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George Torok

Marketing Blog Milestone: Post 251

Celebrate your milestones - that's good marketing. Reaching significant milestones in your business speaks to your credibility, stability and persistence. All those things scream lasting value.

This marketing blog has surpassed blog post number 250. This is post number 251.

Let's review some of the best and significant posts over the past two and 1/2 years:


1. It started with a confession and epiphany in January 2006.

Post Alpha - a new marketing blog
Just recently I remarked to a friend that, "Blogs are for hobbyists and dabblers. Serious business people don't have blogs. They have real websites."So here I am starting my own blog. Why?


2. A new marketing term is revealed and defined.

Barketing Defined
A few posts ago on this blog I introduced the term “Barketing”. Since then some of you have expressed an interest in that term and asked for further clarification. Where did the term originate? Right here on this blog. This is the first time in public.


3. An example of using controversy as a marketing tool.

Christian Crusaders want to discuss DaVinci
That headline in the Globe and Mail (May 19, 2006) caught my attention. Why? Because with the reported religious controversy over the movie, The DaVinci Code, this sounded like a different approach. And that statement is a positive one.


4. Lessons to make blogging easier.

How to Create Content for your Blog
The keys to a successful blog are: relevance, frequent updates and practicality. How can you create the content for your blog? Here are a few examples:


5. The best branding example I've seen.

Branding: Death Cigarettes
I heard the best yet “How to create your Brand” story on this podcast with UK entrepreneur BJ Cunnigham.BJ created a company called The Enlightened Tobacco Company in 1991, selling a cigarette called “Death Cigarettes”. It was presented in a black package emblazoned with a white skull-and-crossbones logo. Just imagine how this might appeal to the rebels.


6. A good example of bad marketing.

Travelodge Hotel Accuses You
At the Travelodge Hotel You Are Guilty Till Proven Innocent. At the Travelodge Hotel, (Burlington on the Lake) you are guilty till proven innocent. How’s that for customer service? How’s that for marketing?


7. The power of controversy and how it stimulates viral marketing.

Flick off!
How do you create a powerful viral marketing campaign? Clearly identify and know your target market. Really know them – what they do, where they go, how they think, what motivates them, how to grab their attention and how to speak their language. (How much of that do you know about your target market?)



8. A branding genius in the buff.

Richard Branson has Chahones
Richard Branson has ChahonesRichard Branson has chahones and he likes to show them off. Here he is running nude in the waves. Sir Richard thrives on challenge and controversy. He is the billionaire that has retained or reclaimed the boldness and brashness of a teenager. (How many boomers remember streaking?)


9. Example of partnering with a movie for cross promotion

Iron Man - the latest movie from Marvel Comics
Watch the trailer. It looks sharp. Looks like Marvel has successfully made the transition from comic book producer to movie producer. Several Marvel Comics have been transformed into movies but this is the first movie that Marvel had produced since they decided that they could do it themselves. (It's always enlightening to watch a child grow up.) Can you guess the name of the theme song for the Iron Man movie? Hint: The band is Black Sabbath.


10. Wake up call for small business - stop wasting your money on branding!

Forget branding, invest in relations
George Torok, Financial Post Published: Monday, May 12, 2008
The majority of business owners could be headed for disaster this year. Small business does best when it acts like small business. It does poorly when it blindly attempts to copy big business.The results of an Ipsos-Reid poll in March, 2008, should scare you. It found "a majority (59%) of small to medium-sized business owners have identified branding as a top priority."

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George Torok
Marketing Speaker
Business Speaker

George Torok the priest

No, that's not me. But apparently there is a priest named George Torok - same name as me. It's not often that I run into a Torok. It's an unusual name. The origin is Hungarian if you are wondering.

But to hear of another George Torok - now that is extremely rare. I'm the only George in my family. I was named after a George on my mother's side.

So imagine my surpirse to hear of another George Torok. Imagine my further surprise to learn that this George Torok is a Catholic priest. My grandmother would have been so delighted.

I guess that most of us hear of or run into name doubles - especially if your name is Smith or Jones. Occasionaly the antics of your name double can cause you credit or publicity troubles. These days it might get you on a "no-fly list".

Lucky me. This George Torok sounds like a good person with an impressive background. He is recently in the news because he is celebrating 50 years of religious service.

Well, my congrats to George. I'm pleased to share the same name. I hope that you don't mind having the same name as a marketing expert. Actually, I guess that we are both in marketing because marketing is about sending a consistent message with the purpose of influencing people.

Enjoy this clip from The Journal News of New York's Lower Hudson Valley.

