If there’s a book that’s inspired you, I’d love to hear about it. Happy reading!

In the meantime, here are some of my favorites that appear on the list and a few other titles I wish Advertising Age had included:

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind , by Al Ries and Jack Trout– Advertising Age ranks this book as the number one marketing  book of all times. The line, “To be a good fisherman, you’ve got to think like a fish” exemplifies the authors’ belief that businesses must approach their marketing from the consumer’s mindset.

The book also advocates authenticity in marketing. For example, Avis Rental Car gained market share by acknowledging that they were second to Hertz. Their ad campaign, “Why should you go with number 2? Because we try harder,” successfully played to their underdog advantage.

Good to Great, by Jim Collins – Based on a five-year study of 1,500 businesses, the book explores the “Flywheel Effect”, where positive results within an organization build momentum and generate more success. The author makes a compelling case for engaging people and creating success through a shared purpose; arguing that everyone wants to be part of a cause – something bigger than a job title or a box on an organizational chart.

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This – A Guide to Creating Great Ads, by Luke Sullivan– Confession: I have not read this book but having grown up on 1970s TV, I feel compelled to add it to my reading list. The book reviews the history of advertising and looks at why widely disparaged ads like the iconic Charmin campaign were extremely successful, while many technically great ads failed. 

Certainly, not all of the best marketing ideas lie between the covers of “marketing” titles.  Historical works offer some of the best examples of effective marketing.

Lincoln on Leadership by Donald Phillips examines the character qualities that Abraham Lincoln drew upon as President. These qualities include the ability to connect with people through storytelling and simple language. It also showcases how Lincoln modeled the attributes of grace and humility to “sell” his vision and bring people together. For example, in the wake of defeating the South, Lincoln asked for Dixie to be played in his first post-war address.

The Bible is full of inspiring successes that apply not just to life, but to marketing. In the Book of Acts, Luke shows how a Divinely- inspired cadre of believers was able to spread Christianity from Jerusalem across most of the Roman Empire. These early disciples modeled communications skills, commitment and perseverance that are fundamental to marketing 2000 years later. 

If there is a book that’s inspired you, I’d love to hear about it. Happy reading!

In the meantime, here are some of my favorites that appear on the list and a few other titles I wish Advertising Age had included:

Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind , by Al Ries and Jack Trout– Advertising Age ranks this book as the number one marketing  book of all times. The line, “To be a good fisherman, you’ve got to think like a fish” exemplifies the authors’ belief that businesses must approach their marketing from the consumer’s mindset.

The book also advocates authenticity in marketing. For example, Avis Rental Car gained market share by acknowledging that they were second to Hertz. Their ad campaign, “Why should you go with number 2? Because we try harder,” successfully played to their underdog advantage.

Good to Great, by Jim Collins – Based on a five-year study of 1,500 businesses, the book explores the “Flywheel Effect”, where positive results within an organization build momentum and generate more success. The author makes a compelling case for engaging people and creating success through a shared purpose; arguing that everyone wants to be part of a cause – something bigger than a job title or a box on an organizational chart.

Hey Whipple, Squeeze This – A Guide to Creating Great Ads, by Luke Sullivan– Confession: I have not read this book but having grown up on 1970s TV, I feel compelled to add it to my reading list. The book reviews the history of advertising and looks at why widely disparaged ads like the iconic Charmin campaign were extremely successful, while many technically great ads failed. 

Certainly, not all of the best marketing ideas lie between the covers of “marketing” titles.  Historical works offer some of the best examples of effective marketing.

Lincoln on Leadership by Donald Phillips examines the character qualities that Abraham Lincoln drew upon as President. These qualities include the ability to connect with people through storytelling and simple language. It also showcases how Lincoln modeled the attributes of grace and humility to “sell” his vision and bring people together. For example, in the wake of defeating the South, Lincoln asked for Dixie to be played in his first post-war address.

The Bible is full of inspiring successes that apply not just to life, but to marketing. In the Book of Acts, Luke shows how a Divinely- inspired cadre of believers was able to spread Christianity from Jerusalem across most of the Roman Empire. These early disciples modeled communications skills, commitment and perseverance that are fundamental to marketing 2000 years later. 

If there is a book that’s inspired you, I’d love to hear about it. Happy reading!

Public and private organizations frequently struggle with how to get their news covered by the media, whether their news is a fundraising walk, new construction project or a capital campaign,. I’ve often heard acquaintances grumble that the media does not want good news, and the only way to make the 6 p.m. broadcast or morning headline is with a product recall, accident or other negative story.

Such cynicism is unfounded. Indeed, there is a way to get information placed in the media that has nothing to do with human tragedy or inside connections. Particularly in today’s tough economic times, both businesses and non-profits can be an asset to short-staffed news teams, by providing ideas and inspiration for coverage.

