Writings from Force 5 Basecamp

04/19/11

I recently read an article in Marketing Daily, about the growth in private-label products. No surprise there, right? The figures were pretty compelling with consumers saving 33% off their grocery bills by purchasing all private-label products. I have followed the trend, trying more private-label products than I have in the past. While I haven’t gone all private-label, I have more

04/15/11

 I found this video to be a  really helpful explanation of social marketing business strategy.   Scott Stratten, you rock! Force 5 would be happy to answer any questions you have about Social Media marketing, just drop us a line.

04/14/11

The latest data from Experian Hitwise shows that the number of keywords typed into search engines is declining.  Longer searches, those of 5-8 words, were down last month 3%.  As the data table shows,  1 word searches comprise a full 24% of all searches. 2 word searches are a close second.  When it comes to people finding your business or organization organically on the web,

04/12/11

The use of smart phones to scan barcodes (1D, 2D, QR) is happening now with growth rates hitting over 800% from a year ago according to the latest report from ScanLife.  Some highlights I found interesting: The most popular 2D bar code campaign was for Film.  Codes were placed primarily outdoor and online. Beverages are amongs the items most scanned.  Books are

04/04/11

Mobile browsing is here and now.  With estimates that over 50% of all mobile phones sold this year will be smart, preparing your website to become an amazing internet experience on these devices can be challenging.   As mobile technology continues to evolve into tomorrow, keeping it simple today is a must.  How simple?  Think Cave Man simple. Here some things

03/29/11

I remember walking into Joe’s office pretty frustrated.  I’d had one of those days – the bad kind.  Actually, I’d had about 10 of those days in a row, placing me exactly halfway to a pretty lousy month.  I had recently accepted a new role leading a new team and things were just not happening the way I had envisioned. 

03/28/11

Just like in the ole West, or at least as our Western movies tell us, Black hats are villains – and usually up to “no good”. The New York Times recently noticed something odd when performing Google searches on terms as diverse as bedding, skinny jeans, area rugs and grommet-top curtains. “You could imagine a dozen contenders for each of

03/15/11

In the dreary days of January and February, many of us find a boat show on the weekend—letting us dream of warmer days, sand and sun filled holidays, and hours on the nearest lake. Sitting on a boat inside a convention center doesn’t quite fill the bill—does it? This year, Starcraft Marine decided to help boating enthusiast get to that

03/04/11

I’ve worked for a lot of years, enjoyed a lot of roles in my career, and had a lot of supervisors who imparted their wisdom to me.   I thought I would share some of their best stuff with you in this series of posts called, “The Boss Rules.” Rule #3:  Become an “Owner” Sometimes the best things a boss can

02/22/11

I’ve worked for a lot of years, enjoyed a lot of roles in my career, and had a lot of supervisors who imparted their wisdom to me.   I thought I would share some of their best stuff with you in this series of posts called, “The Boss Rules.” Rule #2:  “Ask them, ‘What are you trying to accomplish?’ ” I

02/14/11

I’ve been here at Force 5 for just 6 months now, but I’ve been in the workforce since I was legally of age.   Throughout the years I’ve been fortunate to have had some great bosses who took the time to pour their wisdom into me.  Because their “rules” have been so helpful to me, I thought I would share some of the best ones

02/08/11

I was listening to NPR last week, and they were discussing “fractured culture”. The premise is that today we live in a world of infinite choices. Most homes have the choice of hundreds of channels, and within those channels are documentaries, cartoons, drama, reality, and talent shows. On the computer you can surf millions of websites, video games, listen to