Interactive

Lately more and more marketing emails seem to be referencing their top-rated and best-reviewed items in their subject lines and headlines. “Our Customers Speak Out—Shop Top-Rated Toscano Favorites!” is the subject line of a recent message from home decor cataloger Design Toscano. “Want to know what customers like you like best at Orvis?” is a somewhat clunky subject line from outdoor gear cataloger/retailer Orvis. “Protect your investment! 15% off top-rated outdoor furniture covers” teases country-living mailer Plow & Hearth.

more

It’s a story told thousands of times, all over the world, as I’ve come to learn over my many many many years of travel. While it may hold true for traditional advertising it’s an absolute truth for those deploying experiential methodology and using traditional media and less-traditional medias to effectively engage consumers.

I’ve been fortunate to be on three sides of the fence.:) more

Kant once asked a very simple question – Does technology enable or disable man? I think that we are absolutely at THE point where the personal decision is upon all of us all to make one very important decision.

Control the technology or let the technology control you? more

I’m going to climb out on a limb here and bet that there’s a large contingent of marketers out there that wish some of the more arcane social media channels would just go away. Not all, and maybe even not most. But for a not inconsiderable segment of the consumer and B-to-B marketing populations, things like Twitter, Foursquare, Brightkite and Gowalla are just too hard to figure out. more

When filling out the U.S. Postal Service’s National Change of Address form last month, I checked the boxes to sign up for a number of catalogs, including that of furniture retailer Pottery Barn. A few days ago I received a welcome e-mail from Pottery Barn, with the subject line “Pottery Barn welcomes you to the neighborhood!” (right).

Nice, eh? Why, then, is this an e-mail I don’t love?

more

It seems Google, a company I greatly admire, has a conundrum on its hands: what to do with the treasure drove of data it has at its disposal.

The key issue, of course, is over-stepping privacy boundaries which can lead to consumer mistrust and adversely impact revenue and profits. People do not like to do business with companies that they do not trust. more