The Art of Cold Calling – Part 1
In an age of mobile apps, social networking and 3-D, a technique like cold calling may seem like a nearly extinct residual from the dinosaur age of advertising. But the truth of the matter is that cold calling is simply a lost art—and it still has a valuable role in today’s marketing world. Here are […]
The Cost of Free Media
One of the biggest media stories in recent weeks is that the New York Times website decided to charge for access to its content on the Web, whether by computer, tablet or mobile device. Previously, reading NYT content was free and unlimited. There are some stipulations, however. First of all, the first 20 articles per […]
A Picture Is Worth A Thousand Words?
When it comes to advertising, what’s more important: long, descriptive, informative copy — or a short and evocative tagline? What about no words at all … just enticing visual creative? Naturally, there’s not one simple answer. Depending on the client and the product, more information may be needed to provide an accurate and alluring snapshot […]
Marketing to Minors
In recent years, there’s been much debate about marketing to minors, especially when it comes to nutrition and health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recorded $870 million spent by the food industry on marketing to children under the age of 11 as of 2006. Nationwide, […]
Competitive Advertising
Do you know what the term “competitive advertising” means and how it can help you grow your business? If you work in an industry that’s steeply competitive, especially in a region that’s closely familiar with the kind of business you perform (for example, a small town with three localized baby clothing boutiques), you can take […]
False Advertising: Groupon Under Scrutiny
Those hoping to snag an affordable floral bouquet delivery in time for Valentine’s Day were about to have their hopes dashed after trying to purchase a coupon from Groupon.com. Groupon is an enormously popular website (and mobile app) that allows visitors to buy very steep coupons for their favorite products and services, ranging from pet […]
Super Bowl XLV Commercials
The Super Bowl just keeps stepping up its game when it comes to selling, promoting and popularizing its commercials, which cost $3 million for 30 seconds on average this year. For the first time ever, Hulu.com showed commercials during Super Bowl XLV through a specialized “channel” (AdZone 2011) that allowed viewers to not only watch […]
Showing Some Love with Facebook and Twitter
This Valentine’s Day, we’re going to talk about…what else? Love. But not just any love–the very special kind of love that can only be properly conveyed through social media. Social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter are often used to launch campaigns based on popularity, encouraging page visitors to tweet with a certain hashtag, […]
Bands Rewarding Fans with Social Media
These days, it’s not always easy to convince people to come see a live music show. Within minutes of a song’s closing notes, the performance has already been posted on YouTube and shared around the world, thanks to ubiquitous recording devices that sync up instantly with social media accounts. That makes it harder to convince […]
2011 Trend: Edvertorial in Social Media
Leave it to the fashion crowd to stay on the cutting-edge of social media marketing—and making up new words to help them sound especially superlative and chic. This past month, Women’s Wear Daily featured an article about the upcoming expansion of the “edvertorial.” Unlike an advertorial, which is an ad that’s framed to look like […]