The past decade saw a seismic shift in marketing communications as blogs, podcasts, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter led the media evolution. It’s an exciting time. Yet, with this cool evolution the focus on a clear, compelling company or product message has often been devalued. In many cases the over-reliance on media and technology has shifted the focus away from the resolving the key (and usually tough) marketing issues necessary for growing a successful business.

The most successful companies and organizations (Apple, Google, Team Obama, etc) work with top, independent marketing firms and experts to help them develop and maintain a strong brand message realizing that the media and technology is only a tool to help them get their message out.

More

If you’ve ever wondered about that old adage that “any press is good press,” go ask Tiger Woods, his sponsors, or Toyota, and I’m sure they’ll give you an answer.

In her Feb 8, Mediaweek article, “The Marketing Grades for 2009: The recession was a brutal test for brands last year. A recap of a few who managed to get an A“, Lerzan Aksoy, Marketing Professor at  Fordham U. reveals the strategy behind Walmart’s success:

“…the company that led the pack was Walmart, and it did so with strategy that was counterintuitive for these times. The Bentonville behemoth increased its advertising spending this year by $300 million, which added to its success as a low-cost leader and disproved the axiom that the first thing that should go during a recession is advertising. Walmart demonstrated that increasing advertising during lean times — even, or perhaps especially, when the competition is cutting back — can improve market share and return on investment.”