Archive for December, 2010
Privacy—it was a fun century while it lasted.
Privacy as we have known it for the last hundred years or so is a relatively new phenomenon.
Going back in time, most people lived in small communities. They were surrounded by family and people they grew up with. They were born, raised and died within these communities. This meant you had no privacy.
People knew you, your family and friends. They saw you all the time and knew everything about you. If you were having an affair, if you were the town drunk, the town fool or the town weirdo, everyone knew it and either accepted it or somehow adjusted to it.
McDonald’s Sued Over Happy Meal Toys
The Center for Science in the Public Interest, is trying to save us from—us, by suing McDonald’s to drop toys from Happy Meals. As a parent of three, I could do with less plastic in my house, but the CSPI is missing a few points in its efforts.
First is the word no. I say it often. Fast food is a treat, not a staple. Parents need to work around the constant convenience factor and provide better food for their children, regardless of circumstances. And with all the major chains offering toys and movie tie-ins, it’s actually easier to say no, because getting the toy is commonplace, you can do that anywhere.
The Promise of Targeted Advertising
Way back when this interweb thingy started, one of the promises that people actually thought was cool—was targeted advertising. Single guys would not see baby formula ads and children wouldn’t hear “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up.” Now, about 15 years later, we’re on the verge of seeing that promise fulfilled, but we have one problem.
People, apparently, don’t want advertisers to know that much about them.
For many consumers, it’s too late. Google many Americans and you’ll see what we do and where we work via Linkedin. Purchase an upgraded subscription and you can send email directly to individuals. Look us up on Facebook and you’ll see our interests, relative age, familial status and other data points. And because of this, Facebook is great for targeted advertising.
Mobile Marketing makes you Smarter!
Statistics surrounding Cyber Monday point to mobile as the “future of shopping”. PayPal alone saw a 310% lift in transactions over the same day in 2009. From PriceGrabber to Williams-Sonoma to mobile commerce superstar, eBay, many more shoppers turned to their mobile phones to compare prices, find retailers with product in stock, get coupons and special deals, and/or purchase merchandise. In other words, to buy smarter. Continue reading
36,000 pieces per hour
Have you ever wondered why the post office has so many rules and regulations for creating direct mail? Well, let me explain a few things and then I have a real treat for you. When you design a postcard or any mailing package, you need to keep the post office in mind. Not only does the overall size of the piece matter but also the thickness of the paper.
The min. size for postcard rate is 5″ x 3 1/2″ and the max. is 6″ x 4 1/4″, but you can go larger, keeping in mind the ratio and you are now moving into a letter rate for postage. If you stay at the smaller size, you should use at least 9 pt. stock, anything larger you should go to 10 – 12 pt. stock. You ask why? Well, take a look at this video. This machine is literally processing 36,000 pieces per hour. If your piece is too thin, then it could cause a snag in this machine and boy, can you imagine what happens! Next time you look in your mail box and you notice that your postcard is a little beat up – now you know why.
Energy Marketers—Time to go Mobile
If you’re marketing to a business prospect, you should consider mobile marketing. If you’re providing marketing support to your sales staff and distributors, you should consider mobile marketing. If you’re marketing to a consumer you must consider mobile marketing.
The proliferation of smartphones – nearly 50% of all mobile phones in the USA will be smartphones by mid-2011 – and nearly fanatical usage – Apple reports millions of apps have been downloaded – makes mobile marketing a must in the media mix for any higher educational institution. And the trends for 2010 fully support the need for serious marketers to acknowledge and adopt some form of mobile marketing. CBD spoke with Mickey Alam Khan, editor-in-chief of MobileMarketer.com, and discussed five key trends for 2010.
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