Marketing 2.0

Market Research Portal

Here is a resource site for those interested in market research. There's lots of good content and tools available here. This link comes courtesy of Marcus Zillman's excellent blog.

Link: Market Research Portal.

Firefox Ad Contest

Want to try your hand at producing advertising? Here's a chance to produce a 30 second spot promoting Firefox, everyone's (well mine that is) favorite web browser. Why not show those creative snobs from the big agencies that you've got what it takes to produce good promotional content. Who knows, you might end up designing campaigns for a paying client someday.

Link: Mozilla Firefox Flicks : Ad Contest.

Robin Good's New Media Predictions

Robin Good is an excellent resource for communication technology and new media tools. Here, he presents his major trends for 2006. Marketers should take note, 2006 will be the year of video according to Good. The Internet is rapidly evolving into a collaborative, interactive environment. You can't afford to ignore these trends and continue focusing on the old solutions - traditional advertising, direct mail, etc., to reach your constituents.

Link: New Media Predictions 2006: What Will The Web Future Bring? - Robin Good's Latest News.

Yahoo offers Movable Type

Here's a new development that impacts the choices for corporate blogging tools. Yahoo will now offer Six Apart's Movable Type as part of its tools for small business. This article from CNN Money details Yahoo's new bundle of services for small businesses. Sounds like Yahoo wants to be the prime vendor for web hosting, blogging and e-mail. I don't know much about their services but I plan to investigate their web management offering.

Link: Write On: Yahoo! to sell Movable Type software for bloggers - Dec. 12, 2005.

IBM's Podcast Guidelines

Here is a sure sign that podcasting is catching on in the corporate world. IBM recently published guidelines for its employees who are involved in podcasting. There have been several publicized incidents of employees at other companies getting fired for their blogging activities so it's a good bet that we'll see similar incidents with audio content. This just points out the need for companies to have a policy covering all forms of online publishing that staff may engage in.

While this may feel like an infringement on personal freedom and expression, it's important to separate the organizational and individual voices. Like it or not, if you identify yourself as an employee of any specific organization, what you publish online will influence your organization's image.

I found IBM's guidelines interesting because some relate to legal issues like confidentiality while others discuss production value (set the bar high for audio production and content quality). Of course, IBM is interested in protecting their corporate image and brand equity (and why shouldn't they?). I complement them on being proactive. Good communication with staff and clear guidelines go a long way in avoiding messy problems.

This article comes courtesy of Business Blog Consulting, an excellent resource that I recommend.

Link: Business Blog Consulting: IBM's Podcast Guidelines.

Engagement Marketing

Here is an excellent posting from Robin Good on the end of interruption marketing and the dawn of engagement marketing. What's this all about? Traditional marketing communications strategies like advertising, sales promotions and direct mail rely on interrupting people, trying to gain their attention and persuading them to buy something. While billions are still spent on traditional marketing, these efforts are increasingly being undermined by Internet technology and culture. The new values focus on individuality, open systems, collaboration and speed. Consumers now want to be part of the marketing process, want goods that are customized to fit their unique requirements, and want to engage in a real conversation rather than listening to another boring marketing monologue.

Link: Marketing Communications Future: The Twilight Of Interruption, The Dawn Of Engagement Marketing - Robin Good's Latest News.