Some cliches are good cliches

I saved this article back in August 2012 with the intention of writing a post about it and never got around to it before now.  Although the content is pretty basic, in marketing it can be hard to come by thought-leadership pieces that are still applicable eight months later (from a social media expert no less).

Marketing is kind of like that movie Weird Science. Think about it.

So, what about Five Steps to Finding Your Best Kind of Marketing gives it staying power?  Not the list of tips for finding a marketing strategy that works for you, although the suggestions made offer very sound advice.  Instead, the noteworthy part of this article are the reasons given to support the 5 steps, related to why businesses should even care about marketing and why it is difficult for nonmarketer business leaders to understand the delicate mix of art and science involved in marketing.

Knowing that marketers are suckers for a few good words of wisdom, and inspired by Ms. Ionescu's 'Steps', I propose another list: 5 Cliches/Cheesy Quotes to Marketing Success. 

1) Know your strengths.  Marketing strategy is highly customized and tactics should be based in what makes sense for your company and individual expertise.  Don't try to fit a square peg into a round hole (the double whammy!).

2) "It is common sense to take a method and try it.  If it fails, admit it frankly and try another.  But above all, try something." -- FDR You can talk ROI until you're blue in the face, but that fact is that great marketing offers few guarantees.  Even the experts rely heavily on insights about people, places and things that surround and impact your business.  Best guesstimates often have to suffice.  One guarantee I can make is that doing nothing will not lead to growth.

3) Don't rest on your laurels.  In the world of marketing, the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" approach does not apply.  New channels, i. e. new opportunities to connect with target customers are always emerging.  Although it might not be immediately clear how you fit into a new marketing opportunity, don't turn new ideas  away before doing your due diligence in research.


4) "There are no shortcuts to anyplace worth going." -Beverly Sills  No single marketing channel is a silver bullet to success.  Refer to points one through three.  Trial and error is part of the business, even for the experts. 


5) "I can give you a six-word formula for success- Think things through-- Then, follow through." -Sir Walter Scott  Actions speak louder than words, as they say (another double!), so spend less time obsessing over small details and more time making moves.  Yes, it is important to talk through every possible outcome and assess risk, but at one point or another you also have to take some risks.  Marketing plans serve no use sitting in a drawer.

And there you have it, the after school special version of how to approach marketing.  Remember, art + science = the perfect marketing mix.

Sixty Percent Say They Know Nothing about the Changing Media Industry

I caught a great article in Forbes that gives some PR context to the research conducted by Pew about the changing media landscape. Latest statistics I have read are still putting the PR pro to reporter ratio at 4:1, so some of this information is in line with that.  Perhaps, more surprising to me is how few of the general public even realize the changes happening right in front of them.

Hopefully, this marvelous infograph that accompanied the article will shed some light on things for that 60% who claim to know nothing about the financial struggles of the media industry.  Because I am led to believe that they may also know nothing about the effects those finances have on the content seen in the news.

Art, Science and the Harlem Shake

Comm major and science lover... not necessarily a natural combo. However, as industries merge professions of art and science are more closely linked all the time.  People are asking 'Why?' and the response 'Because I said so' doesn't really fly in a professional setting.

I've been bogged down in churning out articles, and releases and pitches and ad copy and blog posts and social media posts... and lists, lately.  Assignments come in and I send them out, Monday through Friday.  Sometimes as professional communicators, we forget how valuable our capabilities as wordsmiths are to the clients, brands, customers we serve.  For a great majority of us, writing, crafting the perfect message, acting as a Thesaurus to friends, it comes very easily and naturally.  In this way, it can be easy to lose sight of how the things we are communicating truly affect other people. Not to mention, there are constant challenges to the validity in the entire profession for lack of proven research.  Reminder: writing is not necessarily something everyone can do.

Right?  I mean, just because you have been pouring over a brilliant, yet simple, video script for weeks that will be lucky to get a couple hundred views, while the effortless, script-less Harlem Shake phenomenon is commandeering YouTube, does not mean that your video script does not provide value.

Can anyone really say why something so silly was considered a viral, marketing success?  I doubt the inventors of the Harlem Shake had any idea, but in reflection a marketer can give you reasons why the simple video resonated with people.  A notion that is somewhat foreign to more scientific professions, often, we work based on feeling, on invoking emotion, on moving people toward an action.  But, there isn't always a lot of hard fact or methodically proven reasoning for every word.

So, a professional communicator can feel as though there is a lack of real value in writing, whether it is a simple letter or a full-blown ad campaign, it can be very subjective.  Or maybe a client strips you of the value by re-writing everything you so expertly composed.

