Advertising articles by the best and brightest in the field

• Did My Video Ad Work? How to Use Simple Tools to Measure the Effectiveness of Online Video Adsby Diaz Nesamoney
  Do video ads work to turn viewers into buyers and passionate brand advocates? For starters, measurement of the effectiveness of video ads gets bogged down by syndication, viral distribution, viewing via social networks, and many other factors. So how can you find out if your video ad "worked"—an even more important question in tough economic times when marketing budgets are tight? more
• What's the 'Return on Sound'? Build Long-Term Emotional Equity by Applying Sound Strategicallyby Noel Franus
  What's your Return On Sound? Budgets may be tight and long-term planning may feel out of reach, but a few simple principles can help lay the groundwork for long-term brand value for "sonic identity." Music and sound create significant long-term brand power. That effect comes by design, and it starts with a few questions. more
• Most Super Bowl Ads Aimed at Males; Most Money Spent by Femalesby Gerry Myers
  A few basic thoughts advertisers should consider for the 2010 Super Bowl: • Who watches the Super Bowl? Approximately 100 million viewers, with more than 40 percent of them women. • Who spends the most money as a consumer? Women spend approximately 85 percent; men spend only 15 percent. • Who focuses more on the game—and who on the commercials? Though many women love football, and a lot of men enjoy seeing the new commercials, women focus more on the commercials... and men more on the game. The 2009 Super Bowl commercials were far below my expectations. more
• Five Top Tips on How to Write More-Effective PPC Adsby Nick Usborne
  Contextual ads, whether delivered by Google, Yahoo, or any other company, are not standalone ads in the way that a newspaper classified ad is. In fact, your pay-per-click ad is simply the connector between a desired keyword or phrase and a destination landing page. So while you may have some wonderful things to say about your products or services, your PPC ad is not the place to try to cram your latest sales message into 95 characters. more
• Sweat the Small Stuff: A Counterintuitive Approach to Professional Successby Linda Kaplan
  It might sound counter-intuitive, but "sweating the small stuff" is actually a recipe for success. In fact, it can be one of best weapons in your business arsenal. more
• Use Search Queries to Save Money and Increase Conversionsby Craig Danuloff
  Search queries, the exact word or phrases a person types, are a vital clue into the objectives of the searcher and how valuable that person is to your business. Is each searcher relevant to you? Are all the search queries equally valuable? Can you write a single text ad that matches the intent of each of those queries and inspires searchers to click and convert? The answer, likely, is no. Yet, search queries don't play as prominent a role in paid-search management as they should, especially with Broad-match and Phrase-match campaigns. more
• Marketing in a Recession: What Do the Studies Really Tell Us?by Christian Shea
  Have you heard this one? "All the research shows that companies that spend on marketing during a recession come out ahead of the competition as the economy rebounds." It's a catchy buzz phrase—and if people believe it, even better. But here's the thing: What research, exactly? more
• My So-Called Marketing Life: How Do I Extend the Reach of My Brand?by Susyn Duris
  Although she has been successful in promoting and extending corporate brands, the author entered into another chapter of her life a few years ago: re-energizing an acting career. Eventually, she came to see marketing herself as an actor as the same as marketing any other product or service. She revisited common-sense ideas on how to extend a brand. These common-sense ideas, usually known but put on the marketer's back burner, should always be top of mind to help you get noticed and extend your brand. more
• Pushing One-to-One Marketing Beyond Emailby R. J. Talyor
  You get it. Email needs to be relevant, timely, and personalized, and it has to arrive in the inbox—not the spam folder. When an email renders, it should load images perfectly, guide the eye through stunning, effective design that drives subscribers to convert—download, purchase, whatever. But effective one-to-one marketing is more than just email. more
• To Sell During a Recession, Shop a Mile in Their Shoesby Jenny Schade
