MarketingInsideOut.com

Great post by Andy Beal with tips on how to get started monitoring the blogoshpere to see what’s being said about you, your company, brand, products or service.  He recommends hourly…YIKES!

Although I’ve disagreed with some of his POVs over the years, like most people in the marketing field I’ve read his books and found some worthy insights.  But Jack Trout really dated himself in this interview in Forbes.

Word of mouth may not be anything new, but to think you can ignore it in our hyperconnected world and just focus on advertising is plain naive.

Steve Rubel said it well:

This is nostalgic thinking. It’s almost like saying that we should go back to using typewriters over computers since we don’t have to worry about getting a virus.

 

There’s been chatter for a long time about the concept of a browser-based office suite and now it’s closer to reality with the announcement of Google’s purchase of Writely.

According to a story today in PC World’s Techlog:

What Google is going to do with Writely isn’t entirely clear–it says there are no plans to embed advertising in the service–but it’s yet another recent example (along with Google Base, the new Google Desktop, and Google Page Creator) of Google doing something involving being a repository for information, not just an indexer of it. (They’ve always said that their mission was to “organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”–maybe it’s time to add “and store it, too” to that statement.

And from Search Engine Lowdown:

What will this mean for marketers? Ad buys on the tools – besides email – that people use all day. The fragmentation of search – now we’ll be optimizing client sites so their white papers and case studies appear on the budgeting spreadsheets people are working on.

Lately, it seems like several times a week there’s an announcement of yet another Google acquisition or new product.  I don’t know how they keep it all straight.  Seems they are making significant inroads towards their goal.  But, frankly, I’m starting to get a tad bit heebie jeebie about just how far Google’s going to go.  They’re certainly not the “little” guy anymore.  “Google it” is taking on a whole new meaning…search it, write it, store it, advertise it,  measure it, buy it….it…it….it….

But you’ve got to admit, the folks at Writely sound like they’re on cloud nine — this from their blog.

Here are our “top 10″ reasons why being part of Google is fantastic for Writely and the Writely team:

10. Writely is like a caterpillar that we hope to make into a beautiful butterfly at Google!
9. We love Google’s philosophy and values — especially “Focus on the user.”
8. We’re as passionate as Google is about respecting users’ privacy.
7. Many of our users are already Google fans using other Google services.
6. Being at Google will help us do more great things faster.
5. Some people didn’t feel comfortable trusting a tiny startup with their documents…and we’re no longer a tiny startup.
4. We like lava lamps and they’re pretty much standard decor at Google.
3. Three words: Free Googleplex lunches
2. As fun as it’s been to launch a popular, global, 24×7 Web service, it’ll be nice to take a vacation once in a while!
…and the number one reason???
1. We’ll be able to bring Writely to not just thousands but millions of users — the more, the merrier 

Someone recently treated the agency staff to a homemade loaf of fromage de tête, or headcheese.  Resembling leftovers from the TV reality show Fear Factor, the gelatinous mass of indescribable ingredients became an office curiosity as people pondered, “What’s it made of?”  When it comes to most prepared dishes, even headcheese, most of us share a common hunger for recipes and advice on preparing the foods we eat. 

This craving was the premise for a consumer education program that was part of the integrated marketing campaign Bozell created years ago for Pork: The Other White Meat.  Throughout this initiative, food editors at major newspapers and magazines across the country were fed a steady diet of pork recipes, photography and special materials addressing the issue of “food literacy.”
Two programs especially effective in whetting the appetite of food editors involved:

• A national consumer quiz in which two-thirds of Americans surveyed lacked basic cooking knowledge even though they considered themselves “excellent” or “very good” cooks.  Among a wealth of press materials prepared for food editors was A Guide to The New Food Literacy cookbook filled with pork recipes and tips to help people learn cooking basics.
• A selection of recipe cards to guide consumers through their pork purchases using the simplest common denominator of all meat cuts: shape.  Each recipe card carried descriptions of different pork shapes, preparation information, sample recipes and menu suggestions. 
   

Both of these educational programs were successful in generating an ongoing smorgasbord of culinary features in the Lifestyle and Food sections of major newspapers and magazines that contributed to a dramatic increase in consumers associating pork with white meat.

As for increasing the literacy of our staffers concerning the making and consumption of headcheese, the overwhelming consensus that day in the office was that some things are better left unknown and uneaten.