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Marketing Trends
May 2007 | Volume 5 Issue 5
Find out about what's new in marketing—and what remains essential. This issue's authors offer insights into how to reach out to audiences in an environment where the new social media network is gaining momentum. And while technology is changing the face of marketing as we know it, staples such as word-of-mouth communication and well-planned and well-executed research continue to be critical to successful marketing campaigns.
Natasha Nicholson
Executive Editor
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Features
SOCIAL MEDIA MARKETING
by Ryan Buchanan
Consumers no longer have to rely only on mass media for information. More often than not, they are turning to colleagues, friends and other people they trust for advice on what products and services to buy, generally trying to avoid sales people altogether. Understandably, this is what makes social media so effective, and one of the reasons why it can have such a positive impact on your bottom line.
WORD-OF-MOUTH MARKETING
by Paul J. Gibler
Late last October, the cosmetics company Dove found itself at the center of attention over its release of a dramatic video titled the "Evolution of Beauty." The video is part of Dove's ongoing "Campaign for Real Beauty," which challenges conventional ideas of what makes a woman beautiful.
The campaign is not only notable for its message, but it is also a
great example of a well-executed, creative marketing campaign that effectively harnesses the power of social media and word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing.
MARKETING RESEARCH
by Michaela Hayes
We've all heard (perhaps too many times) that we live in a global economy, where change has become constant, that we are bombarded by a multitude of messages and, as a result, suffer from a common ailment: information overload. While advances in technology have had a major role in bringing us to this point, they also provide us with the tools to fight back.
No longer passive victims, we are now in charge. We search for the information we want and—with the flick of the remote control, a click of the mouse or by just tuning out—we delete what we don't want.
For consumers of information, this works. For communicators, this doesn't.
MARKETING ONLINE
by Philip Weiss
Back in the 1990s, marketers were under assault. Everything is changing, they were told. Digital is upon us. Discover this new world of communication or your job is on the line!
Then came the dot-com bust. Some people even seemed slightly relieved—believing that things weren't going to change after all. And yet the Internet didn't just keel over and die. Indeed, after 2001, its relentless growth continued unchecked, forcing marketers to take notice.
Columns
Interviewing Techniques: An art you need to practice
by Natalie Canavor and Claire Meirowitz
Although some communicators have a background in journalism, interviewing may not be the first thing that pops into your mind when you think of business communication. Of course, many of us interview managers and employees for our company's newsletter articles, annual reports, promotional materials, white papers, advertorials, speeches and more.
But the need for good interview techniques goes a lot further even than that.
Image Matters:
Dress for success, and cue the right visuals
by Daria Steigman
My mother was right: Image matters. Not in a flash-in-the-pan, Madison-Avenue-billboard kind of way, but rather in the vein that purple hair and a black leather miniskirt don't cut it in the workplace unless you're serving drinks in a punk bar.
Mismanaging a Media Meltdown
by Ned Barnett, APR
In the U.S. over the past year, actors Mel Gibson, Michael Richards and shock-jock radio host Don Imus have all undergone very public meltdowns that turned into public relations disasters—with some remarkable similarities. In each case, their self-inflicted problems could have been largely overcome by a savvy and consistent PR response to their crises.
Case Studies
Communication in the News
Related RESOURCEs
Related Resources provides additional articles and resources for understanding this month's topic of marketing trends. You can also find some of these links alongside each corresponding feature article for quick reference. Links include:
- "The (Sponsored) Word on the Street," by Denise Winterman
- "Taking the Pulse of Marketing," by Burt Helm
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