Eight of the Top 10 circulating magazines in the U.K. are now “customer magazines.” This means that in the country that brought us William Caxton and the first commercial printing press, 80% of the most popular magazine titles are being published by consumer brands—not traditional magazine publishers.
So the quadrennial world watercooler fest is over, and some of us reluctantly refocus on ongoing summer baseball, cycling, NFL exhibition games, hot dog eating and Polanski-berating contests as a poor substitute for the passion, the emotional highs and lows, and the sheer, shimmering spectacle that the last month in South Africa brought us.
The 2010 annual customer service champs list in BusinessWeek was published recently, and it's similar this year to last, with the notable exception of the entry of L.L.Bean at No. 1. It says a lot for the changing nature of our customer relationships as consumers that e-commerce and online businesses rank so prominently in this list. Amazon.com, Zappos, Apple, USAA and, of course, L.L.Bean are all brands with minimal or limited retail presence.
SEO, SEM . . . It seems a sepia-tinted age ago that every marketing conversation did not include the 'S'-for-Search word. We are guilty as charged here in Greensboro Central, too. So, it gives me pleasure to reproduce a recent post from my friend Rob Norman, North American CEO of Group M. Rob’s blog is an enlightening and entertaining place to stop by. Here, he introduces a note of caution for marketers seeking what might be best described as SHG (Search Holy Grail).
Actually, it’s the Custom Content Council. I omitted the word “Custom” because the title without it sounded like a good band name—like the Style Council—only with substance!
In the late 1990s, our office was full of writers and “technical” guys (I don’t think we had adopted the word “developer” at that point), feverishly writing screeds of copy for new Web projects demanded by our clients who were busily jumping into the brave new Internet world. It’s interesting to recall because at the time—like social media now—no rules were set and everyone was following their best instincts to explore the new medium.
We have been luxuriating in the warm glow that surrounds achieving success at a major industry event. On the custom content side of the business that time comes around each November when the Pearl Awards—hosted and sponsored by the Custom Publishing Council—are announced. When I worked in the ad business there was always much angst about these types of awards—which are variously seen as “great for clients,” ”great for the agency,” “self-serving,” “a great vindication of our work,” “a waste of time” or “a great morale booster.”
Craig Waller
Craig is one of our chiefs…
Latest Posts
- Shopper Marketing Strategy Promises to Boost Grocery Aisle Purchases
- The Future of Magazines (through a Custom Content Lens)
- Men’s Health Website Review
- The UK Loses The Ryder Cup of Grocery Store Social Media Marketing
- Custom Content Grocery Marketing Propels Growth of National & Specialty Chain Brands
- « Back to Blog Posts