Cool Marketing Thoughts » Tips & Tricks http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com Sat, 05 Jun 2010 18:54:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.2 en hourly 1 The Power Of Marketing http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/the-power-of-marketing/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/the-power-of-marketing/#comments Fri, 08 Feb 2008 18:47:36 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2008/02/08/the-power-of-marketing/ It’s a fact that if you are a marketeer, a lot depends on how well you can wrap up your message to sell your product. Presentation is everything. The way you propose your product, supported by testimonials and based on facts that have been broadcasted on international TV stations will definitely determine the success of a product. Word of mouth will also help you out a bit, because nowadays, people very often rely on the statements their peers make before they decide to purchase a product. The perfect illustration of a great marketing stunt is the (most likely photoshopped) product below. Needless to say, this is so much more than the bare product could ever be. This carries a story, and stories sell. Even when this is a fake, it points out exactly what marketing is all about. You can make people want something, and they’ll be happy to pay a little more for it, as long as you succeed in wrapping it up nicely before you deliver.

Not JUST a paperclip

Lesson learned.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/02/08/the-power-of-marketing/feed/ 7 Video Seeding For Professionals http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/01/28/video-seeding-for-professionals/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/01/28/video-seeding-for-professionals/#comments Mon, 28 Jan 2008 21:26:17 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2008/01/28/video-seeding-for-professionals/ I remember that whenever I had to do some ‘casual seeding’ for a promo video for an agency, I had a document with all the usernames and passwords of the sites I would dump the file to. It would take me up to a day to drill down that list, surf to the site and log in, upload the video, wait for the encoding and then bookmark the url of the clip to track the number of views afterwards. I know seeding promotonial clips has taken a downfall a bit, since not all communities are that keen on ‘being abused’ by ‘yet another agency that wants to score’ with a clip in the hopes it goes viral. So. Here is a solution that can make some people very pissed, but at the same time would come in very handy for an agency to start the seeding and save a lot of time.
In comes Hey!Spread…

First thing to do the ‘undercover work’ is to have some sleeping accounts. Just go to the sites listed below and register for an account. You better start making those on beforehand, even when you don’t have a clip to seed. You can put some ‘general’ funny clips on the account and pretend to be a regular user. It’s good to have a history on a site. The longer the better. It’s good to have some activity on that account as well, it will add up to your credibility. Write down all the usernames and passwords and then head over to the Hey!Spread website.

With a simple login, you get access to their service, name your movie, tag it and start the uploading. Hey!Spread will upload your movie to:

All the links above go directly to the registration page of the sites, so in case you don’t have a username/password on that site yet, you don’t have to look for the signup page.

Hey!Spread also allows you to add a watermark to the video file, in case you want to brand it for an official release or something. As soon as you start uploading your file, all you have to do is sit back and relax. The only thing you have to wait for is the processing time of each individual video site. When everything is uploaded, you get the URL to the location of the uploaded clip. Just copy-paste that list, put it in an e-mail or a Word document, and go check the views if you need to harvest the results.

As a bonus, you can use the Hey!Spread API which allows you to propose Hey!Spread in white label as a innovative and addictive feature to your users or clients. Allow them to mass-distribute video content over the best video platforms at any time, but still be the solution provider that came up with this brilliant plan for your customer!

Have fun.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2008/01/28/video-seeding-for-professionals/feed/ 0 Tie The Tie http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/14/tie-the-tie/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/14/tie-the-tie/#comments Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:47:47 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/11/14/tie-the-tie/ One of the cooler things to wear is a nice suit with a tie. But unfortunately, the art of tie-tieing is not a given to all men… ask around in the girly part of your circle of friends. Many of those will have to help out their hubbies or boyfriends. Although I do find that a sexy idea (it has something ‘mothering’ which is soooo cute), a real man should be able to get this done on his own. A simple search on youTube for ‘how to tie a tie’ yields 92 million results, all with one simple flaw…every one uses a male model (usually an old dude or a web geek) to do the instructing. While this approach may be perfectly functional, its just not all that fun. SexyTie.com has taken it to the next level. Beautiful women are the stars of these tasteful instructional videos. What better way for the young guys to learn how to be a man than from a totally hot actress? Ties are hotter than ever before… Some Tie company or fashion label should endorse this. :-)

SexyTie.com | How To Tie A Tie | The Full Windsor Knot.

