla Marketing makes use of the technologies that are destroying traditional advertising in a way that covertly inundates the TEXT GENeration with even more advertisements!

Tissue-pack marketing: Some of the earliest examples of Guerrilla Marketing date back to the late 1960s, where Japanese shop keepers would distribute free tissue packs to people that passed by their store fronts.  On the tissue packs were advertisements!  Early on this received a lot of criticism for being high cost and low effect.  However, now this holds a sizable share of the advertising market in Japan, where 4 billion tissue packs are distributed annually.  Because people are out of the home more, and thus seeing less traditional advertising, tissue-pack marketing aims to fill the void of advertising in your purse or briefcase.  As such, it capitalizes on valuable advertising space that traditional advertising techniques can’t touch.

Viral Distribution: Teens are spending more time than ever away from home.  Teens don’t pick up newspapers or magazines much, and so traditional advertising is not able to target this high prized market segment.  Teens always manage to check their social networking pages, their email, and their text messages though.  Viral distribution marketing puts ads with YouTube videos that get shared on teen social networking pages and through email linkage.  Viral distribution marketing also joins forces with TEXT GEN popular social networking sites directly, to distribute ad content.

Ambient Distribution: This marketing form capitalizes on the fact that people are very visual learners.  People see things and then think about what they see.  When something they see seems out of place they think about it even more.  If a business can get prospective consumers to think about their brands, products or services then they have made a very successful advertising impression.  Lately, all the bananas at the local Smiths Marketplaces have had Jamba Juice stickers on them.  I have been used to seeing the Dole brand on them, so I thought about it!  While this was a new experience for me, it seems to be a trick utilized for quite some time.  Back in 1999 Ask Jeeves ran a huge campaign where they put their stickers on more than 15 million apples!

Text Message Advertising: Text message advertising, a favorite of Projective Marketing, the firm where I now work, is quickly catching on with the TEXT GENeration.  The TEXT GEN always has their cell phones with them and so why not capitalize on that “in the pocket” billboard space?

Some say it would lead to a barrage of unwanted SPAM being sent to phones.  This fear is warranted, but unlikely.  When Projective Marketing decided to jump into the text message marketing game it had to go straight to cell phone company aggregators (the guys who route the text messages) with very specific details about how each advertising campaign would work.  Unlike email, text messages are highly regulated and the chance that we will ever see SPAM proliferation is unlikely.

With text message advertising businesses can put a specific high powered call to action in their menus, marketing collateral, billboards, etc.  For example, one Projective Marketing client in the Seattle area wanted to advertise their coffee shop with text message advertising.  Everywhere they put an ad (billboards, etc.) they used the simple call to action “Text ‘COFFEE’ to 32075 for a 50% off coupon on your next coffee!”  When people texted in the coupon was sent to their phone.  This is a highly effective means of advertising because each time the person would scroll through their text messages they would see this ad (repeat impressions) and think about the coffee shop again!