tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496Thu, 21 Apr 2011 21:36:12 +0000SearsvalueKindleCraigslistMicrosoftNetflixYoutubemoviesbooksAmazonBarnes and NobleStructureloyaltycustomersBanana RepublicWashington PostAbercrombieGMAppleMcMaverickviral marketingEbayWeezerChromeclothessalesrewardscomputerAAApanderObamaHearstassociated pressYahooFacebookweddingsclassifiedskidssiriusBuffalo BillsinteractiveradioprSonyphotographysecuritycustomer serviceemployeesTargetBordersGeneral MotorsPalinFoxsimpleGooglebest buynewspapersConsumer ReportsAnepaperNew York TimesCNNJohn McCainsucksGPSmarketingpublic relationsNFLWal-MartMacyshttp://crained.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)Blogger80125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-2885410253254961150Sat, 18 Apr 2009 19:38:00 +00002009-04-18T14:05:16.415-06:00I've been a fan of Dog Whisper and Cesar Millan for years. I credit him for my having a fairly obedient German Shepherd. Realizing that I may not have an hour a day to walk him, after reading Cesar's new book which tells me I better walk my dog twice a day for a half hour, it made sense to speed up my dog's level of exercise. How? By getting those cool roller blades, called LandRollers, that http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/BUxY1wXUnho/why-land-rolllers-cesar-millan.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-land-rolllers-cesar-millan.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-3660202031114971582Fri, 27 Mar 2009 16:06:00 +00002009-03-28T21:31:25.282-06:00I'm working on my thesis and thought it might be a cool social experiment to try to crowdsource for help. Its not about helping me write my thesis, but helping me find studies, articles, opinions and books. I've found a lot of books and studies (I'll list those this weekend) but of course there is now way I could find everything. I'm not sure if Nebraska will let me do this yet.. crossing my http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/GWL2ER59dN0/thesis-crowdsourcing-experiment.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/03/thesis-crowdsourcing-experiment.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-4522123096680592617Sun, 22 Mar 2009 03:30:00 +00002009-03-21T21:47:38.107-06:00Comcast Cares right? So they say. But just because your customer service people seem nice doesn't fix other issues--like poor quality products. My wife ordered "Twilight" on OnDemand. Halfway through the movie the DVR errored out. We went to saved programs and hit play. It errored out again. The second time we went there it was gone. Ten minutes waiting on a Saturday night for someone to answer http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/HJ427Kn0ZtI/tell-comcast-its-2009.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/03/tell-comcast-its-2009.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-1107671547314975878Sun, 08 Mar 2009 16:50:00 +00002009-03-08T10:54:31.617-06:00Yesterday I downloaded a book to my iTouch via Amazon. It's the same as if you purchased it on your Kindle. It's quite a wonderful addition to the iTouch and frankly anyone who loves reading and wants their books instantly. Even though the iPhone and iTouch are competitors, Amazon just insured itself more and more purchases of ebooks. They just opened their potential buyers on a massive scale. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/4KLYJLdZZTI/how-amazon-got-smart.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/03/how-amazon-got-smart.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-7025712554490037431Sat, 07 Mar 2009 01:37:00 +00002009-03-06T18:44:57.762-07:00If a crowd is swarming do you run to it or run away from it? I guess the answer depends on whether they are carrying rocks and torches. But I have to wonder why companies often seem to run away from crowds who are carrying cash. The crowds aren't carrying physical money to your door--but they are potential customers. If you own a company and are on Twitter or some other social network but don't http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/u8S25uVfpdM/fear-of-crowds.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/03/fear-of-crowds.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-4972130066270451244Sat, 28 Feb 2009 01:34:00 +00002009-02-27T18:44:41.201-07:00Nothing is worse than when you want to purchase something online and its hard. Buying anything should be made as easy as possible.. but if you try to use a gift card online through Cinemark good luck. I went in to use a gift card and then got an error. They didn't have my email on record. Right, because I didn't register and didn't really want to. I just wanted to use my gift card to get movie http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/FmVwK5cX0EY/cinemark-off-mark.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/cinemark-off-mark.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-6262374091214185795Fri, 27 Feb 2009 18:12:00 +00002009-02-27T11:20:50.843-07:00I've had something wrong with my foot for about a week. It felt broken for a few days and then over time its slowly felt better. But I'd have avoided the doctor for as long as possible because doctor's visits are often as agonizing as the issue that brought you there. But this visit was different. Not only did I not wait a long time, but the doctor spent time with me without feeling rushed. He http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/5uSjOr7D8Ck/show-that-you-care.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/show-that-you-care.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-5988861107929965117Wed, 25 Feb 2009 04:20:00 +00002009-02-24T22:02:30.082-07:00AnTime ran an article recently entitled "How to save your newspaper." It should have been entitled "How to kill your newspaper." Walter Isaacson is under the false impression that all newspaper content is worth buying. He is wrong. Even the great New York Times couldn't make enough money selling their premium content. And don't even give me the Wall Street Journal argument. They make money because http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/hK3wGUQ7Iak/death-of-newspapers.