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Interruption Has Always Trumped Engagement; Still Does

Playing the contrarian in the swarm of buzzing social marketers, Jonathan Salem Baskin says he'd choose effective interruption over pointless engagement anytime and wonders why you wouldn't, too. First of all, says the global brand strategist, no one wakes up in the morning hating ads. Granted, most ads are dishonest or useless, but that doesn't mean they have to be.

Second, "permission marketing" is pure "babblespeak" [one wonders: like "babblespeak" itself?]. There are plenty of good reasons why consumers want to know things they may not have asked about. Think about delivering relevance, immediacy and meaning in your interruption, as in: "Move; there's a piano about to fall on your head."

Finally, entertainment is not an alternative to selling. "It's like thinking all you need for a great book is a lot of words and punctuation ...," Baskin writes. "Purpose matters, as does how you accomplish something." Today's consumers weren't born this morning. You've got to ask for the sale, as you always have.

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Meanwhile, ForbesCMO Network takes measure of the primary metrics used to assess customer engagement. And it all has to do with retaining existing customers (58%) and selling to new ones (44%), David Lada reports. "Social-media activity" finishes a distant eighth in the race at a measly 10%.

Read the whole story at Ad Age, Forbes CMO Network »

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