Marketing Eye

Expert Marketing Blog - Page 59

Why common sense is hard to find

Common sense is not so common. The older I get the more I realise the truth to this statement.

Lately, I am getting more and more frustrated about the lack of common sense amongst the young, and today I realised that perhaps I am being a tad unfair. Gen-Y are not apt at using common sense particularly when it comes to business. I find myself constantly pulling my hair out when I hear and see things that they do, because I just don't get it. I don't understand how something so basic can be forgotten, not thought about or completely ignored. 

But am I being unfair. Often its things that they have been trained on, and they just constantly forget a process or sometimes its just when a client or supplier asks a question that has an obvious answer (at least to me) and they just don't get it.

Ignoring my #24yrold and #24yroldblackguy (the latter is his own hash tag - not mine!), I find myself constantly getting irritated at the lack of common sense in the typical Gen-Y. They are the exception and I have never found myself to be having "the conversation" with them.

#24yrold says "you are born with it".

With lots of thought given to this problem as it seems to be the only issue I face in the office these days, I realise that perhaps its actually mine. In general, I have had 10 years to hone my skills to ensure that I think before I act, and based on experience, minimize errors. I cross all my "T's" and dot all of my "i's" - if you know what I mean.

The question is, what is common sense? To me it is not another kind of knowledge, nor is it a simple cognitive process or ability. My common sense tells me that is as complex as the factors inherent in a situation to which it may be applied.

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Is Twitter to blame for cyber bullying?

On Saturday, I received a call from my friend Samantha, that her former colleague had just committed suicide. She was in shock and needed to take stock - and rightfully so. 

Charlotte Dawson's name only became known to me through the media about "trolls" bullying her on Twitter. At the time, the media was reasonably supportive of her plight, but columnists and bloggers including myself were on the fence. If you took time to read the dialogue well before it became public you may have an opinion that some of the things that she had openly said about other people were not so nice either, and as an adult, some of the insults that flew back to the "cyber bullies" were something that you would be horrified about in a school yard. 

Now, that doesn't mean that cyber bullying is acceptable - as it is not. I too have been prone to have a few trolls pass both of my Twitter accounts which combine amount to 41,000 followers, on some topics that I have chosen to write about on this blog, namely the one on how women can help their man be more successful. Apparently, I am stuck in the 50's but the trolls took it a little bit further and threw a few distasteful words my way. I politely replied to some (not all) with "Thank you so much for sharing your opinion. I respect everyone's point of view and perspectives." It stopped within 24 hours, only after my website had more than 100,000 visitors. 
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Reality check #1

Reality check #1

It's only 7 weeks in and it's already been a roller-coaster of a year. I am already exhausted. Everything imaginable has happened to me this year, but somehow exhilarated at the same time.

There have been so many changes; life, business and game. I feel like I have lived through so much, yet there is still so much more to achieve.

Yesterday, I had the privilege of spending half an hour with a young entrepreneur by the name of Kylie Marie, who is inspiring, ambitious, energetic and ready to take on the world. I now know why older people liked spending time with me when I was new to business, because that energy is contagious. I couldn't help but smile and be totally inspired by what Kylie is doing and her fearlessness in business. Her brow bars, Browco Brow Bar, will be everywhere in the next year or so, along with her eyebrow products that are to die for.

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Why juggling too many balls is bound to make you 'drop the ball'

Deep sigh!

It's Monday, and I have already worked one day of the weekend, yet I haven't touched the surface.

Why is it that when you really are passionate about everything you do in life, that something always holds you back. In my case, it's time.

I always say, that time is the most important thing you can get from someone in your life. If you have their time, there is nothing else you will need. But time is harder than you think. With running an international business, having my fingers in quite a few different business pies, dedicating time to charity, trying to get a little bit of training in and developing technology - writing books and painting has definitely been put to the way-side.

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Loving your job

Loving your job

Marketing maven, Tegan Addinsall, a senior marketing manager at Marketing Eye Melbourne came bursting through the front door of the office this morning with the grandest smile on her face. It was 7.30am in the morning, and although I was at work, I didn't even have my makeup on and certainly hadn't finished my first cup of coffee.

"I love my job!" expressed Tegan. She definitely does. Every day she comes to work with the biggest smile on her face. She is incredibly smart, and knows her "stuff" better than most. Sometimes annoyingly, she smiles and laughs so much that I want to hit her over the head with a book, so she can come down to my level (not really!).
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When love drives you crazy

We've all been in love at some stage in our lives and as St Valentine's Day approaches, it gives those with a romantic bone in their body, something to think about.