  Harnessing the power of customer insights throughout your organization produces a powerful, ongoing interactive connection with key constituents that competitors can't duplicate. Beyond the clever words and attention-getting visuals, the connection with the customer truly engages. When the product has been reviewed, when the ad is over, it's the feeling that remains that makes the sale and keeps the customer. If your marketing is based on customer insights, it's likely that your customers are going to feel understood—and therefore good about themselves. That's the feeling that will build the brand and drive sales. more
• Endurance Training: Five Brand-Building Exercisesby Kimberly Smith
  When the slow season strikes, devote some energy to pumping up your brand. These five exercises will show you where to start to best position yourself for the inevitable upturn. more
• 10 High-Impact, Low-Budget Ideas for Marketing in a Down Economy (Part 2)by Jonathan Kranz
  Earlier this month, the author offered five ideas for getting ahead in an economy that's got us down. As promised, here are five more inexpensive (yet powerful!) ideas that can help you and your business come out on top. more
• Five Questions to Ask Before You Hit Sendby Doug Stern
  Some businesses opting for digital instead of print do it because they've gone green. Others want to harness the internet's speed, reach, and other capabilities. The rest like the convenience of online or have some other strategic purpose that points them that way. But it might pay to slow down and make sure that you've picked the better route... or, combination of tools. So, here's a list of filters to consider. more
• Four Key Components of E-Newsletter Advertisingby Drew Adams
  How do companies reap solid advertising ROI from email newsletters? They incorporate four key marketing tactics into their campaigns: relevancy, list quality, design, and tactical landing pages. And then they apply them, like this.... more
• How You Lose Sales With Bad Search Marketing Decisions Based on 'Best-Practice' Web Analyticsby Todd Miechiels
  One of the most dangerous trends emerging is that B2B marketers, and their extended search-marketing resources, are regularly making bad decisions based on "solid analytics data." All too often, marketers are deciding to spend either more or less money based solely on the conversion rate of how a certain search phrase, ad creative, or banner ad performs: in other words, the percentage of people who visited the site and requested a whitepaper, a demo, etc. While conversion rate, in the context of an analytics report, is one way to measure the effectiveness a search phrase, it can be extremely misleading. more
• Your Marketing Stimulus Package: Invest Now in Building Brandby Kevin Randall
  Every day we are bombarded with bad news about the economy: dismal corporate earnings, budget cuts, advertising gone dark, clients and agencies and people coming and going, and a sense of turbulence, malaise, and timidity. What can marketing do? Today's brand leaders should follow these 7 Ps of branding as a guide during the recession, and beyond.... more
• Code Blue: A First Aid Kit to Revive a Failing PPC Campaignby William Leake
  Perhaps your spending has spiraled out of control and your conversions haven't budged. Or, like many of us, maybe your performance is fine but your budgets have been slashed, forcing you to produce the same results with less spend. Before you scrap everything and start from scratch, pull out this trusty first-aid kit for PPC campaigns. more
• What Not to Do on Facebook: Four Lessons From the Trenchesby Kimberly Smith
  In the Wild West of Facebook, there are nonethless a few established laws by which to market your product, service, or cause. Renegades beware: Failing to adhere to these can result in warnings, requests for immediate action, suspension, termination/disablement, or just plain user turnoff. Here are four approaches to avoid. more
• Green Marketing 'Broke Through' in 2008—What's Next?by Jacquelyn Ottman and Abigail Cohen
  Wall Street had a stormy 2008, but there is a silver lining: Industry leaders are now turning to all things "eco" as a new source of (genuine?) green. Here are the top 5 green marketing stories from a volatile year—and what they may mean for your business in 2009. more
• Special Report: How the 'Obama for America' Campaign Used Digital Media to Turn Ordinary Citizens Into Campaign Evangelistsby Kimberly Smith
  How did the Obama for America campaign do it? By its adherence to several game-changing strategies. more

