4G - Permission Marketing Web Strategy...

A bit of an update on our recent manifesto at changethis.com.

We've risen to the #44 download which is cool and recently got a great mention from Ardath Albee (thanks Ardath...)

"It's only 16 pages, but it's an empowering little read. If this doesn't tell you that your website needs to do more than just sit there, I'm not sure what will...Thoughts?"

also from Maryrose Lyons (she's a real BrightSpark!)

"It only takes 5 minutes to read this and I highly recommend you do. This summarises what Brightspark is about in terms of its attitude to the internet and online marketing. The graphic on page 5 is particularly accurate."

Our website is now using the .asp content management system we've developed - this supports the concept of "layers" on a website - rather than the traditional org. chart / site map approach.

We're on a long-tail / slow burn here - in case you missed the starting point here's the original post from our hero Seth Godin.

I'm playing around with a new idea "de-constructing the corporate website" - but we're a bit pushed for time at the moment so probably one for 2007!

PR still doesn't get it...

B.L . Ochman rants against Steve Rubel here - I love it...

If it's still really this bad in the States - there's not much hope for our own PR industry.

The bit that particularly resonated for me is:

PR agencies have had 10 years to "get" the Internet and they still haven't seized company web sites from corporate sales. The PR industry is not exactly rife with creative types. That's why they don't lead new media Steve.

In light of cluetrain - Web 2.0 - even our own 4G Permission marketing online strategy I think it's going to be some time before they ketchup...

Wow! - internet recruitment only...

Post here at Management Issues about Sainsbury's decision to introduce an Internet only staff recruitment scheme!

I remember being involved in a couple of projects doing the transfer from paper to online about 8 years ago - "it'll never catch on" people said.

Meanwhile I've watch my children grow up - organise their student loans, research for their course-work, go on holiday, apply for jobs, retc etc.

Are they doing it all online? Yep...

Do we all hate it when we have to fill in a paper form nowadays? Yep...

Demographics, demographics, demographics...

It's become a bit of a pet phrase of mine in the last few weeks "...demographics will get you every time..."

It's a quote from the West Wing - President Bartlett (Nobel winning economist!) - yeh I know it's not real - I do - honest...

Most western marketers are just not seeing the bigger picture yet - it's all about to change - the baby boomers are about to enter the retirement zone - will they stop buying stuff? No. Are they a huge market - you bet... Do they still go snowboarding, attend rock concerts and buy mobile phones? Absolutely!

Read this at Marketing to Women online - powerhouse female demographic - it's part of this bigger - ever changing picture.

A Tom Peters quote "This is not your father's world!" - maybe it's not your mother's either...

The end of e-mail...

Wikis and RSS are the future?

Via BW Online - from a BW piece... "e-mail is so 5 minutes ago"

Look at the stats:

"...email usage has dropped 75% on the projects at European-based investment bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein where Wikis are used."

Anyone interested in communications and marketing should pay attention - especially when we start seeing IRSS being adopted.

Women are Smart...

Some good lessons for women in business from Ann Moore, chairman and CEO of Time, Inc over at Knowledge at Wharton.

It includes a number of lessons that she's learnt.

Also - very interesting to see that she's reflecting on work/life balance and suggesting that it's time for women to really change the ground rules. The key is to:

"Find your own balance and be happy."

One that I liked is this one:

Eight:
All behavior emanates from the top and reverberates down the organization to the lowest level. If you can, suggested Moore, check out what your chairman is carrying in his pocket or in her head. What are her values?
"There are vast differences in organizations led by the man or woman" whose philosophy is 'Follow or get out of my way' as opposed to "the type of chairman who carries an Emerson poem about children in his pocket.
It is best if the chairman's values are compatible with your own. That's one of my greatest secrets.

If You Want to Lead, Blog

Post at brand autopsy refers to the Sun Microsystems blogging strategy and Jonathan Schwartz's C level blog - from Harvard Business Journal.

Worth a visit if you're thinking of integrating blogs into your company communications / marketing strategy.

Here's the highlights

• use an honest, humorous, and open voice
• show respect for the audience
• don’t treat blogging like advertising
• don’t micromange … communicate the guidelines and let company bloggers loose
• revisit and modify your company’s blogging policy if need be
• listen to feedback
• respond to legitimate feedback
• “Authenticity is paramount.”

pdg podcast: experiential marketing

We've put a specific pod-learning file on our website - here.

Or you can just click on the button below - no shownotes...




show length - 21:54

Thanks for listening... please put any comments / below...

...or leave a message on our phonemail +44 [0] 115 951 7820

New Ways of Spending Advertising Budgets...

Great post here from Kathy Sierra on old ways -vs- new ways of spending money on advertising and promoting your products / services. (via Hugh at gapingvoid)

Also shows how to get people to think about what they could do with the obscene budgets that are spent on promotional videos.

UK Government's Obscene Ad Spend...

It occurs to me that we spend so much of our time slagging off the MSM, the 4th estate, ad agencies etc. that we don't focus enough on the idiot companies that still believe advertising works...

Then I suddenly remembered reading that the UK government is officially the UK's largest advertiser?

Not sure if that was just a blip - or if it's still the case.

Any end up it's ridiculous...

Statistics (and "gut feel") show that most of the really high profile campaigns in recent years have made no real difference to public opinion/activity in areas ranging from drink driving to teenage abortion rates etc. etc.

Please stop it... it's an awful lot of wasted money that could be better spent in health or education.