Thursday, February 3, 2011

Response to Abby Hajec I-Phone Post

Abby talked about how the I-Phone was taking over the market with its reasonable price, great service, and great apps. I agreed with some of what Abby said. She was right when she said Apple has a great marketing model. I disagree with some one the things she pointed out though. I have a HTC Android phone ran by Google and i find it to have the same, or even more features then an I Phone at a much better price. An Apple I Phone will cost you around $350 while an android phone will probably cost you $100 less. Both phones have similar apps yet you can buy an android phone on an carrier for less money with the same features, so why does the I Phone out sell them all? The answer is popularity. It is way cooler to have an I Phone then anything else. Apples marketing strategy has put them in a place not a lot of companies are in. Apple is the coolest thing you can have. People fight over new releases of I Pods, I Pads, and I Phones. Verizon just can out with the I Phone today on their network and already there are talks of shortages of phones. It is not because they are superior phones but because they have carved their way into the worlds top products list. If you say apple I Phone probably everyone in the world knows what you talking about and that is one place where most companies want to be. Apple is there.  

Tuesday, February 1, 2011

5 Deadly Sins of Presentations

I read this article on Marketing Today about the 5 Deadly Sins of Presentations. There is no doubt that if you have anything to do with marketing you are going to have to make a few presentations in you're life to get you're idea or product across. This article went over 5 sins of presentations you should never do. I'm going to list the 5 sins and then give my own idea about them.

1. Don't rely on bullet points- This is probably one of the biggest ones. I think if you just read off a screen you're just showing the people you're talking to that you know absolutely nothing about what you're talking about. If you have a presentation with bullet points you should make them only a few words. Just put the main points on the screen with a nice clean look and it will bring you a lot father then a busy screen. If you can try to stay away from power points, think outside the box.

2. Don't make the presentation relentlessly sober- This means don't make it boring. Who wants to sit through something they know is just going to be the most boring 30 minuets they ever had to live through. I worked at a huge company for an internship during my junior year of college. I sat through plenty of boring presentations that i forgot as soon as i walked out the door. If you're trying to capture attention and make people remember what you're talking about MAKE IT EXCITING. Make jokes, play videos, don't be afraid to look outside the box. Chart after chart after chart is not going to get people to remember you're idea. Shake it up a little bit, don't be afraid.

3. Don't showcase the self-evident- Don't state the obvious. People don't care if you can remember some facts that everyone already knows and just recite them in front of them like some fifth grade presentation. Make sure you have something new an exciting to say if you want to catch attentions. Try to look at things in a new light, in other words, don't be as obvious as this article. =)

4. Don't use clashing graphics- This kind of goes along with the first point. Try not to make you're presentations all messy with images and words. It's hard to listen to what you're saying if you can't keep you're eye off the the bright flashing lights and colors coming off the screen. If you really want to get people to pay attention try something new and exciting that no one has seen before. Think outside the box.

5. Don't forget to proof read it- I know i said the first one was probably the most important, well this one is the most important. Not to say that I'm great at spelling because I'm not. In these busy times who has time to worry about spelling and looking up in the dictionary how to spell things, there is just not enough time in the day. Oh, wait, this isn't 1979. There is a thing called SPELL CHECK. There is no reason not to hit F7 at the end of you're presentation to make sure everything is in order. Just a quick read through and you should be good. If you're presentation is filled with errors no one will give you the time of day.

What do you think are the biggest sins of presentations?