Something Interesting From The ChronicleOn this Halloween weekend, how can we possibly go by without mentioning the Queen of ostentatious holiday decorating herself, Martha Stewart. The Houston Chronicle Book Review had some interesting comments on two totally different recently-released business reads:

On this Halloween weekend, how can we possibly go by without mentioning the Queen of ostentatious holiday decorating herself, . Book Review had some interesting comments on two totally different recently-released business reads:

• The Martha Rules: 10 Essential Rules for Achieving Success as You Start, Build, or Manage a Business By Martha Stewart
• The Big Moo: Stop Trying to Be Perfect and Start Being Remarkable Edited by Seth Godin Portfolio

Whether you like Martha or not, you can’t help but admit that she’s a successful marketing machine, unstopped by her past legal issues, if not fueled by them. The Chronicle wasn’t quite so complimentary in regards to her book, however I thought it was interesting to compare this marketing powerhouse with another who may not share the consumer popularity, Seth Godin.

Godin’s success started with his formation of Yoyodyne (not really a household name) and later the sale of that company to Yahoo! (more of a household name), whereas Martha built her empire and became a household name.

Regardless of the less that favorable remarks made of her book, you’ll see on Amazon that most reviews are quite favorable. While The Chronicle may have deemed her thoughts somewhat elementary, sometime business people need to be hit in the head with the basics.

Godin, whom The Chronicle deemed “one of the most clever and original business writers today” gathered 33 of industries most insightful thinkers to provide their thoughts on the truly remarkable. This follow-up to The Purple Cow takes being outstanding and different to a whole new level when presented from other big thinkers. As always, Godin delivers.

One thing both authors tell us: be remarkable. It’s the differentiator that sells. Find it and you will find rewards.

Seth Godin will be speaking in Edison, New Jersey on the topic of Change and Marketing. Visit Move Ahead 1 for more information and to register for this great Internet Marketing Seminar.

An article on Reuters Thursday reported on how big media was “panicking” at the IAB conference over the “seismic shifts brought on by the Internet.” So here we are, November, 2005 and they are panicking now? They didn’t notice there was a great deal of change taking place, primarily brought on by the advent of the Internet?

WPP Chief Executive Martin Sorrell was quoted as saying, “There are major changes and we don’t understand the speed and scale at which they’re taking place.” Let me remind you that this was a quote from yesterday, November 27, 2005.

For marketers, this “panic” over change is a good thing. It means that the Internet has FINALLY gained the credibility with big media who always felt that it was not a serious marketing medium, nor a threat to their survival. Too many years with their heads in the sand has put many of them behind and scrambling to soak up anything Internet! That means more opportunities for us, as the media moguls push to be the ones to offer the next big thing. That means more change and innovation is likely ahead.

Single Throw’s COO Larry Bailin, discusses the topic of CHANGE in many of his seminars and public speaking events. The world of business has changed and we, as marketers, need to not only adapt, but look ahead and take advantage every step of the way.

Seth Godin, the proclaimed “Agent of Change,” talks about talks about this in almost everything he publishes. His book, “Survival is not Enough” tackles this topic of Change from top to bottom.

Just getting by is not enough. As a business in the year 2005, we need to find ways to grow, not simply just stay alive. A competitor is waiting just around the corner. And with the Internet, that corner can be around the world or a quarter mile away. Physical distance is no longer an issue. We need to find ways to not only compete, but to innovate and differentiate, to create a virtual distance between our business and that of our competitors.

So it’s time for big media to stop panicking and find new ways to grow or face the inevitable: extinction. And it’s time for business at large, to do the same.

An interesting article appeared in MediaPost today, which seemed to me to be one of those that you say “duhhhh” to. Unfortunately, that’s not the case for most email advertisers and publishers - and unfortunately, we see it in other forms of marketing as well.

The author, Melinda Krueger, provides an interesting spin on the basics. She cites the problem as that most companies just don’t “get it” and want to deliver the message they want the customer to get. Well you might say, “it’s my advertising, of course I want to tell them what I want.” Sorry, that’s just wrong.

Marketing exists for the message recipients. They are the ones we are trying to get through to; why not give them what they want. It’s a good business model. I’d rather sell people something they want…it’s an easier sell.

It’s what we say everyday at Single Throw: Find out what the target customer wants and needs, then connect with them at their level, in their language and you are more likely to see success. Understand their needs and provide them with a solution.

And read the article. It’s a good one.

