Makana Solutions needed an inexpensive way to reach the elusive small business market. Rather than chase small businesses, it hired an online "inbound marketing system" to help small businesses find Makana. The results: Web site traffic climbed 75%, and sales leads have doubled. more

What's the trick to starting afresh? Be prepared to seriously start over and establish strategies to keep your brand from falling into that rut to nowhere. Here are some ideas to kick-start your new approach. more

Wacom's digital pens and their capabilities are well-known in the business world. To continue growing, however, the company needed to address the consumer market. Here's how it effectively reached a new fan community. more

Since many traditional advertising platforms are static in nature, and consumers are becoming increasingly interactive in their preferences, companies must become increasingly adept at using a mix of new interactive tools to reach their audiences. We are living in an interactive, entertainment-oriented society; let that fact guide you as you ... more

If you saw the last episode of The Apprentice, you know that two teams of celebrity contestants were asked to create a campaign to help launch a new product, Dial Yogurt Body Wash. The task was to come up with a four-page advertorial for Redbook Magazine. Each team took a ... more

Marketing executive and consultant Lewis Green wanted to re-establish his company in January 2004 after moving across the country. With no professional network in place, he figured the best way to promote his business would be a blog. His first attempt failed. But not his second. more

Every February for the last 50 years, stock car enthusiasts across the country have packed their sunscreen and descended on Daytona. This year, unfortunately, the economy also decided to head south. But fear not, race fans. There is hope for the brand that doesn't want to lose ground in a slowdown. ... more

As a marketing professional, do you proclaim your offerings to be real or authentic? If so, you may find your customers calling them (and you) fake. So stop it: Don't just say you're real; be real. more

How to blog for SEO juice, some killer WordPress plugins, and a Super Bowl Ad wrap-up... all that and more in this Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly audio program sponsored by MarketingProfs that covers classic marketing tactics and what's new on the technology front. more

Goodwill Industries receives generous donations of clothing, many in good shape and by popular brands, but is perceived as a purveyor of low-quality, outdated merchandise. With a social-media marketing campaign, the nonprofit was able to change that perception and connect with young professional women who buy vintage clothing. more

General search engines like Google and Yahoo aren't designed for B2B companies, which is why so many experience disappointing results. Recent developments with smaller Vertical Search Engines (or VSEs) are providing a strong alternative. But, as with any growing industry, it's important to research and understand these alternatives before making ... more

What is viral marketing? Is keyword density still a factor in SEO?—that and some other stuff that we've been testing... in this Marketing Over Coffee, a weekly audio program sponsored by MarketingProfs that covers classic marketing tactics and what's new on the technology front. more

Tracleer won approval in 2001 as the first oral treatment for pulmonary arterial hypertension, an illness difficult for patients to grasp. Tracleer helps patients control the symptoms, but it has drawbacks. Faced with high patient-dropout rates early on in treatment, the drug's maker needed to change patient perceptions. more

Denali Flavors creates and licenses premium ice cream flavors for regional and store brands. Its most popular flavor is Moose Tracks, which is made by more than 80 dairies nationwide—but many consumers have have never heard of it. The company needed to generate awareness at a little cost. So it ... more

Synergy Dental Center of Portland, Oregon, wanted to increase its client base, which Dr. Anthony Newkirk had inherited from the previous practitioner in 2003. He hired a marketing firm to develop a client-acquisition strategy, with a goal of 25 new patients a month. Here's how the Internet-based campaign played out. more

Notoriously private, Warren Buffett doesn't have a lot to say publicly, except for his annual letter to shareholders that usually makes the rounds of the Wall Street Journal, Business Week and other top publications. However, for his marketing programs, and specifically GEICO commercials, Buffett has an open checkbook. more

What will happen when ideas become commodities just like everything else? Some people certainly buy ads from advertising agencies on the strength of the agency's own brand name, but is the value of those brands under threat? more

There's a new air of excitement behind the mobile Web. Initiatives like Verizon's recent announcement to open their network, Google's Open Handset initiative, new wireless auctions, and the iPhone have energized users. For the intelligent marketer the question must be, "Is mobile the right medium to reach my constituencies?" more

Kimpton Hotels had successfully created a loyalty program, but its email program was lagging. By implementing an email strategy that focused on segmentation and targeting individual preferences, and by adding a corporate branding strategy, the company increased email bookings fivefold. more

Whether or not you completely understand social media or social networking sites, the one aspect you must understand is that they are going to change the way businesses advertise. Facebook, in particular, is constantly evolving and improving its users' experience with new features and applications. As a result, Facebook is ... more

Is pay-per-click losing momentum? Are people numbing to pay-per-click ads as they have to banner ads? Is growth in the channel waning, or is it just maturing? Hear Steve Rubel and Alan Rimm-Kaufman debate the issue; Alan is a fan of pay-per-click, while Steve has his doubts. more

Lots of companies create interesting and attention-getting ads with the brand name or major takeaway buried somewhere therein. So what happens? Consumers remember the great ad. But for the life of them, they have no idea what it was for... or who it was by. Don't less this happen to ... more

What is advertising's most important word? The simple, innocuous word "like": a nondescript word that carries with it all the conceptualization power you need to create a business identity, to form a brand personality, and to position your product or service in the mind of your audience. more

Garden Fresh Restaurants sought to increase customer engagement with its "Club Veg" loyalty club, totaling more than half a million opt-in members. Its two interactive email campaigns worked like a charm -- leading to huge increases in site traffic and boosting customer loyalty. more

One of the more successful tobacco control programs is the "Own Your C" campaign commissioned by the state of Colorado, which has effectively found ways to resonate with this hard-to-reach demographic. more