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Posts from the 'Fun With Marketing' Category
February 15th, 2007 by Lani Voivod
Edited by Kim Castle, BrandU®, stolen (with “blurb” permission) by me, after reading Kim’s Valentine’s Day edition of her “Power Play” ezine.
By the way, the article below is a rare beast - a mix of humor AND marketing. “Marketing” on its own often tends to be too serious for its own good. If you’re fond of mixing humor with your marketing, check out Kevin Skarritt’s Squidoo page: “How Many Marketers Does It Take…” and see if you can come up with the winning punchline of the new twist on the ol’ lightbulb joke. A secret prize goes to the winner. Good luck!
The buzzword in business is MARKETING. However, people often get its meaning confused with the other ways they interact with their customers. Here’s an eight step at-a-glance understanding of this tricky subject. See if you can apply it to your business.
1) You’re a woman and you see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.” — That’s Direct Marketing.
2) You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up to him and, pointing at you, says, “She’s fantastic in bed.”— That’s Advertising.
3) You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed.” — That’s Telemarketing.
4) You see a guy at a party, you straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. Y ou say, “May I?” and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed.” — That’s Public Relations.
5) You’re at a party and see a handsome guy. He walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.” — That’s Brand Recognition.
6) You’re at a party and see a handsome guy. He fancies you, but you talk him into going home with your friend. — That’s a Sales Rep.
7) Your friend can’t satisfy him so he calls you. — That’s Tech Support.
8) You’re on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you’re passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated towards the center and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m fantastic in bed!”— That’s Junk Mail.
If you want someone to “buy” from you, one way or another you’ve got to get the word out.
Brand Visioneer and BrandU co-founder, Kim Castle teaches entrepreneurs and small business owners how to turn their business ideas into a moneymaking marketable brand. If you want to experience clarity all the way to the bank™, get your FR*EE branding tips now at www.whybrandu.com.
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February 2nd, 2007 by Lani Voivod
Dear Toshiba,
I couldn’t help but notice your ad at the back of the February ‘07 issue of Wired magazine. You feature a photo of two gentlemen holding hands - one old-school corp-dude in a suit and tie, one new-school bohemian in jeans and sandals. Wait - I’ve got the photo right here:
This is an eye-catching ad. I especially loved it when I first saw Apple going with this juxtoposition months and months ago in their TV spots. You know, like this one:
Only trouble is, your tagline. You say, with an amazing sense of irony:
Don’t copy. Lead.
Now, I love the tagline, don’t get me wrong. But if you’re going to stand behind a mission that champions originality, don’t you think you should try creating an ad campaign that doesn’t entirely rip off another major computer/tech/innovation brand?
Maybe I missed something. Maybe YOU thought of this campaign first, Apple copied you, I never noticed, and this is your way of telling the world Apple is a big ol’ copy cat. Somehow, though, I doubt this is the case.
Nevertheless, I went the extra step to give you the benefit of the doubt. I followed the dedicated link you gave me beneath your ad’s “CFO & CIO, So happy together” picture: LetTheHarmonyBegin.com.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I think you forgot to finish this website.
There are three pictures of unlikely pairings (the CFO/CIO pic included), a place to submit Toshiba testimonials, some ambient office noise, and a “send to a friend” link, just in case I want to show my friends…what, exactly? Three pictures?
Oh - to be fair, I DID forget to mention the *hilarious* rollover word bubbles. And by *hilarious* I mean so useless and uninspiring I can only believe it was placeholder copy that never got outfitted with the real stuff.
Now, I’m not into tech jive. But I DO know if you’re willing to spend tens of thousands - if not HUNDREDS of thousands - of bucks on a back-of-the-mag advertisement, and then develop a complementary webpage, the the least you could do is include some dynamic copy in the word bubbles. I understand that kind of value-added entertainment is a no-brainer to any decent Web developer.
Did I miss the “fun” link? The “wow” factor? I just don’t get what you want me to take away from this experience?
