Alan Brawn calls into the show today to discuss some key elements of Digital Signage in the industry as well as highlights a new/old Display technology: Direct View LED.
Topics: Content, Creative, STrategy, storytelling, Thought Leadership, Narrative Marketing
The power of marketing with video content has been well documented. In B2B marketing, popular uses for video marketing include:
- Customer testimonial video
- 3D product videos
- Videos demonstrating how products are made
- Animated explainer videos
- Tradeshow and live event video content
- Employee interviews and company history videos
Topics: Content, Creative, STrategy, storytelling, Thought Leadership, Narrative Marketing
Study Reveals that Marketers are Increasingly Frustrated over Widespread Misunderstanding of their Role and Value in Organizations.
Topics: Thought Leadership, Brand Writing, storytelling, The Marketing Profession, Marketing, Digital Marketing, Business Communication
Most readers will have likely already encountered a number of articles on the importance of authentic branding--not to mention the various complexities of the concept. Visitors to this site will in fact find many articles on the topic.
For all its relevance to effective branding, the challenge of authenticity is , however, above all, personal. Turn back the dials, and my guess is that you'll find that all these concerns over authenticity speak to more fundamental questions regarding how one might live.
Topics: B2B Brand Writing, B2B Markets, Thought Leadership
WHAT CHILDREN CAN TEACH US ABOUT DESIGNING HUMAN-CENTERED EXPERIENCE
A recent article on "Designing a Human-Centered Pediatric Experience" draws on opinions and insights from children to develop guidelines for optimal pediatric care. The article is not only useful; more importantly, it's moving. Coming from outside the profession of healthcare design, the article represents a model of effective content: It speaks to professional protocols in terms of common emotional needs. It's 5 key points focus on issues specific to hospital facilities management, but the inights resonate on a much broader level:
Topics: B2B Marketing, B2B Content, Thought Leadership, Content, Content Strategy, Business Communication, Healthcare Industry, Healthcare Design and Engineering
Purpose, not Justification: "Benefits" are not the Only Obstacle to a Big-Picture Value Proposition.
VALUE PROPOSITIONS AS PURPOSE, NOT JUSTIFICATION
Sales and Marketing wisdom has long underscored the importance of presenting value propositions, that see beyond benefits and features.
According to Investopedia, a value proposition is
a business or marketing statement that a company uses to summarize why a consumer should buy a product or use a service. This statement convinces a potential consumer that one particular product or service will add more value or better solve a problem than other similar offerings.
On the other hand, a product feature is a "distinguishing characteristic of a an item, (such as performance specs, portability, or functionality). A product benefit is an advantage, help or aid from something. The distinction sounds good in theory. In practice, these boundaries can blur.
Topics: Thought Leadership
The "why question" is important, but the answer is more important.
According to Simon Sinek, your answer to “why” serves as “the purpose, cause, or belief that inspires you to do what you do.” Ever since Sinek inspired readers to Start with Why (not to mention his viral Ted Talk), the importance of the why question has emerged as a fundamental piece of leadership wisdom.
Topics: Brand, Thought Leadership, Business Communication, Differentiators, B2B Content, Content Strategy
Heinz turns to Mad Men’s Don Draper for Real Ad Campaign
Today’s conventional wisdom began as yesterday’s radical nonsense. Following an adman’s evolution from the dawn to the dusk of the revolutionary 60s, AMC’s Mad Men had a particular knack for documenting radical shifts in thought over time. Attuned to the cultural transformations of the era, the show is also savvy to the transformations in marketing. When it comes to branding, Don Draper, the series “mad” anti-hero, is a visionary—often well beyond the time of his clients, who frequently find his ideas nonsensical.
Topics: B2B Marketing, Brand, Thought Leadership, advertising, B2B Content
Authenticity, as readers in the marketing profession have likely heard (many times), is all the rage these days. The trend makes sense. For one, claims for authenticity always sound good, even inspiring. And why wouldn’t they? Authenticity suggests a host of admirable virtues: Honesty (you’re not hiding anything), courage (honesty despite the possibility of negative consequences), integrity (commitment to personal values), and individualism (being oneself despite social pressures to be otherwise).
Topics: Brand, Thought Leadership
