Do people really care?

I mean really, people honestly don't care about your service (unless they are full throttle brand loyal to your company;which, isn't the reality these days) okay, maybe in some cases.
The bottom line is, we are looking at what marketers call "the information age", people who probably know more about your product and competition than you do. And why? One word--Google. For example, last night I was boiling chicken breasts from frozen, I didn't know how to do this. So what did I do, went to Google and typed in "How to cook chi", and before I even finished my sentence this amazing tool already knew what I was thinking. There popped up a series of options of how to cook chicken breasts. So what does this mean--well, here is my point: If you're targeting the information age (males and females between the ages of 18-40), you better have some damn good SEO. If I was 18 years old and looking for a skateboard, I would guess that I would go to Google and type in "Kingston Skateboards." And heck, why wouldn't I? Google is simply the easiest tool to find products within my town. I'm sure there have been many blogs surrounding Google as a marketing tool. It's just my chicken breasts experiences made me want to write this blog.

What if Cigarette companies had retail outlets with playhouses for children?

What was your first reaction when you read the headline? Evil, crazy, disturbed? Of course it was, you're a decent human being who knows that encouraging children to spend time in an atmosphere full of cigarette propaganda is horrible, and of course it is. Or what if major cigarette companies like Export A or Belmont had a mascot that aimed directly at children, that would be wrong to. Wouldn't it?

This blog actually has nothing to do with Direct Marketing at all. But after watching "Supersize Me" last night, I couldn't resist not to write about this topic. Did you know that obesity is the number one cause of death in the United States of America. It absolutely shocks me that McDonald's is described as a socially acceptable company within the eyes of many North Americans. And why shouldn't they be. They continue to advertise how much their company donates to local charities. Hell, they even have their own charity.

Stunningly, scientists spoke with four children all under the age of seven. Every children was able to recognize Ronald McDonald. Only 3 could pinpoint a drawing of Jesus Christ and Abraham Lincoln. Wow!

Is it worse to be a pack a day smoker, or incredibly obese? Well, both are extremely harmful to your health. So here is my question.

If McDonald's is allowed to lure small children into a life full of sugar, obesity and Type 2 Diabetes. Why can't Export A advertise to children to a life full of asthma, cancer and bad breath?

Note: This blog is not an argument surrounding advertising laws for cigarette companies. It's a topic that blows my mind of how McDonald's can get away with what they're doing to the lives of our youth.

Is--$2.00 OFF!--really enough?

Imagine you and your spouse are on a vacation in let's say, for example, Las Vegas. One day, a worker from the hotel hands you a tourism guide that is filled with information about places to see, restaurants and famous landmarks. It's already been discussed between the two you of about what sites you are prepared to visit that are within your budget. As your flipping through the pages you see a coupon for an event that is...now wait for it......$2.00 off.

I mean, really? Are these people serious? This isn't McDonalds.

If you were on vacation, and had a rough idea of sites you were interested in visiting. Would a two-dollar coupon shift your ideas? Keep in mind that a large majority of these events to visit are in the price range of twenty-five to fifty dollars.

Will it Blend

For anymore who is blogging about Viral Marketing. Check out the overall success of a Blender Company who created a video on YouTube called "Will it Blend". The series of videos show their companies spokesperson blending various items to portray the strength of the blenders. Items include an iPhone, marbles, even a rake. This is a perfect example of a brilliant viral marketing campaign that was proven to be extremely successful.

As mentioned in my previous blog. People like being entertained. If you can't grasp an emotion, laugh, nostalgic memory from your audience. You might as well be blending money.

Data Mining

A dentist would be able to detect a cavity in his/her mouth instantly. Why? Because that is there profession. Just like a dermatologist can spot a the difference between acne (and whatever skin problems there are). My friend, who will remain anonymous, called me and I asked if I knew how to unclog a toilet. Being a guy, we're always obligated to fix those 'disgusting' problems. I feel pretty confident in completing the job, but wanted to check some tips on Google just to be sure.

After my search on the process of unclogging toilets (which was pretty helpful I may say) I went to YouTube to listen to a song. On the bottom of the YouTube screen, advertisements were popping offering me 20% off plumbing products. Are Google and YouTube in cahoots? Do I only notice these things because I'm studying Advertising and Marketing? I can picture in my mind right now individuals all over the world finding it amazing seeing advertisements and thinking "Holy crap, what a coincidence. I was just thinking of re-staining my deck", not remember searching for outdoor wood stain.

Was this incident a complete coincidence? Or is the power of data mining THAT advanced?

The rise of the SHAMWOW and Slapchop.

We all know the ShamWow guy (the one who got arrested for prostitution but was still hired to promote the slapchop) from the commercials, telling us we're wasting valuable dollars on paper towels and quality products are made in Germany. Unless you've been living under a rock (or in Amish land), you're aware of the saying "But wait, there's more", or the famous "But if you call now, we'll throw in ......".

Are the ShamWow and Slapchop great products or is their direct marketing BRILLIANT? Would these products be so popular if traditional advertising was used for the awareness of these products? So why use a direct approach? Well, I'll tell ya.

1. Direct marketing is measurable. ROI can be calculated.
2. The ShamWow guy might be the new kingpin of direct television.
3. Television was used for these products because television can demonstrate what the products are capable of doing.

Did you know that thirty million dollars of Shamwows are sold every month. WOW. Everybody has heard of a shamwow, everybody knows who the shamwow guy is. This is a strong indicator that people are still paying attention to commercials; if it's interesting. Just remember, people are selfish; they don't give a @$!$ about your company. You NEED to entertain, engage and create that *shamwow* moment.

Plants

“Imagine you have a packet with 100 flower seeds in it, also pretend you’ve been giving 100 watering cans each filled with just enough water to soak one seed for a few days. It seems as though you can do one of two things.
1. You can plant all of 100 seeds and water each seed one time, my guess is every seed will fail to grow.
2. Or you could plant just 20 seeds and throw the other 80 seeds in the trash, water each of the 20 seeds five time over the course of the week, and you’ll probably end up with 20 flowers.”—Seth Godin