Comedian Richard Lewis claims to have coined the “_______ from hell” phrase, but Carnival Cruise Lines has lived it. In 2012, Carnival spent $61 million advertising its “fun ship” brand positioning. But by the end of last year, #cruisefromhell was trending on Twitter after one of Carnival’s ships had an on-board fire that left passengers…
Ever watch those TV infomercials late at night when you’re bored and can’t sleep? Of course you do. And you’re likely to buy things you don’t really need as well. ‘But Wait… There’s More’ – the most fascinating book I’ve read in a long time – explains the science behind infomercials. Virtually every element of…
What would get people to reuse their towels in hotel rooms? The answer might surprise you, as it’s not saving the environment or saving money. People are more likely to reuse their hotel towels if they are told that everyone else is doing it. This variant of the ‘keeping up with the Joneses’ effect seems…
CMOs make a strong case that marketing should represent the “voice of the customer” for their companies but, in my opinion, that doesn’t go far enough. We need to represent the voice of the market. Howard Schultz, founder of Starbucks Coffee famously said: “Customers don’t always know what they want. The decline in coffee-drinking was…
What was the first fast food company?What was the first credit card company? Most people probably don’t know the correct answers are White Castle and Diners’ Club. While both companies still exist, they now have relatively small share in what has turned out to be very large markets. As I’ve previously argued, the benefits of first mover…
In a recent post, I urged CEOs to view marketing as a strategic partner, the glue that binds the different parts of an organization together to deliver a consistent, cross-channel consumer experience. A 2012 report from Forrester and Heidrick & Struggles concluded that marketing is “moving from the outskirts to the core of the enterprise”…
The phrase ‘fiscal cliff’ was clearly trending in 2012. I’ve been meaning to renew my annual practice of blogging about LSSU‘s list of banished words but I guess I kicked the can down the road. Since I’m passionate about the subject, I doubled down on a recent flight. Fueled by boneless wings (my Superfood of…
We all know that consumers are disrupting companies’ business models. One visible example is the increasingly popular practice of “scan and scram” (a.k.a. “showrooming”), in which customers browse in brick-and-mortar stores but use their mobile devices to find better prices online. According to comScore, four out of ten consumers “showroom” first then purchase online. Some…
6 1/2 years into my hosted WordPress blog, the only complaint I’ve ever had is the statistics are a bit weak. As someone who ran a Web site analysis company more than a decade ago, it’s always been surprising to me that all of the reports are based on page views. However, the statistics have significantly improved…
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “diversity” as follows: 1: the condition of having or being composed of differing elements : variety; especially : the inclusion of different types of people (as people of different races or cultures) in a group or organization <programs intended to promote diversity in schools> 2: an instance of being composed of differing elements or qualities: an instance of being diverse <a diversity of opinion>. However,…