MarCom Maven

I should have made my masthead red…Red is the new color to be, thanks to the Product Red campaign. I really love the whole idea.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 05:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Check out the paltry offerings of most retailers.  Christmas gets decorations galore.  New Year’s gets a few corny party hats and those awful poppers. Christmas gets all the great songs played over and over. New Year’s gets a re-run of “When Harry Met Sally.”

I know that there are plenty of people who dread the start of the year because of that all-important New Year’s kiss – and who gets bestowed the critical smooch.  For many, the whole thing comes at an inconvenient time. They’re in between smoochers, or something like that.

I had the foresight to get married on New Year’s.  My rationale was simple – we’d always have something to do on New Year’s Eve.

I say let’s reinvigorate New Year’s. Make it more than a bonanza for chic restaurants in San Francisco that get away with $90 a plate prix fixe dinners.  After all, it’s a time to start anew.  We don’t get many of these chances in life. Why not celebrate?

http://del.icio.us/post?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.yahoo.com%2F&title=Yahoo!&jump=no&partner=delbg

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 05:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, I put my name in for some post at International Association of Business Communicators. If they’re open to having someone who’s not a traditional business organization-type of gal, maybe I have a chance.

Why don’t I join trade organizations?  There are a number of reasons:

• The lunches bug me – I have to drive something like 30 minutes to get to a rubber chicken luncheon where you spend most of the time making small talk with the public relations assistant for some company you don’t know. Then, by the time the speaker comes on, you’re worrying too much about how the cheesecake staring you in the face will wreck your diet.  Inevitably, your cell phone rings mid-presentation and you have to rush back without hearing the entire spiel from the speaker.
• The vendors bug me – Most communications-oriented organizations are filled printers and SWAG purveyors. Not that I don’t like these guys. They’re some of my best friends. But that’s just it. By this time in my career, I have vendors I trust. No, I don’t want to give your printing company a try.
• I’m not a good committee member – I either like to do something or forget about it.  I’m impatient with organizations that quibble over name tags. 

My suggestion is that those of us who are ah-hem more seasoned in our profession create sub-groups in these trade associations. I’m all for flinging around some “big ideas,” as long as you don’t subject me to rubber chicken and that evil cheesecakey-type thing that probably doesn’t taste very good after all that torment.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 02:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I finally found it! For those who never quite understood the whole Christmas scene, the Web site “How Stuff Works” has a special page on “How Christmas Works.” Want to know why Christmas is celebrated on only one day when the song says there are 12? How about why everyone – even Californians and Floridians – claim to dream of a white Christmas? And, of course the biggest mystery of them all … why people actually enjoy hearing the same songs over and over again.

For those who don’t need a primer on Christmas, there are also some very cool Christmas sites out there for one last hurrah before the ripped up wrapping paper and mangled bows all get shoved into Hefty bags. Check out Office Max’s “Elf Yourself” game. All you need is a headshot and you or a friend can be a true dancing elfin fool. Or, there’s another favorite of mine, the “Make a Garish Holiday Sweater” game.  You can appliqué the most horrendous reindeer and mittens onto the brightest of knits. Then, send your creation to a special someone.  Now, if someone can just explain to me WHY people wear those things…

One thing I do know … it’s a day to spread some good cheer. I hope you’re all  the recipients of many good spirits during the holiday. Enjoy!

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 06:04 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

 So, how do you become a “citizen marketer” without losing your job as a “professional marketer?”

It’s a question many of my peers are asking. After all, if all marketing begins and ends with others creating YouTube videos about your company, where does the so-called professional marketer fit in?

Don’t fret (too much). Corporate communications specialists are in the same boat. After all, where does the CEO’s ghostwriter find himself once the CEO starts blogging?  Sure, you can fix a few grammatical blunders, but if it’s the CEO taking to the blogosphere, it’s really got to be the Big Kahuna himself (or herself) authoring the blog.

My advice is not to force the situation.  Citizen marketing is just taking shape, and if you don’t let it blossom, you become the overbearing parent who doesn’t let the 13-year-old see a PG-13 film.  Give folks some freedom to express themselves.

The worst road to take is faking the situation. Beware of the urge to create a fake blog (or “flog”). Or even more egregious, a ghostwritten blog from the CEO. Ugh.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 04:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Looking for a different type of holiday present this year? Give your adventurous friends a taste of Bollywood.   For the uninitiated, Bollywood is the informal name given to the popular Mumbai-based film industry in India.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 02:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Happy Hanukkah from the Maven!  If you’re in the Hanukkah-celebrating demographic, hope you’re having a good one.

Over at the Maven’s house, the place was filled with menorahs, spinning tops and, of course, gifts galore this Saturday night. A whole pack of relatives descended. What was hot this year? Many white cashmere sweaters were extracted from blue-wrapped boxes. iPod accessories still rank as common staples (iTunes cards). And, of course there were the DVD collections of Seinfeld, Sex and the City and other 90s greats.

We all know that a DVD compilation only means one thing – a nice box to place on the shelf.  Does anyone really know someone who actually watches DVD compilations of old television shows, especially when the series is repeated ad infinitum on network and cable television (of course, the network S-and-the-City is completely sanitized and not quite the same without Big’s utterance of “Absa-f-ing-lutely” from his limo window)?

So, for all my friends of the Xmas persuasion who still have shopping days left, keep in mind that DVDs are rarely cracked open and most commonly re-gifted. Seems to me the Seinfeld DVD just may be the fruitcake of 06.

Happy Hanukah and Merry-Almost-Christmas.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 05:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I was in South Beach last week. You know, playground of Paris Hilton, J-Lo and Banana Republic. Banana Republic? Aren’t they just about everywhere?

Exactly.  Anywhere you go, it seems there’s a Banana Republic store. It’s become the Starbucks of clothing stores. 

