tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37283650675425574132011-10-04T15:33:13.811-04:00I'm a 30 year old technology dork, music fiend, and aspiring marketing somethingorother. Creativity is my game, and the abnormal and odd are my coworkers.Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.comBlogger771100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-87767095510236346402011-01-06T17:05:00.003-05:002011-01-06T17:24:44.267-05:00

So...Stamford's Andrew Luck has decided to remain in school to finish his education, rather than leave early and go pro for the money. That's awesome.But it has nothing to do with marketing, right? I can almost guarantee it has about .000000001% to do with marketing.Or does it?Many of the sports websites, and most of the talk hosts on ESPN Radio are absolutely stunned and are pretty much bashing

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-84111117012997038622010-12-20T17:38:00.003-05:002010-12-20T18:24:38.369-05:00

This afternoon, on my way home from work, I officially have heard the end of the buzzword "Rockstar". Flat out, 100 percent, that word is now dead to me, and it should be to you now too, and here's why.I listen to a lot of ESPN Radio - its good drive time listening, and heck, I drive by the place most of it is broadcast from on my way to work. I was on my way home, listening to the Scott Van Pelt

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-7210896887787689712010-08-30T15:21:00.001-04:002010-08-30T15:21:58.263-04:00

Hey you! Yeah, you. Remember when you used to read my blog? You even left a comment or two, which was awesome. Thank you.The thing is, because I didn't post for a long while, you all left, and I understand. I would do the same if I was you. I'd like you to come back. I just wanna ask you a question or two.What do I have to do to bring you back to my blog? Other than post, of course. What was it

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-10710658298966095032010-08-10T17:15:00.003-04:002010-08-10T18:02:01.137-04:00

So. About not posting in forever. Sorry about that, but I was busy with a new job with crazy hours, and taking care of my pregnant wife. It's a girl, by the way, born on August 5th. Thanks, and you're welcome for all the "aww" and "congrats" and such that are undoubtedly in your mind at the moment.Anyhow, I got to thinkin'. Dangerous, I know...me and thinking have a volatile relationship.I've

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-79716084455627358402010-04-23T15:53:00.002-04:002010-04-24T08:53:19.660-04:00

This past week or so has been wildly interesting, it has probably been the single most emotionally draining period of time I have gone through in quite some time.But even through it all, marketing and business and such is still on my mind. So, I have a story I would like to share with you all.The morning of April 16th my wife and I were taking our cat to the vet to be put to rest. She'd rather

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-2937654434508033712010-04-21T12:50:00.004-04:002010-04-21T13:38:49.622-04:00

Alright, here it goes. Several of my friends have done posts that are specifically for their readers to share their blog, or a favorite blog that they read quite often. I have decided to do the same.First, a non exclusive list of some of my most read blogs:Shelly Kramer/V3imSarah Robinson/Escaping MediocrityScott Stratten/UnMarketingRandom Shelly/I'm Not So RandomJulie Roads/Writing RoadsSocial

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-44315260817486736462010-04-06T10:13:00.004-04:002010-04-14T18:58:39.133-04:00

I have been given a relatively unique opportunity. Last Wednesday, I was laid off from the retail sales job I had held for nine months. Its unfortunate, and it sucks, but they laid off almost half of my coworkers instate as well, so its not like I was the only one, and it wasn't my fault.So. The opportunity...I should probably get to that, because getting laid off sure isn't what I was talking

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-45548654806629323832010-03-28T12:33:00.000-04:002010-03-28T12:45:51.134-04:00

No, it's not a variation on Girls Gone Wild...sorry about that.I've written about my old jobs before, specifically the time I spent working for an ampitheatre where concerts are held. I worked for the head of advertising and corporate sales, and one of her jobs, and by proxy mine, was to come up with new and/or different places to utilize as advertising space. Among the things we did were sticker

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-58637533303440084752010-02-25T21:18:00.002-05:002010-02-25T21:50:20.419-05:00

