Wasted Away in Swine Flu Ville

Cinco de Mayo used to be dream date for Tequila makers, Mexican beers breweries and margarita mix devisers.
Not this year.
The unfortunate hype around “H1N1″ aka Swine Flu and our friends in Mexico has cast a cloud over Cinco de Mayo. For places like San Diego (just 30 miles north of the border), today’s a barometer [...]

A Brand Forever Associated with “Killer”

Living in Southern California, the word “killer” is part of surfing lingo. Something “killer” is considered really good and harmless. It works, as in “that pair of Oakley Radars is killer, dude!”
But when a brand assumes a different type of killer association, reputation damage is quick, the need for proactive PR immediate.
The phrase “Craigslist Killer” has entered [...]

Could Marketing Help Taxes?

April 15 is dreaded in America.
Even though we have taxes withheld from our paychecks year-round, the symbolic midnight tax deadline to “pay” Uncle Sam causes melancholy, dejection and resignation.
But there is a flip side.
Consider: Those expecting tax refunds file early — long before the grousing starts. April 15 means little them (unless they’ve yet to [...]

Will You Join Us?

A barrel of crude may recently dipped below $60. And oil companies are wise to start talking about environment. The latest: Chevron and it’s www.willyoujoinus.com campaign.
A sampling of copy from print ads featuring earnest and environmentally serious faces:

“I will leave the car at home more.”
“I will at least consider a hybrid.”
“I will unplug stuff more.”

While [...]

Are Press Releases Dead?

As a marketer, are you pre-pitching target publications long before you issue a press release?
If not, start now.
Unless your company is holding a quarterly earnings call or responding to a crisis with a prepared statement, the press release is a watered-down way to tell your story. There are fewer credential journalists today but more bloggers [...]

Message Police

What’s your company or organization’s story? How do you tell it?
Messaging is part art and science. It takes a strong gut sense to move a group messaging session to completion — especially in the early phase of a company when stakes feel so much higher. Will we nail it? Are we over-reaching? Is it clear? Can [...]

Mobile Wireless Air

Naming a high-tech company is among the more delicate chores for marketers.
At startups, company founders can have strong feelings. Engineers can be obssessed with product function. Marketers balance reality and emotion. Some go with a default name that’s safe. Here are 3 popular examples of that naming convention, according to the CTIA website exhibit roster.

Mobile + pick a noun or object (Mobile Complete, Mobile Future, [...]

What’s Your Mission?

One of the best books on telling a good marketing story is Seth Godin’s All Marketers Are Liars. Upshot: If a company’s messaging doesn’t match its product or customer experience, there’s confusion, distrust and lost opportunities for repeat business.
Which leads me to Mission Statements, those historical bedrocks of company stories and marketplace positioning. When authentic, they are powerful because [...]

“Just” as Filler

Seth Godin, popular blogger, author and guru of marketing, is striking the word “just” from his vocabulary. Same for “sort of.”
We get into habits. We use certain words more than others. “Just” is not that bad (when used sparingly). There’s no harm in it. Seth wants to use it less.
Imagine if Nike had taken the same tact.  Just [...]

Simple

sim·ple   /ˈsɪmpəl/ – [sim-puhl] adjective, -pler, -plest, noun –adjective
1. easy to understand, deal with, use, etc.: a simple matter; simple tools
I don’t write code. But I do appreciate simple software (and tech support). Yesterday Microsoft made good on the Word 2007 bug fix. A support staffer accessed my desktop (slightly chilling) and healed a corrupt file. It got me thinking [...]