The only problem with Banana Republic’s ubiquity is that whereas you can buy the same mocha every day, it’s highly unlikely that you’ll buy the same blouse or skirt every day. The only reason to have a similar clothing store on every street corner is if we adopt a national uniform – red merino wool sweater, black pants and respectable low-heel pumps (the look everyone is transformed into on TLC’s "What Not to Wear").

Gap, Inc. didn’t have a particularly good year in 2006. Perhaps they could have done with one less store on every corner in the U.S.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 02:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

‘Tis the season for those campy ads where one spouse surprises the other with a mega-buck luxury car in the driveway adorned with a big red bow.  It’s campy, but come on, guys. Who in the world ever received a car with a big old piece of satin wrapping around the hood?

Realistically, if you’re going to plunk down a cool 60K for someone else’s car, don’t you want to consult that other party? I mean what if you pulled up in the driveway and he says to you, “Silver? I wanted red!” Damn. Sixty big ones down the drain.

Seriously, who buys a diamond – or any luxury item – without consulting the other half?  These are just not spur of the moment decisions in normal America.  It’s a bit of a lame fantasy. And, quite frankly, it should really have a warning: “Don’t try this at home!”

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 05:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I love this time of year.  Is it the holiday cheer? The upbeat carols? The gift giving? The gift buying?

Yeah, those are all great. But it’s also time for American Express to post their annual MyLifeMyCard promotion.  There are so many ways to win with this one. You can bid on luxury items at outrageous prices (like the $5,000 Porsche). You can try your luck at winning a gift certificate. Or you can get some significant discounts on holiday purchases. The topper of them all is that three people who submit their ultimate wish will get it fulfilled.  (I’m hoping for a trip to Africa, but no sign that I’m in the winner’s circle yet.)

What makes this promotion cool year after year is that the prizes change daily. Plus, even if you aren’t the lucky type (count me here), you can still click around for some fairly decent bargains. Everyone wins something – the sign of a good promotion.

Oh yes, I also used my AmEx card quite a bit while browsing through this site. Yup, it’s that time of the year when I’m a sucker for a good promotion and a good deal.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 07:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Today’s New York Times Magazine cites the year’s most interesting ideas, at least a few of which should be interesting to marketing communicators.

I’m fascinated by the study on office rumors by Nicholas DiFonzo asnd Prashant Bordia, professors at the Rochester Institute of Technology and the University of South Australia. According to DiFonzo and Bordia, rumors that circulate around the workplace are usually true. It’s because the rumors that spread the widest are spread when the sources are reliable. Plus it’s easy to cross-check information when you’re in such a defined environment.

What’s it mean for marcommers? It means take office rumors very seriously if you are involved in the management of internal communications. Find out what they are and address them because employees correctly tend to believe them. Never just brush something off as “just a rumor.” Employees are far more savvy than that.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 06:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The maven has been away in Miami (where all mavens must go sometime), but she’s now interested in the whole virtual world of Second Life, wherein you can experience a new personna as someone completely different. It’s great stuff for those in marketing. Watch how the more than one million “second lifers” spend their money and their time in this virtual world. Those of you targeting millennial generation-types should particularly take note. Observe how Linden dollars are spent and the types of businesses that are the most popular.

I’m not sure if I want a second life. Mavenism in the first life keeps me busy enough.

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 05:05 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

So, Cyber Monday (Nov. 27) didn’t live up the hype. According to Reuters, neither “Black Friday” the day after Thanksgiving or the following Monday yielded the retail bonanza that was expected.

I don’t know about you, but my cyber shopping this year has been a mixed bag.  Retailers have been inconsistent with their free shipping specials. Plus, I’ve found that many items are out of stock or can’t promise delivery during the holidays.  

Worst are the orders that are completely wrong.  Already I’ve received two items in the mail that were shipped as the wrong size or wrong color (try telling a nine or 14 year old that they’ll have to wear the wrong size or color because the cyber store messed up).

A wrong order sent through the mail means only one thing – a trip to that denizen of “old school,” the post office. I’m not relishing the thought of standing on line at the PO with my returns.  That kind of inconvenience just leads to PO-ed cyber shoppers.

How about you? How has your cyber holiday shopping measured up?

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 03:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

I haven’t been blogging much in the past few days.  My blogging tool was caught in password hell. There was simply no logging onto the thing.

What ensued as I tried to fix the problem is all too familiar to many consumers.  First, I tried to contact the folks who make the blogging tool.  I searched all over the site for a phone number, figuring it was hidden pages and pages below the homepage.  No such luck. Then I tried to email the help desk. That wasn’t easy, given that the only “help” offered was pages of technical support printed on the site.  Only by bothering a bunch of folks who were not listed as support people (but who had posted email addresses on their site), did I get any response.

In the meantime, I also tried calling the Web site host. Again, finding an actual customer support number wasn’t easy.  Just as with the blogging tool company, the Web site host tried to send me to the “help” pages on the site rather than a real live human being. It certainly made me ponder, “Does anyone REALLY want to help the consumer?”

To make a long story short, the blogging tool people tried to get me to contact the Web site host. The Web site host wanted me to contact the blogging tool people. Remember when the SUVs started tipping over and the car company blamed the tire company, only to have the tire company blame the car company? Granted, no one was terribly injured in my little incident, but the situation was very déjà vu.

Finally, the blogging tool company came to my rescue (ta-da!).  So, they get the points in this situation.  But my frustration was one of the customer stuck in the middle with little support from anyone. We’ve all been there.

The best marketers offer “help” and really mean it. Others have to be nagged into action by persistent consumers. For the record, I’d much rather have “consumer support” that is truly “help,” not “consumer frustration.”

Posted by Susan C. Solomon at 04:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)