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THIS WEEK’S FUEL FOR THOUGHT - Take a short afternoon break with us!

No one loves snacking on great videos more than the folks at Sigma (BTW, we call ourselves “Sigmites”).  To us, it’s both an inspiration and a great escape—fresh thoughts to fuel new ideas, and as refreshing as a brisk walk on a spring morning.  So this week, we are rounding-up some of our favorites that we found during the past week.  See more in our Video Snacking lounge.

Death Cab For Cutie’s Little Bribes - We first found this video on Twitter.  @RossChing sent out this tweet and three days later, it’s been picked as Vimeo Staff Favorite and been viewed over 23K times. Good luck @RossChing, no need to “bribe” when you can crank out this kind of awesome work.

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Rarely does a day go by without my reading or hearing a going-out-of-business article/message.  Each time I hear the company/brand name, I ask myself, does it matter to me (as a consumer) that they will no longer exist?  Sure, there are some that make little or no impact on my life, but there are far more brands/companies that I say, “it matters.”  Why?  Because I have a personal relationship and connection to them.  Those relationships range from personal preferences to convenience to reminiscence of what some of them meant to me at some point in my life.  (more…)

THIS WEEK’S FUEL FOR THOUGHT
Social media got you running in circles? It’s easy to get lost and confused with the ever-changing stream of information and advice on social media. So, this week we are rounding up some highlighted articles, resources and best practices on social media marketing.

1. Social Media Marketing: Getting with the Program – Sigma’s tips on the best ways for an organization to embrace social media
2. Five Phases of Social Media Marketing – Social Computing Journal listed out five distinct phases to successfully leverage a social media program: Discover, Strategy, Skills, Execution, Maintenance. (more…)

PAST WEEK’S FUEL FOR THOUGHT

What lessons and best practices are out there for marketers in this economy?  We’ve gathered few AdAge articles that provide great fuel for thoughts:

1. Philp Geier’s 10 Principles for Bad Times that Work in Good Times – Adapt, Motivate, Focus Efforts, Stay True To Your Vision, Communicate, Innovate, Seize New Opportunities, Integrate Marketing, Retain Credibility and Inspire Customers are 10 principles we should harness right now.
2. Study:  Cutting Spending Hurts Brands Long Term – Based on TNS Media Intelligence data that revealed  brands that cut spending in downturns lost shares to private labels. (more…)

PAST WEEK’S FUEL FOR THOUGHT

1. When web search began, marketers used paid search and SEO to make content findable on their own web pages.  Today, it’s not just what’s on a page or who links to it; it’s how it relates to the user’s personal networks.  Social Media Means for Search provides a great view into how the traditional search is converging with social media.
2. A refreshing article from the NY Times on how some marketers are staying true to both their brand and their customers through new product innovations
3. A recent Hitwise press release states that Google leveraged 72% share of searches in Feb-09.  The report also noted that longer search queries are becoming more popular (20% increase for 8-plus keywords) and search engines continue to be the primary way Internet users navigate to key industry categories. (more…)

PAST WEEK’S FUEL FOR THOUGHT

1. During these turbulent times, we all need some good brand-building advice. Time for a Brand Stimulus Package: Invest Now in Building Brand by MarketingProfs is an excellent article that points out the new 7Ps of Branding to survive the downturn.
2. Is mobile advertising moving from experimental to essential? At a recent digiday:Mobile conference in NY, Nielsen stated that the popularity of smartphones is driving consumption of mobile content of all types. Key findings: 145 million mobile media consumers, with 127 million using SMS, 70 million downloading mobile content, 48 million using the mobile Internet and 12 million using mobile video. (more…)

PAST WEEK’S FIND

1. Last week, Google launched interest-based display advertising on their partner sites and YouTube.  Some are in favor, while others are concerned.  You have the option to either add interest categories to get more relevant ads, or opt out of this service.
2. We frequently get the question – “How much should I spend on advertising?” While there is no definitive answer,  Business Week offers some good sound advice. (more…)

In our daily digital travels, we come across some really cool, innovative and interesting places that fuel our marketing minds and spirits. Starting this week, we will summarize our highlighted findings to keep you in the loop.  Let’s jump right into our first weekly round-up!

PAST WEEK’S BUZZ

1. Social networking is no longer a youth phenomenon.  comScore finds more than 50% of Facebook users were over 35 years old.
2. Searching for new customers in the recessions?  eMarketer finds that they might be hiding in plain search. (more…)