Dayton AMA

More fun from Google. Google finally released am IM service. Google Talk. I have downloaded it, and am now figuring out just how it works. On the surface it seems pretty cool. It can interface with other IM services, and has IM/Voice built into it. Check it out.Google Talk

For those of you who, like me, love just about everything Google, check out the new Desktop 2. It is an upgrade to the old Google Desktop Search. It features Rss feeds, e-mail, and other assorted goodies. Enjoy!Google Blog: Introducing Desktop 2

As someone on the hunt for a new job, I was drawn to the title of a new book called Radical Careering. However this book is not just for those on looking for a new career, it is primarily for those who have a job, but don't love it. A sneak peak is available to it on the web. The book is set up in little manifestos based around a truth about the workplace. There are 100 truths in the book, and a ton of great information. Truth # 46 "Money Follows Great Work, Not The Other Way Around." Truth # 19 "Being in a Crap Job isn't Your Fault, Staying in One is." Truth #99 "Expressing Your Truest Self Is the Ultimate Competitive Advantage." After reading the preview I am going to buy this one.
Radical Careering

I was at a meeting of the Dayton Ad Club today in which the topic of discussion was press releases, and how to effectively work with the news media. First let me say it was a great meeting, and I really enjoyed it. While I am not a member of the Ad club, I totally respect their work. Anyway, one gentleman asked the panel about the use of RSS feeds in obtaining a feel for the public perception of the world. He followed by commenting on how blogs can be a really great way to get your message out to the world, and that the local media should utilize this resource at least to some degree. He went on to site that there was a guy in Dayton who regularly posts information about marketing and other tidbits on a blog site that might be useful. Now I was curious to find out who the guy was and what site it was, so that I could check it out for myself. After the meeting I introduced myself to the gentleman, who is David Esrati, from The Next Wave. He runs a great marketing organization here in Dayton, and also maintains a blog through his site. I told him that I manage the Dayton AMA site, and he informed me that I was "the guy" he was talking about in the meeting. Very cool, and very flattering to be mentioned by a colleague in such a fashion. It turns out that I had mentioned his company a few months ago in a blog posting, and he read my post. Great stuff. Well, I was fortunate enough to speak with David for a few more minutes, and managed to get his business card. He is a great guy, and I hope that I can pick his brain sometime in the future. Just thought I would share a little story from the small world in which we live.The Next Wave: marketing innovation advertising

Fortune Magazine calls RSS "one of the most powerful technologies of the internet age." Do you use it? I was introduced to RSS about 8 months ago, and it has completely changed the way I use the internet. Infomation I am seeking, and likely to be interested in comes to me effortlessly. I use a site called Bloglines, but there are several. In fact the Dayton AMA has an RSS feed that you can subscribe to. Just click on the feedburner button in the links section of the page. Once you are there, just click on the subscribe with bloglines button or any of the other free RSS Feeds that are listed. From there start searching around for things that interest you. It may be topics like Dayton, or The New York Times, or Marketing. Whatever the topic, there is likely to be a feed for it. Subscribe and bang, news is sent to you. Think of it as surfing the web, but rather than driving to the ocean to surf, the ocean comes to you. Best of all you pick the waves. Learn about RSS. David Kirkpatrick - Cashing in on RSS - FORTUNE

I saw this on the Google blog, and thought this may interest any of you would be bloggers out there. There is now a Blogger toolbar for Microsoft Word. This allows you to compose posts in Microsoft Word, edit them, craft them, and publish them right from the application. So simple. This makes it easier than ever to join the blogosphere. Learn more about blogs, RSS feeds, internet marketing, and other emerging technologies at out September 14th Meeting at the Schuster Center. Professor Irene Dickey from the University of Dayton will be providing insight into the world of Emerging Technology in Marketing. Don't miss it. Google Blog: This was posted from Microsoft Word

Clay Mathile broke ground on a 30 million dollar facility designed to support entrepreneurs in the Miami Valley and beyond. The name of the company formerly known as the Center for Entrepreneurial Education, will be Aileron. I think that it is great that Mr. Mathile cares enough to give back to the region with not only financial support, but more importantly with education. Sort of the old idea that if you buy a man a fish you can feed him for a day, but if you teach a man to fish, you can feed him for a lifetime. Mr. Mathile is trying to create "fishermen" right here in Dayton. In a city rich with talent, and trying to re-position itself for the next 100 years, this center could not come at a better time.Businesses' new home starts

