Interdisciplinary Studies in Marketing: Abelardo Morrell
Posted on April 11, 2008 by Kathryn Regina.
A while back I had the pleasure of interviewing Frans Johansson for a client publication. Johansson’s book The Medici Effect states that breakthrough insights occur at the intersection of fields, disciplines and cultures. With that in mind, I have been on the lookout for lessons from other disciplines that could lend a fresh perspective to the marketing/custom publishing world.
One of my discoveries is the photography of Abelardo Morrell. A book review in Scientific American succinctly describes his process:
“As the world of photography grows ever more digitized, Morell offers a glorious and surprising reminder of its classical roots. The well-known Cuban-born photographer essentially turns a room into the interior of a camera. He blacks out the windows, leaving a pinhole opening in one of them. Because of the nature of refracted light, the scene outside the window is projected upside down into the dim room. Morell then captures the room on film with a large format view camera; exposures can take eight hours or more.”
I saw Morrell speak at The Art Institute of Chicago, and he said that when he discovered this process he felt like he had discovered photography. Can you imagine that feeling?
Lesson: New discoveries don’t have to be technological discoveries. Or better stated: Going back to the roots of a process can be just as innovative as building on the latest technology. How did people market in the 1800s?
I’m totally blowing your mind right now.
p>tags: marketing | custom publishing | Frans Johansson | The Medici Effect Abelardo Morrell |What's a tag?
April 11, 2008 in Blogs, Business Marketing, Custom publication, Custom publications, Custom publisher, Custom publishing, E-Marketing, Marketing Communication, online marketing, online publishing | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack
Feed the Burn or It's the Results, Stupid
Posted on June 04, 2007 by Vinnie Lacey.
Looks like Google is giving Chicago-based company FeedBurner 100 million reasons to rejoice.
At least, that's the word on the street this week as FeedBurner is expected to rake in $100 million from its sale to information giant Google. (Note to self: Google self. Make sure clone has not been created from aggregated information. If clone exists, destroy clone.)
To those not familiar with the business, FeedBurner is a hybrid of a publisher's service and advertising company. By optimizing distribution of feed-based (ie, regularly updated) content--blogs, commercial news sites, RSS, podcasts, etc.--and analyzing the traffic around such content, FeedBurner helps the authoring companies better reach their ideal audience. Advertisers get into 'Burner by having their offerings stapled to these targeted, optimized feeds. Content feeders can even make money, as FeedBurner offers them a slice of the advertising pie.
So how did a company less than three years old with less than 30 employees entice the voracious Google monster? The answer is in the technology. As Susan Wojcicki, a Google vice
president for advertising products, puts it, FeedBurner is a good fit
because both companies focus on selling advertising that is "very
measurable," meaning publishers can track each time a computer user
looks at content.
That's good news as advertisers struggle to reach a fragmented audience with increasing control over when, where, and how information (including ads) hits their radar.
The potency behind a marketing campaign with targeted info--wrapping the information that readers find useful around promotional content--is, of course, no stranger to BeTuitive. We're convinced that's what keeps our clients top-of-mind, relevant and a returning choice for their users and consumers. And we continue to refine our tools in measuring and analyzing our clients' results each time they publish.
But don't take our word for it.
Google just gave 100 million reasons to decide for yourself.
tags: Blog Publish | Blogging Tools | Blogs | Build Credibility Building B2B Relationships |Building Customer Community |Business Relationships |Company Blog |Custom Publishing |Grow Relationships |Nurturing Relationships |Online Marketing |Online Publishing |Publishing Solution |Publications Management |Publish |Publish a RSS |Publish Writing |Publish Outsourcing |Web Publish
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June 4, 2007 in blog publish, Blogging Tools, Blogs, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Business relationships, company blog, Custom publishing, grow relationships, nurturing relationships, online marketing, online publishing, publications management, publish, publish a rss, publish writing, publishing outsourcing, publishing solution, web publish | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Keep Your Company On Target: Top 3 Lessons Learned from the Target Corporation
Posted on May 31, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.
The Target Corporation has a loyal customer base whose enthusiasm has become somewhat of a cultural phenomenon. From the pet name Tarzhay (a “French” pronunciation of Target) to the scores of shoppers professing their love for the red bull’s-eye, Target is a force to be reckoned with in the discount retail industry.
