Monthly Archives: March 2011

Brand extensions

Posted on March 31, 2011 by

I generally agree with Al Ries. His insights into positioning have been remarkable over the years. He is a fanatic about NOT allowing brand or line extensions. His position is they usually (always) result in poorer performance than if you created … Continue reading →

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There are advantages to capitalism

Posted on March 30, 2011 by

We try to stay away from politics in this blog, but not always. This is one of those times. The U.S. government has debated for many years what companies should do about being more “green.” Just today, President Obama talked … Continue reading →

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When in doubt, increase your advertising

Posted on March 29, 2011 by

Back in February I posted about the auto insurance industry and their focus on price. Apparently the “waste” I discussed in that article has been transferred to the advertising industry. Over $4B/year is spent on advertising by this industry. And this is over … Continue reading →

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If more of them could just be better

Posted on March 28, 2011 by

The December 2010 issue of Harvard Business Review had a short article entitled “Do You Really Know Who Your Best Salespeople Are?” In this article the authors attempt to explain how the behavior of sales people affect their ability to be … Continue reading →

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Is greed going to cost them a generation?

Posted on March 21, 2011 by

Just came back from a cruise. Always fun. Since, as my wife points out, I am always working, I needed Internet access on this cruise, as I always do. Since my first cruise about 12 years ago up to and … Continue reading →

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Stop guessing

Posted on March 9, 2011 by

As more marketing moves to the Internet, the skills and tools of the direct marketer become more relevant, even if you are not selling directly. Direct marketers have always relied on testing and measurement to improve. If you didn’t, you … Continue reading →

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Hot Mama

Posted on March 8, 2011 by

Competing with the big box super stores is tough for today’s retailers. And their equivalent exist in every category, except truly emerging markets. So competing is tough for everyone, except those who recognize it’s not about competing with the category leader. It’s … Continue reading →

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Are you measuring what you can … or what you should?

Posted on March 7, 2011 by

As marketers continue to be pushed for accountability, many continue to measure something … anything … to try to prove value. You might think that measuring something is better than measuring nothing. Not true. If you take action from the … Continue reading →

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Do you know who is really making the decision?

Posted on March 4, 2011 by

As I discuss in my book, The Secret to Selling More, knowing Who you should target is a key responsiblity of Marketing. And that Who may be changing. A recent study by Yahoo found that slightly over 50% of men feel … Continue reading →

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Are celebrities useless?

Posted on March 2, 2011 by

The debate about using celebrities as a brand/product/service spokesperson has been with us for a long time. A recent Advertising Age article looks at some new research … conducted by the authors. Their research suggests that the use of celebrities is … Continue reading →

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