Advertising: See all 285 marketing articles

Advertising case studies, deconstructing real life examples and illustrating lessons learned

• Generating Serious B2B Buzz With Dead Bugs... and VideoGrasshopper.com
  CASE STUDY: Entrepreneurs, by definition, don't play it too safe. So for a company that serves startups and small businesses, what better way to launch a rebranding campaign and generate buzz than doing something novel and risky—but being wicked smart about it. Which is where the bugs come in. more
• How an Interactive Game Stimulated Product Awareness and SalesSony United
  CASE STUDY: To differentiate itself in a crowded consumer-electronics market, Sony Electronics leveraged a bond—James Bond—with sister company Sony Pictures. A Bond-themed interactive game and sweepstakes resulted in 45,000 clickthroughs to product pages—and a 12-15% increase in sales of those products. more
• Three Small (Biz) Steps to Increased Product & Service Sales, Recession EditionPaul Hyland Salon & Day Spa
  CASE STUDY: Sales of luxury products and services have been suffering in the current economy—all the more so for small businesses. But email, coupons, and new-client referral and member-rewards programs have helped this small business beat the recession blues. See how. more
• How a Viral Campaign Gave OfficeMax Brand Recognition, Drove ShoppersOfficeMax, Inc.
  CASE STUDY: Office supply chain OfficeMax also sells digital cameras and other products popular as holiday gifts—but its customers didn't think of it as a holiday-shopping destination. What's more, it was often confused with its chief rival. A wildly popularly web-based viral marketing campaign helped OfficeMax distinguish itself and encourage shoppers. more
• How NHL.com's Online Campaign Helped Dodge Launch a New Vehicle, Exceed Sales ForecastsNHL.com
  CASE STUDY: Before any talk of bailouts, Chrysler called on 15 Web sites to help improve consumers' perception of the Dodge brand and launch its first crossover vehicle, the Journey. NHL.com cut through the clutter and delivered the brand message. Here's how. more
• How a Nonprofit Used New Banner-Ad Technology and Market Insight to Create an Effective Viral CampaignThe Blue Cross
  CASE STUDY: Founded in 1897, the Blue Cross is one of the UK's oldest animal welfare charities. It built an online community of pet owners - then launched a viral campaign, including rich media, that had people flocking to the social network. more
• How an Unbranded Game and Mystery Prize Giveaway on Facebook Garnered Exposure for Sharp ElectronicsSharp Electronics Corporation
  CASE STUDY: Sharp Electronics may have led the LCD revolution, but consumers don't view it as an agent of change. As part of a multichannel campaign to change consumers' minds, Sharp turned to an innovative effort on Facebook. more
• How Lenovo Used New Media Along With Olympic Sponsorship to Establish Global Brand AwarenessLenovo
  CASE STUDY: Last month in Beijing, Lenovo leveraged its Olympic sponsorship to develop global brand awareness. Unique to its approach was its use of new media, which fortified its traditional marketing and created a new level of athlete and fan interaction. more
• How a Telecommunications Company Enlisted the Quirkiness of an Offbeat Celebrity to Build Brand AwarenessGotVMail Communications, LLC
  CASE STUDY: GotVMail set out to raise brand awareness, promoting itself in a way that would both amuse its audience and set the company apart. What resulted was a viral video campaign starring Gary Busey. more
• How a Technology Company Leveraged March Madness Live Streaming to Increase Visibility for Its Own ProducteTelemetry
  CASE STUDY: When CBS Sports announced that it would once again live-stream the NCAA March Madness tournament during regular business hours, eTelemetry jumped at the chance to use the event as a prime backdrop for its own campaign. more
• How a Young Company's History-Making Soccer-Jersey Sponsorship Increased Sales, Brand Recognition and MoreXanGo, LLC
  CASE STUDY - Here's how a unique Major League Soccer sponsorship helped a new beverage product score big in both sales and brand recognition. What's more, here are three lessons you can apply to your own sponsorship efforts. more
• How a CEO Uses Twitter to Convey the 'Sole' of His CompanyZappos
  CASE STUDY: While others are still hashing out whether their CEO should be Twittering, blogging, or Plurking, Zappos Tony Hsieh has been using Twitter for over a year. Here, he reveals what he gets out of micro-blogging, and why he thinks it's important for his company and others to embrace social media tools. more
• How Weekly Reader Boosted Renewals by Altering Its Direct Marketing Package and CollateralWeekly Reader
  CASE STUDY: Weekly Reader, a publisher of materials for elementary and secondary schools, needed to improve direct mail renewal rates, which had been trending downward. A simple redesign and copy change worked to increase the response rate and orders for the fall school year. more
• How Sherwin-Williams Used Digital Collateral for a Newly Launched Product to Engage Retailers and ConsumersSherwin-Williams Company, Krylon division
  You have a snazzy new product and need marketing collateral to show it off. You want to rally your sales force around it, and at the same time excite the retailers who'll carry it. Print won't do. But digital will. more
• How a Video Podcast Series Garnered a Top Industry Award and 68,500 views in 12 MonthsTellabs
  Last spring, telecom player Tellabs launched its "Get Schooled" video-podcast series as both a way to communicate with customers as well as showcase the depth and breadth of its offerings. Get Schooled did that and more... generating tens of thousands of views, landing a coveted interview, and garnering an industry award. more
• A Niche E-tailer Sizes Up Glamour... One Customer at a Time, Boosting Sales with a Personalized Web Site ExperienceSydney's Closet
  Five years ago, Sydney's Closet sold only plus-size prom dresses. Since then, however, the company has significantly expanded its lines, and it sought to segment its customers to help deliver content and offers that would be specific to their interests and needs. Here's its approach. more
• How a Bed & Breakfast Inn Boosted Its Bookings with One Video AdMorning Glory Inn
  As a B&B in the highly competitive historic Pittsburgh area, the Morning Glory Inn needed a way to attract more recreational and business travelers. Its Web site, the Yellow Pages, and direct mail initiatives continued to bring in some new customers. But here's how the inn boosted its online visibility through rich media, and learned three valuable lessons on the way. more
• How a Consumer Electronics Company Leveraged the Power of Community to Uncover Market Preferences and Build Excitement for a New Product LineEastman Kodak Company
  When it chose to enter the saturated inkjet market 20 years late, Eastman Kodak had a few surprises up its sleeve. Still, the company found it also needed a little marketing ingenuity if it was to gain market share. more
• How a University Embraced Social Media and Scored Millions in YouTube ViewsCarnegie Mellon University
  How does a university up its visibility with an increasingly wired target market of both students of alumni? By orchestrating a Web 2.0-focused Web site redesign that set the foundation for an ongoing social media campaign. more
• How a Small-Business Consultant Leveraged a High-Profile TV Commercial to Generate New Traffic and Win New BusinessLocalZing
  As a tiny Florida player in the field of advertising for small businesses, Karl Long knew he should consider unconventional ways to promote his company. Taking a cue from a competitor, Long launched a campaign that upped traffic to his blog 500%, raised his Google profile, and led to new business. more

