Common Sense's Webinar on Mobile Marketing

Normally I don’t attend webinars. They seem to neglect the value proposition altogether and instead opt to provide some lengthy, boring pitch for services. That’s why I was skeptical when I sat down to watch the Mobile Marketing webinar hosted by Common Sense, a technology products and services company with offices in the United States and Argentina. I’m glad to report that I was pleasantly surprised with the session. The information was insightful, helpful, and actionable. At the end, they even provided links to—wait for it—other websites. After the session was over, they made the entire presentation (with transcript) available on SlideShare. If you’re interested at all about how mobile marketing might help your business check out the slides from the presentation below.

Mobile Marketing Tips

10 Things Traditional Marketers Can Learn From Non-Profit Marketers

Non-profit organizations face unique challenges when it comes to marketing. Non-profits have different types of products and services, timeframes for projects, goals, people, and funding (or lack thereof) than most other traditional businesses. Because of the higher pay, most professional marketers (read: marketing majors) tend to gravitate towards the private, agency, or consultancy sectors.

This leaves those who aren’t formally trained in marketing to assume the marketing efforts and positions of many non-profit organizations. However, this presents a unique opportunity in that they typically end up with people who care more about the cause than the money. Many entrepreneurial types, such as myself, find ourselves in social organizations because we often find ourselves stifled within the bureaucratic structure and slow action of the traditional, corporate atmosphere. Because of the limitations on the social sector, these entrepreneurs often come up with creative and innovative solutions that traditional marketers could learn from, such as:

1. How to use social media effectively
2. How to build a personal voice in marketing
3. How to react quickly to a changing marketplace
4. How to identify and reach specific target markets
5. How to market through blogs
6. How to make use of a collaborative environment
7. How to do grassroots marketing effectively
8. How to build sustainable partnerships with (public/private and public/public)
9. How to engage in guerilla marketing
10. How to measure results

Put the Market back into Marketing

I read an interesting article yesterday about what makes advertisements stick in people’s minds. It said that the secret to making a “sticky” ad is to make the consumer have an emotional impact. This is not a new phenomenon, so I’m confused why this seems so revolutionary. Effective advertising has always been about creating an emotional appeal. There are plenty of ads that focus on things like features, price, etc., but the ones that make us feel something are the ones that move us to buy.

Create an emotional need » Fulfill that emotional need » Sell your product

The Man Your Man Could Smell Like - How Old Spice Speaks To Men And Women

I know it’s not new, but I thought I’d show this video of a newer Old Spice commercial. Over the recent years, Old Spice has retargeted their demographic to the younger male. (It’s probably been a challenge with the wordold in the name). This commercial, and others like it have been receiving considerable attention in various publications such as GQ and Ad Age.

Why does it appeal to men?

This Old Spice commercial speaks directly to men’s insecurities about wealth, body image, prestige, power, and the fear that their “lady” might leave them for somebody who fulfills these insufficiencies. Sociologist Jackson Katz has written in length about how these insecurities often manifest into larger issues such as physical abuse and psychological problems such as the Adonis Complex. Old Spice pokes fun at these insecurities to make a comedic commercial that has gained tremendous media attention and increased its brand recognition.

Why does it appeal to women?

This commercial appeals to women by speaking directly to them. The commercial opens up by saying, “Hello Ladies…” Furthermore, Old Spice employs the use of a good-looking, realistically muscular, confident actor (and former NFL wide receiver) Isaiah Mustafa that neither intimidates nor condescends his audience, yet is able to make fun of popular discourse: money, power, and success. I personally can’t buy into the Old Spice brand, but their commercials are tapping into the psychographics and sociological findings that add relevancy to their messaging.