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On marketing and honor on Veterans Day

By on November 11, 2008 in commercialization, corporate responsibility, message responsible, socially responsible, videos

Today we honor our veterans: Those that serve, those that have served and those that gave the ultimate sacrifice for their country. How do most marketers honor this sacrifice? By commercializing it with Veterans Day sales, like this one: There’s nothing wrong with sales, especially in this economy. But with nary a mention of veterans [...]

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Outside the box? Hardly.

By on October 27, 2008 in creativity, message responsible

Color me cranky. Last week, I heard the phrase outside the box one too many times and now I need to vent. Don’t get me wrong, Responsible Marketing puts a premium on creativity. Without it, your marketing messages will never break through. I dislike “outside the box” because it’s a cliche. Cliches aren’t fresh, so [...]

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The door to door salesman from hell

By on October 23, 2008 in message responsible, strategically responsible

Yesterday, an office supplies salesperson from Quill darkened our doorstep at Outsource Marketing. It wasn’t pretty, and I asked my colleague to recap her experience for you. Here it is: He walked into an office building that says “No Soliciting” posted on the door. I walking out of Mary Kate’s office and Renee was following [...]

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When do unsolicited messages become spam?

By on October 2, 2008 in ethics, message responsible

Yesterday, several members of my Outsource Marketing team received a solicitation via an email form that none of us wanted. I personally responded with a simple email: Don’t SPAM us with your … ‘opportunities’ anymore. Especially via our new business inquiries form. Thank you. This set off a nuclear reaction of emails: A curt message [...]

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Responsible or not? Advertising adultery

By on September 19, 2008 in ethics, message responsible, morality, responsible or not?, social networking, videos

Ashley Madison is a social networking/dating service—for married people. Although the company isn’t breaking any laws by helping facilitate adultery (soon they’ll have a money back guarantee if you don’t successfully have an affair), they aren’t breaking any laws. Still, their billboard only lasted three days in Times Square, an ad they produced for ESPN [...]

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Bumvertising: Welcome to the Hall of Shame

By on September 16, 2008 in casting responsible, environmentally responsible, ethics, execution responsible, hall of shame, message responsible, roi responsible, signage, socially responsible, strategically responsible, videos, viral marketing

Bumvertising is exactly what it sounds like: Advertising on the homeless. It started in 2005 when 22-year-old University of Washington grad Ben Rogovy was looking for a cheap way to promote another company he started. Here’s a quick overview: View this video on YouTube The Bumvertising debate has attracted local, national and even international media [...]

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Responsible or not? Ringling Brothers Circus

By on September 8, 2008 in environmentally responsible, message responsible, responsible or not?, socially responsible, strategically responsible, videos

I was surprised how excited I was to take my kids to “The Greatest Show on Earth,” on Saturday. The last time I’d been to The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus was at least 30 years ago, and I knew my four and five year old kids would be captivated by the show. [...]

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How Responsible Marketing builds trust

By on August 7, 2008 in casting responsible, environmentally responsible, execution responsible, message responsible, no trust, roi responsible, socially responsible, strategically responsible

Some people think trust is gained through integrity only. Not so, says Steven M.R. Covey in The Speed of Trust. Trust is equal parts character and competence. Here’s how character and competence are directly related to Responsible Marketing: It takes more than just doing marketing right. For long-term success, you really have to do the [...]

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Apple responds to censorship challenge

By on August 4, 2008 in branding, message responsible, socially responsible

Last week, Gawker reported that Apple had censored the cigarette from the Mad Men page on iTunes (see above). For a split second, I thought it was a good thing. I don’t smoke and couldn’t have been happier when Washington State’s Clean Indoor Air Act took effect. But then I realized just how wrong taking [...]

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Does marketing need a heart?

By on July 29, 2008 in casting responsible, creativity, execution responsible, message responsible, no trust, roi responsible, strategically responsible

There are seven keys to Responsible Marketing. Most would agree the first four keys are necessary just to do marketing right: Strategically responsible – to save time, money and improve focus Execution responsible – with best practices instead of best efforts Casting responsible – so your have the right people in the right roles, internally [...]

