My Blogroll

Seth Godin's Blog

Marketing insights by one of Internet Marketing's top guru.

Small Biz Trends

Just started following this blog - the name says it all.

SEOMoz Blog

Information on the latest in the world of SEO.

Occam’s Razor by Avinash Kaushik

"If you can't measure it - you can't manage it." (Drucker). Avinash tells you how to measure everything on your website.

aimClear Blog

Aimed at people doing their SEO and online PR 'in house' - there is a wealth of information on all aspects of promoting your site.

Mashable

THE blog to read for current information and trends in Social Medai.

Copy Blogger

READ THIS if you ever get stuck writing copy

TIMR Web Services
1412 Albatross Ave.
Comox, BC
info@timr.ca
250.218.5285

Posts Tagged ‘branding’

It Is All Fertilizer

Posted: January 24th, 2010 Author: Michael Regan Posted in branding, business, marketing | No Comments »
Bagging fertilizer 1953

Source Crowsnest Pass Railway Route
The picture is a little before my time (circa 1953).

I started my working career (1966) in Trail BC at Cominco (now Teck Cominco) as a labourer. The work was dirty and dangerous – but not particularly hard and certainly not intellectually challenging. However, looking back, many of things I learnt there are still relevant. One of the most important was in the field of marketing. Which, at that time, was as far from being one of my career goals as a fish trying to fly.

I was working filling bags of fertilizer at Cominco’s Warfield operation.

(more…)

 

Going Viral – What Makes It Work

Posted: April 2nd, 2009 Author: Michael Regan Posted in branding, marketing, viral marketing | 2 Comments »

The major ad agencies have found viral marketing and, some at least, are getting it right.

Viral advertising is the ultimate example of Albert Lasker’s unwritten contract that the ad MUST entertain. For that entertainment we will view the advertiser’s message. With viral advertising, not only will we watch the message, we will share it with our friends.

But, there are rules!

Viral advertising grew out of the ‘DYI’ videos that were posted to sites like YouTube. Even when we know the ad took hundreds of hours and tens of thousands of dollars to produce – it must look as if it is something anyone could have done. It must not lose the ‘common touch’ that is the basis of the viral video.

And, the message must be subtle. Take this video for Geico. The product is never mentioned. The only reference to the product is the Geico spokes-gecko. And, even that is almost hidden in the background.

Getting your message viral can increase traffic to your site but more – it increases brand awareness. Keep the video entertaining and the product message subtle.

Here are a two more examples of good viral advertising:
Extreme Sheep Herding
T-Mobile Dance

 

Need A Restroom

Posted: March 26th, 2009 Author: Michael Regan Posted in branding, marketing | No Comments »

A while back I posted a blog on Talking Urinals. Charimin, the toilet paper people, have taken this idea one futher with their new social network website Sit or Squat identifying and rating public toilets around the world. (I am not making this up).

The site is geo-targeted. The user first sees the Charmin branding page and can either search for a location or go to a map based on their current location. The map, powered by Google, has the usual icons each icon indicates one or more public restroom. The toilets are added by visitors to the site. And, in addition to the address you can also include a picture of the toilet and a 5 star rating system.

There were some minor glitches in the site – long addresses don’t always display properly, but other than that the site was pretty smooth. And, there are apps available for using the site with an iPhone or Blackberry.

This is a great marketing idea. It shows how some creative thinking can greatly expand brand recognition without being seen as ‘advertising’.

Charmin has a history of ‘non advertising’, advertising. Since 2000 it has had a campaign of cleaning restrooms and state fairs in the US. However, this idea gives them a much larger, international audience. (Including places where the Charmin brand might not be that well know – like Moscow in the Russian Federation.)

Using technology to increase your brand awareness is a cost effective marketing technique. It is not just reserved to large corporations – small businesses can benefit from this strategy as well. All you need is some creative thinking.

BTW – Vancouver Island is currently a ‘public toilet free zone’ – Let the restroom wars begin.

 

Are You Protected

Posted: February 24th, 2009 Author: Michael Regan Posted in branding, business, marketing, SEM, SEO | 2 Comments »

Your business name and reputation is your most important asset. Yet many small businesses fail to protect their name.

Online – hijacking a business name can be as simple as filling in a few forms. Most free online directories do liitle or no checking to see if the business name you enter really belong to you. A little SEO and a competitor shows up in searches for your business name. A disgruntled employee, customer or lover can ruin your name with amazing speed.

While you can’t completely stop this form of theft there are some things you can do to slow it down.

  • Do an online search for you business name on a regular basis
  • Create accounts with your business name on all the major social networking sites.
  • Report any site that you believe infringes on you name or trademark