Vol. 2 , No. 36     December 26, 2002

In this Newsletter:

Don't Miss the Top Ten Section

See below for Advertising, Subscription and Contact information.

Allen Weiss
What is Marketing?

This is a very good question and answers on the web typically ends up being a lot of tactics, like advertising, brand management, sales, service, pricing, email marketing, etc. That's a good start, but far from complete.

And that's one of the problems with the web. If you go to search engines like Google and type in "marketing expert", you'll come up with over 27,000 web pages! When you've got that many people claiming to be experts in marketing, it's difficult to even know what marketing means.

Want to find out what is really means? Go here...

Nick Usborne
Maintain a Consistent Voice

Keep the language of emails consistent with your other messages. And make it personal.

In the offline world, the disciplines and processes have long been in place to ensure a consistency of message. But often this isn't the case online. The online environment, still in its infancy, is home to some terrible discord between different messages from the same company.

As a case in point, here are some of the messages put out by Victoria's Secret.

Do we have your interest?...read the story

Kristine Kirby Webster
Relationship Branding: Fulfilling the Promise of a Brand

The other day I was speaking with a colleague, and I was quite surprised to hear him say that while he knew what a brand was, he didn't really know what a brand was, why some brands were stronger than others, the deep purpose of the brand concept, and why some consumers are so brand loyal. This got me thinking, and made me consider the following…

Simply put, a brand is a promise, an expectation waiting to be fulfilled. But the promise of the brand isn't always fulfilled the moment the product is purchased.

So how is the promise of a brand fulfilled?...go here to find out.

A Note to Readers

The Best Of MarketingProfs

Greetings discerning readers!

...and welcome to the special holiday issue of MarketingProfs.

Sometimes the best gifts are the small ones, those that are easily overlooked. In that same spirit, you'll find reprinted in this issue some of the less widely read bits of content from our archives.

These pieces, which didn't break any readership records at the time of publication, nevertheless represent some choice bits of content by some of the most articulate writers in our industry.

Enjoy! We'll resume our regular Tuesday publishing schedule after the first of the year, on January 7.

All our very best for a healthy, safe and restful holiday season.

Ann Handley
ann@marketingprofs.com
Chief Content Officer
MarketingProfs.com

Last Issue's Top 5

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Andrea Learned
The Six Costliest Mistakes You Can Make in Marketing to Women

If you've been paying attention lately, some companies are marketing to women very effectively, while others are not.
Tired of Mars & Venus?

Go here for some down to earth answers...

Marianne Kirchner
When Times Get Tough, the Tough Keep Talking

During tough times, is it appropriate to continue advertising? Is it smart? Do your customers want to hear from you?

Can you afford to keep talking? Read more.

Dana Blankenhorn
Songs in the Key of Success

Contrary to what you read in the newspapers, a lot of e-commerce and content Web sites are finding success in 2002.

Each success teaches a different lesson. But all the lessons have some definite elements in common. Read them here.

Laura Mitrovich
The Origin Of Spam: As Mysterious as the Meat Product Itself

Email's evil twin -- UCE or "unsolicited commercial email" as it’s officially known -- has come to be known as “spam.” Sent by the same fiendish folks who call during dinner or send “you may have already won” missives, spam enjoys a pedigree as shrouded in secrecy as valid “return to:” addresses.

Your intrepid gumshoe, always up for a good mystery, went in search of the nefarious beginnings of the stuff from which so many Hotmail accounts runneth over. Just where does spam come from anyway...?

Contact

Publisher:Allen Weiss
amw@MarketingProfs.com

Content: Ann Handley
ann@MarketingProfs.com

Par tnerships:
info@MarketingProfs.com

Ad/Sponsor Information:
go here or contact jim@MarketingProfs.com

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