5 Opportunities for 2012

So, if you’re not into the whole “2012 is the end of the world” schtick, you may be wondering, “Just what the hell do I do to enhance my marketing in this day and age? Holy moly, we’re living in the future. 2012 is, like, the future, isn’t it?” In some ways, it is. You [...]

Posted by January 6th, 2012 | by Jason | Permalink

Marketing Mistakes #3: Fumbling the Media

“Media? What media? In this wonderful Web 2.0 era, I can get all the exposure I want in the social networks, for free!” Yeah, and if that’s what you think, good luck. Here’s the door. Don’t let it hit ya where the dog shoulda bit ya, and all that. Come back when reality sets in. [...]

Posted by October 27th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

Marketing Mistakes #2: Missing the Message

Continuing our series about marketing mistakes, here’s another we run into all the time: missing the message. Arguably, this is even more common than #1: Forgetting the Goal, but it’s a lot more sneaky—it comes in later in the process, usually when legal gets involved. Kidding. Or not. “Wait a minute,” you’re probably saying. “We [...]

Posted by September 26th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

Marketing Mistakes #1: Forgetting the Goal

It’s funny. For all the marketing we do—online, offline, B2B, B2C, traditional, cutting-edge, whatever—the biggest mistake we see is simply this: forgetting about your goal. In fact, I think we irritate a lot of clients when they first come to us and say, “Wow, we have this great new product or service and we need [...]

Posted by August 22nd, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

Why We’re Rooting for Google+

No, this isn’t going to be a hateful screed about the evils of Facebook. But we are rooting for Google+. We really hope Google+ gets a significant portion of the social market. Here’s why: 1. We hate monopolies! For a while there, it looked like Facebook was going to be like the eBay juggernaut, with [...]

Posted by July 8th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

Portfolio Strategy and Online Advertising

One of the questions we get, time and time again, goes something like this: “There are so many things I can do to advertise my product online, where do I start? Ad networks? Search ads? SEO? Site sponsorships? Contests? Social? Mobile? YouTube? Advertising on YouTube? Advertising on Facebook? Facebook presence? Twitter? Paid tweets?” And yes, [...]

Posted by May 31st, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

Strategic Versus Reactive Marketing

It may just be us, but we get a bunch of clients who come to us with requests like this: “I need a new print ad.” “I want a Facebook presence and a really compelling social media campaign.” “Our website blows, can you redesign it?” Now, there’s nothing wrong with any of those requests. Not [...]

Posted by May 17th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

The Myth of the Home Run

It seems that every time we talk to someone these days, they’re looking for the home run. The big score. The thermonuclear event. The Big Deal That Changes Everything. This isn’t just in the course of business, either—I can’t tell you how many twentysomethings I’ve heard repeat the phrase, “I want to do something huge, [...]

Posted by May 4th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

The Parable of the Ice Cream Man

There should be a saying that goes something like, “Beware the ice cream man in January: what he sells may seem tasty, but it ain’t what you need on a cold Toronto night.” What does this have to do with marketing? Okay. Let’s say it’s another perfect day at your office. As head of marketing, [...]

Posted by February 7th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink

The App Deluge (and the Voice of Reason)

“There’s an app for that.” On hundreds of millions of iOS and Android devices, that’s the rallying cry. Want to identify the tune you just heard on the radio? Get free directions on a 3D rendered cityscape? Scan barcodes for comparison shopping? Play Angry Birds? Measure EMF? Perform audio analysis? Make music? Amuse your cat? [...]

Posted by January 13th, 2011 | by Jason | Permalink