If you want to talk to Epiphanies, Inc. about how you could improve your next ad campaign so you have a chance in Hades to get in on this whole viral marketing game, please please please, connect with us. It’s a darn shame to see a company with so much potential (and marketing moulah!) waste it on an unoriginal, unfinished effort.
Heed your own “Don’t copy. Lead.” advice, Toshiba, and you’re bound to do better next time.
For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business (and get creative AND effective with your own marketing efforts), sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
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January 26th, 2007 by Lani and Allen
It’s funny how the little things in life can hijack your brain.
We started off by being mildly intrigued by Mack Collier’s weekly “Top 25 Marketing Blogs” list a few months ago.
The intrigue morphed into energetic spectating: “Who’s up? Who’s down? Who’s new? Who fell off the wagon?” And now, today, we’ve finally admitted that this list is no longer a spectator sport. We want to PLAY on it!
We want to be with the popular kids! We want in the secret circle! We want validation! Proof! Pizza! (Okay, we’re both just hungry right now, but you know what we mean.)
Just this morning, we have told Mack we will use getting on his exclusive list as the motivational marker to FINALLY take our long-overdue trip to Montreal to see what the French Canadians are up to. (We’ve wanted to go Canuck ever since we moved to NH three years ago, we just keep putting it off.)
So thanks, Mack. You’ve become integral in our personal and professional goal setting strategies. Funny how we solo-preneurs can choose to advance our business in the most unconventional and seemingly arbitrary ways. It’s a perk, we tell ya!
Interested in learning new ways to deliver YOUR ideas, insights, and content to the masses? Sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
Posted in Fun With Marketing, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!" | 1 Comment »
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January 9th, 2007 by Allen Voivod
Ever hear of a guy named Sean D’Souza?
 He’s the “Chief Brain Auditor” at www.PsychoTactics.com, and works his marketing magic out of New Zealand. I’ve been a subscriber to his newsletter for years, and I recommend it to anyone who enjoys lots of flair, talent, personality, and kick-butt information on sales, copywriting, and marketing strategy.
This week’s article - Why Using Tentative Words Will Reduce Your Profits - is a fine example as any to showcase his practical know-how and infectious style. (And it also offers a simple tip that could increase your profits in a big way this year.)
Warning: Sean’s site is incredibly robust, fresh, fun, and addictive - ESPECIALLY for a biz-focused site. He knows how to communicate, in an “I’m your pal, mate! Let’s go chase a dingo, throw some shrimp on the bahhhbie, and drink Fosters till dawn!” kind of way. You can’t help but adore him. What’s more, I’ve had a few entertaining email exchanges with him over the years, and he’s as approachable and authentic as his style suggests.
In sum, Sean D’Souza is DEFINITELY an “A-Ha Yourself!” master. We can all learn a lot from his voice and verve.
G’day, mate - and happy marketing!
For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business from another couple of “Content Lovers,” sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
Posted in All About Content, Dances With Gurus, Fun With Marketing, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"? | No Comments »
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January 3rd, 2007 by Lani Voivod
 No doubt you have heard of the “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” game. It’s been around since ‘94. The premise is simple: You gather with friends, someone names an actor, and then you try to get to Kevin Bacon in six steps or less by association through other actors via the movies they’ve all been in - in as few steps as possible.
You may not be surprised to hear there are many websites devoted to it - even websites associated with major US educational institutions, like The University of Virginia’s “The Oracle of Bacon at Virginia” site.
However, if you go to the Oracle of Bacon site, you may be surprised that it typically takes fewer than THREE links (2.946, to be exact) to get from any actor in the history of Hollywood to Mr. Bacon.
You may be even more shocked to find out there are more than 1000 actors with a BETTER “Bacon Number” than Mr. Bacon himself.
“What the heck does this have to do with branding and marketing?” you ask?
- There are 1049 actors that are closer to the Center of the Hollywood Universe than Kevin Bacon, yet none of them have had millions of college students, suburbanites, and cinema buffs obsessed with the depth and scope of their acting careers.
- It’s possible that the thing you’ll be known best for will be entirely out of your hands, your fame and fate determined by three college students watching TV who are spontaneously inspired to obsess over you and what you’ve put out to the world…and then invite millions of other accidental evangelists to do the same.
