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by Ed Weiss
In my first blog on this subject I challenged TV commercials and billboards. Now it’s time to talk about commercial artists and their impact on all advertising including websites. Don’t get me wrong. I am a huge fan of the intelligence and creativity of these professionals. Unfortunately, my experience has shown that many artists want to create beautiful art and they forget about the purpose of their work. Good art and good advertising need not be mutually exclusive it just takes some knowledge of marketing in addition to producing good art. And my big question is, when they get it wrong why do the agency frontline men/women let them get away with it? Read the rest of this entry »
A Facebook Group, that is. Long, long ago (in terms of social media lifespan), Facebook recognized the need for brands to have a connection with customers and prospects. The first version of Facebook Groups allowed brands to invite folks to the community and collect in a format similar to bulletin boards. As brands wanted more control and advanced features, Fan Pages rolled out, and groups sort of took a back seat. I think most people, myself included, hoped groups would just go away, because the fan pages were so much more robust. It was pretty confusing to explain the difference, and customers didn’t really get fan pages at first. Well, everyone is entitled to change their opinion…. And thus I did many moons later.
So why are Facebook Groups so valuable?
Well, there are many different ways groups can compliment an existing fan page, but let’s start off with how groups are different from fan pages. Read the rest of this entry »
Many of you know AMA Baltimore as a comprehensive resource and member organization for marketing professionals. Did you know that supporting undergraduate students was part of our mission?
Each year a committee of AMA members reviews applications from outstanding students. Based on a rigorous set of criteria, three students are selected to receive a monetary scholarship to support their studies in the marketing profession. The amounts of the awards are determined by a number of factors. AMA accepts donations to support this endeavor.
In addition to scholarships, AMA Baltimore also holds workshops for students like the one mentioned below by Afnan Idris, AMA student member from Salisbury University. This month, we asked Afnan to reflect on her experience with AMA Baltimore.
For more information about ways you can help AMA Baltimore Chapter support student success, please contact Julia Golbey, VP for Collegiate Relations at jgolbey@jhu.edu.
Thanks, Afnan!
Reflections on the AMA Baltimore Chapter Student Offerings by Afnan Idris, Student Member:
Getting a job after graduation these days seems to be like more of a miracle than an expectation. With so many graduates and so few jobs, students are under immense pressure to exhibit their skills and ability to stand out in a crowd. Many employers tend to head to larger universities for recruiting in hopes to solicit the best students. This leaves students from smaller universities like Salisbury over two hours away from Baltimore, at a slight disadvantage. And it’s here that AMA offered me the most. Read the rest of this entry »
by Arsham Mirshah
What do you remember from middle school science class?
Your teacher would be proud if you could recall that heat expands and cold contracts, except in the case of water where ice actually expands due to the crystal lattice that the hydrogen and oxygen molecules… wait – this is suppose to be about internet marking!
You remember the basics of the scientific method, don’t you? It goes something like this:
- Make an observation
- Form a hypothesis
- Conduct an experiment
- Analyze the results
- Repeat
You’re probably thinking: “Oh yeah! – I remember that!”
You might even recall the last marketing campaign you ran and think: “Wait a second; I actually used the scientific method without thinking about it!”
If that’s the case, I’m honestly not surprised because it’s my belief that the scientific method is just a way of explaining how logic works (bias opinion). Read the rest of this entry »
by Ed Weiss
I may have said this before but it’s worth repeating; branding is a process and not a quick fix. Its strength is that it provides a solid foundation for a company and its image. It assures, among other things, that there will be consistency in messaging. Provided that the branding concept is good, the repetitive brand message will hammer home the strength of the company.
Here’s an example: There is little doubt that BMW knows how to sell its products. It has a long history of telling a great story about their cars. BMW has had multiple ad agencies throughout its history. One thing you can imagine is that when a new agency is hired they want to change things. They are likely to assume that if a client changed agencies, they wanted something new and different. That is probably true. However, there is one thing that BMW never wants to change and that is its brand message. “The Ultimate Driving Machine®” has remained its brand essence over many decades. So the message from BMW to its new agency is, change what you think needs changing but never monkey with our brand’s foundation. Read the rest of this entry »
By now you’ve heard of Pinterest. I’ll even bet that you’ve probably seen stories about why your brand needs to be on Pinterest. You may even be annoyed by all of the Pinterest articles, because I know I am. But this is not just another blog post on why you need to be on Pinterest, or a hot list of brands using Pinterest well. Nope. I’m going to share a concept around the interest graph – the backbone of almost all bookmarking and visual social sites.
