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Five Desk Feng-Shui Tips to Bring Out the Real Marketer in You

I particularly love the Monday morning Twitter stream. From the excessive #DeathToMondays tweets to the downtrodden posts lamenting the arrival of another week , Monday’s Twitter feed can be filled with some of the most slapstick, engaging posts of the work week. This morning, I was pleasantly greeted by a great picture by TollFreeForwarding (did I mention I love pictures on Twitter?). Check it out:

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And it got me thinking how the littlest changes we make on a Monday—like completing a first draft in 15 minutes and accepting that it may not be your best—can be a real game-changer in the business world. So when Monday hits next week, why not take a few minutes to Feng-Shui your desk to bring out the A-marketer in you?

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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
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If Your Blog Were a Refrigerator, What Would it Look Like?

Pouring mustard onto your hot dog should be one of the easiest things in life. Unfortunately, as “Good Eats” host Alton Brown pointed out in a recent YouTube post, it’s often a terrible process. Condiments tend to coagulate in the bottle, which makes it exhausting to squeeze them out. And since the bottles are bulky by design, storing them in a refrigerator rack is difficult, awkward and messy.

But as Brown proved, there is an easier way to organize your favorite condiments. By simply cutting off the top of an egg carton and storing the bottles top-down, you can solve both problems at once. All of the bottles can be kept in one place, and all of the liquid sits near the top which means easy access.

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUig9IAwggM]

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The ‘Spoiler Effect’ and How It Can Transform Your Content

I love “Game of Thrones,” “Breaking Bad” and “The Walking Dead.” At a glance these series seem to have absolutely nothing in common, but they do have one common denominator: they have the “spoiler effect.”

I’ve been seeing the “S” word everywhere lately, especially with the fourth season of “Game of Thrones” now at full speed. Every website you visit, radio station you tune into and tweet you see contains some sort of clause warning: “Spoilers ahead! Do not continue if you have not watched yet!” The fear that someone will stumble upon a juicy online review or overhear a spoiler-filled conversation has become a very real one. We’ve all probably seen irate fans share rants on social media about how people need to respect the fact that others haven’t caught up yet. This still happens even for “Breaking Bad”—whose series finale aired last September.

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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.

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If Jack White can Produce an Album in One Day, You can Get Your Blog Moving Too

Fans of Grammy award-winning artist Jack White certainly know the man is prolific. White, who burst onto the music scene as the guitarist for the White Stripes back in 1999, is also known for his work with the Raconteurs and the Dead Weather. Now, White is launching a solo music career as well—and he is out to prove something else in the process: his creative speed.

Jack_White_OttawaOn April 19, White will attempt to set the world record for the fastest recorded album ever. Sources indicate that White plans to record and release the title track of his album all in one day. In order to accomplish this, the song will be performed and transferred directly to acetate right in his Nashville, Tenn. studio, Third Man Records. Then, the tapes will be immediately sent down the road to United Record Pressing where they will be turned into 45s. The records will then be rushed back and will go on sale later in the day at Third Man.

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Give Your Content Marketing Strategy its ‘One Shining Moment’

Tonight’s the night—the NCAA championship game where either a No. 7 or 8 seed will walk away with the national title. This past Saturday night we watched a riveting game between UConn and Florida and witnessed Kentucky win yet another thriller, this time besting Wisconsin by a point. Now it all comes to a head tonight when UConn and Kentucky will go head to head for the title.

After the winner is declared, however, another March Madness tradition will take place: “One Shining Moment.” The song is annually played as the winning team’s players cut down the nets to a Montage of highlights and best plays from the tournament (watch last year’s “One Shining Moment” video below). There are some interesting gems that can be extracted from this video. Ready to take some post-March Madness inspiration and apply it to your company’s content marketing strategy?

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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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What We Can Take Away from Facebook’s Oculus Rift Purchase

Right now, all the focus in the marketing world is on mobility, as the number of smartphones in use topped 1.4 billion in 2014. But everyone wants to know: What will come after mobile? This week, Facebook gave a strong indication of what’s coming down the pike next when it announced it acquired the Irvine, Calif.-based company Oculus Rift for $2 billion.

Oculus Rift, which makes an advanced virtual reality headset, is being hailed as the next major solution in the tech industry for its ability to literally transport users directly into a three-dimensionally rendered environment. Instead of staring at a screen, in other words, a user can be completely surrounded by it.

13013107993_9f0de59bcb_oRight now, Oculus Rift is primarily a video game platform. But according to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, the platform has the potential to do a lot more than entertain. As Zuckerberg explained recently, Oculus Rift will transform the way that people learn, experience entertainment and communicate in the future.

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