More fun at SexyTie.com

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/11/14/tie-the-tie/feed/ 3 Educational Pocket Money http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/#comments Mon, 05 Mar 2007 21:15:45 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/ Okay, this is for the student readers who are short of educational small change and need to get educational drinks from an educational vending machine. I love social engineering :) It brings out the rebel in all of us. These skills are for educational purposes only, for instance if you want to help your friends learn how to be educational as well.

Video link

Thanks, Arnaud

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2007/03/05/educational-pocket-money/feed/ 1 IDEA 2006 Recap http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/07/idea-2006-recap/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/07/idea-2006-recap/#comments Tue, 07 Nov 2006 17:35:15 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/11/07/idea-2006-recap/ Too bad I totally missed this… “From leading architect David Rockwell to leading creative Alex Bogusky; from the man who built Second Life to the marketing chief of the very-real-world Starbucks; from a guy who plans and buys media to a guy who expresses himself by making toys. They all came to share their big ideas and pass on their tips for fostering creativity.” And so, here’s a list of 19 items, all of them are pointers and ‘good to know’ thingies. If you want to know the extra words of context, click here.

  • Limitations and small budgets are inspiring
  • Trust your gut—not research
  • Think like a band
  • Approach your consumer from a ‘molecular level’
  • Digitize everything
  • Nostalgia is death
  • Let consumers inside
  • Prototype early
  • Drugs won’t supply your ‘Aha!’ moment
  • Flatten management structure
  • Market to the interested
  • Go for a brand back rub
  • Give consumers some control
  • Turn Advertising Week into a charity push
  • Discourage sleep
  • Don’t be (obviously) big, be brilliant
  • Sit under the table
  • Every day should be independence day
  • All creatives are created equal

Read more on AdCritic, have a laugh with the pictures and see some video footage of Alex Bogusky, Philip Rosedale and David Jones.
Kudos to Appelogen for pointing me to this page.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/07/idea-2006-recap/feed/ 0 How To Get In Touch With Youngsters http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/03/how-to-get-in-touch-with-youngsters/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/03/how-to-get-in-touch-with-youngsters/#comments Fri, 03 Nov 2006 22:58:16 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/18/how-to-get-in-touch-with-youngsters/ Smuggling out corporate secrets isn’t one of my hobbies, but I’ve stolen these words at These Days. The text is printed out and hangs next to the main entrance. Originally it was in Dutch, so I had to juggle a bit to find the right words. I’ve forgotten who the original author is so I can’t really credit anyone. I haven’t invented the words below, but that doesn’t make them less important. It’s true, and I’ll keep this in mind forever. So should you.

Don’t focus on ‘all’ youngsters. Think of some, define a selected target group.
- Limit the use of words and images. Less often is more.

Look them straight in the eyes, don’t yield – don’t blink.
- Give them exactly what they expect in an exclusive atmosphere.

Forget about ‘good taste’, forget about ‘bad taste’. It’s time for MyTaste!
- Seduce them with what they know, surprise them with knowledge.

Put them in the driver’s seat, put them in control.
- Be generous with discounts and communicate about them time and again.

Find exciting links/relations with the youngster’s network.
- Select & program well thought-out, smart & sensible.
- Your errors will not be forgotten.

Experiment with hours.
- Everything is sexy around midnight.
- Launch a date-site, not a data-site.
- One third (1/3) of your budget should go to web promotion.

Claim space on television.
- Test every action & communication method. Then test it again.

Don’t use the names of sub-cultures. You’ll make yourself ridiculous.
- Make sure you have an inventive media mix to play with.
- A website replaces flyers and posters.

Don’t Spam. Not with emails, not with SMS (mobile text messages).
- Invite youngsters to contact you.
- Target the upper section of your audience.
e.g. : ‘I might be 16, but I’d love to be 18′.

Send out a letter through snailmail.
- You often achieve more with less culturally calibrated media.

Stay away from the youngster’s jargon. You’ll make yourself suspicious.
- Switch angles. Turn pages. Start new things.
- Abandon old things at least once a day.

