Marketing's Nuclear Weapon
Three seconds. That's what you have to convey your message. Creativity is the strategic weapon that allows us to capture those few precious moments of attention from busy consumers in our increasingly competitive, time-crunched environment.Focus groups tell us that time is a precious, yet dwindling ... more...

The Three Legged Stool
My paternal grandparents were born near Lake Como, Italy. My grandfather learned how to farm, and he did just that until he died chopping wood at age 88. As a boy, I would walk into the barn where I watched him milking cows. Never got the hang of it, but I liked hearing the ping of fresh milk in ... more...

Marketing's Magic Bullet
Hundreds of "consultants" make millions of dollars each year teaching seminars and boot camps, and selling newsletters about marketing's magic bullet - that one simple thing you can do to fill up your register with virtually no effort on your part.People buy this tripe because they want "simple" ... more...

Go Guerrilla
Jay Conrad Levinson coined the term guerrilla marketing, which I define as low-cost, creative and typically self-implemented public relations techniques.Here are a few thoughts that might spawn some ideas for your own business.* When you can't get in to see a prospect, try clipping half a $20 bill ... more...

To Buy A Fat Pig
What does buying a fat pig have to do with your business? Stick with me and all will be revealed.Does your business have a tactical and a strategic way to go to market? Let's go down to Mr. Hoover's butcher shop to see how it's done.Mr. Hoover has been selling bacon and other pig products for years ... more...

Cheap To Keep
You've heard it all before when it comes to stats about customer retention. Acquiring a customer costs five to 10 times more than retaining one. Repeat customers spend, on average, 67 percent more. After 10 purchases a customer has referred as many as seven other people.So, if your focus is on ... more...

Say What?
As the comedian Steve Martin once said, "some people have a way with words and some people have not way." Increasingly, I am seeing information from companies, particularly in news releases, that "has not way."It's time for clarity in the corporate world.Several news releases have crossed my screen ... more...

Ammo, Ammo, Ammo
All the guns in the world do you no good without bullets. It is the same with media relations: You must have the right ammo to get publicity. Let's take a look at some PR bullets you may want to consider.Of course, the old standby is the news release, which can be issued for new products and ... more...

Great Employees = Passionate Consumers
Companies spend millions of dollars each year identifying their brand, and then communicating their brand promise through various media.Employees are the primary "media" in the majority of brand contacts. Raise your hand if you think a majority of your employees understand your brand promise well ... more...

Meet The Media
Although media relations is not all there is to PR, it is a darned good, low cost way to spread the word. So here are a few media contacts to help you out.Tom Weber is the editor of The Wall Street Journal's Pursuits section. It covers entertainment, food, fashion, and travel. Contact Weber at ... more...

Fanning the Flames of the Diabetes Epidemic
INTRODUCTIONIt is my pleasure to introduce to you, a new Diabetes Prevention Education, Public Relations Campaign established under the name Fannie Estelle Hill Grant, started by me, Lyndia Grant-Briggs, after the loss of my mother who succumbed to Type 2 Diabetes on Christmas Day, December 25, ... more...