I remember first hearing the phrase ‘edutainment’ sometime back in the early 90s. It was used in reference to the number of children’s software titles becoming available for home PCs (home PCs– how quaint!). Fast forward about 20 years. Edutainment is word we should be paying attention to again, this time in the context of Content Marketing. Wikipedia defines edutainment as content that is designed to educated as well as to entertain. Something the best…
Brands as journalists. Sounds like a stretch. After all no one expects to get the inside scoop on any relevant story of the day from someone trying to sell you coffee, soap or a new SUV. But what about brands as purveyors of information? Knowledge? Insight? Useful tips? That seems a little more reasonable. And in an age when Google, Facebook, Twitter and Reddit etc. are breaking down barriers between who gets to provide information…
The following is an excerpt from our ebook: How to Create Killer Marketing Content: Experienced blog publishers, editors, and art directors know something you don’t: There will always come a day when you feel tapped out for ideas, a good story goes bad, or you need something to ‘punch up’ the piece you’re working on to make it more appealing to readers. That’s why these professionals keep a content bank of completed stories they can…
More thank 75% of US adults are spending time online¹. Over 30% of US consumers spend at least 3 hours on the interwebs everyday². So it would only make sense that more & more of the things we used to do offline, like product research, getting news and socializing, we now do online. Not a new story– the Internet has fundamentally changed the way in which people find, discover, share, shop, & connect. So how…
Implementing a Content Marketing may program may seem like a daunting task. Knowing what sort of information your key audiences are looking for, identifying sharing opportunities with them, and putting the right team in place to create and execute programs can be complex and time consuming. The following 10 tips will help get you focused and on your way to driving success through content marketing– (1) Follow Industry News Knowing what influencers in your industry…
Branding a business and building that brand is no longer a matter of some creating some clever ads and executing the right media buy. Building a brand that stands out means being ready to engage people digitally. Some may just be checking you out. Others may be ready to buy. You need to be able to engage the full spectrum of prospects in a consistent and compelling way. And that’s where Inbound Marketing comes in–…
The New 4Ps, or the 4Ps of Social Marketing as we like to refer to them here at the home office have proven themselves to be a valuable guide for Budding Culture as we develop compelling, socially-driven programs for our clients. As Content Marketing matures, becomes more strategic, fundamental and process-driven part of the communications mix for many brands, we find the New 4Ps to be more important than ever. Purpsoen, Peers, Passion and Provide…
Social media is more than just cat videos, food pics and fan rants. It has become a key place for sharing of information and ideas. A go-to source for guidance and advice. A place where business transactions can get started. Social media can be a powerful source of traffic, leads and sales for your business. The numbers do not line. Social media networks are major communication channels. So it would make sense to treat social…
The interwebs are full of entities looking to jump on viral trends. From planking, to the Harlem Shake, to the latest celebrity mishaps, we all enjoy jumping on and sharing the latest memes. And if we’re managing a brand presence in social media, it’s just as tempting to add our voice into the mix. But how to do so without just becoming one of the crowd? Here are some guidelines we use at Budding Culture…
One of the great things about having all this content just laying around the interwebs is that the opportunity to go back and relive the past is open to just about anyone without a two-bit history degree or a time machine. Case in point, the series of blog posts, Rembert Explains the ’80s over on Grantland (where else?). Here, Rembert Brown, who came of age during the nineties and the oughts, offers his take on…
Pioneering NYC street artist Futura 2000 & The Clash collaborated back in the 80s on this track, bringing together b-boy culture and British punk. And 30 years later, it still sounds awesome! Back in high school, was totally digging on these two different culture movements coming together and feeding off each other. It touched art, fashion, music and slang. A vibe and attitude that went truly transmedia. It also set the stage for a lot…
We live in a culture where ideas, trends and other assorted memes often spread out from niches and become pervasive across larger segments of society. This phenomena ties back to the rise of Geek culture — what we sometimes refer to as being “geeked-out”. Today, one can be deemed a ‘Geek’ across any number of areas, from music, to street fashion, to role playing games. It’s all about really being into that one thing. Where…
Sometimes old can seem new. This is profoundly true in fashion and music, where ideas from the past get remixed, repurposed and reconstituted into something refreshingly different for a new generation. And sometimes what’s old can transport us back to a time when we felt newer, fresher younger and invigorated. Taking us back to the familiar or what we believe we knew and allowing us to experience it “again for the first time” is a…
New. The need for difference. Something fresh, fun, never before encountered, unexplored. ‘New’ is sometimes all it takes to grab our attention, stop us in our tracks or take a deeper look at a product. What is it about New that is so invigorating to us? Is it because we get bored easily? Despite all the tools, toys and entertainment outlets designed to keep us interested and engaged. Or perhaps we are wired on a…
Just when we were feeling good again about the changes to Facebook, the soon to be billionaires club dropped Timeline in our laps. And like it or not, your profile page and fan pages will never be the same. And you know what? It’s all good (well, mostly). Here are some highlights and observations from the team here at Budding Culture: COVER PHOTO the new eye-catching, 851 X 315 pixel descriptive visual of your brand….