Love, don’t cherish.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/11/03/how-to-get-in-touch-with-youngsters/feed/ 0 How To Thank Your Customers http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/10/20/how-to-thank-your-customers/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/10/20/how-to-thank-your-customers/#comments Fri, 20 Oct 2006 19:20:54 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/10/20/how-to-thank-your-customers/ I was reading the Marketing & Management Update blog and came across these simple things you can do to make your customers feel appreciated for being a customer. Interesting read. A nice collection of marketing tips and tricks here!

  1. Thank high value customers: All customers are not created equal. An annual handwritten thank you note to your “top twenty percent” from the CEO is a smart strategy.
  2. Thank lost customers with a private “win back” offer: A handwritten note to welcome them back, with an irresistible offer works well. Reactivating past customers is one of those forgotten fundamentals.
  3. Thank and sell: A handwritten note with a customizable gift certificate is a proven winner and can move inventory or get a plant to capacity!
  4. Thank with a gift: Induce reciprocity and stimulate a sale or referral! A thank you gift works wonders. Think high perceived value.
  5. Thank and save the sale: Beat the cognitive dissonance demons by reassuring the customer. Great for any high ticket item. Offer an add-on sale while you are at it!
  6. Thank and cross-sell: A handwritten note to tell your best customers about a new product or service, with an offer unavailable elsewhere.
  7. Thank the non-buyer: A handwritten note to the non-buying prospect of a high ticket item can influence a sale when the prospect is ready to purchase.

Make ‘thank you’ a strategic and conscious component in your marketing program and invest in the lifetime value of the relationships you have already established. The challenge, of course, is to implement a timely and sincere thank you program at a reasonable marketing cost. At the end of the day, it’s all about direct marketing mathematics but aren’t your best customers worth a couple of bucks for you to show your sincere appreciation?

Read more stuff like this on the Marketing & Management Update blog.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/10/20/how-to-thank-your-customers/feed/ 1 The Color Purple http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/18/the-color-purple/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/18/the-color-purple/#comments Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:30:54 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/09/18/the-color-purple/ When I go shopping, I always think I’m in control. After all, I studied marketing. I work at a cool agency and I think of things that will engage customers and make ‘m buy stuff. I used to think that me, of all people, would know what’s going on and that I would be able to see the obvious tricks out there. I buy what I want, where I want it. If I’m being pushed subconsciously to buy something, most of the time I’m aware of it, but sometimes I just think: “ah, what the hell.” Until I read this list about architectural tricks to control consumers. Going through the list I often caught myself thinking I’d fall for it or even that I wouldn’t notice it. Marketing is so much more than I realised. I’m being played. And not just a bit. Tune in on a few tricks from the list, then check it out. You’ll be surprized. (You’ll also recognize a few, which makes you feel a bit like ‘hah! I’m on to you marketeers’, and that’s comforting.)

  • Some customers, particularly men, tend to simply shop for what they want, walking down an aisle grabbing what they want, turning back and walking the way they came, this is called the ‘Boomerang Effect’. In order to maximize shopper and produce contact time, shops therefore place major items and brands in the middle of aisles ensuring that from any direction the customer has to walk the furthest to reach them.
  • Some UK baby shops now add Baby Powder to the air conditioning to remind people of new-born’s and relax them.
  • Most Supermarkets bake their bread early in the morning, however to entice more custom some have resorted to pumping out the smell of fresh baking bread to add to the illusion that it is constantly baked through the day. Go into Niketown on Oxford Street and smell the deodorant like pong they pump into the air!
  • Apparently the colour Light Purple is most likely to make customers feel lilke spending money!
  • Supermarkets used to have a trick placing slightly smaller tiles on the floor in the more expensive aisles of the shop. When a customer entered on of these aisles their trolley would click faster making them think they were travelling faster and thereby subconsciously slow down and spend more time in that aisle.