UnMarketing has talked about it.Shelly Kramer is constantly speaking out about it.Twitter-Fail has a whole separate CATEGORY about it.Remarkablogger talks about it.Dozens of websites talk about it, both in favor and against it. Generally the ones in favor of it are the ones providing or selling automation services.Now, since you won't listen to anyone above me...maybe you'll listen to me. I can

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-60978809249450760002010-02-15T12:09:00.003-05:002010-02-15T12:21:58.275-05:00

Alright, I'm going to try something I've never done on The Marketing Mark before. I have a bunch of ideas for entries, and I'm having a hard time deciding what order I should do them in. So, I look to you, dear reader, to help me out.I'm going to spend a while writing about what YOU want, not what I want. Leave a comment below, or send me a tweet HERE and I will write a few articles from the list

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-43082562814559206102010-02-11T10:27:00.000-05:002010-02-11T10:43:02.443-05:00

and Google Wave = Windows Vista.But the final word is still to be said, since Buzz is still being released. However, the comparison can be made. Both Vista and Wave were great ideas in theory, huge upgrades from what was currently available. But they were both bloated overcoded messes with more problems than benefits for most of its users.But they were both reletively quickly followed up by a

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-64801685945110482982010-02-08T17:30:00.001-05:002010-02-08T17:30:55.360-05:00

No, I haven't lost my mind and changed this to a blog about flowers. Scarlet Beginias is a song by the Grateful Dead. This post is named what it is for a line in the song:Once in awhile you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.Holy crap is that an amazing line. It's saying that you can find inspiration anywhere you look as long as you're looking for it.That's

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-52115338335519553152010-01-30T09:58:00.002-05:002010-01-30T10:33:12.819-05:00

One of my more popular posts is about the self perpetuating circle of being "The Little Guy" in a world of big fish. It hasn't drawn any public comments, but I get tweets and emails about it all the time.Yesterday was Day 19 of Sarah Robinson's "30 Days To Changing Your Game" blog series. The day's entry, written by Marie Forleo, was about what not to do. I'll wait for you to read it, its worth

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-27646647426933796602010-01-14T18:37:00.003-05:002010-01-14T20:04:38.906-05:00

Why is it that sometimes a major change goes unnoticed? Is it on purpose?I know that some people don't mention when they get a new haircut, or have a new significant other - sometimes that IS on purpose, to make sure it's going to work.But if a business goes through something that changes that business down to the core of its very existance - how can they possibly think that hiding that change is

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-57167173263701247102010-01-07T12:07:00.003-05:002010-01-07T12:22:52.973-05:00

So...its 2010. Does anyone really care? I don't. Did anything change when the date went from 12/31/2009 to 1/1/2010? Other than the date, not really. I'm still a thirty year old married male with a degree in marketing and a retail job. My wife is still my wife, and so on. I woke up the morning of 1/1/10 and went right back to work, I didn't have the day off.So if you're expecting a retrospective

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-58394665935869007102009-12-19T19:41:00.000-05:002009-12-19T19:42:03.472-05:00

So....Here on the east coast, I'm supposed to be under a foot of snow by now(7:30 pm Saturday December 19th) and there's not a snowflake in sight. It's now barely gotten started way downstate, so it'll be a while before it even gets here at all.This got me thinking about hype, since they've been pushing what's not here as 15-20 inches, the storm that defines storms for the next however many years

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-38505358281980547452009-12-02T19:41:00.001-05:002009-12-02T19:41:45.389-05:00

No, this post is not against social media. In fact, it's in favor of it. Here's the deal...I LOVE social media. You never know who you may run in to, talk to, what you might learn. It instantly connects me with whomever is out there, from a friend in high school on facebook, to the CEO of a worldwide company on Twitter...and everything in between.There's a lot out there, just waiting for you to

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-8194310852940800922009-11-27T12:13:00.002-05:002009-11-27T21:45:21.754-05:00

In 1989, there was an earthquake in San Francisco. I was 10 years old. I was and still am an Oakland A's fan, so I saw the whole thing happen on tv.I sent two weeks allowance to the Red Cross, who had set up a fund for donations to help the relief efforts in the area.To this day, I'm still not quite sure why I sent $10 to help the earthquake victims. But I know what didn't inspire me.It wasn't

