The New York Times has good news for TV executives reliant upon ever-diminishing ad revenues. According to new data released yesterday by the Nielsen Company, people who own digital video recorders, or DVRs, still watch, on average, two-thirds of the ads. One big reason is that many people with DVRs still tune in to watch about half of their shows at the scheduled start time, meaning they must sit through …
Save the Crabs, Then Eat ‘Em
Marketing for Change, whose motto is "Our business is behavior change," is using a unique twist to advertise a local environmental initiative. Instead of leaning on the tired old "save wildlife" mantra, their campaign for a cleaner Chesapeake Bay relies on a more selfish approach—human appetite for blue crabs. Here's a TV spot from the campaign. [via Houtlust] …
Sam’s Seeks Affluent Female Members
According to The Wall Street Journal (paid sub. req.), Sam's Club wants to appeal to affluent shoppers and mothers. "If we are to expand Sam's Club at the rate we expect, we are going to have to broaden our appeal beyond small business owners," Greg Spragg, Sam's Club's executive vice president of merchandise and replenishment. The change of course is significant for Sam's marketing efforts, which for years signaled …
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He Blogs. He Scores.
True Hoop is a pro basketball blog written by Henry Abbott. Abbott is a journalist with more than a dozen cover stories and one hundred plus feature articles to his credit. His work has appeared in HOOP, Inside Stuff, Men’s Journal, the official NBA Finals program and on CBS’s national radio network. He's making bloatospheric news this week because he sold his media property to ESPN. Steve Rubel ponders which blog …
Brand Stewards Start To Listen
Media Post reported a few weeks ago on the relationship between Technorati and Ogilvy. In an effort to help clients better understand the blogosphere, Ogilvy North America has enlisted the services of blog-tracking company Technorati. "We believe the blogosphere can have a considerable impact on brand health," Carla Hendra, co-CEO of Ogilvy North America, a WPP Group agency. She said that Technorati will aggregate …
Delete The Crap
Venture capitalist and blogger, Guy Kawasaki, schools us on closed system commenting. “Moderated comments” is an oxymoron. If your company is trying to be a hip, myth-busting, hypocrisy-outing joint, then it should let anyone comment. The concept that people have to be invited to post comments is pathetic—if you hold yourself out as a big cojones company, then act like it. Even the concept that one has to register to …
Tits And Ass! Hurry! Tits And Ass!
Ariel Waldman's blog has been taken over (for a few days) by Steve Hall. I'm rendered speechless, so I'll let Jetpacks do the talking for me. "This is akin to the cast of The Simpsons showing up in guest roles on 24." …
Hugh The Vulnerable
Stormhoek's Hugh MacLeod has been travelling around jolly old England offering grocery shoppers samples of the South African wine he helps market. Johnnie Moore has some interesting things to say about the activity. It's all a million miles away from high-powered branding from the top down. You let go of the trappings of high office when you follow this path, and get down to the grassroots, taking the risk of having …