November, 2014 - Contenteurs

Nov 17
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Introducing The Optimization Project (TOP)

Posted by | Marketing Innovation | No Comments

The Optimization Project LogoI wrote Optimarketing: Marketing Optimization to Electrify Your Business to help marketers optimize the whole marketing enchilada. From thousands of tests and dozens of record-breaking campaigns run by Contenteurs, readers see how to make the most of every major marketing element.

But serious change is rarely easy. So we’ve come up with an initiative to kick-start the marketing innovation process. It’s called “The Optimization Project” (the acronym just happens to be “TOP”). It’s designed to help you make the moves necessary to run your most profitable marketing ever.

Because it’s a Contenteurs initiative, The Optimization Project has a high-value offer: In a one-hour lightning round, via phone and web or in person, we’ll review a portion or all of your marketing (the former will obviously be the case in larger and more complex organizations).

Our review may include demand generation, customer acquisition, and retention programs; database marketing, lead nurture, and email marketing programs; search marketing and other website advertising; social media; marketing content; testing of key elements; and more.

Within 10 days, you’ll receive a summary with recommendations on a single page. The cost? It’s free and without obligation to marketers who qualify. We’re doing a modest number of Optimization Project evaluations, and I’ll be intimately involved in each one. So if you’re interested, let us know by emailing me at robert(at)contenteurs(dot)com or phoning me at 508.517.2460.

Nov 17
0

Is It Possible To Create Hugely Successful Marketing On An Embarrassingly Small Budget?

Posted by | General Marketing | No Comments

Yep. In fact, it’s often easier to do amazing stuff when big bucks aren’t available.

Glance inside an advertising awards book and you’ll probably notice many if not most winners weren’t big-budget campaigns created for big brands.

Big budgets tend to mean more hierarchy, procedures, and rules. More hurdles. In short, more ways to wind up with mediocrity.

But don’t the best ideas usually require big bucks to execute? Nope. Think about the times you’ve enthusiastically shared cool business content that didn’t seem costly to produce. You provided those impressions to marketers free of charge.

At Contenteurs, we collect 200 or even over 300 raw ideas for a single campaign. Some ideas can’t run without a substantial budget, but in many cases, the best ideas are among the cheapest to pull off.

And I must say, when you realize your campaign is more successful than those of larger competitors spending way more money … well, few moments in marketing are more gratifying.

Don’t get me wrong: Money comes in handy in marketing. More money buys you more options. More money equals more testing. And as I said in Optimarketing, the best marketers tend to be the best testers.

If you’ve been blessed with a small budget, aim to make it look big. One solid way to make this happen: Instead of trying to do lots of things, do fewer things really well. Think concentration of force.

And dare to be great.