Measuring a successful viral marketing campaign can be difficult, especially for Challenger Brands, because viral marketing is a whole other breed of animal. When we analyze viral campaigns, we break them into three distinct phases:

It’s not news that Google is constantly tweaking its ranking algorithm. But, from time to time, the search engine giant does a full-scale overhaul, the latest being the Panda Update.

If your website still looks and acts like an online brochure, then chances are you’re not maximizing one of the greatest marketing opportunities available to your organization. Website strategies have changed dramatically over the past year or so. It’s no longer a programming exercise, but a strategic marketing exercise. Understanding these new rules can make the difference between having a good website and a great website.

Lead generation is a critical component to all Challenger Brand marketing strategies. But which strategies and tactics are most effective for Challenger Brands to attract customers? The following are some guidelines from our Challenger Brand Lead generation process.

Having a marketing program that includes interactive strategies is critical for today’s marketers. As such, your goal should be to try to convert your marketing monologue into a marketing dialogue whenever possible. One of the most cost-effective ways to make this happen is through a blog.

We are huge believers in creating integrated marketing programs, simply because they work. A very important component of almost every one of these programs is email marketing. The reason is simple: email marketing is cost effective, is extremely targeted and delivers trackable results.

Newsletters are a very effective marketing tactic. Whether you distribute them electronically, traditionally, or both, done right they can be extremely effective. Unfortunately, most companies don’t understand how to create powerful newsletter content that gets read versus content that ends up in the circular file.

Consider the following five recommendations:

Social marketing is hard to ignore as it steadily gains popularity as an effective marketing tool. According to Forrester Research, 75% of Internet users participate in some form of social media, up from 56% in 2007. Now that’s the kind of fast-track mainstream adoption you can watch from the sidelines or you can choose to get in on.

As we start a new year, not only is it an ideal time to reflect back on our marketing successes (and failures), but it’s also the time to use that knowledge to help guide you through the uncertainty of 2009.

As consumers, we have always relied on referrals—or warnings—from family and friends for everything from the best hotels and restaurants to accounting firms and ad agencies. But as conventional media becomes more fragmented, more and more marketers are trying to capture the power of a good referral.