• ONLINE SPIN
    Macy's: 2011 Marketer Of The Year
    There are a number of brands that have done some great marketing this year. Volkswagen's "Young Darth Vader" spot was best in show at the February television ad festival also known as the Super Bowl. Companies like Unilever, P&G, Johnson & Johnson, Nike, Audi and H&M also did standout work this year == especially in the realm of social media. But while there were many great marketers and campaigns this year, it is Macy's -- the iconic American department store founded in 1858 -- that is my choice for top marketer of the year. Here's why:
  • ONLINE SPIN
    The Productive Narcissism Of Steve Jobs
    I read an article this week about email etiquette. Although, infuriatingly, I promptly misplaced the URL, and have been unable to find it anywhere in my Web history, the gist of it was that social smoothing in business emails is a total waste of time -- in fact, it can hold you back. Kind words are not only useless, the article postulated, they very quickly get seen as insincere and discounted if used all the time. This also happens to be the week I read Malcolm Gladwell's commentary on Steve Jobs, prompted by Walter Isaacson's book: "Jobs, we learn, was …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    FTC's Leibowitz: Apply Some Marketing Sense to Your Privacy Policy
    Have you ever found a privacy policy that was as easy to understand and interact with as an e-commerce page? I haven't, and neither has Federal Trade Commission chair Jon Leibowitz. At Ad:tech in New York City this past Tuesday, I shared a panel on privacy protection entitled "Whose Data is it Anyway?" Leibowitz has been a vocal proponent for many years about the need for digital media companies and marketers to do a better job of communicating about privacy-related issues with their users.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Content Beats Targeting -- 'Nuff Said
    The debate rages on regarding which is more important for online marketers, content or targeting. Well, I have the answer. Content will always win! I've come at this question from a couple different angles and the winning argument is quite simple: Content can survive, and thrive, without data targeting, but data targeting cannot live without content. Simply put, if you build good content people will find it, but if you have crappy content, no amount of data or targeting can save you -- because your audience, no matter how targeted, simply won't engage!
  • ONLINE SPIN
    How New York Beats Silicon Valley
      In most respects California’s Silicon Valley has New York City outgunned when it comes to nurturing and growing great technology companies. All of the resources that a startup needs -- money, management and engineering talent -- are available in abundance in the Valley. But after decades of living in California’s shadow, New York is poised to seriously compete as the best place for software technology startups. Here’s why: Brands. Unlike many Valley companies that create software for users first and then worry about brands later, New York firms tend to balance the needs of users and brands. Foursquare is …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Apple TV, Google TV, And Google TV Ads
    Apple TV, Google TV, And Google TV Ads Just over a year ago, Apple launched the second generation of its Apple TV system, shifting entirely away from locally stored content and instead focusing on streaming from computers, iOS devices, and iTunes. The device was both a relative success and a relative failure, selling 2 million units in its first six months on the market -- significantly better than the first-generation Apple TV, but still firmly in the “hobby” category for a company whose iPhone 4S sold 4 million units in its first weekend. At around the same time as the …
  • ONLINE SPIN
    TV Advertising Needs Web-like Frequency Capping
    TV advertising needs frequency capping. The recent availability of large amounts of anonymous set-top-box viewing data for tens of millions of U.S. viewers from companies like Kantar, TiVo, TRA Global and Rentrak has make TV advertising extremely measurable, particularly when it comes understanding the specific distribution of ads to each viewing household. TV ads may not yet be addressable like they are on the Web, but they are becoming similarly measurable in many respects, particularly when it comes to actual audience reach and frequency.
  • ONLINE SPIN
    Are You A Mature Marketer?
    Are you a mature marketer? I ask the question because over the last few weeks I've come into contact with two different kinds of marketers: the mature marketers and the immature marketers. These two are dramatically different, and their approach can have an effect on the culture of a company, as well as the results of its marketing.
Next Entries »
To read more articles use the ARCHIVE function on this page.