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In the 1960 election, John F. Kennedy capitalized on the new media of the day to capture the presidency and sustain his popularity. He recognized the power of television and the importance of winning the debate visually as well as substantively. That was accomplished by his dark blue suit, makeup, and lighting. It was an…
“A man’s got to have a reason to get up in the morning.” This was a favorite expression of my uncle, an extremely successful entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and philanthropist. In fact, what got him up in the morning for the last 10 years of his life was giving away much of his fortune. He said…
In B2B inbound marketing, the three most important factors are: repetition, repetition, and repetition. Why? Because repetition puts your products in front of prospective customers when their need arises and repetition reinforces perceptions about your products and company. In other words, repetition gets attention, builds brands, and most importantly populates the internet with content about…
In 1976, Sales Development Associates blasted onto the advertising scene with a disruptive approach which most misunderstood and many underestimated. I know the story because it is mine. I was 28 years old and started the company from a spare bedroom at my folks’ house and then six months later moved into our office building…
My brother owned an auto parts business and like most small business people the last thing he wanted to do was sit around and chat with salesmen. He didn’t have the time, but didn’t want to alienate his vendors either. In the auto parts business, salesmen liked to stop in a chat and it took…
Perhaps the greatest misunderstanding with respect to product publicity is that it is free and you have to be an advertiser or pay for it to get it. The fact is, that press releases are a respected, time honored way in which editors from all types of media outlets learn about different products and services…
Bill Gates said, “A fundamental new rule for business is that the Internet changes everything.” Is this true for marketing? According to the American Marketing Association, “Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization…
If you’re in the market for a new car, “Motor Trend Car of the Year” carries a lot of weight. The influence of editorial is universal and applies equally for those of us involved with industry and technology. “The Research & Development Top 100” awards and similar editorial “product reviews” have a great deal of…
Marketing will continue to play a greater role in B2B, but not just “inbound marketing.” Marketing defined is “all activities involved in taking a product from manufacture to market.” This, naturally, includes branding, distribution channels, research & development, promotion, advertising, content creation, blogging, SEO, and the rest of the marketing mix, not the least of…
Malcom Company sells a line of plastic welding tool kits and I’ve been preparing innovative news releases about the kits for over 20 years. The tools combine heated air and pressure to weld plastic and can be used for repairing tanks and vessels, automotive bumpers, personal watercraft, canoes, snow mobiles, you name it. Virtually anything…