I always knew that there were some strange things for sale on eBay, but I never imagined auctioning off press release distribution.

PRNewswire recently put up an “Off-Peak Press Release with SEO” for auction. The item was sold for $51.00, a great deal less than the service would normally cost.

A very interesting move on PRNewswire’s part and definitely effective from a marketing standpoint. It highlights the point that I have often made – today’s marketers must be innovative and think outside the box.

Bidding has now closed but you can view the sold item on eBay right here.

Just recently, there has been a surge in the amount of interactive online activity. Companies are increasingly looking to augment their customers’ online experience with added features, capabilities and ease of use.

Fifteen years ago, would we have ever imagined that we would be soon banking, ordering our groceries and partaking in video conferences – all via the Internet?

The more interactive the Internet becomes, the more the consumer demands and expects websites to offer the latest up-and-coming features. I , personally, possess that kind of mindset. If I go to a large website, I am annoyed if there isn’t a “search” box. If I am looking for something in particular, the “search” feature makes my task so much easier.

All of these interactive features demonstrate a growing consumer need for instant answers. Because of the Internet, information is now available at our fingertips and interactive websites are taking this one step further – data on demand as quickly as possible.

Isn’t that human nature? The more you give, the more we want.

I never thought I’d get a client coverage on Fox 9 News and not know about it!

Pitching TV stations is usually something that requires a lot of sweat and blood and little to show for it. However, I was pleasantly surprised last week when a client called me in a state of excitement to tell me that he had heard from another colleague that their company had been mentioned on the morning news.

Now, this was news to me. Yes, it was the piece of news I had been pitchiing that week but, no, I had not pitched Fox at all.

It turns out that my contact at the Business Journal had passed on the information to a fellow Business Journal reporter that happened to have a slot on the Fox 9 morning news.

Maybe the back door is the right place to go when looking to get on TV. Build relationships with local reporters and take advantage of their connections with TV stations.