Blessed Are The Meek

March 3, 2010 by Mike Troiano · Comments

Look at this piece of utter hackery at left. It breaks every rule of good marketing communications. It’s unfocused. It’s ugly. It has giant freaking dollar signs, for chrissakes. Blecch.

And yet…

I find it interesting that humble brands – local restaurants, obscure b-to-b specialists, retailers like this one – seem able to embrace the “Content Marketing” ethos more readily than their advertising-addicted counterparts.

I look at this primitive execution – unfocused, horribly designed, e-mail based, etc. – and can’t help but admire the way it’s rooted in the belief that the best way to sell is to inform and empower.

And you know what? This stuff works. It’s arguably the best of two worlds, combining pull-worthy content with push-enabled reach. That would certainly explain Constant Contact’s lofty growth and impressive market cap.

While I of course believe that a dose of “professional marketing” could make something like this a lot more effective, I think there’s much to be learned from it by me and my fellow Big-Time Brand Folk.

Look again. What do you see?

Filed under Backyard Boston, Driving Engagement, Getting to Imperative · Tagged with Business, Constant Contact, Consulting, internetmarketing, Investment, Marketing, Marketing and Advertising, Marketing Services, Small business, Social media

Chris Colbert joins panel at MITX on the future for advertising agencies

February 24, 2010 by Anita Tandon · Comments

: Image of Chris Colbert

Here at Holland-Mark, we’ve been thinking out loud for a while now about how the agency business has changed for good. It’s no longer good enough for marketing to just be interesting – it must be imperative. As CEO of our resurgent business, Chris Colbert has been asked to join industry heavyweights from Mullen, Razorfish, Sapient, and W2 Group to discuss his perspective on the new age of agencies. The event by the Massachusetts Innovation & Technology Exchange (MITX) will be held on February 25 from 6-8 p.m.

Keynoted by Sean Corcoran of Forrester Research, the group will discuss how agencies will adapt to new marketing paradigms, the impact of technology, and agency/client relationships in a new era.

“When I restarted Holland-Mark in 2007, I did it because I knew it wouldn’t be business as usual. The economy has allowed us to reinvent how advertising agencies work – and it’s a good thing.”

We’ve been thinking about this for a while, and we look forward to being a part of this new conversation. Come by and have a listen.

More details on this MITX event can be found on the event website.

“Selecting An Agency for Social Marketing” (pr-squared.com)
Slam Dunk for Dunkin’ Donuts at MITX Interactive Awards (xconomy.com)

Filed under Backyard Boston, Getting to Imperative, The Holland-Mark Way · Tagged with Advertising agency, Advertising and Marketing, Business, Chris Colbert, Forrester Research, Getting to Imperative, imperative marketing, Marketing, MITX

Pri-Med Show Wrap Up

February 15, 2010 by Mike Troiano · Comments

Quite a trip to Florida last week in support of Hello Health, a big effort for the agency and a big win for Hello Health. We put some pics into Posterous; here’s the carousel…