Don’t Fear the Dirt! Subaru Has Some Fun
It’s good to see a brand have some fun these days. In an era of worry, Subaru has created a campaign that is lighthearted and entertaining in order expand their demographic reach with the Subaru Outback. Playing off of the famed infomercials that troll late night TV, Subaru has launched “Outback Detergent” infomercials. Rather than simply touting the benefits of their SUV, Subaru practically ignores the SUV and instead, explores what kind of mess you will be in when you get ... Read Full Story
When Was the Last Time You Evaluated Your Marketing Campaign?
This has been in my head for a while, the little game I like to call, “When was the last time you ___________?” Here are the directions: 1-Get your mind out of the gutter, this isn’t some online form of the Newlywed or Match Game, you knucklehead 2-Anyone can play, doesn’t matter the role you are in, serving customers should be a universal role for everyone, right? 3-Be as genuine as you can, like the Brutal Facts chapter in Good to Great,  by Jim Collins When was the last time yo... Read Full Story
PR and Brand Image With Social Media
Cruising around online today I came across an interesting blog post by Giovanni Gallucci titled “10 Commandments for Social Media PR Companies.” Given recent numbers that claim that users are spending 8 BILLION minutes per day on Facebook, it seemed like I should take a look at Gallucci’s ideas. Most of them really are sound concepts not just for outfits playing the social media PR game, but companies in general regardless of their industry.  Much of it is — you would ... Read Full Story
Class Action Santa, or What We Can Learn About Holiday Marketing
Aaahh, the fall season is here. Football is back on TV, the kids are back in school and the march toward all those great holidays has kicked off.  Speaking of that, I realize this challenging economy is a dog-eat-dog world of getting to what little money consumers are spending first, but why aren’t the typical fall holidays filing some sort of law suit against ol’ Saint Nick and his giant corporation? I ask because while ringing up purchases on a recent shopping trip to Home Depot, I noticed ... Read Full Story
Greenwashing Index Alerts
Greenwashing is basically whitewashing with an environmental slant. If you have not already heard the term, this may be the first but it’s probably not the last time. As marketers increasingly use green marketing to attract the ever elusive but family and environmentally focused Gen Y-ers, who will be the watchdog to protect us from false claims of sustainability? Never fear, the Greenwashing Index is here. The site’s initiative: Our goal is to educate consumers about how to “read... Read Full Story
Still Have Customers? Get Into Their Heads
If the economy is so dead, why is everyone still going out to lunch?  Not that we, at my company, aren’t just as much guilty of this as the next person or group, but why does it take at least five minutes to find a parking spot, ten minutes to get the order taken and another ten to get the goods?  It’s all the people before you in the line. If your establishment (or the customer you sell services or a product to) is one of the lucky ones to have a line going out the door (or even a semi-full ... Read Full Story
GREEN: Say It Loud & Proud!
This millennium is officially sponsored by green. But how many companies, from the top of your head, can you say are “green?” I can think of Smart (the car manufacturer), that Tom’s brand (that makes deodorant and beauty products sold in Trader Joe’s)…that’s about it for me. I’m sure your lists are a bit longer, but by how much? What about these: Hewlett Packard Unilever Estee Lauder Intel Cisco Nestle Which of these are “green?” Believe it or not, all of them, they’re the leading green ini... Read Full Story
The Greatest Awareness Campaign Ever?
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I realized something a couple of years ago. I was aware! It was October and I saw a little pink ribbon and I knew that October was breast cancer awareness month. Now every October things are a little less orange and black and little more pink.  A little more information is crammed into my mind through a national multi-media, multi-product, multi-retailer decentralized campaign. I still don’t know who Susan G. Komen is (well, I do now that I wrote this post), but I knew she had something to do... Read Full Story
Need a JCPenney Coupon? There’s an App for That
On the technological forefront, JCPenney leads the way with scannable coupons. Yup. Scannable. Coupons. Though currently in “beta” mode, Penney’s is testing its systems in Houston (so, if you’re local, go to your neighborhood Penney’s and share your opinion here!). Here’s the concept (and with perfect economic timing). Cellphone is ubiquitous Coupons are being used in this recession even by those in denial Now the two are married and hoping for a happily e... Read Full Story
Marketing Abercrombie & Fitch for the Future
I get it. The provocative black and white photography is its thing. A&F is known for the racy ads and flawless models, but truthfully, the creative used by A&F has gotten stale and just plain boring. The stores are plastered with images that might have been shot a decade ago, and are manned by employees that are clearly selected based on looks alone. Yes, I admit some of its clothes still appeal to me, but I cannot bring myself to go into one of the stores, in which the music is tuned... Read Full Story