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June 20, 2008
Tappan priest celebrates 50 years of religious service
Hannan Adely
The Journal News

TAPPAN - During five decades as a priest, the Rev. George Torok has traveled the world on Catholic missions, produced documentary and educational films, and served New York parishes.
In 2006, he became a pastor for the first time, taking the helm of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Church in Tappan.

On Sunday, the congregation will celebrate Torok's rich life and service to the Roman Catholic Church during Mass and at a picnic marking the 50th anniversary of his ordination. As that day approaches, Torok said he wanted to focus on the diversity of the parish and the spirit of friendship.

"I want everyone in this community to feel at home and to feel welcome," he said.
The path to priesthood was not easy for Torok, who grew up in Slovakia and was placed in one of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin's concentration camps because of his faith. That had a profound impact on him, instilling in him a desire for freedom and democracy.

"When you're persecuted, you begin to pay for your faith and then it comes to you as something very, very precious that you treasure," he said.

At age 19, he escaped by plunging into the frigid Moravia River and fleeing to Austria. He eventually crossed the Alps into Italy, where he studied for the priesthood. He was ordained in a small village in Italy in 1958.

Over the years, Torok has taken on a number of spiritual and professional roles. He was chaplain to an Italian army group that trained to fight in the Alps.

"I celebrated my first Masses on the most beautiful peaks of the Italian Alps, he said. "Snow-covered, it was such a cathedral."

He earned a doctorate in theology and canon law and was an adviser to a bishop of Slovakia when the bishop visited the Vatican. He also participated in the Second Vatican Council, which he called the most exciting and important time in his life.

Torok first came to the United States in 1968, visiting a Slovakian parish in New York City where he joined as a priest later that year. He stayed there until 1982.

While serving that parish, he traveled the world on Catholic relief missions producing and filming documentaries and taking photographs. Through his film work in India, Torok developed a friendship with Mother Teresa.

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Read the rest of the article here.

No question, my grandmother would have been delighted.

So if you see news about Rev George Torok - that's not me - that's the other guy.

How did I learn of this other guy? Another benefit of Google Alerts.


George Torok - the unholy one
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What a great idea.

Canada’s Top 40 under 40
According to http://www.top40award-canada.org/

Canada's Top 40 Under 40TM is a national program founded and managed by The Caldwell Partners to celebrate our leaders of today and tomorrow, and to honour Canadians who have reached a significant level of success but have not yet reached the age of 40.
The program is designed to promote mentorship and professional development by introducing these leaders to the established business community and promoting them as role models for young Canadians.
In choosing the recipients, the Board considers the nominees' achievements in the following areas:
Vision and Leadership
Innovation and Achievement
Impact
Community Involvement and Contribution
Growth / Development Strategy

You know it is a great idea when you see so many imitators. I don’t know who was first but I found several 40 under 40 recognition programs. Here are a few.
Western Australia 40 under 40
http://www.40under40.com.au/


The National Law Journal 40 under 40
http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1115345118033


Chicago Business 40 under 40
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/article.pl?portal_id=35&mpid=35&page_id=1840


Ottawa Business Journal 40 under 40
http://www.ottawabusinessjournal.com/40under40.php


Boston Business Journal 40 under 40
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/nomination/495


Now here is a slight variation:

Forbes Magazine under 40 Billionaires
http://www.forbes.com/billionaires/2005/03/07/cz_bill05_under40slide.html?thisSpeed=20000

I checked; my name isn’t there. I guess for two reasons.


The Point – when you find a good idea, copy it.

Of course I don’t know what the magic of the number 40 is; SO why not a 30 under 30, 20 under 20, 60 over 60 or 50 at 50?


George Torok
http://www.powermarketing.ca/

Entreprise Magazine

Here is something that you should read.

I have been writing a marketing column for Enterprise magazine for at least five years.

If you are in Canada and own a small to medium sized business you should be reading this magazine. The publisher Hayden Bradshaw consistently produces a first class business magazine.

Published five times a year. You can pick up Enterprise Magazine from Chapters and Indigo at $4.95 a copy – or save 25% and subscribe directly. For less than $20 a year you get a fabulous business resource.

Not only should you subscribe for yourself – but also reward some of your best clients or colleagues and order a subscription for them. That is less than $20. What a great way to help those special people remember you. And you could call them after every issue to point out an article that you liked, or question them about what they liked. It would cost you more to take them to lunch.

The current issue features Internet Security.

And my article is titled, “Zig Zag: Win by Being Unique”
13 areas of your business to address in standing out from your competition.

Register for your subscription to Enterprise Magazine here http://www.enterprisemag.com/index.html

Enjoy

George Torok
http://www.powermarketing.ca/