Marketing Your Marketing

Cross-promoting in the media is another way to accomplish the all-important task of repetition. One way to repeat yourself and implant your message is to say it over and over again. Another way is to say it in several different places. Guerrillas try to do both. Nothing is left to chance. If you saw a yellow pages ad that made you an offer from a company you’ve never heard of and another with the same offer except that the ad said, “As advertised on television,” you’d probably opt for the second because of that added smidgen of credibility. I rest my case.

Jay Conrad Levinson posted this to his site at http://www.gmarketing.com

We Try Harder, Too!

Hats off to Hertz. I rented a car from them at John Wayne Airport (Orange County, CA) on Friday. The gent who handed me my key at the remote pick-up point, I discovered in a brief conversation, is 82! I’d wager that the fellow who checked my contract and let me out of the garage was about the same age. Whether or not this has any bearing on the heated immigrant debate is not clear. I simply wish to commend Hertz for creating a fantastic win-win situation. The guys both seemed glad to be out and about and of some use; Hertz doubtless benefits from conscientious and generally cheerful employees who presumably are not taking home a king’s ransom.

More: In the “little things” department—there are no little things in Service-Experience World—more Hertz kudos for exceptional driving directions, readily produced, that put Mapquest to shame. (LA and environs are a damn good test.)

As I wrote that last I realized anew how valuable I believe the word-idea of “experience” to be. To me, it’s light years beyond “semantic difference.” “Experience” conjures up a different plot line entirely from “service.” It’s helped me in my own work—the seminars—to adopt the word-idea “experience.”

Tom Peters posted this on 03/29 on his site at http://www.tompeters.com

Quote of the Day

“Poor people need low prices. Wealthy people love low prices.”

—ACNielsen analyst, on the fact that customers with incomes of >$50,000 are the fastest growing demographic for soaring Dollar General & its dollar-kin

Tom Peters posted this on 12/16 on his site at http://www.tompeters.com

Bottoms Up!

Bottoms Up!

With imagination, one can add value to, literally, anything. While we know that, we seem to ignore it when we fret ceaselessly over what happens as we lose our underwear factories to China. Answer: Turn to water! Consider this news item from AOL last night: “With 600 brands to choose from, bottled water now outsells soft drinks. However, instead of buying a beverage made from a secret formula (Coca-Cola), we’re spending $100 billion annually worldwide to drink what pours from our own taps. … In 2005, the Beverly Hills company Bling H20 introduced its limited edition spring water selling for $34 a liter that’s become a Hollywood signature.”

Not the basis for a “sound economy,” you rebut! Well, it has been for about the last 60 or so years as branding of mundane stuff has become the main engine of value-added. Perhaps the only news is not water, but the fact that, in a wildly competitive global economy, we now have to brand ourselves to survive. You know, the “brand you” bit.

Tom Peters posted this on 02/15 on his site at http://www.tompeters.com

Who’s Doing Well

If you ask people what they think are the best trademarks out there, they will invaribly tell youabout an organization tht is doing very well. The marks take on the attributes of the organization and they merge. The marks become global reminders that stimulate recall.

Tom Geismar, Chermayeff & Geismar

Diane Carter
Creative ePublishing Coach

Know Your Customer

Understand your consumers firsthand – in person, in real life.

Diane Carter
Creative ePublishing Coach

Bag It Or Publish It?

Sometimes even when you are ready to have your book published, there will be days when you consider bagging it. So at some point, you have to simply let your book go and publish it.

What are you waiting for?

Diane Carter
Creative ePublishing Coach

Seth Godin – RSS

“RSS is a huge step forward. It lets you talk (in an unfiltered, time effective way) to the people who want to hear from you. Imagine how much more effective you’d be if you had an RSS slot on the desktop of 100 or 1000 key influencers!”

Seth Godin
http://www.allmarketersareliars.com/

Seth Godin – PR

“I think (but what do I know) that PR pros can add a huge amount of value by focusing on P, not R. By working with the company, as the voices of the public, helping them understand how to make stuff worth talking about.”

Seth Godin
http://www.allmarketersareliars.com/

Compelling Reason to Invest In Your Brand Identity

A compelling brand presents any company, any size, anywhere with an immediately recognizable, distinctive, professional image that positions it for great success.

Diane Carter
Creative ePublishing Coach