MLB Commissioner Apologizes for “Disrespectful” Comments
Controversy has been building in Major League Baseball for some time now, ever since the Houston Astros cheating scandal erupted, calling into question many things, including the legitimacy of recent playoff and World Series wins. Fans remain disgruntled and players have begun speaking out. It could have been an opportunity to reset and redirect the narrative but, instead, the MLB Commissioner made it worse. While addressing concerns about the “tainted” World Series win in a lengthy interview on ESPN, Rob Manfred called the World Series trophy – the top team award in all of baseball – a “piece of metal.” Players and fans, already upset, absolutely exploded. Twitter went toxic immediately, and countless baseball fans were calling for Manfred to…
Read MorePlayers Respond to Cheating Scandal
Ask the average baseball fan these days about the Houston Astros and, if they’re not in east Texas, expect a less than cordial response. Ask sports media, and many would say the 2017 World Series champions should be stripped of their title, because they effectively broke baseball, and those are the comments that are fit to print. Others are being more direct and less tactful. Yankees superstar Giancarlo Stanton said if he was cheating like the Astros he “probably would have hit 80-plus home runs.” Stanton, along with his New York teammate Aaron Judge have been very vocal about their belief that the Astros should have their title rescinded, adding that he, like Judge, believes the cheating continued well into…
Read MoreRonn Torossian Appointed Chairman of American Friends of Duvdevan
Public Relations executive, entrepreneur, philanthropist Ronn Torossian has been appointed Chairman of American Friends of Duvdevan, a 501 c3 charity. The organization supports the soldiers of the Duvdevan unit of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), a mista’arvim (counter-terrorism) special-forces unit. Fauda, the Netflix show is based upon this unit. “These heroic soldiers protect Israel and keep the country safe. Duvdevan has previously been described by Prime Minister Netanyahu as having the most significant effect on the war on terror. This charity helps the soldiers of this unit who make such an enormous contribution and sacrifice,” explained Ronn Torossian. American Friends of Duvdevan – the American arm of the Duvdevan Foundation in Israel – supports Duvdevan soldiers and graduates. The unit specializes in urban anti terrorist warfare…
Read MoreThe Undeniable Power of Video Marketing
Someone once said “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Somewhere along the line, a videographer or director responded, “Then what’s a video worth?” Turns out, quite a lot. Video marketing has seen a significant increase in interest in recent years, and, looking at the statistics, it’s no wonder why some are calling video marketing the most important trend in marketing and advertising today. Just how powerful and pervasive is video marketing? According to recent studies, more than 70 percent of all consumers surveyed said they have shared a brand’s video, and nearly three out of four businesses say adding a video component to their content increased their conversion rate. More than half of the consumers surveyed say that being…
Read MoreDigital Marketing with a Brick and Mortar Experience
Marketing, like all endeavors, evolves over time. The mom and pop stores and the Sears catalog gave way to downtown shopping districts and, later, shopping malls. Many brands adapted, transitioning from small footprints and mail order, to large showcase stores. Then came big box outlets, a discount version of mall department stores where you could buy just about anything. In the early 2000s, as more consumers logged onto the internet and stayed, retailers and marketers saw something new coming over the horizon, but it would have to be built largely from scratch. Consumers would need to be taught how to search for what they wanted and how to use the software that allowed them to buy those products and services.…
Read MoreVital Elements of Marketing Orientation
“Who is the customer,” and “what do they want?” Boil all the jargon and these are the two most vital questions every marketer needs to answer. The process of finding the answers to these questions is called marketing orientation. The point of this process is to develop a strategy that places the brand in a better position to find the right customers, connect with those customers, and meet their needs. Four vital elements of this process are identification, explanation, assimilation, and direction. Identification This is the step during which stakeholders within the business or brand identify and clearly define the challenge the brand is facing. Examples might include, shifting consumer tastes, changing trends, new competition, market confusion, growth problems, disconnection,…
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Social Media Marketing Keeps Climbing
The popularity of social media for marketing continues to soar. It’s still important, nonetheless, to monitor it because some of the favorites keeps changing. Video Is Big As mentioned in earlier articles, video is a key choice these days. Not only does it help tell a story but it’s also useful in teaching and explaining things. YouTube was one of the first to recognize the power of video in 2008. Facebook jumped in in 2016 and Instagram was one of the most recent platforms to do so. According to the Pew Research Center, 73% of Americans currently use YouTube and 68% Facebook. A study by Brandlive, a video platform training company, reported that 95% of marketers surveyed will be…
Read MoreHow Influencers Build Community and Drive Sales
Social media influencers are an important part of a digital marketing plan. Given the metrics and statistics, that statement should no longer be considered controversial. The plain fact is, influencers have become a valuable part of most successful digital marketing campaigns. The reason for this is simple: Influencers build community, drive engagement, and create sales. That much is self-evident. What’s not so self-evident is why this happens and what digital marketers should do to encourage more of it happening to the brands they represent. One of the first – and biggest – reasons for the success of social media influencers is the trust they’ve established with their audiences. Fans and followers value their opinions while also seeing influencers, in many…
Read MoreGetting The Most out of Influencer Marketing Campaigns
Influencer marketing continues to grow in popularity as its effectiveness is proven, time and time again. The number of personalities working as influencers continues to increase, offering smart marketers real-life and real-time examples of what to do and what not to do when attempting to employ influencers in marketing campaigns. Here are some of the best practices marketers and brand managers should use to get the most out of their influencer marketing campaigns. Consider Clout, Not Just Numbers The key to success with most influencers is finding the right niche. Going off the number of followers or scope of influence alone does not necessarily guarantee results. The most important metric for influencers is, indeed, influence. How well and how often…
Read MoreHow Digital Marketing Strategy Creates Consumer Engagement
As social media and Amazon searches continue to consume more market share, consumer shopping and buying habits are shifting right along with this trend. This is leading to a more fragmented marketplace, with people breaking into – and increasingly looking for – specific niches, rather than mass marketing products. Because of this, brand managers need to reconsider what they’re doing about digital marketing in order to better engage with today’s consumer. Developing a new and dedicated digital marketing campaign is a must for any marketer interested in maintaining or building their customer base as consumer habits continue to shift. Here are a few reasons why this is important: Digital Marketing Reveals Customers Getting to know a customer really is and…
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