As the print media continues to shrink and decline, brand journalism is the buzzword on our industry's lips as content marketing evolves into engaging newsroom-style messaging.

The term "brand journalism" has existed for close to a decade, with Larry Light using the term in 2004. At the time, he was chief marketing officer at McDonald's and claimed that mass marketing no longer worked, introducing brand journalism as a method of recording "what happens to a brand in the world".

Coffee shops seem to be my new thing. Today, I met with a person who I have connected with on Linkedin at Starbucks.

As we pleasantly greet each other, we walked up to the counter to order coffees. He had just read my blog, so he was half laughing when he ordered his coffee and quickly asked what it said about him.

It seems that this marketing blog is getting more mileage than I.

As he ordered, I noticed that he put his phone to a technology gadget and immediately I asked what he was doing. He was in fact paying for the coffees with his Starbucks app.

I am sure that I have heard about this before and since forgotten since I am not a huge fan of Starbucks coffee although I do love their concept and all of their marketing. I was completely amazed that one can just pay for their coffee with an app that you top up whenever you need to. How easy is that. Gosh, perhaps Marketing Eye needs an app like that. I am totally in awe of the marketing genius behind this app - easy, convenient and what I call a "no brainer".

As we sat down and started to chat, he asked all the questions, like the good sales person he is. Then he started to tell me about a tax effective option, which I wasn't quite in the market for, but nevertheless I listened.

That age old battle - the ego vs the heart - is more relevant now than ever to us marketeers and anyone directly involved in business development. It dictates how you speak to the people you need to be speaking to; how you capture their attention and it applies to every communication you put out there – online, direct mail, posters, brochures, social media.

The thing is though, with everyone communicating to everyone else - shouting, pitching and bargaining for a share of the market - it can be hard, defeating and infuriating for those of us running ethical business operations to compete with ‘get rich quick’ and ‘lose 7kg in 7 days’.

As business owners and managers in an ever evolving world, our jobs become more challenging every day – every hour – to cut through clutter and make consumers notice our message.


How many times do we find ourselves repeating what we say to co-workers to get a message across?  For most of us, this isn’t a reflection of how we’re gauged as professionals or individuals but 95% attributable to the ‘151 rule’.


They say a person needs to hear new information at least three times before it registers into his/her mind for immediate recollection.  This has been taught over and over again to us and you can test it by saying aloud a new name you come across three times consciously.


When you target a market with a specific message the same rule applies, all except your target isn’t one person and those three times won’t cut it.  It’s all about repetition.  You have no control over which people are listening at what time of the day - so the logical bet is to be accessible and available 24/7/365.

It's only Tuesday and I am incredibly tired. I have been a week back in the US from international travels and all of a sudden it has all hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I arrive early to my hotel room, my place of residence until I make time to find a home in Atlanta, and I plonk all my bags down on the carpet, just by the door. Reluctantly, I reach for my bag and pull out my laptop case. As I unzip the case, I walk towards the small table in the corner, with a light beaming into the triangle of the wall.

I grab my Apple MacBook Air, flick open the screen, type in my password and stop for a moment. I am tired. So, tired that my body aches and my shoulder blades feel like I have a knife edged into bone. This is the life of someone who travels.

It’s universally acknowledged that good service will get you places. Whether selling an unnecessarily big screen television to a family or ice to Inuits, good service makes sales.

This said, there are exceptions to every rule and every so often in this world of increasing competition, there are business managers with seemingly decreasing nouse.

It’s no longer just about your product or service – it’s all about the experience.

Marketing encompasses all senses – sight, taste, touch, smell and sound. Combined, these make the experience. The experience that people will walk away with; the experience that – good or bad – people will talk about.

As marketeers, we work tirelessly to communicate your message on each of these levels. We study, we research and we have experience to hone you the best experience for your offering. Not everyone understands the importance - or relevance even - of marketing however… and it shows…

However, the work you put into it is extremely beneficial when it comes to your company’s branding, giving the world an insight into what’s behind the scenes. On top of that, writing a blog can grow your business as you position your company as a thought leader in its industry.

Insert question marks here…  Sometimes even the odd exclamation mark for frustration’s sake.

You spend all your time on your business, client relationships, communications.  You’re investing a lot in your marketing to spread awareness and build a reputation.  Where’s the conversion?  Where’s the new business?  Where’s the Twitter following?  Where are the likes on Facebook?

Know.  Like.  Trust.

No matter how big and experienced you may be, a lot of people don’t know about the X-Factor of communication - that recent Chanel ad featuring Brad Pitt is a great example (making it to the ‘Business Insider’s 10 Worst Ads of 2012’ list).  Before you sell anything, you need to get known, you need to be liked and you need to be trusted.

How?

Business blogging can be tricky – your writing has to be professional, yet casual; informative, but not cut into the products/services you are selling, and (most importantly) open.

However, the work you put into it is extremely beneficial when it comes to your company’s branding, giving the world an insight into what’s behind the scenes. On top of that, writing a blog can grow your business as you position your company as a thought leader in its industry.

There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth… not going all the way, and not starting. -Buddha

A new year, a new beginning. A chance to make wrong right and to deliver on your inner most ambitious, hopes and loves.

Each year, in January, like millions of others around the world, I make new years resolutions. They tend to be ones that are relatively achievable or that are aligned to my values and/or dreams. By writing them down and looking at them each day, it gives me a reminder of what my hopes were for the year ahead. 

As an entrepreneur and business person, there are many things that I would love to achieve; worldwide domination, more visitors to websites, greater client experiences, more sales, bigger profits, improved employee engagement and the list goes on and on. In short, like most entrepreneurs and business people, I want to be better at business and I want everyone around me to see my visions become realities.

Do not wait until the conditions are perfect to begin. Beginning makes the conditions perfect. -Alan Cohen