We found this interesting University project. Three students in the Women and Gender Studies class at the University of Saskatchewan created this video to show 'how ridiculous media portrays gender roles and stereotypes in advertising through presenting gender roll reversals'. Please note that some of this content may be inappropriate for younger viewers.
Christmas Marketing
15 Top Tips to get your Business Ready
- Begin planning your holiday campaign in advance so you are ready to launch before the ‘silly season’ is underway. A good way to do this is by developing a Promotional Calendar. Use this as the basis of all promotional activities you conduct throughout the holiday season including holiday hours, late nights, specials and discounts.
- Repetition sells. Send multiple emails, direct mailers or holiday cards announcing your sales. (But don’t go ‘silly’ and send daily announcements – find the right balance so you don’t annoy your customers)
- Create your email calendar. Email is one of the most powerful tools in your online marketing kit, serving as a great way to deliver promotions directly to your customers. Your email calendar should include email content, list segmentation, copywriting, design and testing. To make the most of this opportunity, align your email sends with the timing of your biggest promotions that will be identified in your Promotional Calendar. Continue reading...
Marketing Guidelines for Medical Practices
Medical Practices have never really had to consider ‘advertising’ but in today’s changing and challenging world marketing is becoming increasingly important for all fields. Marketing is more than selling and advertising. It includes; analysis, planning, pricing, customer service and monitoring.
Medical Practices have certain restrictions though when it comes to promotion. The Medical Council of New Zealand provides guidelines that Doctors should adhere to when advertising:
• Clear and accurate health care information
• Be cautious when ‘Advertising’
• Take reasonable steps to control content
• Claims must be valid, evidence-based and able to be substantiated
• Must not encourage excessive use of health resources
• Not appropriate to off coupons, gift certificates or medical treatments as prizes
• Health and welfare of the patient comes first
Top Tips for Effective Online Copywriting
If you want to know about how to write compelling website copy, then read on. Copywriting is one of the most essential elements of effective online marketing. The art of 'direct-response' copywriting involves strategically delivering words that get people to take some form of action.
You must:
1. understand your customer’s needs and concerns
2. have the ability to clearly communicate the benefits of your product/service
3. be able to close the sale.
4. keep your website copy fresh and updated
You may have a fantastic offer but you also have to communicate it to your audience in a way that appeals to them. And that’s where the art of good copywriting comes into play. Here are 6 simple tips for achieving effective copywriting.
The Guide to Social Media Strategy
Social media marketing refers to the process of gaining traffic through social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube, LinkedIn and so on. Cre8ive has developed this handy infographic guide to social media strategy in order to help you generate more leads with social marketing best practices.
Social Media Case Study – Nutella
Lessons to be Learned about What Not to Do
Nutella is the brand name of a hazelnut chocolate spread that was introduced to the market back in 1964. It is manufactured by the Italian company Ferrero. This case case study illustrates what not to do as Ferrero damaged their brand loyalty by not ‘understanding the rules of the social media game’.
In February 2007, Nutella a avid-fan, Sara, held the first annual World Nutella Day. Over the last few years, the unofficial event has become very successful: 40,000 Facebook fans, 6,500 Twitter followers and features on authoritative blogs. Continue reading...
Maximising Networking Opportunities with LinkedIn
We have all heard the quotation “it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” So how do we go about meeting new people and building contacts - in other words, how do we develop a network? Attending functions and utilising social media to hasten your networking opportunities, you can create potential opportunities.
LinkedIn is the world’s largest professional networking platform. It has grown from 58 million members in 2011 to over 200 million members in March 2013. More than 12,000 organisations have registered with LinkedIn and more than five billion searches on the internet were related to LinkedIn. This platform allows numerous opportunities to connect with potential employees, employers, business partners, suppliers and clients. Whether you are looking to return to the workforce after a break with children, wanting to profile the people behind your business or wanting to increase your business internet presence, it is highly recommended that you get on board. The beauty of LinkedIn is that maintaining a profile doesn’t need to be as time intensive as other social networking sites. However, it is not enough just to create a LinkedIn profile - you need to maximise your profile.
Continue reading...
Infographic – Age of Social Media
We have created this infographic illustrating the age of the various social media platforms.
Upgraded Mobile Advertising
Mobile Advertising Options Released by Google
Google has developed a major update to its advertising platform and called it ‘Enhanced Campaigns’. Announced via its blog post, Google explains that this new project would now allow marketers to combine campaigns across desktop and mobile. "This is a first step to help you more simply and smartly manage your ad campaigns in today’s multi-device world," wrote Sridhar Ramaswamy, Google's Senior Vice President of Engineering.
The basis for Enhanced Campaigns is context and location, so essentially the biggest change is that Google is growing more ‘contextually’ aware. If a user is on a mobile device they will see ads that you have marked as "mobile preferred". A mobile device will be defined as one on which a user is out and about, rather than browsing from a fixed position such as work or home. Marking an ad as "mobile preferred" gives Google some flexibility to judge which ads are more appropriate based on the consumer's situation. A device like a laptop or tablet could be a home/work computer or might be used in a cafe. If the user is mobile, then they should see mobile ads regardless of a strict device type.
Google’s example to highlight the changes:
"A breakfast cafe wants to reach people nearby searching for "coffee" or "breakfast" on a smartphone. Using bid adjustments, they can bid 25% higher for people searching a half-mile away, 20% lower for searches after 11am, and 50% higher for searches on smartphones. "These bid adjustments can apply to all ads and all keywords in one single campaign," explained Ramaswamy.
Before this change, marketers would have to create different campaigns for content pushed across desktop and mobile devices. By streamlining the process, Enhanced Campaigns provides a more integrated approach for brands and targeted content for consumers.
The new addition to AdWords may be one way Google can benefit from on-the-move consumers. However, there are still some kinks to iron out. To read more about the cons of this new upgrade check this article out on Search Engine Land.
Enhanced Campaigns are rolling out in the following weeks, with all campaigns expected to be updated by mid-2013.