Honda Gets its Elements in Order With Fun Game

Here's an award winning integrated campaign by Honda to promote it's sporty Element. It combined, TV spots, search marketing and even YouTube videos!! The agency that designed the campaign ended up winning an award which isn't too surprising.

Why is this campaign so good?

• It's a great product. Start off with a great product and you're off to a good start

• It's fun. It's game that allows you to test drive the car above ground and below. This represents the car as it seems like a fun car.
  
  
• It's funny! You're interacting with rabbits and other animals. At one point the car tells a rabbit that its feet are huge and that it must get great traction. The Element that informs the rabbit that it has 4 wheel drive.
  
  
• It hits its target market. I think I'm part of this market as I've noticed this car and may consider it if/when we purchase a new vehicle.
  
  
• Its integrated. a. you have TV commercials that kicked this off. b. you have a website that directly relates to the commercial. How do I know this? Check out the META tag description the campaign site: <meta name="description" content="So you like that funny Honda Element TV commercial, huh? Well, then, come play a game or two with the Element and friends on an adventure-filled island. The Element is definitely a different animal.">. c. you have a site that's finely tuned for search (try searching Honda Element TV commercial) d. It's even advertised on frickin' Wikipedia and Youtube. They've got the bases covered.
  

Here's the YouTube video:



The only thing they may have missed was including a link from the main Element profile page on the Honda site (Duh??). That happens sometimes when the left hand can't speak to the right.

Have a great weekend!

Chad H.

PS - If your recall, Honda has done some other great commercials - remember the Cog Commercial?
PPS - What if Honda had included a blog for this camaign so we could keep the buzz going about this great car and great campaign?? Blogging still has a ways to go before it breaks into B2C full force.

Tags: Honda Element, online marketing, integrated marketing, youtube, B2C marketing

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Writing for the Reader: Preview Pane and Blog Feeds

When you're designing a website, blog or email template do you ever think about how your users will actually see it? This may seem like a stupid question but it's extremely important to ensure that the people viewing your website or email see what you intended them to see.

When I wrote a post on How to convert blog traffic into loyal readers I mentioned that it's important to make it easy for your readers to subscribe to your blog. This means placing your web feed button or email form right at the top so visitors don't have to scroll to access it.

The same concept applies to email but it's a little different. When you're trying to get people to sign up for an event or download a whitepaper, you need to ensure that you design for the "Preview Pane". For marketers this may be an added pain in the ass but it's worth it.

As you can see from the image above, the preview pane default is to see the top left of an email.
MarketingSherpa recently published a case study indicating 28.24% increase in their newsletter Click-through rate when they switched their "offers" column to the left of the email from the right side. I've also seen this with other clients that I've worked with. Therefore, while this may be an additional task, remember to think about your readers will view your emails and design accordingly.

Applying this to blogs, remember that people will be reading your blog in multiple ways. Here's a few but I'm sure there is more:

• Going to your blog home page (the obvious one) such as www.anythinggoesmarketing.blogspot.com
• Your webfeed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AnythingGoesMarketing
• From a Feed Reader like Bloglines
• In an email update
• On Technorati
• On Blogpulse
• In search results such as those from Google

This is just the beginning. What does it all mean? Check out how your posts look in these multiple formats from time to time. For example, I subscribe to my own feed using Bloglines so I can see what my posts look like to my readers. This has lead to adding a link to YouTube videos that I post and not just adding in the video. I've started to add links to some of my images as they may not show up in my email updates. Make it easy for those people that want to check out your posts (hey, I don't have many):

• Content should be clearly laid out
• If you use images, include actual links so all viewers can see them
• Make it easy to scroll
• Add helpful links to view old posts if they relate to the current one

Remember - have fun and keep on blogging!

Chad H

Tags: youtube, bloglines, marketingsherpa, technorati, feedburner, blogpulse, preview pane, MS Outlook, blog design

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Online Marketing is Being Dominated by Search Marketing. What is Your Strategy?

It's pretty crazy how popular internet advertising is and how much it continues to grow. According to a recent study internet ad revenue is up 37% over the first half of last year. See the full article at BtoBOnline

Interactive Advertising Bureau and PricewaterhouseCoopers report that

Search continues to lead that growth, accounting for 40% of total online advertising revenue in the first half. Search is followed by display ads, which account for 30% of total revenues, classified advertising (20%), referrals/lead generation (8%) and e-mail (2%).

What does this all mean? It means that search marketing is working! It's delivering the goods - both web traffic and conversions (i.e. $$$). What can you do? If you don't have a search marketing strategy, walk over - NO RUN - to your VP of marketing and get his/her team together to discuss this immediately.

New to Search Marketing? Get thee to a bookstore!

Not versed in the subject of SEO (Search Engine Optimization)? Pick up a copy of Search Engine Optimization an Hour a Day. This will give a good start as to what is involved. If you're a larger organization, I suggest looking at an agency or consultant to help you get moving. Optimizing your website to make it search friendly is a tremendous effort and you may not have the bandwidth to get where you need to be. Paid search is a whole other can of worms. You need to stay on top of your keywords that you've purchased to ensure you get the most bang for your bucks.

Hey I Googled You - Now What?

It happens, all the time. You find a site and then you leave 2 seconds later (If you reached this section of my post that you've been here for a bit longer - good for you!!) as the content is not relevant to what you're looking for. How do you improve this? With your SEO expert consultant or learned knowledge drive people to highly customizes landing pages that incorporate the search keywords that brought them there. For example, the page titles and headers should include these keywords. Have a strong call to action based on the keywords. For example, I was searching for vacations in Florida, I want to see a list of vacation packages on the landing page that I get to with "learn more" button regarding seeing Disney World or visiting the Florida Keys (here's a good example of a result I found based on this search). I don't want to see trips to Hawaii or the North Pole on this landing page mixed in with Florida trips. This is just the tip of the iceberg (no pun intended - OK, maybe I did intend it).