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-61630420154795403662009-11-20T09:38:00.002-05:002009-11-20T10:17:30.511-05:00

Things change. There's no way around it. Its life.Sometimes change is good, sometimes change is bad. But there's no way to stop it. Sometimes its big. Sometimes its small. People thrive on change. People hate change. People want good changes, and want to stay away from bad changes. I could go on forever, but I won't.Recently, Twitter made a big change. The retweet function was added as an option

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-77373935698956870322009-11-17T16:49:00.002-05:002009-11-17T21:01:17.046-05:00

Almost every time I write, I have opportunities to mention past blog posts, past tweets, questions...whatever it may be. Sometimes I do, most times I d not.Why is that?I'm really not sure. But I think I have a good idea...Have you ever seen a current advertisement mention one from the past? It happens very rarely, mostly because companies always want to move forward. When it does happen, it is

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-66093278423059543032009-11-03T11:56:00.001-05:002009-11-03T12:59:40.559-05:00

The Tipping Point, and Jumping The Shark. Gotta love pop culture, don't you. Explaining why things turn good or go bad is the oldest thing in the book, but its often such an interesting topic. I find The Tipping Point to be Malcolm Gladwell's best work, a thought that I know many people share. Plus, who doesn't jokingly know the exact moment when their favorite tv show or movie series jumped the

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-70945462221132288082009-10-29T17:51:00.002-04:002009-10-29T21:19:00.026-04:00

What's in a name? Everything. But sometimes nothing.Microsoft. Caesar's Palace. Escaping Mediocrity. Burger King. Staples. Hear or see those names, you know what they are, you know their success, you know their quality. Imagine any of them with a different name. Would they be doing as well? Would they even be? What if Bill Gates was drunk one early day when microsoft was young, and he changed the

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-52874157957073342052009-10-25T13:29:00.003-04:002009-10-28T20:52:52.909-04:00

Another Sunday at work. It's business as usual for the company I work for. Customers come in and out, just like they do every day. When you find something that works, why not stick with it? It's a good thing that I am not my company. Not for any bad reasons, I've just noticed a few things that don't work around here. I meant what I said the other day, things are changing around here, and I want

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-28066794384341353822009-10-22T17:18:00.003-04:002009-12-22T08:38:49.680-05:00

Change is feared. At the same time, change is welcomed, anticipated, even sought after. How can something inspire feelings from all over the map? Change comes in about as many forms as emotions or thoughts it inspires. I don't think there is anything that evokes as varied a response as change.I've gone through many changes in life...as has just about everyone. I have been lucky in that most if

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-1785061472132079522009-10-11T13:39:00.001-04:002009-10-28T20:50:45.245-04:00

Little guy starts a blog and a Twitter account. Little guy follows the big guys (yes, girls too. Using guys is easier to write.). Little guy sees big guys doing their thing, and knows he is not yet there. Little guy asks questions of everyone, big, little, whomever. Little guy not big guy, so many big guys aren't following him back or reading his blog. Little guy can't get advice from big guy

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-16533583395660122092009-10-07T20:08:00.003-04:002009-10-28T20:49:22.414-04:00

Sometimes a blog runs its course. Sometimes a marketing campaign runs too long. Occasionally an individual advertisement dissapears too quickly. We've all seen it happen, maybe even been part of it. Why does this happen?Any ideas?Dumb luck? Fickle audience? Bad product? Probably, but generally no.Much like in sales, everything has a break even point. Stop too early, and you miss it. Stop too late

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-88430897246446379722009-10-04T13:26:00.003-04:002009-10-28T20:48:31.232-04:00

I suppose that's not the greatest title for a blog post, but it's true. My blog reminds me of spam.It doesn't seem to get to the right target, it's all over the place contentwise, and post tend to come in bunches, much like spam does.I promise you, my loyal (I figure if you read THIS post especially, you're a loyal reader) readers, that I will be fine tuning things around here quite a bit in the

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-28552414591865016032009-09-29T15:37:00.002-04:002009-09-29T15:57:39.201-04:00

