How is the making of an American Idol like the marketing of a new venture?

Allow me to make the bold claim that the two are more alike than you think, and that making the comparison may be useful in fleshing out the principles of good marketing, that is, marketing that works.

Marketing yourself…

by mlgrazzini

This blog entry is here to remind everybody that marketing isn’t just for marketing professionals. Like negotiating, it’s something that everyone does in their life and what it takes to be successful at it pretty much comes down to creativity, preparation and practice. However, I think it’s easy to forget how the basics of marketing apply to real life situations. Since several of us are out looking for jobs (full-time or internships), I thought I would comment on how marketing yourself for a new job fits into the 3C’s & 4P’s framework and, over the next few weeks I’ll go into more detail in each category and how you can develop a strategy to make yourself stand apart from the competition.

A New Chapter for Apple?

by forrestsloan

The Apple brand is going to have to start telling a new story soon.

In the 1980s, Apple launched their “1984″ ad. They were not just introducing the new Mac brand with this campaign, but also a new product category — the personal computer. Apple portrayed their product launch as something groundbreaking, revolutionary and — at least metaphorically — heroic. The words: “…why 1984 won’t be like 1984.” The pictures: a female athlete hurls a sledgehammer and destroys the image of Big Brother. In filmmaking, this storyline falls under the superhero genre. Someone or something comes along to overcome incredible odds and save us. That’s what Apple promised and that’s what Apple did.

The Top Five Marketing Insights I Got From B-School

by jimijazz2000

I can’t speak for anyone else, but my business school experience was like drinking from a fire hose. I was exposed to so many theories, concepts and studies that I had a hard time keeping them all straight for exams, much less applying them months or years later. I despaired at my inability to judge which piece of recommended reading or which hallway aside would someday prove to be the difference between bountiful success and tragic failure. I wanted the quick and dirty solutions that I knew came with study, experience and adversity. I wanted shortcuts. I didn’t get them.

What I did get was a job marketing video games. It’s a dream job, since I’m getting paid to work in an industry I diligently supported for years. What I’ve learned in the last year or so that I’ve been at it is that I actually did get a lot of great information in and out of class. The basics were right on the money — the three C’s and the four P’s and CRM and ROI are all terms and concepts I use every day. And don’t even get me started on the web marketing acronyms — SEO and PV and PPC, RON and ROS. It makes my eyes hurt sometimes. Beyond the fundamentals and the industry specific details, though, there were little peripheral pieces of information I picked up that have come in extremely handy. I’d like to share a few of them here in the hope that they may benefit others.

1) Be The Champion

This one seems like a no-brainer, but I’ve found it’s critical to be very clear about why my products rule to internal and external stakeholders. I’m responsible for two games in our corporate portfolio. One is a dependable earner with a rich tradition in our company and in the industry. It’s also got a very small marketing budget. The other is the new hotness, a sexy property that is instantly identifiable and has loads of potential. It has a ‘AAA’ marketing budget. Every day I have to justify why the first product deserves more love, money and attention and the second product deserves the love, money and attention it’s got.

2) Memorize Your Briefs

When I’m pitching a concept for a new promotion or for a piece of marketing collateral (like a commercial or a magazine ad), I always write a creative brief. I make sure that it’s extremely detailed and explains the purpose I hope to accomplish or the message I’m trying to communicate. I provide reference material, comparisons and even write out an example or two that I think would be worth exploring.

Long story short: Nobody will read your briefs. Not the ad agency you’re paying millions, not the lawyers who need to protect you from liability, not the business owners who share your fiscal responsibility. A good boss might read them and provide feedback, but don’t count on it. Just memorize them. Memorize them down to the last detail. When you’re in a meeting and nobody has read your briefs, the faster you can bring them up to speed on your brilliant ideas and keep everyone on task, the more likely you’ll be to get a result that you’re happy with.

3) Know Your Customer Inside & Out

On any given day I’m not just positioning games and services for consumers in the marketplace, I’m also interacting with multiple functions inside the business. I need to remember that the legal department has a different set of needs than the website group, and that the database team isn’t interested in the same details as business development. Find out the needs of the different functional groups in your organization as quickly as you can. I’m constantly changing the focus of my message depending on the audience. I find it’s the fastest way to get my initiatives implemented.

4) Branding Is Not Marketing

Marketing is when I push a message out to consumers. PR is when someone else tells you that message. Advertising is when the message gets repeated over and over again through multiple channels. Branding is when consumers come to me and ask me about my message. Guess which one I’m most interested in?

And my personal favorite…

5) Simple Stuff Works

When in doubt, go with something simple. Every industry has a list of best practices in marketing. Learn yours, and don’t be afraid to use them. There’s always a chance after work to brainstorm blue-sky, brilliant solutions that have a lot of moving parts, but when time is tight it’s good to know what works. Like blogs and lists, for example. Those work every time.

Microsoft Embraces Micro Segmentation, Acquires Yadata and Leaps Ahead In Behavioral Targeting

by jarrodhammes

Market Strategy

During Q4 2007, a couple of fellow students and I had the opportunity to put a market strategy together for a small Israeli market data technology start-up. We took a look at micro segmentation, behavioral targeting and cross-platform advertising campaigns.

YaData

YaData develops unique algorithms and rankings systems to help the market research neophytes, and time-starved VPs, uncover customer potential. The YaData software carefully sifts through vast quantities of data, culling groups that would otherwise fall prey to poorly targeted ad campaigns, or misaligned products that fail to satisfy needs. With more identifiable segments, everyone wins. Consumers receive more tailored campaigns for goods that are a better match to their needs, and goods are refined to meet more granular needs.

Micro Segments

The secret sauce in the YaData development lies in the ability to accurately identify smaller (micro) market segments within vast customer data sets. These are often difficult to identify, overlooked, and more difficult to reach. However, the pursuit has merit. As Malcolm Gladwell, author of Tipping Point and Blink, recently lectured: “In marketing, its the move from the search for universals to the understanding of variability”. Through embrace of this philosophy to recognize consumer delight as unique, we realize the need for micro segmentation.

Movin’ On Up—From Labs To Offices

by startupmarketingdiva

Welcome to my little corner of the Rady Marketing Blog. There are hundreds if not thousands of blogs out in cyberspace on marketing. So, how will my posts be any different and of interest to you?

Well, prior to becoming what I now call myself — a “marketing professional,” I was a scientist at the bench in a laboratory of a pharmaceutical company. I knew very little about marketing. My perception of marketing was that it was a ‘fluff’ job. After my first course in marketing — Introductory Marketing for MBA’s — I was sold on the topic and decided to focus on marketing as a future career goal. Nearing graduation and in search of a job in a marketing capacity, I searched the web to better understand my options and how my current skill set would best fit in within a particular marketing role, especially at a start-up. I was not able to find any particular blog with such a focus.

Harnessing the Wisdom of Customers: Free Social Networking Tool Brings Companies Closer to Their Consumers

by jasminep

Connecting with Customers Quickly and Cheaply:
MBA students learn a few core marketing concepts over and over: First, we learn that customers are key to the development of any sound marketing strategy. Second, we learn the value of listening to customers and the wisdom of crowds. We also learn that the mere act of responding to a customer often increases loyalty. Unfortunately, maintating an ongoing customer dialogue can be both costly and time intensive. Social networking utilities are increasingly being used as a quicker and cheaper alternative to close the feedback loop.

Official launch!

If you are reading this — this may actually work! If you would like to contibute a post to our blog, please send me an email with the topic you would like to write about.