Creative Strategy

03/31/2014

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.

The 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”

03/28/2014

Lame or Legit: Twitter Adds Photo Tagging

Warning: I might go on a rant during this post.

I’m still deciding whether I should like the fact that Twitter is launching a photo tagging feature or cringe because of it. I have been a Twitter user for less time than other popular social sites, but I am quickly turning into a Twitter-aholic for a few reasons—photo tagging not being one of them.

Continue reading “Lame or Legit: Twitter Adds Photo Tagging”

03/27/2014

Calling All Marketers: Is Your Job Starting to Feel Easy? Uh Oh…

As a marketer, do you come home exhausted at the end of the work day? Do you find yourself looking for compelling marketing messages and branding concepts in all facets of life—whether you are watching a TV commercial or attending the opening reception for a museum exhibit? Do you feel like your job is hard?

If you answered “no” to any of these three questions then perhaps you need to ask yourself another one: Are you truly an industry-leading marketer or are you just doing enough to get by?

Continue reading “Calling All Marketers: Is Your Job Starting to Feel Easy? Uh Oh…”

03/24/2014

Is Content Marketing Fashionable?

It’s not every day that you see the words “content marketing” and “fashion” together— but as we all know, stranger things have happened (Lady Gaga’s SXSW performance anyone?). The fashion industry has embraced content marketing with open arms. After all, designers are natural storytellers. From Burberry to ShopBop to Anthropologie, familiar names in the fashion world are using this avant-garde marketing strategy to engage with readers and boost brand loyalty. So is content marketing fashionable? The answer: Yes!

Don’t believe me? Below are three famously fashionable brands that have perfected the art of content marketing. (Take notes!)

Continue reading “Is Content Marketing Fashionable?”

03/20/2014

Tipoff is Here: Do You Have What it Takes to Play till the Buzzer Sounds?

With the play-in-games behind us and all 68 bracket spots filled up, now the fun really begins.

Today, 16 teams take to the court to inch one step closer to the Sweet 16, and millions upon millions of fans from across the country figure out a way to squeeze in pressing work meetings with live streaming from their desks. (Did you know the groundswell of excitement surrounding college basketball and brackets costs $1.2 billion for every unproductive hour at work?)

March Madness is officially here and every company can actually learn a thing or two from the tournament about best practices and corporate mindset.

Continue reading “Tipoff is Here: Do You Have What it Takes to Play till the Buzzer Sounds?”

03/17/2014

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.

Keep 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”

03/12/2014

March Madness is Here: Give Your Business a Competitive Edge with Content Marketing

The madness has officially begun. In less than a week, college basketball teams across the U.S. will compete in what has become one of the biggest annual sporting events in the country besides the Superbowl (which was a total bust). For months, coaches have been preparing their players for the “Big Dance” doing everything they can to gain a competitive advantage.

So what does this all have to do with content marketing? Simply put: Content marketing gives businesses the edge they need to thrive in today’s highly competitive market. Below are three ways content marketing can make you a champion. Continue reading “March Madness is Here: Give Your Business a Competitive Edge with Content Marketing”

03/03/2014

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. Continue reading “Advertising on Facebook? You Might Want to Read This”

02/27/2014

Why Discomfort in Marketing is a Good Thing

Ironically enough, I have written about virtual events and conferences for years. Yet up until yesterday, I had never actually participated in such a gathering—a poorly cut corner by me as a marketer—because, let’s face it, demoing the products you will be writing about before putting pen to paper is critical. But, hey… the day slips away from all of us from time to time, right?

So you can imagine how incredibly excited I was to attend my very first virtual conference yesterday, ContentTECH, which was sponsored by the Content Marketing Institute. So excited in fact that I ran a test on my computer two hours in advance to make sure everything would run flawlessly, created a schedule of every session I wanted to attend, and had a little too much fun—OK a lot of fun—letting my coworkers know that I was “heading into a session” and “making my way to the keynote room.”

Continue reading “Why Discomfort in Marketing is a Good Thing”

02/26/2014

Quick Social Media Reminders for the Small Business

By now, everyone is aware of the crucial role that social media plays in content marketing. From Twitter to Facebook to Instrgram, placing social media front and center has proven to be a golden content marketing strategy, not to mention it holds the power to significantly increase return on investment. In fact, a new HootSuite infographic displaying the results of a recent LinkedIn study shows that 89 percent of small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) find social media to be effective for their content marketing strategy.

Continue reading “Quick Social Media Reminders for the Small Business”