The Big Fat Marketing Blog

I’ve been running since I was in high school, ran track in college and competed in tons of road races in the 1990s. My competitive road racing days are behind me, but I still enjoy running and have purchased items from the National Running Center in the past.

Recently, the National Running Center came up with its $10 Tuesday promotion, which lists 16 items each priced at $10 for a 24-hour period. It’s a great deal and one I took advantage of today.

Of the $10 items offered, I selected the Frank Shorter 1/2 Zip Dri-Run Jersey, with a six-inch mesh-backed front zipper in coal/black. I’ve worn Frank Shorter items in the past, and they’ve all been excellent. For those of you who don’t know who Frank Shorter is, he probably did more to impact running in the U.S. than anyone before him. more

Once again, the cash-strapped U.S. Postal Service is apparently beset by problems beyond its control.

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Anyone who wanted to learn some vital tips for performing well in the annual MCM Awards would’ve found them during Wednesday’s session, “10 Things To Learn From This Year’s Print Catalog Winners,” at the MCM Live Conference in New York City.

Lois Brayfield, president of J. Schmid & Associates; Glenda Shasho Jones, president of Shasho Jones Direct; and Geoff Batrouney, executive vice president of Estee Marketing Group, spearheaded the informative session telling attendees what to do and what not to do.

Here are some of the points the group discussed:

Create authority: When you can tout a “Best In Class” accolade, use it. It certainly makes you an authority. Show real-life examples and provide useful product information like New Pig does in its catalog. Create a strong, differentiated positioning that is owned.

Marketing innovation: There were very few breakout ideas from this year’s print catalog entries. Entry forms were not complete and circulation plans were unremarkable and ordinary. Some entries offered imprecise and “fuzzy” numbers with little documentation regarding circulation strategies. more

Academic textbooks can get pricy, but is a developmental biology tome titled “The Making of a Fly: The Genetics of Animal Design” really worth more than $23 million? In paperback, to boot?

When evolutionary biologist Michael Eisen logged on to Amazon.com, he noted one seller’s offer of the book for more than $1.7 million, with another seller’s copy similarly priced. At first he thought it was a joke – there were, after all, several copies listed starting at a much more reasonable $35.54. more

A more accurate headline might be “Direct Mail My Kids Love.” When the Lego Club Magazine arrives, my boys get as excited as Navin R. Johnson when the new phone book arrives.

The magazine is an impressive hybrid of advertising and relationship building. Every page promotes a specific Lego building set or line, with mentions of exclusive retailers like Target and links to more information online.

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I’ll admit it: I love television. Love, love, love it. Dramas, comedies, reality shows, cartoons….love it.

I even like commercials. Of course, I watch a lot less of them these days, thanks to my DVR, which I love, love, love as well.

The ones we do like, however, get watched multiple times. We’ll even rewind the DVR to watch our favorites—the Planet Gym spot has gotten numerous viewings. (Not that it inspired anyone in my house to exercise, but we repeated “I lift things up and put them down” a lot.)

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