Go PRO Now
Get unlimited access to all of our exclusive marketing resources
You've just presented a rough cut of your latest television ad when an executive begins asking questions that demonstrate he doesn't understand the concept of a rough cut. "It isn't color corrected, the sound is uneven, effects are sometimes missing, and if there's music at all it's generally just a ... more
"For small businesses, it can be a challenge to look uber-polished and sophisticated with every communication and customer-relationship tactic," says Heather Rast in a post at the Insights & Ingenuity blog. "The reality is that small-business budgets are, well, smaller than that of their mid- or large-sized counterparts." And that ... more
"Imagine if a customer in one of your stores asked a rep where to find a particular product and that rep directed [her] to a door that led to the alley behind the store," says Chad White in a post at the Retail Email Blog. "What do you think that ... more
OK, we admit it: For a platform as popular as it's become, Twitter's surprisingly hard to understand to the untrained eye. What are all those messages? IMs? Forum discussions? Public IMs? And what the heck is a "tweeple," for goodness sake?!! Most importantly: What's with this rumor that Twitter can ... more
"Banner ads are tried-and-true forms of advertising that can deliver great results while driving a return on investment," says Kim Stearns in an article at MarketingProfs. "So why are advertisers so hesitant to use them?" It might be, she conjectures, that serious businesses look askance at the sheer volume of ... more
"The business environment is shifting so fast these days that I'm continuously seeing companies jump from one idea to the next in some kind of frenzied attempt to force results to happen on their time line," says Ardath Albee at the Marketing Interactions blog. "If something doesn't work immediately, they ... more
Consumers and advertisers largely disagree about the effectiveness of many types of ads, as well as in their assessments of Internet advertising and Twitter, despite some areas of agreement, finds a recent survey by LinkedIn Research Network/Harris Poll. more
"In email marketing, we seem to tolerate a level of mystery that would not be acceptable in any other channel," says Stephanie Miller in a post at the Daily Fix blog. Take deliverability: You might know, for instance, that you have a "delivered" rate of 95 percent. "This is a ... more
Your own keyword analytics data is the most valuable marketing asset of your company. In fact, the data contained in the keyword report from your Web-analytics application (which tells you how people are finding your site through paid and organic search) is much more valuable than traditional marketing data, such ... more
Even in the midst of a recession, when advertising spend has been drying up, this website doubled its ad revenue. How, exactly? Take a gander... more
What are two of the biggest obstacles companies face in link marketing? Consultant Justilien Gaspard believes they are: (1) developing linkable content, and (2) making people aware of it. In a recent Search Engine Watch article, he offers advice on how to overcome these Big Two and start linking up with hot ... more
Online ads that are integrated into the content of a page, such as half banners and rectangles, are the most effective in driving online ad awareness and purchase intent, according to recent research. more
In a post at the AdHole blog, Jason Fox tells about a terrific series of ads. Produced for Dunkin' Donuts, they feature former football coach Barry Switzer as he attempts to whip non-football players into shape. The first spot finds Coach Switzer—cup of Dunkin' Donuts coffee in hand—amid a group ... more
If you worry that an email with a horizontal (left-to-right) scroll will confuse your subscribers, Dylan Boyd is prepared to disagree. Unless it tests well, he doesn't suggest using this type of scroll as a regular feature, but he does think it can serve as a useful interrupter that spurs engagement. ... more
Recently, TubeMogul reported that Twitter refers some of the least-fickle viewers to video sites, with tweeties watching videos 36.91 percent longer than those referred by Facebook, and 49.98 percent longer than those referred by Digg. Got dreams of broadcasting live to this eager bunch? Now you can! Ride the statistical wave ... more
In a post at Copyblogger, Sonia Simone reports on a recent study from Return Path that found 23 percent of permission-based email never reaches the inbox of Gmail users. "No, I'm not saying it goes to a junk box," she says. "Most of it doesn't get delivered at all. No ... more
When your product competes with the iPhone, you have to get creative. Which is just what Samsung did. more
In a recent post on the SEO.com blog, Dustin Williams notes that every successful search campaign starts with finding the right keywords. It's important to not rush that precious keyword research, he says, because, "the goal is not only to rank well for many search terms but to also rank well ... more
One year ago, Lynda Partner wrote—but did not publish—a blog post that eviscerated a software company for taking liberties with her email address, and then treating her complaint with stunning indifference. "Why publish it now, you ask? This week I got more spam from this same company," she says. "It ... more
As an email marketer, you'll be, well, interested in a new development at Gmail. "Some of you already use the 'Report Spam' button on all kinds of unwanted email," Brad Taylor tells users in a post at the Gmail blog, "and for that we're very thankful: The more spam you ... more
Television—Network, Cable, and Local—accounts for the vast majority of ad spending according to the latest adspend-share data from Nielsen. more
Last week, we showed you some cool makeup vids as an example of how viral videos can rack in the mega-bucks. This time, we offer a sample of how a consistent, useful and compelling online video campaign can serve your brand amazingly well. Consider "Will it Blend," a fascinating online ... more
"The Hispanic market seems to be the only one still flourishing these days in the face of economic doom and gloom," says Blaire Borthayre in an article at MarketingProfs. And there are, she argues, a number of reasons why the buying power of these savvy consumers will likely grow to ... more
In an article at MarketingProfs, Louis Chatoff argues that the success of any email campaign largely comes down to creating a good first impression. To gain approval, he says, an email marketer must—above all—focus on the quality and relevance of each message sent. "It simply doesn't work to quickly throw ... more
Demand for "pre-owned" automobiles has been hot during the recession, and the automotive search terms used most in June reflect consumers' interest in buying and selling cars online. more
MarketingProfs uses single