Read the rest of the list | via Bright

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/18/the-color-purple/feed/ 3 Google Analytics White Paper http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/08/google-analytics-white-paper/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/08/google-analytics-white-paper/#comments Fri, 08 Sep 2006 08:49:02 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/09/08/google-analytics-white-paper/ MoreVisibility.com has a nice clarifying white paper about Google Analytics online, for free. It’s well worth reading if you’re into stats and numbers. The paper is titled ‘Google Analytics – A Practical Guide to Implementation’, it counts 27 pages and has the following content points after the introduction:

  • Pros and Cons
  • Tips for Google Analytics Installations
  • Reports
  • Conclusion
  • Appendix A – Google Analytics Install Guide for Lead Generation Web Sites
  • Appendix B – Google Analytics Install Guide for E-Commerce Web Sites
  • Appendix C – Google Analytics Help Center Links

The track-ability of Internet Marketing is one of its greatest assets. The first tracking tools for online marketing campaigns were focused around banner ads. Today they range from email marketing tools to ROI (return on investment) tools.

Download it here (.pdf, 226 Kb)

Also check out their SEO white paper library, in case there’s something else you want to know more about.

Thanks, Tom

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/09/08/google-analytics-white-paper/feed/ 0 Channels To Target An Audience http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/08/24/channels-to-target-an-audience/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/08/24/channels-to-target-an-audience/#comments Thu, 24 Aug 2006 10:03:02 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/08/24/channels-to-target-an-audience/ I’ve made a list of all channels and tools I know of today, which marketeers can use to target their audience. Of course you can’t use all channels at once, nor can you use them all at the same time to reach your target group, but with a well-selected few, you’re bound to make some results and start some buzz, or gather the info and feedack you were looking for. It’s an incomplete list, I’m well aware of that, but it’s permanently under construction. If you want to contribute, or if you think I missed a significant channel, please drop it in the comments and I’ll add it to the list. The purpose of this post is to have an overview of possible means to communicate to ‘people’ in general, for whenever you need an answer to the questions: ‘what tools can I offer?’ and ‘how can I reach out?’ (Since the list is rather long, it’s behind the jump). Currently, at it’s starting point, there are 100 items on the list.

Online Sites & Tools (General)

  • Static Promo-site
  • Flash Promo-site
  • Corporate Site
  • Blogs
  • Polls & Voting
  • Etsy.com
  • eBay.com
  • MySpace.com
  • Second Life
  • MSN Spaces
  • Dating Sites
  • Guest Books
  • Fora
  • LastFM
  • Bittorent
  • Grabit
  • Banners
  • Interactive Banners
  • Google Earth
  • Google Maps
  • Live Local Maps (Microsoft)
  • Computer Games (both online + offline)

Events & Happenings

  • Sports
  • Fairs
  • Theme Parks
  • Movie Theaters
  • Opera
  • Streets (Guerrilla)
  • Streets (Ambient)
  • Streets (Outdoor)
  • Pubs/Bars/Restaurants
  • Shopping Malls
  • Shops (in-store)
  • Shops (out front)
  • Festivals
  • Concerts
  • Swimming Pools
  • Gyms
  • Beach
  • Zoo

Mobile + VoIP + Chat

  • Skype
  • MSN + MSN Bots
  • GTalk
  • AIM (AOL)
  • SMS (text) + MMS + GSM
  • Ringtones
  • Ringback Tones
  • Wallpapers
  • Mobile Games
  • SkypeCasts
  • Mobile Podcasts
  • MobileVoting
  • SMS-2-Mail
  • SMS Chat
  • SMS-2-Billboard

Others

  • T-Shirts
  • Postal Cards
  • Flyers
  • Cards to put your drink on (bars)
  • Billboards
  • Above Urinals
  • Inside Urinals
  • Posters
  • Fan Clubs
  • Brand Clubs
  • Audio Ads on Location
  • Magazines
  • News Papers
  • Radio
  • Television + IDTV (digital TV)
  • Promo Teams
  • General Merchandising (gadgets)
  • e-Mail Newsletters
  • Personal Mailings
  • On Concert Tickets
  • On Tickets In General
  • Animals
  • Roofs

Online Media

  • YouTube (and clones)
  • Google Video (and clones)
  • Google Idols
  • iPod Video
  • Regular Podcasts
  • Youth Television (MTV and local alternatives)
  • Radio Streams
  • Vodcasts
  • Screencasts
  • PSP video
  • SMS-2-Videostream

