worst practices
Download annoyances
I suppose I’m being a bit of a crank here, but I’ve been doing a lot of market research work lately, which means I’ve been roaming around the web grabbing documents of interest here and there. Which means I’ve been filling out a lot of forms so that I can download white papers, data sheets, [...]
Can’t they just leave us alone?
Grim news, I’m afraid.
I saw in The Wall Street Journal last week that “marketers are starting to personalize in-store promotions based on products the consumer recently picked off a shelf or purchased — and in the near future, based on what the shopper looks like.”
Dunkin’ Donuts - actually one of my favorite little establishments - [...]
AT&T’s wifi ping pong
Quite a while ago, AT&T announced that it was going to offer free wifi for iPhone customers at its hotspots (which include Starbucks). That’s a nice perk for customers, and pretty easy to do; iPhones are all on AT&T’s mobile network, so these are existing customers.
It in fact worked briefly, and then AT&T announced that [...]
If you ask, you must listen
About once a week, I get the same mailing offering me a credit card that earns miles in Continental’s frequent flyer program. It comes from Chase, and it has the Continental OnePass logo emblazoned on the envelope, with a note that says “IMPORTANT - Do Not Discard.” I immediately open them and shred the material [...]
Steve Rubel on marketing pollution
Steve Rubel wrote last week about how bad marketing pollutes the social environment, calling it an all too convenient truth:
However, it’s not just the environment that is endangered by toxins. The atmosphere we breathe online is too is being threatened by pollution - from marketers. The all too convenient truth is that it’s very easy [...]
Knowing what’s in it for me…
I was recently asked to review a marketing plan that an outside firm had put together for a potential client. While I didn’t agree with everything in it, the folks who put it together were clearly professional who knew a lot about marketing. If I had to grade the plan, I’d give it a B [...]
This is why we can’t have nice things
The Washington Post wrote about spam text messages sent to mobile phones last week:
Text messages are the latest tool for advertisers and scammers to target consumers. But unlike junk e-mail that can be deleted with the click of a button, text-message spam costs money for the person who receives it and chips away at the [...]
Sirius Radio’s Department of Web Prevention
Your web site is a place for your customers to do things. This is useful for them and cost-effective for you.
I am cancelling my Sirius satellite radio service. There’s nothing wrong with it; I just don’t listen to it. I used to listen at home, but with so many options like internet radio and podcasts [...]
Rediscovering Telespam
I recently got a new home phone number. I moved all of my services (phone, internet, TV) over to the cable company for a package deal at a good price. I don’t really use the land line much but I’m not willing to cut the cord; it allows my alarm system to call for help [...]
Comcast’s Direct Mail Protection Racket
Targeting direct mail is important, because you don’t want to spend money sending direct mail to people who aren’t going to read it or respond. Cable/telecom giant Comcast apparently hasn’t gotten that message; apparently they are so intent on sending direct marketing mail to all their customers that they’re charging people $2 to stop receiving [...]