Now, those who have played the Six Degrees game have a mix of amusement and reverence to a guy who they may have otherwise dismissed as “that dude who starred in Footloose.” I, personally, can’t think of even one movie featuring Rod Steiger, yet HE’S listed as the guy with the best Bacon Number (2.678695), and thus as the man who stands at THE center of the Hollywood universe.
So the lesson is as follows:
Sometimes all you have to do is be sure to put yourself out there often and consistently (or, “A-Ha Yourself!” - as we like to say), and the viral marketing pixies will do the rest.
In other words, you don’t have to be the best or most popular, you just have to be the brand or business that comes to mind when other people are yapping about your field or industry.
A very encouraging thought for the start of a new business year.
Want to learn how to maximize your 7 major marketing opportunities so you can get yourself out in front of your target audience often and consistently? Click here and download the FREE 18-page Special Report, How to Make Your Business GO NUTS in 2007!
Posted in Brand Funk, Fun With Marketing, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"? | No Comments »
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January 2nd, 2007 by Lani and Allen
Allen and I are proud to post that we worked with Acorn Creative last month in a frenzied spurt of glory to create and launch a Special Report designed to help solo professionals and small businesses kick some biz booty in 2007.
The link to the Business Wire news release is right here. But to make things even MORE convenient, we’ve pasted the news release below. (Don’t miss downloading the report ASAP at www.GoNutsin2007.com - the early birds get special VIP treatment with some shwag we’ve got coming down the line…)
 LACONIA, N.H.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The New Year offers small businesses a chance to refresh their focus, correct past mistakes, and set a bold new course to improve their performance. Two local companies, Acorn Creative of Laconia, NH and Epiphanies, Inc. of Gilford, NH, recently partnered up to help businesses start 2007 on the right track.
The result of their collaboration debuted Tuesday, December 19th. “The Secret to Making Your Business Go Nuts in 2007″ is a free special report offered by the two companies as a PDF download from their website, www.gonutsin2007.com.
“A lot of small businesses told us 2006 didn’t go as well as they’d hoped,” said Lani Voivod of Epiphanies, Inc. “Now that 2007’s right on top of us, we wanted to help business owners and solo professionals get off to a great start.”
Acorn and Epiphanies combined their complementary skills and service offerings to create the special report. Acorn performs brand consulting, graphic design, and website development. Epiphanies specializes in idea generation, information product creation, and integrated marketing strategies.
“When businesses come to us for a new website, a new brochure, or a new direct mail piece, we like to step back and look at the bigger picture,” said Kevin Skarritt of Acorn Creative. “If the company isn’t making a real connection with their target market, it doesn’t matter how well-designed their new website or print piece is, or how many more people hear about the company because of a new marketing element.
“If the company fails to build a consistent identity over time, the company is bound to fail. We don’t want that to happen. That’s why we step back and make sure the foundation is in place, and that’s what the ‘Go Nuts’ special report is really about.”
“We’re not exactly ‘quick fix’ people,” added Allen Voivod, also with Epiphanies, Inc. “Great business stories have three success factors in common: Building audience relationships, expert reputations, and client bases. None of that happens overnight.”
Because of their similar approaches to business development, Acorn and Epiphanies chose to focus on tactics for improving those success factors in their report. At the same time, they also lay out the underlying strategy behind Acorn’s design process – a strategy that’s helped Acorn win “Best of the Web” honors from Forbes magazine for the last six years.
“The Secret to Making Your Business Go Nuts in 2007″ free special report, which explains the fundamental ideas behind Acorn’s business development strategy and seven ways a business can put those ideas into action for themselves, is available online through January 31st, 2007.
To access the report, and for instructions on how to secure one of 60 free consultations being offered by Acorn Creative in January 2007, go to www.gonutsin2007.com.