THE SOCIAL GRAPH
Courtesy of facebook
Many social media sites have some sort of graph identifying various characteristics of each user. Facebook uses the “Social Graph” where individuals are connected based on social characteristics – friends, colleagues, family, live near each other, grew up together, are regulars at the corner bar, met at a networking event, etc. On Facebook, our behavior is very social, too. We tag ourselves and friends in photos, we share videos of the kids doing silly things, we share cool news stories and start conversations around hot topics, and more. We are connected to each other through social identifiers. Read the rest of this entry »
by Meghan Ray Virro
Most of us feel like there is barely enough time in the day to get three things checked off the to do list, much less devote time and energy to individual creative thinking or “dabble time.” Given multiple demands on our time, energy and personal bandwidth, how can we make the case that it’s a good return on the investment of time? Scheduling some dabble time will help spark your creative process, give you new insights into your own business, help you innovate and encourage fun!
I learned the true value of dabble time in business school in a new product development (NPD) class. From day one our assumptions about creativity, brainstorming and innovation were consistently challenged. I left every class energized, invigorated and a little sad it was over. Most of my colleagues felt the same way because we were dreaming of the freedom to dabble and learn about anything we wanted while we were on the clock. Read the rest of this entry »
by Luke Harlan
The most inexpensive and underutilized resource available to every business is one’s own ability to effectively communicate to those they interact with everyday to either begin new relationships , strengthen existing ones and/or continue to nurture and develop the trust that will lead to increased opportunities for success. We have this opportunity in all aspects of our lives but none as highly focused and available than that in a planned networking event itself.
However, the biggest issue with “networking” that repels people is not in the event itself, but in how they perceive those who attend. Most importantly, it is the misconception of how they believe one is supposed to interact which is often the polar opposite of what it really takes to actually create the right opportunities. Read the rest of this entry »
By now you’ve heard the news about Facebook Timeline for brand pages. You’ve probably read a few blog posts about the changes and have observed how all of the cool kids are using Timeline for their brands. I’m bringing you a big daddy post about Timeline, what you really need to know, and throwing in some resources that you may have missed.
Why the big deal?
As a client of Facebook, I have been super excited about the new Timeline changes. In fact, I was so excited that they invited me to their offices in Austin, TX while I was at SXSW. (Okay, so the invite came before Timeline was released, but still…and yes, I signed the “Wall!”) I couldn’t stop smiling while at their offices, chatting it up with Facebook product managers, engineers, sales and marketing folks, and others. All about the new Timeline possibilities. Oh, and I’m pretty sure that everyone on my floor at the office could hear me oohing and ahhing during Facebook’s first ever Facebook for Marketers Conference (fMC). Seriously, I love the new changes!
Here’s why:
• The timeline allows brands to tell a much larger story about their brand through content, photos, videos, milestones, and more. Think of Facebook as the new history book. Read the rest of this entry »
by Arsham Mirshah
Promotional products are unparalleled in their ability to attract new clients, increase brand awareness and ultimately grow your business.
We’ve all heard that phrase “you have to spend money to make money” haven’t we? But what, exactly, are we supposed to be spending our money on?
I’ll tell you what.. Promotional Products!
They are a proven, cost effective way of marketing your company to an extremely large audience while doing minimal work. Sounds efficient, does it not?
If you’re new to the idea of promotional products, I understand that you might be hesitant. Despite any fears you may have, I strongly urge you to continue reading and discover just what quality promotional items can do for your company. Read the rest of this entry »
Amy Garland
Dov Hoffman
Erika Milenkovic
Jennifer Glass
Jodi M. Swartz
Katie Roberts
marcidevries
Megan Campbell
yschecter
