KnowThis.com: Posting from Paul.Christ

Ads Coming to the Back of the Airline Seat in Front of You

Paul Christ — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:21:11 +0100

AirTran Airways Puts Ads Where Passengers Can't Miss Them (Los Angeles Times)
For many consumers advertising clutter abounds in mainstream media outlets such as television and print publications. But someday soon this may also be a problem in a place that is not commonly considered a media outlet – airplanes. While signage ads are not a new idea for transportation vehicles (e.g., trains), and have been tested before in airplanes, AirTran appears to be one of the first tRead More...

Few Customers Can Now Say "Leggo My Eggo"

Paul Christ — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 23:33:51 +0100

Kellogg Warns: Brace for an Eggo Shortage (MSNBC)
Marketers can't do much if a product is not available to sell and that is exactly what is happening at Kellogg where production problems have all but shut down manufacturing of one the company’s strongest brands – Eggo Waffles. As people around the U.S. are discovering, locating this product is becoming more and more difficult. And according to Kellogg, inventory is not expected to return to normal until next summeRead More...

Premium Chocolatier's Positioning Strategy is About Emotion and Not Price

Paul Christ — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:20:29 +0100

Godiva Rides in a New Direction (New York Times)
Higher-end products don’t always suffer during a recession. Some do fine as their key target market often remains relatively unaffected by a slowing economy. One example is Godiva. Positioned as a higher-end chocolate brand, Godiva is launching a new promotional campaign that makes no mention of price or the popular “value” proposition that many products now promote. Instead, Godiva positions itselRead More...

Free Money Promotion Turns Ugly But Still May Have Served Its Purpose

Paul Christ — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:43:45 +0100

Promotional Event Leads to Violence in Paris (New York Times)
Promotions offering free money tend to be viewed suspiciously by consumers who wonder what the “catch” really is in order to participate in such giveaways. But here is a story of a free money promotion that apparently was all about giving free money without the need for the money receivers to give anything back other than showing up in the middle of Paris.

Unfortunately, French police did not see this Read More...

A Loss Leader Promotion Has Franchisees Crying Foul

Paul Christ — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:02:03 +0100

Burger King Franchisees Sue Over $1 Promotion (MSNBC)
In a posting earlier this week we noted that not all franchisors listen to their franchisees the way Subway did when they developed their popular $5 Footlong promotion. And here is a perfect example. Burger King’s franchisees are screaming at the franchisor saying they are losing money on BK’s new, highly publicized $1 Double Cheeseburger promotion. They go a step further and claim that BK does not have tRead More...

How a Product’s Image of Quality Can Quickly Evaporate

Paul Christ — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:26:06 +0100

Maclaren's Stroller Recall: A Stumbling Response Online (Time)
When managing marketing decisions there is always the risk that something unforeseen can damage the reputation a company has spent years building. Here is story where that may just be the case. Maclaren is a well-known manufacturer of baby strollers that is well regarded for producing quality products. But the company faces a very large recall of its strollers (over 1 million) because of serious injuries thaRead More...

The Story Behind the Subway $5 Footlong Promotion

Paul Christ — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:24:54 +0100

The Accidental Hero (BusinessWeek)
The Subway $5 Footlong is a wildly successful promotion. With the help of a sizable advertising campaign the promotion is one of the most successful sales promotions currently being offered by any retailer and has generated sales of nearly $4 billion in one year.

But the back-story on how Subway came up with this idea may be even more interesting than the success of the program. As this story discusses, a single franchisee operaRead More...

Critics Take on Kellogg's Health Claim Labeling

Paul Christ — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 01:09:29 +0100

Kellogg Pulls Immunity Claim From Rice Krispies (USA Today)
Breakfast cereal maker Kellogg had what it thought was a good idea for promoting cereals as being healthy for children since these contain several vitamins that may be good for kids. They liked the idea to the point of adding a large area to their packaging aimed at parents that said the cereal “Supports Your Child’s Immunity.”

Unfortunately what was thought to be a good idea quickly turned tRead More...

Visual Comparison Ad Has Leading Wireless Companies Battling

Paul Christ — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:26:34 +0100

AT&T to Verizon: There’s a Lawsuit For That (MSNBC)
What do you do when a competitor produces a comparative advertisement that really hammers you hard? Well, one thing you may be able to do is take the problem to court. And that is what AT&T is doing because they are not very happy with new television ads being run by Verizon (see ad at YouTube). The ads claim to compare the 3G coverage (i.e., primarily high-speed data access) in the U.S. for both providerRead More...

Another Attempt to Solve the Micro-Payments Puzzle

Paul Christ — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:24:55 +0100

Making Micro-Payment Models Work Online (E-Commerce Times)
Some may think that nearly any product can be sold over the Internet. But in reality low-priced products, and in particular low-priced physical goods, have generally not been a viable selling option particularly when purchased in small quantities. The problems tend to center on two key cost issues: 1) the fees retailers must pay to financial institutions for accepting credit cards (the main payment option for InternetRead More...