The Superbowl is over. Lasted for one day. Congratulations to the New Orleans Saints on the win. Congratulations to the advertisers that debuted their new commercials.

But let’s look beyond the Superbowl to the Pepsi Refresh Project.

For those of you who have not followed the story… In a nutshell, Pepsi decided not to advertise during the Superbowl. They decided to use the money that they would spend on “traditional advertising” on a social media project.

More on Leveraging Social Media to Transform: The Pepsi Refresh Project

FACT: The markets are moving. Platforms are changing. Those who are not willing to change and think two steps ahead are being left behind.

It doesn't take a lot of words to tell a complete story in the headline.

Telling a complete story that grabs the reader is what your headline should do.

I was just listening to my daughter as she screamed at the top of her lungs for her sister to stop messing with her hair. All I heard was the one word – Stop. I knew immediately it was more than just a casual conversation. And, I knew that I might want to get more information.

But, let's look at this more closely. There is a marketing lesson here.

More on Relevance: The Secret To Writing Headlines That Work

• As advertisers, are we just talking to out customers? Are we really connecting with our customers?
• Do our customers want to hear from us?
• Are you saying anything that is worthwhile to say?

Until Next Time,

David Bullock

Project management is what is required in the industrial world to get things done and to organize people. Marketing project management is just as important. I am working with a client and I am watching dates slip, tasks go unmanaged and basic chaos. Yet the the company is making money in spite of themselves and the lack of knowhow and technical expertise.

Of course I am intrigued by this situation. My question is how can you run a business without understanding the basics of marketing project management.

And I mean the basics:

• Budget
• Task
• Resources Allocation
• Milestones
• Deadlines

Too many times I see that the answer to poor marketing practices is more time and more money. Sometimes a bit of planning works wonders toward the success of a project.

When was the last time that you actually followed a plan for your business and it actually worked?

There are schools and courses that teach project management. It is more than flowcharts and pretty pictures and time lines. It is the day to day management of the unexpected and the allocation of resources to meet a goal by a certain time.

In the real world where time really is money and down time will kill a business. A good project manager is worth his weight in gold. To apply some of these skill to your marketing campaigns may give you the competitive advantage that you are seeking.

– David Bullock

There is a lesson in precision marketing execution and organization in this most recent toy recall.

First Question : Why is this latest recall “news worthy”?

Why is this particular toy recall on the radio and TV and there are thousands of products recalled every year?

Here is the product recall list. I didn’t hear about these other situations.

• Was it the size of the recall? I hear estimates of lossed at the $30 million mark.
• Is it because there is an overseas contractor involved?
• Is it beacause it affects our children?
• Is it becuase it is a well known company?

Is is all of those listed above that make this story news worthy.

Consumer safety is a hot topic today with the recent events of the lead painted toy recall. At first, what intrigued me most about the situation was the “news worthiness” of the situation.

But then, I saw the marketing organization and infrastructure that has to be in place to issue and successfully execute such a large scale recall. More on A Lesson In Precision Marketing Execution And Organization

If you ever get the chance to become a novice in a subject that you are expert, you have a golden opportunity to take your skill set to the next level. Most of us move in unconscious competence. The key is to pay attention and become consciously competent. So that you can approach the subject with fresh eyes, vigor and wonder.

Read about this learning model here on the BusinessBalls Website.

I have just finished an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life. I had to unlearn Adwords and move through it step-by-step, screen-by-screen and click-by-click. Imagine doing that after you have been running campaigns for years.

Let me explain…

Before any “technical book” comes out there is more than just the editor that reads the book and make sure that reads well. There is another editor called the “technical editor” who reads the book and checks for:

• URLs
• sequences of steps
• facts
• charts
• figures

The technical stuff has to be checked to make sure the book is useable for the target audience. The “How To Stuff” is in order.

I have been fortunate to have had the honor and task of being such an editor for the newest Adwords book that is hitting the shelves of your nearest book store in the fall. I have to say that working with a large publishing house is an experience that is indeed interesting and has truly been rewarding for me. Who knows I may just write a book someday.

Adwords Is Not Only For The Inner Circle Anymore

If you have noticed using Adwords for marketing is not an “internet marketers” trick anymore. It is a mainstream marketing channel that has some real teeth. Major corporations and business owners from all over are using adwords to drive traffic to their stores. Competition is fierce in some markets. And by the way, some of them really do know what they are doing.

My first experience with pay per click was many years ago before Adwords even existed with PPC engines like FindWhat and Overture. Now with all the new analytic tools and the third party applications you can zero in on your Message, Market And Media Match. 

Using PPC (especially Adwords) now is an entirely different ball game. But, if you use the proper tools and thinking and better yet have the know-how to make adwords and PPC work for your pay per action advertising campaign, the internet is a virtual money tree. I know this from personal experiementation and experience.

Anyway, like I mentioned before I am the technical editor for a new Adwords book that is coming to the market. I did this for two reasons.

1. Adwords has changed so much in the last few years that I wanted to make sure that I was not missing anything as new features mean new opportunity.
2. I wanted to help a friend to make sure the book delivered the goods.

To be very candid. I learned and relearned how to use Adwords while editing this book. Thanks Howie.

Anyhow…

The author is Howie Jacobson and he is one of the best adwords consultants that I know of and better yet he can teach adwords profit methodologies as well as anyone that I know.

He is offering a small group training for 12 people. And I am honored to be able to make sure that you all knew about this training. If you are interested and want more information this will one of the best “how to use adwords to build a profitable business” that you will find. Howie is still accepting applications for this training. The space is limited and this training is for those that really want to get into action with Adwords the right and profitable way.

 If you are looking to increase your Adwords Actionable Knowledge, then this training is something that you should investigate.

Til next time,

David Bullock

How to write better headlines…

Headlines are the key to marketing and the key to your business success.

According to this article it is about content and connecting with people, not about writing headline for the search engines. It is about writing headlines for people.

Headlines are a foundation for your marketing success.

Here is the how to write better headlines article.

This article is very good.

Enjoy,

– David Bullock

What will this do for marketing and the experience on the web? WIth the rapid development and deployment of new technologies the “experience of the web will itself become a virtual augmented situation. How will you position your business to use and adopt new technologies?

– David Bullock

David Bullock Tracking and Testing is going mainstream.

The Tennessean (Nashville,TN) Newspaper for middle tennessee has a feature story about using the internet (online marketing). David Bullock was the very first guest in the radio show.

Get the full story here…

– David Bullock