Advertising: See all 47 case studies

Advertising online seminar broadcasts from the best minds in marketing

• It's All About the Click: Fundamentals of Paid Search MarketingAttendee rating:  - Jun 4, 2009
• How to Create Advertising Campaigns that Make Men Do What You WantAttendee rating:  - May 28, 2009
• Mobile Marketing: How to Harness the Power of the Small ScreenAttendee rating:  - Nov 20, 2008
• How to Motivate Online Action: Compelling Incentives for B2B Lead GenerationAttendee rating:  - Nov 6, 2008
• Promotions: Instant Gratification for Small Business MarketersAttendee rating:  - Dec 14, 2007
• Customer Carewords: Words on the Web that Make the SaleAttendee rating:  - Dec 13, 2007
• Small Business Series: How to Advertise on a Modest BudgetAttendee rating:  - Oct 19, 2007
• Marketing Through Stories: The Selling Power of NarrativeAttendee rating:  - Mar 22, 2007
• Search Marketing Essentials for Online RetailersAttendee rating:  - Feb 8, 2007
• Crash Course #7: Integrated Media Planning in B-to-B Direct MarketingAttendee rating:  - Feb 1, 2007
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Metaverse: Second Life for MarketersAttendee rating:  - Jan 11, 2007
• Crash Course #4: Integrated Media Planning in Direct Marketing to ConsumersAttendee rating:  - Dec 14, 2006
• BOOM: Marketing to the Ultimate Power Consumer — The Baby Boomer WomanAttendee rating:  - Oct 26, 2006
• Evaluating Marketing Mix TradeoffsAttendee rating:  - Oct 5, 2006
• Advanced Topics in Paid Search MarketingAttendee rating:  - Mar 9, 2006
• Essentials of Paid Search MarketingAttendee rating:  - Mar 8, 2006
• Partnership Brand Marketing: How to Connect Your Brand to Other Brands to Win CustomersAttendee rating:  - Jan 12, 2006
• Reach the Big Spenders: How to Market to Women from 50 to 75Attendee rating:  - Dec 1, 2005
• Breakthrough Communications Strategies for Today’s B2B MarketAttendee rating:  - Aug 18, 2005
• “But Wait, There’s More”: A Users Guide to the Basics of Direct Response TV (and Radio)Attendee rating:  - Jul 21, 2005

Advertising: See all 21 seminars

Advertising mini articles distilling bite-sized advice (from our Get to the Point newsletters)

