Optimarketer: The Marketing Optimization Blog

"Freaking Marketing" Is Now "Optimarketer: The Marketing Optimization Blog"

I launched Freaking Marketing in 2006 to address rarely-discussed marketing topics. Including controversial ones. The blog exposed, among other things, unscrupulous advertisers and absurd practices. No topic or personality was off limits. Not even the sainted advertising legend David Ogilvy.

After joining Facebook, like many bloggers, I began posting less and less. Recently, I created Optimarketing: The Marketing Optimization Group on LinkedIn. It’s already sailed past the 250-member mark. The group apparently struck a chord.

Marketing optimization has long been a personal passion. For most of my adult life I’ve run the Mothers of Invention marketing agency – a shop that's broken records for dozens of clients and won more than 50 results-based awards.

We invented and trademarked Optimarketing. The term is simply about making the most of every major marketing element. If I find the time, in the not-too-distant-future, it'll also be a book.  

A side of me is bummed about putting the name Freaking Marketing to rest. But I'm excited about blogging once again. And from running thousands of tests for more than 125 marketers, I have much to share on marketing optimization. 

So here we go again. Thank you for being part of this thing.

Say Something Provocative - Then Follow the Action

I've begun my third year as a blogger, but now things are really going to get interesting. I've added a new Typepad feature called the comment feed. In a single click, you're able to subscribe to all comments that follow your Freaking Marketing comment. Within "comments" just click where it says, "You can follow this conversation by subscribing to the comment feed for this post" and you'll be notified each time someone adds a comment.

This opens up some fascinating possibilities for a direct marketing blog that has always been about exposing tough-to-discuss topics to sunlight. Now you can share your controversial views and easily see what your amigos and adversaries think. You'll automatically know if they loved or dissed ya. Very Web two point oh.

We're going to invite everyone in our galaxy -- including people in the Mothers of Invention database and members of the What I Saw at the Direct Marketing Revolution Facebook group -- to get in on the action. Just a few simple rules: No scratching, biting, or kicking. And no Mother jokes.

A Fool From "The Office" Shows How To Make Blogging Pay

In the middle of an episode of The Office tonight that featured the Michael Scott character railing against the Internet, I saw a plug for Dwight's blog. Advertisers included HP, Allstate, and Weight Watchers. Which means we ain't talkin' chump change.

On a page for advertisers NBC said, "The digital extensions already in development for these shows will serve to enhance the profile and reach of our programs and to provide our clients with expanded opportunities."

Damn straight. While producers are watching viewers move from TV to PC, NBC is actually driving them there and earning money on both ends. I hope other network executives were taking notes.

Oh -- the blog was pretty good, too.

The Best of Freaking Marketing

This, my friends, is the 100th Freaking Marketing entry. Here are my favs since January 6, 2006, from oldest to most recent. I'd love to hear what you think of where this blog has been and where it ought to go from here. Thank you for reading this thing.

The Imperial Vice President of Marketing
Freaking Out over Useful Data
Can Marketing Cynics Ever Become Converts?
Coretta's Courage
The CEO They Wouldn't Confront
The Illusion of Savings
One More Thing to Love about this Business: Split-Run Testing
Why Not a Vice President of Marketing and Sales?
File This Under, "You Can't Please Everyone"
Do As I Say - Then I'll Fire You
The Landslide Didn't Bring Down Natalie, Emily, and Martie
Bullshitters of Brand Building
Maybe We Need a 12-Step Program for AdWords Addicts
The Difference between Prostitutes and Advertising People
Be Not Afraid of Marketing Innovation
He Stood Tall and So Should We
Not-So-Beautiful Marketing Minds
Is Direct Marketing More Science Than Art?
Andy Kaufman in the Wrestling Match
The Cost of Corrosive Culture
Why Most Business-to-Business Marketing Campaigns are Uninspired or Just Plain Awful
From Bribery to Charity: An Idea for Direct Marketing Managers
Construction Worker Falls on Tracks to Save Stranger while Marketing Workers Fail to Stand Up for What's Right
Years From Now They'll Be Replaying Crispin Porter + Bogusky's "I Am Man" Commercial for Burger King
Mo' Testing in Marketing
The Boss Has A Creative Idea!
Why Direct Marketing Agencies Don't "Put Skin in the Game"
How to Grow Up to Not be Perfectly Mediocre
Repositioning the Competition for Fun and Profit
The Case for Apartheid in Marketing
The First Volkswagen Advertising Campaign That Zigged
Slackers and Marketing are Like Flies and Shit

Like what you see? Supply your email address in the upper right of this page and subscribe.

