BMW sales numbers are out and the company had a big month in March. For BMW brand vehicles month to month sales were up 18.6 percent and YTD sales up 11.5 percent. Mini sales are reported together with BMW in the United States and they were down almost 40 percent as that brand awaits new […]
eMarketer pulled together this week some content marketing research and made it available via a new report. The report was sponsored by Contently, which bills itself as “the largest network of freelance professional journalists.” So they’re the brand journalism people, though they don’t use that exact term. Here’s the link to download the report. If […]
My latest Wine and Dine column published yesterday in WashingtonExec. It’s a Q&A with David White, founder of the popular Terroirist wine blog and chief operating officer of DC-based Keybridge Communications. I really enjoyed this interview, because it was a “two-fer” for me. In less than four years David has built the “Best Overall Wine […]
A noisy debate is currently going on inside the U.S. wine scene. It was touched off by a tasting at the Symposium of Professional Wine Writers held recently in Napa. Here’s reporting from David White at Terroirist and Alder Yarrow at Vinography. The gist as I understand it — there was a tasting of lesser […]
Fifty percent of federal workers are considering leaving for the private sector due to pay freezes, political gridlock and better pay. That’s one of the findings from a recent poll conducted by research firm Market Connections and FierceGovIT. Many of these percentages are startling. The coming tsunami of senior level retirements in government has been […]
I’ve enjoyed my 1999 BMW E36 M3 for more than 10 years. When the car was introduced back in 1995, it sparked criticism from some BMW enthusiasts. The E36 M3 wasn’t as raw as its E30 predecessor, a truly iconic car. The version sold in North America also did not have the more exotic and […]
When I bought my E39 M5 in 2011, one of the nice mods it came with was an integrated iPod player. It was a clean looking installation with the connector coming through the center console. I’m no hard core audiophile, but I quickly got used to not messing with CDs and having my entire music […]
Most of my clients engage in content marketing efforts designed to increase revenue. Over the past five years we’ve established a proven methodology for making that happen. But increased sales is not the only outcome content marketing can support. Content marketing engagements can also pursue public affairs goals. A good example is a campaign being […]
Social media giants like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter are not really social any longer, but they are the modern equivalent of the old network broadcasting system. That’s the verdict of an excellent article from Jay Baer at Convince and Convert. These companies used interaction and community to grow to massive scale. Now they are monetizing […]
Success in an agency environment requires a constant balancing act. You want your client to view you as a full member of their team, ready to go to any lengths to get results. At the same time you need to stay in business, which requires matching the time and attention given to each account with […]
Today my latest wine column published in WashingtonExec. I look at the predicted state of the wine industry in 2014 based on the annual report put out by Silicon Valley bank. This report has been published since 2010 and is full of interesting primary data. One of the more sobering predictions is something I covered […]
Any discussion of content marketing will talk about the importance of great content. That is the foundation on which a content marketing campaign is built. If you and your client aren’t putting out great stuff, the campaign won’t be successful. High quality, consistent content development isn’t easy. Usually you’re busy, the client is busy and […]