My previous post comparing billboards to online banner and space ads garnered positive comments and reviews – for the ads rather than my analysis!

Still, there was an unmistakable cry for more, and being the reader-pleasing whore that I am, well… here are some more innovative billboard ads

So for the copywriters out there, here are a few examples where great copy/message beats clever design and visual puns:

Ouch!  Starbucks can’t be happy with that one.  Doesn’t get much more powerful that…

...continue to read "Strong Copy vs. Cheeky Design"

In part one, I shared my sordid story of buying a battery for my MacBook Pro from a third-party. In short, I went to Fastmac.com and bought a battery on a recommendation from a colleague. Impatient to receive the battery for an upcoming business trip, I learned (only after the purchase) that the product was on back order.

I asked the question: did Fastmac.com bury this information on its site to increase conversion? Well, the folks at Fastmac.com read my story and…

...continue to read "To Be or Not to Be Transparent, Part 2"

Patrick Sullivan Jr, describes himself as “a professional UI fixer constantly striving to make the cow more purple-er so the sneezers keep sneezin.” Some of you may remember Patrick’s name from our Always Be Testing book where we highlighted the success his company Jigsaw Health had with our conversion coaching service and Google Website Optimizer (in early beta). His story was also published in Inc Magazine and by Google as a case study. In just a few months, Jigsaw Health increased its…

...continue to read "The Do-It Yourself Syndrome"

As a young teen I heard Mark Knopfler sing about “money for nothing and chicks for free” and I remember fantasizing about how good that sounded but even then I knew that it was too good to be true.

I’ve noticed from many of my marketing colleagues that money for nothing is the order of the day; maybe it’s the hard times. Seth Godin blogged yesterday about getting rich quickly, Brian Clark blogged about making money from blogs, and just this…

...continue to read "Money For Nothing & Clicks For Free"

That’s my standard response when asked about Social Media.  That’s not to say technology is unimportant, but that technology never really changes how people behave, think, and feel.  Human nature drives that; technology only changes the constraints previously placed on human preferences.

If you’ve ever shared office space with colleagues you really liked and respected, you’ve already twittered.  You’ve already gotten a “feed” of interesting thoughts, updates, recommendations, etc.

Twitter simply allows you to do that with people in other…

...continue to read "It Ain’t About the Technology"

If you were alone in the office, had a grueling task ahead of you to finish up your work, you’d start your iPod and crank it up…

My colleagues at FutureNow have an eclectic love for music and are always on the hunt for next best thing to listen to.

What would you be listening to? What would help you plow through your work?

Please share an unusual favorite song, artist, album or even a playlist. Also please indicate what you do to pay…

...continue to read "Music to Work By"

We all run contests – you know- giving away cool things, like a free pass to a conference.   But how do you announce the contest winner?   Brains on Fire came up with a unique, and I would guess viral, way to announce the winner of their Society for Word Of Mouth – SWOMFest ticket giveaway.

Check out the video.

Editors Note: While we are talking viral videos, have you seen possibly one of the best “experiential”…

...continue to read "Now THAT’S How You Announce a Contest Winner"

There I was at Babies”R”Us, way back in 2003, manhandling different strollers and finding myself more eager to read the amazon.com reviews than to kick the tires myself – and it had nothing to do with wanting to avoid the in-store shopping experience and everything to do with wanting to make the best purchase decision possible.

So why would I want to read reviews when I could examine the stroller first hand?

Because I was a yet-to-be-first-time parent and I knew that what…

...continue to read "Why You’d Be Smart to Let a Stranger Select Your Baby Stroller"

Viral videos are typically one-off affairs: Numa Numa, The Machine is Us/ing Us, and The Inner Life of a Cell – stand alone videos, one and all. But the only successful viral marketing effort I am aware of, was launched as a campaign rather than as a single video.

And that makes sense, right? No matter how tightly integrated your business message is with the premise of the video, prospective customers will probably require more than one exposure to remember that business…

...continue to read "One-shot Videos Miss Target While Campaigns Hit Bull’s-Eye"

I’m always looking for another good read, especially if it’s on my Kindle. My friend, Patrick Sullivan, Jr. spoiled me by giving me a Kindle as a gift. How did I ever live without it?

Joe Nocera lists 14 books he likes in no particular order in “The Best Business Books Ever?”

“Liar’s Poker,” by Michael Lewis (even though I’ve since become convinced that the anecdote that gives the book its title never happened). “The Devil’s Candy,” by Julie Salamon. (Greatest dissection of the…

...continue to read "14 Best Business Fiction Books"