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Love it or hate it: Jawbone viral video campaign

By on July 23, 2008 in love it or hate it?, message responsible, videos, viral marketing

Surely you are familiar with Jawbone, the makers of the excellent noise-canceling Bluetooth headsets for mobile phones. The product really is amazing. I love mine. But I don’t love their attempt at creating buzz. I’d rate the first video PG-13. View the video on YouTube Two women are sitting in a pub having a casual [...]

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Can’t buy me love: Paid conversation seeding

By on July 14, 2008 in authenticity, message responsible, no trust, social networking, truth, word of mouth

Authenticity is the marketing buzzword du jour, and for good reason: There’s a huge trust gap between marketers and consumers and the more “real” you can be, the better. So, is the following Responsible Marketing? Top Quality & Affordable Forum Population Paid forum posting is about providing your forum, blog or community a jumpstart, by [...]

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Bite-sized Friday: Chickens to China

By on July 11, 2008 in corporate responsibility, digital marketing, message responsible, social media, socially responsible

Bennett Gordon from the always good Utne Reader shared the following interview with Lucas Conley, author of Obsessive Branding Disorder. Includes audio, video and a link to an excerpt from the book. Looking for social media case studies? Here are 27 of ‘em from Now is Gone, by Geoff Livingston. In Indecent exposures: Companies don’t [...]

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Independence Day advertising that breaks through

By on July 4, 2008 in creativity, fun, message responsible, videos, word of mouth

Independence Day Sale advertising is seldom message responsible. The print ads are crowded and filled with visual cliches. And the television ads can be downright obnoxious. Here’s a simple promotional television ad for retailer that, except for a few red stars, keeps the cliches to a minimum. I appreciate the fact the announcer avoids the [...]

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Responsible Marketing is marketing without an *

By on July 3, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, greenwashing, message responsible, no trust, privacy, truth, word of mouth

We don’t trust anyone anymore. It seems the great politicians, celebrities, corporate titans and athletes have all let us down one way or another. And while part of our psyche seems to revel in watching the demise of greatness, there’s also a part of us that hurts a little. Where have all the good ones [...]

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Responsible Marketing on socialmedia.alltop.com

By on June 24, 2008 in about this blog, announcement, digital marketing, message responsible, social networking

Alltop is the excellent blog aggregation site that offers “aggregation without aggravation” because it lists just the best of the best blogs. I was honored to be included in the marketing.alltop category in May and gave you Responsible Marketers the opportunity to weigh in on which badge I should use. So, imagine my surprise when [...]

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Archie Bunker as pitchman? Almost.

By on June 18, 2008 in branding, message responsible, responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos

Would you like someone that makes “tasteless jokes about sex, AIDS, religion and bodily functions, purposely offending just about every group of people you could name” to represent your product? How about a character that have “been criticized for everything from anti-Semitism and sexism to homophobia and overall disgustingness?” Sounds like Archie Bunker, the bombastic [...]

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History’s worst viral campaign, or best?

By on June 13, 2008 in authenticity, deceptive marketing, message responsible, responsible or not?, socially responsible, videos, viral marketing, word of mouth

Above are two of four videos that were uploaded to YouTube two weeks ago proving that the radiation from cell phones is strong enough to actually pop corn. Or not. As it turns out, it’s a hoax—a viral marketing ploy by Cardo Systems, a maker of cell phone earpieces and headsets. They’ve gained worldwide attention [...]

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Deception is not Responsible Marketing

By on June 11, 2008 in deceptive marketing, hall of shame, message responsible

Liberty Names of America regularly sends us expiration notices for our domain name renewals. Problem is, they aren’t our domain registrar. Their notices are formatted like invoices in a ploy to get us to transfer our domains to them. Click on the image below to take a closer look: +Click to enlarge Of course, when [...]

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Bite-sized Friday: Responsible Marketing Lite

By on June 6, 2008 in charitable giving, consumerism, message responsible, speeches, videos

For a change of pace, I thought I’d share a few bite-sized Responsible Marketing-related things I’ve come across this week. Causes Reports On Its First Year – $2.5 Million For 20,000 Charities And NonProfits. An interesting Facebook application that makes it easy for individuals to donate to non-profits. From TechCrunch. List of songs deemed inappropriate [...]

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