John Roberson, CEO of Nashville based Advent Marketing attended yesterdays International Exhibition in Nashville and gave a seminar on "Marketing Results in 45 Minutes". The seminar detailed what companies can do to distinguish themselves in a competitive marketplace and how small to mid-size firms can gain an advantage through creative marketing strategies.

Seminars like this one are a great opportunity to gain valuable knowledge from speakers we wouldn’t otherwise have access to. I highly recommend attending a seminar should you get the chance. A lot of the knowledge learned will prove valuable to you for the rest of your marketing career.

For those of you who like a drink every now and again, Marketing Power have found an interesting ad campaign by Swedish vodka maker ‘Absolute’. Launched in Mexico, the ad-campaign touts an ‘Absolut World’ in which North America’s internal borders would predate the Mexican-American War of 1848.

The ad was intended to ‘tap into the national pride of Mexicans’ but has stirred up some controversy in the blogosphere. Is the end result of the ad’s intended use worth the risk of losing valuable customers who’s only drink is vodka?

Absolut have certainly taken a risk with this ad, but there’s no doubt, all the debating going on has certainly made people aware of their brand.

Today’s fast-food mentality has some college kids wanting more healthy choices. A recent renovation to their campus has given them just that. The kids wanted more healthy foods, and by only stocking healthy choices, that’s what they’re eating.

By stocking only what the kids want, that’s all they’ll eat - it just happens to be in this case, it’s the right choice. Promoting the good, with none of the bad makes complete sense.

The cereal set-up, which Sodexho officials say they believe is the first full-service “cereal bar” in Nashville, also offers six kinds of milk (whole, 2 percent, skim, chocolate, soy and organic) and 25 mix-ins from almonds and dried cranberries to marshmallows and chocolate chips.

It seems like organic and environmentally friendly spaces are the recognized commodity in experiential marketing today. 

Getting the attention of the right customers is essential.

Making your a brand an everyday term should be your goal in effective, strategic promotions.  In a world surrounded by brands, raising the bar to combine creativity with strategic planning can be high impact. Here are three different ways to get the attention of the right customers and maintaining their interest.

Continuing on with some marketing basics:

There are many definitions of marketing. The better definitions are focused upon customer orientation and satisfaction of customer needs.

The achievement of corporate goals through meeting and exceeding customer needs better than the competition.

More definitions of marketing.

Business is all about people, and to bring those people into your business, you need marketing.

Marketing is an essential function that you need for you business to become a success - it will say a lot about who your company is and what you do. It is your strategy for allocating resources (time and money) in order to achieve your objectives (a fair profit for supplying a good product or service).

A lot of new marketers often get caught up in the details - here’s a good refresher article on the essentials of marketing. 

What do you do if you need new growth in your industry and are competing against technology? Magazines are turning to experiential marketing.

The traditional magazine industry is flat to downward at best. An article in The New York Times talks about House & Garden magazine (Condé Nast) spending close to $1 million on event-based marketing.

Some big names and creative thinkers have visited Nashville in the past. Read what Monica Powers had to say about speaking with them.

The NAMA are looking for new members.

NAMA is riding a wave of growth and success, and the Spring Membership Drive is the perfect time to join. Take advantage of opportunities for networking and professional development, savings on products and services, and access to industry resources. Join one of the fastest growing AMA Chapters in the country!

Read more about the NAMA Spring Membership Drive

Nashville based experiential marketing group Advent Results have been featured in the Washington Post.

The article discusses indepth the charity work that Advent and its employees participate in. John Roberson (President of Advent) and Todd Austin (Vice-President), talk about their employee’s influence on society by doing good deeds.