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/death-of-newspapers.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-7073015073445773433Sun, 22 Feb 2009 20:34:00 +00002009-02-22T13:42:56.982-07:00A funny thing happened to me at Target yesterday. There was a cashier who talked a lot. Talked to the point of being a little weird. But he talked about wanting to make people happy in hopes that they would come back again--which he said would keep him employed. True enough.So even as weird as this guy's incessant talking was he also seemed to care about customer service and quality service. The http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/oTTnRM6kX3Y/talking-good-game.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/talking-good-game.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-4550640300549791043Thu, 19 Feb 2009 05:24:00 +00002009-02-18T22:38:32.182-07:00Recently on vacation my wife and I took a Kayak tour in Kauai, Hawaii. Not only was the guide extremely nice, but he was amazingly knowledgeable. We were served well at an amazing price and educated along the way. By the time we left Kauai we told at least a dozen people we met along the way about the kayaking company. I don't know how many used the company for kayaking after we told them, but http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/yySs6ZwiqeQ/how-to-spread-great-word-of-mouth-about.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-to-spread-great-word-of-mouth-about.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-1984428379139646365Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:06:00 +00002009-02-16T09:48:42.794-07:00marketingHow many times have you read or heard something was rated the best? While on vacation in Kauai our hotel's island guide said the golf course at our hotel was rated the best in Hawaii. My question was "by who?" I wasn't surprised to find out they had no idea who rated it. But even if they had known it wouldn't have mattered. I'd rather have a handful of friends, or people with similar interests, http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/shieiladUj8/rated-best-huh.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/rated-best-huh.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-5392793118654688570Sun, 15 Feb 2009 16:43:00 +00002009-02-15T09:54:18.146-07:00President Obama admitted recently that he "Screwed up" with the nomination of Tom Daschle. It's refreshing. I hope companies take President Obama's lead and allow their employees to screw up more. If they did we'd be a lot more innovative as a whole. That's why Google has been so successful. If you've read Clayton M. Christensen's "The Innovator's Dilemma" about disruptive technology you'll find http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/bcSh9Yfa5vQ/i-screwed-up.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/i-screwed-up.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-6332601457509895268Mon, 09 Feb 2009 14:15:00 +00002009-02-09T07:15:01.342-07:00I love Consumer Reports because I believe they are unbiased. I hate Consumer Reports because they are always way behind everyone else to review products. It appears they never want to trump their printed release of reviews--huge mistake. If I'm wrong about this please someone correct me because I'm a loyal subscriber--for now. The issue is that I don't have time to wait for a review of a car for http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/oFGivJnuFuY/why-i-love-to-lovehate-consumer-reports.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/why-i-love-to-lovehate-consumer-reports.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-1077524640742835339Sun, 08 Feb 2009 16:59:00 +00002009-02-08T10:11:08.896-07:00Running a newspaper's online department offers some opportunities to try many new and interesting technologies. One that has been a constant issue however has been chat programs. They are server intensive and don't always provide much ROI. The ROI issue is simple. Everyone has heard of the fax machine example.. where the first fax machine was worthless but as everyone else purchased one they http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/fRftUn2iwz0/service-from-twitter-id-pay-to-use.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/service-from-twitter-id-pay-to-use.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-7461444072355729267Sat, 07 Feb 2009 22:39:00 +00002009-02-08T13:17:06.538-07:00There are two reasons I never buy clothes online: I don't know how they will fit or look on me. I'd love to be able to upload an image and then body dimensions and do a virtual fitting. I could then show my wife or friends what it looked like and get their opinions. A great additional feature would be the marketing aspect. If I was trying on Brooks Brothers pants and showing friends I'd be http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/WjCeX7fWxbo/social-shopping.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/social-shopping.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-7171604312278542296Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:51:00 +00002009-02-06T19:57:45.121-07:00I thought I was the only one who couldn't figure out in a pinch which button opens the elevator doors, but I've observed a few people with the same level of indecision. I think I'm fairly smart and yet when someone comes running for the elevator at work there is always a hesitation trying to figure out which button to push. The issue being that the symbols aren't obvious when you are trying to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/jMTQmKGDrkY/keep-it-simple-you-know-rest.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/keep-it-simple-you-know-rest.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-778691634127167903Wed, 04 Feb 2009 20:19:00 +00002009-02-04T13:29:17.679-07:00The best marketing is when a company provides a service that you didn't know you needed. I went to the local grocery store and my receipt noted in big, bold letters that we purchased a peanut product on the recall list. I had no idea about the product because my wife bought it--but the store knew because of my store card.I also got a letter in the mail from Costco which pointed out that some of http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/Ry3cjQVCMac/all-you-need-is-love.