Heard the hoopla over the Kate Holmes – Tom Cruise romance? It’s affecting their careers — specifically the movies they have out this month. You might think that translates into a boost, but think again. Cruise’s PR is backfiring, resulting in mocking from the press and the public. Even the studio execs want Cruise and […]
Gone are the days when TV viewers could wait till the commercial break to grab a drink, break for the washroom, or flip channels. Advertisers have dumped the traditional 30-second spot for ads that run for anywhere from one second to five minutes. Whether short or long, non-traditional ads thwart channel surfing and PVR and […]
The secret behind Beware the Heat” is out. It’s a campaign for 7-Up, a PepsiCo beverage. I wasn’t bang on with my prediction that the ad was for Pepsi, but I got 90% of the way there with a guess for a PepsiCo drink. I learned the news through an email I opted to receive. […]
Awarea, a Seattle startup, will launch target marketing via radio frequency identification (RFID) next week. People carrying special keyfobs will trigger broadcasts from six RFID reader stations atop Qwest phone booths in the downtown area. Depending on their unique profiles, passersby will receive personalized messages about special offers from Amex, Columbia Records, Omaha Steaks and […]
Are fear and greed the motivations for corporate blogging? Corante’s Many 2 Many group thinks so. The article claims that fearful companies sue, distract or avoid blogs and bloggers. In comparison, enlighted companies turn to blogs and bloggers as a source of competitive advantage. By leveraging innovation, these firms edge out the competition, in a […]
A blog is short for “weblog”, a web-based journal of entries presented in reverse chronological order. Written by one person or several, a blog can present comments, links to other websites, images, video and other content. Some blogs allow others to add feedback. People who write blogs are known as “bloggers”. Most bloggers use web-based […]
Wal-Mart’s new Ohio store caters to the Amish. Complete with hitching posts for horse-drawn carriages, plain fabric, blocks of ice, and non-electric appliances, the store opened to the public this week. Talk about taking mass products to a niche market! Wal-Mart, one of the world’s biggest retailers, recently committed to save one acre of wilderness […]
The Toronto Star mentions me in their May 16th article on Canadian business blogs (free to register). The article explores the trials and tribulations Canadian companies face in blogging. It also goes into a surprising amount of detail about how Dairy Queen reacted to one of my past posts. Incidentally, despite the Star write-up, this […]
This is one of today’s headlines from The Vancouver Sun: “It’s election day get out and vote”. (Above link may decay.) (c) 2005 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.
“Beware the Heat” commercials are airing across Canada. The ads show a parched, 20-something guy in a gritty city during the dog days of summer. It’s obvious that the guy is hot and thirsty, but the ads mysteriously close with “BewaretheHeat.com”. The BewaretheHeat.com site shows the ads, but tells little. The campaign is designed to […]