« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
Nerds Unite,Don't Fight
June 27, 2007
Today I spoke at the Houston AMA on market research and one of the questions that came up is how much should you research your opt-in list compared to going to an external list and qualifying them. Some of the discussion surrounded the purity of market research and how you should focus on blind surveying, "who" should ask for the survey (you or the MR firm), and if you should even consider using your own list.
I worked at Gartner for 5 years managing custom primary research projects for clients like Dell, Microsoft and HP. During that time I did not think even consider in-house lists because of th the "biased" nature of the list. Now running marketing campaigns for similar companies I have found that in-house lists are comprised of those people with interest in your company, so wouldn't you want to get their feedback first? So why is there such a polarizing effect between marketing and market research? Why can't they work together? Isn't the end goal to craft messaging and products to sell more? Aren't both pieces of information important?
Comments (0) | Posted by Jeff at 3:20 PM | Permalink
eROI in a Battle of the "Buttrock" Bands
June 26, 2007
Me and 4 of my co-workers are in this competition tonight for the Portland, OR Advertising Federation. (Band name: Evil Rock Overlords Inc.) We are the last of the 7 bands and should be going on around 9:30. Each band plays 3 songs. We will be playing Judas Priest, Motley Crue and Spinal Tap. Should be hilarious if you are out and about. This will be your one chance to see me in leather pants or tight jean shorts.
PAF's Battle of the Bands Presented by Comcast Spotlight
June 26, 2007 / 7:00 PM / at Someday Lounge
PAF's Battle of the Bands is a night of fun dedicated to those in our industry that have the Rock Star desire! For one night the musical talent in our industry will live in the spotlight and on the red carpet. Many of our member agencies have their own house bands, BotB will feature 7 totally awesome "butt" bands competing to find out who is the best (for this year at least!). It will be a fun night supported by advertising's most talented - in and out of leather pants!
Buy your tickets at the door, this will definitely be a standing room only night! Rock On!
Event Cost: PAF Members $10.00 / Non-Members: $10.00
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 8:33 AM | Permalink
Tales from the Blackberry: The Fold
June 25, 2007
Many people think that Blackberrys render as a text email, not an HTML email. They are wrong. All of the scrolling is the HTML code of links and images.
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 5:37 PM | Permalink
Friday Poll: Goodmail, will it live?
June 22, 2007
As many of you know, Goodmail has brought on a number of ISPs to the Goodmail system which guarantees delivery of email if the marketer buys the Goodmail stamps. Now this might sound like extortion or a great service. What do you think?
Comments (1) | Posted by Jeff at 1:25 PM | Permalink
Tales from the Blackberry
June 19, 2007
Got my new Blackberry 8300 World Edition. Wow, what's the next step past Crack?
Email still sucks on it - but you can do this.....
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 5:05 PM | Permalink
Shoutout: Web Worker Daily
June 17, 2007
Web Worker Daily is a blog that gives you tips and resources on getting through the life as an internet worker. Very relevant content for all aspects of Internet jobs - from developers to sales.
I really enjoy the blog and have been turned on to a ton of great tools, tips, apps, and more through this site and it has made it into my daily reading.
The gang at GigaOM do a great job with this blog. Keep up the great content!
Here is a post on "How to Use LinkedIn Effectively" which has made me fianlly realize what to do with this site. http://webworkerdaily.com/2007/06/15/20-ways-to-use-linkedin-productively/#more-882
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 9:00 PM | Permalink
Contests: Is the iPhone the new iPod?
June 14, 2007
A client of mine in the beautiful state of Colorado came up with a great promotion to drive new business that was new to these jaded eyes - a drawing for an iPhone.
This contest proved to be very successful for my client - Kudos Heidi, great idea!
The best contests/giveaways build off something that has its' own buzz, outside of your brand.
Take for example, the iPod (which may be the quintessential giveaway of this decade). The iPod took the world by storm and had an established place as a must-have for anyone who considers themselves as "with it".
The key to the iPod giveaway is that the iPod is a "tangible" prize. People know it doesn't cost an inordinate amount, and think they can win it (if you have ever been to trade show, you have probably entered 36 iPod drawings). Think about te iPod giveaway vs. the "new car" giveaway, or "a trip to the Oscars with a meet and greet with George Clooney" - a pipe-dream at best. The iPhone has a similar tangible element and a buzz brewing, along with the voicemail feature - maybe the greatest invention ever.
Be careful, there is an issue with this giveaway though - you must have AT&T wireless as your provider to use your iPhone ( There are strings attached.) - very similar to say a DirectTV dish giveaway or a Sirius Radio giveaway. Are you giving away a year of service of just the device? If you are not upfront with the requirements, you can have an unhappy winner, which can cause brand damage.
As long as you manage the expectations of your prize, you will have a very happy winner, as well as new leads and customers. Why not buddy up with Steve Jobs and his "revolutionary device". New leads, new customers, and increased interest. You are also giving your brand a new look as cutting edge and with the times. You get it.
So what do you with these contest/giveaway leads that haven't signed off on your products/services?
Stay tuned....
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 12:11 AM | Permalink
McDonald's tries to go Viral..and fails.