The power of blogging is being tested today with one of the best bloggers out there. Here’s the story…We are working with Move Ahead 1 to market an event featuring speaker Seth Godin. For those of you that are saying “Seth who?…” I say “time to wake up.” To be in any form of business that requires sales or marketing (please name one that doesn’t) you SHOULD know the name. Click here to see Godin’s books on Amazon then come back and finish reading this story…

We are working with to market an event featuring speaker . For those of you that are saying “Seth who?…” I say “time to wake up.” To be in any form of business that requires sales or marketing (please name one that doesn’t) you SHOULD know the name. to see then come back and finish reading this story…He’s also produced several e-books and uses his blog to distribute ideas to the world. Faithful followers, like me, have a hard enough time reading all he has to say…Imagine what it takes to get the ideas out there in an intelligible manner?

“Blogs to distribute ideas”…there’s the hook. So I said to myself, “Self,” you always have to say that, “let’s distribute information about the event via blogs. Godin himself would certainly approve of the concept.” Then I thought further…”what better way to get the ball rolling but to ask Godin himself to participate. And lo and behold, here’s a link to the mention on Godin’s main blog.

So for you fans of Godin, here’s an active test in progress. Link to this blog or better yet, link to Seth’s.

Assimilate or Differentiate:
a Good Marketing Campaign Means a Little Bit of Both

I spend the earlier part of most Sunday mornings cranking out cup after cup of great coffee from our Melitta One to One brewer* with a pile of the weekend’s newspapers building up between me and my sleeping Lab, Spencer, and the TV news shows mumbling in the background. Each Monday I share with my co-workers some of the things I came across. Now you become the lucky receivers of this same “shared knowledge.” Granted I am forming some opinions here, some of which you, or even my team, may not share. But that’s OK. That’s one of the beauties of the Internet: you can choose the information you which to share or to glean.

The New York Times’ What’s Online section in Saturday’s paper mentioned snippets one after the other that I thought presented an interesting opposition. In the first citation, Designs for Blogging, it’s noted that usability expert Jakob Nielsen, whom I am an admitted follower of, is now offering up a list of the Top 10 Design Mistakes made by Bloggers. His basic intention is to note that users must be able to grasp the articles information by reading the headline. OK, seems simple and fair enough on a basic level. Nielsen provides very simple answers on how to make design and message simple for the user. Often times, as someone with a design background, these parameters are fairly confining, but looked at from a deeper level, he reminds us that design exists for the users – something that many designers forget.

The interesting part comes in the next entry call Standout Ads. Here the author, Dan Mitchell, notes how most outdoor advertising “tends to blend together in an indiscernible melange.” He notes us to take a look at the few standouts on billboardom.blogspot.com – a site devoted to displaying billboards, signage and other outdoor advertising. You’ll note some of the great billboards he mentions do require the viewer to “think” a bit.

So here’s my point. While Nielsen would like to see headlines on blogs that make more sense, we are all so flooded with information we need to find a way to standout. It’s a tough position to be in. Each day at Single Throw, we struggle with this same issue for our clients. We need to find that unique value proposition for our clients yet deliver it in a way that is both engaging and yet recognizable to the message recipient. The message cannot be so straightforward that it borders on the mediocre, yet it cannot be so far fetched that it is totally lost.

Seth Godin speaks about mediocrity in his blog posting on October 20th. The topic being something that many of us find pretty mediocre: dinner rolls. If you are a follower of Godin, he has the incredible talent of weaving insights into just about anything, including, yes, dinner rolls. What he reminds us is that the more we settle for the mediocre, the more we will get just that: mediocrity.

Example: We drive the best cars because something inspired us first to take a test drive. That “something” is often a marketing campaign. The campaign starts by somehow conveying to us that the car is the best. The dealership and salesperson should follow by doing the same. That marketing campaign and all of the “marketing” behind it (yes, your sales people are marketing) drives us (sorry for the pun) to purchase that car.

Take a look at what is popular out there and think about why. Was it a campaign that you connected with because it “spoke” to you in both a language you understand, yet inspired you to feel the pride of ownership? Was there that certain blend of clarity and creativity behind a great product that closed the deal? Hopefully, a mediocre campaign is not what drove you to make the purchase. And, hopefully, the product is truly amazing.

I leave you with this: make sure what you are selling is “the best.” Find out how you are different from your competition. From there, find the best marketing team to spread the word.

And…If you haven’t already done so, here’s an easy read on marketing differentiation: Purple Cow by Seth Godin. If you are in the NYC area, Seth Godin will be speaking at an Internet Marketing seminar in Edison, NJ (about 40 minutes from NYC) on November 17th. Get more information at Move Ahead 1’s website.

Now go sell something this week! — C

* The Melitta brewer is a great value but the Melitta coffee is…well…mediocre. It will make better coffee with better pods. Problem is, they use a non-standard size pod, so they are not easy to find. So don’t settle for mediocre coffee! I think the best are at PODhead.com. Give it a try!