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December 18th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
 Jiggidy-jig and away we go! Look at how Office Max gets savvy & hip with FUN, ENTERTAINING content - riding the holiday spirit wave…
If you watch the clip, you may notice that the pic of me to the left (which was taken at my home a week ago, I reluctantly admit) is the same one that’s on the dancing elf. Easy personalization, fun, quick, and perfectly branded, through and through. Bravo, Office Max! Thanks for knowing it’s good for your business to fund stuff that makes us happy. 
(If for some reason that link doesn’t work, or it’s got an expiration date, try your own at www.ElfYourself.com.)
Elfing yourself, it turns out, is a dynamite way to “A-Ha Yourself!”
Man - if artists, creatives, and programmers can develop and launch customizable animation like this in 2006, imagine what 2007 will bring…
For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
Posted in All About Content, Brand Funk, Fun With Marketing, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"?, Mood Boosters, Tools to "A-Ha Yourself!" | No Comments »
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December 12th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
There’s newsworthy stuff, like peace rallies. But alas, the average announcement of a peace rally can earn more eye rolls than enthusiasts.
THEN there are peace rallies piggybacking on REAL newsworthy items, like a call for a worldwide orgasm party!(Talk about multiple orgasms!)
I found this article on a great little forward-thinking site called www.LASpirit.com, which advocates holistic living in fresh and thought-provoking ways. Enjoy - and by all means, take part in this important global mission!
 Two San Francisco peace activists have planned a massive peace demonstration for the Winter Solstice (the first day of winter, Friday, December 22, 2006), by urging everyone not to march in the streets, but stay home and have an orgasm while focusing on world peace. Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, point out that the orgasm provides an incredible feeling of peace during and after. “Your mind is like a blank, like a meditative state,” says Reffell.
Their goal, they say, is to effect change in the energy field of the earth by way of a huge surge of human energy. The couple has cooked up other captivating media stunts. Sheehan, no relation to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, organized 50 women in 2002, who stripped naked and spelled out the word “Peace,” spawning a min-movement called Baring Witness.
Sheehan and Reffell have studied evolutionary psychology and see war as mainly an outgrowth of men trying to impress potential mates. It’s a case of “my missile is bigger than your missile,” states Reffell. More details are available at www.globalorgasm.org.
Source: NHNE News
2006-12-07
Now THAT’S how to “A-Ha Yourself!” in a bold, fun, newsworthy way!!!
For FREE articles, tips, and strategies designed to catapult your content and electrify your business, sign up for our ezine, “The Inciter,” at EpiphaniesInc.com!
Posted in Fun With Marketing, How do you "A-Ha Yourself"?, Mood Boosters | 1 Comment »
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December 7th, 2006 by Lani Voivod
Some Internet visionaries are simply magnificent.
Take Nick Grouf and David Waxman, for instance. These guys have been fixated on using the Internet as a tool to serve the masses and give entrepreneurial underdogs a chance to be the best they can be.
First, these guys founded Firefly, which was all about online collaboration and ultimately sold to Microsoft. (So it must’ve been good. Or a threat to Microsoft’s empire. Whichever.)
Then they went on to launch PeoplePC, which Earthlink gobbled up as soon as it had the chance.
This year, the duo has invented a way for businesses with itty bitty budgets to advertise on TV. Real live TV. Not your hidden local cable access channel, but national cable channels, like ESPN and MTV.
It’s called Spot Runner.
Choose from thousands of pro-produced 30-second commercials and customize your fave with your own biz messaging for as little as 500 bucks. Then spend a few hundred to a few thousand to run your ad, depending on your needs and goals. They even boast you can set up a targeted campaign in as little as 15 minutes. Sounds absolutely unbelievable, but if their website says it, it must be true. 
I first read about this service in this article from June 2006 issue of Inc. Magazine.
Anyone out there tried the service yet? If and when you do, let me know how it goes. I’d love to hear if the easy-as-1-2-3 approach is for real…and I’d love to see your slick commercial, too.
(Of course with YouTube, who needs to pay anything for real TV advertising, right?)
Automating the TV advertising process for solo professionals and small biz owners so they can reach targeted demographics, regionally AND nationally. Hmmm. For anyone with a thousands or so bucks to play with, sounds like a fine way to “A-Ha Yourself!” to me.
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