At least not for Tropicana. Apparently the experiment failed. I gather the public in general was no more thrilled with the new cartons than the blogging world. According to Roberta Rosenberg (The Copywriting Maven), this failed experiment cost Tropicana $35 million. I appreciate her alerting us to the original change, and the reversal. Interestingly, I [...]
Recently I received two intriguing questions on marketing. And I found myself turning once again to Claude Hopkins’ advice in Scientific Advertising. Isn’t it amazing how some advice can indeed stand up to the test of time? Sometimes I think more of our politicians in Washington should look to history for the answers to current [...]
Originally posted June 30, 2008. Original post became Lost in Cyberspace when I changed web hosts … It’s hard to imagine a wildly successful company like Google having to change course. But, let’s go back in time… In 2000, Google had a pay-per-click (PPC) program. This was before AdWords. Their first version was like all [...]
Rudyard Kipling’s poem IF starts, “IF you can keep your head when all about you Are losing theirs and blaming it on you, …” It reminds me of the recent economic crisis and various government officials’ responses. Especially when I hear the ones most responsible are blaming … consumers. Not acknowledging their own responsibility in [...]
Originally posted June 27, 2008. Original post became Lost in Cyberspace when I changed web hosts … Recently, I reread Scientific Advertising by Claude Hopkins. I’m one of those copywriters who learns something new every time I read it. This time, I saw more clearly the parallels between marketing and testing a scientific hypothesis or [...]
Sometimes Customer Service just can’t get it right … On December 30, I placed an online order. I printed out the order confirmation, and received a follow-up email (nice touch). The email said my order would ship the next day, and I’d get a follow-up shipping confirmation. Okay. In the course of the holiday and [...]
I must admit the term “neuromarketing,” reminds me of science fiction. The original Star Trek comes to mind. You know, where the flashing lights on the futuristic scanner … in reality are just flashing lights. And the original hand-held medical scanners were salt shakers. Ah, the power of the imagination. Actors and actresses taking the [...]
According to a December 11, 2008 Harris Interactive Poll, the three most trusted organizations influencing politics and business in Washington, D.C. are Consumer Reports, the American Red Cross, and AARP. Congratulations to them. Good for them, right? Well, maybe… All three organizations are among the most well known organizations exerting influence in Washington. But two [...]
Originally published December 18, 2008 This week I learned a new recipe for making cookies. And it got me to thinking about how a successful sales letter, in many ways is a recipe. So, what do you do first when writing a sales letter? Assemble the ingredients? Instead of flour, sugar, shortening, etc., assemble the [...]
Your marketing message should be consistent throughout your business. And so should your company’s attitude towards customers. Years ago, I attended a practice-building seminar for physicians. The presenter stressed that the most important person in a doctor’s office is not the doctor … or the nurse … or the office manager. The most important person [...]
