Want To Bet?

Golfsmith does, the nation wide golf and tennis retailer is promising to refund consumers the amount of money they pay for a TaylorMade driver if Spain's Sergio Garcia wins The Masters next month. Here is the catch, you must purchase one of three top of the line Taylor Made drivers, Garcia's major sponsor, by a certain date.

Did I mention that the drivers cost between $300 and $400? If Golfsmith does have to pay it would cost them a tune of $1,000,000 for every 3000 drivers sold, needless to say Golfsmith has taken out an insurance policy just in case he wins.

It is a fairly safe bet for Golfsmith however, Sergio is 0 - 41 lifetime in majors and usually performs the worst in The Masters. TaylorMade has no connection with this except sponsoring Sergio and any buzz that is created through this promotion.

Should TaylorMade be happy with this promotion? TaylorMade prides itself on being the number one driver in golf and if Sergio does not win does that tarnish the brand? Soon they might be able to say they are the number one driver in golf who never wins. How could TaylorMade make this a positive brand building experience?

See A Pot Hole...Just Call KFC?

As you are driving around the cities you say the person sitting next to you in the car " I wish someone would do something about these pot holes!" By the time you finish your sentence you notice a crew up ahead working on the pot holes. As you get closer you notice that one of the workers looks like a person you have seen on TV. Then you notice and exclaim "It's Colonel Sanders from KFC!"

In an unusual cause-marketing push, KFC is tackling the pothole problem in Louisville, Ky. in exchange for stamping the fresh pavement with "Re-freshed by KFC," a chalky stencil likely to fade away in the next downpour. Read the complete article here.

What a great concept that will get people to stop, look, remember and go back to look at when they drive down that street. I am surprised that Louisville is allowing this. What does the Highway Beautification Act have to say about this? Further more once the Colonel is done working and "refreshing pot holes" will you even notice it? Bottom line is this, short term it is awesome, unique and definitely a purple cow. Long run I have to question it. Do you think is this a good or bad idea?

Is there hope?

Maybe customer service with in the airline industry isn't as dead as I thought. Look at the peoples faces and posture change as this flight attendant puts a new twist on pre-flight instructions. You can honestly see the mood lift among the passengers especially when you watch the seasoned business travelers in the front rows. Southwest Airlines gets it and you have to appreciate the shot thrown at their competitors because it is completely true. How do we get other industries to catch onto this noble yet basic idea?

Glass So Clean It Is Invisible?

Here is a great example of how effective guerrilla marketing can be. Hire three people for a weekend and have them walk around a city (Chicago) pretending they are holding glass that is "so clean it is invisible." What a great way to tell your story about your brand instead of the same old boring demonstrations. I love how people in the video are stopping, watching, smiling, video taping, and photographing this low cost high appeal glass free promotion.



Even though I love this concept I have to wonder...will this motivate you to purchase Windex the next time you are out of glass cleaner when an available substitute is sitting right next to it for a lower price?

Lets Do The Math

Have you stopped at Caribou lately?

Often I like to get a mocha and a muffin. The latest promotion the barista, err employee will counter and say would you like to make that a large drink and get the pastry for just a$1.

Lets do the math


Small mocha - $2.90
muffin - $1.95
TOTAL: $4.85


Large mocha - $3.90
Muffin - $1.00
TOTAL: $4.90


What's the up sell and profit of that? A mere $.05? Is this a good idea for Caribou?

On another note, the free shot of espresso promotion when we "spring ahead" is a great idea and a great example of viral marketing. Truly an awesome low cost high appeal promotional idea.

Should We Show Them The Money?

Should the state of MN fund a Vikings stadium this season?

We have federal stimulus money coming that is to be used to create new jobs. A new stadium started this fall would create consistant jobs for two-three years. Look at the Twins & Gophers stadiums and how many companies they used and the number of people hired. Couple that with a few new road projects.....

Are You Kidding Me???

Have you seen the commercial for a new frozen entre free from Kashi.com?

So being the dork marketing guy I went directly to Kashi.com and signed up for it. I liked the spot and it made me go to the site and sign up. I look forward to trying this new product.

Here is where it gets good – I went to send a comment to the folks at Kashi and when I click the topic under FAQ and it simply tells me, at this time we are unable to accept ideas or comments from outside of Kashi. Our professional research and development team are constantly working to improve…..

Really – are they that CA arrogant to NOT accept comments from their consumers? I am truly shocked that a company such as Koshi does not accept comments. In this day and age shouldn't they want to know what their customers think especially since they use a market skimming pricing strategy with plenty of available substitutes?

SuperModelquins???

This is wierd, creepy, different but yet I am talking (blogging) about it...so it must be effective. Make sure you watch the "premier episode" located in the lower left corner.

Go Check this out. http://www.oldnavyweekly.com/

Where is the value?

Hyundai's latest ad campaign informs customers if they are having a difficult time making payments they can defer for three months. If times are still tough you can return the car.

So where is the value in returning the car? Don't you still need some sort of transportation to interviews or even to buy groceries?