06.12
I just read through yet another brilliant post on BrandCultureTalk, one of my favorite industry blogs. First off, I like that the post makes use of the words “shenanigans,” “confiscatory,” and “sophistry” (which I admit I had to look up). But beyond a perfect score on the verbal SATs, the author of this post clearly has a knack for dissecting a complex issue (in this case, the ailments of the credit card industry), doing research to support his/her points of view, and stringing together an engaging article that manages to be relevant without being trite (a bit of a rarity in articles about branding/marketing).
The post is essentially a diatribe on the frustrating attributes of the First PREMIER Bank Platinum MasterCard and the credit card industry as a whole. Which brings me to the title of this post: some industries just suck.
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05.12
Sorry, Nordstrom. I just canceled my subscription to your free email newsletter after receiving yet another “Not Your Daughter’s Jeans” edition. Last I checked, Nordstrom sells men’s clothes, too, but their email subscription doesn’t ask you to input your gender, what type of clothing you’re interested in, or any information whatsoever. This is a massive missed opportunity for targeted marketing, and in my opinion completely fails to take advantage of the point of email subscription lists.
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05.06
I don’t always agree with the folks over at Gyro:HSR, but I just read a post by Milan Martin that makes some strong points. He takes awhile to get to it, but eventually does a nice job of making the case that B2B brands need to be built to resonate with people, not “businesses.” I’ve heard this argued time and again—I even wrote a post on it awhile back—but since many B2B companies’ marketing communications betray the fact that they (or their agencies) haven’t realized it yet, it’s still a point worth making.
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03.23
California roll? Yeah, we can whip that up.
Would you go to a coffee place for Mexican food? A Mexican restaurant for a great latte?
DeSpyro Coffee, a relatively new spot in Huntington Beach, is committing a common brand strategy blunder right out of the gate. In choosing a somewhat descriptive name (and they could have just as easily gone with something vague like “DeSpryo’s”), they’ve set themselves up to be perceived by patrons as a coffee shop—a well-established category that comes with a certain set of expectations.
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02.25
Went to Fuddruckers with some co-workers the other day for lunch, and had to snap a photo of this. These children do not appear to be enjoying their trip to Fuddruckers, or whatever it is they ordered off the “KIDS MENU.” Frightening.
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