links for 2009-07-24
by Brian Reich | 24 Jul 2009, 11:02am
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"Raising money online has two main components: Building a mechanism to accept donations and developing a strategy to drive people to donate. In my opinion, most non-profits get the first one done and think that’s all there is to it. Leaving the strategic communications out of the equation, though, is like building a McDonald’s in the middle of the Sahara and not advertising that it’s there. This isn’t Field of Dreams. Building it alone does not make people come." Read on.
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links for 2009-07-23
by Brian Reich | 23 Jul 2009, 11:01am
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Everyone is using Facebook and Twitter, but there are other - off the beaten path - social networks and channels where your audience might be hiding. So, take your strategic thinking off the beaten path and ensure that the ideas, plans and tactics you’re recommending to achieve your social media or communications goals don’t become stayed and predictable. Here are some quick ideas to expand your thinking.
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In this special report, Philanthropy Journal looks at the role technology plays in helping nonprofits raise money and develop support, especially in coping with the recession. Nothing new here, but the fact that Philanthropy Journal is talking about it can't hurt.
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Still have a job in media? Looking for a wee bit of inspiration in a gloomy week in a miserable year? Here’s a free pep talk, courtesy of Forbes.com editor Paul Maidment. Totally worth reading.
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links for 2009-07-21
by Brian Reich | 21 Jul 2009, 11:04am
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Terrific blog post by my friend, Suzi Craig — and it includes a shout out to me (which is always appreciated of course).
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links for 2009-07-17
by Brian Reich | 17 Jul 2009, 11:01am
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In business school, everyone wanted to be the CEO–you know, the infallible one in the suit, with years of experience and wisdom, the one with all the answers. What a bogus model. Turns out, the best leaders are the ones with the questions, the ones capable of forging collaborative networks.
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"The economic crisis is spurring new thinking in the giving sector, with givers and giving organizations looking for innovative ways to increase the impact of their giving." I just wrote a blog post about this - stay tuned, it will post this week.
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links for 2009-07-16
by Brian Reich | 16 Jul 2009, 11:01am
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Personal branding Guru, Dan Schwabel, says "Smart employees understand the power of social media in creating real business value and relationships with customers, the press, analysts, and all other stakeholders." Read on.
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Without fail, we get a call at See3 every week asking us to produce a “viral” video. “You know”, they say, “a video that will get a lot of views when we put it on YouTube.” And every week, without fail, there is a sigh and a deep breath among the staff at See3 as we explain that maybe a viral video isn’t what you really need. Maybe, we say, what you really need is a video strategy.
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links for 2009-07-10
by Brian Reich | 10 Jul 2009, 11:03am
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Baseball and its partners have made President Obama's call to service in his inauguration speech, in which he asked all Americans to give back to the country and their communities, the focal point of their All-Star Game efforts.
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links for 2009-07-09
by Brian Reich | 9 Jul 2009, 11:01am
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As the role of marketing and public relations increasingly becomes that of content creator, buzz builders can learn from the playbooks of Hollywood marketers.
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A group of journalists who worked at the Seattle Post-Intelligencer have launched a Web site focused on investigative journalism. NOTE: I am an adviser to this project.
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The Obama Administration is calling upon federal agencies to implement meaningful changes that strengthen government operations and performance. To help agency leaders meet this challenge, Booz Allen Hamilton teamed with Harvard University Professor of Public Management Steven Kelman to identify the common methods—the best “leadership practices”—used by successful government executives to transform their agencies and achieve mission goals.
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Its possible for retailers to offer a truly great shopping experience, but "in order to hit that mark, retailers must deliver on as many as 10 different elements of the shopping experience simultaneously."
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links for 2009-07-08
by Brian Reich | 8 Jul 2009, 11:03am
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Though not necessarily heralded as a hotbed of technological innovation, the City of Boston is plunging headlong into what may be the future of civic engagement by debuting an iPhone app connecting residents to city hall.
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A list of Fourteen Types of Tweets.
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A really interesting write-up of the PDF conference, from O'Reilly Radar.
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Marketing Can Be So Easy
by Brian Reich | 8 Jul 2009, 5:31am
I was asked the other day to define marketing. Here is what I said:
“Marketing is understanding how people get and share information, experience things, and consume stuff — and responding accordingly.”
In other words, marketing doesn’t have to be complicated. To be successful, you simply have to pay attention to what your audience/customer wants and need. Armed with that information you can reach out and demonstrate how your product or service will meet their needs or satisfy their expectations. And if your product or service actually does meet their needs or satisfy their expectations, the rest will pretty much take care of itself.
Want proof?
The weather in New England (I live in Cambridge, MA) has been pretty poor lately. It has rained 8 of the last 10 days here and many believe that we simply won’t have a summer this year (which I realize is a pretty silly though, but it helps to understand how people are thinking). Needless to say, if/when the sun comes out and the temperatures warm up, people get excited.
Enter Boloco, a burrito chain with roots in Boston (in fact the name is short for ‘Boston Local Company’). When the sun finally emerged and the thermometer read 80+ degrees for the first time in weeks, the company sent out an email that read:
You saw it. We saw it. It was beautiful. Some would even say it smelled good. It was all over New England.
Yes, you guessed it…it was the Sun. And with that Sun we all knew Summer had arrived! Finally…and yet only briefly.
Even though we all felt a slight chill in the air after the Sox lost…and even though most of us are now under some form of cloud cover and in most cases even taking cover from rain, we were all there and we caught a glimpse of the season we yearn for. Summer.
So, in order to celebrate the sighting of that beautiful orb, and since Planet Earth looked and felt so darn lovely yesterday, we’re doing something special.
Simply visit your nearest Boloco, TODAY or TOMORROW, with a piece of trash off the street (yeah, seriously), throw it out in front of us, and get a regular-sized Summer Burrito for $3 (large $4). There will be a bottle of Purell at each of our restaurants should you get aggressive on how much filth you choose to take off our streets, but by the end of tomorrow, the streets throughout some of New England’s most picturesque cities and towns will be cleaner. And with a little natural rinsing from the powers above , we’ll see a new kind of beauty that even the sun can’t beat.
Happy Summer
*VALID ONLY Tuesday 7/8 and Wednesday 7/9, 2009. Gotta have a piece of trash. And don’t you dare complaint that this is late notice… it is, and we were inspired, so we just did it. Enjoy it
No celebrity endorsement. No massive ad campaign or crazy interactive experience. And the deal isn’t even that good — after all, I am the one who has to pick up a piece of trash and bring it to the store, and all I get in return is a small discount on a burrito. But it worked.
How do I know it worked? I am not on the Boloco email list or Twitter feed. My wife sent me the email with a note that read “Cool marketing. Doing good. Simple.” She isn’t on their list either - she had been forwarded the email from someone in her office. But now we are both aware of the campaign and making plans to go pick up a piece of trash and buy a burrito.
Why did it work? The message was simple and related to our current life. The ask wasn’t significant. I felt as if I was doing something good for the world by participating. And, I got something out of the deal. And the company didn’t have to spend millions of dollars for that to happen.
You see, marketing can be so easy.
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