Came upon the scene
As fresh as Listerine
Shoeless Joe From Hannibal Mo! 
--  From “Damn Yankees”

When it comes to blown opportunities, Major League Baseball’s marketing team continues to be the overwhelming leader in professional sports.  It’s not even close. The latest example of a colossal failure to take advantage of a much-needed opportunity comes Tuesday night when baseball presents its “Midsummer Classic,” the all-star game.
  ...read the rest of this post»

Moms are having their day in the social media spotlight, and rightfully so. The number of moms using social media has increased from 11 percent in 2006 to 63 percent in June of 2010. Forty-four percent of moms use social media for recommendations on brands and products, and 73 percent trust online communities focused on their specific interests (such as parenting) to find information about products and services.

Of course, the word "mom" doesn’t describe just one consumer. Moms cross all demographic boxes, and can’t easily be generalized.

Babycenter.com, an online parenting community, recently released a study that broke social media moms into two categories, and five segments within those categories:

Influencers...read the rest of this post»

According to a recent article in Retail Traffic Magazine, luxury retailers are having to take a deeper look at the affluent audience and how their products and locations can cater to them. Even though the luxury market is in better shape today than it was a year ago, there is still a long road ahead to get back to where they were prior to the recession.  

What the luxury market was like when it was soaring:...read the rest of this post»

Recently, one of our clients, Dan Marks, Chief Marketing Officer at First Tennessee Bank, was interviewed by Social Media Conversations on the topic of ROI (Return on Investment) of Social Media.

We've worked with Dan as he's led his team at First Tennessee into what he refers to as "Web 3.0" by developing a mix of traditional and social media marketing tactics designed to reach the bank's audience. Along the way, there have been several tests implemented to determine the value of certain channels and/or tactics.

We thought we'd share Dan's interview with you here, because we think the points he outlines are valuable for any business that wants to use social media to engage its customers, whether it's a B to B or B to C environment....read the rest of this post»

Rewind 12 months and picture a beautiful sunny day at Nike headquarters in Beaverton, Oregon...  I'll bet the conference was reserved with something like "Strategically Capitalize on the 2010 World Cup."  If indeed that meeting took place, you could look back today and say, "mission accomplished."  

Not only have they successfully associated the Nike brand with this international event, they have done it WITHOUT being an "official" sponsor.  A fact which I'm sure has the execs at Adidas singing a different tune about their similarly-titled planning meeting.  Sure, Adidas is able to say, "Adidas is the official match ball of the 2010 World Cup," but does it really matter if your audience associates a competitor with the event itself?  (note: No research exists yet to confirm that Nike's recall is higher than Adidas' recall.)...read the rest of this post»

If the 2010 World Cup marketing can't elevate the sport of soccer, it's not for a lack of effort. The 2010 World Cup is here and if you didn't know, you probably haven't turned on your TV lately.

As a fellow marketer, I am humbled by the amount of great messaging that is buzzing around this exciting time. Take the official World Cup 2010 commercials that have been airing on various networks.

In my opinion, the creative agency successfully positioned the World Cup to the WORLD as THE event to watch. I'm not even a soccer fan, but the combining of U2's music with emotional, international images of competition is almost foolproof when it comes to getting the hair on the back of my neck to start singing.
And that's the powerful thing - it's now so much more than soccer. The chord these spots struck in me is bigger than a game, bigger than a tournament, even bigger than a sport. It's about global competition.
What emotions did the commercial evoke in you?...read the rest of this post»

Think social media is a fad?

Perhaps you should visit a kindergarten classroom.

Launched recently, Togetherville is a social media site with “training wheels” according to a recent New York Times article. Its focus is 6-to-10-year-olds who yearn to use the technology their parents are using, but need an incubator in which to do so safely.

I share this not to spark a debate about whether or not children should be socializing online, but rather as a harbinger of things to come. The littlest fingers are learning to move a mouse before they can ride a bike, and businesses need to be prepared to meet these youngsters where they inevitably will be in a few short years....read the rest of this post»