If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed or you can leave me a message HERE. Don't forget to leave a comment. I allow Do Follow so you get a link back. Thanks for visiting!

Just the other day I noticed Starbucks had started a new promotion, the Starbucks Gold Card. Although, it is not quite like the Centurion Black Card, it is on the right track. If you have seen this card or have purchased one, let me know your thoughts about the promotion. Do you like it or dislike it? Are you interested in getting one? Play the video below to hear my thoughts on the Starbucks Gold Card.

Starbucks new Gold Card marketing strategy 

Click the pictures below to view the larger version

Outside of the Starbucks Gold Card Brochure

Inside of the Starbucks Gold Card Brochure

For those that don’t know what PWNED is, here is the definition courtesy of Wikipedia:

It is the political season and things are heating up everywhere. For the bulk of my readers, it is probably unknown that I graduated with a BS in Political Science, BS seems so fitting. Regardless, this time of season when the gloves come off and candidates at every level start taking swings at each other, I can’t help but laugh.

For the record, I support neither John McCain or Barack Obama and don’t feel any real change will occur under either of their administrations. Without digressing too much, I can’t help but tie in political shenanigans with marketing. After all, these people are trying to mold your perception to further their cause. I can only hope that you vote by their actions and not by what they say.

Then I came across the Keating Ecomics sponsored by the Barack Obama campaign. It is a cleverly put together site that includes a documentary type video basically pointing out that John McCain doesn’t know economics and is a dirt bag.

I think this whole site, video and information was extremely well put together and orchestrated with excellent marketing strategy. Not to mention is less than 24 hours since launch, the video is fastly approaching 1,000,000 views on YouTube. They went to great lengths to ensure the proper message was delivered in order to shape your opinion of John McCain.

I don’t think this will be shaping the masses of Baby Boomers but for the generation of Internet Dwellers this video can sure gain some legs. Well-executed videos and messages at just the right time tend to go viral and spread like wildfire.

I have no doubt that the campaign spent a lot of time, money and energy to see the success of this video and making sure it goes viral. I believe it already has and will only gain steam the more people talk about it. It will be interesting to see how the McCain camp responds. I truly believe this election will be decided by the college-aged voters (if they come out to vote).

What are your thoughts about this video and the upcoming elections?

Here is a compiled list of recent Marketing Ideas for many different occasions starting with the newest Marketing Idea.

Marketing Ideas #13 Black Friday Sale - It’s not so much that a bunch of stores are having a big sale before the holidays but rather the name that accompanies the sale. Black Friday Sale, where did that even come from to begin with? Let’s take a great holiday time and cover it with the sale to end all sales.

Marketing Ideas #12 Be Creative - Thanks to Dosh Dosh on twitter I found this ad talking about a Nissan Xterra for sale. This is an ad from Craigslist where some guy is trying to sell his Nissan Xterra SUV. In a market where SUV’s and fuel mileage are things to consider he chose to tell a story.

Marketing Ideas #11 Creative Advertisement - Nothing is better than an ad that makes people stop and stare. Especially, when the people know that what they are seeing is in fact an ad yet they continue to look on anyway. Here is a quick and powerful video that an Italian company did to advertise for Oreo.

Marketing Ideas #10 Burger King dropping money - Most of the contents inside are gift certificates to their restaurant but who knows maybe someone got adventurous and added some real cash. As far as we can tell they are being dropped in and around the Chicago area, but that doesn’t mean it cant happen where you are.

Marketing Ideas #9 Listen to Marketers - Just when you thought someone would never compare Google Analytics to Star Trek, I found this. I would never consider myself a Trekkie, but this is a neat presentation. Information is key on the Internet, and the more you know the better you can market yourself or your product.

Marketing Ideas #8 Marketing Video Tips - I believe videos will continue to gain major ground as Internet speeds increase and more people figure out how to upload their videos easily to sites like YouTube. With that in mind, here is a good tip for marketing your videos:

Marketing Ideas #7 Marketing Videos - Couple of good marketing videos that every marketer should check out.

Marketing Ideas #6 Cell Phone Videos - Cell phones are a huge business to be in, and as technology improves the business will only get bigger and bigger. I am surprised some industrious people in big marketing companies haven’t figured out a way to give cell phones away for free. I mean all you would have to do is enable advertising on them so anytime they sent a text, surfed the web or received incoming calls there would be an ad attached to it.

