Saul Hansell writes in Bits that Yelp is succeeding in part because it puts citizen reviewers at the top of its list of constituencies to serve. This makes the site a poster child for user-centric design. Responding to criticism from business owners that some user reviews are unfair, Yelp also recently introduced a way for the business owner to send a message back to a reviewer. If the reviewer doesn’t choose to …
Kenneth Cole, Punny As Always
And I once wrote about why I think he can get away with it. …
Lump of Coal In Retailers’ Stockings
Shop. Your country needs you! That Bushism didn't take us too far. According to retail sales figures from last month, people are gripping the few dollars they have left. The nation's retailers saw their sales plummet last month to the weakest October level since at least 1969, as the financial crisis and mounting layoffs left shoppers too scared to shop. The stunning and rare drop, from an already weak September, is …
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Disney Pumps Up Its High Dollar Offerings
Disney says that sales of its home and lifestyle products will total about $85 million in the next 12 months, making up one percent of the consumer unit’s revenue. Within five years, the company projects the category will deliver $500 million in sales a year. It is an ambitious plan for a company whose idea of fashion for decades was to attach plastic mouse ears to a beanie. [via The New York Times] …
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The War On Talent
Recently, I heard there was yet another ad industry conference panel discussion entitled "How to Win The War For Talent." I rolled my eyes. There's no war for talent. Not in the ad industry. I explain why in my new column for Talent Zoo, which you can read after the jump. …
Here’s Some Of That Change People Keep Talking About
Given that it's a new day in America and a season for change, it's high time the two parties reinvent their mascots. And PoliticalCritter.org from Marlin & Co. in Springfield, MO is the vehicle for mascot change. Chris Rock of Marlin, and a former colleague of mine in Denver says, "Political Critter was something we just decided to do about two months ago, for the purely ridiculous reason of trying to kick existing …
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Brands Need To Work The Room
Gary Vaynerchuk of WineLibraryTV is a big fan of social media. It's worked for him, as he's grown his family's wine business in New Jersey and become Internet famous in the process. GV says in the video above that brands have to care enough to work the room. In other words they can't just make a presentation from the stage and be done with it. That type of "talking to" is Nowheresville today. …
Obama The Different
Al Ries is offering Ad Age readers some insight into why Obama's message was so well received. "Better" never works in marketing. The only thing that works in marketing is "different." When you're different, you can pre-empt the concept in consumers' minds so your competitors can never take it away from you. Ries also notes Obama's mastery of simplicity, consistency and relevance. …