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Amazon Kindle: what can it teach B2B marketers?

September 1, 2010 8:46 AM | By John Bottom
I was intrigued by a snippet of news this morning which stated that, for the first time, a significant book release had sold more in ebook than in print. HarperCollins announced that "I'd Know You Anywhere" by Laura Lippman has sold 4,739 ebooks, but just 4,000 in the print edition.All very interesting, but what does this mean? Has the moment really arrived? Are we at the beginning of the end for paper-based publishing? Before publishers start to sell off their printing presses, I think we should note that this is more a sign of growing consumer sophistication than it is...
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BP is beyond the pail, says Greenpeace

June 8, 2010 11:46 AM | By Joel Harrison
As a marketer, you will undoubtedly have had criticisms of high-profile brands and their marketing from time to time, and you’ve probably thought that you could do a better job. Last month, Greenpeace provided a rare opportunity to do just that for BP in the aftermath of the Gulf of Mexico oil rig disaster. The environmental pressure group’s campaign entitled ‘Behind the logo’ asked “designers and industry experts” to “redesign BP’s logo to better reflect its attitudes abroad”… particularly those with negative environmental consequences. It was launched by Greenpeace using its typical guerrilla marketing style publicity stunt (including masked me...
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Email marketing for acquisition is whole different ball game

June 2, 2010 11:52 AM | By Andy Taylor
Constructive criticism is all fine when it’s fair, but page 40 of May’s B2B Marketing magazine featured an inaccurate critique of an email campaign we did for our client Makeitcheaper. It came in for some undeservedly harsh treatment because it was judged against false criteria. What the comments highlight is some understandable confusion between best practices for using email marketing for retention and email marketing for acquisition. Proven email tactics for building on an existing client relationship are altogether different to those employed in trying to pull prospects in from the cold. Reading Denise Cox's comments about "…third party...
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Re-evaluation brings rewards

June 2, 2010 10:12 AM | By Guest Blogger
New business development requires a relevant strategic plan, says Julia Haviland, director of Brittain Marketing.There is no doubt that direct communication with prospect companies is a proven route for businesses to engage with key decision makers. There is also solid evidence that such channels can assist in delivering your product and service propositions that in turn can help achieve growth plans. The deliberation however, a dilemma for many marketers and sales professionals, is how do they position themselves in today’s market? More importantly, how do they differentiate from their competitors in today’s market?All too often I have had businesses ask...
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Twitter = "The Emperor's New Clothes"

April 28, 2010 12:06 PM | By Edward Weatherall
I am talking serious B2B here, you know when we have face-to-face meetings before deals are done. I am talking deals of five figures upwards, no shopping baskets in sight. I’m talking multiple meetings, wining and dining, a round of golf or tickets to lady’s day at Ascot. I’m talking months to do a deal not minutes. Now let’s look at what is currently going on in a lot of marketing teams – Twitter account set up, why? Facebook page done, why? LinkedIn profile and connections created, why? What I see is a parable based on the emperor’s new clothes....
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Crushing the mushroom: Why translation should be ‘reassuringly expensive’

April 12, 2010 11:25 AM | By Evan Ivey
Even as I write this I know you are not going to believe me, but there are people out there who think translation is simple and should therefore be cheap, a bit like chips. While its true there is always someone who can do stuff for less, no one in their right mind would skimp on the translation, right? I think you better sit down. Why is this happening? Well firstly because doing the translation (or, more accurately, the ‘trans-creation’) properly is an expensive business. I’ll explain why later.  The second reason though is more insidious. Many clients don’t believe their agency has any...
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A top 10 of copy writing hates

April 7, 2010 11:09 AM | By John Williams
Compelling copy is at the heart of any successful creative execution.  So why do we see so many bad examples of copywriting when it comes to B2B marketing?  It's as if briefs come pre-stamped with 'please talk to me as a big corporate machine rather than a human being'. This got me thinking about the things that I hate seeing in copy.  All completely subjective - but it would be good to hear if others share my dislikes or have dislikes of their own.  So here goes - a top 10 of copy hates:   Exclamation marks - Sale!  Free!  Vomit!  This is one particular to my personal tastes. I...
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Email’s Antisocial Sin - The impact of no-reply@email

December 15, 2009 12:17 PM | By Guest Blogger
By Peter McCormick, UK GM and co-founder of on-demand email and one-to-one marketing firm ExactTarget In all of the talk on social media and its influence on email marketing, it occurred to me that email marketers consistently commit an antisocial sin. Worse still, it is a sin often taught as ‘best practice’ in order to decrease the hassle of managing a large number of responses to marketing email messages. I am writing of the dreaded ‘no-reply@’ email address. Consider this near perfect email from Dropbox. The subject line ‘Come back to Dropbox!’ makes it clear why I received the message. True,...
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In the rush for instant marketing gratification, don't trample the rules!

November 27, 2009 10:04 AM | By Guest Blogger
By Tim Hazlehurst, N.E. Chairman IAS b2b Marketing Now that the B2B marketing chips are down, it is easy for Marketers to be drawn into tempting but subjective routes that are offering sales salvation when the board is desperate for results. A lot of people (Bob Lauterborn, Jack Trout and Michael Treacy etc.) spent a lot of time researching, identifying and highlighting certain fundamental rules.Rules about the marketing process. Rules that can be accelerated but not ignored!  Technological and tactical advances can lead you astray I’ve seen communication tactics evolve from the commercial traveler with the Bell and Howell presentation, through video...
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Every brand needs a magic notion, have you found yours?

November 23, 2009 11:02 AM | By Paul Cash
What’s a magic notion? You already know. You already know because everything you know – from the ideas and beliefs you cherish to the products and services you use every day… all of these things were originally the product of magic notions. I believe a magic notion really is magic. It appears, seemingly, from out of nowhere. It transforms the world around it. It turns our preconceptions on their heads. And it opens up new, previously unimagined ways of thinking, being and doing. It is destructive, but also creative. It is subversive, sometimes even threatening, but it is also liberating....
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