We don’t normally take political stands here at Eilert Communications. Two bills in front of Congress and the Senate, however, got our attention. And not in a good way.

SOPA, the “Stop Online Piracy Act” goes up for a vote in the House next week. The Protect IP Act (PIPA) goes in front of the Senate next week. The intention is to “protect intellectual property rights” and “go after online piracy”. We are all for protecting intellectual property. After all, we are in the business of building brands and identities. But these proposals are not the way to do it.

Both proposals go well beyond that intention and venture into the territory of censorship and government selection of which businesses stay in business. One analogy being used that we think is fitting is shutting down the auto industry because a bank robber drove away from a robbery in a car. Continue reading »

Lady Gaga.  At 25 she seems to have come out of nowhere and then appears everywhere. How does she inspire such devotion from her fans?

Here’s how: aside from  costumes, choreography and vocals that stand out from a “me too” sea of pop music, Lady Gaga is completely about her fans, little monsters, and relating with them on common ground.  She includes us,  and that is her secret sauce.

“Listen up little monsters..”

Referring to herself as “Mother Monster”,  she fiercely protects “little monsters”.   Continue reading »

Good marketers do their homework. Homework goes by different names: due diligence, research and discovery among them. Whatever moniker you choose, it boils down to the same thing: work. Lots of work. Work to learn more and more about who your customers may be, what matters to them, where they go to get information, to shop, and on and on.

I’ve noticed many people want to skip this part. Eager to get to the “fun” parts like graphic design, tag lines and soundtracks, they barrel ahead at full tilt – often in the wrong direction.

It’s irritating as sand sometimes. The market and competition seem more active during the homework phase, and business owners often feel they are wasting time and their money with little to show for it. But, like oysters, it takes time for the discovery process to yield the pearls. By doing the work up front and learning as much as possible, you can avoid costly mistakes and instead capture opportunities you may not have known existed.

How people converse speeds up relative to the plates in the air. At least that’s my theory. Meetings, planning, travel. All of it adds up to managing hectic lifestyles in micro seconds. So if you cannot grab attention in 3 seconds, it is often gone.

We used to call it the Blackberry test. If your colleagues faded to check their Blackberry, the point was not compelling or relevant enough to stay engaged in the conversation.

Social media seems like that. 140 characters or less to Twitter a relevant message. Is that so different from headlines? Not really.

Effective marketing has always been about earning attention. Fast. Because if you do, most people will stop and learn more. If you miss, then they move on.

And rightfully so.

Happy 2009! By all of the media accounts, it looks like a challenging year is in store. But challenges usually present great opportunities. Many people made money during the depression, and in  the various recessions since. Continue reading »