Link Up With AMA Pittsburgh

Did you know that there is an AMA Pittsburgh group on Linked In? Get to know your other AMA colleagues and network online. Join the Linked In group at

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/95541/754D223CCBBE

You must be a member of AMA Pittsburgh. If you are not currently a member, don’t forget that the spring membership drive is almost over and the savings will soon be gone. Register at AMA Pittsburgh.

Meet you on Linked In.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

Marketing Can Be Fun and Games

When you think of games, I know that visions of Wii or PlayStation probably dance in your head. Most associate video games and probably their kids with the games segment. This is the largest segment of the games market and there are product placement and co-branding opportunities if your budget permits.

However, growing faster are the online games. PQ Media reports that advergaming and webisodes are the fastest growing branded entertainment segments at 51.7% growth over the last 5 year period.

Games can be a fun, engaging, active, educational and viral opportunities to present your brand. They have proven to deliver results as well. Fast Company Magazine reports that “America’s addiction to video and computer games is leading the way to a new advertising medium with astounding clickthrough rates, play times, and peer-to-peer potential.”

Have you used games as part of your marketing mix? Considering opportunities? Care to share with your AMA Pittsburgh colleagues? Let us know.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

Dancing to a New Survey Tune

I came across an interesting article from Media Buyer Planner the other day. It caught my attention because of its title, “Beer Drinkers Like Obama Best”. I report it in this space because it is an excellent example of how to gather survey data in an innovative manner.

The data in this case was gathered in bars across the country by way of the jukebox. You may have seen the new digital TouchTune jukeboxes in your favorite local. They allow you to play just about any song you desire by connecting to an Internet database. They also allow marketers an interesting avenue to collect research complete with segmentation based on the bar type.

This was just one example of new ways to gather intelligence and reach target audiences where they live. I am sure you can think of other unique places and mechanisms. Share them here. You can read about the TouchTunes poll here.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

Marketing to Teens

Today’s teenagers have an explosion of technology at their fingertips, so it should be no surprise that they spend a lot of their time online. In fact according to a study conducted by the Pew Internet andAmerican Life Project and reported by eMarketer, more
than nine out of ten US teens surveyed said they used the Internet or email.

Additional statistics reported from the survey:

• 71% had a mobile phone
• 59% had a notebook or desktop PC
• 58% had a social network profile
• 27% had a blog

Food for thought when planning your marketing
campaigns.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

For Memorial Day

As we approach the Memorial Day holiday, I’d like to
call attention to a unique memorial that is coming to
a close.

As a Pittsburgher, you are no doubt a football fan and
this space today focuses on a former player. George
Martin, a former football star with the NY Giants, has
taken an interesting approach to raising funds to aid
the first responders on September 11, 2001. I’ll let
Mr. Martin tell you about his cause:

About The Journey

Our mission is to help provide health care for the
surviving rescue and recovery workers who rushed to
Ground Zero after the 9-11 attacks, by raising a
minimum of $10 Million.

One day an idea came to George Martin, executive,
humanitarian and former New York Football Giants star.
Many of those who had rushed to aid in the aftermath
of 9-11 are sick with respiratory and other diseases
that can cause permanent disability. Some have even
lost their jobs and had no insurance. Mr. Martin
wanted to help.

Mr. Martin will walk from the George Washington Bridge
(NY) to the Golden Gate Bridge (CA), stopping along
the way to promote various events in support of the
mission.

The goal is to raise a minimum of $10 million for
medical care for Ground Zero workers. Mr. Martin is
looking to raise funds and, in addition, whatever
amount he raises, participating Hospitals and Medical
Care partners will provide a dollar-for-dollar match
in medical services essentially doubling the amount of
help care available for The Heroes of Ground Zero.

a Journey for 9/11 is a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit
public charity and your contributions are
tax-deductible.

Mr. Martin is currently in Arizona and his journey is
almost complete. He has raised approximately $1.9M
towards his goal. On this Memorial Day, we can help
him remember by making a donation at
http://www.ajourneyfor911.info/ and by asking others
to do the same.

Have a happy and safe holiday and we will return to
this space on Tuesday, May 27th.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by
submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics
and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe
to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

Is Green on Your Mind?

In the words of a famous frog, “It’s not easy being
green”, but it seems to be a dominant topic for
marketing professionals and everyone else for that
matter these days. I am turning over this space today
to an excerpt of Green Notes from Idea Space by Pam
Peters of MarketSpace Communications. If you are
interested, you can read the full article here.

Green Notes

By Pam Peters

It’s everywhere these days. News anchors ask about
your carbon footprint. Celebrities arrive at awards
ceremonies in hybrid vehicles. In November, we saw
must be green TV for a week. From board rooms to my
own back yard (where we are wondering if we should get
a rain barrel), green is a red hot topic.

Like many of you, the to-do list is pretty full
already, and it can be a little overwhelming. There’s
a lot of information out there. There’s also
mis-information, gray areas, and differing opinions.
If you are looking for ways to be a green marketer (or
if you are about to get thrown onto that bandwagon by
a well-meaning mob), here are a few things to
consider.

Many businesses are taking big steps to incorporate
“environmentally friendly” into their brand. It’s a
hot button, and no one wants to be seen as the bad guy
(or girl) by customers, partners, employees, or
shareholders.

Ultimately, brand must help you maintain your own
image, communicate your unique benefits, and let
potential customers know who you are. Don’t let ’em
lose sight of the forest for saving the trees. Ask
them, does this green initiative complement our
existing brand? How critical (related to allocation of
time, money, and people) is this issue to how we do
business? Is this the best way to incorporate
environmental sustainability (i.e., is it good for the
planet and good for our business?) What is the plan
for communicating changes—and results?

