The Big Fat Marketing Blog

It’s easy for marketers to fall in line; One duck after the other swimming to keep up with the one breaking ground with a new marketing idea.

Purchases that trigger a charitable donation are just such an example. Some smart marketer long ago thought up the idea. Now consumers can’t walk into a store without tripping over a pitch to buy one thing and donate to another. And while it’s all for good causes, it’s stale, moldy, boring marketing. Consumers do want companies to look out for others and will support them, but innovation will make these promotions work harder. Isn’t that the point?

Enter Disney.

Disney’s offer to give 1 million free tickets to its parks to people who complete a day of volunteer work is ingenious.

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The interwebs are abuzz with direct marketing folks chatting about the smackdown between Gerry Pike and John Greco of the Direct Marketing Association.

Seems most of the discussion is focused on Greco’s salary — a figure that’s almost twice the industry average for a national nonprofit according to the ASAE and The Center for Association Leadership.

Truth is, I don’t really care how much John Greco is paid. I don’t spend my time thinking about how many days he works from home versus the office. I don’t wonder how much his spiral staircase cost or if he ever even got one. And I certainly don’t waste my time obsessing about whether or not his son spent two weeks in Italy. more

Note from Beth: A month or so ago, I blogged about the film “Art & Copy.” I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t actually write a review. But really, who cares what an ink stained member of the fourth estate like me thinks? What does a real ad man think? Tom Simons, the CEO and chief creative officer of Boston’s PARTNERS+simons gives his take:

In the new independent film “Art & Copy” advertising reflects on itself and likes what it sees.

“Art & Copy” is a delightful, satisfying worship at the altar of transformational advertising ideas. More than a dozen of the great creative minds of the previous 50 years politely take their turns reflecting on their work—and themselves—in this 90-minute documentary by filmmaker Doug Pray. Anyone connected to the development of art or copy in an ad agency will almost certainly gobble this up in its entirety. I’m less sure anyone else will.

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Ruth Goldway, the new chairman of the Postal Regulatory Commission, wants your help. more

While postal officials await Senate action, the House of Representatives passed the Conference Agreement on the FY 2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Act (HR 2918), which includes a provision requiring the Postal Service to make a $1.4 billion payment (deferring $4 billion) to pre-fund postal retiree health premiums. The vote was 217-190. more

Apparel merchant J. Crew has gone to the arts with its October catalog!

Take a look at what today’s New York Times has to say.