Put Your Money Where Your Mouth (or Heart) Is This Holiday Season

Before you consider shopping at your local shopping mall for your holiday gifts this season, why not get the most 'bang for your buck' by helping out a local organization you consider near and dear to your heart? For instance, think of all the innocent dogs and cats who will be stuck in a cold shelter for Christmas -- why not help them out (indirectly) by purchasing your "Yankee swap" gifts at the Animal Rescue e-commerce site? http://shop.theanimalrescuesite.com/store/category.do?categoryId=2747&siteId=310&adId=137052

Of course, there are many organizations with sites set up like this to pull proceeds during the holidays.

I think this is one of the most thoughtful marketing strategies ever planned... so help your local charity this November-December and make everyone happy!

Get Your Free Taco Today!

I think the "Steal a Base, Steal a Taco" campaign is the best thing since sliced bread... or free, crunchy tacos: http://mlb.mlb.com/mlb/fan_forum/tacobell/

Thanks to the Red Sox stolen base in the World Series, America can enjoy a FREE taco at all participating Taco Bells today between 2-5 pm.

Enjoy! And thank you, Taco Bell!

Why You Should Think Before Hitting "Send"

In a blog entry I wrote a few weeks back, I was discussing the airlines and their desperation to pay their bills due to bankruptcy, 9/11, etc. (using our money). But here's to another (and in my opinion, much worse) airline blunder -- this time involving senior leadership and Spirit Airlines' customer service.

So here's the scoop...

Disgruntled Spirit Airlines customers Christy and James from Orlando, FL sent CEO Ben Baldanza (along with other Spirit leadership) an e-mail complaint about their experiences flying the airline. Whether they were right or wrong, most companies live by the "customer is always right" motto (even if it is annoying...).

So fine. Baldanza should have just let it go, pleased the customers and moved on with his day. And maybe he intended for that to happen in the long run, but that's not what happened, unfortunately, because of bad e-mail etiquette (and arrogance).

Here's where the situation goes south... quick... all with the click of a mouse.... When Baldanza typed his arrogant message asking one of his colleagues to respond to Christy and James, he accidentally hit "reply all". Unfortunately, he included Christy and James in his response! Oops!
View customer's original e-mail with Baldanza's response here...

If you don't feel like clicking through, here is Baldanza's snarly response:

From: Ben Baldanza [mailto:Ben.Baldanza@SpiritAir.com]
Sent: Monday, August 20, 2007 1:02 PMTo: (removed by alex), Christy; Martin (removed by alex); Tony (removed by alex); John (removed by alex); Pasquale (removed by alex)
Subject: Re: Complaint
----------------------------------------------------
Please respond, Pasquale, but we owe him nothing as far as I'm concerned. Let him tell the world how bad we are. He's never flown us before anyway and will be back when we save him a penny.

Just another arrogant CEO in my book. However, an arrogant CEO who made a BAD mistake, causing damage to his credibility and company image. Throw into the mix the fact that e-mail spreads faster than the California wildfires.... and Spirit Airlines has some explaining to do.

Doh!

PRNewswire Invites You to Spread News of California Wildfires for FREE

This just in today... Whether you use PRNewswire as your news carrier or not, the press release distribution provider is suspending all fees for organizations wanting to send press releases on issues regarding the Southern California wildfires: Read news release!

Please help spread the word and save lives!!!

How Video Can Promote Your Business: Bronto Software Case Study

Attention, camera shy! Check out this video footage used by Bronto Software to recruit new employees AND (in my opinion anyway) promote its business: http://bronto.com/company/careers/

Talk about a dual effort at its finest. There's nothing better than hearing from a company's staff members about the benefits of working for a company you're interested in dedicating a significant portion of your life to.

Think about it. If more companies put together clips like Bronto's to communicate the fact that 1) not only are they a profitable organization, but 2) very people-oriented, how many new customers might they gain?

As a marketing team leader, I actually work closely with Bronto Software. Although their primary order of business is to provide my company with e-marketing solutions, they also weigh heavily the importance of a friendly customer service team. I think this reflects in the level of respect the staff has for one another's professional AND personal lives. After all, happy people at work make happy customers. It's not a difficult concept to grasp! Needless to say, Bronto wasn't awarded "Best Place to Work" by the Triangle Business Journal for nothing!

In addition to their video footage, Bronto also provides photo coverage of staff trips which feature rendezvous' with its company mascot, "Bronto the dinosaur." http://bronto.com/company/photos/.

I might also add that they distribute a blow-up version of their prehistoric mascot to new customers... another clever marketing tactic. I rather get a chuckle anytime I see my plastic friend staring at me over my cubicle walls.

The main lesson to be gained from all this: It's okay to be human, even if your industry is considered "dry" by nature. If you've ever read the book "Fish", you'll see what I mean. (By the way, I recommend this book to anyone looking to transform their work experience and boost morale... a definite must-read!).

In closing, Bronto Software has made itself a fun place to work -- and consequently, a fun place to do business with thanks to some clever branding strategies.

But bottom line is that even if you do business with a dinosaur, it pays to be human!

MySpace as a Marketing Tool

Have you ever thought of MySpace as something that can actually be productive and business worthy? I think it's funny how much heat MySpace gets, yet everyone (and their mother) uses the darn thing!

There are a few good reasons why MySpace is one of the most brilliant social networking tools of all-time. Have you ever noticed that when you do a Google search for something completely random, you will see results show up on your screen from MySpace pages? There are a few reasons why.

According to Jack Flanagan, executive vice president of comScore Media Metrix, “MySpace is clearly leading the social networking category with the largest, most engaged audience as compared to all other social networks. Our data also shows that MySpace continues to grow at a strong pace.”

