Potentiating

Potentiate is a boss word that people outside the medical sciences rarely use any more.

It means to strengthen something; to enhance its power or effect.

I just wrapped up a week at the annual meeting of the International Association of Exhibitions and Events.

More than 2,000 people were present.

All 2,000 didn't share the same agenda. 

Some came to study; some, to sell; some, to job search; and some, to schmooze.

But all shared one purpose in common.

All were there to potentiate their personal brands. 

Maybe that's the ultimate reason we convocate in large groups.

It's an awesome thing to behold.

What are you doing to potentiate your brand?

What's Old is New Again

The fellas in MetLife's marketing department wouldn't have known "Brand Journalism" from a Bronx Cheer.

But that didn't stop them from issuing nifty booklets, free to customers throughout the 1920s and '30s.

The Metropolitan Cook Book opened:

"It is sometimes difficult to feed the family nourishing food and at the same time give it the variety which quickens the appetite. 

"This book has been prepared to help the housewife in her ever-lasting question, 'What shall I have for dinner tonight?'

"We hope that you will find it useful and helpful."

Brand journalism, as the boys at MetLife instinctively knew, gives customers value and spares them the product pitch.

In 2010, smart marketers are still using booklets like The Metropolitan Cook Book to provide customers value. 

But they're also using blog posts, Tweets, ebooks and mobile apps to accomplish the same end.

Imagine if the MetLife boys had Facebook.

And while we're on the subject, what shall we have for dinner tonight?

Silly Beats Serious

The rise of social media marketing has prompted Advertising Age to suggest it's time to redefine "relevance."

"Relevance has long been a central tenet of effective advertising, but the rise of Facebook and Twitter are forcing a redefinition of the term," writes reporter Matthew Creamer.

"There's increasing evidence that the most-effective kinds of marketing communications on these websites are simple, random, even banal statements or questions driven by the calendar or the whim of a writer that may not have anything to do with the brand in question."

"Conversational posts" in fact produce 8 to 12 times the response of "brand-oriented" ones, according to Creamer.

As an example, he cites a Facebook post by Blackberry in November.  The company posted a simple Happy Veteran's Day message that received 8,000 likes and 500 comments.  The response far outran reactions to other recent posts concerned with Blackberry products and product tips.

5 Best Books of 2010

Here are my nominations for the year's top five marketing books.

Chris Brogran's Social Media 101. Tons of primers like this have appeared in 2010.  But Brogan's towers above the rest for depth and clarity.


Ardath Albee's eMarketing Strategies for the Complex Sale. You won't find a better guide to B-to-B marketing success in the age of social media.


David Meerman Scott's Real-Time Marketing and PR. I cannot say enough praiseworthy things about Scott's 200-page treatise.  It's mandatory.


Mitch Myerson's Success Secrets of the Social Media Marketing Superstars. Everything you ever wanted to know about social media marketing (but were afraid to ask).


David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan's Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead. Informative, inspiring and a delight to read.

Marketing Lessons from the Walking Dead

Some marketing tactics never wear out. 

Others survive long past their prime.

Here are five that should be put out of their misery.

Now.

Greenwashed product names. Branding consultants, please advise your clients: the mere act of inserting "Eco" in front of a product name doesn't reduce that product's carbon footprint or make it healthy to consume.

Blatant self-promotion masquerading as e-newsletters.  No one likes these travesties.  That's why they're wearing out.  I just received one that announced it will no longer include fresh material, due to "author fatique."  Instead, the newsletter will consist of old blog posts.  Now I'm fatigued.

Those annoying three-word headlines.  You know the sort I mean: 

Define. Design. Deploy.

Entice. Excite. Engage.

Originate. Optimize. Outsource.

Yes, yes, yes, alliteration is powerful.  But enough, enough, enough.

Gated white papers that don't even download.  These add insult to injury.  I provide you my contact info, budget, buying authority, age, gender, eye color and last known whereabouts.  You provide me nothing.  Except phone calls from India.

Unwanted inbound telemarketing calls.  Securities salespeople, when will you finally get it?  No, thank you, I don't wish to review my investment portfolio at this particular moment.  I already feel lousy enough talking to you.

Your turn.  Nominate a zombie you wish to put out of its misery.

NOTE: Apologies to David Meerman Scott for corrupting the title of his wonderful book.  I urge you to read it.