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/all-you-need-is-love.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-1496932761355534217Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:06:00 +00002009-02-04T11:16:02.124-07:00My son needed a science fair project. So we searched the web. We didn't actually know what we were searching for, we were just searching. But I remembered that a cool site existed that I always admired simply because it would be cool to create things like a solar powered hot water heater. That's when I rediscovered Instructables.com. It's a great DIY website with videos or instructions on how to http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/29LfwwHN7Po/how-not-to-do-how-to-video.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-not-to-do-how-to-video.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-1170289416593597340Thu, 29 Jan 2009 16:51:00 +00002009-01-29T10:07:13.064-07:00I love this video--it's of two crooks in New Zealand who run into a pole. After thinking about it a bit it reminded me of some companies and how they do their advertising and marketing. Too often a marketing campaign says one thing, but the reality of the what the company does is completely different. Why do companies continue to make such fundamental mistakes? Because the two halves aren't http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/tyVtvmJwmM4/marketing-dumb.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/01/marketing-dumb.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-6459508080564157063Sat, 17 Jan 2009 16:28:00 +00002009-02-07T12:15:14.569-07:00moviespublic relationsprI know, some of you are my friends.. but some movie studio executives are morons. Someone at a movie studio--they will remain nameless--made YouTube yank down a video from blogger Kevin Lee because it had copyrighted material in it. Here is the irony, he was doing a movie review on video. Yeah, he was reviewing the movie and used clips. You know, like the guy on your late night news channel does.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/KHcfkL6heks/another-reason-movie-studio-executives.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/01/another-reason-movie-studio-executives.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-962777724096373513Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:08:00 +00002009-01-16T12:33:30.726-07:00moviesmarketingI love movies. I love to see new movies. I'd love to see all of them every single weekend. But do you know what I hate about movies? - Getting into my car and driving a minimum of 20 minutes to the theater- Waiting in line to buy tickets (although I'm glad I can buy some online to save this grief)- Shuffling across dozens of feet down the aisles and shuffling back out to go to the bathroom.- http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/ZHJaiexaUSw/why-i-love-to-hate-hollywood.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/01/why-i-love-to-hate-hollywood.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-163113086741028906Fri, 16 Jan 2009 05:20:00 +00002009-01-15T22:30:47.462-07:00newspapersclassifiedsThat's easy to answer. Newspapers are to blame. Elitism is to blame. Arrogance is to blame. I could go on but I won't. This is a sore that has been festering for a while. And no, his name isn't Craig, well it is, sort of. Newspapers keep crying that classifieds are killing them--taking away up to 40% of their profits. Newspapers, which once had dozens of pages of classified ads, now have only onehttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/V-tbBWuvF5k/whos-to-blame-for-newspaper-business.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2009/01/whos-to-blame-for-newspaper-business.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-9034501989857723100Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:42:00 +00002008-12-15T21:52:19.569-07:00customerscustomer serviceGoogleGoogle maps for business seems like a great idea. That is unless you have to use it. Until recently I had no idea that Google map spam was such a huge problem. Its such a big problem that they have a Google Group assigned to it. Too bad no one seems to be helping anyone there. I have had a problem for weeks and no one has responded. Under our domain, in a Google search, there is an address for nohttp://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/0pzjU1K-Z3M/google-me-this-or-why-google-hates.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2008/12/google-me-this-or-why-google-hates.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-91912991914121883Mon, 08 Dec 2008 04:27:00 +00002008-12-07T21:31:14.198-07:00The internet can make or break a company. Ever stay up late and watch an infomercial? It used to be a lot different fifteen years ago because you never knew what you were getting, but now you can find out everything about a product thanks to the web. Want to know if those knives really can slice through a brick? Or if that acne cream really will clear your complexion overnight? Just Google it. http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/L0EZHMPGaKw/best-and-worst-time-to-be-in-marketing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2008/12/best-and-worst-time-to-be-in-marketing.htmltag:blogger.com,1999:blog-601907752688469496.post-483672029556115072Tue, 02 Dec 2008 04:19:00 +00002008-12-01T21:24:59.653-07:00marketingsalesWhen is nothing on sale? When everything is on sale. Ever go into Kohl's? It seems like everything is 40% off. The only way to make something seem special or a great deal is when everything else isn't a deal.Some goes with marketing. If everything you advertising is the best then you have nothing that stands out as great.http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Crained-MarketingAndFun/~3/teLdIzX_y2I/when-is-nothing-on-sale.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Charlie C)0http://crained.blogspot.com/2008/12/when-is-nothing-on-sale.html