A few weeks ago, I presented a new technology to a group here at Godfrey. I started off by asking if any of them were twittering? A few (mostly under the age of 30) were, but the majority of those in the room had not heard of Twitter.

So what is Twitter? It is designed as a service for friends, family, and co-workers to communicate and stay connected through the exchange of quick, frequent "updates".

Text based posts or “tweets” are limited to 140 characters and can be sent to the Twitter web site, SMS, to your mobile phone, instant messaging or a third-party application such as Facebook.

USA Today recently ran a good article summarizing the history and craze of Twitter. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/products/2008-07-20-twitter-tweet-social-network_N.htm

Sounds like another way to stay
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The Changing Media Landscape - the notion that the way today’s consumers get their information is fragmented. Today there is a full spectrum of communication technologies, and they are constantly evolving. This new media landscape, applies not only to consumers, but also impacts the B2B market.

This is evidenced by a new study released last week, published by the American Association of Advertising Agencies, and conducted by Ipsos Research, illustrating that America’s business executives are shifting their media habits.

The study found that 70% of the C-Suite received a daily e-mail alert/newsletter in the last
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The American Marketing Association recently released a new definition for the word “marketing’.  (http://www.marketingpower.com/content2653039.php)

The new definition reads:

“Marketing is the activity, set of institutions, and processes for creating, communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

The previous definition stated:

“Marketing is an organizational function and a set of processes for creating, communicating, and delivering value to customers and for managing customer relationships in ways that benefit the organization and its stakeholders.”

I think the biggest addition to the definition is the word “exchanging”.  In this new media landscape of social networks, blogs, mobile and consumer generated
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In the B2B marketing world, now is the time when trade publications are feverishly sending out their annual media kits. We have a 3 foot high stack of them here in our Media Channel Planning office. 

While print publications are still a key part of the B2B media plan, and media kits with thoughtfully planned editorial calendars are still important for media planning – in this era of media fragmentation, a set-in-stone media plan doesn’t always make sense.

Consider how your customers are interacting with traditional and new media. Is your message reaching them where they are, when they are looking for information? Following a publisher’s editorial calendar helps make your advertising and PR efforts relevant in a particular issue, but the only thing that should dictate the timing of your message delivery are your customers and prospects. The new 2.0 media channels are much more flexible and adaptable, allowing a B2B marketer
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A widget, as defined in Webster's dictionary is an unnamed article considered for purposes of hypothetical example. 

But Mr. Webster may soon be updating that definition, because in the world of Web 2.0, a “widget” is the newest marvel of technology. Widgets are mini-applications or programs, a piece of code that you can place on your desktop, a webpage or the homepage of your browser. They are dynamic, updating content with everything from weather updates, calendars, sports or stock tickers, to countdowns to holidays, etc. Wikipedia® has plenty of this newer definition and information on its site (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_widgets)\

For a few examples, check out Forbes.com (www.forbes.com/widgets). They just launched a variety of business related widgets, with Visa as a major sponsor. 

B2B Marketers
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Thinking through your online marketing program before it is launched can save you a lot of time, headaches and lost leads.  Some B2B advertisers are just starting to realize that they really should be online, taking advantage of online display ads, and new Web 2.0 opportunities.  And in the rush to begin an online marketing program, many companies are focusing too much on the “medium” and not thinking through the entire program.

This “rush to market” triggers backward media planning – which is like driving blindfolded.  What is the goal?  What are you trying to achieve online?  Starting an AdWords program or a wiki without a clear offering, message or measurement tracking planned, is a waste of your money and a waste of your potential customer’s time.

Last May, DoubleClick released a whitepaper, Best
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If you are lucky you have all of your holiday gift shopping finished.  Even luckier if you have all the gift wrapping done.  For me, the gift wrapping is the most challenging part.  Not every gift is a perfect rectangular size, or fits neatly in a department store box.  So thus the dilemma begins.  How do I wrap this gift and make it look appealing enough so that the recipient will surely think “what beautiful wrapping, this gift must be something special.”?  This dilemma is not that different from the challenge B2B marketers face. 

The vehicle that is used to deliver the message is just as important as the message itself.  If you receive a really great gift, but it was half-wrapped in a trash bag with duct tape all the way around it, you would get the sense that the person giving it to you just didn’t have great wrapping skills, or didn’t want to take the time to deliver 100% satisfaction.  When it comes
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It’s the beginning of planning season, a time when clients ask us to take a look at their media budgets and schedules and offer up new ideas.  “I want something outside of the box” is the cliché we often hear.  This something different, new, exciting applies not just to the creative execution, but to the delivery of the message.

In the B2B world, traditional trade magazine advertising is still the backbone of a solid plan, and arguably quite important.  But, for the most part, trade publications are way ahead of advertisers, and are offering more and more ways to connect a message with their readers - especially online.  Magazine websites have come a long way from simply a digital copy of their print edition.  Many now offer breaking news and RSS feeds, educational webcasts, e-newsletters, white papers, keyword sponsorships, video clips, interactive games, and unlimited possibilities in rich media executions.  Some
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A recent survey released by the Pew Internet and American Life Project concludes that home broadband adoption grew by 40% from March 2005 to March 2006, twice the growth rate of the year before. This is great news for online advertisers anxious to expand their use of Rich Media to make their advertisements more engaging and interactive. Now instead of a static banner ad, there are limitless possibilities. Rich Media is an umbrella expression for online advertising enhanced by motion, sound, video or some sort of interactive element. These new arenas of audio, video, and interactivity present almost limitless opportunities to brand, educate, or just plain entertain online audiences. And video especially, is growing. Google just announced they will begin offering click-to-play video ads. These ads will be displayed on sites that are part of the Google network.
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