Today marked another milestone in the journey toward my wedding later this year as I received a text around lunchtime that my fiancée had settled on a dress. She was understandably excited and equally adamant about preventing me from seeing it before the big day.
Continue reading “Marrying Your Company to the Right Brand Strategy”
Historically, there are those junctures in time in which we simply start accepting that a new fate is on the horizon: it happened back in the 19th century with the invention of the typewriter, again in the late 90’s with the dot-com bubble, and more recently with the innovation of the smartphone. And it seems once again we are at the crossroads of a massive shift rocking the business environment—that of content marketing.
Simply put, we are at that familiar place we have been centuries before where early adopters are embracing this avant-garde approach to marketing, full of gumption, while others remain on the sidelines wondering if this trend will really stay. But all one has to do is take a look at history to know that content marketing is only at its dawn. Let’s take a look at three major forces that are forever changing the way in which we go-to-market: Continue reading “Three Considerations Accelerating the Content Marketing Movement”
If you’re anything like me, then you’ve been counting down the hours—not days, but hours—until spring comes rolling along. And now that it’s just around the corner (only 10 days away!) it’s time to start thinking about everything spring: birds chirping once again; buggies buzzing around; the soon-to-be beach weather; and the 2014 MLB and NCAA seasons if you’re a sports lover.
Continue reading “Ready to do Some Content Marketing Spring Cleaning This Year?”
The past week in Sochi has provided viewers with some extremely compelling ice hockey. Despite the fact that the U.S. Women’s hockey team suffered one of the most crushing defeats in the history of the Winter Games, both the men’s and women’s contests have been extremely entertaining, even for casual fans of the sport.
Continue reading “Going for the Gold with Your Brand Strategy”
Wow… I don’t even know where to begin. Did you watch last night as Pitt came within 4.4 seconds of stealing my alma matter’s undefeated record? Am I rubbing salt in the wound? Should I stop now?
As a former Cuse grad who truly bleeds orange, last night was literally awe-inspiring. If you missed the game, the undefeated Orange went head-to-head with the incredible Pitt team to hold on to their winning record. It was nothing short of nail-biting and heart-pumping as Pitt looked as though they would finally be the team to steal our record-breaking run. And with 4.4 seconds to go in the game, Cuse down by one, freshman Tyler Ennis nailed a 35-footer to protect our record. Take a look right here if you missed it:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAOIdhEJ1Hg]
Continue reading “#Undefeated: What Marketers Can Learn from Cuse’s Incredible Win over Pitt”
Don’t get us wrong, content marketing is all about creating custom copy using unique sources, and that includes real-life events, but we don’t think the team at Italian fashion house Valentino fully understood this concept.
A wide array of A-list celebrities emerged to pay their last respects to award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman at his funeral on February 7—American Hustle star Amy Adams being one of them. However, Valentino was quick to play up the fact that Adams was toting its Garavani Rockstud Double bag, going so far as to specifically highlight the fact in a recent press release sent out.
It is hard to believe that just a few days ago I was in beautiful Miami, Fla., attending TMC’s biannual ITEXPO event, the technology event of the year. It’s especially hard to believe considering the fact that Sunday night I left a city that was a balmy 80 degrees—sporting shorts and a tank top—for a city that hours later was pummeled by inches of snow.
But our week in sunny Miami was truly awe-inspiring. For five days our team had the chance to meet with countless companies, to hear the tales of their company, and to witness marketing and branding at its best. From the impressive trade show booth displays to the must-have swag (thanks CallTower for my awesome lip balm!), ITEXPO was buzzing with best-in-class marketing tactics. And we all took notice.
Continue reading “Content Marketing: The Power of a Compelling Story”
We are just a few hours into ITEXPO 2014 in sunny Miami Beach and the energy and electricity here at the convention center is truly palpable. Attendees are starting to pour in for a number of conference events; TMC staffers are running around putting the finishing touches in place for what will be another bleeding-edge technology event; and dozens upon dozens of C-suite officials and leading company executives are making their way to the convention center to participate in Editor’s Day.
Continue reading “ITEXPO 2014 Editor’s Day: Brand Strategy at its Best”
You know how accountants and financial planners see the world in numbers, formulas and percentages? Well, as a marketer, do you feel like you see the world in terms of strategy, brand tactics and messaging? You are not alone.
I have slowly started to come to the realization that the more I immerse myself in the marketing realm, the harder it is for me to turn off that marketing lens. For example, a simple TV commercial is no longer just a commercial. Rather, it’s a window for me to assess the company’s branding efforts and marketing strategy. Similarly, even a simple flyer that I receive in my mailbox or that I pass on the street cannot escape my marketing lens. I am evaluating the flyer on its font type, its verbiage and its originality. Simply put, the job of a marketer is to always be awake. To always be discerning. And to always be searching for the best campaign.
If you follow the news at all, you are probably well aware by now of the massive data breach that sent retail giant Target spiraling into a public relations crisis from which it has yet to emerge. As you may also know, the company has taken almost as much flak for the difficulty shoppers had reaching customer service—and the treatment they received from call center agents once they did—as it did for the intrusion itself.
Here at Content Boost, we write often about the importance of customer service, the impact it has on consumers and a brands image. In thinking about and discussing Target’s predicament over the past few days, I thought a lot about how companies distinguish themselves as customer service leaders. As they often do, my thoughts turned to golf.
Continue reading “Customer Service: It’s all About the Little Things”