Author Ted Demopoulos Crawls Inside Brain of Direct Marketing Agency Founder

Ted Demopoulos spent months interviewing A-list bloggers like Seth Godin, Debbie Weil, and Guy Kawasaki -- as well as some fascinating Z-listers. The result is a book blog and podcast enthusiasts can't put down. Here's what Ted D said about one of the bloggers:

Not All Clients Are Created Equal

Robert Rosenthal is the founder and creative director of Mothers of Invention, a direct marketing agency. The company's Web site, www.themothersofinvention.com, makes it clear that it's not a typical agency. Along with the traditional "About Us" link, there is an "About You" link. The "About You" page begins with "You consistently treat people with respect. Prefer collaboration over command and control...Mean what you say."

It's as if the agency is saying, "If this doesn't describe you, then we don't want you as a client."

"There are too many toxic relationships in the marketing field, and I'm looking for the healthy ones," says Robert. "The ones that are supportive rather than dysfunctional, collaborative versus competitive." His Web site helps dissuade clients who tend to have bad relationships. Robert's blog, Freaking Marketing, www.freakingmarketing.com, takes it a step further.

From the name, Freaking Marketing, to the content, it's very clear you're not hiring a yes-man or a yes-firm. Robert's personality shines through in a strong, authentic, and accurate way. It's pretty clear that you don't hire Robert's creative firm to take orders -- he sees that as a conflict with the agency's mission of creativity.

Robert blogs about direct marketing successes and failures. He uncovers dirty laundry -- things marketing firms do he feels are unethical. For example, in a recent post, he discusses agencies that "call a mediocre advertising campaign or corporate identity program a 'brand-building campaign' or 'branding initiative' and charge dearly for it. Robert also blogs about bad client relationships. In his post Do As I Say - Then I'll Fire You, he discusses autocratic rulers with zany commands and plans that will fail miserably. Robert is proud that a friend fired a terrible client after reading this post!

"A bad client can be a major drain on its agency. By generating unexpected, pointless, time-sucking busywork, agency people have less time to devote to good  clients,"  Robert says. "When a bad client pulls a stunt that makes agency members feel dispirited or pissed off, they become distracted for at least a brief period."

Robert is going to be busy no matter what. He's highly competent and has a superb track record, and a strong following. Having impressive clients who pay big bucks isn't so important to Robert as working for good people and getting stellar results. His blog, easily accessible from his company's home page, dissuades clients who are not a good fit. His personality shines through on his Web site and especially on his blog. If you don't like it, you're not likely to work with Robert, and that's better for everyone involved.

Order your copy of What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice From 101 People Who Successfully  Leverage The Power Of The Blogosphere. Thanks, Ted.

Link Love

Here's a list of marketing blogs from Chris Brown of Branding & Marketing:

Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes! Andy Nulman’s Blog About Surprise
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
MapleLeaf 2.0
darrenbarefoot.com
Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Two Hat Marketing
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew's Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett's Pothole on the Infobahn
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Perspective
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Social Media on the fly
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
Bob Sutton
Jeremy Latham’s Blog
SMogger Social Media Blog
Masey.com
MovieMarketingMadness
UniqueEpitome
ReBang
uzyn
TheQualitativeResearchBlog
MineThatData
Experienceology
Freaking Marketing
Really Small Fish
The Orange Yeti
What's your brand mantra?
John Windsor
Experience Curve
Josh Hallet - Hyku
Henry Jenkins
AttentionMax
Daphne Loo
Sweska
GratisvibesU-Fong
Linda Chua
Xiao LuoWhippleworld
Lih Shin
Shimmer
Chuan Zhi
Occam's Razor
Juice Analytics
LunaMetrics
Rimm-Kaufman Group
Sports Marketing 2.0
Business Enterprise Management
Digital Solid
Acxiom Direct
Marketing Measurement Today
Marketing Geek
Customer Experience Matrix
And here's one more from my good friend Lyn Chamberlin: The Brand Dame

This Blog Entry Was NOT Sponsored By PayPerPost

Today was a good day for the blogosphere -- and people involved with a firm called PayPerPost.

PayPerPost helps marketers pay bloggers to say nice things about their products. From now on, bloggers dealing with PayPerPost marketers must disclose the fact that dinero is changing hands. The policy seems somewhat ambiguous, but it's certainly a step in the right direction.

I just wonder what took so long.

I checked out the PayPerPost website some time ago and couldn't figure out why legitimate marketers would be willing to pay for kind words. The reputational risks seemed insanely high.

The company now has a chance to attract more big-time, blue-chip, non-sleazoid marketing organizations. I'll bet some PayPerPost honchos are shaking in their boots right now, but I really believe they'll earn more by taking the high road.

The issue of transparency has been a hot topic among bloggers, for good reason. Most advertising media have little credibility among consumers. Blogs represented a fresh start -- a chance to keep a medium largely free of the problems that have plagued other media.

I originally learned of this development on MSNBC.com (and no, they didn't pay me to say that).

