I read a very detailed article today about some of the more prevalent ways by which hotels are harnessing the power of social media. It’s an interesting read as many hotels could be doing a lot more to develop their online networking capabilities. As outlined by the article, the two principal factors are improved customer service via direct web relation...
Just recently, the Ontario Pharmaceutical Marketing Association (OPMA) sent out a request for proposal (RFP) for a creative agency. At first glance, nothing here is out of the ordinary. But dig a little deeper; this organization is undertaking a creative search and the winner will actually work for free. Well, to be more specific, there is no cash compensat...
We’ve discovered a great piece of hotelier software that we’d like to bring to your attention. Compass-WORKS is an instant-access web-based program that identifies key performance metrics and helps to design future sales and marketing plans. Specifically, Compass-WORKS is a versatile solution for multi-user operators, providing easy comparisons of your grou...
The recent completion of a "rack" brochure for the Holiday Inn Red Deer gave us pause for thought: what ever happened to the brochure as a key selling tool? What are the differences in communications between a customer's web site and their print materials? While the web has become the de facto sales tool in the hospitality industry, the brochure has no...
In late March, P&G became the first corporate inductee to the American Advertising Federation Hall of Fame. How does this international organization continue to remain a leader in global marketing? In a recent interview with AdvertisingAge, Chairman and CEO, Bob McDonald, shared his thoughts on this question. Using digital media has allowed the organiza...
We have been asked by many of our hotel clients to give our views on the current state of business in the industry. We published this over six months ago and the thoughts still work today. For the record, here are our top 10 points on hotel management: 1. Hang in...every hotel is running scared right now. 2. You are at a quality place; there are few ar...
Yes, we get questions like that! Here is a detailed response, this thanks to my SEO Team: 1) Organic SEO Has Two Legs: A real and proper *organic* SEO campaign requires much more than Meta tags. In fact, Meta Tags are largely irrelevant these days. SEO has 2 main legs: One: On-site SEO and Two: Off-site SEO. There are literally hundreds of tweaks we can...
A few hours (well, perhaps days) were spent in the office installing some new hardware. We purchased a new HP for Accounting (Sage software regretfully is not Mac friendly) and two new Mac’s for the Studio. Luckily, Dale Jeffries, our CTO was at the helm for the PC install. Despite the pre-install of Microsoft Office by the folks at Future Shop, the PC inst...
I heard Brian Williams debate this issue on NBC Nightly News. As if this was an issue. We have been in the “Nineteen’s” for the past century. Now we are in the “Twenties” I guess. The Blue Jays won the series in Nineteen Ninety-Two and again the following year. And I can’t even remember when the Leafs last won or care for that matter, as this year we have t...
Mr. Woods has borne the brunt of so many jokes. And it is difficult, if not impossible to come to his rescue and condone whatever indiscretions the man has committed. What is most interesting is observing the response of the advertising community: The immediate rejection of him; the loss of his “squeaky-clean” reputation and the apparent corporate absolutio...