Over the years, I have been with some of the most romantic men imaginable. St Valentine's Day has been filled with surprises, flowers, love notes, jewellery, surprise holidays, art and above all - love.
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How Daniel Birnbaum turned a 6 million dollar company into a billion dollar global enterprise.

It caught my attention by accident. I was in an airport and Scarlett Johansson popped up on facebook. Apparently, after eight years of being a global ambassador for the anti-poverty group Oxfam International, their relationship had come to an end due to her doing a Super Bowl commercial for SodaStream.

Now, that's a word I haven't heard since I was a child. SodaStream was in every home when I was a child and at some stage, went down the same route of so many other popular brands that are "fads" and became a thing of the past.

The uproar was because SodaStream operates in Ma'ale Adumim, a large Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank.

The pedigree marketing background in consumer products that CEO Daniel Birnbaum credits to his name, was the reason that SodaStream fell in his lap. A friend asked him some years to have a look at the operations with him as he thought it was undervalued. After much consideration, it was decided that for $6 million, they would buy SodaStream and Birnbaum would take over as CEO. 

I have watched Birnbaum and I would say that he has a "Steve Jobs" style about him and without doubt the same marketing nous.

Instead of selling SodaStreams to sit on your kitchen bench, he revamped the design so that it looked great on the bench and then started a multimillion dollar marketing campaign to showcase how much more environmentally friendly SodaStream is compared to Pepsi and Coke.

It was this head on approach that caused an uproar over this years Super Bowl Advertisements, causing SodaStream's original advertisement to be banned by Fox. Instead the advertisement was placed up on YouTube and received almost 13 millions worth of hits and was shared on every social media platform imaginable. On top of that, they received tens of millions of dollars in free editorial worldwide, literally putting SodaStream back on the map. It didn't harm them any having one of the most beautiful women in the world, sipping SodaStream from a straw. 

In an interview with USA Today, Daniel Birnbaum said of the whole debacle of using the phrase "Sorry, Coke and Pepsi." : "Which advertiser in America doesn't mention a competitor? This is the kind of stuff that happens in China. I'm disappointed as an American."

As a marketer, I think Daniel Birnbaum is a genius. He may be using big agencies, but I suspect that he has alot to do with just how successful SodaStream has become. From a $6 million investment, the business now has a billion dollar market cap and while they don't have the marketing budget of Coke and Pepsi, they are giving them a good run for their money by clearly differentiating their value proposition. Who doesn't want an environmentally friendly solution and to save money at the same time? As for taste, I am neither here nor there. They both taste different but I am fine to carbonate my water with a SodaStream if it means that I don't have cages of landfill that is directly contributed to my laziness of buying on the run.






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How to on-board a new marketing hire

Marketing Eye Atlanta is looking for a new hire as a Marketing Executive; someone who has a few years experience, but not too much that they are stuck in their ways. We are seeking a person who fits our fun, innovative and clever culture, while still being academic and tactical enough to produce work of the highest level.

It's a tough gig to work at Marketing Eye Atlanta right now as our culture is so good - that no-one is prepared to have a new marketing recruit that doesn't fit to perfection. We are "googling" our way to fast growth by focusing on culture first and qualifications second, but at the end of the day, it is critical  that a person who works with us has some common sense and understands most facets of marketing - the rest we teach.

In Atlanta, there are not many marketing positions on offer - and certainly none that offers the same opportunities as Marketing Eye unless you are working for a big global corporation. The reality is that there many highly qualified marketers from an academic perspective looking for positions, but most don't have any experience other than in sales or customer service. They simply have not been given the opportunity. 

As we go through the hundreds of resumes, it is apparent that there are either people who have Degrees and some with Masters in Marketing Degrees, or the alternative; people who have been VP's of Marketing in organizations such as Coca Cola and other Fortune 500 companies. 

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What happens when your dreams are not possible?

I sat in my office and looked up on the wall. 

As I read each of my team members three (3) goals that each of them wrote down for the next two (2) years - I felt proud. Of the three, each of them have one crossed off as of February 1, 2014. What an achievement! I feel blessed that as a team, we were able to achieve this for them and they did it all within 3 months.

Then I looked at mine.

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Why buying employee happiness is a waste of money

The other day, a few of us from the Marketing Eye team were at a client meeting and they mentioned that they buy all of their employees an ipad for Christmas.

You should have seen my employees faces! They were green with envy. It was as if they had all been given ferraris.

