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In a world that's increasingly inundated with massive choice, filters are a critical market phenomenon. Consumers rely on trusted filters to sift through the raw data and identify the top picks. As a result, many savvy brands are learning to build filtering mechanisms into their brands, their products and Web sites, while also giving consumers a forum to voice their opinions and provide recommendations to others. Here's how. Get the full story.

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Successfully launching new products gets tougher every year. In the past decade, the number of new consumer products hitting the shelves has skyrocketed by 59 percent, making it much more difficult for new products to win consumer attention. If you've built a better mousetrap and plan to introduce it into this tidal wave of new products, it is more critical than ever to carefully plan and execute your launch using a strategic approach. Here are seven classic mistakes companies make when developing new product launch campaigns. Avoiding these pitfalls will greatly increase your odds of success. Get the full story.

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If there has been one constant in the ever-transient paradigm of marketing on the Internet, it is that "content" is the key to attract a steady stream of the uninitiated as well the converts. Good white papers serve to generate awareness about a product/service/organization, and more importantly, cause people to inquire and potentially buy the product/service in question. Get the full story.

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Creating demand for your speaking services can be challenging. This week, read the three more important steps for creating interest in your speaking services. Also this week, supply your advice to: how do you effectively "educate" your clients about the online sales process? Get the full story.

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Buzz, the love child of strategic marketing and public relations, has been key in establishing street credibility for brands targeting the billion-dollar urban lifestyle market worldwide. This market is not an urban myth. It is arguably the top luxury lifestyle to which the youth market aspires. If you're looking to grab buzz for your own brand, here are some key pointers for reaching urban markets. Get the full story.

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Every year Steve conducts a survey of his subscribers to identify ways that marketers are squeezing more sales out of their direct marketing. Here are some learnings from this year's report. The 10 tips offer new inspiration for direct mail campaigns.

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People of Caribbean heritage remain a large and diverse market. Marketers who ignore them are missing on the opportunities to showcase their products and services to a fast-growing segment with significant buying power. Unfortunately, some of the marketing campaigns of companies who are marketing to people of Caribbean heritage are ineffective. Here's why.

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Mark Twain once said the rumors of his death had been greatly exaggerated. The same may be said for the press release. It's not dead—but its mission has evolved.

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Last April, the last European Union member states implemented Article 13 of the Directive on Privacy and Electronic Communications -- the "Spam Directive." The first paragraph of Article 13 states that sending commercial email messages is only allowed if recipients have given their prior consent. So what's the state of email marketing in the EU a year later?

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These days, knowledge management is less about managing people and more about giving them the right goals, the right motivation and the right tools, and clearly articulating how success or failure will be measured.

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If your company sells complex products or services, you may want to take a page from the high-tech marketers' book. Continue to use conventional collateral to differentiate your solution and demonstrate value. Then, see if you can create independent demand for your unique methodology or business processes. Like with white papers, for example.

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This week, read your answers to the previous challenge: What are the top secrets to creating great online content? Also this week, solve this problem: How does a speaker go about getting more engagements including meetings, conventions, seminars and tradeshows? Join the conversation! Get the full story.

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Few "tools" are more widely abused these days than so-called best practices. It's no wonder that most banks, supermarkets, airlines, retailers and professional services firms look astonishingly similar--they've been busy copying each other's best practices for decades. What's most alarming is how ingrained their use has become in the language of marketers, salespeople and customers. Best practices have joined the long list of meaningless phrases like scalable strategies, seamless integration and transformational initiatives. Get the full story.

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Even good public relations people feel anxious when a media barrage occurs--and, granted, it doesn't initially feel like an opportunity to communicate strategic messages. But it can be done by following some basic rules. Get the full story.

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In competing for a piece of business not too long ago, the author's public relations firm was asked to supply three samples -- of recent clips, bylined articles, and press releases. For two of the three requirements, the issue was an embarrassment of riches. But for press releases, the firm was hard-pressed. These days, it writes fewer and fewer press releases. It just doesn't see them as being as important a tool for PR as they once were. Get the full story.

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Useful and sticky Web sites find out what's most important and relevant to their customers--and then customize their experiences in a meaningful way. By giving customers more of what they want (and when they want it), Web companies can use the power of personalization to increase customer engagement and retention. Here are some personalization principles that work, and Web companies that are doing a great job of applying them. Get the full story.

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High-tech suffers from terminal seriousness. It's an insidious problem, and it means that most tech companies fail to take advantage of opportunities to stand out. Over 80 percent of everything we hear daily is filtered, and humor helps you to be heard in a crowded market. Get the full story.

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The elections in Iran are in full force, with only a few days left until the Friday ballot. Iranian television is filled with interviews with the candidates, sound bytes and advertisements about the vote. Movies are interrupted every few minutes by voting reminder messages. Candidates' Web sites tout the politicians' credentials and attributes, while blogs debate who is genuinely democratic-minded--or, conversely, true to the tenets of the Islamic Revolution. This year, there are six candidates. And one of the candidates, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, has done more than the others to market his particular presidential "brand."

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This article is a Five-Minute Communication Test: Do you have connectors? In precisely five minutes, you can find out for yourself if your copy on your Web site/brochure/sales letter etc., will be read by your customer from start to finish. It's a simple, yet extremely powerful test.

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Most people's concept of advertising is limited to the (sometimes woeful) ads they see on TV, or the billboards they drive past. Seeing these, they automatically assume that effective advertising is out of their reach. This couldn't be farther from the truth. Pound for pound, Google AdWords offers everyone, from mom and pop cotttage industries to multinational juggernauts, the most effective advertising medium yet devised.