I’m not a big Valentine’s Day person.  I think a lot of people dislike February 14th for a lot of different reasons.  So I choose to forego celebrating today (aside from eating the DELICIOUS cake that Brandy made us), and I will forge ahead to a holiday that deserves our support.
Guinness, in true Irish fashion, [...]

It’s so easy to pick on those brands that we, as marketers, think need our help. Which, let’s face it, we tend to think is just about everybody. And when we think about companies that we’d like to work for, those beloved ones that are already rockin’ along are usually at the top of the [...]

Seriously. Are they? Or is it a ploy from the big machine to boost record sales? How many of the winners albums do you actually have? And how many other artists do you know who are so much better than any of the winners? The ones I follow loyally either have no interest in winning [...]

Mediaweek reports today that CNN is in the midst of creating iReport.com – a new website for citizen journalists:
The new site looks and feels much like YouTube and other video-centric destinations. Wanna-be Anderson Coopers can upload videos, photos and audio files through an easy-to-use interface. Visitors to the site can search for specific clips or [...]

Every year the advertising industry spends millions of dollars to find out how much people like something. But they’ve never stopped to ask what it means to like something in the first place. What’s the difference between like and love? How do we develop strong loyalties? Are individual preferences really coded on a linear scale [...]

[ April 22, 2008 to April 25, 2008. ] Where: Sonoma Valley, California
When: April 22-25, 2008
Speaker: Geno Church

Now in its fourth year, New Communications Forum is the premier conference that brings together thought leaders and decision makers from around the globe to discuss the impact of social media and new communications on media, marketing, journalism, PR and advertising, business, culture and society.

NewComm Forum is [...]

So would you rather spend a large amount of money on a generalized message and cast a wide net to get in front of as many eyeballs as possible, or concentrate your efforts in a laser-focused message to a very specific group of people?
When you cast a wide net, there are pros and cons. One [...]

I received this email from Stephenie today, one of the lead Fiskateers (the word of mouth brand ambassador movement for Fiskars):

Did you see this?  As a deaf ed teacher, I found it funny and rather brave of Pepsi…
YouTube - Bob’s House — Pepsi’s new Super Bowl Ad

As a WOM believer, I found it interesting as [...]

[ August 13, 2008; 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. ] Caution: Shameless plug ahead

If you’re not booked for lunch today, order in and dial in to join Geno and Howard (President of Umbria) on the Word of Mouth Marketing Association teleconference. The dynamic duo will be discussing effective ways of “Tapping the Blogosphere to Cultivate an Ambassador Movement.” Real-life scenarios, in-depth results and actionable items [...]

As I was watching the Super Bowl last night, I was reminded that it seems that the most effective word of mouth marketing initiatives start as a whisper – dare I say a quiet conversation between a company and its customers. There’s no yelling. There’s no demanding. And (gasp) sometimes there’s not even a call [...]