YOUTILITY

Why Smart Marketing Is About Help, Not Hype

The difference between helping and selling is just two letters. But those two letters are critically important to your company’s success.

You’re not competing for attention only against other, similar products. You’re competing for attention against everything. To win in this hyper-competitive environment, you must ask “How can we help?”

If you sell something, you make a customer today, but if you genuinely help someone, you create a customer for life. This is Youtility.

Includes interviews with dozens of companies practicing Youtility, and provides 6 blueprints for building Youtility in your company.

Available for pre-order soon (get up to 7 exclusive bonuses) at http://YoutilityBook.com

The Rise of the T-Shaped Agency Model

Daniel Lemin is Strategy & Analytics Lead at Convince & Convert. He also runs the consulting firm Social Studio where he provides analytics, PR and integrated marketing strategy to his clients. Agency owners, take note: your traditional team structure – the one that divides your agency into “digital”, “account management” and “creative,” among others – may [...]

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Bloggers: Who Is In Your Fab Five?

Thanks to Jason Falls for the inspiration (okay, it’s a straight rip-off) for this post. Jason pointed out five lesser-known bloggers that he reads regularly (including Convince & Convert). His post seems to have triggered an a-ha moment, as several other excellent social media bloggers including Mack Collier and Amber Naslund have posted similar lists [...]

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3 Reasons David Lee Roth is a Bad Internet Marketer

I am of a vintage that was shaped by Van Halen’s album (actually a cassette for me) 1984. With Jump, Panama, and Hot for Teacher (a video that joins “Hungry Like the Wolf” in my early teen pantheon), this was a truly epic record – highlighted by David Lee Roth’s bad boy caterwauling.    And [...]

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McAfee Hires Tribal DDB: The Tip of the Digital Agency Iceberg

AdWeek announced today that security software maker McAfee has hired Tribal DDB as their agency of record. In addition to digital marketing, the assignment includes TV, print, and outdoor.  Note that Tribal DDB is the excellent digital marketing sister of DDB. These guys know their stuff. I’ve met a few Tribal DDB folks via my [...]

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The 10 Strengths of the Agency of the Future

Web services giant Sapient recently fielded a national online digital marketing survey of more than 200 chief marketing officers (CMOs) and senior marketers responsible for managing digital budgets (among other things). Survey respondents were asked about the top qualities they sought in their advertising and marketing agencies in the coming year. Sapient’s Top 10 Wish [...]

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Customized Internet Marketing Training for Agencies

Convince & Convert launches new training program series to help agencies improve their digital capabilities Addressing the needs of ad agencies and PR firms to improve their digital marketing competency, Convince & Convert is now providing a series of customizable, in-person training programs. We are offering 5 intensive, all-day sessions to train ad agencies and [...]

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Wake Up Agencies – Digital Shops = Trojan Horse

It was bound to happen, and now it has. A big-time digital agency (R/GA) has opened up a full-fledged brand development arm. And whom do you think they will be competing against with this new branding department? Other digital agencies? Nope. They are aiming for traditional agencies and the branding, media placement, and creative budgets [...]

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How Google Plans to Control TV Advertising and Crush Agencies

AdWeek ran an interesting story a few days ago about Google’s foray into television advertising. As I’ve been saying for years, Google’s ultimate plan is to be the middle-man for all advertising, everywhere.  There are clearly inefficiencies in the buying and selling of traditional media. It requires multiple phone calls and emails and spread sheets. [...]

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Ad Agency New Business Survey – Take It

My friend Michael Gass, who writes the excellent Fueling Ad Agency New Business blog, has launched a survey of small and mid-sized ad agencies and the current state of their business development program.  With the economy getting as ugly as pre-surgery Joan Rivers, figuring out how to keep your agency in front of key prospects [...]

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PitchEngine Takes the Mystery out of Social Media Releases

Agency Advantage Tools – #3 In a Series Since it’s invention by Todd Defren at Shift Communications in 2006, the social media press release has taken root. Combining short paragraphs and bullet points with Web-friendly links, tags, and multi-media content, the SM release aims to give reporters and bloggers the key ingredients for a story [...]

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