Want to be immortalized in print? Check out E-Bay. Authors like Amy Tan, Steven King, and John Grisham are taking bids on names for characters in their upcoming books. The authors are selling the privilege to have your name appear in their work in order to raise money for charity. I think this is a brilliant idea. Yes, I can hear the grumblings of "is everything for sale?" but I really find this to be quite a creative concept. This project is a great example of using marketing to creatively sell books, generate awareness, and raise money for a good cause.Authors offer immortality in Web auction of names - Yahoo! News

Alright, I figure that today I am jus going to make it an all out Seth Godin day. Here is another great post from his always excellent blog. This post deals with how clueless we all are when it comes to marketing, customer service, wants, and needs. Take a look. Seth's Blog: Clueless

Seth Godin has a new book coming out in 8 weeks. The book titled, "The Big Moo" is an extension of his 2003 book Purple Cow. This time around Seth enlisted 33 authors to compose short pieces about being remarkable. The list includes Tom Peters, Malcolm Gladwell, guy Kawasaki, and others. I can not wait to read it. He is also experimenting with a unique strategy for distribution. All proceeds from the book are going to charity, and for businesses, you can buy 50 books at a time for $2.00 each. There are more details, but it looks really interesting. Check out the post by Seth on his blog. I can't wait for the BIG MOO.The Big Moo by The Group of 33

If you have never been to Young's Jersey Dairy, you are missing out on one of the best destinations in the Miami Valley. Located between Yellow Springs and Springfield on Route 68, Young's is legendary. I remember going there as just a little kid, getting a hand dipped cone, and sitting under the trees on picnic tables eating delicious ice cream. Well years later Young's is still thriving. They have constantly innovated, taken risks, and found new ways to market the business. The Dayton Daily News has a great article about this Miami Valley treasure. This business demonstrates small business marketing at its best.Young's dairy more than ice cream

The Schedule of Events for the Dayton AMA for the fall of 2005 is almost ready to be released. We are putting the final touches on what should be an exciting and eventful fall. Here is a little peek. The first meeting will be September 14th at the Schuster Center in downtown Dayton. It will be held from 11:00 to 1:00. The featured speaker will be Professor Irene Dickey from the University of Dayton. She will be discussing "Emerging Technology in Marketing." This should prove to be a fascinating presentation, and is going to be a strong kick-off to what will be a great year. There will be more information released about the event in the next few days. Dayton AMA will also be sponsoring several Happy Hour events and other Networking and Career Development Programs that will be announced in the coming weeks. It is going to be a great year for Dayton AMA. Join in and experience "The Power of Marketing!"
Welcome - AMA Dayton Chapter - daytonama.marketingpower.com
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Dayton AMA, Marketing

I came across this site, almost by accident today. It is idea sandbox. The site is just getting started, but I love the concept. The purpose of the site is "helping companies come up with wicked good ideas and to help solve problems creatively." I just subscribed to the newsletter that they are publishing. I kicked around on their site, which is still under construction, and the foundation for something really cool exists. I will definately be bookmarking this one. Check it out for yourself, and offer your feedback here.
Idea Sandbox: Ideation Destination
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Dayton AMA, Creativity, Marketing

According to a poll on ratebeer.com Belgian Monks apparently brew the world's best beer. After the poll came out, word of mouth spread and they completely sold out of brew. They are not going to increase capacity to meet this new demand. I can only imagine that this beer will become even more sought after as the mystique builds. What do you think is the marketing lesson to be learned here? Word of Mouth, Impact of Internet, Great Products, Great Story Behind the Product or somthing else. Voice your opinion.Belgian monks run out of the world's best beer - Yahoo! News
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Dayton AMA, Beer, Marketing

I found this interesting item recently on the Google Blog. Want to have Google find something for you? Try a wildcard search. You can use the asterisk to create a sort of fill in the blank request like so: the parachute was invented by * Google will attempt to fill in the blank. Sort of a different approach to Search. Hope this little tip helps. Google Blog: Fill in the blanks
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CNET News.com has a great article about how to optimize the performance of your website. The article has a ton of great advice, most of which is fairly simple to implement. One easy gem. Register every page of your site, not just the homepage, with search engines. This will help your site appear more frequently in searches, and bring customers closer to what they are seeking. More great ideas in the article.Bring some 'bling' to your Web site | CNET News.com
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How does a city market itself? How about by building a bridge. I applaud the city of Dayton for proposing the rebuilding of the Stewart Street bridge. The city is looking into creating a "prominent architectural statement," with the new bridge that will connect Edwin C. Moses and Patterson. I love this idea, and hope that the city sees this through. Image matters, and a road over water does nothing to create an image. A beautifully designed bridge can be an inviting statement, beckoning visitors into the southern end of the city.
Stewart bridge may take on new look
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Dayton AMA, Marketing

