Many organizations worry that if they put their clout behind an individual, he or she will gain notoriety and power and eventually double-cross the organization. So, instead, they go for bland.
— Seth Godin on How (not to) pick a company spokesman
Those organizations are right to worry. Scoble was happy at Microsoft, but he built so [...]
My last post was about the iPhone buying experience. Seth Godin blogged about the marketing/economics behind the “scarcity” of “event” launches and described the solution more succinctly than I did: “Use the internet to form a queue.”
Preordering and prequalifying to minimize waiting and maximize satisfaction is such an obvious solution I just can’t believe that [...]
My epic 5 hour iPhone buying experience, and how it could have been MUCH better.
Yesterday I was at the Burbank airport where AT&T and Tmobile wifi day passes are available. Take a look at these screenshots: (click to enlarge)
Every step maximizes friction:
Do I want Tmobile or AT&T?
There are so many offerings, which one do I need?
So, if I’m already with AT&T, do I have to pay, or do [...]
As much as I love the internet, sometimes it feels like key information has been intentionally redacted from the mighty cloud.
For example, I don’t know where to go for web hosting recommendations. Sure, there are lists of “cheap” sub-$10 hosts, but “cheap” = fail in the clutch.
We need a site that lists hosting companies from [...]
“If you can’t say why your brand is both different and compelling in a few words, don’t fix your statement… fix your company.” — NeutronLLC
This applies to day jobbers and freelancers too. What makes you the “one and only?”
Hat tip: Mark Ramsey’s radio marketing blog.
Two thirds of $1,000+ computers sold in the U.S. last quarter were Macs. Though Apple only has 14% market share overall, owning 66% of the premium market means Apple wins.
In this post-industrial world you succeed by making objects of desire. The middle of the market, the land of “pretty good”, has been hollowed out. Today [...]
Below is a screenshot of the NBC.com player. Can you spot the problem?
If you guessed “the network boneheads are stuck in 1972” you win a prize.
The only way this is better than normal TV is that it’s already time shifted. Otherwise it’s the same old interruption-driven marketing (I don’t want Gas-Ex right now, thanks) on [...]
Microsoft’s mission was to “put a computer on every office desk and in every home.”
Today Microsoft faces that most terrifying question, “Now what?”
Bill Gates is leaving to avoid that question, and an organization full of people in “guard my fiefdom” mode can’t answer it.
I wonder if a different mission like “Build the most desirable software [...]
CEO David Calhoun has a simple plan for Nielsen: Make gobs of money and reshape the future of marketing and media.
— Fortune Magazine on Nielsen ratings
Good luck with that Dave. TV and radio are by their very nature terrible at measuring what we like. You can’t just broadcast energy waves all over the place and [...]