Transport

  • Trucks
  • Buses
  • Trains
  • Subways
  • Trams
  • In Stations
  • At Bus Stops
  • On Cars
  • Bicycles
  • Skateboards
  • Publi Mobile
  • (Digital) Sandwich Boards
  • Planes
  • Helicopters
  • Elevators
]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/08/24/channels-to-target-an-audience/feed/ 9 29 Idea Killers http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/27/29-idea-killers/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/27/29-idea-killers/#comments Thu, 27 Jul 2006 10:43:52 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/07/27/29-idea-killers/ I had a very long and exhausting day yesterday, 12 hours of creative productivity. I did 2 entire campaigns so I was kind of really tired when I got home. The campaign ideas are pretty good, according to my colleagues. I figured out quite a solid strategy and concept. I’ll blog about them as soon as they’re out in the open. (Might take a little while though, because the design still needs to be done etc.) – In the beginning of a creative process, ‘the brainstorm phase’, there’s always some real ‘idea killers’. Things people say that block what you’re doing. Here are remarks you don’t want to hear/say when you’re thinking about ‘things’, because they interrupt the free flow of ideas and associations:

  1. Yes, but…
  2. There’s no time for that
  3. No
  4. Can’t do it
  5. Too expensive
  6. It’s not logical
  7. Need more research
  8. Let’s be realistic
  9. That’s nothing for our customers
  10. No budget
  11. Don’t make mistakes
  12. The board isn’t going to like it
  13. I’m not creative enough
  14. It’s not my responsibility
  15. Too difficult to control it
  16. The change is too big
  17. The ‘old generation’ will not comprehend
  18. The market isn’t ready for that yet
  19. Think ‘real’
  20. We’ll think about that
  21. Maybe later
  22. Been done before
  23. That’s future-talk
  24. Might work somewhere else, but not here
  25. Since when are you the expert?
  26. We’re too small to do that
  27. That’s not our style
  28. Are you sure?
  29. Why?

Later on in the process, some of the remarks mentioned above might become keypoints (been done before, budget, …) to take note of. But in the first phase, when you have to think of ideas, you have to make sure nothing stops you from going down a certain road. You never know where it might end. If you don’t try to think in a certain direction because of one of the remarks above, you’re already limiting your creativity and that’s not what you want. Or is it?

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/27/29-idea-killers/feed/ 8 From FLV to WMV, AVI, MOV or MPEG http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/25/from-flv-to-wmv-avi-mov-or-mpeg/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/25/from-flv-to-wmv-avi-mov-or-mpeg/#comments Tue, 25 Jul 2006 08:30:04 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/07/25/from-flv-to-wmv-avi-mov-or-mpeg/ Our creative director needed a clip from YouTube to embed it in a PowerPoint slideshow presentation for a client. He didn’t have a clue where to begin. I did, and I thought I’d explain it here for those who didn’t know how to do it fast and for free. Here’s how it works: all you need is a the solid .flv file and a tool to help you transform.

KeepVid

To get the .flv file of any movie from YouTube, GoogleVideo, iFilm, PutFile, Break or about two dozen of other sites, go to the site of KeepVid. Copy the link of the page with the video you want on it and paste it in the field on top of the page at KeepVid. Then select your source and click ‘download’. The field you’ve just pasted the URL in will become empty again.

A little bit below that, a ‘loading’ text appears and will change to >>download link<< when it finishes loading. Right-click the link and select 'save as'. If it's your first time downloading an .flv clip, change the name of the clip to whatever you want to name it and add .flv directly behind it. Set the file format to 'all files' in the drop-down menu. Click 'save'. The file starts to download to the location you've selected.

Now you've got the .flv file. If that's enough, you can download the FLV Player and enjoy the movies offline. (I’m using the one from Martijn de Visser, you can choose any other player, it depends on how you want to experience your viewing)

FLVPlayer

However, in the case of our creative director, the file needed to be embedded in a presentation, and he wanted a .wmv file because he knew how to work with that. Ok, no biggie. Here’s how to convert it:

Download CinemaForge and install it. (it’s free) – Open it through “start menu > all programs > cinemaforge” and select the source file and destination filetype. Enter a name for the file and click “Encode”. If you want to play around some in the options, do so. Standard options worked fine for me.