The Wal-Mart / Edelman Affair: Hardly a Crime Against Humanity

Seems like each month, someone in the blogosphere is selected for an ass-kicking in a thousand different spots. This month's joint recipients are Wal-Mart and Edelman, the PR agency hired to restore the less-than-stellar image of the retailing giant.

In the recent past, Wal-Mart has taken way more than its share of hits from bloggers. So it made sense for the client and agency to embrace an effort called Walmarting Across America.

A couple, Laura and Jim, drove an RV from Las Vegas to Georgia. Along the way, they parked overnight in Wal-Mart lots, interviewed shiny and happy Wal-Mart employees, and chronicled their adventure in a blog, walmartingacrossamerica.com. 

When bloggers realized that Laura and Jim were a freelance writer and photographer sponsored by Working Families for Wal-Mart, an organization started by Edelman, the shit hit the proverbial fan (see Adpulp, Blog Business Summit, Blogwrite for CEOs, et al). Accusations of flogging (fake blogging), even began to fly.

Were the attacks fair? Consider this: Laura and Jim are a real couple who've been living together for years and have three kids between them. They approached Working Families for Wal-Mart with the idea -- not the other way around. Working Families plastered a conspicuous sign on the RV. And all Wal-Mart employee comments were apparently real.

Could Wal-Mart and Edelman have pulled this off without using ringers like Laura and Jim? I don't think so. Did they make any mistakes? Of course they did (we all do) -- and I imagine Wal-Mart and Edelman staffers are kicking themselves right now.

The Edelman people are swing-for-the-fences publicists. At least they had the cajones to move ahead with a big idea.

See the changes Edelman is making.

True Confessions of 101 Bloggers and Podcasters

Ted Demopoulos is an IT consultant, blogger, speaker, and author. His newest book is What No One Ever Tells You About Blogging and Podcasting: Real-Life Advice from 101 People Who Successfully Leverage the Power of the Blogosphere. (The author of this blog was among the 101.) Ted recently sat for a Freaking Marketing interview.

You interviewed 101 bloggers. What surprised you?

There were many surprises. For example, how hard it is to herd 101 bloggers. Actually, not all 101 were bloggers, but the majority were. All 101 benefit from the blogosphere, but not all blog -- just like far more people benefit from books than write them. Also it was very surprising when I asked via my blog for volunteers to be in my book. EVERYONE who contacted me was very suitable -- no borderline cases. This isn't to say that everyone who wanted to be in the book qualified, or was even sane, but those who contacted me via my blog were.

What was the most outrageous rationale for blogging you came across?

Well, some of the interesting people who didn't make it into the book included a guy who said he ditched his expensive psychiatrist and instead now blogs for therapy, and a woman who ranted about radio signals from Mars, signal processing, Ethernet, and blogs. She blogs to communicate with aliens, and says it's going well although they don't leave comments that often.

Of the people in the book, there is a woman who blogs because she always wanted to write, but was afraid. She blogs under a pseudonym, hiding it even from her husband, and has built up confidence. She has several published articles and a book coming out in the spring. She's still "anonymous," although she claims I read her blog and will reveal her identity once the book is out. The Russian splogger and reindeer breeder I shared a bottle of vodka with last February in central Siberia was pretty interesting too.

Are bloggers a different breed, or are they just a microcosm of society?

Bloggers are a microcosm of society, but not just a random sampling. As early adopters of a very social medium, bloggers are special.

Who's the very best blogger on the planet right now -- and why?

Tough question as there really isn't one blogosphere, there are several. For example, bloggers in the political blogosphere essentially have zero contact with bloggers in the technical blogosphere.

But I'll vote for Seth Godin, a controversial choice as he doesn't allow comments, although he allows feedback via trackbacks and even answers all his email. Why Seth? Although not everyone is interested in his topic, marketing, everyone buys stuff and can relate to his messages. He's also a superb writer and very engaging.

You're a top blog consultant and author. So I've gotta ask: What sucks about the Freaking Marketing blog?

One obvious thing stands out -- some of your headlines suck! They're cute instead of being descriptive and keyword rich. For example, "Not-So-Beautiful Marketing Minds" should be something closer to "Creativity in Advertising Doesn't Matter?" -- your subhead.

Search engines pay a lot of attention to the titles, and probably aren't sending you people looking for content on "creativity" and "advertising." It's a great post and many people who could benefit from it are less likely to find it. Hard to believe I can offer you any advice on headlines!

Your blog is great -- I read it regularly. Your writing is engaging and interesting. If you linked to others' posts more often and commented on them, you'd probably get more traffic too.

What advice would you give someone thinking of starting a blog?

Spend some time reading blogs first. Do some planning -- have at least a rough purpose in mind, then just dive in.

We're both adoptive parents. Is adoption a beautiful thing or what?

Absolutely! There are so many children out there that need a home, and so many homes that need a child.