Category Archives: Marketing

Before You Worry About Match Rates…

But before you get bogged down in match rate discussions, the more important strategic work needs to have been done up front. Never delve into tactics without understanding the mission and the strategy to accomplish the mission. Continue reading

Posted in digital marketing, Direct Response, Marketing, Media, Strategy, Tactics | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Before You Worry About Match Rates…

Nobody’s Talking About This ads.txt Problem

As a media buyer, I find myself scratching my head about the IAB’s ads.txt initiative. It’s a good thing, of course. Knowing that somebody selling advertising inventory to you is actually authorized to sell that impression to you is important. … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Media, planning | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Nobody’s Talking About This ads.txt Problem

Your Mission and Vision are Lousy

I was talking about company mission and vision statements with Paresh Shah, a good and smart friend of mine. During the discussion, he gave me a simple rule to see if your mission was good or not: “Write out the … Continue reading

Posted in Branding, Marketing, Philosophy, Product Development, Strategy | Tagged , , | Comments Off on Your Mission and Vision are Lousy

Worst Ad Ever?

Who writes an ad without a headline? David Ogilvy said that when you have written your headline, you have spent 75% of your money. Continue reading

Posted in Direct Response, Marketing, Tactics | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Worst Ad Ever?

Decent Direct Mail

Every once in a while you get direct response that’s properly targeted. It restores my faith in humanity, even if the direct mail piece isn’t technically the best I’ve ever seen. Continue reading

Posted in Data, Direct Response, Marketing, Media | Tagged , , , | Comments Off on Decent Direct Mail

Imagine this: A set of large screens in your corporate lobby running, in real time and randomly, the actual digital ads you are running on the pages the ads are being displayed on. A viewer would also be able to stop … Continue reading

Posted on by markpilip | Comments Off on A Thought Experiment: Lobby Ads

Why are digital marketing vendors so obsessed with automating the processes involved in advertising? Continue reading

Posted on by markpilip | Comments Off on Automation and Digital Marketing

Working with ad exchanges? Do these things. Continue reading

Posted on by markpilip | Comments Off on Ad Exchange Rules of Thumb

Fake News Root Cause: Digital Advertisers

Somewhere in our rush to use digital media, we got obsessed with reach and the size of audiences (the magic word again) and impressions. We got taken for a ride by the ad tech industry hucksters, who built an almost-perfect money-making machine on top of fake inventory created on phony websites. Continue reading

Posted in fraud, Leadership, Marketing, Philosophy, Rants | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments Off on Fake News Root Cause: Digital Advertisers

Mayan Marketing

“All you have to know is what it is.” Said Richard Feynman, in his introduction to his famous Sir Douglas Robb Lectures on quantum electrodynamics at Auckland University in 1979. Feynman’s brilliance in those lectures and his book on the … Continue reading

Posted in Marketing, Media, Philosophy | Tagged , , , , | Comments Off on Mayan Marketing