The Big Fat Marketing Blog

The MRC Show in Vegas: No Risk, No Reward

Melissa Dowling — Fri, 19 Mar 2010 17:22:50 +0000

It’s always interesting to check out a conference for the first time, and it’s always fun to come to Las Vegas. (Though I’ve also found it’s even more fun to leave Las Vegas.)

So I was happy to be covering the Merchant Risk Council’s E-Commerce Payments & Risk Conference on March 16-18. The only problem? (more…)

Potter: Five-Day Delivery “Absolutely Necessary”

Jim Tierney — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 20:02:47 +0000

Postmaster General John E. Potter testified today before a Senate subcommittee and said moving to five-day mail delivery is “absolutely necessary to ensure financial viability” of the U.S. Postal Service, “both now and into the future.” (more…)

Don’t Let the Brits Out-Twit Us!

Sherry Chiger — Thu, 18 Mar 2010 13:51:45 +0000

Marketers in the States by and large assume that when it comes to leveraging the various channels and media open to them, the U.S. is number one, and brands in all other countries are busy playing catch-up. But one channel where Stateside marketers have to play catch-up is Twitter. Based on anecdotal evidence, I’d say the Brits are much more creative in exploiting this particular channel.

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Constant Contact Obviously Doesn’t Care What Its Customers Say

Tim Parry — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 22:02:19 +0000

Remember this blog post from about seven months ago, the one about Constant Contact constantly contacting me? Well now I’m trying to cancel my Constant Contact account, and I can’t unless I do it by phone… and I’ve been on hold for about a half an hour now.

What makes this even funnier is that a blogger complained about this four years ago, and Constant Contact doesn’t seem to be listening. You would think a marketer that deals with communication would be on the lookout for bad things being said about it, and strive to make customer-centric changes. (more…)

Greetings From Someplace I’ve Never Been and Still Aren’t At… or Geolocation Sucks

Tim Parry — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 19:22:30 +0000

Ah, geolocation. Ask just about any marketer: It’s the greatest thing since sliced bread. When are we going to admit that geolocation is not very effective? Maybe when more writers and bloggers speak up and say they are sitting at their desk, about 1,200 miles away from the deal that’s reached their computer screen.

My office is in Stamford, CT. I’m on our company’s Overland Park, KS-based server. That’s 1,251 miles if I drive 20 hours four minutes on I-70, or 1,350 miles if I drive 21 hours 25 minutes on I-64.

So these offers designed to drive me into businesses in Overland Park or nearby Kansas City are really not going to be very effective. All they’re going to do is tell me what I already know: Geolocation sucks. (more…)

Bring it on Bounty

Patricia Odell — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:30:38 +0000

When thinking about rappers, Jay Z and Lil Wayne come to mind, not two guys from Bounty paper towels rapping about an experiment to see if 11 billiard balls can hang on a wet paper towel before the towel goes the way of the corner pocket.

But there they are in a YouTube video, looking a bit like they’re headed to perform surgery on Bart Simpson. But they’ve got the moves, the car, the rap, the chains and … the girls.

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How to Compete With the Big Guns

Beth Negus — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:53:05 +0000

For those who still don’t think the Internet is a winner takes all ecosystem, David Solomon suggests you look at Amazon, Or Zappos. Or Newegg.

As he noted at last week’s New England Mail Order Association conference in Boston, Internet Retailer reports that the top 500 sites account for a whopping 69.1% of all online sales. And the top 100 dominate 55.3% of retail.

Now, that doesn’t mean everyone else should roll up their virtual sidewalks and weep quietly, said Solomon, head of the specialty retail and direct marketing group at Lazard Asset Management. But you do need to be a smart marketer.

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Zappos Understands Differentiation

Grant Johnson — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:03:21 +0000

This weekend I saw the new Zappos.com TV ad and was intrigued. Here it is:

I liked the ad simply because it’s different and gets noticed. I do, however, feel that they could have made an offer and helped more effectively drive traffic to the site. As it stands, it’s simply an exercise in branding.

That being said, (more…)

E-mails We Don’t Love: Spiegel

Sherry Chiger — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 20:52:14 +0000

Yes, yes, Spiegel had sent an E-mail We Love just a few weeks ago. But you’re only as good as your last message, and the last message I received from fashion merchant irked me with its insincerity.

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Vineyard Vines Grows Lifestyle Brand

Beth Negus — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 00:31:51 +0000

So, do you “reek” your brand?

That’s the goal of Vineyard Vines, a purveyor of Martha’s Vineyard-styled clothing and goods.

The company’s founders, brothers Ian and Shep Murray, spoke at the New England Mail Order Association’s annual conference here in Boston today about their philosophy of building a “lifestyle” brand.

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