Brand Central Station

Every first-year marketing student learns about the “bandwagon” … it represents a concept of consumer preferece.  A product achieves momentum via perceived popularity.  People see others using a certain product (or uttering a certain catch phrase or espousing a certain idea) and then they start adopting that same product (or slogan or philosophy) for the simple reason that they don’t want to be left behind.

It doesn’t say much for peoples’ ability to make their own, well-reasoned decisions.  But in the world of marketing, the physical concepts of momentum and intertia are very real.

Unfortunately, the bandwagon also rolls through the marketing profession – and every once in a while, it gets really obnoxious.  This year, the marketing concpt we would probably be better off without relates to the economic stimulus package passed by Congress earlier this year.

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(Company press release)
 Drink Me magazine launches its first issue this month in San Francisco. Published by Open Content, Drink Me is the only lifestyle and entertainment publication about drinking and bar culture created for enthusiasts.

“Thirty months in the making, we’re finally here,” says Daniel Yaffe, president of Open Content. “It’s been a long and exciting road. We hope our readers take time to explore and enjoy as we offer up all the alcohol culture one could ever ask for, bottled up and ready to drink with a little tag that reads, ‘Drink Me.’ Welcome to our world…”

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In the last installment of our series on where your business should be connecting to the social web, we take a look at job sites.  After all, Web 2.0 is all about people – not technology.  And by finding the best people, you’ll position your company for growth and future success.

If you want to secure high-quality talent, you have to know where to look.

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Carol Davis, one of the innovators at FletcherKnight, has written an interesting piece on how women are taking a different approach to health and beauty.  It’s the new age of trial and experimentation for women.

Carol’s experience includes management stints at P&G, Bath and Body Works, the Lancaster Group and Kane, Bortree & Associates.

You’ll find her insights into the 50+ market after the jump.

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The Associated Press reports that Warner Brothers has announced its intentions to move up the opening of the next Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince) to Wednesday, July 15 – two days earlier than its previous release date.

Rumors are also circulating that Paramount intends to break the new Star Trek movie on Thursday, May 7th at 7pm rather than holding out for a midnight premier in the wee hours of the 8th.

The moves are seen as last-minute positioning tactics to try and eek out extra box office dollars during the first weekend of what is shaping up to be a very hotly contested summer at the movie theater.  Unlike previous years, no “blockbuster” is expected to last more than two weeks at the top of the box office charts, although the premature release of the new Wolverine Origins movie (leaked to the Internet a few weeks ago) may help Trek’s second and third week draws.

For marketers, all of this increased churn in the movie theater will, in all likelihood, accelerate the “depreciation” of movie-related promotions in stores and online.

Leveraging your business’ and employees’ experience via the Social Web is another strategy for increasing your brand’s online “footprint”.  In part four of our series of important social web sites your business should connect to, we provide a list of general, informational sites that in many cases serve as the “front line” of online research.

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So, what use is Twitter?  It’s been labeled a chronic time-waster.  And for some, it certainly is.

I use Twitter to keep track of marketing trends and business news.  But you can do more.  Thanks to Arnold Zafra for his post earlier this week to the RotorBlog, here are 44 Twitter-related applications.  Some will enhance your productivity.  Then again, some may not.

They’re definitely worth checking out.

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From the folks at the MIT Media Lab, here’s a very interesting take on the future of technology – specifically wearable technology.

Think Minority Report, only much cooler …

Thanks to Jeff Johnson from The Team (Ozark, Missouri’s largest marketing firm) for the link to the video!

As part of our week-long series of important social media sites for your business, today we’ll list a number of niche sites that will help you stay on top of important news and trends in a variety of areas.  These sites can be very important for small and mid-sized companies that don’t have the large training budgets or funds available to participate in industry events or conventions.

Although we only have eight niche sites listed below, we’re open to other suggestions as well.  Just email us and let us know.

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From Smashing Magazine – a great site for creative inspiration, innovation and information. 

Here’s a look at forty powerful depictions of human emotion.

So why should we link to this?  For the simple reason that communication that motivates consumers, employees and business partners need to find a way to tap into their hearts and minds.  Every bit of advertising, every story you tell, every presentation you make needs to make an emotional connection in order to unseat the preconceived notions held about your product and your competitors’ brands.

Not only that, but these pictures are awesome.

In the second part of our listing of important social media sites for businesses (especially yours), we’ll look at professional networking sites that can make a difference.  These sites are intended to help business people find colleagues, employees, employers and sales prospects.  

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Christopher Copywriter’s Blog has a handy post on the top social media sites businesses should consider when it comes to networking, promoting, learning and growing.  

When it comes to top social media/social bookmarking sites, you need to make sure your business has a presence in order to capitalize on the social web’s ability to share ideas and build concensus behind those ideas.  After establishing your “virtual beachhead” make sure you spend some time getting to know the territory and the “hot button issues” discussed in the community.  Once you’re up to speed, jump in and make a name for yourself, your company and your brand.

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