Shopping the other day with the Blonde Bombshell, she pointed out something interesting: the Johnson & Johnson Band-Aid boxes were marked in Braille. Really. << MORE >>

I respect – nay, even appreciate – persistent salespeople. I’ll be the first to admit that there’s too much to do, and I forget about projects, and (for example) I have huge respect for Vinny at Tippit because he’s been able to persuade me over a course of weeks and short, respectful emails and phone calls that he has a product of value. Conversely, let’s consider Kyle B of LeadSpark.<< MORE >>

One of my favorite authors of all time, Robert Cialdini, in his book “Influence”, talks about the hardwired psychological reactions we humans have to certain behaviors. One of the strongest is Reciprocity – if someone gives something to you, you feel compelled to give something back. Combine this with variable rewarding (eg, don’t establish a pattern; reward people –sometimes- for doing something) and you have a very powerful motivator indeed. Which is why I was so happily surprised when I was in downtown Needham MA over the New Year’s holidays, and saw red bags over the parking meters.<< MORE >>

As I’ve repeatedly said over the years (usually while standing on a soapbox, foaming at the mouth), I firmly believe that Marketing’s sole function is to serve sales. This can be sales in the strictest “exchange of payment for goods or services” sense, or in the more general “persuasive conveyance of ideas and emotions”... but it’s all sales. Good marketers seek out the target audience for the thing being sold, understand how that target audience would prefer to receive information (“learn”) about the thing being sold, and convey the information in the right way (time, vehicle, -WORDING and PERSPECTIVE-) that best allows the audience to understand the value of the thing for sale, and thus it’s desireability. It’s that last part about wording and perspective that often goes so horribly wrong.<< MORE >>

In (very) old Bugs Bunny cartoons, when confronted with a particularly egregious situation, Bugs would grab his head and yell (in a wonderful brooklyn accent) “I’m dyyyyyyyyin ovah heah!” In this economy, many a marketing department is doing something similar, as budgets are cut and a cycle of starvation is set up. The way it works is usually something like this...<< MORE >>

I know there are sadists in this world, who invite friends (?) over to torture them with uncomfortable furniture, oversalted meals, cold and drafty rooms and overly loud and boorish conversation. I personally aspire not to be, much less know, these people. And I’d hope that you all feel similarly. I was always raised to believe that when you have guests over to visit, you go out of your way to make them comfortable. So why is it that conference or event organizers can’t do the same?<< MORE >>

No Stupid Marketing this week. Enjoy the US holiday which so gloriously exemplifies all the best and worst in marketing... :) -K<< MORE >>

Growing up, I always loved the phrase in television commercials “...part of this nutritious breakfast”. The phrase was always spoken as the camera panned over milk, juice, eggs, bacon, toast, jam, fruit – oh, yes, and some sugar cereal like “Sugar Smacks”. (This was in the ancient times, when Sugar was still advertised openly, as opposed to today’s “Honey Smacks”. Dig’em the frog has been bought off). I loved the phrase because it seemed to me to be such obvious parody – you might as well say “Sugr cereal: next to this nutritious breakfast”, as it was clear that the cereal made no contribution. In fact, that the cereal had less nutritive value than its cardboard box. Fast-forward to today, when we see Froot Loops advertising itself as “good for kids, with 3g of fiber per bowl”, and (as the Blonde Bombshell pointed out) Rice Krispies stating “filled with vitamins to help boost your immune system and avoid getting sick”. Shame, SHAME on those marketers!<< MORE >>

Many thanks to the Blonde Bombshell for finding many of these online and offline while doing her Xmas shopping. (She says she doesn’t want anything for Xmas. Too late, I ordered it a while ago... call it a New Year’s gift.) I present just a few examples of dissonant marketing, where the product & packaging & Pricing & promotion are internally inconsistent. . Organic Pancake Spray-Batter in a Can. Like cheese-wiz without the shelf-life, available at Whole Foods, this combines the eco-conscious new millennium with the amazing instant gratification and wastefulness of the late last-century. << MORE >>

I recently received an email solicitation from a would-be startup company named “Moresatile” (As in “More Versatile”. Supposedly. They did not read my post on naming, I think). I usually delete these, sometimes investigate the vendor further. But I saved this email. Because it was such a wonderful example of what not to do... specifically in tone. Here it is:<< MORE >>