I have written well over a hundred of white papers over the last decade or so. All but a handful were for other people’s bylines, but in all cases I helped mold the strategy that the white paper...

Why did the business owner cross the road?  To get to the other side of course. 

In these technology-driven times having on online presence is expected. When a potential customer puts your name...

Websites have been around forever, or at least for the last 25 years or so, which in the world of technology might as well be forever.  Businesses know that a website is a virtual billboard,...

Does Your Content Marketing Measure Up to the Cluetrain?

The Cluetrain Manifesto was first published as a website in 1999, then as a book in 2000. Its basic point: With the rise of the internet...

“Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?" "That depends a good deal on where you want to get to." "I don't much care where –" "Then it doesn't matter which way you go.” ― ...

I wrote previously about the importance of context when producing content. There’s more to this, and it can be a very useful strategy for some companies. This is the use of what I’m calling...

In the earliest days of advertising, and I do mean earliest, its purpose was simple:  Let people know that a product or service is available and where they can obtain it.  Ancient Egyptians...

Time-thieves delight in stealing your seconds, so when they move into your software, you must protect your time from their sticky fingers. Your seconds can be put to better use on something...

What it be like if time was like spare change? You could save a few seconds here and there and find an extra hour on Saturday afternoon. Or you might collect otherwise unproductive minutes and...

 “Canvas” is a cool interactive page on Facebook created specifically for mobile users. Facebook defines it as “a full-screen, mobile-optimized, post-click experience that can feature a...

You may be producing content hand over fist as part of your marketing strategy, but if it doesn’t hit home with your target audience, if it doesn’t resonate with them, it won’t have the value...

Have you ever tried creating a custom audience on Facebook? Have you wondered what happens with the email addresses you upload to Facebook?  In the light of Facebook’s ever-changing privacy...

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once wrote "In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister," which translates to "Masters of their craft know that less is more."

Goethe was of course not talking...

Recently, after making a purchase at a sports-themed store I’ll call Sports R Us, I registered with the company’s loyalty/rewards program at the urging of the employee working the cash...

“Content marketing” is a big umbrella. There are many types of content and many choices for channels for pushing out content to the world. How does a content marketer decide on the...

Why video is a natural addition to your digital marketing plan

MTV launched on cable television 35 years ago with a song entitled “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Buggles.  The idea of the...

A company I worked for was acquired in 2011; in Q4 2015, the acquirer admitted defeat in our market space and announced the impending sale of my organization.  In a not-uncommon scenario, I...

What purpose does a blog serve other than as a place to rant and evangelize?  If you are running and managing a small business, why should you commit time from an already overburdened schedule...

Year on year, the Content Marketing Institute cites “creating engaging content” as a top priority of B2B marketing organizations. In its 2016 Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends—North America...

Technology has had a seat at the business strategy table for some time.  Management from the executive suite down recognize that technology is a key enabler for a wide range of business...

By Ekaterina Konovalova, Senior Marketing Manager at Ascend Marketing 

Over 30 years ago, about 80% of Americans identified themselves as shy. That’s a big number. One would think that...

It's nice to know that days like this exist so we can be reminded and be able to showcase all of the natural beauty and wonders that our world provides. In honor of this day on August 19 our...

GRAPEVINE (TX) - Tina Schweiger, a principal in Ascend Marketing and leader of the marketing services company’s Austin office, has been nominated for the Profile in Power-Woman of Influence!...

There is a growing philosophical divide between front-end Web application developers. JavaScript is the one front-end language that all browsers natively understand (at least until WebAssembly...

“It’s a fruit!” “It’s a vegetable!” You’re both right…go enjoy some fresh watermelon to celebrate #WatermelonDay! 

We are all bombarded daily with messages encouraging—demanding—that we take a look, learn more, buy now.  It is not enough to send out a one-size-fits-all message.  Personalization has become...

Do you manage social media for a B2B brand? Are you finding it a challenge to create an effective B2B social media strategy?

It is not a secret that the most shareable, the most engaging, and...

Your company just purchased a license to use Oracle Content Marketing (previously known as Compendium), and your job as a developer is to get it running. Where do you begin? As the Chinese...

☕️+❄️+🍋= 😋

Whether you are a new business owner or you have owned your own company for a while, finding ways to stimulate business is a universal and ongoing challenge. Here are 22 ideas that can stimulate...

Not terribly long ago, if you wanted to watch your local team’s game in real time you had to be sitting in the arena or stadium.  Regardless of how the game turned out, attending the event in...

We are pleased to share that two of our clients, Acorda Therapeutics and Ameriflex were selected as finalists for the Dallas/Fort Worth American Marketing Association Chapter 2015-2016 Marketer...

Is there anyone who loves receiving negative feedback—especially if it is an unfair downpour of negativity from someone you barely know or never met? If you are like most people, you cringe when...

Sitting alone on a quiet and peaceful Mother’s Day morning—with husband and older son out washing my car and my baby sleeping—I was able to do a little life reflection. Wouldn’t it be fun, I...

I’m on the mailing list for Pentagram’s annual publication, “Pentagram Papers.” This year’s edition, called “Overlooked,” is by Partner Marina Willer. It contains 22 rubbings of street covers...

Topper Pardoe offers his perspectives about the state of marketing today.

Have you ever run a Facebook ad to generate website visits? Did you notice a discrepancy between Facebook reports and your own website tracking platform? It is not uncommon to see higher click...

