What Makes Some People Remarkably Likeable?
Here is a great post from INC Online. How many of these traits do you practice? Want to create a stronger “personal brand”? Follow these simple steps.
http://www.inc.com/jeff-haden/6-habits-of-remarkably-likeable-people.html?nav=next
Photo credit: Nina Matthews Photography / Foter / CC BY
Oh, So That’s Who’s Using Pinterest
We’ve heard, we’ve guessed, and we have had a pretty good idea of Pinterest users, but this new research sets the record straight. Digital agency Modea published their findings, and here’s a link to it on Mashable.
http://mashable.com/2012/06/15/pinterest-users-infographic/
Among the more interesting points…they’re more likely to drive a Dodge than any other car, more likely to have visited Disneyworld in the past year than any other vacation spot, and more likely to shop at Kroger than other supermarkets. Hmmm.
12 Great Concepts From Malcolm Gladwell
Okay
, so Malcolm is one of my heroes. He hassuch an incredible sense for looking at things in new and insightful ways. He had me at Tipping Point, but he just keeps coming up with the goods.
I just saw this article and it’s a great summary of some of his most powerful concepts.
Enjoy!
http://www.businessinsider.com/12-mind-blowing-concepts-from-malcolm-gladwells-bestsellers-2011-8#
Southern Californa Professional Magazine Launches 2nd Issue!
Our second issue of Southern California Professional Magazine has just hit the web in both HTML (regular web page) and flash (flippy page) versions! Click here for a link to the HTML version. Click here for a link to the flash version.
Guest contributors include Sheryl Mazirow of Mazirow Commercial. If you want to know anything about commercial leasing, she’s Southern California’s “go to” expert. Click here to read. Sandy Allen, Technology Director for the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) California Chapter, and president of Technology & Operations Solutions, Inc., speaks to the issue of outsourcing. Click here to read. Davis Blaine of The Mentor Group and Mentor Securities brings his valuation and investment banking experience to the party and discusses maximizing business value. Click here to read. Bob Green, accounting and financial expert with Singer Lewak, developed our cloud computing article for the issue. Click here to read. Author (Emergency Public Relations, Crisis Management in a 3.0 World) and PR expert Cindy Rakowitz delivers tips and techniques for dealing with PR issues in business. Click here to read.And me, well, I wrote a feature on turning young professionals in to new business “machines”. Click here to read.
Hope you all enjoy!
Listen To Brian Hemsworth Talk Marketing On Stars of PR Radio
Brian Hemsworth, marketing professional and author of this blog will be interviewed by Cindy Rakowitz Thursday on the Stars of PR radio show. They’ll be discussing Southern California Professional Magazine, marketing, and a whole bunch of related topics.
Cindy is the CEO of Blackman Rakowitz Public Relations, and is a highly respected, award- winning executive with years of experience in crisis management, branding and marketing. Rakowitz contributes as an expert analyst to several news organizations. She is the co-author of the new book Emergency Public Relations, Crisis Management in a 3.0 World and is currently enjoying her speaking tour.
The show is broadcast live at 7:00 am Pacific Time on VoiceAmerica internet radio. Click here for more info: http://www.voiceamerica.com/show/971/stars-of-pr.
Why Advertising Has A Brand Problem
I am convinced of it—advertising has a brand problem.
Discussion after discussion, meeting after meeting, experience after experience, it keeps coming back to me: advertising is losing the war.
With big agencies, and big accounts, and big budgets, the word ‘advertising’ is still okay. But in small to mid-sized business, saying ‘advertising’ in conversation makes you sound like you’re completely out of touch with today.
The CEOs, managing partners, and presidents of today’s businesses and organizations don’t like advertising. It’s been drilled into their heads that it doesn’t work, or at least a big part of it doesn’t. That can be argued, but that’s for another blog post.
What can’t be argued (well) is that our terms have changed. Today’s executive is much more interested in ‘marketing’. Now the classic definition puts advertising as one activity under the marketing umbrella, but that’s beside the point. That’s not how corporate America is using the term.
Marketing is now loosely defined as everything to promote your product or service EXCEPT advertising. It’s about social media, personal selling, networking, PR, sales promotion, trade promotion, events, and ‘engagement’. It’s not about advertising.
The C-suite has been misguided, I will give you that. In the push for ‘accountability’ in marketing and advertising expenditures, traditional advertising has been pushed aside by the Internet for its incredible measurements and metrics. With the web, we know who is visiting our sites and opening our emails. When know when the did it, for how long, and where they clicked. And if a purchase action occurred, we can point our finger right to the action and know how, where and why.
Tradition advertising doesn’t offer those luxuries. It’s much harder to track—not impossible, but harder. CEOs want numbers…or better put, CFOs are pushing CEOs to want numbers.
Here’s the catch: just because its harder to measure doesn’t mean it isn’t working.
To add to the challenges of advertising accountability, we now have to worry about the perception of the whole concept.
Since the economic downturn of 2008, my students at Pepperdine University have learned that it is far easier to get ‘marketing’ jobs than ‘advertising’ jobs. And that, my friends, is a classic brand problem.
Advertising and branding luminaries Stuart and Bob Sanders years ago drilled into my head that branding problems are not always (or even often) from real circumstances. They are from perceptions. And the good news is those perceptions can be altered.
So I challenge you marketing folk to watch your use of the terms of this profession, and measure the results on the faces of your clients. If you’re like me, you’ll find yourself talking more about ‘integrated marketing’ efforts, and less about ‘advertising campaigns.’
New Social Network for Live Events
Hey everyone, here’s a cool new social media platform that focuses on live events. It’s in beta right now, but you can be one of the testers. It’s free, just go to Crowdseye.com and sign in.
They just had a really successful test at SXSW, and are planning on the big launch for Coachella. When you post pics, video or comments, you’re entered into Crowdseye.com challenges, and you can win stuff.
Check it out, and let me know what you think.