In her book On Target: How the World’s Hottest Retailer Hit a Bull’s-eye, author Laura Rowley expounds on Target’s business and marketing strategies. And although the book is retail-centric (and at times a bit promotional), I think it offers some valuable insight into what makes a business—any business—successful. The following are my top three lessons learned from the Target Corporation.

Lesson One: Take the best of both worlds
Die-hard Target shoppers will adamantly dispute the idea that Target is “just another discount store” like Walmart or Kmart. How has Target so effectively differentiated itself from its competitors? They did it by taking the best elements of a high-end department store--a clean well-lit sales floor, stylish products and friendly customer service--and tailoring those elements to fit a discount store.
“’Before I was a professor, I worked at a housewares distribution company which sold to Target,’ said Michael Levy, a professor of retailing at Babson College in Massachusetts and co-editor of the Journal of Retailing. ‘They always paid a lot of attention to detail. Their stores always looked a lot better than the discount store competition. Even though the shelves were stacked a little higher and the displays were not as slick as department stores, they looked more like department stores in those days than the sort of dark, dingy look of a discount store (On Target, p11).’”
Consider your chief competitors, and companies that provide high-end services in your industry. What are the most attractive elements of their offers, and how can you integrate those elements into your business in a realistic, manageable way? Take the best of both worlds and you’ll make your customers feel like they’ve hit the jackpot.
Lesson Two: Design is king
From the basics of product selection to larger decisions about its marketing campaigns, Target takes design very seriously.
Tupperware chairman and CEO Rick Goings: “I think they are looking for brands that really draw people into Target stores. If you compare them to some other retailers, they have a fairly narrow product line that they show in any category in Target, but it’s usually brands or product categories where there’s a panache to it, or a design element (On Target, p23).”
Following the iMac model of “show, don’t tell” Target ads and commercials are visually compelling, with very little text. The bulls-eye logo is so strongly branded that the Target name is usually not even included in advertisements.
“This is the ultimate emotional connection,” says Mark Gobe, founder of the branding and design firm Desgrippes Gobe Group, “when your message is so powerful and so unique that visual expressions can stand alone (On Target, p58).”
Lesson Three: Partner with people who are experts in their fields
The “do-it-yourself” method seems like a frugal choice for home owners, but it isn’t always the best financial decision for a business. So when Target decided to join the e-commerce market, it turned over its Web operations to Amazon.com.
“’I think [the Amazon deal] gives them an edge,’ said Cynthia Cohen of Strategic Mindshare. ‘You can create your own infrastructure for e-commerce, hire people, teach them—but that is expensive and time-consuming, versus going to somebody whose core competency is e-commerce. Amazon already has this knowledge—so [Target is] buying the knowledge—their dollars versus their time frame, their risk. This isn’t entirely risk-free, but Target is reducing risk by using knowledge from a company whose core competency is e-commerce (On Target, p76).’”
Whether you’re trying to break into e-commerce or start a custom publication, partnering with an expert can increase efficiency, reduce risk and optimize results while sparing your company the cost of internal time and resources.
p>tags: award winning design | blog publish | blogs | brand enhancement build credibility |building customer community |building customer intuition |business credibility |business marketing |business relationships |corporate blogging |customer intuition |e-marketing |grow relationships |marketing communication |marketing solutions |nurturing relationships |online marketing |publish |branding
May 31, 2007 in award winning blog, award winning design, blog publish, Blogs, Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, business credibility, Business Marketing, Business relationships, Corporate Blogging, Customer Intuition, customer retention, E-Marketing, Email Marketing, email marketing solution, grow relationships, Marketing Communication, marketing solutions, nurturing relationships, online marketing, publish, Strategic Internet Marketing | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Personalized Greetings
Posted on May 22, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.
When it comes to email, does "Dear Bob" personalization really work?
The short answer: It's a start, but customization is more than just a personalized greeting.
p>tags: writing newsletter | writing magazine | weblogs | web publish strategic internet marketing |publishing solution |publish writing |publish online |publish company |publish |publications management |online publishing |online newsletter |online marketing |nurturing relationships |newsletter solutions |newsletter solution |newsletter publishing |newsletter marketing |newsletter creation0What's a tag?
May 22, 2007 in Newsletter content, newsletter creation, Newsletter Marketing, newsletter publishing, Newsletter ROI, Newsletter solution, newsletter solutions, nurturing relationships, online marketing, online newsletter, online publishing, publications management, publish, publish company, publish online, publish writing, publishing solution, Strategic Internet Marketing, web publish, Weblogs, Writing a Newsletter, writing magazine, writing newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Brand Origins
Posted on May 02, 2007 by Kevin G.
