The other day I was sitting in on a meeting when one of the people participating teared-up, apologized, and wiped her face with her sleeve. 
Awkward moment? Not at all – we were CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
Last November, I arrived early for my first evening class of the month. Facing an empty room, I took my usual seat and waited for the rest of the class to show up. Blissfully unaware of the facial hair that had started sprouting on upper lips around the city, I sipped my coffee and checked email bathed in the flickering silence of the fluorescent lights overhead. And then everything changed as CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
Big data. Everyone knows it’s important, and more and more companies are beginning to understand the HUGE impact it can have on everything from operational strategy to marketing efforts.
True originality is fast becoming a lost art. Who’s to blame? After all, new ideas are waaayyy harder to implement than things that have been done before, and we’re all stretched thinner with our resources and budgets. Maybe that’s why customers often come to us with marketing concepts that their competitors have put into market and a “me too” attitude. 
But are copycat marketing efforts ever enough?
If all you do is imitate, the best case scenario is CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
Have you ever wondered why so many have beginner’s “luck” in poker?
Often it’s because the other players at the table are treating the newbie the same as they would a more experienced player. The newbie is likely only playing to one or two of the three keys elements (your cards, the table’s cards, the players). The experienced players’ strategic moves – slowly CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
A funny thing about the nonprofit vs for-profit world: for-profit businesses are extremely efficient at acquisition, while non-profits are extremely efficient at retention. It’s not surprising, since for-profit businesses are structured around growth, from the sales team down to the production floor. Nonprofits, on the other hand, are thin on resources. They rely on loyalty. Loyalty is their lifeblood – because they can’t always afford expensive acquisition programs, even though they know the returns will pay off in years to come.
The irony is that where both fall down is how they CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
Canada Post’s annual rate and service changes will take effect on Jan 14th, 2013. The changes will include the following:
• New Addressed Admail Pricing
• Enhancements for Acquisition Admail
• New Unaddressed Admail Pricing
• New Lettermail and Incentive Lettermail Pricing
A complete summary of the changes and accompanying postage rate sheets can be found on the Canada Post website here.
Please consult the Canada Post website for complete details or contact us for help with understanding how these changes may impact your next direct mail project.
As I tried to write a title for this blog, I had a few options. Some were helpful, “Ways to communicate to customers during a disaster”, some were scathing, “How one company sent out a horribly insensitive email while people were losing their homes”, and some were boring, “Email marketing when the wind blows”.
The story is really this:
Hurricane Sandy is CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
What does a falcon named “Little Dude”, a band dressed in pioneer day clothing, rosemary gimlets, and Kirk Marketing have in common? They were all at the BCAMA Marketer of the Year Gala last night!
The Vancouver advertising world came out in true raincity fashion last night at the Westin Bayshore at the edge of Coal Harbour in Vancouver. The event was to honour Capilano Suspension Bridge Park who were awarded the illustrious title of “Marketer of the Year”.
After about an hour of mingling, enjoying the sights (and sounds), and fun (can you say “video booth?”), the guests took their seats in the banquet hall. Dinner and wine (sponsored by the Proofing Queen) was served, and everyone tucked in while a group of six Mounties took the stage. The Mounties sang and hummed along to a soliloquy about Capilano Suspension Bridge, which by the way, was Vancouver’s FIRST tourist attraction. CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
One of the biggest challenges of fundraising is making your case for need evident:
-How much does your charity really need the money?
-Why do you need it more than all the other charities do?
-Why should I, the donor, give specifically to you?
After all, what can one little $50 donation do anyways? There’s no way one donor can make one ounce of difference….is there? CONTINUE READING THIS ENTRY
Posting tweet...