It’s time to give back to SEM community.  I just did and it takes about 15 minutes.

The Search Engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) has launched its fifth annual State-of-the-SEM Market Survey. Whether or not you are an experienced Internet Professional or just getting started in the industry, it’s a survey that you should do to benefit the community.  You even get the results of the survey sent to you once it’s completed.  That means more stats and figures to pour over.  If you are in SEM, you like that sort of thing.

As a bonus, SEMPO is offering two prizes that will be picked randomly – a free pass to any one of the 2009 SES conferences and an iPod Touch.

I have an iPhone but I guess an iPod Touch would be a welcome addition…

Well it’s sure been a long hiatus since my last blog post – a lot of things have happened.

In May, I completed my MBA education at USC Marshall School of Business, having graduated with Beta Gamma Sigma honors.

In July, I married my girlfriend of five years and got to honeymoon in Belize.  I also started my current job as Internet Marketing Manager at LAMPS PLUS.

In August & September, I got accustomed to post-MBA and newly-married life.   I’ve learned that the flexibility of school hours really is something special.  I’ve also learned that being flexible in marriage is also special.

In  October & November, most weekends were busy with attending other weddings and weekend trips (Joshua Tree, San Francisco, New York). All fun but time-consuming.

Now, that I’ve gotten settled back into the swing of things restarting my blog postings was on the top of my list.  Now with this posting, I can officially cross that task off my list.

Stay tuned for more commentary and thoughts on Marketing, the Internet, and more.

Following up on my posting of a Creative Brief for Gatorade Tiger, this is what Gatorade did for its first commercial.  I’m not a big fan of the sci-fi slant and slight hokeyness of the commercial.  I think Gatorade would have been better served focusing on the winning aspects of Tiger much like the “Be Like Mike” Nike campaigns of the early 1990s.

I came across a great article today on ClickZ on how Zappos is using customer service to create Word of Mouth advertising.  The main idea is that by creating great service, customers are happy.  Happy customers become evangelists for your company and products.  Evangelists tell their friends about how great your company or product is, which in turn creates new customers.  Your new customers also become happy through your great service and the cycle continues on and on.

The benefits of creating great interaction points with your consumers is not only repeat business but the ability to spend less on advertising and other promotions to gain awareness or trial. The premise is simple but many companies overlook how important being customer focused is in all aspects of their business.  It’s not only about having a great service staff but also having the customer focused attitude and beliefs throughout your organization.

My former company, Aplia, did a great job of using customer service to its full advantage.  We believed in giving 24/7 support for our professors (customers) and students (users).  Our internal goal was to reply to each support email within 1 hour. Often we replied back to our users within minutes. It wasn’t only our support teams that had our customers in mind.  Our product development process was always customer focused.  Our goal wasn’t just to produce a great product but how we could support the needs of our users better.  We spent alot of time using customer feedback, usability studies, and sales force intelligence to gain insight.  We took the time to listen and our customers loved us for it.  We always overdelivered as an organization and it became a competitive advantage for us. 

Great nostalgic commercial for Pontiac’s new G8.  Pontiac used the popular 1980s game Spy Hunter as the theme of the advertisement.  It’s definitely something that I played as a kid.  Here’s why I like it:

1. The music and imagery is unmistakable.  If you hear or see the ad playing, it’s engaging and attracts immediate attention. 
2. Spy Hunter hits the target market of the Pontiac G8. People in their late 20s and early 30s will remember playing it and recognize it immediately.
3. It creates positive associations for the Pontiac G8.  Most people will probably remember Spy Hunter as being fun and cool.  It is also reminiscent of their youth.  These all create emotions that is positive for an emotitional decision like purchasing a vehicle.
4. The advertising shows off the Pontiac G8′s handling, power, and styling.
5. The commercial broke through the clutter.  I was engaged enough to look up the car and the commercial.  I would not have even put the car in my consideration set before.