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Despite being daily exposed to dozens of ads—including on television, in print, and on the Web—most Americans (55%) say they find advertising to be interesting ("very" or "somewhat"), though fully 41% say it is not interesting, a recent poll found. more
In today's challenging economic environment, marketers are seeking better ways to maximize ROI. One way is to leverage insights from both SEM and email to drive greater success across channels. In a recent article at Inside CRM, Ram Krishnamurthy and Brad Neelan offer up five strategies for using such a twin ... more
When subscribers opt in to your email campaigns, they will most likely make assumptions about the content, frequency and relevance of the messages you send. Accordingly, argues Justin Premick in a three-part series at the AWeber blog, it's important to set some appropriate expectations before they commit to you. "If ... more
"Predictive analysis has a long and profitable history with direct mail," says Arthur Middleton Hughes in a Pro article at MarketingProfs. "Millions of dollars have been saved by focusing on those customers most likely to buy—and not mailing to those who are unlikely to be interested." Only recently, though, have ... more
Heads-up, all of you out there who market to moms: Food mogul Nestlé is using Twitter to promote Juicy Juice—the super-popular, and now vintage, juice-box brand that caters to kids. Expect to see the pea-green pieces on mom-targeted sites like CafeMom and BabyCenter.com. Questions like "How do you stimulate your child's ... more
ZenithOptimedia revised downward its forecast for global ad expenditure growth in 2009 to -8.5%, from its April prediction of -6.9%, after Q1 came in below its predictions, the firm announced this week. more
You might wonder whether the stories you tell in email marketing campaigns should be long or short. In a pair of posts from Chad White at the Retail Email Blog, you'll discover that it, well, depends. He offers two examples. According to White, Neiman-Marcus has been incorporating brief quotes from designers in ... more
"Is your website search- and social-media-friendly?" inquires a recent post at the Online Marketing Blog. According to Lee Odden, search is the most efficient and effective way for consumers to discover content. However, focusing on standard SEO tactics, such as keyword usage and links, is not enough to remain competitive, ... more
"We fuss over subject lines, offers, calls-to-action, and targeting, but sometimes a lack of response is simply a matter of timing," says Mark Brownlow in a post at the Email Marketing Reports blog. "By the time the recipient checked her inbox, your carefully crafted email was buried by Facebook alerts, ... more
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 Al Iverson was so annoyed when he learned that is exactly why he had recently received something he considered spam—and ... more
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 super-juicy SEO-wise. It's rich with content, oft-accessed, and constantly being updated. Securing a vanity URL with your name (for your ... more
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 list." The unusual package arrived from Grasshopper.com, which provides integrated telephone services, and McLellan praises the company for a well-executed ... more
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
"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 post. Testing will give you answers, but it can be tedious and costly. Da Vanzo offers the following ideas for quick-and-cheap, ... more
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 that might remind viewers of vintage undercover-themed television shows like It Takes a Thief or I Spy. Filmed with the ... more
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 campaigns. Dayman wanted to know whether she—a stay-at-home mom—found the concept appealing. In her first email, she explains that the ... more
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 on advertising," he writes. "But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new ... more
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 news and feed aggregator Google Reader. This means you no longer have to wait for your (undoubtedly stunning) viral somethin'-or-other ... more
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, polos and more. "I really liked this checklist approach to listing departments," he explains. "It feels less like it's pressing ... more
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 ... more
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
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
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 in a recent post at Search Engine Land. He likens working with these groups to making a layered sandwich. To ... more
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. And as "manscaping" starts going mainstream, many might wonder why a man would let his razor wander southward. An animated ... more
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
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