Channel marketing

SUMMARY: An organized content marketing strategy is one of the best ways to create brand awareness. One technology firm, which serves a very specialized marketplace, faced a challenge in creating understanding about its software product, and generating interest in the brand.

Read on to learn the firm’s entire content process, from creating a best practices blog and increasing content via strategic partners, to sending out press releases intended to drive additional traffic to the website. read the complete case study

SUMMARY: Gamification is a fun marketing channel, but it's really just for consumer marketers. Right?

Not so fast. B2B marketers have many opportunities to take advantage of with gamification. This how-to article includes two gamification experts who provide six tactics on B2B gamification applications.

The topics covered include motivating employees, getting Sales to engage with the CRM, driving online community engagement, driving website engagement for lead nurturing, and appealing Gen Y. One key takeaway: gamification is not about the games -- it's about measuring and motivating. read the complete article

SUMMARY: Whether you work for a quick service restaurant chain, or you are considering partnering with one, definitely check out our interview with Dunkin' Donuts' Kelly Fattman. She shares tips on packaging, low-cost promotional campaigns, dealing with competition, and what other types of companies her brand would like to partner with. read the complete interview

SUMMARY: In challenging times, firms must test new strategies and tactics to improve marketing effectiveness. Businesses need to maintain agility and adapt to an evolving marketplace, but cannot sacrifice tried-and-true tactics that have driven their lead generation programs for years.

To learn how B2B organizations balance the two, we asked survey participants to indicate the percentage of budget they allocate for a variety of inbound and outbound tactics. In this week’s chart, find out the results from more than 1,700 of your B2B marketing peers. read the complete article