Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Brand, Tech Talk, User experience | 0 Comments

When is a website not a website?

When it’s your brand, of course.

Eh?

Let me explain myself.  I was lying in bed a couple of nights back trying to think about the content of a piece  I’m writing for the ever excellent B2B Marketing magazine about trends and developments in 2012.  By the end of my ruminations, I’d hit on upon an idea (I won’t spoil it by telling you what it is here) that was passable, and several that weren’t.  However, one idea stuck with me, and whilst not relevant to the article in question, it did warrant further consideration.

Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Content marketing, Marketing speak, Personal, Tech Talk | 0 Comments

Creating, using and targeting content to engage with prospects (Part 1)

It’s been a busy couple of weeks for me recently.  Not only was I lucky enough to be invited to speak at the EConsultancy Funnel marketing seminars (see part one below), where my specialist subject was “Creating, using and targeting content to engage with prospects”, but I also picked up a plethora of awards on Thursday night at both the Sodexo Stars Awards (Innovation and change award) and the B2B Marketing Awards (Marketer of the year and Best internal marketing campaign).  It was a bit of a logistical challenge being at two award ceremonies in one night, but with the aid of London’s finest Black cabs I pulled it off and spent all day Friday recovering as a result.  A fantastic night, and a huge thank you to all involved.

Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Marketing speak, Tech Talk | 0 Comments

2011 Hypecycle Gartner > Smart Insights Digital Marketing

2011 Hypecycle Gartner > Smart Insights Digital Marketing.

Having just been reading about Gartner’s hype cycle in Dave Chaffeys’ excellent but now slightly outdated ‘Internet Marketing’, it’s good to see a more recent version that is now available.  This version is less focused on specific technologies, and more keyed into life cycle stages, and all the more useful because of it.

***Update*** Spoke too soon.  Check out technology/channel version here

Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Marketing speak, Personal, Tech Talk | 2 Comments

Can big agencies ‘do’ digital?

I was sitting in a cafe in Greenwich Park last Sunday having a chat with a very good friend of mine about the effectiveness of  large agencies when dealing with digital, and in particular, social marketing (I know, I know, I really do need a hobby).  She’s in a good position to understand any issues, working as she does for one of the big five agencies, and I was surprised to hear that she shared my concerns.  Now, I’ll be the first to admit that I have a bias against the larger agencies. I’ve had lots of bad experiences and have been charged quite a large amount for the privilege.  But maybe I’m just unlucky, or really bad at briefing, so I opened up the debate to a few marketing colleagues and their responses seem to have confirmed that the problem appears endemic.  So, what are the issues?

Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Google, Tech Talk | 0 Comments

Word of warning for Google adword users about the Google Display Network

I’m a big fan of Google adwords.  No other marketing channel can compare for speed of delivery, trackability and reach.  From the smallest start up to the largest multi-national corporation it can deliver a touch point with potential customers at the right place, and the right time.  I’m not a whole-hearted evangelist though – there are flaws in the system and it’s worth highlighting one of the biggest ones.  Google adwords comes bundled with the Google Ad Network.  Let me explain what this means.  

Posted by Andrew Nicholson in Tech Talk | 10 Comments

Response to Mark Ritson’s “All that glitters isn’t social media gold”

Any marketer worth their salt regularly checks out Marketing Week’s Mark Ritson for his weekly erudite, witty and knowledgeable column.

I’m sure this week will be no different, and as such, I feel I’ve got to get my oar in, because this week Mr Ritson is that rare thing.  He is wrong.  The article endorses web guru, Douglas Rushkoff’s view that Facebook is going to go the same way as any other number of online bubbles, and will burst sometime soon in a frothy burst of data and Fairy liquid.  To quote a quote