We all know that Nike excels in high budget, high profile marketing. However, they also put a tremendous amount of research into producing innovative products. Here is an example. Wired News has a great story about how Nike has now developed a line of shoes for athletes that actually emphasize running barefoot. What??? Yes, it turns out that the biomechanics of running barefoot are beneficial for athletes, and that some of the things that shoes have been designed for, actually reduce the perfomance levels of athletes. This is a fascinating look at the innovative thinking that Nike has so regularly used to lead their industry for decades.Wired News: Nike Makes Barefoot Breakthrough
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Looking for a great late summer book to read? Well, Brand Autopsy has a list of 16 marketing / business books that you may or may not enjoy. This post has an audio review of these books along with links to the Amazon reviews of each of them. I am personally interested in checking out the Guy Kawasaki books and Improv Wisdom by Patricia Ryan Madison. If you have read or choose to read any of these, let us all know what you thought.
Brand Autopsy: Worthy Reads. Worthless Reads. (#5)
Dayton AMA
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I never really thought about how "great" the Grateful Dead were at marketing. Seth Godin has an excellent post about how the Dead used some innovative techniques to build their massive and loyal following. He goes as far as saying that they created a template for how organizations are going to grow and move forward. I must agree with him. The Grateful Dead made brilliant music, but so do a lot of bands. What set the dead apart was how they marketed their music, the band, the experience, and everything that went with it. Phish in my mind took the template that the Dead built and ran with it. Dave Mathews is now doing the same. These concepts are not exclusive to touring music acts. They can work for you too. Throw on a copy of "American Beauty" and Check out Seth's post.Seth's Blog: What would Jerry do?
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Dayton AMA

Talk about going after a broad demographic group. Chrysler has created a new spot featuring Lee Iacocca and Snoop Dogg. I personally think that it is a great idea, and that the spot will spark conversation. I can not say whether that will translate into sales and profits, but I must tip my hat to Chrysler for trying something new.
Iacocca, Snoop Dog star together in new Chrysler ad - Aug. 5, 2005

Seth Godin posted a great take today on changing people's minds, and reasons why it is difficult for us as humans to embrace change. It is not easy to get people to change their minds, especially when they are predisposed not to change. As always, Seth gets me thinking.
Seth's Blog: I changed my mind yesterday

Brand Autopsy has a funny tongue and cheek look at the abuse of pricing to stimulate sales. The Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center is designed to "rid businesses of toxins accumulated by rampant abuse of discounting pricing strategies."
Brand Autopsy: The Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center
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Dayton AMA

I saw this story on BoingBoing.net. Sony is being forced to refund $5 to any cinemagoer who, upon the recommendation of film critic David Manning, went to see Hollow Man, Vertical Limit, A Knight's Tale, The Animal or The Patriot as the result of a class action suit. Here is the problem, there is no David Manning. He was made up by a sony marketing executive. He provided great reviews for these movies, in an effort by Sony to increase ticket sales. Honesty is always the best policy.
Boing Boing: Class action: $5 if you saw a movie plugged by Sony's fictional critic

The real question will be do profits jump too. Price is one variable that is easily manipulated. It can often spark demand. However selling on price alone is a dangerous even deadly strategy. If car companies are working to lower inventory costs, this is a great way to do it. If the goal is long term profitablity, well we will have to see.
Auto sales jump in July

Here today, gone tomorrow. It seems like yesterday that Atkins mania replaced Krispy Kreme as the big food craze. Well Atkins has now filed for bankruptcy. The competitive marketplace moves quickly. Is your company looking forward?
NPR : Atkins Nutritionals Files for Bankruptcy

This is a great article about the future of the Dayton area. The article looks at what Dayton and Ohio can do to shape the future. A big portion of the article discusses the Marketing problem that exists for our city, region, and state. There is a tremendous opportunity for Dayton to create a new story, move to the top of the list for new companies, and grow in the new economy. Who is going to tell that story? What will it be? It is very likely that many of the members of this organization will help in the shaping of the future of this region. That is an exciting prospect for all of us. What will the future bring?
Dayton at a crossroad