I recently visited the Mill Mountain Zoo in Roanoke, Virginia. (As a side note, if you find yourself in the area—it’s a decent zoo for a short visit.) One of the zoo’s main attractions, for younger kids that is, is what they refer to as the “Zoo Choo”: a small electric-powered train that drives groups…
Many of us have heard of “The Pepsi Challenge,” a four-decade old promotional campaign by Pepsi in which testers visit public locations and perform sip tests. It’s done how it sounds: Participants are given two unmarked cups with small amounts of Coke in one and Pepsi in the other. After they have tasted both cups…
I just finished listening to Blink (by Malcolm Gladwell) on audio book. Yes, I said audio book—a technology I once found to be quite silly; however, en route to work, they are wonderful (I’m on my third of the same week!). Gladwell spoke of a study: Researchers were interested in whether the number of product…
‘Tis the season for e-mail marketing, and, as always, if ‘tis the season for it, ‘tis the season for doing it right. (My best attempt at a witty, anecdotal lead.) Ultimately, all companies use e-mail—some more effective than others; therefore, all marketing professionals should have a good grasp on the current trends, concepts, and how-to’s….
Google is a great paradigm-breaking example of how “just doing it better” leads to success. Co-founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page had a plan: Take “search” and make it not suck. It’s easy to forget that, before Google, search engines already existed. What Brin and Page sought to do different—to make search not suck—was supply…
Word-of-mouth has always been the most effective form of marketing. People trust their friend’s opinions. Ask yourself: What was the last movie you went to see? What was the last fancy restaurant you visited? What was your last purchase above $200? With those answers in mind, how many of these purchases were influenced largely by…
