Insights

Content Marketing | Team Structure | Post 3 of 4

With a strategy firmly in place, it is now time to move onto building the team to create the content. We know your team is small. So this is not about the size of your staff. Rather this is about the ...

Content Marketing | 4 Frameworks | Post 2 of 4

Diving into content marketing without a strategy is akin to creating a TV ad that doesn’t have a media buy to support it. Without a media buy, you don’t know the audience, you don’t ...

Content Marketing | Still a sh*tshow | Post 1 of 4

A couple of weeks ago, Jim and I had the privilege of speaking at the In-House Agency Forum’s Annual Conference. This year their conference focused on “Game Changers”. As their program des...

When in-house agencies should outsource video

Small and mid-sized in-house agencies often find themselves asking their staffs to work on projects outside of their areas of expertise. They might ask the internal public relations associate to "try"...

Prezi Tips

A few years ago, we started experimenting with Prezi. It’s a great presentation tool that enhances the content of discussions with partners, clients, and conference attendees. We appreciate your...

Traffic does not matter. Stop counting it.

A Tippingpoint Labs client experienced 30% drop in traffic and a 38% increase in sales. How? By learning to measure the right stats.

In-House Agencies: Techniques for Effective Content Marketing

Nine out of 10 marketing professionals use content marketing. But are they using it effectively? Are you?

Hearsay: CNN Money with Predictions for Social Networks

CNNMoney posted an article entitled: 7 social networks to watch in 2013. What struck me about these new networks, is they all seemed to answer one of three challenges...

Hearsay: Great Content Principles for Brands to Follow

I was sent an article, written by Jesse Stanchak, that paraphrases Scott Monty's "social storytelling lessons" speech at NMX Las Vegas. ... The article shares 4 principles about developing a good bran...

Starbucks' CEO invites us to create content he can amplify

Starbucks' CEO, Howard Schultz took out a full page ad in the New York Times last Sunday. Except, it didn't look like an ad.

Is Print Dead or is it that the Strong Survive?

Is print dead? Perhaps we are simply witnessing a Darwinian evolution of the print species. The question is, what strategy makes a publication survive and can it be adopted by the weaker?

Brands need to think more like publishers

Brands are learning now that to connect with consumers, they must publish content. Some are really pushing that concept and have become media powerhouses.

Picture Perfect Partnerships

When brands band together, multidimensional stories emerge. Each brand needs to understand what it brings to the main story and to its more focused story. Strong partnerships create efficiencies. A br...

Examining the Hooks of James Beard Rising Star Chef Nominees

We often find ourselves helping guiding brands towards uncovering their unique value and talent towards discovering their natural hook. I thought it would be fun to look at the new James Beard nominee...

The Importance of a Hook

One of the hardest things for content creators to do is figure out what makes them unique in the marketplace.

3 Valuable Audience Segments Inspired by James Beard Award Nominees

Aside from the representing the best culinary talent, the James Beard Award nominees also call our attention to valuable audience segments.

Who are the people that power your brand?

How can you introduce your audience to the people that make your products possible? How can you create a personal relationship between your brand, your employees and the customers you serve? You need ...

Selling product does not mean selling out

Brands are great at selling product but sometimes fall short when telling stories that go beyond "advertorial" content.

Knowing When to Say No

Every brandscape has a different dynamic between brands, talent and publishers. This is a reflection of the individual values each brings to the table. One very interesting feature of how the web work...

Unified Content. Shared Audience. Better Results.

As a brand, you have to embrace the idea that you’re not the only company targeting the exact same audience. If you’re humble enough to do that, you’ll uncover marketing opportunitie...

There's nothing 'quick' about QR Codes

For those of you that don’t know, the ‘QR’ in ‘QR Code’ stands for ‘quick response.’ But the reality is, scanning a QR code is anything but simple, quick, easy, or ever rewarding.

Home Depot Should Build a Sturdier Foundation for Video Content

Many brands have been creating content and have an arsenal on various social media platforms. Those brands should now be looking to evolve that content or the platforms on which it resides to maximize...

Go to a trade show where you force yourself to be relevant

If you want to stand out and attract attention in the marketplace, target an audience where no one like you is participating.

Consumers Win with Brand Crossovers

Crossing over and sharing audience with other brands is a vital way to build and strengthen your relationship with your audience.

