Technology

Samsung Bans Competitor Logos at Sochi: Legit or Ludicrous?

Olympics sponsor Samsung reportedly gifted Galaxy Note 3 smartphones to Sochi athletes, but with a serious string attached, Slashgear reports: Athletes were banned from using any other mobile device during the opening ceremonies. Or, if they did use them, they were required to physically cover up any competitor logo so it wouldn’t accidentally be caught on camera during the televised ceremony. As an official Sochi sponsor, Samsung is technically within its rights (and Olympic rules) to request the ban. But in our social-sharing, tech-savvy world, the question becomes more nuanced: Has that kind of model been disrupted? Is that kind of ban reasonable? Or does it make a company look authoritarian and hopelessly old-school? All athletes, coaches, and other Olympics officials have long been required to abide by what’s known as Rule 40 of the Olympic charter, as enforced by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Rule 40 forbids athletes from […]

Samsung Bans Competitor Logos at Sochi: Legit or Ludicrous? Read More »

What Does the Fox Say? B2B Companies Need Visual Style

As storytelling becomes more and more part of marketing, another trend has emerged: Brands have become more visual. In the business-to-business space, this means companies are loosening up a bit, producing content with a greater emphasis on visual style and design and with a more compelling visual storyline. That’s happening on visual platforms like Pinterest and Instagram and in social media, of course — Ekaterina Walter and DunkinDonuts’ Jessica Giglio have a book coming out in March about that. But it’s also happening with the tried and true tactics like ebooks. My friend Lee Odden at TopRank Marketing has become a master at incorporating a compelling visual theme (two great examples are here and here); so has Doug Kessler at Velocity Partners. Working with Scorch, Jason Miller at LinkedIn recently produced an e-book featuring some of its marketing influencers (including me) as portly snowmen and women. People like pictures, as

What Does the Fox Say? B2B Companies Need Visual Style Read More »

TED Goes Corporate, Best Buy vs. Steve Garfield, a Saddleback Spat: #BMTPPT 3 [Video]

TED launches a pilot project for corporations to produce their own TED events; Tim gets cranky and disagrees with me on Saddleback’s latest video; we call the best PSA of the 2014 (thus far!); and name your best resource for audio/visual help. (Hint: It might be your local Best Buy, but it’s not mine.) All that and more is in this week’s episode of Better Marriage Through PowerPoint (BMTPPT), a weekly YouTube show featuring Tim Washer and me. Check it out: Show notes: 1. The TEDification of corporate events. TED last summer launched pilot programs to produce corporate TED events with corporations — specifically, State Street Bank, Boston Consulting Group, and Intel. Most recently, State Street hosted TED@StateStreet, when about 350 employees met at Boston’s Revere Hotel, where the stage had been set to look like an actual TED conference. TED plans to extend this new service to more businesses, which

TED Goes Corporate, Best Buy vs. Steve Garfield, a Saddleback Spat: #BMTPPT 3 [Video] Read More »

That Funny Saddleback Bag Video: Two Big Things to Love About It and One Thing That Would’ve Made It Even Better

Saddleback Leather Company a few days ago released a snarky “how to” video to reveal shortcuts and tricks to help knock-off manufacturers bypass quality, skimp on materials, and produce a richly inferior product — specifically, the Saddleback briefcase, which starts at $568. There’s so much to love about this funny 12-minute video featuring CEO and founder Dave Munson. But it could use an improvement that would help both this effort and any company looking to create memorable content. The video is a little long, but it’s worth watching: First, let’s talk about what’s excellent: It’s useful, inspired by real data, and it’s hilarious. It’s a brilliant concept: “targeting” counterfeiters while telling a bigger story of what your brand stands for. “If you want to make money knocking off my bag, you’re going to want to know about these materials here.” —Dave Munson First Thing to Love: Flipping “How-To” On Its

That Funny Saddleback Bag Video: Two Big Things to Love About It and One Thing That Would’ve Made It Even Better Read More »