June 11, 2007
I clicked on this banner ad (which I rarely do) the other day. I like cheeseburgers, I like heavy metal, what the heck, right?
McDonald's "Burgercon" told me to go to the microsite www.Burgerconitson.com. I went, they told me it was on, ran through some amusing flash, and then to IM or email a friend the same URL.
Huh?
No battle? No personalization? No laughs? No email address/mobile number gathering? Nothing?
Can you tell me what the point of this is? I would love to know. All I see is a misguided viral marketing attempt that probably cost $50k - before media buys.
What a waste of a good starter concept. You need to "flesh" these ideas out Ronald (pun intended). This is really taking the easy way out, at the expense of the user.
What a let down.
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 3:55 PM | Permalink
Webinar: Acquire an Eye for Email Design
June 7, 2007
On June 21st, Eyetools Inc. CEO and founder, Greg Edwards will join eROI's Dylan Boyd to speak about best practices in email design.
Learn the ‘What to dos’ and the ‘What not to dos’ from these seasoned industry professionals. They’ll be looking at some before and after case studies to explore the difference even the smallest tweaks can make to the performance of your emails.
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 3:28 PM | Permalink
Too many Microsites?
June 6, 2007
We spend all day looking at lead capture, email campaigns and microsites. I think microsites are great for campaigns but should have a purpose.
I could just be dense, but what is the point of this site? The videos are not funny, there is no lead capture, no call to action, the videos have nothing to do with the product. The theme of the campaign (Voted #1 vodka in 2033 and the iRobot feel) is a few years too late.
Am I missing something? It is long past the days of driving traffic to have an effective campaign. If it does not boost sales or grow a customer database, does it really work?
Comments (2) | Posted by Jeff at 9:10 AM | Permalink
Your Bogus Email Address is Out of Hiding.
June 5, 2007
So "The New" AOL, along with "The New" Yahoo email clients are ignoring the "From" email address name. They are just showing your real email address. See the AOL example below
The question to you: Are you "news@yourcompany.com" or are you "no-reply@ttp-companyname-pcp.com".
In a bloated inbox, with a SPAM button right above - it matters.
You need a real email address that a subscriber feels would get answered. Otherwise you are Microsoft, Wal-Mart, Google, etc...except you're not.
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 12:53 AM | Permalink
The Best Bulk Email Advertising and Opt-In Mass Email Service Ever!
June 4, 2007
So I got an email today about how we differ from what this person saw as a competitor, InetGiant. Of course you got to take a look when you have never heard of the company, but it looks like they do offer email services so naturally I started comparing features and benefits. I don’t know if we can hang with these guys...They do have the BEST SYSTEM EVER. These features are are straight from their site and I feel we just can’t compete with:
- Send up to 2,500,000+ targeted emails every day!
- Send Bulk Emails to our own opt-in list!
- Top quality opt-in email lists that are 100% guaranteed deliverable!
- You will never be accused of spamming!
- You can use our bulk email services once every day!
- No SPAM complaints!
- No trouble with your ISP!
- Instant account creation!
- Increase your Sales by 1200% overnight. Guaranteed!
- The Best Email Marketing and Email Blaster Tool ever
- Reliable Opt-In Email Lists
- Fresh Opt-In Email Lists
2.5 Million emails per day with 100% guaranteed deliverability all for only $24.99 a month = the Best Email System EVER. If you are an ESP or list manager, just quit now.
Comments (0) | Posted by Jeff at 8:42 AM | Permalink
Friday Poll - Oulook 2007
June 1, 2007
Comments (0) | Posted by alex at 10:25 AM | Permalink
Defining customer value, Part 2
June 1, 2007
We all know that our biggest clients are not always our more loyal ones, so the question I am often faced with is, how do you grow revenue long term?
- Make it easy to interact with your brand - Whether I am shopping, finding the information I am looking for, signing up for your email, or creating an account - a website should be simple and clear.
- Ask Me - When I sign up or create an account, so many companies don't ask me what I like, but a lot of companies the do ask don't listen.
- Immediate communication - Send me an email right after I sign up. Let me know you are out there and you want to know me. Nothing is more frustrating than making the decision to give you my personal information and for me not to know if you even got it.
- Be Gracious / thank you - My mother always to told me to be polite and a simple thank you can go a long way. If your corporate direction is discounting, send me a coupon, if it is value, reaffirm why I signed up.
- Show them you care - Let me know that you value me and my time. If I am going to spend a good amount of my time with you and your brand, you should show me how important that is to you.
- Don’t smother me - You can turn into a clingy girlfriend quick (Red Envelope). Consider your frequency, and don’t watch EVERY move I make, or at least don’t let me know you are watching.
- You are part of a group - Everyone likes to be part of the group, part of something bigger than just themselves. Online community is great but it does not need to be complex to feel like you are part of the master plan.
- Make “joining” attainable - Marketers feel that once you reach "customer nirvana" then they will reward you with a great gift. Think of it this way: If you dangle the carrot and let the customer take a bite every once in awhile, they will walk a lot further than if they never taste it.
- Speak to me - I am a person, talk to me as one.
Comments (0) | Posted by Jeff at 8:02 AM | Permalink