• How Dare You Assume That?Email Marketing
  When you hand someone a business card at a conference, do you assume your email address will be added to their list for marketing campaigns? Probably not. And that's why ...
• Is This My Fairest URL of All?Interactive Marketing
  As of June 13, Facebook has made it possible for users to secure a URL for both their profiles and any Facebook Pages they administer. Why this matters: Facebook is ...
• You Have Much to Learn, GrasshopperMarketing in a Downturn
  In a post at the Marketing Minute, blogger Drew McLellan admits he gets some rather strange mail. "But I have to say," he notes, "chocolate-covered grasshoppers might just top the ...
• Take a Deep Breath. Do a Brief Test.Search Engine Marketing
  "Do you know what attracts your readers? What headlines they respond to most? Do they respond to pictures? Do they know what your offer is?" asks Peter Da Vanzo in a recent SEObook.com ...
• Two Xs Mark the SpotMarketing Inspiration
  The current ad campaign from brewer Dos Equis features a fictional spokesperson it calls The Most Interesting Man in the World—a dashing chap engaged in a series of action-oriented vignettes ...
• Mom Probably Knows BestEmail Marketing
  In a post at the Deliverability.com blog, Dennis Dayman presents a short series of off-the-cuff emails that his wife wrote in response to his question about video in email marketing ...
• When in Doubt, Double DownMarketing Inspiration
  In a piece at The New Yorker, James Surowiecki recounts how two companies—Post and Kellogg—reacted to the Depression. "Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back ...
• Seed That Video and Reap Its HarvestInteractive Marketing
  Good news for all you budding Spielbergs out there: YouTube this month made it possible to automatically seed freshly uploaded videos across popular social networks like Facebook and Twitter, and even ...
• Nobody Likes a Wild-Goose ChaseEmail Marketing
  Chad White of the Retail Email blog was impressed when he recently received an email from Lands' End with this subject line: Free Shipping + 20-50% off summer! Swim, shorts, ...
• Serving Up a Perfect SEO SandwichSearch Engine Marketing
  To make an in-house SEO effort successful, you must first gain buy-in from the three main "layers" in most large organizations: executives, management, and everyone else. So says Duane Forrester ...
• You Want Me to Shave Where?!Marketing Inspiration
  If you're a man, your father probably taught you how to shave your face. It's highly improbable, though, that he included a lesson on shaving the rest of your body. ...
• Be a Pocket MillionaireInteractive Marketing
  Right in time for the much-anticipated iPhone OS 3.0 Software Update debut on June 17, AdMob has introduced a slew of ad units that will help enterprising advertisers make the most ...
• How'd He Do That?Marketing Inspiration
  When you first arrive at the Blue Penguin website, it looks much like any other—with a logo, navigation buttons, a subscription link and some written content in the center. But ...
• Short, Sweet and Clicked-ThroughEmail Marketing
  In a post at the DIRECT website, Ken Magill discusses the results of a survey conducted by MailerMailer. Among its more interesting findings: Subject lines containing up to 35 characters ...
• Ebony and IvoryMarketing Inspiration
  Rodney King famously asked, "Can we all get along?" And in a delightfully low-tech video currently making its way through the blogosphere, Red House Furniture of High Point, North Carolina, ...
• You Talkin' to Me?Interactive Marketing
  Once in a while, a digital ad grabs you just like that. And one thing that really boosts its impact is if the person featured in it is—you. Read on:  Last year, to sell tickets ...
• Subject: Rock On!Email Marketing
  "A subject line … invites others into your email marketing open house," says Josh Nason in an article at MarketingProfs. "If you have something to sell or a message you ...
• Meet the SEO Royal FamilySearch Engine Marketing
  We all know that content is king in search engine optimization, but in a recent Search Engine Land post, Daniel Waisberg reminds us that "usability is queen." According to Waisberg, ...
• Lights! Camera! Take Action!Email Marketing
  It's a simple fact: We love watching online videos. In a post at the Digital Marketing blog, Eydie Cubarrubia cites Nielsen Online research that found 119 billion unique viewers watched 7 ...
• Think of It as a ClubEmail Marketing
  You understand how email delivery works, but perhaps you have trouble explaining the process to your boss, a client or a colleague. If so, you're in luck. An entertaining post ...

