Thanks to Han Lee for permission to use this Photo.
I have found in my many years in the advertising business that a way to keep perspective is to know and respect the customer. For example, if you are developing advertising for a restaurant, go to the restaurant and experience it as a regular customer. Observe the service, the menu, the décor, and the atmosphere. Observe the customers around you. Are they families or single persons? Do they appear to be locals who live in the area, or are they visiting from far away? How are they dressed? What items are they ordering? Observe the staff. Do they seem happy or harried? How much time do they spend conversing at each table? These kinds of first-hand observations can add knowledge that research figures cannot provide. This is especially true in Internet marketing.
Your web development team has just finished creating a whole new web design for the company. However, many times the company finds out that regular users can find a web site confusing. Because it is so easy for someone to abandon a site in the middle of a shopping experience, it is essential to ensure an easy navigation system for the most basic of users. Many companies will bring in focus groups consisting of people in their target market to click through the proposed site design and make any suggestions before the site goes on line.
If you are working for a company that manufactures parts sold to other businesses, visit those businesses, if possible. Talk with the people who actually use the parts to assemble the final product. Find out what they think of your product versus that of the competition. What do they think of the advertising for the parts? Is it truthful? Is it meaningful to them?
As I discuss throughout Ashworth’s Internet Marketing Program, the best business owners and managers stay in touch with their customers. There is no substitute for meeting the customers and the people responsible for selling your product.
Thanks to Gene Hunt for permission to use this Photo.
I finally took the time to read a book that I’ve been interested in checking out for awhile. It’s called The 4-Hour Workweek by Timothy Ferris and its’ innovative perspectives on how almost anyone can create an entrepreneurial lifestyle for themselves is definitely worth reading. Instead of summarizing the contents of the book here, I’ve included this podcast interview with Ferris conducted by Yaro Starak of Entrepreneur’s Journey.
I think all of our students will be motivated by Mr. Ferris’s very pragmatic ideas on how you can break free from “the system” and pursue your own business endeavors with confidence. Please share your thoughts with your student community on the Ashworth Student Forum. I’ll talk to you again soon. Thanks…
The insights of cultural/media theorist Douglas Rushkoff are always contemporary and often prescient. He was deciphering the social codes of the virtual psyche, lifestyle, and marketplace before such concepts were formally identified by the so-called “machine.”
In this video snippet from Rushkoff’s presentation on “word of mouth” marketing at the CMA’s Word of Mouth Conference, he summarizes why the death of traditional advertising may not be such a bad thing for businesses willing to listen to the voices.
I guess that being paid $10 million for the advertising campaign and appearing with the chairman Bill Gates might be the sole reason why Seinfeld is joining forces with Microsoft, but maybe not. It might not be the money, and certainly not the fame (even though Seinfeld might be less famous now than 10 years ago). I believe that his reason might be all related to creativity and the opportunity a huge advertising campaign brings. Seinfeld is a comedian, and he is a creative person. He is one of the best people in the business, and now he has the chance to work with some of the best people in marketing. The advertising campaign will most likely be really cool, and people will be talking about it for months.
But what is he going to promote?
My first thought was that he can’t be hired to promote something like “start using Microsoft Windows”, because way too many people are already using it. But according to Washington Post, that’s exactly what he’ll be doing, and it’s all because of Apple.
The next question is how?
The first thing that comes to my mind, is the “Get a Mac” ads. But hopefully they will do something completely different, because trying to do the same thing, that would be just plain stupid. The funny thing is, if you look at most of the Seinfeld episodes, you’ll see a Mac on his desk in the corner. Maybe that’s what they’ll be focusing on in the advertising campaign, that Seinfeld finally switched from his old Mac to a PC, and started using Microsoft Vista?
My tips to a creative and cool campaign would go with Truth or dare, Jerry Seinfeld vs Bill Gates. (more…)
Thanks to Kit Kowan for permission to use this Photo.
Seth Godin’s ability to reinvent conventional perspectives in an original framework has earned him celebrity status in the marketing world. Praised for his seemingly prophetic insights into developing digital trends, Seth is the kind of entrepreneur who doesn’t find it necessary to break the rules in order to generate consumer attention; he simply interprets the rules in ways that the “experts” had said were too undefined, open, and ironically enough: consumer-centric. The communications channels that Seth proposes to reach customers (get their attention) should be understood by any entrepreneur trying to make it in online marketplace, which is already yesterday’s— a reality that has informed Godin’s strategic principles throughout his career. The following video is a nice introduction to the sometimes bizarre, but always inspiring perspectives of a truly creative business mind. Click on the image above to watch this video. We encourage you to share your thoughts with the community afterwards. Take care.
The insights of cultural/media theorist Douglas Rushkoff are always contemporary and often prescient. He was deciphering the social codes of the virtual psyche, lifestyle, and marketplace before such concepts were formally identified by the so-called “machine.”