The most important questions that need to be answered when suggesting a news story are, “what is the news?” and “why will readers/viewers want to know about it?” Make sure you can answer both questions before contacting the media.

Once you’ve established that you have a news story, put it in an interesting context. Timeless story angles include the economy and health-related subjects. Emotional stories also resonate; particularly when there is a David vs. Goliath angle. Consider stories currently in the news and how your business or non-profit might link to those stories. For example, is an alumnus of your school playing in the NCAA tournament? Has your human resources organization organized a Haiti relief program? Exclusivity is yet another angle to promote. Are you the only company in the U.S. to offer a new manufacturing technology? Is your company the first to offer organic foods in its employee cafeteria? Finally, celebrities always generate interest. At the 2007 Emmy Awards a southern Indiana bottled water manufacturer provided their product in celebrity goodie bags and ended up getting press coverage as a result.

The calendar provides further opportunities for news coverage. March is National Nutrition Month; providing restaurants and food companies with an opportunity to serve as an expert on stories such as malnutrition and childhood obesity. April is always a good month to pitch stories with an environmental theme. May is National Nurses Month. You can also think back about anniversary dates for story ideas. This August will commemorate the 5th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.

Finally, think about the nature of the media outlet. Television stations require a visual element, so be prepared to discuss what you will show or demonstrate. Also, be sensitive to the news production cycle. While newspapers may want a few weeks to work on a story and interview people, television stations typically do not consider story ideas until the morning assignment meeting held each day. Most trade and consumer magazines work with editorial calendars set months in advance. Current issues were written three to four months ago; and editors are now working on coverage for July/August issues.

Finally, don’t take rejection personally. Newsrooms often receive dozens or even hundreds of story ideas daily. Be pleasant and persistent, and your news making efforts will generate results.

CUT IT OUT! Domestic Violence Awareness Initiative
At the height of the 2008 Presidential election, Susan Miller partnered with Miami-based “Hot Pants Cosmetics” to develop two presidential-themed lipsticks to benefit the domestic violence awareness initiative “CUT IT OUT!” Sales of Palin Pink and Obama Berry lipsticks benefited the cause which is supported by the American Association of Cosmetology Schools. Click on the links to see Hot Pants Cosmetics founder Brooke Boles telling Miami TV viewers about the cause; as well as a link to the Wedding Channel’s celebrity wedding blog:

Celebrity Wedding Blog

December 15, 2009

As the end of a year and the start of a new decade converge, now is a good time for businesses to reflect back and think forward about their marketing efforts. Ten years ago, the economy was buzzing with enthusiasm for the opportunities that the newly created world of electronic commerce was presenting.

Who can forget the Sock Puppet from Pets.com or the pervasive ads that drove viewers to sites like E-Toys in 1999? Prompted by the potential e-commerce presented, businesses rushed to establish online storefronts. The result? Initial interest was huge, stock prices soared, millionaires were made . . . and then the bubble popped. Similar to the housing bubble, the dot com bubble was not sustainable long-term.

A decade later, businesses are still grappling with how best to engage technology into their marketing and public relations efforts. Twitter and other social networking sites such as Facebook have been the media darlings of 2009. As businesses plan their marketing strategies for 2010, how important is it to participate in the Twitter-sphere? Twitter and other social messaging tactics including Facebook, MySpace and mobile marketing engines like ChaCha serve a niche, but they should not be considered a holistic solution to the proven marketing model – an integrated campaign that blends the best of media, word-of-mouth and online visibility.

It may be helpful to look at some of the pros and cons of Twitter as a business marketing tool:

Pros:
Inexpensive – in fact, it’s downright free to sign up.
Connectivity – As a social medium, Twitter is a good way for engaging and interacting with an existing network of friends and partners who elect to follow you.
Immediacy – You can post your message anywhere as soon as you’ve typed the 140-character maximum length message.

Cons:
Size – No matter how you word it, it’s hard to convey most ideas, issues or matters of substance in 140 characters.
Security – Not everyone is up to “good” on Twitter and people may not be who they portend to be. For that reason, it pays to use caution when sharing information.
Time – Time is money and effective “Tweeters” spend considerable time updating their tweets. Many businesses are shocked at the amount of time that is required to keep a site current.

As new technologies emerge, the decision to tweet or not to tweet may be irrelevant. Speaking at the Society of Professional Journalists Annual Convention in August 2009, CNN’s Director of Coverage Victor Hernandez noted that Twitter is likely to soon be usurped by new technologies, including the anticipated GoogleWave. In fact, Hernandez noted that Twitter is seen by many as a “mature” technology, having officially debuted on March 13, 2006.

As businesses a decade ago found, there is no single solution to effective marketing. While e-commerce has certainly continued – in fact grown exponentially – the leaders continue to use an integrated approach to engage all of their audiences.