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?

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.

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The greatest compliment a proofreader can get is that no one notices your work. When copy isn’t bogged down with grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors, the content can stand on its own. Even the smallest typo can undermine the consumer confidence and credibility the brand or client has spent so much time and money in building.

I came upon a great example of a confidence-busting typo the other day. The Topps Company — creator of Topps baseball cards and other novelties, like Ring Pops — is currently running an instant-win promotion in their 2010 baseball card product (“Million Card Giveaway”). If you buy a pack of baseball cards and find an online redemption code card, you can go online, type in the code, and “win” a random baseball card from the company’s past. It’s a great idea, and a neat way for current collectors to connect with the company and also become somewhat emotionally invested in the company’s past issues.

But there’s a problem. Despite the best-laid plans of the promotion’s extensive marketing plan, some copy made it onto the company Web site that’s not right. In fact, it’s so not right that it makes the company seem out of touch not only with the history of baseball, but with their own product.

Here’s the text:

If you have a great story about your baseball cards, we would love to hear it. Did your prized Jackie Robinson ‘58 card get tossed out accidentally? Or did you have a favorite card for the spokes of your bike? Tell us about it! Email us at toppsmillion@topps.com with your best memory. Include a picture when you send it!

Can you spot the culprit? (Hint: It’s a single incorrect character.)

OK, here’s the problem: In December of 1956, Jackie Robinson was traded by the Brooklyn Dodgers to the New York Giants. As a member of the Dodgers throughout his Major League career, Robinson saw the trade as an insult, and promptly retired rather than report to his new team. Consequently, Robinson’s 1956 Topps card was his final card as an active player.

So where did the Topps copywriter get ” ‘58″? It may seem like a nitpick, but any baseball card collector with a sense of history (the target audience for this promotion) knows that this is incorrect. Also, Web sites are fluid in that edits can be made (presumably) at any time, so why is this text still on the site?

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…

So here’s the video from my thing last week. The audio isn’t great, and it turns out I’m not as good looking as I’d hoped. If you prefer the slides and the VO, see here.

So you’ve been warned…

More video from the event on this Vimeo channel.

Here’s my presentation from today’s LaunchCamp. The live version had a bit more energy, but this combination of audio and slides is easier to follow.

Anyway, here it is…

What do you think? Were you at the event today? Any questions I can answer, or comments on the day?