The technology industry has long accepted virtualization as a great idea, but it’s important to use the right tool for the job.

Containers as a virtualization approach have grown in popularity...

In the past two years, I have managed over 100 Facebook campaigns for a Fortune 100 client. These campaigns generated over 8.2 million impressions, engaged almost 57,000 people and resulted in...

Between work and personal email, I receive 200 to 300 emails on average every day, and I doubt that I am unusual.  Email provides a relatively inexpensive way for small businesses to stay...

What is brand identity and why is it important in the digital world? I believe that many businesses struggle with this question, especially in the beginning. Just like in the print world, you...

No business truly sells to another business; we all sell to people. ― Ann Handley

When a well-known international technology company recently launched a marketing campaign designed to build...

There is a perennial argument in business over whether marketing is a science or an art.  Those that fall on the side of science will tell you that the best marketing takes place when the...

How can you grow your professional knowledge and contacts in the business community? What’s the most effective way to propel your career to the next level?

Scholars and career coaches agree that...

If you are like me you are always looking for ways to build trust with your customers.

A recent report from EY and Forbes Insights advises marketers to harness their data to do just that.

The...

Contemplating adding content marketing to your marketing mix? Or do you already have a content marketing strategy in place and are looking to take it to the next level?

Here are some informative...

We’d like for you to get to know us! Welcome to the next in our series of “Get to Know Us” blog posts about the team at Ascend!

We recently caught up with Mark Lambrecht, Partner, Account...

Just read an excellent article in Harvard Business Review entitled The Ultimate Marketing Machine with insights gleaned from a global study of over 10,000 marketers and wanted to share.

Summary

...

I just discovered an informative online resource from the American Marketing Association dedicated to best practices in Customer Engagement that I wanted to share.

Customer engagement is all...

We all live in a world saturated with big data…almost everyone, whether in business, government, education or just as our everyday consumer selves, make use of big data to help us make better...

Just finished reading the 2015 Internet Trends report by Mary Meeker, a longtime Internet analyst and current partner at prominent VC firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. You can view the...

I found the recent article from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, entitled, More than Pretty Pictures – Data visualization is integral to memorable and persuasive...

I enjoyed reading this insightful article from the Huff Post Business blog entitled, Creating Insight-Driven Experiences To Build Brands. Blog author, Gabrey Means is spot on when she advices...

Download this informative Mobile Advertising Around the Globe: 2015 Annual Report from Marin Software to get the latest trends regarding the usage of smartphone and tablet devices across search,...

Wanted to share this excellent article in CMSWIRE.com that explores the true definition of engagement marketing. The author, Barry Schaeffer has some excellent points on. “…if we are to be...

Interesting blog post from ChiefMarketer.com with five informative tips to fine tune your content marketing metrics.

My favorite takeaways:

Set Your Sights on Authentic Engagement

You need to...

Each day you open your inbox and find it overwhelmed by unsolicited messages sent by websites that you have visited, companies you might have purchased from at one time and companies that you...

A recent Wall Street Journal piece entitled, The Future of Advertising: Farewell, Mass Marketing suggests that mass marketing, as we know it, is destined to meet its demise as marketers...

This morning, I attended the Social Media Breakfast at Innovation Week in Austin, hosted by @Peoplefund. While watching an awesome presentation by Social Media Consultant Michelle Stinson Ross...

Do you market to teens?  Here is the latest PEW Research Report on Teens, Social Media and Technology.  This article is packed with current insights.

Some key stats:

• Facebook is the most...

Excellent article by Don E. Schulz published from the American Marketing Association’s Marketing News on the role reversal in today’s world between marketers and consumers.

My key takeaways:

• ...

Tips for producing great emails abound.  I found these five, from a very informative Fast Company article (focused on the -who, what, when, where and how of email marketing) to be especially...

We’d like for you to get to know us! Welcome to the third in a series of “Get to Know Us” blog posts about the team at Ascend!

We recently visited with Tina Schweiger, Ascend’s Director of...

Enjoyed reading this excellent article from PR Newswire listing 5 Steps for Building Your Blog’s Influence, plus a link to two informative webinars.

Quick summary of the steps:

Step 1: Find,...

We’d like for you to get to know us! Welcome to the second in a series of “Get to Know Us” blog posts about the team at Ascend!

We recently sat down with Managing Partner and one of Ascends...

Very informative blog post from Hootsuite on lessons learned from five of the Most Successful Marketing Campaigns of the Last Decade.

Here’s a quick recap of those lessons we can all learn from:

Delivering a message has never been harder. The problem is no one has time to pay attention. As of 2013, the average attention span dropped to eight seconds, one second less than that of a...

At a recent DFW AMA event, fellow marketer Diane Velasco told me about this info-packed “book” from PRNews containing 45 articles from agency practitioners and brand managers to leaders in...

Marketers have seen their jobs transformed over the past ten years. The transformation is happening again — but faster this time. According to The Economist Intelligence Unit's survey of 478...

We recently sat down with long time Ascender Victoria Milner, she’s been with Ascend since 2007 and heads up our Production team.

We’d like to thank Victoria for being the first interviewee in...

I hope you had a chance last week to read Part 1 and Part 2 of my Point of View article, Hospitals: Walking the Right Way.

This week and next look for a series of posts outlining seven issues...