Blogging: You Need To Pay Attention To Your CommentsThe above is an interesting blog entry by Ron Miller on the site Social Media 101. Yes, those are my comments left on the entry - I like to leave comments there, because Ron, Julie and the other writers use the comment section to interact with their readers.This brings me to my titular question. My answer is yes....and no. One blog comment left

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-46489374641043982442009-09-28T11:37:00.002-04:002009-10-28T20:47:46.113-04:00

This post's title shares its title with a great song by Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead. Hopefully this post will not be as out there as a 69 Dark Star...Anyhow - the title fits a lot of things, but being a marketing geek, I see an unbroken chain as a perfect metaphor for a company that has every department working all at once, and in the same mindset - and creating a product and marketing plan

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-19130326814239393622009-09-23T11:37:00.002-04:002009-10-28T20:46:23.215-04:00

So...I recently got with the times and got an iPhone. It's an awesome phone, apps nonwithstanding. Social media and marketing definitely benefits from being on the go, and being able to check all of your pages and other places. I'm currently posting from the free version of the blogger/blogspot app, and I love it now that I'm used to the touch keyboard.This, along with Twitterific - are becoming

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-61812921429597340602009-09-01T07:55:00.004-04:002009-09-10T12:03:14.413-04:00

I've been gone for way too long. I have plenty of ideas to write about, since I was thinking things up the entire time I wasn't writing. But for my first post back after such a break, I thought I would talk about business cards.Business cards have become another very important tool in marketing and promotion. In many cases, gone are the days of plain white cardstock with black printing and a logo

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-38797819046380041342009-07-18T16:01:00.003-04:002009-10-28T20:44:44.931-04:00

I've been interviewing a lot of places lately, and I know a lot of people working in corporate marketing positions of all kinds. Many of these people, and some of the places I have interviewed at, have fairly aggressive blocking software on the employee work computers. This I understand, as you need to be able to make sure your employees are actually doing their work, and not farting around on

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-52102850023937210162009-07-07T20:51:00.002-04:002009-07-10T09:31:31.215-04:00

I was reading a book about word of mouth the other day, and there was a chapter about underground/guerilla style marketing and how its no longer as effective as it was. The big reason is because there are mainstream marketing companies designing faux underground campaigns that use paid scripted actors who shill products in situations that seem more organic, like they happened naturally.Is this

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-15182848049760671042009-07-01T19:33:00.002-04:002009-07-01T19:42:38.926-04:00

A little while ago, I was able to run a contest on my blog for a custom poster print. I became aware of uprinting.com because I myself won a contest on someone else's blog that was also sponsored by uprinting. I decided to join the team after checking out their products and seeing some of the things they do for the blogging community, regardless of who the blogger is, or the content of their

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-76820746774500529102009-06-29T13:27:00.002-04:002009-06-29T13:43:10.135-04:00

This should come as no surprise to anyone who reads this blog, since chances are that you found out about it via Twitter to begin with...But, Twitter has and continues to show itself to be a trendsetter in marketing. Not the service itself, but the users. Thanks to the trending topics slot now in everyone's sidebar by default on the web based client, certain trends can be tracked. In recent times

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-63348647148873138952009-06-26T17:00:00.008-04:002010-02-12T21:27:27.440-05:00

With Follow Friday becoming bigger and bigger every week, it becomes bothersome to do several posts about people who I think are awesome. Its becoming more and more popular, and more useful for that matter to do a weekly blog post going into better detail. Sarah Robinson - Sarah is one of the people who have taken me under their wing. She is one of the reasons I am who I am on Twitter, because

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-50930826345327798722009-06-12T11:03:00.002-04:002009-06-12T11:55:46.068-04:00

Seriously...is there any real world space left untouched by now? As advertising companies and their clients are getting more and more creative, or perhaps desperate, more and more physical, and even intangible areas are being mined for advertising space. I can't say that I blame either one of them, to be honest. I love the look of a minor league ballpark outfield wall covered in advertisements.

