Nook Upgraded & the 5 P’s of Marketing
Nook Color ebook ereader now supports Android Apps
And just like that, the Nook matters again. Yes, in the war to win the hearts and eyeballs of readers continues to rage on, and Barnes & Nobles has just proved that it’s not out of the fight.
In 30 seconds or less, the Nook was upgraded from being a humble ebook reader with an attractive color screen, a market where Amazon dominates. A software patch pushed the Nook into the crowded space of tablets, where Apple dominates.
Soon the Nook will have full access to the Android Marketplace, which includes the kinds of games and apps that makes the iPad so popular.
Here are five reasons why this matters to you as it relates to the Five P’s of Marketing (loosely interpreted, of course):
- Product
- Price
- Place (distribution)
- Promotion
- People
1.PRICE: Nook competes on price and features. Everyone from the media to the average buyer is enamored with tablets. The venerable iPad 2 is one of the most coveted gadgets on the marketplace, but with prices starting at $499, it’s not exactly within reach of all buyers. For a while, the Amazon Kindle was the device to beat, but it’s still a black and white technology in a color world. At $250, the Nook offers a sharp, full color display. It may not be as full featured or sensitive as the iPad, but it suddenly feels light years ahead of the Kindle, but with a very attractive price point. Read more
Google Analytics Starting….Now!
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In marketing (and in life), timing is essential. It may be as simple as making the light before it turns red (good timing!). Or it may be something as big as when to pop the big question.
If you’re a marketer, there has never been a better time to pop the question…around site analytics. Okay, it’s not quite as sexy as “popping the question,” but it still benefits from good timing.
Google just released a major overhaul to Google Analytics, their amazing — and free — cloud-based web analytics package. Tweets are flying, especially if you follow the hashtag #googleanalytics, there are a lot of people very excited about the new Google Analytics. That makes this the perfect time to get your clients’ websites tagged and tracking.
If they are already using Google Analytics, you should dive deep into some of the new features, like custom dashboards and improved linking with Google Adwords. The Google Analytics blog outlines some of the new features. Read more
How to Help Young Marketers Gain Career Experience
Last week, I was on vacation in sunny Florida, and boy did I work. Well, I didn’t work for the agency, but I worked my marketing brain a bunch. And then I had an idea. (Hang with me, it takes a few paragraphs to get there.)
Y’see, after the kids all went to bed, some of the adults would stand outside and chat about the days events. Inevitably, the conversation always turns to “so, what do you do?” Like many of you, I work in emarketing, which includes advertising, branding, strategy, and all that good stuff.
One of the guys on vacation was a small business owner struggling with his company’s place in the competitive landscape. He had built a successful business, but was losing market share in key battlegrounds. The specific details aren’t important, but suffice to say, I put on my marketing hat and we talked for hours about his challenges. In my mind, his next steps included (but weren’t limited to) a SWOT analysis and a repositioning of his brand identity.
Marketing Experience
It all seems to be going well, but at a certain point, I realize I can’t help this guy any further. He needs an agency that’s geared up for his specific marketing needs.
Unfortunately, he’s already struggling, so hiring a marketing agency — even an agency with reasonable rates — may not be feasible. He’s just trying to keep the lights on and his staff employed.
But what if there was a database of young, hungry marketers who were willing to help out a small client in exchange for something they could add to their portfolio? Maybe barter some services, if that’s an option. Read more
DTC National 2011 – Optimizing Websites Panel
“Content is king” — that was essentially the unwritten theme of my panel at the Direct to Consumer National 2011 conference.
And, I am proud to report, that none of the panelists actually uttered the phrase “content is king.” (We’re too cool for that.)
Last week, I spent a half day at the DTC National Conference 2011 in Boston to participate in one of the pre-conference workshops. We were arranged panel style in the front of the room to talk about pharmaceutical marketing related topics.
I was on the panel “Optimizing the Brand Web Site” with some impressive panelists:
- Prodeep Bose, SVP, Multichannel Strategy, the cementbloc
- Michael Peroff, Managing Partner, Strategic Domain, Inc.
- Phyllis Schneble, EVP, Sales & Marketing, dLife
- Bob Erlich, CEO, DTC Perspectives – Moderator
While the conversation was focused on pharma brand websites, it was a conversation that could have easily been about any industry. Basically, if I had to summarize it in a few words, it went like this. Read more
StumbleUpon Paid Discovery Fails
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If you’re a new blogger trying to figure out how to get more traffic to your site, then you’re not alone. Everyone wants new traffic. Yet it’s not enough to get traffic, you want to get the right traffic. Qualified readers. Right?
On Word+Pictures=Web, I am usually trying to attract readers interested in technology, marketing, photography, new media, gadgets, comic books, and fun stuff like that. Digging into my stats, I noticed that I was getting some good traffic from StumbleUpon.com.
Note: For blog analytics, I use a combination of Site Stats from WordPress and Google Analytics. Both packages are free.
StumbleUpon Paid Discovery became available in March, 2011, so I guess I am an early adopter here. It required a new sign up and some basic information, all of which was quick and easy. Paid Discovery offers three pricing teirs, which includes Light, Standard and Premium.
- Light – 5 cents per visitor
- Standard – 10 cents per visitor
- Premium – 25 cents per visitor
At this point, I selected Light because I was just getting started and there really wasn’t much information out there. There is a lot more information about how to run search engine marketing (SEM) campaigns on Google AdWords and Yahoo Search Marketing, but not much on Paid Discovery.
Read more
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