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	<title>Aspen Marketing Services</title>
	<link>http://blog.aspenms.com</link>
	<description>Built to Sell. Engage. Retain</description>
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		<title>Email That&#8217;s Smart</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Email is the juggernaut of the digital messaging systems…period.  Recently, a lot has been published about email’s decline, aging user base, and more. Social media and texting have their place for marketers. However, email remains a tried and true, steady performer when executed properly. Email + Texting + Social = A Force for Marketers Texting [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/07/12/email-thats-smart/</link>
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		<title>First Read: Facebook Video Calls</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This afternoon’s announcement about video calls on Facebook will likely produce a wave of positive news as some social media experts will focus only on the likely jump in the amount of time people will spend on Facebook, the mainstreaming of Facebook and the likely expansion of users within certain demographics. Zuckerberg himself called out [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/07/06/first-read-facebook-skype-video-calls/</link>
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		<title>Does “above the fold” still apply for email?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Over the last 10+ years of email marketing , there were several rules you could always count on: -   Subject lines are the key -   Make sure you blend text and images -   Keep your key content above the fold That last one might need a bit of revising though.  Readers no longer [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/07/05/does-above-the-fold-still-apply-for-email-2/</link>
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		<title>The Case Against Klout. Usually.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last week’s announcement that Facebook pages could now have VIP-only sections (article here: goo.gl/Mnuar) accessible to those only with a certain Klout score has already caused some of our clients to ask for our POV on this. Removing the arguments about the inherent flaws in Klout, such as its ability to be gamed and questions [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/06/28/the-case-against-klout/</link>
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		<title>We&#8217;re Expanding!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Aspen is expanding it&#8217;s North American headquarters outside Chicago to house around 600 employees. The official groundbreaking began this morning as our CEO, Pat O&#8217;Rahilly, spoke before gathered employees and community leaders about the company&#8217;s 25th anniversary and transformation into North America&#8217;s largest privately held marketing services firm.]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/04/11/aspen-marketing-expandin/</link>
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		<title>Why WOM Matters to Businesses</title>
		<description><![CDATA[We’re excited about the progress we’ve been making in introducing new strategies, approaches and capabilities to Aspen’s social marketing function in recent months. I’m often asked what makes Aspen different from other social offerings out there. My answer is always the same; we deliver real, measurable outcomes aligned with, not at the expense of, business goals. The [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/03/29/why-wom-matters-to-businesses-infographic/</link>
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		<title>Social Media: Top Free Tools</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Late last week I had the privilege of participating in a panel discussion about the ROI of social media with senior marketers from Discover, Alberto Culver, NCSA Athletic Recruiting Network, Action for Healthy Kids and Brookfield Zoo. It was interesting to hear how each of these companies and the many organizations in the audience were [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/03/07/social-media-top-free-tools/</link>
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		<title>Are You Relevant?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In these times, it doesn&#8217;t take much to delete a message, toss it in the garbage, unsubscribe, etc&#8230; Triage is happening from multiple places, 24&#215;7. As a marketer, you only have a few precious moments before the reader decides where your message will go and if they’ll ever want to hear from you/your brand again. This begs [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/03/02/marketing-message-relevance/</link>
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		<title>So you think you’re ready for an email newsletter?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[A common refrain during the last two years has been “we need to stay in touch with our (fill in the blank).”  This is often immediately followed by another frequent euphemism, “let’s repurpose content.” Tactically, those two directives manifest themselves into reusing press releases, community relations stories, and public affairs content; modifying them; and turning [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/02/17/email-newsletter-best-practice/</link>
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		<title>The Death of Email?!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[When I was asked (by email I might point out) to write this post in response to a recent report that web-based email use was &#8220;declining&#8221; (http://goo.gl/abj8S), I joked that I wasn&#8217;t sure how to respond given the death of email. As well, I couldn&#8217;t quite figure out a brief 140 character response that detailed [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/02/10/death-of-email-exagerated/</link>
