Never say "No" to Panda!

I'll admit that I'm ignorant of different languages, so I have NO IDEA what language they're speaking in these videos; the subtitles help, but aren't necessary, really. The moral of these commercials: buy Panda brand foods because you never want to make a panda mad; they'll make you pay for it!

Click "Read More" to watch the video.

More charitable giving as marketing material

My 30-foot-tall tree fell in my front yard on
December 1st, 2011.

Last week, a barrage of unusually strong wind came whipping through the western United States.  When it whipped over the eastern mountains of the Wasatch Front, my town was the hardest hit; the gusts were over 100 miles per hour!  For those of you keeping track, that's level-two-hurricane-strength winds!

The Color of Money

No, I'm not talking about the movie with Tom Cruise and Paul Newman; I'm talking about something green - hence, the "color of money" reference - but also tasty.  It's a client I'm working for right now: Kicking Lizard.

A Helpful Reminder

I like email lists, sometimes, and have been known to sign up for A LOT of them.  Most get forwarded directly into folders so that they don't clutter my inbox, but there are a few that stay in front of my eyes.  One of my favorites is the BrandAid from Killian Branding, a marketing firm in Chicago.

Cleaning House, Part 1

In these tough economic times - I wonder if it's EVER really "NON-tough" - marketers are looking for cheaper means of communicating with customers. Most often, people turn to "non-traditional" methods like Facebook and other social media to spread messages and build customer databases, but a new fad is emerging. The new "social media" for communication and data-building is actually one of the oldest tools in the marketing arsenal: direct mail.

Over the next few posts, I'll talk about the following topics, and hopefully get some responses supporting or refuting my claims:
- List Hygiene
- Targeting
- Prospecting
- Creativity

Now, before people start attacking me with questions, I know that many marketers HATE direct mail; I too am a hater. That being said, there are advantages to this type of marketing that aren't possible with web advertising and Facebook accounts. Feeling something in your hand, even if for a moment before throwing it away, leaves an impression in your brain that's different than seeing a web ad; there's an interaction in that second that can't be duplicated digitally.

Blogging for Dollars, Part 2

Direct marketing is another popular method for bloggers to make money off of their blogs. This requires more work than just setting up an account with Google and smiling, or frowning, at whatever ads show up.

In this case, you need to either accept - assuming someone's offered - or look for a company to partner with. Then that company or individual pays you to place their ads directly on your blog. For the advertiser, they get to specifically target an audience - YOUR audience. For you, this option is great because you have a sure source of income from your blog that you've hand-picked. You no longer need to hope for the best with AdSense, although it IS pretty good about matching ads to fit your content.