Daily Archives: October 6, 2010

A “Blue Ocean” Approach to Marketing Automation

Posted by Jeff Ogden on

Want to share an innovative approach I recently saw. Eloqua is redefining the marketing automation space.

It’s no longer a battle of software features, but a battle of ideas. This is exactly the kind of “Blue Ocean” strategy more marketers should employ.

Watch Eloqua’s new video and let me know what you think.

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Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor, is President of Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple”

He’s also the author of three highly acclaimed white papers:

  1. How to Find New Customers (sponsored by Marketo)
  2. Definitive Guide to Making Quota, (sponsored by Marketo) and
  3. Moving from Transactional to Conversational Email Marketing (sponsored by Genius.com)

as well the e-book, Prospect Driven Marketing (with Communication Strategy Group.)

Find New Customers helps businesses develop and implement demand generation programs to improve the way they find and acquire sales leads using best practices in lead generation.

How to Create Great Content - from the world of sports

Posted by Jeff Ogden on

Reading the New York Times sports section this weekend, I was struck by how content marketing is reshaping the world of college athletics. Instead of telling you what the article said, let’s go back and examine HOW it happened.

Let’s say you just got a new job heading marketing - for a Big Ten university like Penn State, Michigan, Purdue, Ohio State, Iowa, etc. Cool! Revenue is rolling in and football and basketball are very popular. Don’t you have a great job?

One day the President of the University comes to you says “We have a big problem. The cost of sports is rising faster than revenues. (By the way, spending on sports for colleges in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) (top teams) jumped by 28% last year.) What can you do to add new revenue streams for us?”

Uh oh.  What do I do now?

You have remarkable content - programming like football, basketball and other  sports. You also have alumni all over the country who love your university. How can you share your content with your customers to drive revenue?

Their answer: The Big Ten Network.

You might say, “Hey, we know nothing about running a TV network.” Maybe you don’t but folks like Fox Cable Networks does. Make a phone call. The Big Ten did.

7 years after its start, the Big Ten Network is exploding. In its most recent filing, the Big Ten Network paid the conference $72 million.

Unexpected results happen too:

  1. New shows like “Big Ten Icons” are popular
  2. A top running back from Texas commits to Northwestern - without ever visiting the campus. (His mom can watch him play on your network.)
  3. They get a platform to share good works or televise events, like President Obama’s visit to Michigan.

What are the marketing takeaways?

  • People love high quality content
  • Share video content. If you cannot afford a TV network, services like YouTube and Vimeo are fine.
  • Be patient. This is HUGE. The Big Ten Network is an overnight success - in 7 years! (Hey business owners like Warren (Greenlight Search in London) and Chuck (Aplicor in Florida), marketing does not happen in 30-60 days. Get a clue!)

What do you think? We love comments and people who share our content.

Jeff Ogden, the Fearless Competitor, is President of Fun and Find New Customers “Lead Generation Made Simple” Check out the online show every Friday at 11am ET, “Laugh and Learn with the Fearless Competitor.”

Find New Customers helps businesses develop and implement demand generation programs to improve the way they find and acquire sales leadsusing best practices in lead generation.

“Find New Customers, can certainly help your business dramatically improve the flow of sales-ready leads to salespeople.” Paul Dunay, Buzz Marketing for Technology.