This post is the first in a series relating lessons from popular Aesop’s Fables to strategic communications and marketing.

The Ant and the Grasshopper:

“The ants were spending a fine winter’s day drying grain collected in the summertime. A Grasshopper, perishing with famine, passed by and earnestly begged for a little food. The Ants inquired of him, “Why did you not treasure up food during the summer?’ He replied, “I had not leisure enough. I passed the days in singing.” They then said in derision: “If you were foolish enough to sing all the summer, you must dance supperless to bed in the winter.”  Read more...

Note: This is the first part in a series.

By Allison Seifert

In 2008, Forrester Vice Presidents Carlene Li and Josh Bernoff published “Groundswell,” a revolutionary book about business and marketing in what was then the beginning of the mainstreaming of social media. Four years later, their thoughts have not only become predicative of the growing trend of social media but have become essential for understanding the greater context in marketing and public relations.

The nutshell: For practically any product or service, there are thousands, if not millions, of Internet users who would love nothing more than to become unknowing brand ambassadors and help to spread the digital word. You just need to locate and then inspire them.  Read more...

By Benjamin Goldberg

Let’s face it: we are a visually-oriented society. From images to video, the manner in which we prefer to process information has continued to move toward these optically-stimulating mediums. As this cultural preference has become ingrained in society, consumers have come to expect – nay, demand –  that their chosen brands and companies be prepackaged with familiar and relatable storylines that are presented in this manner.  Read more...

By Emily Kanter

A lot of women, like me, watch the Super Bowl for three main things: The national anthem (sung by Kelly Clarkson this year), the halftime show (Madonna featuring many other pop icons), and of course, the commercials.   Each year, advertisers battle and bid millions of dollars for a 30-second spot to debut their commercials during the football game.

Super Bowl XLVI had a lot of entertaining bits while others fell flat or tried too hard.  The thing that stood out most for me was Chevy’s aggressive digs at Ford. In a commercial portraying the Mayan apocalypse, Chevy drivers survived, leaving the rubble unscathed, while the narrator told us that Ford owners couldn’t survive the destruction.  Read more...

By Josh Cline

When you think about the strategy behind your current or future online presence, you likely think about beating your competitors (perhaps in search-engine rankings or in direct sales on your website) or becoming a recognized thought-leader in your specific industry.

Today, however, such a strategy is becoming increasingly difficult – if not impossible – in a world of millions of websites in which a select few have usually dominated their online markets for years (and will most likely continue to do so). If your company sells books, you will likely never beat Amazon. If your firm wants to create the next Facebook (and you are not Google) and replace the popular social-media network, it will take years even to come close to Mark Zuckerberg’s behemoth. The “first-mover advantage” exists for a reason.  Read more...

By Daniel Goldstein

In search-engine marketing (SEM) – the goal of which is to rank highly in Google search-results for chosen keywords – there are two general strategies: search-engine optimization (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so it is important to know when to use each one (or even both).

Before you make this marketing decision, you first need to determine and understand your overall business goals. As we at The Cline Group have always maintained, one’s marketing goal needs to be in line with one’s business goal before it can be integrated and executed successfully.  Read more...

By Daniel Goldstein

Soon, your picture could be all over Google. But, do not worry: we mean that in a good way.

Hubspot recently reported that the profile pictures of people using Google’s new social-networking website – Google+ (or Google Plus) – now have the ability to appear in search-result listings for the websites, articles, and blog posts that are associated with them. It just requires a bit of new HTML coding. According to the company’s intrepid reporting, here is how to have an author’s image appear as in the image at the top of this post:  Read more...

By Samuel J. Scott

People may like your brand – but do they love it? The difference is crucial to understand.

If someone likes your soft drink, tennis shoe, or website, he will continue to buy the product or visit the site. However, someone who loves a brand will often attempt to sell it to his friends, family, and acquaintances – usually without even realizing it.

As Harvard Business Review notes in a recent blog post, a love of a brand will turn someone into a “brand ambassador” who:  Read more...

For philanthropic and non-profit organizations, they are struggling. Funding is down and changing communication channels have made them increasingly irrelevant. However, in a recent op/ed in the Jewish Exponent, The Cline Group’s Josh Cline lays out several tips and suggestions for how to remain relevant.

Read the whole article here, but below are some highlights:

There is a crisis in the nonprofit world today as technological change and social media have become mainstream, and the financial crisis has wiped out the wealth of many organizations’ traditional donors.  Read more...

YouTube is five years old. Facebook is six years old. The under-30 crowd grew up with technology and are “Digital Natives.” I first had a computer when I was six years old and those just out of college probably had a computer in their house from the day they were born and were on Facebook in high school. The natural facility with today’s technology is one of the great advantages that Generation Y and the Millenials bring to the workplace.  Read more...