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-44180419755739546152009-06-08T14:59:00.002-04:002009-06-08T15:23:57.453-04:00

I've never really been inspired to write a blog entry so quickly after I hear something, but the newly released info on the new iPhone has inspired the heck out of me.When I was in computer sales, I really was at a disadvantage - I knew too much. I knew that the printer that I sold that customer wouldn't be around in a couple years and stuff would have changed so much they would need to buy

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-79699954926280363092009-06-04T16:16:00.004-04:002009-10-28T20:42:29.730-04:00

I'm definitely not breaking any new ground here...but this is something that needs to be said every so often.Everything you're taught when you are learning ANYTHING, not just marketing or advertising, is to help you figure out what and when things need to be done.What you aren't taught is NOT doing. These days too much emphasis is placed on putting out as much as possible as often as possible, no

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-46069605170105388402009-05-20T14:11:00.005-04:002009-10-28T20:43:31.528-04:00

Thanks again to Uprinting.com for helping me with this giveaway. They are your source for the following, and so much more;Online Poster PrintingPoster PrintingWithout further delay, especially since the post is late, the winner of my contest drawing, drawing done courtesy a web based RNG - The winner is, GUY CROSS! Congrats Guy, make sure to leave me your email address so UPrinting.com will be

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-1315801931050415152009-05-18T17:39:00.003-04:002009-10-28T20:40:50.243-04:00

side note - the winner of the contest in my previous post will be revealed tomorrow.Now, onto the main attraction. As a music fan, and a guy who will hit a live concert at just about any opportunity, I am fascinated by the rare breed of artist that can take the audience and put it in the palm of their hand, and basically play with it because they can. It really is a very small percentage of

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-87327117568764769842009-05-13T18:25:00.008-04:002009-10-28T20:38:59.663-04:00

Howdy folks!I am giving away a prize, just because people read my blog! Everyone who reads my blog will have a chance (maybe even two!) to win a 16 x 20 Poster Print from UPrinting.com!!!There are 2 ways to enter the contest. You may do both if you desire. Two entries is the maximum, and you have to do each way, you cannot do two comments or two blog posts. The first of either or both ways will

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-42841576861677031932009-05-11T18:34:00.002-04:002009-05-11T19:35:30.926-04:00

How is it that two companies that sell the same product can tell you the exact opposite things, and still both be telling the truth?They can't...but they also can, often both at the same time.This all goes along with a two part blog series I wrote on Blellow, about your personal story. Products have a story too. Everything in the business world has a story. Otherwise it wouldn't be where it

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-42917572018903397252009-05-05T21:15:00.002-04:002009-05-05T21:27:45.826-04:00

I've always been a fan of finding new and interesting places to put advertising or marketing materials or logos and such. In fact, it was one of my duties when I interned for my local ampitheatre several years back - to assist the corporate sales team in coming up with ways to take advantage of unused space for advertising purposes.I haven't seen much that really caught my eye or surprised me in

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-64275874179782121542009-05-01T21:33:00.002-04:002009-05-01T21:53:39.494-04:00

No, not product placement, that would be a huge waste of time. Nobody needs to see the Bloons monkey drinking a Coca Cola, or the tilty motorcycle actually be a Harley Davidson. I mean companies actually producing java games with their stuff in them.I know a while back that Nabisco did a whole lot of childrens' style games with very little going on in any of them, and a large amount of product

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-82134918398644365612009-04-28T07:38:00.002-04:002009-10-28T20:22:29.207-04:00

Give Me Back My Five Bucks I've just entered a contest to win either 1000 business cards or 500 brochures, the details are on this blog post on Give Me Back My Five Bucks, a great blog with some interesting readers.You readers of mine don't actually get to help me win the contest, but I'll bet any one of you wouldn't mind winning, either. Go on over and check out the contest....tell them I sent

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-10531518656835169072009-04-27T14:00:00.005-04:002009-10-28T20:20:59.408-04:00

Especially in freelance work.But, in general as well. Don't take someone's word over yours about something you've created just because they're more experienced than you, or a higher level than you, or any reason. If you have to strike out on your own, then do it, if its feasible. You are the one that knows what's best for you, what's best for your projects, and so on.You are responsible for what

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-64749069871513666902009-04-20T10:56:00.002-04:002009-04-20T17:02:02.689-04:00