Next time, back that sentence up with scientific research!  That's right, use of the word 'because' can be scientifically proven to be the right word.  This very interesting article, 7 Scientifically-Backed Copywriting Tips, will tell you how.


Get your gusto back this week, my fellow writers.  And, if you have writer's block and are not sick to death of the Harlem Shake, I recommend the Charlie Brown version at the start of this Top Ten Countdown.

I'm bored with the brand conversation

Branding does not have to be this convoluted idea that companies belabor over for years.  Building a brand that resonates with target audiences is important, yes.  It is something many companies struggle with, however I think that is more of a result of misunderstanding the purpose of a brand and how to use it than the nature of branding itself being some mythical beast marketers and company leadership are meant to chase.

David Warschawski blogged about the idea some years back, "This means our profession must become expert at how great brands are created and nurtured. And we better start helping our clients build resonant brands from the ground up. If we don't, others will, and we will move even further from holding that coveted seat at the table.

More and more, C-suite executives want to know how to build and grow great brands, not how to execute a great marketing campaign. If you can lead the charge in clarifying a company's brand, build a brand from the ground up, or strengthen a floundering brand—you will have a strategic seat at the management table and your purview and influence will grow astronomically."

Since 2007, when the above article was published I think the trend Warschawski speaks of has continued on some level.  C-suite executives who are removed from marketing are always looking for some magic bullet to shoot their brand to the top.  I have also seen some shift toward the opposite strategy: tactical overkill.  In this instance, companies are too comfortable in a brand and focus all of their marketing energy on the tactical end with little regard for how what they are doing relates to the brand, challenges the company or meets their customer's needs.

More than five years after this blog post, most companies still do not have the right balance of brand leading strategy and strategy supporting brand.  Here are a few things to remember.

1) There is no magic bullet.  The "perfect" brand without effective tactics that introduce and then continue the brand conversation with customers is useless.  Conversely, if not backed by a compelling story that moves the customer to do something, every marketing tactic out there combined cannot make up a sufficient marketing strategy. 

2) Silos are preventing brand genius.  The marketing team cannot sufficiently develop and execute integrated campaigns that have real value when they are not given access to the goals and objectives of the company, the vision for the brand and the support of other departments.  C-suite leaders (or clients) demand brilliance from marketing (and don't get me wrong, we are indeed brilliant), but they do not often understand all of the moving parts it takes to build a great brand and do not permit the access and resources needed for marketing to succeed. Hence, the concept of marketing earning a spot in the C-suite being so coveted.

3) Brands need to be a little flexible.  This is where marketing genius is necessary.  It seems counter-intuitive in a way that a brand that is worked so painfully on to become standard and recognizable among a larger audience should be open to change.  But, like people change, brands need to change some too.  Brands can become stale and irrelevant.  Openness to the adoption of new tactics, i.e. new ways to give audiences an interaction with the brand, are a great way to avoid staleness.  Adhering too strictly to brand rules and standards for too long defeats the purpose of what a great brand should do: connect with people.

The delicate balance act of branding is something marketers are working to master and that non-marketers are still trying to grasp.  One thing that I hope both can agree on is that the talking about "the brand conversation" is boring; let's put our brands in action as they are meant to be used... before they get boring too.

Year-end Means Best of Lists...

Approaching year-end, I love a good recap or best of  list.  Please enjoy this one I came across, "50 Best Websites of 2012" from Time magazine.  Many of these sites are not only well-designed for the eye, but also provide a wondrous service or fulfill a niche that earned them a spot.

There is a lot of crap on the internet.  Good, or fun sources for news or better yet, something that makes the day go a little faster or your job a little easier makes for a list that everyone can use.

Personally, I love Buzzfeed, a site that is also a big fan of lists. Check this one out, posted just today: Grumpiest Cat Show Photos.

On a marketing note, lists actually make for great PR tactic, when done properly.  If you are an industry expert or leader in your market creating an official list recognizing best of products, services or other companies creates a great opportunity to reach out to some companies that could be prospective clients or referral partners.  On the other hand, for the right company, creating a list that is a little weird or silly can have good news value or lend itself to social media conversation. Going the practical route also has it's advantages, providing a list of best practices, tips or again, products that is useful to a customer can help create loyalty and show value.

Have you used some of the sites on the Time list? Let me know which are your favorite or send me a link to a  list that caught your attention recently (Does not have to be related to cats, I just happen to be one of those people).