The Funniest Mobile App Update: From Boring to Breakthrough Content

I’m writing this post because TalkTo updated its app yesterday and it made me laugh out loud. Yes, you read that right: I’m calling out a mobile update as inspired content, because it’s just that good. TalkTo has taken the notion of a pedestrian smartphone update to a new level: Creating compelling content in a place most othersoverlook or completely ignore. It reminds me of the way my grandmother could root out a potato from under the sink and toss it into a pot with a handful of leftovers and create something magical: What others overlook can often be an opportunity to surprise—in business and… uh… at dinner! I talk about this a lot as relates to content: While other companies might do a fantastic job creating over-the-top experiences for their customers, those over-the-top experiences often require big budgets, big teams, big resources; but plenty of opportunities exist for smaller

The Funniest Mobile App Update: From Boring to Breakthrough Content Read More »

Humor and B2B Marketing: A Love Story

Business-to-business companies often can’t find a way to fold humor and storytelling into their marketing, because what they sell isn’t… well, funny. Or they think it’s not much of a story. Here’s how one company challenges that assumption. If I were Cisco Systems trying to show how the role of information technology (IT) is changing, I could commission a research-based whitepaper detailing new consumption models brought about by cloud, security, mobility, and programmable networks. I might talk about how that is creating new markets and business models, transforming communication and knowledge sharing, and significantly changing the role of IT. Or… I could tell you a story featuring a real chief information officer sharing in clear, simple language about how she’s using technology to sell more beer to the people who want to buy it. And toss in a few bits of humor and playful improv to give it warmth and

Humor and B2B Marketing: A Love Story Read More »

Marketing Needs a Built-in, Shockproof, Sh*t Detector

The subtitle of this post is: “What QR Codes Kill Kittens really communicates.” Because: “The most essential gift for a good marketer is a built-in, shockproof, shit detector.” Hemingway is the author of that quote, although he said “writer” instead of “marketer.” But I think it applies equally well to marketing, because we have a responsibility to serve our customers first, and not our CEOs or bosses or clients. We need to call them on their shit, in other words. But hold up: Those are the people who sign our paychecks. The buck stops literally with them. Who are we to argue? Actually, we have every right. And a kind of duty. Why: For a business to be successful, your customers have to love your products, certainly. And for marketing to do its job, you have to make your customers love your marketing, too. Eww. Who loves being marketed to?

Marketing Needs a Built-in, Shockproof, Sh*t Detector Read More »

The First Tweets of 16 B2B Brands (and a Few Familiar Faces)

What was your first tweet? As Twitter began trading on the New York Stock Exchange last week, I couldn’t help but consider how far this small, simple, fledgling network has come. Once mocked for being stupid and insipid, and plagued by its own persistent identity crisis, Twitter has nonetheless become a prominent and important part of our culture. I just find to use another word other than “part” to describe Twitter in that last sentence. Because what is Twitter, exactly? Is it a news network? A social platform that connects us to friends, brands, celebrities? A discussion forum? I guess the answer is Yes. (That’s the thing: What’s dumb-brilliant about Twitter is that it defies categorization. What is Twitter? It’s what you think it is.) Twitter was founded in March of 2006. I started on Twitter in September 2007, when Jeremiah Owyang suggested that I should represent MarketingProfs there. (Eventually,

The First Tweets of 16 B2B Brands (and a Few Familiar Faces) Read More »

Lessons from Skype: Your Story Is about People (Not Your Technology)

Whether you sell technology or toasters, your marketing should always be about people. In other words, your customers should be at the heart of your content, not your products. Your product might be as revolutionary as an escalator to the moon, but your story isn’t about that: It’s not about what you do or what you sell, it’s what you do for others. How does your product help people? How does it shoulder their burdens? How does it ease their pain? How does your product live in the world? That’s a subtle shift. But focusing on how your business connects with people makes a huge difference in your content. It makes the customer—not your product—the hero of your story. In the business-to-business space, especially, it also gives puts flesh and blood on the dry bones of a “solution.” That’s why I really like this new video from Skype, which tells

Lessons from Skype: Your Story Is about People (Not Your Technology) Read More »