Advertising: See all 213 quick reads

Advertising marketing downloads for the busy professional

• The Obama Playbook: How Digital Marketing and Social Media Won the Election
  Want to create a veritable army of customer-advocates to champion your brand? The Obama Playbook: How Digital Marketing and Social Media Won the Election shows you how the Obama campaign masterfully used new media to build awareness, engage prospects, and start a movement. It takes you step-by-step through the new media strategies of the campaign and provides actionable guidance on how you can modify each to benefit your business. Both entertaining and useful, it's an invaluable resource for the savvy marketer who wants to take full advantage of the amazing powers of new media.
• Small Biz How-To Guide: Avoiding Key Pitfalls
  Let's face it, more small businesses fail than succeed. Make sure yours is one of the winners with this guide to getting your small business off the ground and solidly on the road to success.
• Lead Generation How-To Guide
  Great product, great sales team, great marketing collateral - now what? People to sell to, of course. Put your lead generation tactics under the microscope with this enlightening how-to guide. Get more and better qualified leads, faster today.
• B2B Direct Marketing How-To Guide
  Direct marketing is one of the fastest changing disciplines within marketing today. What worked 10 years ago, isn't working today. Heck, what worked last week sometimes doesn't even work today, so keep your skills sharp with his How-To guide, focusing on the B2B market.
• Paid Search Advertising Template
  If you're a little intimidated by the prospect of Paid Search Advertising, seriously, join the crowd. Here it is though -- a guiding light through the complex waters of Paid Search Advertising. We assembled a 30-page template to make learning and implementing a successful paid search advertising campaign for your firm as easy as possible.
• Trade Show Marketing Template
  Trade show marketing is a high-risk, high-reward endeavor. This Template provides a sytematic look at trade show marketing. It walks you through selection and promotion, to follow-up and measurement. This step-by-step guide will insure your trade show marketing is effective, efficient, measurable, and successful.

Advertising: See all 6 downloads

Advertising Daily Chirp for the busy professional

• McCafé? McProfits!
  Looks like the recent $100 million ad blitz for the McCafé seems to be working. The McDonald's experiment in the specialty coffee arena may now have bumped Dunkin' Donuts from the No. 2 spot. But how? more
• Know What Happens When You Don't Advertise? Google Knows.
  It's safe to say the first batch of post-dot-com-bubble brands have come into their own. Brands like Google, eBay, and Amazon. The one thing that sets them apart? They became successful without the support of television advertising to help launch them. more
• Commercial Break: Target, Brand New Day
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at Target's "New Day" commercial. more
• Commercial Break: Get a Mac, Bean Counter
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at one of the Get a Mac ads, a series that began in 2006 and is still as humorous, and popular, as ever. more
• Get Creative
  We've seen some great creative ads in the past, both online and on television. Now imagine that you could be the brains behind a nationwide ad. Well, Panasonic gives you this opportunity with its Next Generation Talent competition. more
• Eyes Glued Open: Video on the Internet
  Media—from television to Internet video sites like YouTube and Hulu—consume more and more of our time nowadays. A Nielsen quarterly report gauges the influence of these media in our every daily lives. The findings are eye-opening. more
• Commercial Break: Trust Condoms, One Love
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at a commercial about a subject that still makes some people squirm: condoms. more
• Air New Zealand Baring It All
  Airline travel of late has become decidedly less of a joy. Planes are crowded and passengers are nickel-and-dimed at nearly every opportunity—for bottles of water, blankets, checked baggage, and so on. Which makes for a perfect opportunity for an outfit like Air New Zealand. more
• Commercial Break: Honda's 'Cog'
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at Honda's "Cog," which went viral before the term "viral" had gone viral. more
• 'Mainstream' Is Not a Target Market
  Mainstream is not a target market. In fact, by trying to blandly appeal to everyone, you wind up not really appealing to anyone in particular. Yet, in many companies, "niche" is a dirty word, right up there with "polarizing." more
• Commercial Break: Nestle's Sweet Dreams You Can't Resist
  In this regular Daily Chirp feature, William Arruda shares some of his favorite television ads. And he offers up a lesson for how the ad relates to your personal brand. Today, he looks at Nestle's "Sweet Dreams You Can't Resist." more
• Google: New Media Meets Old Media
  Google has always been considered a giant in the online world—it's even been said it rules the Internet. But one medium it hasn't ventured into is television. Until now, that is. more
• Hulu: From TV to 'Bliggedy Blogs'
  Hulu has certainly made a big splash in the online video world. It's quickly becoming a favorite way to watch TV shows and movies. But what's ironic is that traditional TV ads have been instrumental in its growth. more
• Commercial Break: The Softer Side of Sears
  In this new Daily Chirp feature, personal-branding guru William Arruda digs into his vast collection of classic TV advertisements and teases out a related lesson for modern-day personal branding. First up: a 1993 Sears campaign. more