Shortly after the release of the new design, a mob of irritated, angry oj drinkers swarmed the internet to fight the rebranding. This eventually led Tropicana to revert the cartons back to their old look. I hate to say it but the Tropicana re-branding decision was probably a result of the classic HiPPO phenomenon (the [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization

In thinking about the approach that one must take to marketing in this tough economy, I recall an analogy that a professor once told me about students.  He said, freshman don’t know that they don’t know, sophomores know that they don’t know, juniors don’t know that they know, and seniors know what they know. I [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing

Yesterday, I compared the way we “measure” software ROI to football First Downs, a precise measurement of an imprecise process. Don’t worry, no more apples to oranges comparisons today. Instead, today’s post focuses on the elements of this ROI.
Often our clients ask us to help them uncover the specific areas of ROI around our suite [...]

1 comment | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing | Targeting & Engagement | Web Content Management

With budgets being cut left and right, it is no surprise that email campaigns will be at the forefront of every marketer’s mind during the economic downfall. Email campaigns, especially to the house list, are cheap and effective, having one of the highest returns on investment.
According to a survey done by Marketing Sherpa in partnership [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing

Do you know how to price your products or services to generate the highest revenues? Are you overcharging/undercharging? You will never know unless you test.
In a recent study at CalTech, subjects were asked to sample 5 different bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon and rate their taste preferences.  However in reality, they were presented just 3 wines, [...]

1 comment | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing

I attended SES Chicago this week. The Wednesday keynote was by Josh James, the CEO of Omniture. Now, for reasons that are probably obvious to some, I don’t always see eye to eye with Omniture’s positions or representations. In this case, however, I actually liked a few of the messages that I heard. The first [...]

1 comment | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing | Search Engine Optimization

2008 may not have been the year for improving the value of your home.  But it was the year for improving your website, as website optimization became an integral part of online marketing for many leading online destinations.  The website optimization momentum will continue with full force in 2009.
Here are the top trends for optimizing [...]

2 comments | Category: Mobility | Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing | Targeting & Engagement

When I was a kid, my father liked to play mind puzzles with me.  One of his favorites was to find contradictory common sayings.  In other words, it always fascinated him that for almost every statement of “common wisdom”, there would be another one which would contradict it.  My job - as a twelve year [...]

1 comment | Category: Marketing Leadership | Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing | Targeting & Engagement

I spend most of my time talking with existing and prospective Interwoven customers about their web marketing strategy. Here are three of the more common content challenges I’ve heard when talking with web marketers:
1) Content drives business- but it’s still difficult to manage.
Most companies recognize the value of content but yet they still don’t manage it [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Targeting & Engagement | Web Content Management

Ever wonder how to run a simple multivariate experiment on your way to work?
Well, here’s how:
Step 1:  Identify your Control.
The control will be you asking, ‘What’s the time?’ (with a neutral facial expression) to strangers on the way to work.
Step 2:  Identify your Key Performance Indicator and Goal.
Key Performance Indicator will be the percentage [...]

4 comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing | Targeting & Engagement

Is it possible that the rise of metrics driven marketing will drive creative people out of marketing? I think it is quite the opposite. I believe that analytical, metrics driven marketing will free creative marketers to use their creative powers. At this point, you are probably thinking about your web analytics tools and wondering how [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing

A few weeks back I spoke on a panel at the Online Market World conference session entitled “The Seven Deadly Sins of Site Design.”  The notion of this session was to highlight common mistakes that companies make when designing their website. Although the conference came up with the title, I thought it would be fun [...]

No Comments | Category: Multivariable Optimization | Online Marketing