Charisma and Leadership

"Charisma doesn't make you a leader, leading gives you charisma." Read this short interview on CopyBlogger.

Economic Stimulus, Brands, and the Social Contract

Our economic woes and the ongoing efforts to stimulate the economy strike me as having some comparisons and learning for corporate brand marketers. The private sector is experiencing major balance sheet issues with tight credit markets freezing the system. While political diffferences about the form exist, nearly all economists agree that some form of governmental stimulus is necessary. In essence, the government is forming a social contract with the private sector that says that government will take a balance sheet hit (increased deficit) to feed the private sector needs for this year and beyond. In return, following the end of the recession the private sector will need to help the government improve its balance sheet by reducing the deficit.

For corporate brands, this is in some ways like brands seeking corporate marketing investment to fund brand revitalization with the promise of generating future profits for the organization. As a brand leader, think about the nature of the organizational contract that your brand is making with the company. Show the company the long term return on investment proposition that you are advocating for the brand.

Integrated Agency defined

Love this humorous definition of an Integrated Agency recently published in Media Magazine:

"integrated agency: n., pl. -cis.(Lat. Integrate, to make whole - integer, complete - (Med. Lat. agentia (agens, effective) 1. An agency that does all the things a regular, ordinary agency does, but with the addition of a superfluous modifier."

Flip Mino Camcorder - MarketingWitz design

Flip Mino Camcorder with Personalized Design - Available only at www.theflip.com. Can personalization create marketing demand? Check out this unique Flip Mino design. The design was created by MarektingWitz. (Really!) The Flip Mino camcorder combines remarkable video quality in a pocket-sized package. Now personalizable - create yours

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eMail Marketing ROI resource

If you are interested in maximizing the return on your e-mail marketing investment, take a look at the latest email marketing metrics report from MailerMail. They've been publsihing this report for several years and there are many fact-based finding that will improve your marketng ROI, such as optimizing the day of week, he subject line length, etc. Other excellent e-mail marketing sources: Constant Contact, Vertical Response, MarketVolt.

Media Companies Tips apply to Brand Marketers

Great new article on 10 Basics Media Companies Can't Afford to Ignore in Ad Age, but items like measuring up your business, managing inventory, deveoping creative solutions, and partnering for innovation all apply too businesses well beyond media companies. It applies to brand marketers as well.

Denny's Grand Slam a Home Run?

With all the discussion about the best Super Bowl spots, I wonder which ones really generated the greatest return on investment. Some, like the Doritos spots, were wonderfully creative, but you have to push a lot of retail displays and pull a lot of consmer sales to generate a return on a $2.5-$3MM investment. Some, like Go Daddy, may not have creative that you appreciate but have an immediate call to action that allows measurable results (how many new domains sold this week versus the week prior?).

So what about Denny's? Free Grand Slam breakfasts on Tuesday after the Super Bowl. Postive ROI? One news report suggested that $2MM in free breakfasts were served. I don't have their data, but I suspect the cash cost was far less that the retail value of the free breakfasts. Even if it was $1MM, bringing the total cost of the ad plus meals t $3.5-$4MM, did the exposure and trial generation create enough new customers? I don't think so. When I drove past the local Denny's on Tuesday morning there was a line down the sidewalk (in 15 degree weather, too!). I can't imagine that the dining experience was very pleasurable with the hectic environment, crush of visitors and a burdened kitchen. Would that make you a loyal customer? Not me. (Not that I would wait in line for a free pancake...)

So, was the Grand Slam a Home Run? Let me know what you think.