When One Story Ends, So Begins Another

Today in his column for SF Gate on the death of MJ, Mark Morford wrote, “Pop culture just died. Didn’t you hear?”

Pop culture is dead! Long live pop culture! So, who will be the Elvis/MJ of my daughter’s generation? Don’t know, but what I do know today is that in another 25 years (or less?) we will be experiencing this again. One question is, will the speed and volume of noise amplified by the mach-travel that is viral/social communications make the next death of Pop culture come – and go- sooner and faster? And how will we approach that new passage with the stories we tell and these new mediums in which we share them?

What does this have to do with marketing and PR and communications? For me, simply this: the stories we tell and the way we tell them, whether they are fact, fiction or somewhere in between, will make up the historical archive of the “culture” we create and live in. Will we learn about what is important both to the story and how it impacts our reader?

And so, with one door closed on how pop culture is defined – and I am in agreement with the popular POV that MJ and Farrah is pretty damn definitive – who will appear in the window that is the next definition? Is it someone we already know well, just not well enough? Are we already creating them with our stories, or is it someone only a handful of 15 year olds are following right now. When I look back on this blog, and Mr. Morford’s well-written piece today on what’s happening throughout the world and how much more important the story of MJ’s death is than all the war and crisis in our country and elsewhere, I hope I can still appreciate the good writing and journalism, but also see how the coverage of the next death of pop culture is even better.

 

Trademark Personality: Give More Life to a Name the Right Way

When it comes to naming and trademarks for new companies and products, I have been in a lot of interesting and creative conversations over the years with technology clients about both the look and the words they want to include as a part of their new brand. Though it might feel like a bucket of cold water, inflicting the rules of trademarks early in the creative process is a blessing in the long term. Here’s a great blog today from Steve Baird at DuetsBlog that talks about suggestive vs. descriptive language and the importance of following this rule when adding taglines to a trademarked name. As a marketer and not a lawyer, I sometimes sense a “glazed-eye” response to these discussions – I found this to be very clear and helpful. Even though it bases the example on a beverage brand as opposed to a technical product, the distinction between suggestive and descriptive is easily translated.

http://www.duetsblog.com/admin/trackback/128462

 

Lead Nurturing – now is the time for this good idea

I received this white paper today from Marketto, a software solution provider, that offers up this simple, straightforward explanation of lead nurturing http://is.gd/r2Xc.  Whether your just thinking about a lead nurturing program or have something in place that you can improve, the current market presents a good time to shape up this fundemental aspect of a results-oriented sales and marketing organization. Make this a strategic initiative now for the kind of strong relationships that will makes sales trigger-loaded when the buying starts again.

 

Virtual Trade Show – Pros and Cons

I attended my first virtual trade show this week, the MarketingProfs Digital Marketing World (http://is.gd/qxNS - log in page). I’ve been very intriqued by this concept for several years; I have assisted many companies in their prep for all that a trade show has to offer in sales and marketing opportunity but am always amazed at the expense.  I was excited last year to learn that there’s a virtual provider,  Inxpo (http://is.gd/qxQJ). I still believe that tradeshows can be very valuable for new and upstart as well as established companies to leverage the gathering of their affinity group to maximize branding and strategic sales and marketing – when done well. I’ve wondered, does the virtual environment measure up to the real thing at a better ROI?

From avirtual standpoint, I can see it as a big win for anyone who presented and for those attenddes who engaged in the chat functions – the branding potential was big for anyone who was willing to engage as it extended throughout the tradeshow and beyond to the broader virtual world with concurrent Twitter activity (kudos to MarketingProf for having #MPWorld set up).  Generally, from a “push” standpoint the virtual tradeshow is great for the exhibitor and the attendee – attendence numbers may be smaller but every single attendee can be a lead who’s interest and activity can be tracked. Oh, and this trade show was MUCH easier on my feet, which were propped up on an ottoman most of the time.

The cons center around one newly presented (or perhaps just magnified) and one good-old-fashioned issue. The virtual aspect created some clumsiness in terms of networking, though anyone with experience in social networking tools adapted quickly. Unfortunately, much of the chatter mimic’d the social/fun chatter, as opposed to business talk that’s more valuable for the tradeshow goer – you can’t go back and report that the people you networked about just talked about what they would be doing after the show. Another challenge – focus. Except for the true Gods of multi-tasking, it was difficult to completely separate from the other work activities resident on the computer and stay immersed in the trade show.

My recommendations for how to take advantage of a virtual trade show? First and foremost, if you are a sponsor/exhibitor – try one this year! Do a comparison of expenses and ROI as well as a comparison of the project plan and execution – I can’t imagine this would be a bad thing. It might not replace all of your trade shows in a year, but it may allow you to offset some budget on some to do more at your bigger shows where you MUST be present. But give it the same respect as that $$$$ booth you put together; one exhibitor slapped up a demo for this show that was dated for last year, as well as still branded for the trade show it was used for in ’08 – this instantly turned me off!

If your company identifies a virtual trade show that would be good to attend, try that out, too. Make sure the attendee (or attendees – “send” several employees if it’s a free show) is assigned specific objectives and require a report to the broader team in your company who would benefit from the show info.  This is something that should be required from any trade show.

Virtual or not, always put your best foot forward with a strong plan, attention to the details in your execution and immediate follow-up. On the virtual, participation in your PJs is optional!