Advertising/Media

If you’re reading this blog, most likely you want customers to open their wallets and give you money. Lots of it.

But do they do it gleefully? As I experienced recently, customers (excuse me, guests) of Walt Disney World do.

(And before anyone gets their “Pirates of the Caribbean” undies in a twist, I’m not knocking Disney here. I say that because another column I wrote years ago about the marketing at the Disney Resorts resulted in a nasty letter taking me to task for being snarky about the House of Mouse. So excuse any snark, it’s just how I show love. Seriously. Ask my husband and kids.)

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My old high school (and junior high) yearbooks are sitting in a bin in my storage shed, underneath several other bins of junk. So when I saw this ad for Yearbookarchives.com on Facebook, I figured I’d check it out.

The link pointed to Yearbookarchives.com all right. But it had the look and feel of being on Classmates.com. And of course, one click ay yearbookArchives.com brought me directly to a Classmates.com registration page.

And with that, I lost faith in Facebook ads. And I also thought, maybe this was Classmates.com’s revenge on Facebook for stealing away all its business. more

It was last fall when the SuperFruit Juices brand tested a buy-one-get-one-free promotion at retailers in San Antonio and Austin, close to one of its Texas production facilities so it could easily supply the events. After eight weeks, sales were up 30%.

The offers have proved successful in encouraging trial and repeat sales in specific locations where a new product is introduced or sales need a jumpstart. SuperFruit didn’t just offer buy-one-get-one-free, it allowed consumers to buy as many bottles as they wanted and get the same number free. Throw in some coupons and nine weeks later sales were still up 27%. Based on the success, it expanded the promotion to other states, but remained mindful of not swamping its ROI with shipping costs by staging events too distant from distribution centers. more

There’s a privacy bill zooming around the California state legislature (SB 761) ostensibly designed to restrict Web site operators from making malicious changes to site visitors’ computer settings. The bill further prohibits site operators from collecting, storing and transferring information gathered surreptitiously online, such as through cookies, and requires opt-out mechanisms.

Got no problem with the first part, although it’s probably more toothless and feel-good than practical: Offshore miscreants aren’t going to give a damn about the state of California shaking its finger at them, and legitimate businesses walk the line when it comes to installing malwear or preventing software from being uninstalled.

But there are a few casual sentences and phrases in the bill which, due to their vagueness, could potentially be killers of the marketing data industry. more

Anyone who wanted to learn some vital tips for performing well in the annual MCM Awards would’ve found them during Wednesday’s session, “10 Things To Learn From This Year’s Print Catalog Winners,” at the MCM Live Conference in New York City.

Lois Brayfield, president of J. Schmid & Associates; Glenda Shasho Jones, president of Shasho Jones Direct; and Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president of Estee Marketing Group, spearheaded the informative session telling attendees what to do and what not to do.

Here are some of the points the group discussed:

Create authority: When you can tout a “Best In Class” accolade, use it. It certainly makes you an authority. Show real-life examples and provide useful product information like New Pig does in its catalog. Create a strong, differentiated positioning that is owned.

Marketing innovation: There were very few breakout ideas from this year’s print catalog entries. Entry forms were not complete and circulation plans were unremarkable and ordinary. Some entries offered imprecise and “fuzzy” numbers with little documentation regarding circulation strategies. more

I’ll admit it: I love television. Love, love, love it. Dramas, comedies, reality shows, cartoons….love it.

I even like commercials. Of course, I watch a lot less of them these days, thanks to my DVR, which I love, love, love as well.

The ones we do like, however, get watched multiple times. We’ll even rewind the DVR to watch our favorites—the Planet Gym spot has gotten numerous viewings. (Not that it inspired anyone in my house to exercise, but we repeated “I lift things up and put them down” a lot.)

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