Blog o' RAMA

Marketing to the Red Bull Generation

RAMA offered the local Rochester community an outstanding presentation on Thursday of last week [Sept 15th]. We were fortunate to have John Geraci of Harris Interactive speak on "Marketing to the Red Bull Generation."

This insight into the next generation -- beyond the popular Gen X crowd -- was a true eye-opener. John was both entertaining and informative. With a capacity crowd at Mario's -- Rochester's premier Italian restaurant -- the good food and great conversation, coupled with John's presentation made the hour and a half fly by.

We look forward to many more exciting presentations, with local professionals, national speakers, marketing experts, authors, and more. We welcome input from the local community so please feel free to comment on topics you would like to see addresssed at a RAMA event.

Join RAMA and PRSA on October 6th 2005 for a luncheon seminar on : Evolution of the Brand: Striving to Meet Society's Expectations in a Controversial Industry.  Our guest speaker, David Sylvia, Director of Communications for Phillip Morris USA, will speak about the lessons his company learned from falling out of step with society and what actions his company is taking to market it's product responsibly. Visit the RAMA website to register.

Blogs and Marketing: A Match Made in Heaven

While many people still give blogs a sidelong glance -- not sure what they are or if they're worth the time and energy they take to maintain -- the business world is fast becoming blog-educated.

Blogs, or web-logs, for those who find the term 'blog' to be too ugly, are slowly being recognized as great marketing tools for small businesses. Actually, blogs are great marketing tools for all businesses, but for small and mid-sized businesses this new form of community building can be a true cost-effective marketing tool.

How? That's the 64,000 dollar question. Everyone remember that old show from the early 20th century? Very similar to today's show on ABC-TV, Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Contestants are asked a series of questions, each one more difficult than the one before, and each one worth more prize money.

For our purposes, the 64,000 dollar question is: how does a small company use a blog as a cost-effective marketing tool? We hope to answer that question on this blog, over time. Other questions will, no doubt, arise, and we will tackle them, also. One way to begin is by checking out Susannah Gardner's book, Buzz Marketing with Blogs for Dummies.

This blog supports the local Rochester, NY chapter of the American Marketing Association. We hope to reach out to the entire Upstate NY region, including Syracuse, Buffalo, Ithaca, and all the small towns in-between. We invite visitors to write to us, post comments, and visit weekly for event updates. We will be providing more About Us information in the weeks to come, and adding board members' logos and contact information.

Marketing, in and of itself, is anything but a solitary task. It's a collective endeavor. Blog O'Rama embraces the community aspect of marketing. The people part of it. The conversation. The creativity. Join us in uncovering new ways to market to your community.