I thought to myself, "that's really cool" but not for a second did I think that they received something worth more than what my employees in Atlanta received. Perception is an unbelievable thing and more and more, companies are being encouraged to "buy" their employees happiness.

Many new age companies, with venture-backed operations offer:
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10 Websites That Are Guaranteed To Make You More Creative

It's a strange phenomena to think that we have two sides of our brain that decipher information in two inherently different ways.

The left side is logical, analytical and objective, whereas the right side is intuitive, thoughtful and subjective. With the latter being the one credited to creativity; some of us are fortunate enough to play in a creative field where idea generation, designs and looking to the future are all part of the parcel.

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Sales will NOT fall into your lap by accident

Sales will NOT fall into your lap by accident

When a business starts a new calendar year with have a business strategy in place, supported by a sales and marketing plan - CEO's expect results.

But what if the results are not forthcoming? What if key people have read the strategy yet are not "making it happen"? As we near the end of January, many companies are realizing that targets are not being met, and while some may scratch their heads, the real leaders are taking action.

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Why women need to stop blowing their own trumpet

I get it... women have been left to the way-side in corporate and in life for many years, and now they are in a time where they can shine and take center stage with all the fanfare attached.

However, are we really that desperate to blow our own trumpets? Do we really think we are better than men? Do we really need to be all over the media saying how wonderful we are or at least think we are - just because we are women?

I am a woman and feel incredibly fortunate that I was born this way. In fact, rather than shed a tear for the glass ceiling, I am swinging from the rooftops thanking everyone who cares to listen for the fact that I am a woman and have been given many more advantages as such than my male counterparts.

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The new year pep talk - what makes your team tick?

The new year pep talk - what makes your team tick?

First day back in Atlanta and I am excited! I cannot express to you how much I love my US team and how inspirational each and every one of them are.

It's been a phenomenal journey, one full of great surprises, obstacles that were easier than expected to overcome and an incredible amount of love and support that has led Marketing Eye's success.

Like all bosses that are a nuisance, I asked for a photograph of a couple of my team members who were sitting in a meeting with me this morning. They are quite use to it - as they know that nothing makes me more happy than to take their pictures and share it with the world.

This year is going to be great. Actually, better than great - it is going to be awesome!

I started the morning with a "pep talk". There are a few changes that need to be implemented and sadly, I have to divide my time more evenly with Australia, so I won't be here so much.

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On-boarding new members of your team - the right way!

On-boarding new members of your team - the right way!

It's that time of year where companies are back hiring new recruits.

As someone who is always too busy, I have left the on-boarding to our previous CEO and Area Managers, with my role being minimal other than an introduction.

However, like most entrepreneurs, January is a time to re-think your business in every way; finance, recruitment, human resources, marketing, sales, products/services etc.

This has given me an opportunity to see just what is going on and I have to say, we have some gaps. As a marketing and communications based company, Marketing Eye plays a pivotal role in communicating a company's brand and culture to employees of our clients. We develop and design on-boarding manuals, podcasts, corporate videos and interactive presentations on the company, people and history.

What I have realized is that we are not dissimilar to a mechanic who never finds time to fix their own car. 

With that, off came the gloves and I rolled up my sleeves to have a better insight into our on-boarding processes. 

Here are some clever best practices that we teach our clients and implement on their behalf:

THE INTERVIEW
  • When writing an advertisement for a position, include a link to your website which talks about the company culture and the type of person that will fit in. This is great for the applicant and even better for your company as it sends people to your website and drives traffic and engagement.
  • Ask applicants to like your company on social media. If they don't want to do this, then they are definitely NOT interested in your brand, culture or the future promotion of your company - so strike them immediately off the list.
  • When an applicant comes for an interview, ensure that someone from your team rings them the day before, introduces themselves and talks to them about a normal day in the office. It's a great way to give the applicant an idea what it is like to work for your company and also shares with them an insight into the culture and type of people that they need to fit in with.
  • Do something clever to get the applicant to remember your company like sending them an inspirational email with a famous quote. Ensure that it is written on a picture to give your brand  a "lift"
  • On arrival at the interview, give them an iPad with a presentation and video of what it is like to work for your company and what type of people perform best. 
  • In the interview, present your company like you would present the company to a client. Then ask for the applicant to talk about themselves; share insights that do not come across clearly in their CV's and ask them to explain why they think that they would be a good fit.
  • When they leave, give them a company brochure and any literature related to your company that may be of benefit to them.
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