Check out a recent press release for more stats on MySpace usage and you'll be amazed at the numbers: http://www.newscorp.com/news/news_345.html. And imagine how these numbers have increased from the time this press release was put out in July to now! If total unique U.S. visitors was 70.5 million in June (an increase of 1.6 million unique visitors compared to May), imagine the inflation from July to October?!?

It's unbelievable.

Not only are teens and adults using MySpace as a social networking tool, but I'm seeing more and more organizations and professionals using it to network and actually increase brand awareness. I think the biggest crowd to benefit (professionally) from MySpace are no-name musicians. There's nothing like getting a little free PR. And talk about word-of-mouth marketing at its finest!

Another thing I notice is that more and more ad spots are being placed all over MySpace. Products aimed toward teens seem to be most relevant, but I do see others aimed at the older generation.

One other thing to note. MySpace does have a "professional" site: http://myspaceforbusiness.com/

However, it doesn't seem to be as effective as say, sites like http://www.linkedin.com/. Interesting how MySpace has a niche in the social side of networking while Linked In has the competitive advantage for professional networking.

So I end with a question: Has MySpace contributed to the success of your business / reputation? And if so, I'd love to hear your feedback.

And if you have had no business success with it.... Can MySpace (or another social networking tool like Facebook) help you out?

Mickey Mouse Stops Obesity in Kids

Have you noticed how many junk food commercials market crappy, unhealthy snacks to today's youth? Hello?!? It seems every channel you turn on these days is advertising some spin-off on already junky food. Take for instance, the new Kellogg's Cocoa Krispies "cereal straws". Can kids not just eat Cocoa Krispies for breakfast nowadays? Now kids need to have the convenience of fattening up what would have been a healthy glass of milk?

Well, this just in... It's Mighty Mouse, I mean... Mickey Mouse... to the rescue! And Mickey Mouse (a.k.a, the marketing unit at Walt Disney Co.) is prepared to fight the phenomenon of chunky children!

Today, Disney Consumer Products announced the launch of a new line of products called "Disney Garden", to be sold in the produce aisle of stores nationwide including Kroger, Winn Dixie, Albertsons, and Price Shopper. The product comes out in response to Disney's quest to curb the marketing of junk food to young children, and consequently, curb the obesity rates in the US youth.

Through the appeal of its theme park characters, Disney Garden will put out products like Mickey-shaped snack trays with combinations of celery, peanut butter and raisins or apples, cheese and crackers and others.... And what about those teriyaki sugar snap peas, honey orange carrot coins, cheesy broccoli bites and miniature apples, peaches, pears, plums and oranges?

Needless to say, smart move at pleasing parents and working on some active solutions in today's growing obesity problem in young children. This is a perfect example of a win-win marketing plan. Nice work, Mickey.

Selling Prescription Drugs in Sitcoms?

Having worked for Cutting Edge Information over the past few years, I have paid closer attention to some of the marketing tactics big pharmaceutical companies are using to promote their brands through DTC (direct-to-consumer) television and print channels.

I always thought this was a crazy concept -- drug companies placing ad spots in hopes that average peeps like you and I will so badly want a prescription that we would hint to our physicians that we want it -- despite the life-threatening side effects often tagged to the end of such adverts. Is it not insulting to a physician when patients come into their office and suggest that they 'know best' about their health condition? Does this not strain some potential relationships between pharma and physicians by positioning patients as self-prescribers?

Something I've always thought about anyway.

This all being said, I was intrigued by CNN Money's article the other day: Big Pharma's ready for prime time. According to the article, the pharmaceutical industry spends about $4.5 billion each year on television and print ads (up from roughly $1.1 billion in 1997). Unfortunately, big pharma is realizing more and more that "for all the time and money the industry has spent in the last ten years, only one in ten U.S. consumers believe drug ads provide useful information."

So how is pharma 1) keeping prescription drugs "on the air" and 2) keeping consumers interested in purchasing them? Pharmaceutical companies are working with prime time television shows like NBC's "Scrubs", CBS's "King of Queens", Fox's "House" and ABC's "Grey's Anatomy" to get their brands written right into the scripts! That is, the prescription drug is worked into the character dialogue, plot (or both) to try and grab the audience's attention and get them thinking about the drugs (whether consciously or not). I must say, this is pretty crafty (although pharma companies beware, the FDA is keeping an eye on this tactic since it doesn't condone such "product placements"). It can also easily offend viewers who aren't impressed by product name-dropping in their favorite sitcoms.

Honorable TV mentions include:

• Abbott's painkiller, Vicodin (makes sense... since half the world is depressed or suffering from some form of discomfort)
• Pfizer's erectile dysfunction pill, Viagra (entertainment + Viagra = no-brainer)
• Allergan's cosmetic treatment, Botox (another no-brainer since it's become the norm to get cosmetic surgery at 14 years old these days)
• Organon Pharmaceuticals' birth control device, NuvaRing (most teens and women use this...)

So my marketing spin? Although pharma needs to tread with caution, they have enough money to take the risk, and they also have the brains to realize mixing entertainment with prescription drugs is an effective hook. In fact, mixing entertainment with most kinds of business is effective because entertainment is what makes the world turn (in my opinion anyway). Additionally, prescriptions treat all kinds of common illnesses. And how many people in this world have some medical condition? Talk about mass appeal.

"People get their information from entertainment," says Thomas Valente, associate professor of preventative medicine at USC's Keck School of Medicine. "It's not a magic bullet. It's a small piece of the puzzle, but we'd be silly to ignore its potential."