Gold and Black
Originally uploaded by Little Egret

As I’ve mentioned before, Todd’s Power 150 is published by the US based Advertising Age and ranks the top English-language media and marketing blogs in the world.

Thanks to fellow blogger – Corporate Engagement. Here are the leading Australian bloggers on the list: #5 Problogger; # 63 Bannerblog; # 98 Servant of Chaos; # 104 Duncan’s TV ad land; # 175 YoungPR; # 206 Get Shouty; # 224 Better Communication Results; # 353 Media Hunter;
# 355 Corporate Engagement; # 397 The Marketer; # 408 PR Disasters; # 477 ineedhits Search Marketing Blog; # 534 Ryan’s view; # 546 Insight; and # 579 The Jason Recliner.

All those blogs above me…I’m coming for you and those below – eat my dirt baby!

Red rose on black
Originally uploaded by Erling Steen

Is this the start of the end of Australia’s marketing neo-con’s?

I am calling the current crop of Australian Marketing Institute senior management & executives and the majority of nominated officials as marketing neo-conservative, lacking in ideas and having a marketing ideology that is way out of date.

Today, marketing is all about companies being inclusive, collaborating and interacting with communities. In the case of the Australian Marketing Institute, communities are its members, recruiters, governments and the media, all of which our neo-con’s ignore.

Yes…we have a few events and a couple of awards, but are they recognised in our wider community as important? The answer has to be…NO!

One of my main criticism’s of the Australian Marketing Institute is its focus on the Marketing Metrics Project that began in early 2003. According to the Institute’s own website, the Institute’s professional development committee (who are these guys…I’ve never heard of them) decided that this project would encourage more widespread adoption of the Certified Practising Marketer (CPM) progamme and build its status.

Even if it has caused a slight increase in CPM uptake, it was a tremendous waste of the Institutes resources for very little return for members. The Institute has invested five years worth of effort, money, human resources and media time, plus many more years to come in overtly flogging a dead horse.

Don’t get me wrong – the Marketing Metrics has produced ground breaking work – if you are an academic.

As a Institute member, I believe it has been counter-productive to the aims of the Institutes brief: has the Marketing Metrics Project increased the status of the Institute and the CPM program? Again, Yes a few more members have joined the CPM programme, but there hasn’t been a wide uptake of the marketing metric by the corporate world and you don’t see recruitment agents headhunting marketers with a CPM under their belt.

Even as we speak, neo-con CEO Mark Crow is on another resource wasting crusade. This time to build bridges between commercial practice and academia. Recently creating another special committee of unelected neo-cons with the propose of producing graduates competent to practice effectively in Australia and overseas.

I think it is important for the modern marketer among us to start thinking of breaking with the Institutes past and looking to the future such as being more open and inclusive, attracting the brightest to the exciting world of marketing.

I see the need to place a greater emphasis on promoting marketing and marketers to the corporate world, how ever small the business. Lead by example and greater consultation and co-operation with government and other industry organisations such as the Australian Institute of Directors and Australian Business Limited.

The Institute’s Neo-con’s are not going to roll over quietly, but if you want to help a group of leading marketers to change the Institute, please email me with your name.

Here’s a few questions I’d like the Institute’s neo-con leaders to answer:

1. What is the vision for the Australian Marketing Institute?
2. Has the Australian Marketing Institute any measurable business objectives? And what are they?
3. How many marketers are currently registered with the Australian Marketing Institute? And what has been the growth rate over the last five years?
4. How many marketers are living, working and under training in Australia? Or simply put…what’s the market size?
5. How does the Australian Marketing Institute segment the marketing profession?  Meaning…who’s the Institute’s real target audience?
6. What percentage of Australian Marketing Institute members attend AMI events?
7. What percentage of marketers living, working and training in Australia are current members of the Australian Marketing Institute?
8. What is the Australian Marketing Institute retention rate?
9. What percentage of marketers living, working and training in Australia are aware of the Australian Marketing Institute’s CPM Programme?
10. What percentage of recruiters in Australia are aware of the CPM programme?
11. What promotional activities does the Australian Marketing Institute undertake to promote members and the CPM programme to corporates?
12. After spending valuable resources in developing the ground braking Marketing Metric’s project – How many Australian companies are currently using or implementing the Institute’ marketing metric’s?
13. What percentage of the National Board have director qualifications or currently undertaking director training?
14. Does the Australian Marketing Institute measure the performance of its National Board of Directors, State Councillors and Advisory Board members?