CinemaForge

And there you have it. Easy as that. Have fun taking back the web !

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/07/25/from-flv-to-wmv-avi-mov-or-mpeg/feed/ 20 Vitamin Resource http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/23/vitamin-resource/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/23/vitamin-resource/#comments Sun, 23 Apr 2006 15:59:45 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/04/23/vitamin-resource/ Gillian and Ryan Carson are doing a great job building a new and extended magazine filled with goodies, tips and tricks for webminded people. The ‘interviews‘ section is really an interesting part to look at, you can learn a lot from the experiences of others when it comes to having great ideas or solving design related problems. A lot of interesting folks are helping this project grow, and if they keep it up this way, it’s going to be big.

Vitamin

Tune in today, you won’t regret it.

The web has undoubtedly entered a new and exciting phase. Designers, developers and entrepreneurs are energized, refueled and producing some mind-blowing projects. The buzz is most definitely back! Vitamin is a brand new online magazine dedicated to that new web industry.

Vitamin will inspire you, teach you, advise you and sometimes test you with its in-depth features, audio interviews, training sessions and reviews.

It’s updated every week, and it’s free! So whether you just want to get dirty with the code or plan to topple Google with your next cunning web app idea, Vitamin is your new best friend.

Think Vitamin | via SwissMiss

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/23/vitamin-resource/feed/ 0 Why Women Shop Online http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/18/why-women-shop-online/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/18/why-women-shop-online/#comments Tue, 18 Apr 2006 18:07:09 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/04/18/why-women-shop-online/ Marketing To Women Online has a descriptive article up about why women shop online. Do women shop the same way online as they shop offline? Do they have the same needs, questions, buying process? Is what’s most important to them offline also what’s most important to them online? There is a reason why she is on the Internet and not in a store. Understanding what that reason is is absolutely key for making your site successful. If you ever need to target women or tune your site, MTWO describes the key topics with the help of examples. Very useful.

  • To save time
  • To get a better selection
  • To research a product
  • To get a better value
  • Anonymity
  • Logistics – i.e. there isn’t a branch of the store near her, she’s buying a gift and it’s easier to buy and send online than buy offline and have to wrap it and go to the post office

Read the article

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/04/18/why-women-shop-online/feed/ 0 Advertising Slogans http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/02/21/advertising-slogans/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/02/21/advertising-slogans/#comments Tue, 21 Feb 2006 15:59:55 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/02/21/advertising-slogans/ I’m currently working on an overview of the catchphrases (slogans, taglines) of all the banks in Belgium. While I was doing research on this subject, I came across a site that has collected tons and tons of slogans of the past years. Very handy resource if you want to see what’s already been done. Also very handy if you’re looking for inspiration. (The archive covers a lot of different brands and sectors, it’s not tied to the financial industry)

AdSlogans.com is the tagline database service, used by agencies worldwide.
You can check the latest slogans (with video link or link to ad attached)
or you can check their hall of fame. I also found some handy tips on this site to think about when you’re creating a slogan.

How should a slogan be?

1. Be memorable
2. Recall the brand name
3. Include a key benefit
4. Differentiate the brand
5. Impart positive feelings for the brand
6. Reflect the brand’s personality
7. Be strategic
8. Be campaignable
9. Be competitive
10. Be original
11. Be simple
12. Be neat
13. Be believable
14. Help in ordering the brand

In the Translation Dictionary, you can find a lot of tips about the stylistic features of advertising slogans.

A slogan is a form of verbal logo. In a print ad, it usually appears just beneath or beside the brand name or logo. A slogan sums up what one stand for, one’s specialty, the benefit, and one’s marketing position, and one’s commitment.
It is especially useful to reinforce one’s identity. A slogan can prove to be more powerful than a logo. People can remember and recite your slogan while they are unlikely to doodle your logo. It is more important for your slogan to clearly state what you are about than to be clever, but if you can accomplish both, all the better.
Slogans have two basic purposes: to provide continuity to a series of ads in a campaign and to reduce an advertising message strategy to a brief, repeatable, and memorable positioning.