I’ve always been fascinated with how some ads try to present their products as part of a bigger lifestyle choice. Sure I’ve spent a good part of my adult life helping craft those very messages on behalf of clients. But even when I’m nesting in my den, playing the part of the American everyman watching Sunday football, with my marketing work a distant note on my Monday to-do list, I still find myself mulling over…
A meme is an idea, behavior or style that spreads from person to person within a culture. While genes transmit biological information, memes are said to transmit ideas and belief information. A meme acts as a unit for carrying cultural ideas, symbols or practices, which can be transmitted from one mind to another through writing, speech, gestures, rituals or other imitable phenomena (via Wikipedia). Memes are the backbone of marketing communications. That said, there is…
Pizzicato 5 were one of my favorite bands back in the 90s. Like a lot of my favorite bands they managed to evoke retro-cool (and I love the mod 60s) while feeling very much of the moment. Twiggy was just a silly song that sounded great loud with a tacky cocktail in a room filled with orange naugahyde. /enjoy
Brands are often an unwelcome presence on social media platforms. They tend to interrupt conversations with blatant sales pitches. They then often ask for information we don’t deem them entitled to receive. Our email addresses. Answers to incessantly dry, pedantic surveys. Urgent commands to pimp their promotions to our friends. You get the idea. When it comes to social media, many brands and the companies that run them could use an etiquette primer. But where…
A little musical Social Instigation — Love some of the mash-ups being created from individual musician’s YouTube videos. The individual parts are cool, but the sum JAMS! Thx to @brianwaka for sharing.
As Facebook and Twitter have ascended to the top of the marketing lexicon, it is utterly amazing to me that brands still don’t understand the (well documented) fundamentals of social media. So many marketers are treating social media as an extension of their direct response efforts, or just another media outlet for press releases. Not to say that social platforms do not play a role in the transaction or dissimulating company news to a broad…
We just spent a few days at the Natural Product Expo West trade show in Anaheim. I’ve always been a fan of this show. It’s a chance to meet tons of people who do what they love- create products that are good for you, good for the environment and are often unique. Many of these products go on to grow into major brands- Amy’s Kitchen or Kashi are two that come to mind. This trade…
We’ve heard much over the last few years about the wisdom, power, intelligence of crowds. The ability to harness collective creativity, brainpower, willpower and vision in order to accomplish great things. The growth of social media inspired much of this discourse. And even if you have been a skeptic till now, recent events in the Middle East should convince you that crowds empowered by social media platforms are indeed a force of world-changing influence. We’ve…
I’ve been thinking about how dated traditional marketing worldviews have become — particularly the notions of brand building. Twentieth century economic growth provided a hothouse for the dogma of brand building. The increasing presence of one-way broadcast mediums, coupled with the industrial revolution and later on the spread of consumption-led economies provided the perfect storm for brand-think. Whether in the guise of ad-agency, consultant or marketing manager, brand shamans shouted their b-invectives to willing minions…
While marketing has traditionally looked at persuasion as something that happens as a brand-led dialogue with an individual, the reality is that peer-to-peer communications have a greater influence on attitudes and behavior.
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve heard people refer to the 4Ps of the marketing mix; Product, Pricing, Placement and Promotion. Developed in the early 1960s by Professor Neil Borden while at the Harvard Business School, the 4Ps has long been regarded as the critical checklist for companies when assuring all key facets of a marketing plan are properly aligned. While the importance of these elements cannot be denied, it is also fair…
“Change is the only Constant” Anyone aware of what the business world has been like over the past two decades (and who reading this hasn’t!) will have a hard time arguing against this. No question we’ve seen some amazing, inspiring changes over the past few years! It also can be said we live in a world where are most fundamental assumptions of what we consider to be right and true are called into question everyday. …
It’s hard to imagine bringing back the paper-boy as something that can reverse the demise of newspapers, but it may be one of the little things that can help make them even a tiny bit more community-oriented and as a result more relevant.
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