Marketing Ideas #5 Cut Prices - I find it amazing how well cutting prices works to lure people into a store. The problem with the price cut war is eventually everyone gets in on it and those that don’t cut prices get cut out by the customers. This year retailers have cut prices quick and early to attract customers into their stores.

Marketing Ideas #4 Do a guest post - Guest posts are a great way to introduce yourself or your product to a new audience. I believe any time someone asks if you are willing to do a guest post, you should jump at the chance. Yesterday, I did a guest post for Eric on Marketing.fm. If you would like to hear me talk about Social Network management you can head on over and check it out.

Marketing Ideas #3 telephone conference series - One realm I have never ventured into is that of a telephone conference series or packaging a product on mp3 or DVD. I have seen the effectiveness of marketing via these methods and the ability to upsale people on bigger and better versions of the same series later on consultant fees.

Marketing Ideas #2 Black Friday “Free treats for all” - As black Friday and the mad shopping spree from Thanksgiving to Christmas approaches, stores are getting desperate. The more desperate they get, the better deals you will find. Already, I have seen sites posting stores like Best Buy and JC Penny’s with Black Friday sales coupons. You can always visit BlackFriday.info to find the best collection of coupons.

Marketing Ideas #1 Thanksgiving Game - Sometimes the turkey just isn’t ready. Now, instead of awkwardly looking at all your family and extended family members you can pass that time with a new Thanksgiving Game.

Thanksgiving Marketing Ideas for your business - “Taking advantage of targeted advertising next to online recipes for holiday favorites is a great way to get your brand at the top of every shopper’s grocery list this year. When a consumer goes online to look up recipes on how to roast their Thanksgiving turkey, will they be thinking Butterball, Norbest or Honeysuckle White?

Starbucks new Gold Card marketing strategy - Just the other day I noticed Starbucks had started a new promotion, the Starbucks Gold Card. Although, it is not quite like the Centurion Black Card, it is on the right track. If you have seen this card or have purchased one, let me know your thoughts about the promotion. Do you like it or dislike it? Are you interested in getting one? Play the video below to hear my thoughts on the Starbucks Gold Card.

Seesmic marketing - What do you do when you don’t have a lot of time to express your thoughts and ideas? 1. You can hire an extremely fast typist and have them pound it out for you

Halloween Marketing Ideas - I have been seeing a lot of searches landing on my blog for Halloween Marketing Ideas and really wonder what people are tying to marketing on Halloween (or there about). Here are a few of my Halloween Marketing Ideas for various industries…

Real Estate Marketing Ideas - I don’t know if you have noticed, but the Real Estate market is taking a bit of a beating. When things in a market change so drastically in a sort time period, people have to get creative to preserve business and their way of life, none more is true than in real estate.

Quick Marketing Ideas - I am going to just throw out a few different marketing queries I have received to this blog and then reply as quickly as I can with marketing ideas. All of these are terms people have searched and found their way to my blog. I can’t promise that they found what they were looking for, although I hope they did. Just in case, here are my different marketing ideas for a variety of different areas.

Get CONNECTED with your audience - A list of 13 different ideas or ways to connect with your audience both on and offline.

Marketing ideas: allowing your product to advertise itself - We have all seen those great word of mouth campaigns that pay off huge for the creator of whatever was being talked about. The latest of these was The Dark Knight starring Christian Bale and Heath Ledger.

Stop throwing money at marketing - And start changing the way you go about marketing.

My one month test and a new Marketing Ideas newsletter - Over the last month give or take I have been running a test for this blog to determine what kind of traffic and visitors I would receive if I put the least amount of effort into running my blog.

Are You Taking Advantage of Auxiliary Services? - There’s a very simple question that many marketers and businesses fail to ask themselves: “What do people need?”

The rainy day marketing strategy - As I write this blog it has been raining in the state of North Dakota. You wouldn’t know it but old man winter is already beginning to show his face around here. Not to mention that he left about 3 months ago. That got me thinking of a marketing idea that I would try if I owned a more traditional brick and mortar business.

How to market yourself - I got a comment recently from Jacqueline who mentioned that she had no problem marketing other people’s products and services but lacked in marketing her own. Since I am actually planning on talking about this subject with local business owners, I figured I might as well start practicing here.

3 Lessons of marketing deployment - I put together a short list of things I need to remind myself from time to time. These are just a couple of examples that make business, marketing and products all the more better when done right.

