I recently started teaching a class for Stanford University’s Continuing Studies program. One student, Anurag Singh, recently found a link on Ebay, wherein “Andrew Barron” was (at least claiming to be) attempting to auction off his Twitter account. What a great practical demonstration of the next level of customer value!<< MORE >>

It’s hard to make me really angry. But my buttons really get pushed when I see marketing used for legalized fraud – to obfuscate the truth, hide behind legitimate causes, and separate good people from their money, thus simultaneously stealing from honest citizens and depriving the truly needy of help. I speak, of course, of “For profit professional fundraisers” – the folks who solicit your assistance under the guise of a charity (“for the firefighters… for 9/11… for Katrina victims…”) and then make off with 90%+ of the money and goods given. << MORE >>

Prospective customers make significant value judgments based on first impressions. Like it or not, whether it’s a first date, job interview, visit to a restaurant, view of a packaged product, or even just a web banner ad or voice on a phone, your product is can be 50% accepted (or 100% rejected) in just a few minutes or seconds of first impression. So why do we flub the marketing so many times? << MORE >>

Maybe it’s the odd weather (67 in New York while it’s 46 in Palo Alto, then reversed in 24 hours, ugh), but my mind at times like these turns to random observations about branding. Good, bad, stupid, you decide. I was just wondering if anyone noticed that… << MORE >>

Over the last few months, I’ve noticed that the mattress I’ve been sleeping on isn’t really flat any more. It has a distinct topography, which persists even after sliding a board under it. Luckily, after consulting the mattress tag, internet, and original chooser of the mattress (not me, long story), it turned out that the mattress was covered by a guarantee. Unfortunately, that word – “guarantee” – is one of the most abused marketing terms ever. << MORE >>

It’s wonderful when a marketing department shows they’re thinking – and the folks over at Dunkin’ Donuts are doing a wonderful job. Specifically, instead of following the herd mentality (“let’s copy whatever competitors are doing for ads”), they’ve beautifully identified their strengths, chosen their target market accordingly, and pursued it with a vengeance. But let’s take a step back and review. For the uninitiated, Dunkin’ Donuts is a popular chain with its roots in the Northeast. Having grown up in the Boston and New York areas, I’m a huge fan of their core product offerings – namely industrial-strength donuts and coffee. Their donuts and coffee are the platonic ideal “cop” food. They’re dependable, consistent, greasy and leaden. The chocolate glazed, particularly, may be compared favorably with the lead shielding on a nuclear reactor – and the beverages are sufficiently hot to have come from the inside of said reactor. The food is great, reasonably priced, and perfect for a New England winter.<< MORE >>

I recently wrote about Draegers and Costco, and how sometimes, packaging is the product being sold. Amusingly, thanks largely to my trusted field researcher, she who turns heads wherever she goes, the blonde bombshell, who needs no artifice, we have two new examples of packaging, staging and “personal staging”… << MORE >>

I’m depressed. Given the recession, I was hoping to see banks actively reaching out with great marketing to compete for customers. Instead, I have two banks today as my prime examples of “hostile marketing” – that is, examples of marketers so intent on a process that they’ve failed to consider what the process feels like from a customer perspective. << MORE >>

When you buy something in an expensive specialty food market (Draegers, in my case), you’d expect its quality to be at least as good as the same item purchased in a warehouse store (Costco), no? I mean, the Draegers item is carefully displayed, elegantly packaged in a beautiful glass bottle, has an Italian label, and costs more per ounce than gold. The Costco item comes in a 20oz plastic bottle, is sitting with 200 others on a forklift pallet, and is cheaper than maple syrup. So the Draegers item should be higher quality than the Costco item, right?<< MORE >>

Ah, first we saw the controversy over software piracy, with public video of CD raids. Then there was music, as the RIAA sued anyone whistling more than three bars of their favorite tune. Now, things are getting ugly, as we turn to game makers suing slackers. When will the madness end? I’d suggest the first step in ending the madness is understanding that piracy, if managed correctly, is actually free marketing. << MORE >>