You're not good enough.There, I said it. I'm not saying it to myself, I'm saying it to YOU. Hearing the word "no" sucks, because that's exactly what it means, in just about any situation in our marketing and advertising world...heck, in most of the world in general.Does it make you mad that I just told you you aren't good enough? Yes? Good, now calm down and prove me wrong. No? Both good and bad;

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-76835207719291526982009-04-13T15:07:00.004-04:002009-04-13T19:22:45.993-04:00

For some reason, lately the need to classify things has been bouncing around in my head. Not trying to classify my own stuff in my house, but why its done. Of course, general classification is obviously and correctly used to differentiate things that for the most part are blatantly different, with small variation.Animal. Vegetable. Mineral. Mammal. Fish. Arachnid. Whatever, they're for the most

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-29707247304689588432009-04-06T11:31:00.002-04:002009-04-06T11:47:13.420-04:00

The other day I wrote about not doing something just because you have the opportunity, just so you can get your name out there, just so you can have the experience.Today, I'm very nearly going to contradict myself, but I promise it will make sense.If you can take a look at what you want to be doing, and everyone within that field is doing it the same way, the time is ripe for someone to come in

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-49562201949037807972009-04-02T14:01:00.002-04:002009-04-02T14:12:23.082-04:00

I belong to a networking group of unemployed folks, and every week, we have a speaker come in and talk about whatever it is they do, or something we can do to help ourselves, etc. For instance, recently we had a guy from our local chamber of commerce come in and talk about starting small businesses, an account executive from an employment placement agency, and things like that. Generally, they

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-52992493481115461602009-03-27T12:11:00.002-04:002009-03-27T12:13:14.586-04:00

Today I did a guest posting on http://www.blellow.com. Click the link below and show me your support, as well as supporting Blellow, it's a great community to belong to.http://budurl.com/xbzr

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-10734814367752055202009-03-25T19:15:00.005-04:002009-03-25T20:52:27.368-04:00

Its pretty sad when not having anything to write about actually reminds me of something to write about.That said...if you've designed it, written it, drew it, thought of it, whatever...KEEP IT...especially if you couldn't do it. You never know when stuff may come in handy. You may need inspiration, for a blog post...or a design layout, or a new kind of muffin. Whatever. When I was younger and

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-31917745964983775412009-03-20T10:35:00.003-04:002009-03-20T10:53:34.366-04:00

I often wonder how different my views on social networking and social marketing would be if I wasn't on anti depression medication. There are times when I curse social networking, when I really kind of need to talk to someone but nobody's around to chat with....but when people are around and sharing thier ideas, experiences and such, its invauluable.I'm sure there are times when I hesitate and

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-46538781467065025392009-03-13T16:43:00.005-04:002009-03-15T10:53:41.713-04:00

When I was younger, my favorite commercials were the local ones. You know, the ones with horrible production values, lousy scripts, and the store owner from down the street making an ass out of himself on camera in the name of another dollar. As a kid, I had a really odd sense of humor, and stuff like everyone's favorite liquor store owner, Connecticut's own Crazy Bruce, made me laugh my little

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-22473389033203945792009-03-07T20:08:00.002-05:002009-03-07T20:31:35.215-05:00

Today I learned that bigger is not always better.Specifically this particular lesson was in social marketing. There are so many different aspects to social marketing that it is really hard to be in the right mindset for every part of it. I was talking with @unmarketing and @jasontryfon and a few others, and I had expressed about inequality in different circles of twitter. Then both of the guys

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-71683836302393671212009-03-04T07:40:00.002-05:002009-03-04T08:28:31.140-05:00

Going along with my previous post about coloring, is this one, that was slightly inspired by it.Why stop at coloring outside the lines? That is a figurative excercise, which is indeed important, but sometimes you need to be literal. Step outside the box.Why should you do something the same way it's always been done? Tradition? Bullshit. Because you know it'll work? Bingo. Try something different.

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-43482370928121325352009-03-02T11:22:00.001-05:002009-03-02T14:20:14.050-05:00

Remember when you were little and started learning how to color? Take one crayon, and just go all over the paper without even realizing that the lines were there for a reason. I am getting to witness this kind of thing firsthand, because my nephew is starting to flex his creative muscles with scribbles and such. It looks like such a joyous experience, I wish I could remember that time in my

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-47957399610990627942009-02-24T17:01:00.003-05:002009-02-24T18:06:46.202-05:00

It will happen. Everyone fails. Everyone drops the ball.Obviously recovering will depend on what exactly failed, whether it was an entire campaign, or just a particular part of one. It may not even be your fault, or even your company or your product's fault. That failure may even lead to something good....revolutionary, even.Think of how many things in marketing, advertising and even product

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-8573943970067686972009-02-23T15:17:00.002-05:002009-02-23T15:26:51.800-05:00

Regardless of job status, age, gender, whatever classification you want to go by, one of the most important things about you is your image according to other people. Not yourself, other people. We all know how to do things and make things and whatever else that gives off the image that you want to project. Unfortunately there are very few jobs right now where what you want to show or to be is not

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-1140343852232927372009-02-22T16:28:00.003-05:002009-02-22T16:39:25.914-05:00

So.I just saw the new commercial starring the Sham-Wow guy. The slap-chop.I know the goal in advertising and marketing is to get a reaction from the customer and get them to remember your product. Sometimes it does seem like we remember the stupid commercials more than good ones, though. Commercials by their mere existance are annoying and interrupting what we tuned in for, but why is it that

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-36911091256968450092009-02-21T21:36:00.002-05:002009-02-21T21:41:13.550-05:00

That's what it's all about.What do you want? It's that simple. There's too much emphasis these days on the opposite. I don't need to be told what I want, I know what it is. More marketing firms or individual advertisers would be doing a lot better if they took even a moment and asked their customers what they wanted.Thanks for reading...

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-50038373272927458472009-02-19T11:35:00.002-05:002009-02-19T11:44:31.751-05:00

Do you think that every successful marketing or advertising campaign was the result of skill?I don't. It's not possible.Luck is a huge factor. HUGE. As an example, the Aqua Teen Hunger Force movie...promotion went fine for months, and was relatively quiet...then they got lucky, and one town thought their blinking ads were bombs...and then EVERYONE knew about it.Viral marketing...completely based

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-10542018288297834132009-02-17T16:24:00.002-05:002009-02-17T16:32:18.132-05:00

An alternate title for this was "Do Your Worst", but it didn't really seem right to make it seem like I was going to deliberately tell you that sucking is a good idea.Do the opposite, start from the end, reverse engineer...these all mean the same thing. These ideas are usually used in cases of failure, so you can see what it was in the chain that caused the failure. Its also a good way to figure

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-68321506876347070852009-02-15T16:01:00.002-05:002009-02-15T16:18:32.819-05:00

Sometimes it's okay to not have anything you can do. Sometimes you just need to recharge. As much as you want to try, you cannot go at top speed forever. Sometimes you need to slow down, sometimes you need to take it easy. Other than sleeping, sometimes you need time to do nothing, to have nothing.Even the most creative, innovative, dynamic people have times when they've got nothing. It may be

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-47383956761363332712009-02-12T18:31:00.003-05:002009-02-12T19:08:29.550-05:00

One of the hardest things to do in marketing is to remain objective. You cannot only have projects that are targeted to people who are the same as you. You will have to create campaigns or individual advertisements that you do not personally like. Chances are you aren't supposed to like them, because they aren't aimed towards you. You can and should be proud that you created it, but that doesn't

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-90755242633820992162009-02-11T17:36:00.002-05:002009-02-11T19:55:25.621-05:00

Don't be afraid to push yourself. If you've been offered two campaigns, one you know is easy and another that you know will take extra effort and give a greater reward, take the extra work. It will feel much better when you are done.Getting out of your comfort zone is of course easier said than done, nobody likes to dance on the razor's edge all the time, but a little push never hurt anyone. If

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-76052516411991838912009-02-10T14:12:00.002-05:002009-02-10T14:25:34.171-05:00

Over the past couple of days, the topic of Social Networking as a business, or being able to USE Social Networking as a business model from the user side, nor the owner side has been emerging. The question that is being raised is if Social Networking as it is set up right now can support or would welcome business integration beyond banner or clicker advertisements.Social Networking as it stands

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-64786135374356139752009-02-08T14:28:00.002-05:002009-02-08T14:46:07.655-05:00

Last time I wrote, I wrote about making sure to use what you know. Use what you have, you never know what may work until you try.However, there is definitely something to be said for what you don't know. In this day and age, you cannot be afraid of learning new things, of going out on a limb and trying something different. You just have to make sure that the base you are stepping out from is

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-49470655894195953522009-02-07T21:31:00.004-05:002009-02-07T21:37:14.242-05:00

With so many advances coming so quickly these days, there is way too much emphasis on keeping up with EVERYTHING. The thing is, not everyone can do that. Not everyone will ever do that. Of course continuous education is very important, but you cannot forget what you learned before. You cannot forget where you came from.You may not like where you were, but that's the foundation that where you are

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-55743272306308209532009-02-06T20:37:00.003-05:002009-02-06T21:05:53.617-05:00

Oddly enough, as a person with a bachelors degree in Marketing, I'd have to say I'm not sure.There's only so much that can be taught. Obviously you've got to learn the basics, and when you learn the basics of a lot of different concepts, it helps you refine what you are actually interested in. But so many things that are needed to be successful in marketing, advertising and such cannot truly be

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-70105907418724921822009-02-04T14:24:00.002-05:002009-02-04T14:46:13.486-05:00

So. I've been seeing movie previews for the upcoming reboot/remake of the Friday the 13th series. This kind of thing is becoming a lot more popular these days, it seems like original ideas are out the window again. Its another one of those cycles, I guess.The interesting thing is, the industry will reboot just about anything, even movies that were amazing! The marketing/advertising industry

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-14620487335453550302009-02-03T09:41:00.004-05:002009-02-03T10:21:12.904-05:00

Are all these authors and bloggers that write about being innovative, and the how and why of certain people becoming sucessful all writing about the same thing? Do they all have the same ideas, but explain them in different ways?Yes. But that's not a bad thing, and let me tell you why.Not all people learn the same way. Some people are visual, some are aural, and some learn by doing...I could go

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-6254692649462674892009-02-01T13:36:00.004-05:002009-02-01T13:59:16.380-05:00

In athletics and in other kinds of competitions, when something is first, it is generally declared "best". Gold Medal winners, Super Bowl Champions, World Series Champions, etc. They did what they do better than anyone else, came in first, and were declared best.The business world is nothing like that. First does not automatically mean best. Honestly, it rarely means best. Being first can get you

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-72125680503090086132009-01-30T10:01:00.002-05:002009-01-30T10:29:34.377-05:00

Every new blog has bad ideas every so often...granted, so do longstanding blogs. Bad ideas are a part of everything, especially marketing and advertising.I wanted to start doing a weekly marketing/business podcast review, most likely posting every Friday. Looking through iTunes, it is true that there are quite a few marketing style podcasts, but other than a few, I wouldn't feel comfortable doing

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-40592925369743592422009-01-29T11:49:00.003-05:002009-01-30T09:59:27.176-05:00

I think not. I'm pretty sure I'm not the only person who's ever thought so, either. Hell, I'm probably late to jump on the bandwagon as it is.The world we live in is to cyclical for traditional, or older style marketing to disappear. Clothing styles go in and out with astonishing regularity, and tend to circle back on a generational term. Music does the same thing. Look at the ska, swing, and

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3728365067542557413.post-13234819315506960752009-01-28T20:11:00.003-05:002009-01-30T09:58:20.395-05:00

I've always been fascinated by advertising and marketing, and when I was younger, wanted to know how to be involved in them. I was able to go to school for marketing and obtain my bachelors degree from Central CT State University.Being a technology dork, most people would think that internet marketing or next generation marketing would be my specialty. Its not, at least educationalwise. I do have

Mark Sherrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12472547696157121567noreply@blogger.com0