I put out an article a couple weeks ago titled, “Are you a slave to social media?” Evidently it struck a chord, since it was my most highly shared and Tweeted piece this year. It also earned me an invitation to contribute to Social Media Impact, the top trusted social media news site out of the US http://socialmediaimpact.com/slave-social-media/. So I thought we’d follow up on … [Read more...]
Did GAP goof? Remembrance Day Sale goes wrong in Canada
GAP appears to be retracting big time on a promotional email put out by head office on Monday Nov 10, that didn't go over too well with Canadian customers. The offer was on a "puffer vest" for $19.99 on special during a Remembrance Day Sale. Seems many Canadians took issue with the company provoking commercial gain, on what is universally accepted as a somber day of thanks and … [Read more...]
A campaign to make the fur fly
I remember well a day back in 1988 when the advertising sales department at the Georgia Straight, Vancouver’s urban weekly where I was working at the time, fell in the cross hairs of activists on behalf of the inhumane treatment of animals in the commercial fur trade. You see, long before desktop publishing, newspapers were constructed like puzzle pieces – ads created and then … [Read more...]
Content marketing is hot, but is it time to kick a few platforms to the curb?
Pass the Louisiana Hot Sauce, cayenne pepper or Tabasco. “Content marketing” is hot. The Content Marketing Institute (yes, there is now an institute devoted to the study of this thing that didn’t exist a couple years ago, that we all now need), defines content marketing as: “A strategic marketing approach focused on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and … [Read more...]
Five steps to fuel word of mouth: Learning from Tim Horton’s recruitment pop-up store
Suppose you need to get the word out about something, don’t have a huge media budget, and you want to stand out from competitors. Sound familiar? It’s a challenge that pretty much every business has faced, but now, more than any other time in recent history, we actually have the tools to accomplish it. Enter social media, the increasing popularity of photo and video share … [Read more...]