If you would like more information our campaign and email updates, send your name to me

I don’t know where to start with this blog. My blogging mate Mathew Packer told me…warned me…& F@#K he was right.

It’s a great provocative blog…I like her style.

Have a look at Young Machete Mafia >>>>>

Welcome Beau Busy to the blogosphere.

Its taken me over 18 months to identify 20 viable blogs in the Hunter Valley…but this week alone I’ve notice two new start-up blogs.

Does this mean the people of Newcastle and the Hunter Valley are suddenly buying into the whole blogging phenomenon?

Well, less of me and allow me to introduce you to Beau Busy. What’s it all about…well Carlee Potter is a journalist, presenter and former radio announcer, she is creeping toward 30… and it’s nothing like she imagined it would be. And Carlee wants to tell you all about it.

Please checkout Carlee’s blog site and have a chat.

Brand Tags – Google
Originally uploaded by Darlene Fichter

Brand perception is so important for a company especially now with the emergence of social networking.

This new media is normally written up in the press as the perfect tool for brand managers to develop an online buzz and brand advocates – what is not explain is how to manage your brands online reputation and identify any gaps in perception.

So, I found a great tool to help you understand how perception may not be what you think, go and visit a site by a guy called Noah Brier.

It’s a simple keyword cloud know by most bloggers, but he’s cleverly turned it into a powerful tool to gauge brand perception.

Its called Brand Tags and his words its a collective experiment in brand perception. The basic idea of this site is that a brand exists entirely in people’s heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is. 840,000+ tags and counting.

What happens is that a logo is shown and you have to writedown the first thing that pops into your head?

Then you visit the results page to see what others have said about brand tags.

All I want to know is – how can I get one?

Its here…hosted by Wil Anderson – The Gruen Transfer.

It promises to be a fast, funny show about advertising, how it works, and how it works on us.

A panel of ad industry brains will attempt to decode TV commercials. God help them.

And there’s more. It has a segment called ‘The Pitch’, where competing agencies fulfill an impossible brief. Where will they put their egos?

The show is on Wednesday nights at 9pm – don’t miss it.

I just can’t wait and maybe one day they ask me to join their panel.

Che Guevara logo
Originally uploaded by Rage of Reason

Reading Phil Gould’s article in The SUN HERALD titled ‘Time to get brutal: we need radical change to save game’ prompt me to think about the state of the Australian Marketing Institute (AMI).

Phil’s article talks about regaining ownership of rugby league from the current administration that is presiding over the slow decay of Australian rugby league.

Well, I not saying that marketing as a profession is slowly decaying, but we do have some remarkedly similar issues with our professional body.

Under the current Institute administrative structure, our state councils neither carry authority nor freedom to make important decisions. Our NSW State Council and full AMI Board seemingly have no direction or vision for the future.

So, where is the AMI going as a brand? As a member, I don’t know.

Institute Chairman Roger James in May’s Marketing Update discusses how the Institutes good relationships with overseas marketing bodies are benefiting members. Truly…thats nice! Did he receive any frequent flyers?

CEO Mark Crowe in the same issue reports on progress in the Institutes proposed accreditation system for tertiary marketing courses and outlines a timeline for implementation. Wow that is truly great…I’m so underwhelmed with this totally useless and irrelevant initiative for current highly qualified members!

Year after year the Institutes management and board deliver us warm and fuzzy press releases suggesting the Institute is in great shape. They tell us that membership is up, more member benefits and increase revenue. Give me facts and figures…not fuzzy words.

Read the rest of this entry »

Al and Laura Ries are icons in the world of marketing.

There latest insightful video titled ‘Birth of a Medium’ tackles the Internet. Well presented, Al talks about mistakes already made and the possible future direction and use of this still new medium.

Please enjoy:)

The Book That Never Ends
Originally uploaded by Al-Ajeel

In my line of business you have to talk the interactive talk….but it can be very hard sometimes.

Marketers and corporate executives are continually bombarded with new terms and abbreviations all the time, its not just from the interactive world.

Many a time I see my friends eyes roll as I jump into the new interactive media language. They just smile and nod hoping that I’ll stop and speak english again.

So to help my friends, I’d like to introduce a great document published by the Interactive Advertising Bureau for people new to the industry or just looking for a reference. Please download or visit their site for good stuff – Download interactive-glossary.pdf