Marketing and all things related

Today, Susan Gunelius launched the website for her new company, KeySplash Creative, Inc., a creative marketing communications provider offering copywriting, article and blog writing, and marketing and branding consulting services. 

Susan will write about marketing, branding, advertising and more on the site's blog, KeySplash Creative Conversations.  Stop by and join the creative conversation!

A great marketing tool for any company is to host a contest for the public that is closely and effectively tied to the company’s main product or service. Case in point is the current Maui Gold® Pineapple Decorating Contest that the Maui Pineapple Company of Maui, Hawaii is hosting. The contest invites all local Hawaiians to decorate and/or carve a pineapple (preferably a Maui Gold® brand pineapple, of course), and bring it to the Halloween Cannery Kids’ Night event at the local Lahaina Cannery Mall on Halloween night. Awards and prizes are given to the best pineapples in multiple age groups for 3 main categories: Most Creative, Most Scary, and Most Comical.

This is very smart marketing. Under the Maui Pineapple name, the company provides a fun event for the whole family while simultaneously encouraging the purchase of its pineapple product. It reminds me of another savvy marketing effort the company did in relation to college football, where Maui Pineapple Company helped fans of the University of Hawaii football team send an elaborate thank you card in appreciation for the team’s victorious 2007 season. Along with the card, Maui Pineapple also sent 100 fresh Maui Gold pineapples to the players and staff of the team. This was an effective way to spread the Maui Pineapple brand name and also endear themselves to a host of Hawaii fans and players alike. Well done, Maui Pineapple Company.

My new book, Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, was released today by Entrepreneur Press. 

The purpose of this book is to teach small business owners, eBay and Craigslist sellers, beginner copywriters and anyone else who wants to learn how to write compelling copy that you don't need to pay an exorbitant price to hire a professional ad agency or copywriter in order to create effective copy.

This book works as a hands-on guide that takes you through ten simple steps using a tool for success called the Copywriting Outline.  Throughout the book, real world and fictitious small business examples demonstrate the concepts introduced in the book.  

After reading Kick-ass Copywriting in 10 Easy Steps, you'll be able to immediately apply the concepts you learned and create marketing messages that capture attention and boost profits. 

The book is available in bookstores and online through sites such as Amazon, Barnes and Noble and more.

Read more business books from Susan Gunelius:

• Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon (available now)
• Google Blogger for Dummies (coming in February 2009)

Image: Susan Gunelius/Entrepreneur Press

My business was nominated for the StartupNation Home-Based 100 Competition, which recognizes home-based businesses around the world.

SusanGunelius.com was nominated in the Recession Proof category for not only launching and growing during an economic downturn but also for helping clients with compelling marketing, branding and copywriting services at affordable prices. During difficult economic times, businesses often cut marketing expenses, but through my business, I help companies and entrepreneurs survive and thrive during even the most difficult economic times.

Please follow the link and vote for my business! You can vote once per day. Thank you so much for your help and support of MarketingBlurb and my other business endeavors!

If you’re interested in the Harry Potter phenomenon, then you might enjoy my new book, which was released in the U.K. back in June and in the U.S. today - Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.  In my book, I discuss how Harry Potter grew to become an international phenomenon and analyze the steps others would need to take to duplicate that success. 

The book is written for both Harry Potter fans and non-fans to understand and appreciate from a business, marketing and branding perspective.

You can read my interview with Mary Emma Allen on b5media’s HomeBizNotes blog to get more details, and you can even enter to win a copy of Harry Potter: The Story of a Global Business Phenomenon.

The book is available in bookstores and online through sites such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders and more.

Image: Susan Gunelius/Palgrave Macmillan

MarketingBlurb is part of the Know More Media network of business blogs.  Although Know More Media announced earlier this week that it would be closing operations as of August 1, 2008 to restructure and redefine the blog network business model, MarketingBlurb will live on. 

While I may not post as regularly here on MarketingBlurb as I used to, I will ocassionally provide updates.  There is also the possibility that MarketingBlurb will re-emerge and could be updated more regularly again in the future.

