For effective communications don't make the mistake of losing focus

The POE(m) model sought to help systematize the various – and sometimes competing – media channels available to companies. This approach separated efforts into three general buckets: Paid, Owned, and Earned media channels. However, the lines between some of these distinctions often continued to exhibit a Mr. Magoo-like blurriness. The PESO model (see Figure 1), which added the idea of “shared” media, sought to bring more order to how a company could view their media, and by e

It’s been said, “Positioning is the art of sacrifice.” Meaning you can’t effectively be all things to all people all the time. For successful brand longevity and loyalty, it pays to pick a solid position – which is defensible – and own it. By definition, that means sacrificing other options in order to maintain a position of strength. Any serious chess player is also familiar with the concept. Sacrificing pawns, knights and bishops is necessary in order to build a dominant ad

A danger all marketers face, whether you work for an agency or on the client side, is falling victim to the echo chamber effect. The temptation is there to hear only what we’re saying about ourselves, to the exclusion of what the customers need to hear about how we can address their needs. In other words, be sure you’re not talking to – and about – yourselves, and instead keep it customer focused. Check out the recent Mercedes-Benz ad below. Good for you, Mercedes! Pat yourse

Or so the old quip goes. And it’s true. Without the right market research, you can’t position, segment, develop products, or efficiently go to market. Done poorly, research can be a waste of time and money. Done well, research can provide the foundation for achieving marketing glory. Based on market research, T-Mobile just announced a low-price plan for people 55 and older that includes unlimited talk, text, AND data. T-Mobile is under-indexing in this segment, which generall

The recent Dove debacle – the literal definition of “whitewashing” – is just one in a seemingly endless and accelerating series of brand-damaging misfires by marketers who believe they are too clever by half. Oh Dove, did we not learn from the ill-fated objectifying by non-objectifying the female form as soap containers? It’s part of a trend, and I would argue the inevitable result, of the fragmentation of the marketing discipline. In focusing so strongly on the technical asp

I read a post the other day which made the excellent suggestion we move beyond the “Digital Marketing” label to “Modern Marketing.” According to Oilve &Co, modern marketing “connects brand with real customers and drives business results by blending strategy, creative, technology, and analysis.” After thinking about it a bit, I wondered where that left “Traditional” marketing, the Ying to Digital Marketing’s Yang. It seems to me it’s time to ditch both the Digital and Traditio

In my last post, we touched on the advantages of a well-chosen name. Now comes the fun part where we look at how one might approach creating a new brand name. As With All Things Good And Right In Marketing, It Begins With Strategy Do you have a deep understanding of the value proposition and positioning for that which should be named? A good name should reinforce these strategies. Without a crystal-clear understanding of what the benefits are, or what the main point of differ