As marketers, we are always watching who’s doing what in advertising. Below is a list of the top advertisers in the first quarter of 2013. There are many familiar names here…familiar largely because, as aggressive marketers, they are regularly investing in marketing and therefore regularly appearing on this list.
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Thought for the Week of June 17, 2013
There are two ways to slide easily through life; to believe everything or to doubt everything. Both ways save us from thinking.
Alfred Korzybski
Increasing Skepticism by Market of Tech Industry Advances
Several years ago, while driving home from my job at a leading industry electronics manufacturer, I was – as usual – listening to my favorite New York Metro-area network news radio station. Since the commute took an hour or more (depending on New Jersey traffic), I got to listen to a lot of news. Sometimes, I was only half listening, as traffic concerns – or boredom – draws my attention away from the news.
But I snapped to rapt attention that day when I heard one of the show’s co-anchors promote an upcoming segment (“after the break”) on the latest technology news. Little did I realize that I was about to have my sensibilities shocked – not by the news – but by the anchors’ reaction to their own story.
What occurred that day is a cautionary tale for our industry – one that is being repeated again… [Read more…] about Increasing Skepticism by Market of Tech Industry Advances
Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
As a marketing strategist, I am often asked to help clients come up with promotional ideas. Consumer electronics can be a very promotion-driven business, so this is a common task for tech marketers. There are no “hard and fast” rules and often I will brainstorm with the client, his/her team, or outside contractors I often work with.
But no matter what kind of idea we come up with, I try very hard to avoid something that is a bit of a common practice in the technology business – promotions that “throw the baby out with the bathwater!”
What does this mean? See an example of how marketers throw the baby out with the bathwater… [Read more…] about Don’t Throw the Baby Out with the Bathwater
ESPN Will Stop All 3D Productions
In a move that technology blogger Gizmodo says marks the official death of 3D, it has learned that sports network ESPN will cease all 3D productions by the end of this year. ESPN 3D, which started in 2010 on largely a test basis, never really got off the ground – and as Gizmodo wryly noted, “won’t be broadcast in any dimension soon.”
See more on what Gizmodo calls this “huge news”… [Read more…] about ESPN Will Stop All 3D Productions
Sharp Adds Smarts to Its Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Sharp Corp. announced today that it will release a new updated model of its Cocorobo home cleaning robot with a very important added feature: smarts. Sharp has added the ability for this new model to adjust the amount of suction on an as-needed basis – dramatically improving battery performance for longer operation on a single charge.
See more about this smarter robot – a category that some think is “the next big thing” in electronics… [Read more…] about Sharp Adds Smarts to Its Robot Vacuum Cleaner
Gibson Guitar Announces Name Change
Gibson Guitar announced on Tuesday that – in a bid to better reflect its growing family of products outside of the guitar category – it will be changing its corporate name from Gibson Guitar Corp. to Gibson Brands. While the move looks logical, there will likely be many who will bemoan the fact that the new name loses its ability to honor the company’s stringed-instrument heritage and still-important namesake product.
See more on why the company says this is the right move… [Read more…] about Gibson Guitar Announces Name Change
ProSource Holds E-Commerce Training for Members in Chicago
Perhaps another sign of the times, ProSource – the retail buying group that represents the combination of both Home Entertainment Source (HES) and PRO Group – held a meeting earlier this month centered on the topic of e-commerce. These meetings, held June 3-4 in Chicago, were to share trends and best practices in e-commerce for their members.
See more on this news from ProSource… [Read more…] about ProSource Holds E-Commerce Training for Members in Chicago
Thought for the Week of June 10, 2013
I always remember an epitaph which is in the cemetery at Tombstone, Arizona. It says: ‘Here lies Jack Williams. He done his damnedest.’ I think that is the greatest epitaph a man can have – When he gives everything that is in him to do the job he has before him. That is all you can ask of him and that is what I have tried to do.
Harry S Truman
Core Brands Completes Downsizing of National Sales Force
BREAKING NEWS
Strata-gee.com heard this week from multiple sources that Core Brands had completed the analysis phase of its sales force consolidation, and was now executing the termination of the losing reps – and the reassigning of brands to the winning reps. Core Brands, a division of Nortek, Inc., had announced the downsizing process in a conference call with their entire sale representative network on April 19th – laying out a process for which the desired result was to create a smaller network of fewer authorized sales representative companies presenting most, if not all, of the company’s ten brands.
