Brands

Strategist Six: This Week’s Must-Read Stories, Like NFL Hipster Logos

You know what I did last Saturday? I stayed up until 2 AM reading articles about offensive internet memes from the web 1.0, like Gawker’s brilliant piece on “Finding Goatse.(Don’t click the Goatse link at work — or ever, really).

Apparently, I was really desperate for geek overload. And clearly, my social life needs some work. Here’s what I should have been reading instead:

1. Advice for Marketers (Digiday)

Social media managers, beware: @Fart is your worst nightmare. The jokester behind the handle — Jon Hendren –This guy is part of a group of Twitter comedians (referred to as Weird Twitter) that brilliantly troll brands. He has some on-point insights into what brands are doing wrong on the platform.

2. Inside Hearst’s Native Ad Strategy (Digiday)

Are the barriers between editorial and advertising crumbling? Hearst recently launched content ad campaigns for Lancôme on MarieClaire.com that features Pinterest-like ads that take the form of interactive image displays, skin care tips, and blog content. Digiday investigates.

3.Your Favorite NFL Logos as Hipsters (FastCoCreate)

Content marketers face a common challenge: making age-old branding culturally relevant. That’s why you need to check out these NFL logos reimagined as hipsters. They’re genius.

4. The CMO Is Evolving Into New Species With Vastly Broader Range (AdAge)

Old-school marketing execs are on the way out. Today’s top CMOs are tactical, quantitative, and creative. They’re entrepreneurial, willing to test new waters, and understand how to blend media disciplines between offline and digital spaces. Let’s hope that propels the kind of marketing innovation we’ve all been waiting for.

5. Stop Trying to Predict Which New Products Will Succeed (HBR)

The same holds true for your company’s content strategy. Branded content is, essentially, a product. While you can optimize the potential for success, you can’t necessarily predict it. Don’t worry. It’s all about testing the waters, and this blog post will help you figure out the best approach.

6. 9 Ways to Grow Your Twitter Followers Ethically (The Next Web)

If you’re thinking about buying Twitter followers, put down that mouse and slowly step away from the computer. It’s crazy talk and a vanity move. These 9 tips will help you build your following ethically. Content, of course, will help.

If you’re hungry for more, rest assured that we’ll be back. See you next week for six more awesome stories (and hopefully, a story about how I hung out with real people instead of internet memes).

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Image by Leo Reynolds / Flickr.com

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