Three reasons marketing and PR students need to read Spin Sucks (if they want jobs)
Posted: April 1, 2014 Filed under: going back to school, marketing, PR, social media | Tags: Marketing, PR, Spin Sucks 6 Comments
Sunday morning Spin Sucks
Finding a job can still be tough out there for marketing and PR professionals, especially for students who are just finishing their degrees. Even here in the San Francisco Bay Area, where unemployment is relatively low and there are lots of jobs available in both disciplines, there is still fierce competition for each available role.
But here’s the good news — there’s a new book out that will give marketing and PR students a leg up when they start looking for internships and jobs. Enter Spin Sucks: Communication and Reputation Management in the Digital Age by Gini Dietrich.
Here are three reasons why reading Spin Sucks is one of the best things you can do for Read the rest of this entry »
Growth hacker nerds are cool: what startups and traditional marketing people can learn from each other
Posted: August 23, 2013 Filed under: branding, marketing | Tags: Business, Lean Startup Circle, Marketing, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Startup company 5 Comments
getting directions on the way to learn about growth hacking
Marketing Must-Read — “Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind”
Posted: April 22, 2013 Filed under: going back to school, marketing | Tags: Al Ries, Jack Trout, Marketing, Positioning, Positioning: The Battle for Your Mind 2 Comments
a classic book — the title says it all
As a student, it can be tough to get time to read above and beyond your course materials. I mean, it can be a challenge just to read everything that your professors prescribe for you, much less anything for pleasure or your own self-directed education.
But sometimes, you just have to explore a tangent that invites you, and you’re very glad you did.
One tangent for me this semester was to dabble a bit into the concept and history of positioning. I wish I could remember Read the rest of this entry »
“One thing” to remember about your brand — it’s not just for your customers
Posted: April 4, 2013 Filed under: branding, marketing | Tags: Adam Kleinberg, branding, Business, Marketing, Zappos 3 Comments
The Power of Now … works for brands, too!
One of the things I love about getting a business education is that your classes progressively build on each other and the lines between them begin to blur. You start out with prerequisites like accounting, economics and statistics, and by the end you’re specializing in the function you want to practice — in my case, marketing. You finish with a capstone case-study seminar, which is basically an integration and application of all the disciplines you have studied since your first day of school. I love that it’s like one long project.
So the other night, my marketing and management courses collided in yet another “Aha! So that’s how they work together!” moment. Who knew that brand strategy and HR are destined to get married and have beautiful babies? Let me explain. Read the rest of this entry »
Wait, what? Someone used a QR code correctly? (or, How to Rock a QR Code)
Posted: February 4, 2013 Filed under: marketing, PR | Tags: Food truck, Marketing, QR code, San Francisco State University, SF State 3 Comments
postcard-size advertisement for SFSU food trucks
Behold! The ever-elusive specimen of smart QR code use in its native environment!
So there’s lots of talk about QR codes from me lately, eh? Some people have already written them off as useless, some people love them, and some people apparently love to hate them.
Like a lot of people, it took me a while to understand what they are and how to use them, but now I’m impressed with QR codes’ potential for quickly linking the tangible with the digital. But as we are all painfully aware Read the rest of this entry »
And the winner of the Hottest Super Bowl Ad* Award is ….
Posted: February 3, 2013 Filed under: marketing, PR, social media | Tags: Duracell, Facebook, Marketing, Oreo, Social media, Super Bowl, Super Bowl XLVII, Twitter 1 Comment
You can still dunk in the dark. At the Super Bowl.
*On Facebook and Twitter
Now I have to admit I am not much of a football or Super Bowl person. But as a marketing nerd, obviously I’m watching what’s going on from the sidelines — especially on social media!
And when the lights went out in New Orleans (did Beyoncé blow a fuse?) giving America a longer potty break than usual, smart brands knew that mobile devices and laptops would be humming with activity.
Oreo’s team swooped in and dropped the above photo on the unsuspecting Facebook- and Twitterspheres.
Just absolutely brilliant. Timely, humorous, great design … and almost 15,000 likes and nearly 5,000 shares. And climbing. Not to mention that a *lot* of people were left craving an Oreo cookie!
Oreos — the (un)official cookie of Super Bowl XLVII!
What outstanding examples of social media use did you see during the Super Bowl? What would you have done?
*Honorable mention goes to Duracell, which went to Facebook with a photo of the darkened half of the Superdome plus the text, “If only Duracell was powering the lights …” and then cheekily added “Looks like they used some Duracell batteries! You’re welcome. Enjoy the game. #TrustYourPower” once the lights came back on.
UPDATE:
Excellent coverage of how Oreo did it from Rachel Sanders at BuzzFeed.
HubSpot offers a solid replay of brands that jumped on the blackout.
QR codes – on the way up or DOA?
Posted: January 27, 2013 Filed under: marketing, PR | Tags: Business, Marketing, QR code 14 Comments
This morning, I took an informal poll of one person about a topic I’m curious about lately — QR codes!
The methodology:
I asked a friend, “You know what QR codes are, right?”
The results: Read the rest of this entry »
Creativity + Business Sense = $$$$
Posted: September 8, 2011 Filed under: going back to school | Tags: Business, Creative work, Creativity, Marketing, Public relations 2 CommentsIn catching up with my RSS feed this morning, I read a great blog post by Kellie Sheehan on B2B Bliss relating traits of Top Chef contestants to the PR world. Just the sort of creative and thought-provoking post that I love! I adore drawing insight from a comparison of two seemingly unrelated things. Read the rest of this entry »
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