Marketing – Page 28

Brexit, Donald Trump and What It All Means For Marketers…

There seems to be a disturbance in “The Force”! Strange events are occurring. For example, in a referendum on June 23, the people of the UK voted to leave the European Union, despite the government, most of the mainstream media and the vast majority of the “Establishment” strongly supporting remaining. In the USA, Donald is the Republican candidate for the Presidency despite being written off as a complete no-hoper by pretty much the entire punditocracy as recently as early this year.

So what’s happening? Basically a collapse in trust in government and so-called elites. According to Pew Research, only about 20% of Americans “Always or Mostly Trust the US Government”. That’s down from around 80% in the mid-60s and 50% in the early 2000s.

Here’s something else… [Read more…]

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar September 2016

A warm welcome to the “Looking Ahead” feature where we consider the coming month…

…and the events, occasions, anniversaries and holidays that smart direct response marketers can use as the foundation for event-driven marketing promotions in a marketing calendar September 2016.

After the lull of the last month or so…

…it’s a time of a change of seasons. The September Equinox falls on September 22 at 14.21 UTC.

It’s Autumn in the north and Spring in the south…

…and these can be used as broad themes for a promotion.

Tied in with these, in the northern hemisphere it’s “Back to School” or “Back to Work” and the start of the run-in to the end of the year.

In the southern hemisphere, “Spring Time” or “Spring Cleaning” can be used as a theme.

Looking at some specific occasions… [Read more…]

Why Smart (Info) Marketers Should (Mostly) Avoid The Pokemon Go Craze…

If you’re on any kind of marketing (especially internet marketing) lists…then this week you’ve most likely been bombarded with emails carrying subject lines like…

“How To Instantly Cash In On The Pokemon Go Craze”

…and often starting out with something along the lines of…

“Unless you have been living under a rock you are probably aware that the biggest marketing craze of the decade is taking place right now. Pokemon Go is taking the world by storm, and smart marketers can already take advantage of this incredible opportunity”

For those of you who aren’t familiar with Pokemon Go, according to Wikipedia…

“Pokémon Go (stylized as Pokémon GO) is a free-to-play location-based augmented reality mobile game developed by Niantic. It was released in July 2016 for iOS and Android devices.

The game allows players to capture, battle, and train virtual creatures, called Pokémon, who appear on device screens as though in the real world. It makes use of GPS and the camera of compatible devices. The game is free-to-play, although it supports in-app purchases of additional gameplay items. An optional companion Bluetooth wearable device, the Pokémon Go Plus, is planned for future release and will alert users when Pokémon are nearby.”

From that, it looks like further insanity is in store for us down the line a little.

Now, if you’re not already on board with this, here are a number of reasons to ignore the whole thing and carry on with what you were doing… [Read more…]

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar August 2016

Welcome to this month’s “Looking Ahead” feature. Here we’ll review events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that you can use to build your event-driven marketing calendar August 2016.

The standout event this month has to be the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, taking place in Rio, Brazil from August 5-21.

There are no major holidays this month. In the northern hemisphere it’s the dog days of summer. In the south it’s the last blast of winter. These “seasonal” themes are available to you if there’s nothing else that’s suitable.

August is also a “Back To School” month for many northern hemisphere countries…

…and remember major sporting events such as the US Open Tennis (starts 29 August) and the start of the football (soccer) season in the UK (Premier League starts the weekend of August 13-14).

It’s also “Elvis Week”, August 10-16. Elvis Presley moved on to the “great gig in the sky” on 16 August, 1977.

Other events… [Read more…]

Looking Ahead – Marketing Calendar July 2016

Time for our regular look ahead…this time at the month of July 2016. Let’s take a look at the coming month for events, occasions, holidays and anniversaries that can form the basis for a marketing campaign or promotion and that you can use to create a marketing calendar July 2016.

Two big themes or ideas.

First, that we’re now in the second half of the year. July 1 is sometimes referred to as “Second Half Of The Year Day”.

As with any milestones like this, it’s an opportunity to give people a bit of a jolt and get them to review their goals and plans for the year.

Of course, if they are off-track a little you might well be able to help them get back on track!

Secondly, it’s Summer (in the northern hemisphere)…

…but the depths of Winter if you’re in the southern hemisphere.

In the USA July 4 is the great national occasion “Independence Day”. This theme of independence is very much a universal ideal and so can be used pretty much in any country. The idea of “personal independence” can be the basis for a promotion in many different markets. It’s worth keeping in mind that one of the primary reasons people go into business for themselves is the desire for freedom and independence.

Taking a look at some specific occasions… [Read more…]

« Previous Page