The Red Umbrella: a Case of Stolen Identity
It doesn't matter that Citigroup acquired Travelers and the red umbrella along with it. The case will always be perceived as a stolen identity. ...
Real Lifetime Value: UTango Awards Buying—and Fidelity
Every marketer, it seems, has a loyalty program for something frivolous. But very few think of life's basic necessities. So feels one West Coast businessman who has come up with just that: a program that will reward married couples up to $1 million for purchasing over the long term -- provided they stay married. ...
Gold Standard: Godiva Revamps its Marketing Strategy to Attract a Younger Audience
Godiva Chocolatier, to celebrate its 80th anniversary this fall, is updating its direct creative approach, redesigning its retail stores and even revamping its signature gold box with new pieces and packaging....
The New Four P’s: Promoting Predictive Promotion Planning
If one accepts the premise that promotional devices can engage targets, two critical questions come to mind: Which activities will provide the best return on a promotion investment? How can promotion activities and budgets best be sequenced? ...
Back to Print with Custom Publishing
(Promo) Here's a hot tip for marketers who want to stay in touch with their customers: Take a page from the past and try a customized magazine. Though more costly than e-mail, it can serve as the perfect setting for promotional offers....
Super Duper Bowl
(Promo) Are you ready for some football? Brand marketers have been for months, but they're no longer thinking only of Super Bowl Sunday....
The RED Brigade
(Promo) U.S. shoppers can expect to see a lot more red this year as Product RED, a celebrity-driven charity, adds new partners and products. But it remains to be seen if the venture will hold up over the long haul....
Five Keys to a Well-Managed Brand
The wheels of industry usually move slowly. But in the case of customer experience management--the science of building brand preference by meeting customer needs and exceeding expectations--the speed has been break neck. Back in 2005, the Web and the prevalence of blogging helped shed shocking new light on the myriad obstacles to building sustainable loyalty...
Three Reasons Your Company’s Strategy May Be Failing
Your business strategy defines your company’s intent. In essence, it’s a promise--a promise that defines what your organization intends to deliver to its customers and the marketplace. But articulating a good strategy is only the beginning. ...
Empowering the Lonely Loyalty Champion
Not too long ago I spent a day teaching a group of marketing professionals about loyalty marketing. Fun it was not. ...
Self-Interest Is the Anesthetic That Dulls Innovation
This year’s holy grail and favorite buzzword has been “engagement.” There’s been a good deal of speculation about engagement’s efficacy, ...
What’s Ahead for Brand Creative
As designers we need more than ever to be astute students of the social and technological forces that are reshaping our world and accelerating change at a breathtaking pace. While change is all around us, ...
Don’t Be Shy About Making Conversational Marketing
Selling products and services through multiple channels offers a number of touch points where you can gather information from customers or potential customers. ...
Five Costly Customer Satisfaction Myths and Misunderstandings
Most multichannel merchants know why customer satisfaction is important. It is understood that satisfied customers are more likely to make repeat purchases, shop more often, spend more money, ...
Panic in Organics: What You Need to Know About the Organic Foods Market
As Wal-Mart takes organic foods mainstream and Whole Foods Market sources organic produce from China and New Zealand, is organic food about to gain or lose its credibility? ...
COLLOQUY Corner: Dialogue--the Coin of the Realm
Most loyalty-marketing gurus agree that the only reason to run a loyalty program is to generate incremental profit. After all, if you’re not in marketing to make money, then you’re in the wrong business. ...
BrandAnimation: Changing the Rules of Engagement
Everyone is talking about customer control, but why does it suddenly seem as if it is an emerging trend whose thirst needs to be quenched immediately? ...
SEM: Should You Buy Your Own Brand?
(Searchline) In a just and well-regulated world, buying your company’s brand as a search keyword would at least guarantee that the folks who searched on that brand name would be herded to your sponsored listing, wouldn’t it?...
Cups of Cheer
Sure, as usual, this year Starbucks changed its coffee cup color to red to signal the start of the holiday season. But it went beyond cups this year with ItsRedAgain.com and the accompanying Cheer Pass campaign, an effort to spread holiday good will to customers and encourage them to pass it on. Brad Stevens, vice president U.S. marketing (favorite holiday drink: peppermint mocha) talked with CM Plus recently via e-mail about the Cheer Pass initiative. ...
2007: The Year of Differentiation
It may seem oxymoronic to say that differentiation will be an overriding trend for 2007. But what companies will have in common in the coming year is the need to set themselves apart from the competition...
Bracing for the Social-Networking Backlash
(Promo) Last month, we wrote about marketers' fast-growing interest in social-networking sites as platforms for promotions. ...
Good for the Waistline, Good for the Brand
Americans just keep getting fatter. While that may not be good news for the state of American health, it certainly bodes well for brands and companies in the weight-management market. ...
Seven Brand and Marketing Trends for 2007
Niels Bohr once noted that “prediction is very difficult, especially about the future,” but then he didn’t have access to predictive loyalty metrics. ...
Truth, Authenticity, and the Brand
Advertisers and politicians often say the importance of what you say and do is a matter of perspective. But in brand building, truth is singular and concrete, a cornerstone...
DIY Spas, Asian Chic, and Precautionists: Retail Trends for 2007
As consumers move to take more control over all aspects of their harried lives, we’re seeing dramatic changes in media, marketing, and advertising— ...
