Current Events in Marketing
‘Where’s the Beef?': Anniversary of an icon
Published January 14, 2014
You can learn a lot from commercials that stick in the public mindset. Wendy’s has changed significantly since 1984, but across all those years it’s still probably primarily known for one catchphrase it introduced that helped define the decade: “where’s the beef?” It succeeded in part due to the simplicity of the original ad. Three elderly women are inspecting a ridiculously … Read more »
Philadelphia tourism campaign loosens up with ‘Phillyosophy’ strategy
Published January 13, 2014
There’s a lot of obvious value in creating a buzzword about your product that can easily be shared: hashtags, merchandise, and the culture zeitgeist can all be yours with a well-crafted piece of verbiage. It all depends on opportunity, and a bit on luck as well. Try this one on for size: Phillyosophy. It might toe that “fine line between stupid and clever” mentioned by Spinal Tap, … Read more »
Nissan takes to Twitter to respond to Rogue flap
Published January 10, 2014
If you’ve tuned into television recently, there’s a pretty good chance you heard about the new Nissan Rogue. And then heard about it again. And again. And maybe a fourth or a fifth time for good measure, until you were responding to everyday questions with the word “Nissan”, mumbled again and again until it became an incoherent, blurry testament to the satiating effect of repeated … Read more »
What the New Coke debacle can teach your business about analytics
Published January 8, 2014
Few companies have a greater built-in marketing edge than Coca-Cola. Not only is the popular brand one of the longest-standing in its market, it also has vast financial resources and a strong cultural resonance. In addition, Coke has access to a large amount of research about its potential consumers and how best to target them. The New Coke fiasco shows that having that data without the attendant … Read more »
Documentary leads to SeaWorld Counterattack
Published January 7, 2014
Heard of the documentary “Blackfish”? It’s been a pretty heavily talked about documentary ever since it hit screens, and the subject matter, concerning the way in which the popular entertainment resorts mistreat killer whales, has gained it near-unanimous praise on Rotten Tomatoes. As one might expect, this is great news for the filmmakers, but not so great for SeaWorld Entertainment … Read more »