America Online and Body Express. At a glance, they mightn’t appear to have a lot in common. America Online (AOL) is the Internet service provider that recently acquired Time Warner – the world’s biggest media company – in a $US165 billion deal. And Body Express is a boutique gymnasium, in Sydney’s Bondi Beach. Look behind […]
It’s highly unlikely that any pharmaceutical company would give Peter Nicolas a job! He rarely gets out of bed before 11:00 a.m. He seldom visits his office — and when he does, his only brush with any activity that even resembles work is a noisy tour of his troops, exchanging high-fives and boasting of market […]
"Incredulous. "Yep, that’s the best word for it", concedes Phil McGann. Phil is struggling to describe the reaction of fellow financial planners when he explains how things work at the Hudson Institute. "When they find out that our financial planners perform 8-9 consultations a day … that these consultations are all conducted over the telephone […]
Following is the sad story of the entrepreneurial Harry Edgecliffe and his ruthless competitor Spot Pet Foods. Although neither Harry nor Spot exists, their tale provides a number of invaluable lessons for all marketers. Harry Edgecliffe is not a happy man! In recent months, the business he toiled for so many years to build has […]
Now here’s a tough one … What would you do if you were providing a service that appeared to be identical to the service offered by your competitors – in spite of the fact that yours was clearly the superior offering? That was the problem faced by a large commercial cleaning contractor with whom I […]
You know, I’d hate to be a marketing manager in a typical service-based firm. The problem is, in such a firm, there’s precious little for a marketing manager to manage! Here’s a person with no authority, no direct reports, a tiny budget, and no process to oversee. A person who’s only mandate (to ’get the […]
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what percentage of their sales they should be spending on advertising, I’d be writing this column from Aspen! Problem is, it’s simply the wrong question to ask. And I’ll show you why… Let’s assume that the objective of your advertising is to generate sales. […]
If you’ve attended any of our recent breakfasts, you’ll know that I am a big fan of e-mail perodicals – or ’eBulletins’, as I call them. Now, whenever I mention eBulletins, someone asks, ’But Justin, isn’t broadcast e-mail spam?’ My answer: ’Well it is, and it isn’t!’ You see, it all depends on your definition […]
Human brains are well suited for some tasks, and poorly suited to others. Our grey matter excels at creative pursuits, but it’s easily stumped when it comes to even the most rudimentary logic. We are reminded of this regularly when we talk to subscribers about their management of promotional expenditure. Almost without exception, we find […]
