Thanks to Tim Manners (Link: reveries – cool news of the day.) for sharing this insight from a story on Fastcompany.com (Link: Jonesing for Soda.)
Pop Soda Jones. "The reality is that consumers don’t need our
stuff," says Peter van Stolk, founder, president and ceo of Jones Soda,
in a transcript of an interview with Ryan Underwood posted on FastCompany.com.
He says that’s the one simple insight that made him a better marketer.
As he puts it: "You’re not listening to your customer when you tell
them, ‘You need me.’ You listen to your customers when you say, ‘You
really don’t need me.’"
February 14, 2005
Here’s how TV networks got popular:
step 1: make sure the FCC gives you a low channel number. 2 is better than 12.
step 2: during sweeps week, run lots of special movies.
step 3: have the local news do an expose on iced tea sold at delis (with bacteria in it, no less)
step 4: have the local news cover a lot of fires
Here’s how blogs get popular:
step 1: run some sort of poll that lots of other bloggers link to
step 2: if the poll is about you, link to it: Link: The 2005 Business Blogging Awards � Best Marketing Blog.
step 3: be controversial. Try to get a CNN VP to resign under pressure. Yell when you can speak, scream when you can whisper.
step 4: write stuff worth reading. The thing is, it’s up to you/us, the readers, to decide what "worth reading" means. If we read, talk about and link to the stuff that’s thin or short-lasting or flamboyant, then that’s what we’re going to get, right?
My hero, Hugh Macleod just announced his evil plan to corner the market on bespoke suits. gapingvoid: english cut (cont.).
He points to: English Cut perhaps the first, and certainly the most complete blog ever written about custom made English suits.
In an era where you don’t have to wear a suit, where a suit from Today’s Man is only $89 and where you never even meet most of the people you work with, a $3,000 suit is nothing but remarkable.
Good luck, Hugh.
February 11, 2005
Sure, it’s off the topic, but this article just cracked me up.
Everyone with a blog is an expert, but everyone in England appears to be an expert on this topic as well.
Link: CNN.com – Good wishes – and a note of warning – Feb 10, 2005.
Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine: "When I got a call earlier this morning, I was completely astounded. The fact that it is happening, and that it is happening that quickly is the surprising element here."
New to me, anyway. David Coe at: PDG Graphics sent over this chart. I was immediately grabbed by the terms "above the web" and "below the web". It’s a little bit of a riff on the movie business (certain expenses are "above the line" and thus out of the hands of the producer), and it feels right.
Imagine dividing up your world this way. Worth a thought.
February 9, 2005
I clicked "unsubscribe" at the bottom of an email newsletter I got tired of.
This is what the web page it brought me to said:
To ensure the privacy of the subscriber base, you must enter the eMail address that this eMail was initially sent to.
If the eMail address you provide does not match that address exactly, it will not be unsubscribed.
I can’t tell you how pleased I am that they’re looking out for my privacy with such vigilance.
Marketing dollars are getting spent on product placement (Panasonic provides plasma screens to Tony Danza, Pontiac gives cars to Oprah). Marketing dollars are also moving from magazines (stagnant) to adwords and online media (skyrocketing). Marketers are busy building viral campaigns, funding blogs, and yes, by the way, investing in products that are cool enough to actually blog about.
But who’s deciding?
My guess is that this is not an organized, top down effort led by the fancy CMO or VP of Marketing. I think it’s all happening around the edges while the middle (TV etc.) implodes.
This is accidental and random and it’s going to get ugly, fast.
I wonder how long before smart marketers realize the new middle of the marketing department is all that extra stuff.
CEO READ just posted their top selling books for 2004.
Link: What Corporate America is Reading — Best of 2004.
1. "Free Prize Inside," by Seth Godin.
2. "Trading Up," by Michael Silverstein, Neil Fiske.
3. "Purple Cow," by Seth Godin.
4. "The Power of We: Succeeding Through Partnerships," by Jonathan Tisch.
5. "Guts!: Companies that Blow the Doors off Business-as-Usual," by Jackie Freiberg, Kevin Freiberg.
6. "Leadership Presence," by Belle Linda Halpern, Kathy Lubar.
7. "Creating Customer Evangelists," by Ben McConnell & Jackie Huba. 8. "Leadership from the Inside Out," by Kevin Cashman.
9. "Becoming a Category of One," by Joe Calloway.
10. "Six Fundamentals of Success," by Stuart Levine.
11. "Love Is the Killer App," by Tim Sanders.
12. "Good to Great," by Jim Collins.
PS my new book is out in May. More on this soon. Thanks again.
February 8, 2005
What a great tagline.
February 7, 2005