You Searched. You Found. You Left. Now What?

The good news is that your efforts should pay off as you should start to see higher sales and/or greater lead generation from the new web traffic you're getting. However, what if people come to your site but don't purchase anything right away? That's OK and should be expected. More and more organizations are leveraging their software to use search queries in productive methods. For example, why not send an email to those people that came to your site based on a certain keyword but maybe didn't download a certain white paper and/or complete their sales order? I've also seen others use search queries as part of an automated lead qualification process. There are many ways that you can leverage the search traffic you're getting.

Bottom line - don't get left behind as the only thing you'll be searching for is a new job. Having a website and sending out direct mail or email isn't going to cut it. You need a fully integrated marketing effort that is fresh, creative and exciting. Keep thinking about how "Anything Goes" and never forget it.

Happy searching!

Chad H

PS: Great resource - SEOmoz
PPS: Here's my Anything Goes Marketing tip of the day (I get these the odd time) - does your organization use a type of regular reporting email tool with your customers? If you do, think about including some small marketing messages such as a link to an upcoming webinar or event, a link to the latest copy of your newsletter, or a link to your new product/service offerings. Customers expect to get these emails so spice them up a bit and keep on marketing.

Tags: search marketing increasing, online marketing, SEO, Improve your search efforts, b2b marketing, florida vacations

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How to Start a Business Blog or Corporate Blog

If you do a search for "How to start a blog" you will get a ton of results - from a 3 year old that started their first blog about losing their teeth to a 98 year old that started a blog about losing their dentures. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit but you know what I mean. This post isn't for starting just any blog. It provides authoritative tips for those that want to start a business blog (corporate blog).

Tips to help start your business blog (corporate blog):

Starting a Business Blog - BBB Quick GuidesStarting a Corporate Blog?

Blogging for Beginners and Business Blogging 101 by Darren Rowse at Problogger - highly recommended.

Naked Conversations - Where Robert Scoble & Shel Israel wrote their corporate blogging book

Biz Blogging 101 Great repository of resources on NEWPRWiki

How to Start a Business Blog, Part I - A two part series from Bolder Blogs
How to Start a Business Blog, Part II

Starting a Business Blog? Here Are a Few Questions You Need to Answer

Starting a Corporate Blog? - Good post by Owen Lystrop

7 Questions To Ask Yourself BEFORE Starting A Business Blog

Starting a Business Blog: Remember the Planning Phase

Check out Easton's series called Corporate Blog Reviews to find out what your competition and other businesses are up to.

This is just the beginning so please let me know if there are additional posts that need to be added.

Chad H.

PS - Here's a post on some poor corporate blogs: The worst Fortune 500 blogs - Part I

Tags: How to start a corporate blog, How to start a business blog, business blogging, corporate blogging, blogging 101

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Warning to Businesses: Blogs are a Means to Self-Promotion

Beware - blogs can be used to tell the entire world about what your company has recently accomplished or how you screwed up but made it right. I was visiting my family this weekend in New York and it hit me. My five year old niece proudly displayed to her whole family the new gap in her mouth where her baby tooth used to be. She had just lost her tooth and she wanted to be sure everyone was aware of this momentous occasion. Everyone in the room applauded her upon reaching this milestone in her life.

As adults, we also crave attention. We want the world to know about something we did, something we know or just to say "hey world, look at me!". Blogging allows for this. It permits you the opportunity to share a story, post an industry tip or promote your new business. Never has there been a tool that makes it this easy to reach so many people at such little to no cost to you.

So the question is, what are you waiting for? If your a business out there looking for an avenue to outflank your competitor in, get blogging. You can't tell me that you don't need to promote your business as it's already too well known. Blogging is the perfect way to let the world about your new "missing tooth" and to get a leg up on your competition.

Chad H.

PS - you can also use blog to promote your own blog and what you have acheived (or not acheived) on your blog! See my post called: Mastercard priceless moment at Anything Goes Marketing

Tags: business blogging, baby tooth

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Over 40 Tips on How to Increase Your Web Traffic

If you're looking for a great resource to increase the number of web visitors that come to your website, check out Copyblogger's How to Attract Links and Increase Web Traffic – The Ultimate Guide. There are some great links and tips on obtaining more links to your site and ensuring that more people will visit or website or blog.

Chad H.

Tags: website traffic, copyblogger, linkbuilding, SEO, SEM

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So You Think You can be a Blog Consultant?

It seems easy, right? You know the ins and outs of blogging and you think that you can help businesses setup their own blogs - think again.

You may have the skills but if you can't convey your vision to your client and make them "see the light" of blogging and how it helps their business you will never sell anything and the only person who will want your help is your mother who needs help setting up the VCR (don't even bother explaining to them what a DVD is).

If you're looking for a good resource on how to align your expertise with your potential clients, sign up for the weekly newsletter on Rain Today. They have some great articles such as "How To Communicate The Value Of Your Services". In this article, John Doer explains the RAIN method of selling in which you develop a Rapport with a potential client, find out what their Aspirations and Afflictions are, what Impact your solution will have on their aspirations and afflictions, and finally making them understand the "New Reality" that their business will experience.

To get to the "New Reality" John suggests asking questions like "What do you want to have happen as a result of our work together?". These are great questions to consider that will help you generate new customers that will understand the importance of the service that you are providing and that service is the new medium of blogging - an easy concept for bloggers to get but much harder for the rest of the business world that is still stuck setting their VCRs.

Chad H.

Tags: business blogging, corporate blogs, blog consulting, rain today

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