SunTrust Advertising Implies They are Immune to M&A; Is that a Safe Bet?

August 10, 2009

Call me picky if you like, but I actually listen to the words in the radio and TV commercials and read the ad copy in magazines and on direct mail pieces. My family refers to it as an obsession, but I consider it professional research. In the car this weekend I listened to a SunTrust ad about a new customer who after finding that his bank had been recently acquired and the new staff had no idea how that would…  (Read on)

Planning to Use Social Media is Not the Same as Planning Your Social Media Strategy

July 29, 2009

Back when everyone read Kotler’s marketing textbook and set about defining an approach to the 4 P’s, businesses had marketing plans. The plans specified the who and the what of the business before getting into the sexier issues of how we’re going to do it. Lately folks seem to have that engine backwards. They’re skipping past the planning stages — where we identify our audience, the value of our product, the competition and our competitive advantage — and running right…  (Read on)

When Too Much Couponing is Not a Good Thing

July 17, 2009

I went to Ted’s Montana Grill last night. I’m a huge fan of their grilled salad (includes blue cheese and avocado) so this is a regular stop for us. We were running a little late and of course the place was packed. Eventually a high top in the bar opened up but only after we witnessed the previous occupants tell the manager they considered walking out because the service was so slow. This, I would learn later, explained the many…  (Read on)

AMA Marketing Technology SIG Brings BING, Yahoo! and More to Maggiano's

July 16, 2009

Event at $35, lunch at Maggiano’s is always an enjoyable thing. Today’s American Marketing Association meeting featured a panel discussion collectively promoted as Clicks to Bricks or how to get more sales out of your on-line presence. Nothing earth shattering about this presentation but I did enjoy the quips of panel member Evan LaPointe of Search Discovery and wanted to elaborate on my favorite. He pointed out that if performance is 90% what happens after the click then why do…  (Read on)

New Must Read Now in Paperback

July 13, 2009

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to read Prince and Schiff’s The Middle-Class Millionaire, courtesy of the Fulton County Public Library system. Subsequently I find myself referring this book to clients and friends left and right, each time returning to Amazon to search for a hardback book published in 2008 that had millionaire in the title. Imagine how tough that is? Finally I decided it was time to add this to my must-read this and found that the book…  (Read on)