Employee newsletters, a critical component of any integrated marketing communications plan, get a bad rap, for good reason. They’re mostly bad. Their intent — to educate and to boost morale — may be admirable, but [Read More]

For an industry that pretty much fuels the whole capitalist engine, advertising is getting a sound snubbing these days — a Tom Petty-ish, “don’t come around here no more” message. Fatigued consumers, looking to free [Read More]

It’s really quite simple: Either your integrated marketing communications plan is delivering meaningful ROI or it just plain sucks. That may sound harsh, but integrated marketing guru Mark Stevens has been around the block enough [Read More]

Market research has shown that an animal mascot can elevate a brand’s identity. Consider the meteoric rise in name recognition for the once-obscure insurance provider Aflac. When President George W. Bush was introduced to Aflac [Read More]

Palomar Mountain Premium Spring Water has long relied on the Yellow Pages, billboard advertising, direct sales, and ad insertions for generating sales leads in what has become a highly competitive industry. Now, the Escondido, Calif.–based [Read More]

In 1975, after 14 years with Bic, Shaw joined Pilot Pen Corporation of America, where he is now president and CEO. His tenure at the company has been as unconventional as it has been successful: [Read More]

Depending on the reporter, it’s generally true that between 50 percent and 75 percent of media interviews do not result in the printing or airing of a direct quote. [Read More]

The marketing department at Aplus.Net, a San Diego-based online solutions provider, shares one cubicle. To help reduce distractions and provide some level of privacy in such close quarters, the staff relies on instant messaging (IM) [Read More]

There is no shortage of ways to disseminate news to employees, from company meetings, lunchroom bulletin boards and print newsletters to voice mail, intranets, and email marketing blasts. One fresh entry, podcasting, may soon change [Read More]

When Wempe Jewelers wants to lure well-heeled travelers to its store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, it snuggles up to them in their hotel rooms. No, not like that. For the past eight years, the [Read More]