It all seemed to start with a dunk in the dark in February 2013. The tweet from an infamous cookie brand heard round the world at last year’s Super Bowl. Yes, the famous Oreo dunk in the dark tweet. It was like a simultaneous lightbulb went off for thousands of brand marketers and agency folks. We can do this too. Suddenly, a trend was born. A really, really bad trend, I would add. Now...
Why We Need To Stop Obsessing Over Case Studies
I have a love-hate relationship with case studies. I have read hundreds of them. Written dozens of them myself. They can be a great way to learn about new and innovative ideas. However, I also think they can be a poison for creative thinking. Case studies are the fastest way to kill out of the box thinking and lead to mediocre work. Here’s why. A good chunk of case studies are formatted the...
6 Creative Ways To Use Snapchat
Did you know? Every minute 104,000 pictures are shared on Snapchat. To be honest, I didn’t realize just how big Snapchat had gotten, until I saw this stat and investigated this new social phenomenon further myself. Admittedly, I was conditioned to blow off Snapchat as just another way for those young kids to share selfies and sexts. While there is certainly some of that, the whole premise...
The Future Of Content Marketing
When Scott Monty, Gary Vaynerchuk and C.C. Chapman, three of the best and brightest minds of our industry (people who I respect to an umpteenth most degree), get into a Twitter debate on the future of content marketing, you better believe I would be paying attention. If you haven’t already, I would highly recommend reading their full exchanges. Here’s Gary’s second video. And, I...
Is The “Social Media Kool-Aid” Running Out?
Will 2013 be the year social media pros stop drinking the kool-aid? I recently read a great post from John Trader on PR Breakfast Club on this very topic. John(@john_trader1) wrote: “2013 is the year that we start to think about the unique qualities that define our own markets and how we can leverage industry advice based on custom metrics that drive meaningful analytics instead of a knee...
QR Codes: The Biggest Missed Opportunity?
When’s the last time you scanned a QR Code? I’m guessing for many of you, it’s probably been at least a few months. For many marketers, advertisers and PR pros, QR codes were (and in some cases still are) the shiny object that was supposed to help bridge the offline and online world. It sounds perfect. For example, X ad agency creates an ad outside a local mall. Then, people...
The Five Biggest Social Media Mistakes You Are Probably Making
Social media has evolved a lot over the last couple of years. Yet, there are still a lot of misconceptions out there. These are a handful of the biggest mistakes that many of us may be making. Thinking that you are your audience The way that a marketer, PR pro, community manager or simply anyone who works in tech view and use social media is likely 100 billion times different than how your target...
13 Buzzwords That Need To Die In 2013
Well, I started this last year, and seeing how there is still no shortage in buzzwords and phrases (<insert sadface>), I figured I would revamp the list for 2013. For the love of all things holy, here’s 13 more words that you should stop using in 2013. 1. Content Marketing This is probably the biggest buzzword right now. Although to be totally truthful, I’m not sure why. You...
Is Advertorial Content The Next Big Thing?
Are companies like Red Bull, Mountain Dew and Buzzfeed the future of online media? Redbull is a content company that just happens to make energy drinks. Think about it. Some of the most captivating content you see is attached to the Red Bull brand. Felix Baumgartner skydiving attempt, all those incredible Instagram photos, extreme sports event footage. My journalist friends (and my college aged...
Who Are The People Beyond Your Brand?
Now, I never thought I would write one post – let alone now two- about everyone’s favorite, furry creature, Elmo. Read the first one on what Elmo can teach us about marketing here. This post is a little different. And, you are probably wondering why I have a photo of a guy in Elmo costume being arrested in this post. But stick with me for a bit. This photo of “Elmo” being...