Fri, 25/01/13 – 6:49 | Comments Off on My Third Book: Visual Social Media Marketing: Harnessing Images, Instagram, Infographics and Pinterest to Grow Your Business Online

Today is finally the day 😉
I am really excited to announce my newest book is NOW AVAILABLE –  Visual Social Media Marketing: Harnessing Images, Instagram, Infographics and Pinterest to Grow Your Business Online.
About 6 months …

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Show Don’t Tell: Good Marketing Isn’t about Irrelevant Messages
Fri, 16/11/12 – 14:54 | Comments Off on Show Don’t Tell: Good Marketing Isn’t about Irrelevant Messages

As you probably know, I live in Cincinnati, and the Cincinnati airport CVG has had the highest fares in the nation.  Yes, the most expensive airport to fly from in America has been Cincinnati, an airport that is dominated by Delta.  Flights on average are 28% more than the national average.

The good news for those living in Cincinnati is that there are a number of other airports nearby, and many travelers regularly drive an hour to an hour and a half to save hundreds of dollars by flying out of Dayton, Columbus, Lexington or Indiana.

I rarely fly out of CVG (the Cincinnati airport) any more because there are few direct flights and it is extremely expensive.

Think CVG First

When I saw this advertising campaign for CVG, I was floored.  The slogan is “think CVG first”.  Everyone does.  Who wouldn’t rather fly out of an airport that is nicer and closer?  Who wouldn’t want to reduce their overall travel time by flying from their home airport? Plus, the newly renovated airport is clean, beautiful, comfortable and has TONS of electrical outlets.

Everyone thinks of CVG first.

The reason that people don’t fly from CVG is because it is so expensive.

They start by searching for flights from CVG and then realize that they can save $200 – $500 by flying from somewhere that is only an hour away.

The high priced airfares have been in the local news for years.

To me, this campaign makes CVG airport seem out of touch.  I am a frequent business traveler, as are many of my friends, and very few travelers regularly fly from CVG.  Not because we don’t think of it, but because there are better schedules at lower prices at airports that aren’t much further away.

I laugh every time I see this campaign because it is so out of touch.

Show Don’t Tell: How CVG Could Address the Issue

If CVG really wanted to show people that they are actually in touch with why people choose other airports they could address the actual issue.  Sure, they don’t control pricing at an airport, and they are probably just as annoyed as we are about flight prices, since high fares means fewer travelers and less revenue for them.  That being said, I’m sure that it would be bad publicity for them to attack the airlines, who are also one of their stakeholders.

Here is what I would do.

Take my pointless advertising budget and say “Hey, we can’t control the price of flights out of the airport, but we share your frustration.  We are taking our ad budget and using it to give you $$ back.”  Give travelers money off of each flight, or a voucher for free food or something…….  Show that you understand the problem and care about it.

Rather than trying to broadcast messages to people, show them that you care about the issue.  Even if you can’t fix it.  Be a champion.

That would win tremendous goodwill in the community.

Think of the PepsiRefresh project – they took the millions that they would have spent on the SuperBowl and instead created a grant program for businesses and community organizations.  They said “rather than spending millions messaging at you, we’ll do something for you”.  They probably generated more media and more impressions from the Refresh project than they would have with a superbowl add.

What do You Think?

Value Added Marketing: An Election Example
Mon, 12/11/12 – 9:53 | Comments Off on Value Added Marketing: An Election Example
Value Added Marketing: An Election Example

I know that we are all glad that the election is finally over and hopefully the charged political commentary across our social network feeds will finally come to an end.
Now that the election is over, marketing …

Are You in the Business of Getting Likes on Facebook?
Thu, 21/06/12 – 9:37 | 2 Comments
Are You in the Business of Getting Likes on Facebook?

No.  You are in the business of what you actually do….  designing sneakers, selling soap or offering accounting services.  Whatever business your in, that is what you actually do.  Unless you are in the business of …

The 2 Minute Social Media Post Rule
Tue, 5/06/12 – 14:30 | One Comment
The 2 Minute Social Media Post Rule

The Biggest Problem with Social Media
I have said for a while in my training now that the biggest problem with social media is that it is free.  What I mean by this is that brands …

Dasani Facebook App – “Recycle” your Photos and Get a Great Cover Image
Tue, 22/05/12 – 9:16 | Comments Off on Dasani Facebook App – “Recycle” your Photos and Get a Great Cover Image
Dasani Facebook App – “Recycle” your Photos and Get a Great Cover Image

 
These days it seems like every brand has a Facebook application…. and personally, I find very few of them at all interesting or engaging.  I came across the Dasani photosynthesis application (I think through an …

You Can Pick My Brain. Just Not For Free.
Thu, 5/01/12 – 10:43 | 9 Comments
You Can Pick My Brain. Just Not For Free.

I was recently reacquainted with an article that came out almost a year ago on Forbes called No You Can’t Pick My Brain. It Costs too Much. I posted the article on Facebook and received a bunch …

Brands and Social Media: Stop Making it Your Own Game.
Mon, 19/12/11 – 8:38 | One Comment
Brands and Social Media: Stop Making it Your Own Game.

Successful social media strategies often require that it isn’t all about you.  The best way to leverage social media for your brand is to look at what is already going on and how you can …

Stop Vomiting QR Codes at Me
Mon, 12/12/11 – 8:14 | 6 Comments
Stop Vomiting QR Codes at Me

Seriously. They are everywhere. They are annoying (because they are overused and misused). They serve no purpose most of the time. Most people don’t know how to use them.
Stop vomiting them on everything.
Just because you …

Online Brand Management with Social Media: My Presentation at PubCon 2011
Tue, 29/11/11 – 7:55 | One Comment

PubCon is one of my favorite conferences to speak at every year, and I normally do a few different presentations at the event.  Today I wanted to share with you my favorite presentation: Online Brand …

Trust me. Social Media Works. The SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN Reasons Why Social Media Works.
Tue, 18/10/11 – 9:40 | 3 Comments
Trust me. Social Media Works. The SCIENTIFICALLY PROVEN Reasons Why Social Media Works.

Often times social media consultants say “Trust me. This stuff works.  I know it works.”  And some of the time they are right.  The problem is that they don’t know how to articulate why and …

Why don’t companies appreciate their customers?
Tue, 20/09/11 – 12:25 | Comments Off on Why don’t companies appreciate their customers?
Why don’t companies appreciate their customers?

In gearing up for SXSW, and with a panel proposal about creating WOW and standing out with STUNTS at SXSW, I was thinking about how companies can market at an event like SXSW.  At SXSW, …