Super Ads - What You Can Learn From This Year's Super Bowl Commercials

Not only is the Super Bowl the championship game between the top NFL teams; it is also the championship of advertising. It's the big leagues of the ad world. It's the event that allows every advertising agency, Fortune 500 company and ambitious (and well-financed) start-up to strut their stuff on a national scale, to compete for the minds of tens of millions of viewers. Many people even consider the commercials the best part of the Super Bowl.

Less is More - Simplicity is Key for Effective Marketing

The accepted truth in landing page design is that simplicity is the best practice. One theme, a concise message, a clear call to action. Many experts even say that all links to other pages on your site should be removed from landing pages. Essentially, you want to eliminate all distractions so you can dictate exactly what your site visitor focuses on.

Top 7 Marketing Blogs You Should Be Reading

I was originally going to compile a standard "top 10" list of marketing blogs, but when I started writing down my favorite blogs, I only came up with seven. I decided that I didn't want to water down my list with other blogs that I don't actively read, as I felt this would be disingenuous and would reduce the overall value of the post. Here are the blogs that made the cut:

1. Seth Godin - Seth Godin is something of a legend in the marketing world. Bestselling author of over a dozen books, he offers consistently insightful posts.
2. UnMarketing - Author of one of my favorite marketing 2.0 books (also titled "UnMarketing"), Scott Stratten writes about how to engage your customers and potential customers instead of marketing to them (hence the name "UnMarketing").
3. Copyblogger - This blog focuses on the content side of marketing, namely blogging and copywriting.
4. Brian Solis - Brian Solis provides analysis of the new media landscape and recommendations on how your business can succeed in it.
5. Chris Brogan - A great source for social media marketing insight.
6. {Grow} - Mark Schaeffer writes about how to grow your business using social media, blogging and other marketing channels.
7. Danny Brown - Another great source for marketing 2.0 information.

Going Viral

These days, every marketer's goal is to have their campaign "go viral". The concept of viral marketing essentially refers to word-of-mouth buzz that reaches a tipping point, creating a wave of attention for a company. Word-of-mouth marketing is not new, but it has become much more measurable in the days of social media and thus a more attainable goal.

The Curse of Knowledge

One of the toughest obstacles to effective communication, whether writing or speaking, is connecting to your audience. Many experts will tell you that the key to this connection is to place yourself in the mindset of the audience. The problem with this solution is that once you've become an expert at something, it's hard to put yourself in the shoes of someone who doesn't have your knowledge. To put it simply, when you know something, it becomes difficult to imagine not knowing it. Coined the "curse of knowledge" in a 1989 paper in The Journal of Political Economy, this concept is essential to those in the business world, especially marketing professionals, since it directly influences the way you convey your product, service or idea to the masses. Basically, it is a lot more difficult to put things in "layman's terms" than one might think.

Guy Kawasaki's "Rules for Revolutionaries" - Key Takeaways

I just finished Guy Kawasaki's book "Rules for Revolutionaries: The Capitalist Manifesto for Creating and Marketing New Products and Services" and thought I would share some of the key takeaways with you here. Kawasaki is the former "Chief Evangelist" at Apple and is also the co-founder of Alltop.com and founding partner at Garage Technology Ventures, so he has plenty of real world experience from which to draw his insights.

Become An Expert

Trust is a central factor when considering where to buy a product or service, especially with large purchase decisions. When you are in need of a product or service, you first think of anyone you know who offers the service, then you probably ask your friends or family for recommendations. A referral from a friend gives instant credibility to a product or service and the trust inherent in this credibility is what makes a referral so powerful. However, in many cases, your circle of friends might not have a suggestion for you. In these instances, you probably target the first brand that comes to mind. Most likely, you give added weight to any service providers or sales reps who you view as experts in their field since this label of "expert" brings with it a level of trust.