Nasty Solar Storms

The sun follows an 11 year pattern of activity/(relative) dormancy.  You may not care except for this point – the sun is starting an active cycle as explained in this Fast Company article.

The sun is about to get a lot more active, which could have ill effects on Earth. So to prepare, top sun scientists met Tuesday to discuss the best ways to protect Earth’s satellites and other vital systems from the coming solar storms.

Solar storms occur when sunspots on our star erupt and spew out flumes of charged particles that can damage power systems. The sun’s activity typically follows an 11-year cycle, and it looks to be coming out of a slump and gearing up for an active period.

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People of the 21st century rely on high-tech systems for the basics of daily life. But smart power grids, GPS navigation, air travel, financial services and emergency radio communications can all be knocked out by intense solar activity.

This may put a damper on the new iPhone…and all other cell phones for that matter.

Stimulus-Response Marketing

I always give pause when I wade into the marketing arena.  I am a psych major by education and a salesperson by experience.  Clearly that combination validates my marketing mojo!  Ok, maybe not but I’m still pressing forward.

I’ve seen a trend in the older sales/marketers I talk to about marketing campaigns – they seem to have a direct-response mentality.  To put it in psychological parlance, it is a stimulus-response mindset.  “I completed this one marketing thing and now I want to see monetary responses from the market.”  I am all for that response too, but it is far less common today.

Marketing in this present Information Age (or whatever the present descriptor is) requires a consistent message over time in multiple mediums.  Perhaps a better description is stimulus-stimulus-stimulus-stimulus-response.  Or even more stimuli.  You get the point.  Method has become as important as message.

One-off, laser-focused campaigns are not effective in today’s world of instant, ubiquitous information.  The better approach is to use a consistent message over multiple mediums.  A simple example would be a focused campaign carried out over email blasts, videos and websites.  We can help with these items.

The key is to put together a plan, lay it out on a timeline and be realistic about each step.  Some steps are simply for exposure while others are for response.  Realize that it is probably going to take some coordination and patience to execute a successful marketing campaign in today’s business world.