Is the Copywriter Dead?
Posted on | July 20, 2010 | mike weston
First the type director. Then the dye sub retoucher, the stat camera operator and the mechanical artist.
Can advertising wordsmiths be the next victim of the business’ transfiguration?
Here’s an interesting thought from a LinkedIn discussion group I belong to:
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Freedom of Tweet
Posted on | July 7, 2010 | david jones
The First Amendment of the Constitution promises Freedom of Speech. But does it guarantee Freedom of Tweets? And, should it?
When it comes to tweeting (and other forms of social communication), many brands, companies and organizations are struggling with guidelines.
Even my alma mater – UNC – is no exception. When members of the men’s basketball teams were a little too open with their tweets this season, the athletic department stepped in and told them to tone down their online conversations.
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Leery of Social Media? Have a Social Media Policy
Posted on | June 3, 2010 | brett turner
There is a very simple reason why many companies are leery of engaging in social media: control. Be it politics or business, control is power. Lose control and power wanes. Organizations want to maintain and control a centralized voice, not give way to the voice of individuals.
It’s the age-old argument: Is social media a great marketing tool or a communications liability? Depending on who you talk to, the answer will vary.
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Snail Mail or Email – Choose Your Weapon Carefully
Posted on | May 14, 2010 | mike zeller
I was recently asked by a magazine editor about the differences between snail mail and email. Is one replacing the other? Is one better or more effective than the other to accomplish my company’s corporate marketing objectives?
At JMG we use both email and snail mail effectively in reaching prospects. So it is not an either-or situation. It really depends on our communications objective. There is no question that the primary challenge with both methods is cutting through massive clutter. If messaging is not unique, relevant and motivating, it won’t matter how its delivered…it will not be effective.
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What Is This Conversion You Speak Of?
Posted on | March 16, 2010 | joshua lyall
In several conversations over the last few weeks, I’ve run into some puzzled looks when I mention the term “conversion” in relation to measuring website success. “What’s this guy talking about? My website isn’t trying to make proselytes,” their faces seemed to say (they had very expressive faces). Now, among the analytics/web design crowd you won’t run into any confusion on whether you’ve strayed into a theological discussion, but not all analytics terms have gone mainstream. Whether you’re a marketer on the client or agency side of the business who is responsible for a website’s success, understanding the concept of conversion is essential to achieving and measuring that success.
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So, You Want To Brainstorm Like A Pro
Posted on | February 26, 2010 | david jones
On a couple of recent occasions, I’ve had friends ask about tips for leading brainstorming sessions, or at least how to get more out of them. There are a variety of tactics I use – some are borrowed, some are original. Most have become second nature, but in an effort to capture a meaningful list of tips, I decided to write them down.
The keys to success include everything from preparation to expectations to location to actual facilitation. Each group and topic will be different, and the facilitator should always be sensitive to the situation and be flexible. But regardless of the specific session, I have found that most of these practices, when implemented, will yield stronger results.
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Book Review – Light Their Fire – Using Internal Marketing to Ignite Employee Performance and WOW Your Customers
Posted on | February 9, 2010 | mike zeller
Authors: Susan M. Drake, Michelle J. Gulman, Sara M. Roberts
If you have any doubt in your mind about the value and importance of internal marketing to build employee loyalty and performance this book will make you a believer! In just under 250 pages this “how to” book covers it all: the benefits of internal marketing; interesting case studies; proper messaging; audience segmentation; appropriate delivery systems; measurement tools; survey samples; recognition strategies and integrated planning timelines.
A brief summary of the authors’ description of what internal marketing is all about:
“Here’s the long and short of internal marketing: Employees must buy your message before your customers do. They must understand why your product or service is important, know what it can do for customers, believe in its integrity, and be inspired to make it even better. Employees have to understand where the company is headed and why. And they must be treated as grownups who can handle the truth, even when it is unpleasant. They have to be dedicated to working together to build the business. And finally they should feel proud to tell people what they do and where they work. When they feel like that, everyone will know it—especially your customers.”
PR Interviews – What to Do and What not to Do
Posted on | January 29, 2010 | brett turner
I was reminded recently when one of my colleagues decided to leave Jackson Marketing Group and move back to her home state, how few people actually prepare for a job interview. It never ceases to amaze me those that will enter an interview not knowing one thing about what we do specifically, who our clients are and/or how their skills can help us. In fairness, the ones that do research and come prepared almost always knock my socks off.
So I decided to write a quick blog post on job interviews from the PR perspective. Some of these rules can be applied when interviewing for any job. Some are specifically for public relations applicants.
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Beating the Butterflies
Posted on | January 15, 2010 | mike weston
“According to most studies, people’s number one fear is public speaking. Number two is death. Death is number two. Does that sound right? This means to the average person, if you go to a funeral, you’re better off in the casket than doing the eulogy.” – Jerry Seinfeld
via Think Exist
Perhaps only one thing strikes more fear into a Creative’s heart than not coming up with the big idea. That one thing? Actually presenting that big idea. And let’s face it; rarely does an idea sell itself. So for 99% of the time, presentation skills are necessary. But the reality is most Creatives, from the obscure to the Boguskys, view these presentations with a mixture of fear and trepidation. We’re human after all. And like others of our kind we’re prone to developing the dreaded “butterflies”.
How to overcome that fluttering feeling in ones tummy may be as simple as recognizing and remembering a few things:
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6 Reasons You Should Be Interested in SEO
Posted on | January 1, 2010 | drew stauffer
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the practice of optimizing specific aspects of web pages in order to increase the overall traffic from the search engines. The majority of website traffic comes from the search engines, and if your site isn’t being found, then you can be losing out on incredible opportunities.
The benefits of SEO are numerous, but today we’re only going to focus on six areas: usability, code, rankings, traffic, cost and brand visibility.
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What We're All About
Welcome to The Cure for Common Marketing, a Jackson Marketing Group blog dedicated to sharing insightful thinking, new ideas, technologies, what-if concepts, success stories, and book/article reviews about light speed changes in the B2B marketing universe. We encourage you to share your thoughts and opinions.