Nov 102013
 
Millennials and Cars -- What's the Real Story?

For a few years now many commentators have forwarded a theory about millennials and cars. Supposedly the American romance between young people and cars just wasn’t there anymore. Young people were in no hurry to buy cars, just as they were also pushing off marriage and home ownership. But what if that’s not it at […]

Nov 062013
 
Rules for Effective Content Marketing

Earlier this week I read an excellent article from iMediaConnection. Author Antoine Boulin identified three sure ways to fail at so-called native advertising, messages that look more like editorial content than traditional advertising. Many hope this can become a much needed revenue stream for publishers. I’ve written about native advertising, also called sponsored content. It’s […]

Nov 022013
 
Front Sway Bar Link Replacement on the E36 M3

This weekend I replaced the front sway bar links on my 1999 BMW M3. Recently I had new OEM Sachs front struts installed, so it was time to refresh the end links as well. My car has low miles, but 14+ years still take a toll. Replacing front sway bar links is a perfect DIY […]

Oct 292013
 
What's Your Wine Manifesto?

My latest wine column went live today on WashingtonExec. In it I review the wine manifesto laid out by Jaime Goode, a long time wine blogger and wine columnist for the U.K. newspaper The Sunday Express. It’s natural to get passionate about wine. Some of Jaime’s points are good one in my opinion, others not […]

Oct 252013
 
Content Marketing to Support Sales

Earlier this month my partner Marc Hausman spoke at the Inbound Marketing Summit in Boston, organized by Pulse Networks. As part of his address, the conference produced a video with Marc on five tips for aligning your content marketing efforts to support sales. Marc does a great job in the video distilling principles I’ve talked […]

Oct 232013
 
Fall is Wine Season at Calvert Woodley

Calvert Woodley Wine and Spirits is an institution in Washington D.C., with a history dating back to 1949. Every fall the store publishes a wine catalog chock full of great values and lots of information about all kinds of wine. Click here to download your copy. For a long time I despaired of finding good […]

Oct 202013
 
Instrument Cluster Removal on the BMW E39

Pixel failure is a common problem on the BMW E39 5 Series. My friend Steve’s cluster was going bad on his 2002 525 Sport, and he wasn’t happy about how much a brand new cluster would cost from BMW. So he decided to explore aftermarket repair options. He decided to go with a company called […]

Oct 162013
 
Content Without Distribution Equals Failure

Recently there has been good coverage of how critical distribution is for a content marketing strategy. This is something I talk to clients about often. There is no “build it and they will come” with content marketing, no matter how good your content may be. Forrester came out with a new report early this month […]

Oct 132013
 
The Challenges of the Hybrid Marketer

The role of marketing has changed dramatically over the past five years. That was the message loud and clear when my agency organized a roundtable discussion on the challenges faced by our clients. We spoke with senior level marketers from 3Pillar Global, Mandient, Blue Coat Systems and the Immix Group. The term hybrid marketer was […]

Oct 092013
 
Three Worthy New Reds

Recently I’ve enjoyed three new red wines. One was a Bordeaux that continues the theme of 2009 as a great value year for Bordeaux. One was a California Cabernet Sauvignon that was pleasantly atypical, and the other was an excellent California Pinot Noir. I wrote last year about 2009 petit chateaux Bordeaux wines and how […]

Oct 022013
 
Everyone Needs to Get Social, Not Just Marketing

I saw an interesting story in Fortune this week with the catchy title “The Social Media Manager is Dead – Long Live Social Media.” Citing a number of other sources, the article argues that social media is spreading into all areas of the corporation, making the consolidation of social media responsibility in one person redundant […]

Sep 282013
 
Replacing the Cabin Microfilter on My BMW E36 M3

Last year I performed the 60,000 mile tune-up on my E36 M3 myself. I replaced the air filter, the fuel filter, the sparks plugs and I cleaned the mass air filter. There was one replacement I didn’t do at the time, partly because I knew it would be a real pain in the butt. That […]