Archive for March, 2009
Be nice to me today: I gave blood to get this rebate
As I do pretty regularly, I gave blood last week. Twice, actually.
The first time was with the American Red Cross, for which I received thanks, a bottle of water, a bottle of juice, a small bag of raisins, and a packet of Oreos.
The second time was pulling together the documentation required to get a [...]
‘Find and Replace’ - use with caution
In the course of doing some research for a white paper I’m working on, I came across a document on the website of a prominent law school. The document - which, for my purposes, provided exceedingly useful background information -was a copy of a privileged and confidential communication that had been sent from what I [...]
Shorthand
The other day, I got an e-mail from a friend and former colleague.
“Do you think that companies think of themselves as SMBs?” he asked.
He asked because his company is planning a campaign aimed at SMBs, and they were having an internal debate on whether to use the acronym SMB in their campaign.
My advice [...]
Free advice to Talbot’s, Response Expo, and "The Awards Center"
To the manager of the Talbot’s on School Street in Boston:
I walk by your store pretty much every day. I’ve been a Talbot’s customer for years. I especially like your sales. But no matter how enticing the sales signs in your windows are, when I look in and see that empty loft at the back [...]
It’s Friday, it’s Lent…
It rattles my brain, it comes to me in the dead of night, and it most certainly doesn’t make me want to eat a McDonald’s filet-o-fish sandwich, but I’ve got to say that the ad is awfully, well, catchy.
Tuna fish, a clam roll, an oyster po’ boy - I’m not opposed to the combination of [...]
Ryanair’s latest publicity gambit
Since yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, how can I pass up a comment on Ryanair’s latest publicity gambit, which has been in the news the last few weeks.
Dublin-based Ryanair is Europe’s screechingly bargain-rate airline - one that makes it at least seem like it’s cheaper to jet off to someplace you’d never go - like [...]
"A fabulous example of how not to cold e-mail people"
The other day, John Whiteside - former colleague, friend forever, and one of the best all-round marketers I know - sent me the following note:
I thought you might enjoy this email; it’s a fabulous example how not to cold-email people. I read it and have no idea what they do, other than obviously send out [...]
No guts, no glory: BigFix’s New Deal
The ad in The Economist sure caught my eye: a full, red-white-and-blue bunting-wreathed page with the screaming headline YES YOU CAN, and a complete poke in the chest of their competitors.
Times are tough all over….So why continue to bail out Altiris, LanDESK, Microsoft, McAfee, and Symantec? They’ve been delivering sub-par products for years, along with [...]
What Barbie can teach us about B2B technology marketing
Barbie turned 50 the other day and, love her or hate her, that is some brand she’s got going. So just what can us B2B technology marketers learn from Barbie’s fifty long years of plastic,leggy blond success? Plenty.
Pick a brand identifier and stick with it. Not everyone loves bright pink, but Barbie sure does. And [...]
Things not to do when you’re naming your new product
Elicit input from all stakeholders. Don’t tell them what you’re going to do with it. Ignore it.
Elicit input from all stakeholders. Let them think that you have a process for deciding the name. Don’t let on that there is no process.
Elicit input from all stakeholders. Pretend you’re going to take it seriously. Go ahead and [...]