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		<title>Breaking Insight: WSJ Tackles Social Influence</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Today’s WSJ examines one of the core foundations of word-of-mouth (WOM) marketing (article here: goo.gl/uz6iG) – identify and engage those people who exert the most influence on other consumers to carry your marketing message. The reporter paints an interesting – and at times, unflattering – picture of some existing influencer scoring models and how people [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/02/08/word-of-mouth-influencers/</link>
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		<title>Email and Social.  Social and Email.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The debate raged in 2010 about the relevancy of email in an increasingly social world.  You saw popular brands like Ben and Jerry’s supposedly declare an end to their email programs. If email has indeed let Oliver into the house, moved to California, or started selling nostalgic memorabilia, then why did email volume reach its [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/01/25/email-and-social-2011-trends/</link>
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		<title>Will 2011 be the year of real conversations?</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The common water cooler talk these days seems to be “what do you think will happen this year” or as I call it the “what bright shinny object will you chase?”  Over the years I’ve learned that I don’t need to be the first one to jump on the “what technology is cutting edge,” maybe [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/01/21/2011-trends-marketing-predictions/</link>
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		<title>2011 Trend – Letting Consumers Take the Wheel</title>
		<description><![CDATA[At a recent marketing conference, legendary marketer Bob Thacker jokingly stated when he arrived at OfficeMax the marketing budget was so low, he concluded the only way they could afford to get their message out was to hire the best gossipers they could find. That comment was somewhat inspired in that it correlates with what [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/01/19/2011-marketing-trend/</link>
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		<title>The Year Ahead in Social Media</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In recent days, I’ve been increasingly asked what the 2011 trends will be in social media as various experts offer up their perspectives. Rather than talk about specific channels or the social “fatigue” people may experience in 2011, I typically respond with the following three macro trends that will dictate the success of social in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/01/10/word-of-mouth-predictions/</link>
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		<title>Telematics: Finding the balance of safety and convenience</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Last month, within the span of 30 minutes, I was able to purchase tickets for a San Diego Chargers game, buy my mom a Kindle for Christmas, set my fantasy football lineup, make reservations at my favorite restaurant, and schedule an appointment to get my oil changed. What’s the big deal, you may be wondering? [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2011/01/05/automotive-telematics-initiative/</link>
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		<title>Reports of direct mail’s death are grossly exaggerated.</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of our retail clients had become so committed to digital marketing, they are just now re-gaining sight of the real challenge, that consumer behavior is really fragmented right now.  Here is a topic we really did cover with them a little bit ago that may be relevant to your choice of marketing mix. Many [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2010/12/30/direct-mails-death-exaggerate/</link>
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		<title>Commentary: WSJ Article About Mobile Phone Makers</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I sent this WSJ article (link here:http://goo.gl/esPmA) around to my teammates Tuesday morning and wanted to share with you, our blog reader. As a user, I&#8217;m not sure that I&#8217;d welcome intrusive ads being pushed to my phone from a competing brand. However: how many of us access content about the car model, motorcycle, boat, home [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2010/12/28/mobile-makers-contested-markets/</link>
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		<title>AA drives differentiation and competitive advantage</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;d suggest that we look at how Advanced Analytics, or AA, benefits and supports those organizations that use &#8220;it.&#8221; So, rather than define AA simply as optimization, predictive modeling, forecasting, and all the stat models and analyses we can perform, AA should be recognized as a pathway to drive differentiation and competitive advantage out of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2010/12/27/advanced-analytics-competitive-advantage/</link>
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		<title>My SOS to the USPS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[While it seems that mail delivery on Saturdays is going the way of Like Cola, cassette tapes, and Sport magazine, let me make a last plea to Postmaster General John Potter.  Are you absolutely sure you want to kill off Saturday home delivery? Saturdays are the one-day each week where Americans have the time to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://blog.aspenms.com/2010/12/20/usps_saturday_mail_delivery/</link>
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