Idea Marketing - Latest Comments

Re: The last of the anti-social marketing tactics

Nate Pagel — Sat, 17 Sep 2016 13:52:07 -0000

Can you think of a the brand when I mention a tagline or two? We bring good things to life. Think Different.
Ok, well done. That's what you're missing. You're a writer, marketer and journalist. Next article: try it without a title.

What's your favorite book btw?

Using ideas to build customer relationships?

Fin.

Re: Why Brand Journalism Must Die

Tinu — Sat, 23 May 2015 07:46:06 -0000

I'd argue that instead of dying, it should adopt the principles of true journalism. And journalists are the ones who should teach us how. Might not work for big companies or those who are actively covering up corruption intentionally. But as an entrepreneur I don't use that data just for marketing. Most of it never makes it there.

But I'm one of the marketers who is trying to make marketing serve the customers. So what do I know.

Re: How Do You Market Something That’s Worthless?

Eric Wittlake — Tue, 29 Apr 2014 11:04:24 -0000

Chris, interesting stuff. Reading I thought of the falling value of the first level of specialization. I dont call a plumber or electrician for something basic, I grab a few tools and maybe hit Google first.

But just like journalists today, there is still a difference between what a good professional can do and what a consumer replicating them can do. Saving time. Getting it right the first time. Applying best practices.

I purchased a theme a couple years ago for my blog. There were thousands of free themes available, why did I choose to pay for one? Because I tried some free themes, and they needed a ridiculous amount of cleanup or tweaking to work. I didn't have the skills or the time. However, even being able to buy a theme, versus hire web designer, is a market change.

So my answer: As technology evolves, we will see some less expensive solutions, with people selling what we can do ourselves, not as the expert, but as someone with experience, who can be more efficient and save us time. Many will keep costs down by using the free and low cost tools enabling consumers today, shrinking the gap between service and self-serve.

That's all I got for now. Good to see more posts from you lately, definitely thought provoking!

Re: Why Brand Journalism Must Die

Michael Selissen — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 15:30:29 -0000

A former journalist-turned-marketing-writer I spoke with recently remarked that her biggest challenge was going from writing the news to making it. Goes to your idea of conceive and create.

Re: Why Brand Journalism Must Die

JeanneBrown — Thu, 10 Apr 2014 16:03:40 -0000

I always thought brand journalism sounded like a marketing term, anyway.

Re: How Manchester United Revolutionized Sports Marketing

Simon Griffiths — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 11:35:55 -0000

Oh, OK. A good article, thanks.

Re: How Manchester United Revolutionized Sports Marketing

Chris Koch — Mon, 07 Apr 2014 10:15:41 -0000

Hi Simon,
I was being facetious. Americans look for city names attached to their sports teams. So given my generation's ignorance about English football, we would scan the list looking for "London" and not find any team with that name...

Re: How Manchester United Revolutionized Sports Marketing

Simon Griffiths — Sun, 06 Apr 2014 15:45:03 -0000

Re. don’t look for a “London” team - I really don't understand what you mean. There are several teams - Chelsea, Arsenal, West Ham, Spurs, Fulham - some of which are doing far better than Man U at the moment

Re: Four reasons to hate thought leadership

revhalli — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:33:08 -0000

Recently I was really, really low on cash and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money on the internet! I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills!! I'm so glad, I did this!! With all the financial stress these years, I really hope all of you will give it a chance. - bplc

Re: Eight reasons to monitor social media and a list of tools for doing it

tinishai18 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:31:51 -0000

Recently I was really, really low on cash and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills!! I'm so glad, I did this!! With all the financial stress these years, I really hope all of you will give it a chance. - i8e3

Re: In social media, no one knows you’re an introvert

tanvmjello — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:31:05 -0000

Recently I was really, really low on money and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money.. on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills!! I'm so glad, I did this.. - l56x

Re: B2B social media lessons from Steven Slater and Mark Hurd

lewack22 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:31:01 -0000

Recently I was REALLY low on cash and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money.. on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills! I'm so glad, I did this!! - Wxjb

Re: Where is the utility in mobile apps for B2B?

leechamietrio — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:30:33 -0000

Recently I was really, really low on cash and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills!! I'm so glad, I did this.. With all the financial stress these years, I really hope all of you will give it a chance. - l8md

Re: I have seen the future of B2B marketing. It’s on Forbes.

madison89 — Fri, 22 Nov 2013 00:30:25 -0000

Recently I was REALLY low on money and debts were eating me from all sides! That was UNTIL I decided to make money on the internet. I went to surveymoneymaker dot net, and started filling in surveys for cash, and surely I've been far more able to pay my bills!! I'm so glad, I did this! - dt0a

Re: Four reasons to hate thought leadership

FlixFlix — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 22:07:16 -0000

It's been two years, and it looks like the problem has gotten even worse. Now I see many companies calling their blog "Though Leadership". Yes, one their websites, they simply replaced the word "Blog" with "Thought Leadership". Truly cringeworthy development.

