Never a Lack of Ideas

I read a lot about marketing. A lot. Yesterday, one of my favorite marketing authors wrote about my book and I'm so proud that I wanted to share about it. Andy Sernovitz writes a daily blog called Damn I Wish I'd Thought of That . I've been reading it every day for eight years. I've read Andy's book and attended several of his trainings. He's a brilliant marketer who I respect very much. When I sent him a review copy of my book, he graciously offered to read it and help spread the word about it if it was worth sharing. Yesterday, he made good on that promise. Thanks, Andy. I'm humbled and gracious. My Favorite Marketing Bloggers I'm frequently asked who my favorite marketers are. That's a tough question because there are so many. And I regularly discover great new marketers. But, I thought I'd take a stab at answering that question by starting with a list of my favorite marketing bloggers: Rohit Bhargava — Rohit writes the Influentia...

If you try hard enough, you can find something interesting about every type of product and service and turn that something into a great marketing opportunity. Take routers, for example. They aren’t inherently interesting. But the way people and businesses name their wifi networks sure are. Have you ever come across a funny wifi network name? I’ll bet you have. Maybe it’s your local restaurant or your neighbor across the hall. Why hasn’t a router manufacturer come out with a Tumblr to collect the funniest wifi network and hotspot names? Here are a few to get started: Scarpino Portkey (that’s mine — a Harry Potter reference, in case you don’t know) Drop It Like It’s Hotspot Hot Or Not Spot Network-ing It HotSpot for Teacher This is not your hotspot Nelly’s Hotspot in Herrrre I’ve previously written about how coffee filters can be interesting . Now we’re talking about network routers. You can find the fun in anything if you look hard enough. Add This To Your To-Do List ...

We've made it to the final post in this series about my favorite ads of all time. Part 1 was about print ads, part 2 was about TV ads, part 3 was about digital ads, and today is about my favorite integrated marketing campaign of all time. (When I say "integrated," I mean one idea that spans all forms of marketing communication.) Admittedly, I'm biased about this one because my favorite integrated campaign is actually one that I worked on. Part 4: My Favorite Integrated Marketing Campaign If you've read my book and/or watched my TEDx talk , it will come as no surprise to you that my favorite integrated marketing campaign is IES Abroad's "Your world [redefined]" campaign. In my last year working at IES Abroad, our marketing team created simple signs printed on standard white pieces paper that said, "_______ [redefined]" and sent them to our students around the world. We invited them to write in the blank space something in their ...

For the past three days, I've been posting about my favorite ad campaigns of all time. In part 1 , I wrote about my favorite print ad campaign. In part 2 , I revealed my favorite TV ad. Today I've written about my favorite digital ads. Part 3: My Favorite Digital Ads   Tipp-Ex is the UK's version of Wite-Out. A couple of years ago, they launched a very popular digital video of a hunter shooting a bear . After that successful campaign, Tipp-Ex upped the ante and launched Tippexperience2 . Check out the video on the landing page in that second link, type in a new year at the end of the video, and then enjoy the magic. They created 46 different videos, representing 46 different time periods in history for this campaign. Have fun trying to stump it. It's fantastic. I love this campaign because it's fun and engaging. You don't even think of it as an ad -- it's entertainment. It's a great way to leverage a digital platform that provides a limitless op...

As a Halloween treat, I'm writing about my favorite ad campaigns of all time. In part 1 , I wrote about my favorite print ad campaign. Today I'll reveal my favorite TV ad. Part 2: My Favorite TV Ad In 1993, Eagle Insurance released what some have called the worst TV commercial ever created. But I call it the best. It's memorable for a lot of reasons: The cheesy writing and acting The ridiculous Eagleman character The fact that Eagle *man* lays an egg When the ad came out, I was often heard around the house saying, "oh, look at those low rates" just like the women at the end of the commercial. I find it just as funny today as I did back then. Some high school students even created a behind the scenes video about the making of this commercial. A few years later, Eagle Insurance embraced the cheesy hit they had on their hands and one-upped themselves with the equally-amazing Eaglewoman commercial . It starred Chicago radio personality Mancow Muller — I...

On each of the previous three Halloweens, I've posted my list of the best brands in the United States ( part 1 , part 2 , part 3 ). This Halloween, I'm switching it up a bit: I'm publishing a four-part series of my favorite advertising campaigns of all time. Over the next three days, I'll post my favorite: Print campaign TV campaign Digital campaign Integrated campaign Part 1: My Favorite Print Ads In the 1990s, I fell in love with the Absolut Vodka ads I would see in our family's subscription to Sports Illustrated. They were simultaneously beautiful and witty. They inspired me to study marketing and graphic design, and ultimately choose to make this my profession. It turns out I'm not the only one who loves these ads. There are several fan sites devoted to Absolut print ads. My favorite is AbsolutAd.com . I've spent a lot of time browsing on the site and I never get bored. The site takes me back to when I was a kid, dreaming of the advertising i...

Since writing my book and delivering my TEDx talk , several people have reached out to me and asked a variation of the same question: "What's the most important thing to do in marketing?" They're looking for marketing's Golden Rule. Well, the answer is actually very simple: Create a product or service that is so awesome everyone will want to tell his or her friends about it. "But that doesn't have anything to do with marketing" is a typical response. Actually, it does. Product features are a critical part of marketing (in fact, "product" is one of the traditional marketing 4 Ps). A slick marketing campaign and great packaging can't fix everything in the long term. Sure, you can quickly sell a lot of a bad product or service if you pour a bunch of money into marketing communication, but in the long term, people will figure it out and tell their friends how bad your product is.  Buyer Beware I love infomercials. Seriously. I watc...