Brand Central Station

From the Coloribus blog, here’s an out-of-home ad concept that puts the viewer in the driver’s seat.
Technorati Tags: Advertising, Outdoor, Out-Of-Home, Automotive, Mirror

Well, I start travelling again this week and now I’ll be putting my buddy Peter Shankman’s new company (Airtroductions) to the test. Other than invitations to “hook up” with Nigerian women (and their fortunes left to them by their former husbands and political advisors), I haven’t seen much action from my profile on Peter’s system.

Then again, I’m trolling for clients, not recent inductees to the Mile High Club.

Peter, on the other hand has been getting some major wire service love, including this plug from uber-blogger Steve Rubel. Way to go, Peter.

Just save a window seat for me.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Publicity, Airtroductions, Peter Shankman

Peter Davidson, who runs one of the most intriguing trend blogs (Thinking) provided this photo of a Target store where an inventive manager found a unique way to “make their mark” on Google Maps.

No word whether or not this was a better investment than Google AdWords.

Technorati Tags: Google Maps, Rooftop Marketing, Advertising, Online Marketing

How much copy is enough when it comes to advertising? Is there such a thing as too much copy? How do you keep a customer’s interest with your advertising?

Michael McLaughlin, the author of the Guerilla Marketing blog makes a significant point in this post about what works in your ads and what doesn’t.

“In a study of 3,600 consumers, researchers concluded that to get people to notice an ad, text was twice as important as pictures. Your clients are interested in reading about your services, but you must grab their attention …

What’s most important is that the fluff be ruthlessly eliminated from your ad copy, Web page or other marketing communication. If you include hype and half-truths, you make it nearly impossible for clients to separate the wheat from the chaff. The result: a lost sale. “

Proof, once again, that while a picture might be worth a thousand words, it only takes a few of the right words to make a difference.

Good stuff – very educational.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Advertising, Copywriting, Copy, Photography, Creative

Giving a whole new definition to the concept of “man’s best friend” is this viral ad from the Sci-Fi channel.

Yeah, it’s been around for a while, but the site where I found it (Viral HQ) is relatively new. Fun place to visit and loaded with information on viral campaigns, how they’re put together and the latest trends.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Web Marketing, Viral Advertisement, Sci-Fi Network, Viral HQ

This article in Slate alludes to plans underway for the Outdoor Life Network to make another major sports programming acquisition following the success of its NHL ratings.

Technorati Tags: Television, Ratings, Outdoor Life Network, OLN, Comcast, NHL

Not all of us are Powerpoint wizards. And the few of us that actually know how to create “custom animations” and great transitions generally forget the single, most important rule of presentations.

Keep it simple.

John Jantsch, the author of the Duct Tape Marketing blog, provides his own brand of very practical advice (and a few helpful links) on this subject. John, as always, is right on target.

His post will probably be the first of a string you’ll read as you learn more about crafting effective presentations, but it’s a great place to start.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Sales, Presentations, Presentation Tips, Powerpoint

Keeping it simple is one thing (see above), knowing how to deal with the anxiety of a presentation is another.

And while this little bit o’ wisdom from the Presentation Zen blog is helpful, it shares one observation from a BBC report that probably won’t go over well in the next client meeting:

“Sex cuts public speaking stress.”

Even the best public relations and marketing consultants have to draw the line somewhere. To the BBC’s credit, they also include an expert who says people are probably better off thinking about what you are going to say (than having sex, we assume).

Well, maybe that’s just how they do things over in the UK, I don’t know. Can anyone share some insights?

More to the point, the Presentation Zen blog provides some more practical (and less socially disruptive) ideas on cutting stress related to presentation anxiety.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Sales, Presentations, Presentation Tips, Sex

I don’t often do this, but one of my international partners, Checkpoint Media of Austria is having a big-time launch today. You see Stephan and his crew did all of the work for the Mozarthaus Vienna, a tribute to the life and work of W.A. Mozart.

Check out their web site and the Mozarthaus site with multimedia installations by checkpointmedia.

Technorati Tags: Mozart, 250th Birthday, Marketing, Online Marketing, Web Site Development, Grpahic Design, ECCO, ECCO International PR Network

Those of you who have ready my blog for a while know I hold the BrandXPress blog as one of my favorites when it comes to breaking down the basic building blocks of branding. Well, this post on the essential elements of a corporate brand is a tremendous example. There are, according to the blog’s authors, nine key components:

1) Values
2) Personality
3) Behavior
4) Price
5) Range
6) Geographic roots
7) Longevity
Slogan
9) Benefits

Address these components and you’re well on your way to defining your brand rather than having it define you.

(Be sure to read the entire post from BrandXPPress.)

Technorati Tags: Brand, Branding, Corporate Branding, Essential Elements, Corporate Values, Corporate Brands

Coca-Cola Company’s Tab seems to go through a re-birth every eight to ten years, or so. For purists, Tab was Coke’s original, original, original diet drink introduced in 1963. By the late 1970′s, Tab’s saccharin flavor had etched a place in the tastebuds of America but was eventually supplanted by Diet Coke (pick your version).

Well, Tab is back (again), this time as an energy drink. The folks over at the Brand Noise blog provide some additional insights on the plans for Tab, but still you have to wonder at what point is Coke going to finally settle on a brand positioning for Tab.

Technorati Tags: Marketing, Brand, Branding, Brand Extension, Coke, Coca-Cola, Tab, Red Bull

Blogger Jim Logan makes an important point about what we often refer to as your “personal brand.” One’s professional integrity is arguably more important today than ever before. As Jim points out in this post on protecting your personal reputation:

“A great reputation earns respect and creates opportunity. A poor reputation chases everything good away.”

Nowadays people are likely to work for a half dozen companies during their employable lifetime. Job and skill portability is a critical issue to be sure, but it’s one’s personal reputation that will often make or break “the deal” when it comes to being considered for future employment or professional advancement.

Technorati Tags: Employment, Reputation, Reputation Management, Personal Brand