Re: The last of the anti-social marketing tactics

Gary S. Hart — Wed, 10 Apr 2013 16:17:26 -0000

Chris, Your post is excellent as is the discussion. Your point, "Smarter Planet is paired up with a lot of interesting thought leadership content that lines up with IBM’s business strategy—it’s a business theme rather than a tagline." is the other side of the kitschy tagline coin you describe. Then there is your, which I love, "Using ideas to build customer relationships" because it says what you do for the customer.

While doing a little research for my own, I found your post. My marketing sales background dates back 40 years. I'll admit to creating catchy phrases in my younger days, bit that evolved to creating powerful one sentence value propositions.

In a way, it's the new elevator pitch. Our window of opportunity is becoming shorter and shorter. Your post was so helpful and affirming, I've subscribed to your blog.

Gary

Re: I have seen the future of B2B marketing. It’s on Forbes.

Chris Koch — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 17:10:30 -0000

Thanks, Carmen! Yes, itchy teeth took awhile but I'm sure my dentist would want money to make it stop so I put it in the negative category. ;-)

Re: I have seen the future of B2B marketing. It’s on Forbes.

carmenhill — Thu, 08 Nov 2012 15:27:21 -0000

Interesting post, Chris! Journalism's downward spiral makes me sad, too. The silver lining is that journalistic standards and practices are seeping into the realm of my second career as a content marketer. It's much more interesting than just writing ads and brochures! Thanks also for posting the profile questions. Still trying to wrap my head around the idea of itchy teeth ;)

Re: Is ghost writing in social media right or wrong?

carmenhill — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 17:39:56 -0000

Eric, as he so often does, beat me to the punch ;) I was going to say it sounds like reporting. I look forward to seeing you roll this out.

Re: Is ghost writing in social media right or wrong?

Chris Koch — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 16:59:24 -0000

Good points, Eric. Isn't it interesting that ghost writing stirs up the same excruciatingly broad range of interpretation as thought leadership does. Ghost writing runs the gamut from transparent collaboration to outright deception. Thought leadership runs the gamut from original and informative to inane and self promotional. I guess we just need to keep talking about it. Thanks for keeping the discussion going.

Re: Is ghost writing in social media right or wrong?

Eric Wittlake — Tue, 19 Jun 2012 11:55:38 -0000

Chris, I hope your process here does not stir up controversy. From my perspective, the only controversy is calling it ghost writing. This sounds like transparent journalism.

To me, ghost writing is writing on behalf of person X and having the final product presented as person X's own perspective. I don't even have an issue with someone writing for someone else, although in blogs with a personal touch it can definitely be seen as disingenuous.

Where I have a challenge with ghost writing is when it is done without disclosure AND without the individuals own perspective.

If, for instance, you handed me the keys to your blog, we discussed a rough editorial calendar, and I just started publishing. I might promote demand generation, point out the massive investment and minimal returns from idea marketing [no, I don't actually feel that way], and my [now your] social media posts delve into top 10 lists of what to say on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook for B2B.

This would not be in your voice and it would not reflect your perspective, yet it would be attributed to you. To me, this is the fallacy of ghost writing, yet at some level it happens every day.

Let's hope your approach becomes the new standard for ghost writing instead. ;-)

Re: Why salespeople should sell ideas: an FAQ

Chris Koch — Thu, 24 May 2012 21:52:06 -0000

Hi Mary,

Good point. Customers are great contributors to idea development. I think it's important to have customer councils, too.

Re: Why salespeople should sell ideas: an FAQ

Mary Conley Eggert — Wed, 23 May 2012 12:13:05 -0000

I love your line of thinking, Chris, and would only suggest you broaden the circle. While the prospects may suggest you know their pain points, they are also the greatest source of success stories and ideas for your internal and external teams. Include the idea generating team within the org, but invite sales, clients and prospects to share their best ideas in a community or user group designed for that. Another smart tech marketer, Mark Vigoroso, who was named 2011 CMO of the year by the Technology Association of Georgia, expands on the role of listening to the market to formulate good ideas in his blog: http://mvshotgun.com

Re: Why salespeople should sell ideas: an FAQ

Chris Koch — Wed, 16 May 2012 13:14:10 -0000

Hi Mike,

Great point. Salespeople should also take responsibility for doing their own research to make themselves reliable sources of information for customers. Thanks for the comment!

Re: Why salespeople should sell ideas: an FAQ

Mike O'Brien — Wed, 16 May 2012 12:45:44 -0000

Chris - Strong post; solid list.

I think the key to being a strong sales rep/account manager (I'm in the information resource industry) is being someone your customers/clients can count on as a go-to resource.

To stay ahead of the information curve, I get targeted RSS feeds, follow thought leaders on Twitter and LinkedIn, attend webinars - and read a TON.