Retailers' Next Big Problem: A Smarter CustomerPosted by Paul Christ October 11, 2010 Game Changer (Stores Magazine)
Since the beginning of buyer-seller transactions in ancient retail marketplaces, sellers have benefitted from consumers' lack of information. Seller have used this to their advantage in several ways including charging higher prices for products that can be purchased elsewhere at lower rates; getting consumers to make purchases of products that are not all they are advertised to be; selling consumers on the need for additional products or services such as protection plans; and many others. This is not to say retailers deliberately take advantage of consumers (though some do), but to suggest consumers are often not fully informed when entering a retail transaction. Technology, though, is changing this. Frito-Lay Removes SunChips Packaging From the Compost HeapPosted by Paul Christ October 05, 2010 Frito-Lay Sends Noisy, 'Green' SunChips Bag to the Dump (USA Today)
Seasoned marketers know that it is not wise to ignore these forces, especially those that hold the potential to impact the organization directly in a financial or competitive way. Can Mini Extend Its Brand Name Beyond Autos?Posted by Paul Christ September 29, 2010
Labels: Branding, Product Management
From Four Wheels to Two: Has Mini Gone Too Far? (Time)
As we observe in our Planning with the Product Life Cycle tutorial, many marketers, who see product sales stagnate (i.e., reach maturity), will often look to make changes to the product (e.g., new features, target new market, introduce lower-price models) in order to keep sales going. New Forms of Product Placement Options Are on the HorizonPosted by Paul Christ September 26, 2010
Marketers hope with the assistance of product placement promotions the answer to these is yes! Goats and TrademarksPosted by Paul Christ September 20, 2010 Lars Johnson Has Goats on His Roof and a Stable of Lawyers to Prove It (Wall Street Journal)
For our 3,500 story we have this fun one from the Wall Street Journal discussing a unique trademark. Marketers mostly use trademarks for brand names or other identifiable images, such as a logo. Marketers look to trademarks to help protect them against competitors that may try to attract business away from the marketer by using words and images made popular by the marketer. As an example, this story discusses a restaurant in Wisconsin that registered a unique aspect of their business – goats on the roof. (The actual trademark can be found at the USPTO by searching for serial #74646306.) The Promotional Value of Bar Codes in Print AdvertisingPosted by Paul Christ September 14, 2010 QR Codes: Are You Ready For Paper-Based Hyperlinks? (Search Engine Land)
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Samples of Marketing TutorialsPurchase Decision Steps 1 and 2 1. Need/Want/Desire is RecognizedIn the first step the consumer has determined that for some reason he/she is not satisfied (i.e., consumer’s perceived actual condition) and wants to improve his/her situation (i.e., consumer’s perceived desired condition). For instance, internal triggers, such as hunger or thirst, may tell the consumer t… Latest Marketing Stories
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It is a challenging time to be a retailer in the U.S. and in many other countries. On the economic front, conditions continue to be a concern. With unemployment rates not falling, credit remaining tight and uncertainty existing across nearly all industries, consumers are reluctant to expand their spending. But, once things do recover retailers may face an ever bigger problem – a smarter customer.
When it comes to making business decisions, marketers often find powerful forces affecting their decisions are located outside the organization. As we discuss in our 
One of the most difficult decisions facing marketers is figuring out how to grow their business beyond what originally made them successful. For most marketers, there comes a time when the products that led to initial success have hit their peak and a decision has to be made on how to further grow the company.
Will the sports car driven by James Bond entice movie-goers to consider test driving that car? Are television viewers more likely to increase their purchase of the snack product they see their favorite sitcom star consume? Would a song blaring in the background of a computer game get gamers to purchase the artist’s CD?
Today marks a milestone for KnowThis.com as we reach 3,500 stories in our 
Many marketers believe print-based media has lost its effectiveness as an
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