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All Content Marketers Need To See ‘The Lego Movie’

I’m not sure they actually  exist, but it’s entirely possible there are individuals out there who don’t like Legos. Still, Legos are awesome, and most people I would imagine agree.Lego_Color_Bricks

If you’ve not seen The Lego Movie, you’re missing out. In fact, it’s my humble opinion that the film should be required viewing for all content marketers.

Don’t worry, I won’t spoil the movie for you. Suffice it to say that it’s fantastic, it involves lots of Lego-related animation—from fight scenes to Batman to explosions—and it’s appropriate for viewers of all ages.

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How Taking a Non-Traditional Different Approach to Social Media Reaps Dividends

When you think about a band’s social media presence, you’d probably think about profiles dedicated to promoting its music, merchandise and tour dates. And most of the time that’s true.

But not all of the time. CAKE, who readers might remember thanks to this song, takes a different approach to social media than most bands. On its Facebook page, the politically conscious Californian band often posts all sorts information and commentary on a variety of interesting news topics. The band makes great use of asking questions while generally ending their posts with a call to action. 762px-JohnMccrea
Continue reading “How Taking a Non-Traditional Different Approach to Social Media Reaps Dividends”

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Maxwell House Proves the Importance of Never Resting on One’s Laurels

Coffee lovers around the world are certainly familiar with Maxwell House, and though it’s not my personal favorite coffee—I’m looking at you, Peet’s—I’ve certainly gotten through many-a morning sipping it. Though a household name, Maxwell House decided to cut its advertising budget to $7.8 million last year, a substantial decrease from the $38.4 million the Kraft Foods-owned company spent in 2010.

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But the company apparently learned a lesson quickly: In marketing, you can never rest on your laurels and must always strive to push the envelope and continue to be aggressive. Having seemingly learned its lesson, Maxwell House recently announced that it plans to spend between $20 million and $25 million on its marketing efforts this year. What’s more, the company has high hopes for its investment as it plans to “grow [the advertising budget] through growing sales, reinvesting it back in the business,” according to Chris McClement, senior director for Maxwell House.

Continue reading “Maxwell House Proves the Importance of Never Resting on One’s Laurels”

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What Marketers Can Learn from the Wu-Tang Clan

Many of those who are familiar with the Wu-Tang Clan might not know much about what they are, but certainly know what they ain’t. But now, listeners can add the moniker “ingenious marketers” to the list of phrases that could be used to describe the hip hop collective.

WuTangClanThe New York City-based rap group recently announced that it will sell only one copy of its “secret album,” tentatively titled “The Wu—Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” Before that copy ultimately ends up in the hands of a collector—who will either hoard the music or share it with the world—fans will be able to hit “tour dates” across the country and fork over $50 to hear the 128-minute album’s 31 tracks. Continue reading “What Marketers Can Learn from the Wu-Tang Clan”

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Yes, 311 is Still Around, Their New Album is Great & Their Marketing Strategy is Even Better

These days, unless you’re Justin Bieber, Miley Cyrus or Lady Gaga, odds are you’re not going to sell a lot of records. Whereas the Backstreet Boys sold 9.4 million copies of Millennium in 1999—the most of any artists that year—Justin Timberlake topped the charts in 2013, selling 2.4 million copies of The 20/20 Experience.

311_AustinKeep in mind that those numbers represent the highest-selling albums of the entire year. One can only imagine how many copies the average album sold.

Musicians used to depend on album sales to support their livelihood, but in the age of the Internet and easy digitally sharing, it is reasonable to conclude that people are simple sharing (read: stealing) music from these artists rather than buying albums. Because of this, musicians are increasingly depending on their live act to serve as their main source of income. Continue reading “Yes, 311 is Still Around, Their New Album is Great & Their Marketing Strategy is Even Better”

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Advertising on Facebook? You Might Want to Read This

With over one billion users of the social media network scattered across the globe, sensible marketers simply cannot afford to overlook Facebook. Rather, they must study the site’s metrics, how posts are read and other information related to user behavior to capitalize on the sheer number of users that could potentially be exposed to their brand.

Taking into consideration that 23 percent of Facebook users check the site at least five times a day and 47 percent say the social media network has the greatest impact on their purchasing behavior (up from 24 percent in 2011), marketers need to study precisely how the site works and try to understand it as well as they can. And that’s not an easy task, considering the site’s regularly changing algorithms, security measures and other features being added or augmented often.7749074364_0025778f82_o Continue reading “Advertising on Facebook? You Might Want to Read This”

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What Marketers Can Learn from Derek Jeter’s Retirement

Derek Jeter’s Feb. 12 announcement—that after spending 19 years in the Bronx, he plans on retiring after the 2014 season—wasn’t a huge shock to me. It’s likely Yankee management knew the news prior to the public, but how far in advance remains a mystery.

ImageThat said, the legendary shortstop will turn 40 in June and is only under contract through the end of this season. Whether he planned on playing after this year might have been unclear, but the fact that one day a man not named Jeter would patrol the shortstop dirt at Yankee Stadium sometime in the future was guaranteed (every athlete has a professional expiration date). Continue reading “What Marketers Can Learn from Derek Jeter’s Retirement”

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Budweiser’s ‘Puppy Love’ Super Bowl Commercial Proves that Cute Animals Win Customers

I’ll say it: Super Bowl XLVIII was arguably the most boring championship game I’ve seen (although Game 7 of the 2004 ALCS was awful as well). But the good thing about the Super Bowl, no matter how disappointing the sport theatrics are, is the fact that we’re treated to the biggest marketing extravaganza of the year. In 2014, marketers spent $4 million for 30-second commercials.

And that’s just to buy the slots. It doesn’t include hiring talent like Scarlett Johannson, Bob Dylan and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

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Cumulatively, marketers might spend as much as $10 million on Super Bowl commercials. With that much cash on stake, it’s imperative that they invest the money wisely, creating as good an ad as possible in order to attract as many new prospective customers as they can. Continue reading “Budweiser’s ‘Puppy Love’ Super Bowl Commercial Proves that Cute Animals Win Customers”

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Making Money in the Mobile App Market

4163909778_a07dd8e269_oMore than half of all adults in America own a smartphone these days, and more than one-third of them own a tablet. With these numbers in mind, it makes sense that the mobile app market is exploding. Depending on who you ask, experts predict that when all is said and done, there will be 56 to 82 billion downloads of apps in 2013. And that number could swell past 300 billion by 2016. Continue reading “Making Money in the Mobile App Market”