I need your opinion, please

May 14, 2007

If you remember, many people jumped on board when I asked for feedback on advice to college grads on how to get their first job.  I promised to make an e-book.  Which is now complete.  50 pages –lots of great advice.

But here’s my question.  When I originally created it, I wanted it to be visually appealing so I added photos to many of the pieces.  Which grew to be a very large file.  So now I am what people’s tolerance for download size is.

Which e-book would you download?

High quality photos with the content — 3 mg

So-so quality photos with the content — 1.5 mg

No photos with the content — far less than 1 mg.

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What does an elephant have to do with branding?

May 12, 2007

An excellent question!

When John Godfrey Saxe crafted his famous parable, he probably didn’t know he was telling a story about branding.  But he was.

Find out how 6 blind men and one very patient elephant are all about branding in my first post over at Small Business Branding.

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Are you staying on topic?

May 12, 2007

 

Whether it is your blog, your sales pitch or your staff meetings — you need to stay focused and on topic.  An occasional deviation is fine but part of your brand promise is that you’re going to deliver consistently.

How do you check to see if you’re staying on the right road?

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Can’t go to SOBCon? How about just staying home and getting it together?

May 11, 2007

As many of you know, tonight SOBCon begins in Chicago.  I can’t wait…my flight leaves in a few hours.  I’m looking forward to talking face-to-face with some of the brilliant and witty minds I’ve already loved for awhile.

But not everyone can get there.  Thanks to Carolyn Manning and some friends, you can still grow, learn and connect this weekend.

Check out the Getting It Together virtual conference that they’ve created with you in mind.  Lots of very thought-provoking content, all from your home sweet home.  In your underwear if you choose.

Read about it here.  See the schedule here.

I’ll make you a deal.  I’ll give everyone your regards at SOBCon and you do the same for me at Getting It Together.

Enjoy!

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Your starting pitcher…Drew McLellan

May 10, 2007

Did you read the title in one of those reverberating loudspeaker voices?  If not, you need to go back and re-read it that way.  I’ll wait.

That is the soundtrack of my youth.  I grew up dreaming of hearing the announcer’s voice booming my name I strode confidently to the mound.

My hero – Sandy Koufax, the preeminent pitcher of the 1960’s.  He had a fastball that could singe your eyelashes before you knew it was even out of his hand.  He had the stuff, on and off the field.  He was an ambassador for the game and a class act.

I wanted to be just like him. 

I would drift off to sleep many a night, shaking off pitch signals in my head as I imagined myself reaching my dream.

When I discovered blogging, I experienced a similar reaction to a different team – the bloggers at Marketing Profs Daily Fix.  They were articulate, smart, insightful and engaging.  I admired how confidant they were in their areas of expertise and how they could weave stories and facts together to illuminate their points of view.

I wanted to be just like them.

So I can’t tell you how humbled and elated I am to invite you over to the Daily Fix to read my inaugural post.  Now if the Fix’s Ann Handley would just get on the loudspeaker…

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Why would you take a swing at your competition?

May 10, 2007

Over at the Daily Fix, Spike Jones (a great baseball name if I ever heard one) raises the question "why would you ever call out your competitors in your ads?"

He goes on to make some valid points.

But…

All of Spike’s arguments are based on the assumption that the only audience for advertising and marketing tactics are prospects.  They’re not.

Who’s the most important customer?  Right, the one you already have.  They can either be out there, spreading your brand’s good word or they can not care enough to choose you again if the other guy is cheaper.

But when it comes to building brand loyalty and love, sometimes a little bashing goes a long way.  Comparison ads do just that. They hold up two choices and they make a clear distinction between the two.  And in doing that, sometimes they create or reinforce the building of ownership and pride in a brand.

Case in point — the Mac versus PC ads.  Do I think that those ads sway some PC owners to come over to the other side?  Sure.  But what I think they really do is get us Mac people to thrust our fist in the air and shout a little.   They reinforce our buying decision. They give us talking points so we can  go out and  spread the brand’s good word.  They make us feel smart and special.

Which means that when its time to buy another….

Smart.

And now, for your viewing pleasure.  Imagine me giving a little cheer.

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Do it for mom

May 9, 2007

I can’t think of a better week to be writing this post.  We’re a few days ahead of Mother’s Day and everyone is scrambling to buy the card or the perfect gift.  I wonder how many of us stop and actually think about the true gifts our parents give us.

Security.  Safety.  Knowing that no matter what, it’s okay.  We’re okay.

I don’t care how old or successful you are sometimes you just need to crawl into the shelter of your parent’s unconditional love.

For many families, the epicenter of that shelter and unconditional love is their family’s home. It is their shelter.  Their safety. It is where their family comes together.

Unless of course you don’t have a home.

Habitat for Humanity doesn’t just build houses. They build homes. They build families.  They build esteem.  They’re a charity that believes you don’t just hand something out, you give families an opportunity to earn their helping hand so that it is a source of pride, not dependency.

A worthy charity for this week.   Made more worthy because we’re raising money to honor a mom who raised her two daughters to honor those same values.  Home. Family. Pride.  And most of all, serving your community with all your talents.  CK’s mom gave her girls security.  Safety.  And in their mom’s spirit, we band together to remind them that no matter what, they’re okay. Because for a change, their community is the one stepping up to serve them with love, support and compassion.

You have until Mother’s Day to give.  Give to honor CK’s mom, Sandra.  Give to honor your mom.  Give to say thank you for the gifts you’ve been given as a parent.  Find your own reason.  But give.

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Taking the Age of Conversation and making it even better!

May 9, 2007

 

Don’t you love when someone takes a good idea and just adds value right on top of it?

Arun Rajagopal has decided to visit every Age of Conversation author’s blog and write a profile on each author.  Between the two installments, there’s just about a fourth of the authors profiled already.

Check out the series and a big thank you to Arun!  Hey Arun…don’t forget to tell us a little more about you too!

Profiles – 1
Profiles -2

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Marketing Tips from a Marketing Agency: Express your brand simply and visually

May 8, 2007

It would only stand to reason that a marketing & branding agency would be pretty good at branding and marketing itself.

So I thought it might be fun to explore some branding & marketing concepts using our own agency, McLellan Marketing Group, as the guinea pig.

Express your brand simply and visually

At MMG, we help clients discover their brand so they can create love affairs with their clients.

That’s our brand in a sentence.

We understand that a powerful brand begets love affairs.  For our clients.  For the agency.  For MMG team members.  We call it a love affair in the round.

or….we can express our brand this way:  This is what we do and how we do it.

 

Which one is more memorable for you?  How could you do the same thing for your brand?

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Are blogs more credible than traditional media?

May 7, 2007

David Meerman Scott says they are.

"Readers of blogs view the information shared by smart bloggers as one of the few forms of real, authentic communication there is," Scott says. "Audiences consume advertising with skepticism and consider pronouncements by CEOs to be out of touch with reality. But a good blog written by someone within a large or small company, a nonprofit, a church, or a political campaign commands attention."

Scott’s new book The New Rules of Marketing & PR: How to use news releases, blogs, podcasts, viral marketing & online media to reach your buyers directly will be released by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. in June.  (Apparently short titles are passe!)

Scott goes on to say "For decades, only journalists held the power to make or break a story. But today the Web is like a huge online city teaming with individuals and organizations of all kinds. Corporate blogs written by employees are the sounds of independent voices just like the sports fan on the barstool or that friend of yours who knows everything about stereo equipment. Corporate blogs and business bloggers are now important and valuable alternative sources of information, not unlike your next-door neighbor or the helpful salesperson at your favorite shop."

Most of us know Scott from his blog Web Ink Now.

What do you think?  Is this a chicken little yelling that the sky is falling (traditional advertising is dead?) or  is Scott right on the money?  How do you reconcile Scott’s premise  with my recent post: Name a new product from 2006?

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