Creating Marketing Campaigns That Matter
Inc.com
Scott Harrison didn't like the fact that things like toothpaste and tortilla chips had better marketing campaigns than lifesaving causes. So he started his own charity—and made sure the branding didn't suck.

Selling the ‘X Factor’
Advertising Age
Fox's upcoming "X Factor" may walk like "American Idol" and talk like "American Idol," but it's not being sold to advertisers like its singing network sibling. Using lessons learned from the way some of the nation's flashiest marketers—think Coke, Ford, AT&T and Apple—have been woven into "Idol" over the years, Fox and show producer FremantleMedia are adopting a very different and significantly more complex model for "X Factor."

Rather than counting on a thimbleful of advertisers to carry the program for the entire length of the season, the two will instead broaden the field. Only Pepsi has been sold a season-long sponsorship of the program; other marketers are free to purchase pacts that will insert their names and products into "X" -- as well as link to various social-media and digitally-based extensions -- for just a few episodes, according to media buyers and other people familiar with the program.

Social Media Helps Keep ‘American Idol’ King
Marketing Daily News
For the fourth year in a row, "American Idol" continues to be the top buy for marketers—but it's not just traditional TV metrics that value the show as its main barometer. When taking into account an entire show's entertainment footprint—Web site, social, mobile and cross-platform usage, as well as press and personal recommendations, buzz and search—Optimedia US says the 10-year-old Fox singing competition show is still tops.

Optimedia says its Content Power Ratings survey this year—the fourth year it has done this study—has seen a greater influence from social media for televisions shows. This continues to shake up its list.

"Content owners and advertisers are becoming increasingly aware of the influence that social media has on television-viewing behavior," stated Greg Kahn, executive vice president of business development at Optimedia US.

Seven Marketing Mistakes Most Startups Make
GeekWire
Marketing for a startup is different than anything you may have done before. It’s different from the big-company and/or traditional marketing many executives may be used to, and a whole new challenge for entrepreneurs who don’t have a background in marketing to begin with.

The way startups need to market themselves is as unique as their product, service, market and target customer. But there are several mistakes many new startups consistently make.

Whether you’re managing a startup, managing marketing for a startup, or even consulting for a startup, here are seven common mistakes to avoid.

Speed Marketing: Brands Can Create Custom Sites, Pages (No IT required)
Marketing Daily News
Marketers gain a little freedom from IT departments on Monday. Crowd Factory has built out functions in its social-marketing suite allowing brands to create custom microsites and a Facebook-based landing page for group deal campaigns and other social-marketing programs.

In a few clicks, marketers can generate custom landing pages for campaigns and integrate them across multiple points. The platform's tools support the creation of flash deals or group offers, providing control of the campaign design and the ability to track visitors and social interactions.

Landing page creation typically requires help from IT professionals, but too often marketing projects get tagged onto the tail end of long project lists. This do-it-yourself approach lets marketers create hosted Web landing pages or Facebook tabs using a wizard interface that guides them through text, image and other information entry. Once a few details are complete, publishing Web-based landing pages or Facebook tabs requires a click of a button.

This function is the latest in Crowd Factory's "codeless campaign" strategy to give marketers more choices without getting IT involved. The tools also provide insight into the direct connection between social activities and conversions.

Online Marketers Say Community Is The Thing
Marketing Daily News
Is the online solitary experience solitary? When we buy things through online retail channels, are we bowling alone? Panelists at Consumer Reports's ShopSmart summit on online shopping said that to the contrary, without community there is no basis for growing an online retail brand.

The panel, part of a full-day immersion on the good, bad and ugly of online shopping, included Stephanie Brocoum, VP marketing at RueLaLa.com, a membership Web retailer that follows a boutique model, where brands are on sale for a deal that sells out. The company has 3.2 million members. "But we think of them as a community," she said. Brocoum said the excitement for members comes as part of the time pressure involved. "It's about giving an experience so exciting, they want to talk about it.