OPPORTUNITY: Tomorrow night (10/23)

If you have 3 hours and $60, you should seriously consider taking this class, offered through MSU Extended University. You'll add a significant tool to your skill set as a marketing professional, even if you're not interested in "creative" work (i.e., advertising).

Graphic Design Fundamentals for Non-Designers

Wednesday, October 23, 2013 from 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Downtown Education Center 

 

Through critical analysis learn the basic strategies of graphic design for use in posters, brochures, ads and other promotional materials. Become a more successful designer of printed materials. Learn about the "job" of a design and analyze if your designs fit your needs. If you work or plan to work on developing printed material, this class is for you.

Info and registration here: https://eu.courses.montana.edu/CourseStatus.awp?&course=13FWGRAPHIC

A really interesting interview on brand management

Hi everyone,

When you've got time, check out this fascinating interview.

I hate the title of the article, but the info therein is quite compelling.  It's excellent insight into lots of aspects of marketing strategy: Segmentation, marketing communication, PR management, brand management, consumer loyalty, how to measure success...

Happy Monday!

More on #hashtags

 Wow, when I brought up the topic of hashtags (the symbol formerly known as the "number sign") earlier in the semester, I didn't know it was trending!

Apparently, while they're incredibly useful in some contexts, and are therefore here to stay as a means of aggregating electronic data (i.e., as metadata), they've already flamed out in certain circles.

Here's a scathing look at the phenomenon, complete with quotes from eminent linguists, such as Geoffrey Nunberg (admittedly a hero of mine) and Noam Chomsky.

This, of course, has generated responses in the hashtag's defense... because #YOLO

Happy weekend!

Century 21 ad from 2006

Oh, how persuasive people can be... 

Fun facts about marketing research, strategy, and advertising!

 Does anyone read Cracked.com?

It's a surprisingly decent, often crowdsourced online publication that contains quick and funny lists like this one: "The 7 Sneakiest Ways Corporations Manipulated Human Behavior"

In a single, short article, they discuss Ernst Dichter, Chivas Regal, advertising ethics, and bacon. And more!)

Good stuff. A worthwhile time-suck, if such a thing can exist... 

NOTE:  For those CB students who think the blogging assignment is simply busy work that I've designed to torture you, here's another post from the same website that you should read (scroll down to #3 if you're short on time). My apologies for the, uh, colorful language.

Image above taken from "The Birth of Mad Men, Ernest Dichter, Psychoanalysis and Consumerism," required reading for students in both classes. It's quick, easy, and fun -- I promise!

How to retire at 30

This morning, I was listening to Marketplace Money (one of the best shows ever -- check it out Saturdays, 10:00 am, 102.1FM), and they had a interview with Mr. Money Mustache, who retired at 30 and now gives others free advice on how to follow in his footsteps.  Want to retire at 30? Follow the links I'm embedding in this post!

Anyway, I went to Mr. Money Mustache's blog to see how I can make sure I'm comfortable and happy when I decide to stop working, and noticed that he has a blog post on how to create one's own more real, permanent blog.  So CB students, if you've fallen in love with blogging, you can learn how to take it to the next level here. Principles students, if you do this you'll be so far ahead of the curve...

Happy weekend!

Storytelling

Why do I have you all talk to so much? Tell each other your stories?  It really does help learning!

CB students: Don't forget your love stories are due next Tuesday.  Directions are on D2L, and if you have questions about the assignment, please ask me!

Along the lines of learning from each other, and our brains "talking" to each other, here's the latest on mirror neurons. The current thinking isn't quite as definitive on how effective these are for regulating / moderating our behavior, but that's the way scientific progress happens, right?