The Big Fat Marketing Blog

The night before Postmaster General John E. Potter appeared before a congressional subcommittee in a session titled “Restoring the Financial stability of the U.S. Postal Service: What Needs to Be Done,” I was at a party in the VooDoo Lounge in Las Vegas.

Who hosted this affair in these tight economic times? The U.S. Postal Service. more

In small ways, the message that promotions need to address people’s needs beyond price is seeping out into the marketing industry.

The latest brand to try to take the worry out of buying is men’s apparel chain Jos. A. Bank Clothiers. They’re offering customers who buy a suit during their $199 sale—which lasts through April 9—the chance to keep both the suit and the cost (up to $199) if they lose their job between April 16 and July 1 of this year. more

Candle Warmers Etc., a cataloger/manufacturer of patented candle warming appliances, related giftware appliances and Jamie Clair Candles, is expanding its product distribution through new mass retailers starting next month. more

American Airlines sucks. I will never fly them again. OK, after I board flight 2412 from DFW to BDL. And I’m not the only person who thinks bad thoughts about them: a Google search for “American Airlines sucks” came up with more than 137,000 results (including this one).

When the customer service luddites don’t have the common courtesy to help my elderly mother and I at a kiosk (with no scanner) as we’re running late to catch a flight, that’s a customer service issue. When the customer service guy laughs at my mother as she tries to figure the kiosk out, that’s even worse. And then when we’re told we can’t get onto our flight because we’re now too late for a boarding pass, it’s a big issue.

And when the customer service supervisor tells my brother-in-law, a retired Captain at American, to talk to the hand… then I’m boiling! more

American Airlines sucks. I will never fly them again. OK, after I board flight 2412 from DFW to BDL. And I’m not the only person who thinks bad thoughts about them: a Google search for “American Airlines sucks” came up with more than 137,000 results (including this one).

When the customer service luddites don’t have the common courtesy to help my elderly mother and I at a kiosk (with no scanner) as we’re running late to catch a flight, that’s a customer service issue. When the customer service guy laughs at my mother as she tries to figure the kiosk out, that’s even worse. And then when we’re told we can’t get onto our flight because we’re now too late for a boarding pass, it’s a big issue.

And when the customer service supervisor tells my brother-in-law, a retired Captain at American, to talk to the hand… then I’m boiling! more

You’d expect that given the sharp downturn in the economy, marketing departments would be forecasting budget cuts for 2009.

Hardly. The annual CMO Council survey of senior marketers, which was just released last week, reveals that marketers are largely holding steady on budgets, with 50.9 percent planning no change or increases. And of the remainder planning for cuts, more than 30 percent expect only modest shrinkage. more