This is really GREAT post. You're going to LOVE this post. This post is FANTASTIC.

Does it seem as though I'm repeating myself? That's because I just read this article on PsyBlog on the power of repetition. It is GREAT...

I've always been a proponent of Frequency in the Reach vs. Frequency media planning 101 discussion. Frequency is King. It doesn't matter if you reach 99% of your target if you are not able to repeat your message multiple times.

This study suggests that, in a group setting, "we can tell that three different people expressing the same opinion better represents the group than one person expressing the same opinion three times - but not by much.

In fact, if one person in a group repeats the same opinion three times, it has 90% of the effect of three different people in that group expressing the same opinion."

I told you you were going to LOVE this.

The authors suggest that it is a function of our memory and how we instill more confidence in the person stating the opinion, the more times that he/she expresses it.

The blog entry states, "Similarly, and more worryingly, when an opinion is repeatedly broadcast at us by the same organisation - think of a particular media conglomerate or an advertiser - we're likely to come to believe it represents the general opinion."

So, next time you're in a group meeting and you want to sway the opinions of the others present, make sure you are repeating - with conviction - your same opinion at least three times. If you are the only person in this group that repeats your opinion, it is more likely to be seen by the others as representative of the entire group.

Isn't that FANTASTIC?

Enjoy the read ....

Think Harder About Stuff

One of my favorite sketches of all time on Saturday Night Live is with Christopher Walken and Will Ferrell ... Cowbell. This sketch (as you may likely recall) is a spoof on the recording of Don't Fear The Reaper and the NEED ... the FEVER ... for more cowbell.

I read somewhere that this idea came to a writer (perhaps a group of writers) were brainstorming skits with this song playing in the background. It came out that this writer or group simply paid more attention to the song, particularly the cowbell in the song.

To me, this is the epitome of THINKING HARDER ABOUT STUFF. That's the sweet spot, I believe. It's not whether you have the most manly smelling fragrance. It's the fact that guys fantasy-dream about women attacking them for their bodies. It's not about whether you have a product that will make your skin cleaner. It's about the fact that women want to be transformed more beautiful.

Dig more into your research. Get further into the mind of your prospect. Think harder about the benefits and pleasures of your product or service.

So, guess what? I got a fever. And the only prescription is more cowbell.

Enjoy the skit here ...

Persuasiveness

I am always looking to find new and interesting articles and examples of how consumers are persuaded to believe or act in a certain manner. I guess that's why I'm in advertising. But I truly find it interesting to break apart the process of a "pitch" and understand each of the parts and how they work and interact together to create a desired thought or outcome.

This article is a spectacular example of persuasiveness-in-action and also a good primer on the various "parts" of a pitch.

As the author points out, these are also some good techniques to use with your children.

:)

Enjoy!

Study on Gender & Age in Social Networks

I just finished reading this Rapleaf study.

You know, the cool thing about this, in my opinion, is the demographic occupancy clustering. Take a look at the older profiles on LinkedIn, Flickr and Classmates, for example.

Good stuff ... enjoy the read.

Alltop and Over The Top

Guy Kawasaki's new Feeder-Portal, Alltop is amazing. Pick a category from Autos to Windows and you'll instantly see a selection of 30 - 80 of the hottest feeds in that category from around the web.

For example, I clicked on Careers and found Career Hub, The HR Daily Advisor, The HR Capitalist and Escape from Cubicle Nation among sixty some other websites and blogs on enhancing your career. It's almost overwhelming.

It's so simple, it's sick. But fair warning: it's an enormous time-sucker. You could spend all day and night here reading some fabulous posts. But I'm impressed with how well it is organized and what a wonderful resource it is to have these sites collected in one location ... and I think you will be too.

Voyages of the Starship Socialize

I was reading this post from Pierre Far on Techipedia and was filled with conflicting thoughts. First, it was a well-written piece and logical. It's simply written ... plain talk. Gotta love that. But what bothered me was the thought that there actually IS a final frontier. Mass communication, two-way communication, one-to-one marketing, social marketing ... all simply the same variant of traditional marketing that has been tweaked in some way by technology. And since we truly cannot say there is a final frontier in technology, we must assume that there will no "beam me up, Scotty" moment for marketing either. So, to answer Pierre's question of what the next innovation, leap or Web 3.0 of marketing will be, I would say it will be more of the same marketing foundation, only modified by whatever the newest technology tools will allow. In my opinion, it's not a question of what NEW marketing will emerge, but rather what will emerge FOR new marketing. But I could be wrong ...

Customer Service Evaluation Tool

Very cool article from CRM Daily on understanding the gaps in customer service communications and experiences. I love this handy tool as well

Everyone - I mean, everyone - who has a customer relationship (which is basically everyone these days, right?) needs to read this article and use this tool to help understand where the breakdowns come in their own experience and interactions.

Enjoy....