Is Print Dead or is it that the Strong Survive?
Is print dead? Perhaps we are simply witnessing a Darwinian evolution of the print species. The question is, what strategy makes a publication survive and can it be adopted by the weaker?
Brands need to think more like publishers
Brands are learning now that to connect with consumers, they must publish content. Some are really pushing that concept and have become media powerhouses.
Picture Perfect Partnerships
When brands band together, multidimensional stories emerge. Each brand needs to understand what it brings to the main story and to its more focused story. Strong partnerships create efficiencies. A brand gets more bang for the buck and garners a more engaged audience by letting consumers choose to see what they want to see behind the curtain.
Examining the Hooks of James Beard Rising Star Chef Nominees
We often find ourselves helping guiding brands towards uncovering their unique value and talent towards discovering their natural hook. I thought it would be fun to look at the new James Beard nominees in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category.
The Importance of a Hook
One of the hardest things for content creators to do is figure out what makes them unique in the marketplace.
3 Valuable Audience Segments Inspired by James Beard Award Nominees
Aside from the representing the best culinary talent, the James Beard Award nominees also call our attention to valuable audience segments.
Selling product does not mean selling out
Brands are great at selling product but sometimes fall short when telling stories that go beyond “advertorial” content.
Knowing When to Say No
Every brandscape has a different dynamic between brands, talent and publishers. This is a reflection of the individual values each brings to the table. One very interesting feature of how the web works is that you can actually play around with a brandscape dynamic and see how it might work before investing in it. You can try things on a small scale and when you find the right formula grow them bigger.
Unified Content. Shared Audience. Better Results.
As a brand, you have to embrace the idea that you’re not the only company targeting the exact same audience. If you’re humble enough to do that, you’ll uncover marketing opportunities that you’d otherwise miss. Think about a wedding Luxury … Continued
Home Depot Should Build a Sturdier Foundation for Video Content
Many brands have been creating content and have an arsenal on various social media platforms. Those brands should now be looking to evolve that content or the platforms on which it resides to maximize the investment and realize its potential.
Consumers Win with Brand Crossovers
Crossing over and sharing audience with other brands is a vital way to build and strengthen your relationship with your audience.
Big Companies Can Cross-Pollinate Their Brands
Our concept of brandscaping encourages complementary brands to unite in order to amortize content creation costs and realize greater reach through multiple points of distribution. What about the companies that produce a varied assortment of products, like Unilever or P&G? … Continued
When Selling Ads Is a Missed Opportunity
The traditional ad-buying model is rooted in the fair weather of the old days of media monopolies. Finding new opportunities to build content partnerships will protect your brand from even the harshest of marketing climates.
What can a superhero chef, a makeup brand and a paint company bring to Comic-Con?
Big brands often pave the way in marketing and smaller companies try to ride the wave or emulate on a smaller scale. However, recently there have been examples of marketing initiatives executed on by big brands that are easy for a small brand to replicate and build upon. The Gap Styld.by campaign is a great example, as is Neiman Marcus’ outreach for a fashion photographer at SXSW. But, let’s try it with Comic-Con.
Bloggers and brands can build valuable relationships
Blogger and brand relationships can be tricky to navigate. Oftentimes brands choose to sample products and donate items to bloggers for feedback, reviews, exposure — only to find that nothing comes of it or that the response was not favorable. Bloggers want to remain editorially sound, which means that brands looking to crate meaningful relationships with bloggers need to have a definitive strategy and dedicated resources who are focused, disciplined, and track against concrete goals. Recently I’ve seen a few examples of how blogger and brand relationships have evolved and become more meaningful initiatives.
Beautiful Women, Fashion & Cars Work Together
Can you take two or more different brands with different products and values and unite them seamlessly?
What’s Hot @Houseswares 2012
As a first-time attendee of the International Home + Housewares Show in Chicago, I was immediately enthralled by the breadth of offering from inventive manufacturers looking to build diverse product offerings at retail.
Capitalize on Consumer Spending Patterns
Consumers spend a lot of money when buying a home, so how can brands get into their consideration set right from the beginning of a home build or purchase project?
Why Aren’t Lifestyle Brands Teaming Up More?
Are brands missing opportunities to build themselves into media empires that drive a whole lifestyle?
Underwriting Content is a Successful Business Model
Underwriting great content is not only a successful business model, it continues to have a lasting impact on our culture.
Rebuilding a community while building brand partnerships
On January 26, I wrote about the importance of great partners when building a campaign or brandscape. I was encouraged to see a group of brands aligned to literally rebuild a community in an authentic manner, while also figuring a way to help themselves. ABC’s Extreme Home Makeover, along with Crate & Barrel, The Land of Nod, and the Red Cross worked to rebuild the homes of those impacted by the catastrophic tornado that ravaged the town of Joplin, killing approximately 160 people and destroying nearly 8,000 houses back in May 2011.
What Jimmy Fallon Can Teach About the Future of Marketing
Jimmy Fallon carries the secret of how brands can create content that not only resonates, but motivates and lasts.
Do We Care about the McDonald’s Suppliers?
McDonald’s is running a campaign about their suppliers – potato, lettuce and beef so far. What is it about the McDonald’s campaign that seems so disingenuous?
Build On Your Real-life Networks
We are just seeing the beginning of a marketing revolution. Forward thinkers like Chef Jody Adams who already see the value of a rising tide lifting all ships have unique opportunities ahead.
The right partners can make or break a campaign
Google worked with their agency GOOD/CORPS to create a series of videos that promote small business. Not unlike the American Express Plum campaign, the idea is to showcase how Google properties enhance a business and allow it to grow. The challenge, and where the campaign seemingly differs from the American Express campaign and specifically the one with Pink Berry, is do all the partners in the campaign stand united?
Is the Elle and Van Cleef & Arpels campaign one to remember?
Presented as an attempt to recreate the magic felt when falling in love, The Van Cleef & Arpels Love Stories campaign doesn’t evoke a modern day love affair feel. I am lost within it’s beautiful scapes and models but wonder what would make a young urban female (audience as defined for this campaign effort) to share the video with friends. By rethinking luxury marketing and opening up the campaign to a wider content creation and brand distribution approach, both Van Cleef & Arpels and Elle Magazine may have garnered a larger return.
“One Track Mind”: Diverge the track for greater return
The traditional one advertiser, one media publisher relationship can hinder a campaign both from a content and distribution standpoint. Brands and publishers must think bigger about the content they create in a way that garners engagement, audience, and ultimately, results. Think about how creating ancillary campaign content created by the sponsoring brands as well as partnering with more than one advertiser, can bring drive interest and untapped eyeballs.
A gem of an idea: JCK Rock Star
As a former marketing director at a New England based jewelry retail chain and as an avid watcher of Project Runway, I was smitten with JCK’s Rock Star series from the start. I think JCK is pioneering what journalism is becoming – which is certainly part entertainment, part talent scout, part branded content. As JCK starts to think about a second season of this show, I wanted to suggest some ways in which the distribution approach and the brand inclusion could evolve.
Attaching Your Brand to a Good Cause
One of best way to get that core message across to your audience is by aligning your brand with a cause that people already do or should support. By building messaging and online properties and aligning with the right cause you can actually help raise awareness, drive action, and inspire people while strengthening your brand’s online presence.
