If It’s Not Working, Stop It!

We recently conducted an extensive survey of 246 nonprofit organizations, to help them better understand their marketing practices. (The results of that survey are public and will be released in February.) And one of the most surprising findings was their position on print – specifically printed direct mail.
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MarketPoint Releases Report on Marketing Practices of Maryland Nonprofit Organizations

Baltimore-based consulting firm MarketPoint LLC released, today, the official results of the 2011 Survey of the Marketing Practices of Maryland Nonprofits’ Constituent Organizations. Read more

Either Retargeting Ads Work or Zappos Isn’t Paying Attention

It was 16 months ago that I first read the New York Times article about “retargeting ads.” We’ve all encountered them – and most people find them as welcomed as bedbugs (and even harder to get rid of).

The technology is simple enough. Some honest and unsuspecting prospective customer visits an unscrupulous merchant’s website, and ends up with a cookie in his browser settings. Next thing he knows, he finds himself being stalked by that merchant – or others selling the same or similar merchandise. Read more

The Brand Continuum

In the movie Field of Dreams, Ray Kinsella, a down-on-his-luck Iowan farmer (played by Kevin Costner) responds to a whisper in his cornfield encouraging him to build a baseball field – “If you build it, they will come.”  With blind faith he follows the vision and in the end is able to fulfill his dreams, right past wrongs, and salvage his farm in a fairy-tale ending.
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But Seriously, Folks

The question I asked was, “What were the defining qualities of the best business presenter you ever saw?”

Without hesitation, the German executive I was working with gave me this quick list:

  • Energy
  • Enthusiasm
  • Rapport

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Subscribers, Impressions and Clicks – Oh My!

When the Tin Woodsman joined Dorothy and the Scarecrow on their journey to Oz, he warned his companions to watch out for lions and tigers and bears. That scene put the fear of Oz into my kids when they were young. Which was exactly what the filmmaker intended. Of course, Dorothy never did run into any tigers or bears, and the only lion she met turned out to be a coward. So the battle chant “Lions and Tigers and Bears,” though catchy, was little more than a distraction.
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