How to Get Your Emails Read
Email marketing, when executed properly, has been known to deliver impressive results. One important factor in email marketing is that it is not very expensive when compared to traditional mass marketing means. The CMO Council notes that email marketing accounts for 15% of SMB marketing spend. Small to medium sized businesses often have limited budgets, so they need to choose marketing communications mediums where they will get the best return on marketing investment. With email having the potential to be a cost effective medium, what are some ideas that brand marketers can use to get their emails read. Earlier Read More
What’s Going On with the Digital, Multi-Channel Marketing Budget?
A Harvard Business Review blog post recently noted that analog marketing spending (the more traditional channels) is 3 times as high as digital spending. That can be perceived as surprising and not so surprising at the same time. Gartner recently released the U.S. Digital Spending Survey, 2013, which is a terrific summarization of high level aspects of the traditional-digital blend of marketing communications. Key findings include: Marketing budgets will increase 6% in 2013. 41% of companies that have engaged in more digital marketing at the expense of traditional marketing have experienced cost savings and used that cost savings for more Read More
Evolution of Multi-Channel: Is Facebook Declining in Some Segments?
One of the key features of the multi-channel marketing ecosystem that we discuss regularly is that it is not static. The proliferation of channels means that this is an ecosystem that is always changing. The hot social network of one day may not be the hot network the next day. MySpace learned that lesson all too well. This is why we’re closely following Facebook, the pre-eminent social media site. The numbers of users is staggering, but there are signs that perhaps Facebook isn’t the darling of the social media world anymore. Like Nike, Facebook seems to be seeing some issues Read More
Tragedy Postpones Branding
The tragedy in Boston on Monday was a horrific and saddening event. It also served a lesson in digital marketing. Monday afternoon was a challenge for marketers in the digital space. The ability to schedule social media posts and emails is a wonderful asset to marketers, and is a part of our distributed marketing software. The scheduling of social media posts and emails has become a common practice, and during the vast majority of times, it helps brands drive top of mind awareness and brand engagement. However, during a tragic event when lives are lost due to a coordinated act Read More
Nike Case Study Highlights Themes of Distributed Marketing Management
The New York Times published an article yesterday regarding some struggles that Nike is facing in its ad campaigns. Numerous themes that I have discussed in this space in recent months were apparent while reading this. The article noted that Nike is facing a big challenge in driving brand engagement amongst large segments of their potential overall target market. Much of this is a challenge surrounding the new media environment. From the mid 1980s through the early 2000s, Nike was able to create iconic ads that were memorable and talked about, driving not only brand awareness, but also positive brand Read More
The Screens Are Seemingly Unavoidable
Many of our lives are consumed by access to devices with screens. You are reading this in front of a screen. It is possible that screen is on a mobile device. Are you noticing screens popping into your life in unexpected places? If someone is running late to meet you or going to the bathroom while you wait for them to return, are you engrossed in your smartphone? Do you see people with their smartphones at a sporting event or even when they are doing something athletic, like going to the gym or playing a sport? In an exercise class Read More
Counting Down to the Life Insurance Conference
The Life Insurance Conference* is right around the corner. We are only 5 days away from the start of the conference, which runs from April 15-17 in New Orleans. This blog has had a number of posts in recent weeks that have been centered around the themes of the conference. For a quick recap, I’ve listed our specific posts below. The Low Interest Rate Dilemma Solving The Low Interest Rate Dilemma No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate Social media will be touched upon some of the presentations at the show, including “E-Processing: From Application to Issue” and “Social Read More
Where’s the ROI in Social Media? (Part Two)
In February, we posted Part One of this series. Part One was meant to be just an introduction to the topic. Part Two is a more in depth look, emphasizing mindset to measure ROI. One of the thought leading pieces on this topic came from a 2010 article in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Although a number of the examples are rather dated at this point, most of the key themes touched on in the article remain true today, even with the drastic changes in social media in the 2 and a half years since it was released, confirming the Read More
SEC Approval Shows Pervasiveness of Social Media
Earlier this week, the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) released a report declaring that companies could use social media channels to communicate newsworthy events. A key caveat in this ruling is that companies have to disclose where they will be breaking key news items. The SEC report highlights the pervasiveness of social media. As an institution, the SEC is not necessarily known to be on the cutting edge of marketing communication tactics. However, the SEC has observed that companies are turning more & more to social media to get messages out there as fast as possible. The key driver in Read More
No Debate: A Need to Innovate & Differentiate
One of the themes at this year’s Life Insurance Conference is product innovation and differentiation in a low interest rate environment. In any industry, there’s a need to innovate and differentiate. Brands that fail to do this risk a loss of relevance in the marketplace; more importantly, they risk negative consequences on the income statement. With life insurance, product offerings tend to be moderately complex. It’s not a product category like racquetballs or chicken wings. However, the relative complexity of the category allows for life insurance brands to create and market products that can broaden the marketplace and establish points Read More