Is it your first time here? And another marketing idea. - Welcome to TEABERRY! As some of you know, I write to you primarily from Fargo, North Dakota, and like to share some marketing ideas I can easily take pictures of. This brings us back to TEABERRY in downtown Fargo.

Effective Marketing Online - Anybody with millions of dollars in their advertising budget can run a huge and effective marketing campaign, but how do you run an effective marketing campaign online for free? First off, none of these marketing techniques are new by any means, but they do sometimes get overlooked. So without further adieu, I present my top 5 effective marketing tips online.

This guest post is from Chelle, a freelance real estate marketing assistant and writer. If you enjoy this post, be sure to check out her real estate marketing blog for more marketing ideas. If you would like to guest post on the Unconventional Marketing Blog go to the guest post page to learn more.

There’s a very simple question that many marketers and businesses fail to ask themselves:

“What do people need?”

We think we know the answer to this, since most businesses offer specific products/services that meet specific needs. For example, if you are sick, you see a doctor. If you need your car fixed, you go to a mechanic. If you need to buy something, you go to a store. You have a need; the business meets it.

But what many businesses fail to recognize is most consumers typically have more than “a need”. We usually have several needs. And on top of needs, we have wants, too. When you think like a customer you can identify these needs and wants and use them to enhance their experience. Enhancing their experience is one easy to implement strategy for attracting and retaining new customers, and for many businesses can even be an additional source of income.

Thinking like your customers is as easy as asking yourself these questions:

• Why does the customer need my product/service?
• What will the customer need while using my product/service?
• What will the customer do before and after using my product and/or service?

You should be able to come up with a decent sized list of things you can do to meet these extra needs of the customer. Some of these things you may not be able to provide yourself – but you could partner with existing businesses to extend your auxiliary services through referrals. Referrals, when chosen wisely, can not only bring more business to you, but also increase potential income if you are able to collect a small referral fee or commission.

To give you a few ideas on how you can use auxiliary services, here are a few examples of add-on services a business could provide:

• Shopping centers offering childcare so parents (and other shoppers!) can shop in peace
• Doctors calling in prescriptions ahead of time so the customer doesn’t have to wait in line
• Mechanics offering pick-up and drop-off services for your vehicle so you don’t have to go through the hassle of dropping your car off
• A vet offering medications, grooming supplies, and referrals to dog walking services or groomers
• A wedding planner referring a caterer, reception hall, musician, travel agency, or florist
• A moving company offering packing services, boxes, and property clean-up services
• A web based business providing forums or automated call center for support

There are endless possibilities when you start thinking like a customer and what they need. The more you offer, the more your business will grow and become profitable. Just be careful you don’t get too big or too far off base from your business – most customers would not be too keen on having surgery at an auto repair shop!

Are you thinking like your customer? Do you understand what they need? What auxiliary add-on services could you provide to enhance their experience while expanding your business?

As I write this blog it has been raining in the state of North Dakota. You wouldn’t know it but old man winter is already beginning to show his face around here. Not to mention that he left about 3 months ago. That got me thinking of a marketing idea that I would try if I owned a more traditional brick and mortar business.

Let’s call it the Rainy Day Discount marketing strategy. Now this particular marketing idea would probably be geographically specific as you might not want to try it in Seattle or Portland. But let’s say for a place like Phoenix or Flagstaff, Arizona, it would definitely be worth a try.

Without telling anyone, I would offer a rainy day discount to all of my customers. “If it rains, you save” could even be the motto. A different mood always takes place when it is raining, like you need to be confined to the office or home in an attempt to not get wet. Sometimes rainy days can even be depressing. But what if you stop in to your local quickie mart and pick up your daily paper, cup of Joe and are greeted with 25% off at the cash register? You might be surprised and ask, why? To which the clerk chines in, “It’s a rainy day sale. When it rains, you save.”

I would be willing to bet that word would get around, especially if it were a business selling some sort of higher priced items. You could even have some fun with it.

Say if you had a newsletter or weekly subscription of some sort and like the local newspaper, you post the possibilities of future sales. “Well it looks like this week we have a 30% chance of a sale on Friday, so stay tuned.” Don’t forget to use your umbrella.

I know that an idea like this wouldn’t work everywhere, but there could be similar ideas to this one that will work with your seasonal changes. For instance, in North Dakota we could run a polar bear sale on the days that are below -20. Coffee extra