TheMerchants Of Cool is a brilliant analysis of the incorporation of youth pop-culture that Ruskhoff created while working as a correspondent for PBS Frontline. This is a very entertaining documentary. You’ll learn a lot too. Let me know what you think in the comments section.
Thanks to Chris Metcalf for permission to use this Photo.
In the hyper-competitive business environment of today, there are millions of dollars invested and mistakenly often wasted by companies looking for the “next big thing,” the elusive innovation that will electrify the marketplace. When most people think of innovation, they automatically consider it in the technological sense, but innovation means much more than producing a faster computer or a telephone that doubles as a home entertainment system; innovation is ultimately about ideas. In the following video, innovation expert Charles Leadbeater discusses how innovation isn’t just reserved for the corporate giants with infinite capital, but rather how independent thinking entities, people like you and me with a vision, are now empowered like never before to compete in the marketplace on our own terms. I found this presentation both informative and inspiring. I hope you feel the same way after viewing it and approach your next lesson with a sense of enthusiasm. Click on the image above to watch this video.
With Apple continuing to dominate the headlines and industry buzz with one acclaimed release after another, it’s easy to forget that the so-called ”Evil Empire” has been rather quietly refining their Surface computing technology. We’re talking about more than multi-touch features for your mobile phone; Surface is perhaps most intriguing for its’ “surface” adaptability and potential virtual applications. Check out this video demonstration of Microsoft’s Sphere prototype. I’m an Apple guy myself, but I must admit that Sphere could be interesting…
Ryan Rode
Interactive Services Manager
Ashworth University
Dare to be different. A look at why advertising professionals should consider standing out from the competition, not copying them. To make your advertising work, follow the principle if your competition is doing it, don’t. To succeed in today’s crowded marketplace where most of the products and advertising look exactly the same, a small business owner must stand out, shouting above the din with a message so clear and compelling that prospects stop and take notice. It’s a matter of business survival. Unfortunately, most entrepreneurs quickly retreat to the supposed security of sameness, soon to be lost in a sea of anonymity and a tidal wave of frustration.
In effect, albeit at a subconscious level, they are saying , “I don’t want to be different”. In back room offices and store fronts everywhere, salespeople are telling business owners they should do this or that kind of ad because it worked so great for their competitor. The owners nod and sign on. It’s already proven to be a winner, right? WRONG! Change the name, background color and a font style and you’ve got sameness. Put those ads in the yellow pages, a coupon magazine or a TV commercial cluster and you’ve got advertising death. Want proof? Get the latest statistics on small business failures.
About the author: Brian Grinonneau is the general manager of McMann and Tate advertising, an agency that works with small business owners helping them stand out from the crowd.
When I read the book Meatball Sundae by Seth Godin, it reminded me of one of his previous books I read, Purple Cow. But was it just the content of the book, or the fact that the book arrived to me several years ago in a milk carton?
The premise of the book Purple Cow, published in 2002, is about being remarkable. Godin’s point is that in an age where we are deluged with images and messages, these have reduced their overall effectiveness, and to get your message out there, your product or service needs to be different or unique in its own way. The first example in the book is driving through farm lands and seeing cow after cow and they all look alike, but a cow that is purple will stand out and be remembered, thus remarkable.
So is remarkable something you put on top of a product or service? Not necessarily. The book gives examples of how L.L. Bean and Sears Craftsman line of tools are remarkable in their unconditional return policy. Ikea is remarkable in how they sell low-cost, assemble-yourself furniture that is extremely stylish. Dr. Bronner’s soap is remarkable in its unique labeling.
My greatest takeaway is that remarkable is not a gimmick. From the above examples, what makes them remarkable are attributes that have lasted for years. Gimmicks may drive sales, but not over the long term. Gimmicks are also not considered sincere.
Another takeaway is that you may already be remarkable. When many entrepreneurs venture out on their own, their catalyst is often they can do what they do better or in a more unique way from where they previously worked. They may not have been able to do it, whatever it is, when they worked for someone else and have the conviction to do it themselves. This was part of my own motivation for starting Dunkirk Systems, LLC.
The book Purple Cow does not over-do it with examples and is an energetic, quick read. If you are venturing out on your own, or taking a strategic look at your business I recommend reading the book as it will definitely inspire you, and you may get some ideas from it as well.
Mike Maddaloni
Founder and President of Dunkirk Systems
Ashworth University Contributing Blogger
*We consider it a great privilege to share the business-tech perspectives of entrepreneur Mike Maddaloni with the Ashworth University Business Community. Mike’s Internet consulting firm, Dunkirk Systems, is based out of Chicago and has steadily built a reputation for providing superior service to their growing list of satisfied clients. Visit The Hot Iron blog to gain additional insights into Mike’s business life. Thanks Mike!
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