Read more about the stylistic features of the advertising slogan.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/02/21/advertising-slogans/feed/ 0 Super RSS Tools http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/30/super-rss-tools/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/30/super-rss-tools/#comments Mon, 30 Jan 2006 19:06:36 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/30/super-rss-tools/ Today I had to dig a little deeper into the world of RSS. I’m preparing a Live.com environment for a potential customer and I needed tools to convert dynamic HTML pages (search queries) into RSS feeds so I could add them into Microsoft’s feed collector. I haven’t found the perfect tool yet, but here are some nifty things you just got to try out:

RSS2PDF (Beta): Free Online RSS, Atom or OPML to PDF Generator, just insert a URL or address and select the options you want, then enter a title for the .pdf file. The tool works although the title I entered was replaced by a standard ‘doc’ which I had to alter after I selected the download location. No biggie. Here’s an example of the pdf of my feed (12kb, 3 pages) – I didn’t select ‘images’, but you can do it if you want to.

On that same site, there’s a link to an RSS2PDF for Flickr, to easily create PDF archives based on any Flickr newsfeed. (The photos must be made PUBLIC.) Enter information for a particular user on Flickr (such as yourself) and/or Tags separated by commas for photos relating to a specific subject. Too cool !

The tools have been made available in handy bookmarklets, which you just have to drag to your favorites for quick access later on.

You can also add the RSS2PDF Module to your Google Personalized Homepage for instant access:

Visit Google Personalized, Click on the link on the top left marked ‘Add Content’, then enter the following URL into the ‘Search by topic or feed URL’ textbox:

http://rss2pdf.com/rss2pdf.xml

Next topic : Google2RSS

There’s two sites that I’ve found where people are using the API to produce an RSS feed that is based on a simple search query:

Ben Hammersley’s tool allows you to subscribe to a search request, so you can see things coming in and out of the Google top ten. Easy to use too, simply add your search request to the end of this URL:

http://www.benhammersley.com/tools/googlerss.cgi?q=

for example

http://www.benhammersley.com/tools/googlerss.cgi?q=coolz0r

and subscribe to that URL in your favorite newsreader.

The other tool is GooRSS where the RSS is generated by instantRSS, and you find an RSS link on the bottom of the returned page when you’ve done a search query.

GooRSS

Then there is also GMailRSS, where you can use GMail as an RSS reader. That’s something I like a lot. You’ll have to have some programming knowledge though.

  • Since GMail stores all state on the server, it doesn’t matter where you login from to get your RSS fix! You can read a couple of feeds at work, a couple at home from a different machine etc. and everything is synchronized. This was the killer feature I was missing in all RSS readers.
  • GMail’s infinite archiving capability effectively creates a personal news archive for everyone.
  • GMail’s search helps you search easily through RSS feeds.
  • Individual messages can be marked as read and unread, so its easy to track what you are reading.

To get this to work you need to convert RSS feeds into some form Gmail can understand. Karu’s rss2mail convertor, GMail labels, and filters are coming to the rescue. Read the basic strategy for implementation here.

Last but not least is the Feed2Podcast tool, an engine that instantly turns your blog’s RSS feed into a Podcast. There’s nothing more to add. Listen to a sample here. This tool kind of is the same as Talkr, something I reported on in july last year. To be honest, this Feed2Podcast voice sounds better, especially when you have to listen to long texts. Compare : here’s the old voice edition of that blogpost about Talkr. I’ll check out the ‘Talking Blogs later this week to do a decent comparison.

Feed2Podcast

We have improved the back end of our text to speech engine. We hope you love the improvements this upgrade has made. We are getting very close to the AT&T Natural Voices quality level. We would also like to announce that in the comming weeks we will have a choice of voices for our bloggers to choose from. We are adding a female voice to our already popular male voice.

Okay, that about wraps it up for today. Have fun testing this out !

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/30/super-rss-tools/feed/ 9 Radio Firefox With Jason Schramm http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/27/radio-firefox-with-jason-schramm/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/27/radio-firefox-with-jason-schramm/#comments Fri, 27 Jan 2006 20:29:47 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/27/radio-firefox-with-jason-schramm/ Jason, the guy with whom I did the Blogiarism series on this blog and on his, has his own radio show at the very funky radio station called “Radio Firefox”. In his show on January 25th, he referred to me, to this website and to our collaboration on the blog plagiarism topic, which Randy Charles Morin defined in this context for the first time and referred to it as ‘blogiarism’. The first two episodes of his show are up and ready for download.

