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Radio Holds Firm With Brighter Forecast for Future

You may be wondering why Marketing Pilgrim, the Internet News blog, is talking about radio. Especially that silly old school over the air radio.

Well, it’s like this. One thing we understand and need everyone else to at least consider is that while the online space is certainly the most intense growth area for marketers and it is going to be a significant part of the future, there are still other very viable channels for marketers to consider.

We see a bit too much of the “online v. offline” marketing talk rather the smarter and more effective “online plus offline” discussions. A report from BIA/Kelsey reminded us that radio is still alive and may even have some growth on the horizon. Take a look for yourself.

Roadblocks to Innovation: How to Keep Moving Forward in Business

Kraft has been making cheese since the early 1920′s. They’re a well-respected brand and a leader in the business. Still, they can’t simply rest on their laurels. They have to keep coming up with new products, like Fresh Take. This product creates a crunchy, flavorful cheese and crumb coating with almost no mess. The secret is their dual bag that magically zips open to become a mixing bowl and crumb shaker. Kraft took a kitchen chore (breading meats) and turned it into a fast and easy option for dinner.

Innovation is necessary if a company wants to grow, but it’s one of the hardest elements of running a business. Particularly when you’ve been around as long as Kraft has. It’s hard because innovation is a creative process and our days are generally anti-creative for a variety of reasons.

Comcast’s New Streampix is About Giving Customers What They Want

Comcast has a new video streaming service called Streampix that allows users to watch old movies and TV shows on demand.

The general consensuses on the web is that the service will become a direct competitor to Netflix, and Boston.com even went so far as to blame the Comcast announcement for a drop in Netflix’s stock price.

The Streampix service will be free to anyone who already subscribes to Comcast’s Xfinity premium service. For other Comcast subscribers, it can be accessed for only $4.99 a month, which is cheaper than Netflix’s base price of $7.99 a month.

Sure sounds like Comcast is out to take Netflix down, but the reality is, the cable company is simply trying to stay competitive in a rapidly changing media world.

5 Marketing Tips from the Social Commerce Summit

Right now, some of the top internet entrepreneurs are in New York City discussing social commerce, Facebook, the daily deal space and all things social media.

It’s all happening at the Social Commerce Summit and since we can’t all be there, Business Insider is boiling down the important points in a series of articles on their website. It’s still a lot to take in, so I’m narrowing it down even more.

Here’s my pick for the top 5 pieces of marketing advice culled from lists put together by Business Insider.

5. Like it or not — Google+

Jason John, Gilt Groupe marketing exec says:

Search is extremely important to us. Google will have its way and we will have to focus on Google+. We launched our presence on Google+ yesterday.

5 New Year’s Resolutions for Online Marketers

New Year’s resolutions. Love ‘em, hate ‘em, you can’t hardly live without them. Even if you don’t write them down or announce them to the world, they’re there. We can’t help ourselves. There’s something about the start of a new year that makes us all decide it’s time to be better, smarter, richer, thinner or happier.

I can’t help you with the thinner or happier part, but here are 5 New Year’s resolutions that could make you a better, smarter, richer marketer.

1. I will listen to what my customers have to say.

5 Facebook Privacy & Security Tips You Ignore at Your Own Peril

Chances are you’re a pro at using Facebook. You have your Page optimized, ads targeted, and your privacy settings impenatrable. So why is it that I see so many glaring issues that could cause the average person to have their account life hacked?

I come across these 5 issues below every day. Any one of them could result in a someone nefariously hacking your account, stealing your identity, or even ransacking your home. If you have these covered, congrats, but please share them with your Facebook friends, because many of them are leaving themselves vulnerable.

Netflix Apologizes Then Makes Matters Worse

“I messed up. I owe everyone an explanation.”

Two months ago, Netflix Co-Founder and CEO Reed Hastings, announced a major change to the pricing structure for Netflix members which included increased fees for anyone wanting to get DVDs in the mail and stream movies.The result was a lot of bad press as loyal fans cried foul loud enough to be heard. Memberships were canceled, stock prices dropped and Blockbuster could be heard laughing all the way to bankruptcy court.

Yesterday, Hastings tried to patch things up with a lengthy note of apology and an explanation of things to come.