In the meantime, please visit me on my other blogs and websites:

• KeySplash Creative Conversations - all about branding and marketing
• Women On Business - for women working in the field of business
• About.com Guide to Web Logs - all about blogging
• Corporate Eye - I contribute corporate branding content here
• Everyday Marketer - all about small business marketing
• And of course, you can always find me and contact me through my company website, www.KeySplashCreative.com.

Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) has been very busy lately.  Earlier this week, I wrote about Dell's Social Web Strategy and now, news is out about Dell's new green PC line and it's imminent re-entry into Apple's iPod territory.  Dell exited the music player market two years ago after a disasterous attempt to compete with Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL).  This time, Dell claims its iPod competitor product is different and will get the job done.  We'll have to wait and see about that.

Next up, the green Dell PC.  The new eco-friendly Dell Studio Hybrid is energy efficient and comes packaged in less material, most of which is recyclable.  It's also 80% smaller than the PCs consumers are used to seeing.  But that's not all!  You can pick your new Dell Studio Hybrid's case, available in a variety of earthy finishes like bamboo, quartz, and sapphire.  Just what you always wanted, right? 

Kudos to Dell on making a more energy efficient PC, but did they have to go so over the top with the groovy finishes?  I'm laughing at the copy on the Dell website that says, "because sleeves are available in 6 colors or Bamboo, you know it’ll match your sense of style."  It just seems hokey.

What do you think?  Will Dell succeed with all of its new initiatives?  Which "sleeve" finish are you going to get your new Dell Studio Hybrid in?

Another business fell victim to the sagging U.S. economy today as Bennigan's restaurants filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy and closed its doors without warning.  Just last month, parent company Metromedia Company, claimed there were no plans to file bankruptcy.  How quickly things change.  Today, many a Bennigan's customer and employee arrived at their local restaurant to find the doors shut forever.  Even Bennigan's restaurant managers only heard of the closures this morning.

There are about 300 Bennigan's restaurants, and approximately 80-100 are franchise locations.  According to the Chicago Sun Times, some of those franchise locations will remain open. 

It's a shame to see so many companies that have been around for so long struggle and fail these days.  Of course, much of Bennigan's demise could probably be blamed on poor marketing strategy over the past decade when competition grew fierce, but nevertheless, as a consumer, it makes you wonder if companies like Bennigan's could have survived under different economic conditions.

What do you think?

Since Michael Dell returned to lead Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) last year, the company has refocused its efforts.  In fact, Dell has been doing quite a lot to repair its brand reputation that had been taking a bit of a beating in recent years. At a meeting with Latin American and European reporters, Michael Dell stated that the company has made a strong effort to build customer relationships. 

Part of the Dell marketing strategy to connect with customers is through the use of the social web.  Dell has launched promotional campaigns through social networking sites like Facebook and according to an article on The Register, "Dell recently generated $500m revenues off Twitter by using the microblog service as a sales channel."

In addition, Dell has launched blogs and now communicates with customers through those blogs as well as online forums. Last year, Dell was in the spotlight (and not in a good way) across the blogosphere.  It was in response to that negative PR that the company began using its Direct2Dell blog as a customer communication channel.  It does look like they're trying.  Is it working yet?  What do you think?

Microsoft's (NASDAQ: MSFT) quest to compete with Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in online advertising and power continues.  This week, Microsoft extended its advertising partnership with Facebook.  According to a Mediaweek article, comScore (NASDAQ: SCOR) reports that Microsoft represents 9.2% of June 2008 while Google represents 61.5%. 

It appears the enhanced Facebook partnership should help Microsoft, in terms of search market share.  Facebook reportedly reaches 37 million unique visitors per month.  According to the Mediaweek article, Microsoft will place a Live Search box on thousands of Facebook pages by the end of 2008 which should drive additional search traffic from those pages.

Advertising on Facebook might not work as well though.  So far, no one has been able to harness the power of social networking to drive advertising revenue.  Will Microsoft figure out how to do it with Facebook?  So far they've had little success with their deal with MySpace.  We'll have to wait and see.

What do you think?