For webcasts presented in applications such as Live Meeting, WebEx and GotoMeeting, the PowerPoint presentation is the key visual aid used to convey ideas.  While the enthusiasm and clarity of the presenter counteracts a badly designed PowerPoint to a degree, a webcast will have the most impact if the presenter’s ability to emotionally connect with [...]

Recently, I was asked to contribute a week’s worth of guest blog entries to www.fastcompany.com. Topics included viral campaign strategies, customer retention in touch economic times, corporate social responsibility, incorporating data tools into marketing campaigns, and connecting with your audience through brand storytelling. You can read them all here: http://www.fastcompany.com/tag/melinda-partin.

Do you lean heavily on offering RSS feeds for your Web sites and blogs? Do you know what RSS is, beyond an acronym for “Really Simple Syndication?” Be prepared for the lion’s share of your audience to pay less attention to traditional push media tactics (RSS, email newsletters, etc.) and get more emotionally involved in [...]

As Americans turn to mood enhancers, there’s still no excuse for bad design.
I love a recession indicator. I’ve heard about hemlines getting longer when the economy is heading south, or when they’re shortening up when economists get bullish. Lipstick sales, too, are reported to go up when economic times fall hard. I heard an interesting [...]

As emotional beings, humans rarely make truly rational or logical decisions despite self-deluded perceptions to the contrary. In a time of economic uncertainty, transition in leadership of our country, and the omnipresent migraine of war, emotions are on edge. If marketers can lift themselves out of the fray long enough to figure out how [...]