How many phones do you carry around with you?  After many years, I have now managed to get it down to one.  Admittedly I am very fortunate to have the superb Nexus One (www.youtube.com/user/GoogleNexusOne) which does everything, and in fact lots more than, I could ask of a mobile device.     But the critical application for me is not that it makes and receives calls, oh no, it’s that it has full internet browser capability.  Let me give you an example why.   I recently spoke at an event which necessitated an overnight stay.  On the morning of the event, I was...

“I want a B2B PR campaign,” says the prospective client.  Fine, that’s great. So we go in with the creds to have an initial meeting on objectives and audiences. The client talks a lot about being a ‘thought leader’ and ownership – all of course perfectly valid.   But it’s perfectly possible to get caught up in discussing tactics and mechanics then go away without ever actually teasing out from the client what the glossy new PR campaign is supposed to be delivering to the business.  But if clear objectives are not identified at the beginning, the results from any...

“How does social media apply to our target audience of business professionals, and help us achieve our B2B revenue goals?”I’ve had this question thrown at me scores of times by many an enterprise executive, and in my fair share of B2B boardrooms. And as I frequently explain, even though the word “social” modifies these media, the Social Web is not merely a consumer playground, but a business marketplace brimming with B2B potential. The reason is as simple as it is profound: While consumers use social media to enhance their personal lives, professionals engage with social media to advance their livelihoods. ...

The idea of creativity in business has been swirling around in my mind. The current economic conditions are driving our customers to think more about WHAT they sell - what are the top products, what else could we sell to existing customers, etc. Trouble is, that thinking really only operates from an internal perspective.  It's much better to ask why customers buy, how & where they do this, what are their expectations of the service wraparound, etc. In essence, you need to think creatively, albeit Inside the Box of your chosen business environment. Isn't this obvious?Now I know this sounds...

International Women’s Day today.  Where to start?  Anyone who's been watching Mad Men knows women in our industry have come a long way (as Peggy Olson is learning).  When I trained the mantra of (male) creatives was 'The consumer is not an idiot.  She is your wife."  It was meant to be complimentary but seems, in retrospect, somewhat insulting.   Despite that only 1 in 4 FTSE board directors are female, which is leading the Government to talk about legislation to force big business to hire more women.  But I wonder if the problem is not so much that there is...

YES – you must have an introduction before you can communicate effectively by email By Ed Weatherall, managing director, Concep We all complain that our inboxes are busy and that we get too many emails. We spend our time deleting emails rather than opening them. A few years ago I remember people saying even if someone didn’t open your email, the fact they saw your brand name had a positive brand impact. I feel this is no longer the case. If recipients do not recognise a sender or feel they have not asked for an email they are a) unlikely...

My friends say I’m odd. It’s unusual, they say, to become animated when talking about business. It was with a resigned sigh that they accepted my invitation for an ‘end of recession’ drink. There was also grumbling at the last minute nature of the invite. A sensible precaution I thought. The October celebration was hastily repositioned as a commiseration drink when figures failed to back up economists’ estimates of an early exit from recession. I suspect you are also starting to think I’m a little odd so I’ll cut to the chase. At this celebration I was asked: Can a...

Zina Manda, director of Mardev, shares her advice on making your lead generation strategy a success and impressing the financial director Credit crunch marketing has seen a considerable move in budget over the last 12 months from traditional advertising to lead generation. There are however a large number of lead generation channels and vast array of possible outcomes. How can you ensure that you are generating genuine value for your company from this type of activity? Defining a leadA marketing-defined lead may recognise a click through on an email, a download of a white paper or registration for a webinar as...

Labelling or sub-branding is something we come back to time and again in my business.  B2B marketing in a company that has such a dominant B2C brand can be a difficult task - particularly when trying to get cut through and show relevance to concerns that are particular to B2B audiences.   There are many ways of doing this.  Some brands choose to differentiate visually between their B2B and B2C communications.  Some have the same branding for both and others choose labelling, or sub branding - even going as far as creating a whole new brand for businesses.  But is all this necessary?  Are we underestimating the...

By Maxine-Laurie Marshall, editorial assistant, B2B Marketing My observation of B2B marketing in the brief time I have been working in the industry is that it’s comparable to Germanic tourists. B2B marketing is practical, efficient, and quite happy strolling around London in walking boots, and equally practical yet aesthetically displeasing jackets (well it could rain at any time, then who will have the last laugh). Creativity in B2B and avoiding clichés is something some agencies pride themselves on, but is it really necessary? Is there anything wrong with being practical yet slightly unfashionable? B2B seems to be based around needs rather...