Have you ever been curious about the origins of some of the most recognizable companies worldwide? I found a great site that explains the history of brands like Mercedes, NASA, Red Bull, or FedEx. Feed your curiosity.
tags: Brand Enhancement | Build Credibility | Building B2B Relationships | Business Credibility Business Relationships |E-Marketing |Email Marketing |Grow Relationships |Interactive Marketing |Newsletter |Newsletter Article |Nurturing Relationships |Online Marketing |Outsourcing Publication |Prospect Newsletter |Strategic Internet Marketing |Thought Leadership Newsletter |What's a tag?
May 2, 2007 in Brand enhancement, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, business credibility, Business relationships, E-Marketing, Email Marketing, grow relationships, Interactive Marketing, newsletter, newsletter article, nurturing relationships, online marketing, Outsourcing publication, prospect newsletter, Strategic Internet Marketing, Thought leadership newsletter | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Measuring ROI, What a Pain
Posted on April 04, 2007 by Kevin G.
It seems like it gets harder and harder to measure ROI with marketing campaigns. John Federman explains the pains and potential with measuring ROI. It may be easier than you think, just think beyond convention and more customer-centric.
tags: Blogging Tools | Build Credibility | Build B2B Relationships | Bulk Email Marketing Business Marketing |Business Publications |Company Publication |E-Marketing |E-Newsletter |Email Marketing |Email Marketing Campaign |Email Tracking |How to do a Newsletter |Marketing Solutions |Newsletter Marketing |Newsletter ROI |Newsletter Solutions |Online Marketing |Strategic Internet Marketing |Weblogs
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April 4, 2007 in Blogging Tools, build credibility, Building B2B Relationships, bulk email marketing, Business Marketing, Business publications, Company publication, E-Marketing, e-newsletter, Email Marketing, email marketing campaign, email tracking, How to do a Newsletter, marketing solutions, Newsletter Marketing, Newsletter ROI, newsletter solutions, online marketing, Strategic Internet Marketing, Weblogs | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What Women Watch
Posted on April 02, 2007 by Kathryn Regina.
A recent eMarketer post reveals that though women comprise the majority of internet users, they make up a minority of online video watchers. Why don't ladies like YouTube? While the blog post doesn't speculate on reasons (I can think of a few...) it does provide a breakdown of the content that both men and women say they are most likely to watch.
href="http://www.technorati.com/tag/how to publish online" rel="tag" target="_blank">how to publish online | corporate publications | E-Marketing | Building B2B Relationships Building Customer Community |Building Customer Intuition |Business Marketing |Marketing Communication |Marketing Solutions |nurturing relationships |online marketing |Strategic Internet Marketing |Web publish |What's a tag?
April 2, 2007 in Building B2B Relationships, Building Customer Community, Building Customer Intuition, Business Marketing, Corporate publications, E-Marketing, Marketing Communication, marketing solutions, nurturing relationships, online marketing, Strategic Internet Marketing, web publish | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Simple and Balanced for Perfection
Posted on March 21, 2007 by Kevin G.
I find that being organized and well-balanced is one of the best strategies to take to ensure a productive and satisfying work week.
Often times the week starts out as planned as we manage tasks and then mid-way through we find ourselves pulled in every direction to please the whole world. Well, so it seems.
With custom publishing, it’s important to keep a balanced and fresh feel with each issue. If you feel the content is too sales oriented, try adding a cartoon or survey to engage your audience. If the publication engages the reader but fails to draw measurable results, try adding a sales incentive or response mechanism to monitor reception beyond open and click performance.
There are many different ways to balance the perfect publication. By keeping it simple and direct its hard to leave not satisfied with your results.
tags: Bulk Email Marketing | Customer Retention | Direct Email Marketing | E Zine Email Marketing |Email Marketing Campaign |Email Marketing Solution |Email Services |Email Tracking |Ezine Marketing |Newsletter Format |Newsletter sample |Nurturing Relationships |Opt-in Email |Opt-in Email Marketing
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March 21, 2007 in audio publication, blog publish, Blogs, business magazine, Business Marketing, Business newsletter, Corporate publications, create email newsletter, how to publish online, inc magazine, online marketing, opt-in email, Opt-in Email Marketing, outsource magazine, publish online | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack