Boxing Day at last. A day to get stuff done, clear up some of the clutter, go through all those e-cards at work and see who loves us. Last year, we looked at the generally dismal offering of Multi-Denominational Winter Holiday (MDWH) e-cards and broadly categorized them as: Self-indulgent, creepy, time-wasting, salesy, stalkerish, and, very […]
Pirates vs. Hamsters: Two Random Acts of Trinket Marketing
The problem with hamsters, gerbils and other things that scurry is that right about the time you finish paying for the 4 km of plastic tubing and the special organic food, they drop dead. Likely of exhaustion. Then you get to spend Sunday night having the Circle-of-Life talk with an inconsolable five-year-old, instead of watching […]
Four Things Marketing Can Say "Yes" About in 2013
You’ve got to love January. Those plans you’ve been revising for months are finally in motion. The agencies are gorging themselves on billable hours to fund their trips to Cannes, after an exhausting December of canapés and signature martinis. Yet even as that New Budget Smell lingers in the hallways, the Sales Squirrels are already […]
Want the Ideal Customer Gift? Try Looking Between Inappropriate and Stupid
Last week we looked at the inevitability of the holiday gift to customers. This week, lets navigate those tricky waters that divide Cape Inappropriate and Are You Kidding Island. On the left, we have things like the $300 scotch my very pregnant ( and incidentally tea-totaling) friend received from an agency one year. Turns out the distributor […]
Yes, Virginia, You Can Give a Holiday Gift to Your Customers
Have you shaken off the adrenaline hangover from another exciting Small Business Week? Good, because you know what you have to do next. You have to send the Holiday Present Note to sales. It will go something like this: “Hey, Sales, Marketing here. Just wondering if you’d like us to order some gifts for your […]