In his podcasts of the radio show, Jason points out handy tools and Grease monkey scripts to get things done in Firefox. He also talks about recent search engine related news and about a lot of other things that cross his mind once the red light is flashing above his broadcasting booth.

The episode in which I’m featured was all about Government request for search engine data, Corporate bloggers, Plagiarizing blogs, Google, Google News, Disney/Pixar Deal, Firefox Extensions.

Radio Firefox is a tech-oriented radio show, with a companion website that has podcasts and excerpts from the shows.

Subscribe to the podcast : here

The show isn’t available on the airwaves in Europe, but the podcasts are. Tune in here to get some !

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/27/radio-firefox-with-jason-schramm/feed/ 0 Protecting Your Search Privacy http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/23/protecting-your-search-privacy/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/23/protecting-your-search-privacy/#comments Mon, 23 Jan 2006 18:03:28 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/23/protecting-your-search-privacy/ SearchEngineWatch helps you cover your (local) search history with Harry Potter’s magic cloak. Too bad you actually can’t remove remotely stored information, but here’s five steps that help you deleting the local dirt pile and give you some insight in what’s happening with your information on the remote side:

1. Search Privacy On Your Own Computer
2. Search Privacy & Your ISP
3. Search Privacy & Your Search Engine
4. Search Privacy & Your Personalized Results
5. Search Privacy & Sites You Visit / Tracking Services

Interesting conclusion :

[...]most people probably think the conversations they have with search engines as being private. But to date, we don’t have any protected searcher-search engine relationship as we do with attorney-client privilege or between clergy and worshipper. Perhaps that needs to be enshrined in some way. But then again, others may feel that going out on to the public web and using publicly accessible search engines entitles no one to an expectation of privacy, or perhaps a more limited one.

Tune in to this article for more background information, follow the links at the bottom of the page.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/23/protecting-your-search-privacy/feed/ 0 French Maid TV, A Guide To Video Podcasting http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/09/french-maid-tv-a-guide-to-video-podcasting/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/09/french-maid-tv-a-guide-to-video-podcasting/#comments Mon, 09 Jan 2006 18:04:18 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/19/french-maid-tv-a-guide-to-video-podcasting/ I’m still waiting for the second edition of their video podcast because the first one was really funny. Nevertheless, since I hadn’t blogged the first one yet I’ll do that now so y’all can wait with me. In their first episode, the French Maids showed the world how to video podcast. Laura, Eve and Natalie were quite entertaining when they were giving it a go, and that French accent and the background music made it sound a lot like ‘Allo, Allo’, a British comedy that ran on Flemish television a few years ago. (I believe the reruns are still quite popular)

The marketing of the fanware goes through cafepress but it’s not so extended yet. Perhaps in a next stage they will offer more things…

French Maids

Check out the video podcast, episode 1 (.mov, 11mb) – the website – the bios.

]]> http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2006/01/09/french-maid-tv-a-guide-to-video-podcasting/feed/ 0 Word Of Mouth Basic Training http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2005/11/30/word-of-mouth-basic-training/ http://www.coolmarketingthoughts.com/2005/11/30/word-of-mouth-basic-training/#comments Wed, 30 Nov 2005 22:59:49 +0000 Miel Van Opstal http://blog.coolz0r.com/2006/01/19/word-of-mouth-basic-training/ WOMMA’s Word of Mouth Training (WOMBAT) Blog kicked off on November 24th. They started the blog, along with the companion email newsletter and podcast series, to provide practical, hands-on advice about word of mouth marketing. And so they do.

How-To : Dealing With Negative Word of Mouth – 5 Tips from Ketchum’s Paul Rand

1. Know your detractor
2. Listen to your complaints
3. Have facts readily available
4. Maintain perspective
5. Activate your influencers

Read all about these 5 tips

"Digging up dirt on the bad guy will only land you in more hot water, Paul says. But with a thoughtful, honest approach, negative word of mouth can be counteracted quickly."

wombat

Visit [the WOMBAT blog] via [i-Wisdom]

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