Big Companies Can Cross-Pollinate Their Brands

Our concept of "Brandscaping" encourages complementary brands to unite in order to amortize content creation costs and realize greater reach through multiple points of distribution.

What can a superhero chef, a makeup brand and a paint company bring to Comic-Con?

Big brands often pave the way in marketing and smaller companies try to ride the wave or emulate on a smaller scale. However, recently there have been examples of marketing initiatives executed on by ...

Bloggers and brands can build valuable relationships

Blogger and brand relationships can be tricky to navigate. Oftentimes brands choose to sample products and donate items to bloggers for feedback, reviews, exposure -- only to find that nothing comes o...

Beautiful Women, Fashion & Cars Work Together

Can you take two or more different brands with different products and values and unite them seamlessly?

Capitalize on Consumer Spending Patterns

Consumers spend a lot of money when buying a home, so how can brands get into their consideration set right from the beginning of a home build or purchase project?

Investigating and Identifying Your Digital Influencers as a Publisher

We a video question from an attendee at the recent Parenting Media Conference about how to find, identify and work with local digital influencers as a publisher.

Why Aren’t Lifestyle Brands Teaming Up More?

Are brands missing opportunities to build themselves into media empires that drive a whole lifestyle?

How to determine if you should buy ads or create content

If you want to raise awareness, buy an ad. If you want to increase demand, create content.

Underwriting Content is a Successful Business Model

Underwriting great content is not only a successful business model, it continues to have a lasting impact on our culture.

Rebuilding a community while building brand partnerships

On January 26, I wrote about the importance of great partners when building a campaign or brandscape. I was encouraged to see a group of brands aligned to literally rebuild a community in an authentic...

Is Tiffany's micro-site better than Pinterest?

Pintrest.com is generating a lot of interest and has even been sited as a leading traffic generator to retail sites, surpassing Google+ and growing at leaps and bounds. If it is the new coveted platfo...

Do We Care about the McDonald's Suppliers?

McDonald's is running a campaign about their suppliers - potato, lettuce and beef so far. What is it about the McDonald's campaign that seems so disingenuous?

Build On Your Real-life Networks

We are just seeing the beginning of a marketing revolution. Forward thinkers like Chef Jody Adams who already see the value of a rising tide lifting all ships have unique opportunities ahead.

The right partners can make or break a campaign

Google worked with their agency GOOD/CORPS to create a series of videos that promote small business. Not unlike the American Express Plum campaign, the idea is to showcase how Google properties enhanc...

Is the Elle and Van Cleef & Arpels campaign one to remember?

Presented as an attempt to recreate the magic felt when falling in love, The Van Cleef & Arpels Love Stories campaign doesn’t evoke a modern day love affair feel. I am lost within it's beautiful s...

"One Track Mind": Diverge the track for greater return

The traditional one advertiser, one media publisher relationship can hinder a campaign both from a content and distribution standpoint. Brands and publishers must think bigger about the content they c...

A gem of an idea: JCK Rock Star

As a former marketing director at a New England based jewelry retail chain and as an avid watcher of Project Runway, I was smitten with JCK's Rock Star series from the start. I think JCK is pioneering...

Your Audience Isn't Your Only Audience

With increased online capabilities, every brand is now a publisher. So how can you rethink your business relationships as publishing opportunities that will reduce costs or drive revenue?

Jay-Z's Offline Campaign Leads to Online Action

The Power of Transmedia Storytelling In a highly fragmented media market, more and more brands are turning to the art of transmedia storytelling†to turn online interaction into offline action. For tho...

Participation Creation: Finding Nemo & The Clownfish

When Disney released their feature film called Finding Nemo the environmental ramifications on the Clownfish population were stunning. How could Disney and Aquarium salesman around the world have mutu...

What Works: Crutchfield Delivers by Extending the Sales Cycle

How your commitment to customer support after the sale can make you a success and build an extremely loyal following.

Wednesday Video: The Difference Between Content Strategy and Content Marketing

The difference between content strategy and content marketing explained.

Magazines as eCommerce Vehicles: Net-A-Porter’s App

Net-A-Porter understands that the closer they align the point of inspiration with the e-commerce experience the higher the sale and the better the conversion rate.

7 Ways Social Media Rewards The Brain

Tom Chatfield spoke last July at Ted about "7 Ways Games Reward the Brain." While I watched Tom's speech, I realized that Social Media has more in common with game theory than with content marketing. ...

