Yesterday our government finally passed legislation that raised the debt ceiling and supposedly tackled some areas of our government’s budget issues. The drama behind this legislation was played out for weeks in the media. Today the new’s coverage is focusing on Missouri Congressman Emanuel Cleaver and his candid comment that when you look beneath the surface this deal is really just a “sugar coated satan sandwich”. I watched Rep. Barney Frank voice his objections to the deal last night and couldn’t remember one thing he said. Obviously, neither could the media, because Rep. Cleaver had all the guest spots this morning. People are talking about Cleaver and now people are talking about the deal. What struck me as interesting about this is how the simple use of outlandish alliteration was all it took to get the media/pr machine rolling. Nancy Pelosi is supposedly credited with saying the deal is served with an order of satan fries. Again, this doesn’t really have the same legs as the triple “s” threat of “sugar coated satan sandwich”. And whether he did it on purpose or not, Cleaver nailed another alliteration goody this morning by throwing in the “demon drink” addition.

So what lesson can marketing/PR professionals take away from this? It’s simple. People like things that are slightly outlandish and catchy. We like things that are easily remembered and what better way to remember something than the elementary use of alliteration.

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/different-kind-of-company-name.html

Happy April Fools!

Recently her roommate and best friend in college, Didi Benami, has auditioned for American Idol and has made it to the top 24. Didi auditioned in honor of Rebecca and lists her as her biggest inspiration. Much to her family’s joy, this publicity has brought some attention to Rebecca and her music. Recently Strum Magazine published a review of her music. My father in-law’s email says it all “I am completely blown away” he writes. As we all are.

I hadn’t been to Rebecca’s website in ages but followed the link from the article. I immediately felt bad because there is so much more I felt I could have done on the site, and more that I knew needed to be done. But while listening to my father in-law expressing his deepest gratitude while talking to my husband, I realized that although not perfect, my efforts were extremely appreciated and cherished. As I listened to Rebecca’s music on the site it got me excited about the changes we are going to make in March. We will be posting new music and videos, updating photos and adding a guest book. I am humbled that I am able to use ”my gift” to share and promote the gift Rebecca has left us.

I am happy to report that one of Curious Pixel’s clients has been getting a lot of press around the launch of its new product, the DuraStreet™ Series LED Light Engine, and has just recently received top honors from a panel of judges that included clean tech venture capitalists, media and utilities, beating out 19 other clean technology companies. Read More

Curious Pixel has been involved with the client from the beginning–we helped name, brand, and market the company and its flagship product. We worked along side EcoFit’s CEO and VP of Marketing to produce a brand strategy, marketing material, installation video, and website that positioned the company as an industry leader. Success for our clients is success for us and the reason we got into this business. Congratulations to the team at EcoFit!

“We encourage creativity from developers and companies using Facebook Platform, but we also must ensure that applications meet users’ expectations. After constructive conversations with Burger King and the developer of the application, they have decided to conclude their campaign rather than continue with the restrictions we placed on their application,” a Facebook spokesperson told Inside Facebook in an updated statement. – As quoted from Inside Facebook

So even though Burger King had to sacrifice the “Whopper© Sacrifice” it certainly didn’t have to sacrifice brand loyalty as it proved that the love of the Whopper© sandwich was stronger than 233,906 friendships. Personally I was extremely impressed with the creative concept of the app and the “edgy” quality associated with de-friending for a burger. The app fit perfectly with the overall Burger King brand. While many companies are jumping on the facebook app bandwagon I thought it refreshing to see one done right. Kudos to Crispin Porter + Bogusky and Burger King. Hopefully we will see more like these in the future. Even if they only last a week.

Jamie Turner, Director of Consumer Insight for BKV, opened the event by stating that although human behavior has not changed much over hundreds of years, marketing has changed drastically within the last 10-20 years. Are we keeping up? Jamie noted that humans buy for emotional reasons but justify through rational explanations. As brand developers it is our responsibility to create and nurture these emotional connections that drive sales. In the ever evolving digital world it is important to recognize that customers don’t differentiate brands where they encounter them, and as Jamie so eloquently put it, “if you don’t guide the perception of your brand, it will guide you”. His advice was to make sure your web strategy was more than just a website, that it should exist as a hub across all digital platforms.

I listened to Chris Hill of Hill Group Design talk about creative’s role in marketing and I really appreciated his point on design firms that have a certain style. A good designer’s work and therefore a firm’s style should not be recognizable because good design should represent the client’s brand and not the designer’s vision. I agree but realize that as a creative director this is something that requires constant effort to achieve. It is important to put your client’s needs, and their audience, above your own taste. .. i.e. there is no place for ego in an effective campaign…  confidence, yes.. expertise, yes.. but ego and personal opinion, no.

Chris also had a slide with my favorite quote of the day. “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation” – Plato. I love how this translates to our relationships with our clients as well as our client’s relationships with their audience. Something we should remember as we work to build better relationships and therefore build better brands.

I look forward to next year’s event.

1. Message match
2. Visual design
3. Depth
4. Freshness
5. Interactivity
6. Launch speed
7. Non-conversion value
8. Boldness

I am particularly interested in his inclusion of the value of non-conversion respondents. These being specifically respondents who see your landing page but don’t convert on your proposed offer. His point on the fact that by clicking on your ad “they demonstrated non-trivial intent” should not go unnoticed or un-used. I often promote the value of a soft sell to my clients and teach them to become more aware of the importance of brand perception in all aspects of what they do. Whether or not a person initially becomes a client or customer is important, but what they feel or think about you or your company during the process of deciding to become a client or customer is just as important. This will stay with them when they decide to make a decision further down the line or if they decide to refer you to some one they know.

© 2009 Scott Brinker

To read the entire post please visit http://searchengineland.com/8-dimensions-of-excellent-landing-pages-21622