Add this to your list of times when assumptions are knocked out by market research — viewers of Comedy Central’s Daily Show with Jon Stewart have more education and political knowledge than viewers of Fox News’ O’Reilly Factor. Daily Show viewers also report higher incomes. Bill O’Reilly recently called Jon Stewart’s viewers “stoned slackers”. His […]

Just a quick note to say that I’ve added a new feature to my blog. Effective immediately, you can access any post on an individual page — this is handy for anyone seeking to link to an individual post. To pull up a post on a single page, just click on the corresponding header. Thanks […]

For years, many Windows users have been exchanging pictures with friends and family, happily clicking away at JPEGs with the belief that they were virus-free. Today, Microsoft warned users that its JPEG-processing utilities have a security hole that allows hackers to run remote code. Ouch. Keep your computer safe — update your Windows sytem. Visit Microsoft’s […]

China will open its doors to the world’s advertisers by 2005, says a Chinese government official. This will provide Canadian companies with better access to Chinese markets. I’ve been watching the Chinese market since I developed a set of “Exporting to Asia” factsheets for Agriculture Canada in the mid-1990s. I initially created the factsheets after noticing […]

The Baghdad Blogger will be a guest at this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival.* Known by the pseudonym Salam Pax (“Hello Peace”), the young Iraqi started an online diary in September 2002. His English blog detailed everything from his daily life to criticisms of the Iraqi government — an act that could have led to […]

Interested in learning how a corporate blog can help your business grow? Check out Northern Voice, a Canadian blogging conference coming to Vancouver this February. Registration just opened and the first 25 people to sign up receive a free t-shirt. (c) 2004 by Andrea Coutu. Vancouver Marketing Consultant. All rights reserved.

In today’s 24-hour news network world, do Olympics viewers care if they’re watching live events? No, according to The San Francisco Chronicle.* NBC packaged broadcasts so that it seemed as though matches and races were unfolding live before the viewing audience. Although this technique bombed in Sydney four years ago, TV viewership was up 13 […]

CBS Marketwatch has some tips for ensuring the grandkids don’t blow their inheritance. According to the article, wealthy families can ensure the success of their offspring by taking steps to preserve both financial and social capital. If you’re wondering how you can build social capital (and maybe just all-round wealth), check out Entrepreneur’s tips. Far […]

As I’ve mentioned in my last two entries, many people confuse marketing with communications, advertising and public relations. Any decent marketing strategy will include those promotions programs — and address product, price, and place decisions. “Place” or “distribution” is often over-looked by small businesses. This marketing “P” deals with putting the product in the customer’s […]

In my last post, I noted that marketing means more than just communications. A friend sent me an InternetNews.com article on how blogs are set to destroy marketing as we know it. The article suggests that marketing departments will succumb to unfiltered blogging, since companies can syndicate communications to their customers, partners and employees. But […]