Participation Creation using Storify.com

How to leverage the influencers in your community as content collaborators to expand and extend your content distribution.

Prezi Paths: Linear Storytelling in an Infinite Landscape

Prezi is unbelievably easy to use. Unlike most presentation tools, it’s devoid of constraints. For us, this is a blessing. For many, it’s a curse.

Chart of the Week: The Information Overload Paradox

Just because there's more information available, doesn't mean one can consume more. The secret to good content marketing is cutting through the white noise.

14 Things Everyone Should Know about Writing for eCommerce Sites

The secrets to writing great eCommerce copy revealed by Tippingpoint Labs.

5 Ways to Maximize Banner Ads with Content

Every type of advertising has its own unique use and value -- including online advertising. Maximizing the value of online placed advertising should be a key part of your advertising strategy. But you...

Building Relationships Informed by the Influence Pyramid

"The Influence Pyramid" is designed to show how any brand should start dissecting and defining their online universe.

The Influence Pyramid: Reaching The Right Consumers

The Influence Pyramid is a conceptual framework for building outreach strategies to communities online and off. It helps you define a methodology and an architecture to target your content and media ...

Why Panel Discussions Suck...

I went to SxSW this year and attended half a dozen panel discussions. I also just returned from the Custom Content Conference in Nashville, where I attended one panel. Quite frankly they all sucked. D...

The Pitfalls of Traditional Content Syndication Online

The word 'syndication' in the media world is a loaded term. If you're in traditional broadcasting you understand syndication to be the licensing of programming for broadcast in your market. If you're ...

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Twitter, Facebook vs. OpenID: Identity Management Made Easy

As Facebook Connect and Twitter grow so does single sign-on The more I experiment with new platforms the more I find myself trying to manage my online identity. With the huge adoption of both Twitter ...

The Online Brand Value Chain Explained

Word-of-mouth Marketing can be much more powerful than TV ads. But making it work isn't as simple as buying air time. The Tippingpoint Labs Online Brand Value chain demonstrates how brands can produce...

5 Podcasting Tips to Help You Make Marconi Proud

When I think of podcasting, I think of radio. Not gab masters like Howard Stern or Carson Daley radio, but dramatic radio. I think of shows like All Things Considered. Masters like Paul Harvey and ...

Indium Corp Solders Together a Perfect Blog Strategy

Indium Corp.'s corporate blogging strategy is extremely effective because it provides highly targeted, valuable content to potential customers in their very niche industry. By understanding Indium's c...

Add Value on Twitter: The 4-1-1 Rule

Today, we're focusing neither on the value of Twitter nor what you can do with it. Instead, let's take a look at how you should be using it for maxium efficiency. As Twitter is in the escalation phas...

5 Ways Sellsumers Could Impact Your Business

Smart marketers should perk up and recognize another indicator of shifting consumer behavior. Empowered digital consumers are going around, not through, major brands. Sellsumers are highly engaged, sa...

If you're not on Scribd, seriously, what are you waiting for?

Back in March, I reported that Scribd.com had just entered the monetization phase of its New Media Life Cycle. As the name indicates, this phase is marked by mainstream users looking to monetize their...

Finding Value at Omegle.com?

Omegle's premise is simple: Click “Start a chat” and you’re immediately connected with a completely random person. No logins. No terms & conditions. No warnings. Just sink or swim. The living embo...

Branded Content Distribution + Kosmix = Contextual Search

The future of search does not lie in Google's disorganized monopoly of paid search results and indecipherable, keyword-optimized, co-opted and click-through ranked searches. It lies in context-sensiti...

Twitter is Done. Tumblr is Next.

In the past couple of weeks I’ve started to see evidence that Twitter might be entering its Trough of Disillusionment. The evidence you ask?

How Geico Wastes $90MM a Year on Search Engine Marketing

The more and more people I talk to, the more often I find myself taking a militant stance against gigantic search engine marketing (SEM) spending. My position is simple: if you create relevant, freque...

WillItBlend.com: Attaching a Value to your Content

Great content works. I've also been trying to make the argument in my office that great content is inherently valuable. Meaning, that the content itself can be monetized. WillItBlend has done this. Wi...

Finding Value in the Distributed Content Model

As a strategist at an online content marketing agency I’m constantly asked to recommend the most effective online distribution channels. Unfortunately, there’s been no easy way to answer this question...

Content Marketing | Process | Post 4 of 4

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