A colleague recently referred me to an article in Fast
Company that really impressed me. It showcases 50
specific, creative, fantastic ways that companies are
going green. These are real companies, making real
progress. Click here to read the article.

And, finally, here are some great sites that I like:

AIGA’s Center for Sustainable Design
The Discovery Channel’s Treehugger
The Sustainable Packaging Coalition’s Site
Starbucks and Global Green USA’s Planet Green Game

MarketSpace Communications has also published a Little
Green Tips booklet that is available by contacting
them.

Join the discussion on the AMA Pittsburgh blog by
submitting your comments. Feel free to submit topics
and add your insights to marketing topics. Subscribe
to the AMA Pittsburgh blog via the RSS feed.

Testing the Social Waters

If you registered as a member of AMA during the spring
membership drive then you were able to register for
the upcoming webinar on social media marketing.
Social media is a buzzword right now in marketing.
Are you currently wrestling with the decision to add
it to your marketing mix? Are you avoiding it, hoping
it will avoid you? Have you taken the plunge and
wondering if it is working for you?

Any of the three above scenarios can keep a marketer
up at night. It has been reported that a typical
person spends 30% of their time online these days. A
typical marketer spends only 7.5% of their budget
towards online marketing. So, what is the right plan
for you?

Truth is I have not seen a right or wrong answer to
social media. It is an evolving area of marketing.
Ignoring it may prove costly, but so may rapidly
adopting it without proper planning. The Advertising
Age podcast, available for free on ITunes or from the
Ad Age site, recently dedicated an episode to Liz
Cahill of Lee Jeans.

Ms. Cahill recommends that marketers wishing to enter
the social waters take the opportunity to perform a
social audit for their brand and determine the best
outlets and tools. Furthermore, don’t be afraid to
make mistakes at first and make changes to the
program. The initial Lee Jeans programs were not
successful at first, and they took the time to
understand why and make corrections that have proven
to pay dividends in their marketing programs. You can
get the full story by listening to the podcast.

Don’t forget that the AMA has resources on this
subject and others as well as the upcoming valuable
webinar. You can share your suggestions and concerns
on the subject by using the comments feature of this
blog.

The AMA Pittsburgh blog was envisioned to be a
resource for you. Up into this point, the blog has
reported on upcoming events, and this is our first
foray into presenting a topic in this space. You have
control over the content of this blog. Please let us
know what topics you’d like to see covered in this
space and participate in the discussion by adding your
insight as comments. You can subscribe to the blog by
using the RSS features.

Not a member of AMA? Join today at AMAPittsburgh.org

Let's Mix It Up

Meet your fellow AMA Pittsburgh colleagues and welcome the summer with the first AMA Mixer –

Join us on Thursday, June 12, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at
Six Penn Kitchen
146 Sixth Street
(in the Downtown Cultural District)

Your $20 ticket includes food, two drinks,
and as much mingling as you can handle.

Enhanced mingling is courtesy of The Famous Grouse,
Scotland’s oldest working distillery, whose reps will be on hand with samples of their exceptional single-malt whiskeys.

Mark your calendars for July 10^th and August 14^th for the AMA summer mixer season. Join us for networking and fun.

Register and more details at www.amapittsburgh.org.

Spring Membership Drive in Full Force

The AMA Pittsburgh Spring Membership Drive is in full swing. If you are not currently a member or know someone that could benefit from membership, we encourage you join now and save $50.00.

New members who join in April and May will get their $30 application fee waived (member and chapter fees still apply) and $20 prepaid MasterCard will be offered as a special incentive. Another offer, $200 conference discount coupon, will also be available on the web as an alternative to the $20 MasterCard. New Members will also be able to attend a members-only web cast featuring a widely recognized expert on interactive marketing trends and best practices.

The benefits of your AMA Pittsburgh membership include:

Professional Development
The Pittsburgh Chapter offers monthly luncheons featuring a professional guest speaker in the marketing field. In addition to the valuable knowledge you can gain from area marketing professionals, these luncheons provide the opportunity meet fellow marketing colleagues in a formal setting.

Networking
Who isn’t looking for the opportunity to network? We recognize that professionals both young and old are always keeping their options open in this ever-changing business world. AMA membership provides you with various ways to network with over 38,000 peer members. Use local or national directories. Connect through the online Shared Interest Groups (SIGs). Participate in national, regional, or local AMA programs. Volunteer to help lead your local chapter activities.

Online Resources
Enrich your professional knowledge by accessing the broad array of on-line AMA marketing resources. These many resources can be easily accessed by chapter members through the quick links provided through the members only section of AMA Pittsburgh's website. Webinars, Shared Interest Group discussions, white papers, articles, best practices, Hot Topics, case studies, marketing publications, and more.

Plus, much more. Join today at www.marketingpower.com/joinch

Mark Your Calendars for May 8th Luncheon

Luncheon Event: The 6 Lessons of Accidental Branding
May 8, 2008: Professor David Vinjamuri, author of the soon to be released book, Accidental Branding: How Ordinary People Build Extraordinary Brands will discuss his 6 Lessons from Accidental Brands. David teaches Marketing at New York University and is founder and President of ThirdWay Brand Trainers, a marketing training company whose clients include American Express, Starwood Hotels, and other leading consumer brands. Earlier in his career, he was a brand manager at Johnson & Johnson and Coca-Cola.

To register for this event, go to https://guest.cvent.com/EVENTS/Register/IdentityConfirmation.aspx?e=e37c4c0a-8534-4a48-aacd-f4f01aba514b

See you there.