August
Michigan Is The Toughest State In Which To Find A Job? Really?
2010 at 01:21 pm Posted by Sherri Sharp
In today's Grand Rapids Press email, Jackie Headapohl informs us that Michigan is the most difficult state in which to find a job, according to Juju.com's Job Search Difficulty Index for US States. Which, for all the folks that live and work in Michigan, we pretty much already knew that. Even if you're having a bad day, but you're AT WORK, AT YOUR DESK, you should probably be a little more grateful.
In Michigan, there are 8.24 job seekers for each available job. Nevada is the second-toughest place to find a job, with 6.90 unemployed people per job. Mississippi, Idaho and Kentucky round out the bottom five.
The best place to look for a job is Washington, D.C., where there is less than one unemployed person per available job. Virginia, Maryland, North Dakota and Nebraska complete the top five least competitive job markets.
The Index is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed workers in each state, as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, by the number of jobs in Juju's index of millions of online jobs in the United States.
Posted in: Marketing Musings
August
Another Reason to Love Chick-Fil-A - A Cool Idea to Promote a Spicy New Product
2010 at 11:05 am Posted by Sherri Sharp
For those of you not familiar with the delicacy that is the Chick-Fil-A Chicken Sandwich, I can personally attest this is fast food Nirvana. Having grown up with the chain all of my southern life, it is an unwritten rule that any visit home to Nashville includes a stop to feast on the delicious chicken and pickles sandwich and cross-cut fries. So, is it coincidence that I'm posting this around lunch time. I think not. Too bad we don't have a Chick-Fil-A in Grand Rapids or I would have gladly participated in this recent promotion.
In a post at the Bronto blog, Julie Waite says you may know Chick-Fil-A recently introduced a Spicy Chicken Sandwich. "What you may not have heard," she notes, "was that they ran a special invite-only event promotion to taste the new sandwich (for free!) well in advance of its launch date."
For those who signed up for the promotion, here's how the email campaign worked:
The first message confirmed the reservation. "We have you down for Tuesday, June 1, 2010 at my restaurant (Northgate Mall (NC)) between 11AM-2PM," read Waite's personalized note, which included the name and headshot of Garrett Reed, the store's owner-operator.
It included a link to a printable invitation. A lengthier message described Chick-Fil-A's Spicy Chicken Sandwich—the first new sandwich on its menu since 1989—and included all of the reservation's details.
A second message—a friendly reminder—arrived the day before the event. "Again," she says, "clear and simple instructions for redemption, a link to print my invite in case I lost it, and directions to the store. Perfect timing."
Once at the restaurant, Waite discovered the "secret" event was, indeed, secret. "[T]here was no signage or anything that denoted the day's special events," she says, "which actually made us feel as if we were getting something special that others weren't." A few tabletop signs marked "Reserved for Spicy VIP" were the only indication of the sandwich-tasting promotion—and had little meaning for non-participants. "[A] clever way," she concludes, "to add to the mystique and give a wink to those in the know."
The Po!nt: Tastefully targeted emails really do work. Chick-Fil-A's campaign drew Waite in with a solid email campaign and the promise of a tasty sandwich—and, importantly, it followed through on its promise of exclusivity.
Posted in: Marketing Tactics
July
Take Pictures of People at Wal-Mart and Swipe Your Armor All Wipes in One Fell Swoop.
2010 at 01:28 pm Posted by Sherri Sharp
Think the person on their phone swerving in the lane ahead of you is annoying? Wait until you're behind them in the grocery aisle. Smartphones may be the self-service kiosks of the future. Progressive Grocer is reporting North American consumers continue to embrace self-service technology, as transactions at self-service kiosks are set to surpass $740 billion in 2010, according to a new research study conducted by retail technology consulting firm IHL Group.
However, the rate of growth going forward may be tempered in favor of enabling consumer smartphones in the future. “Self-service continues to grow, and clearly, DVD kiosks are driving huge increases in the number of units in the market,” said Greg Buzek, president of Franklin, Tenn.-based IHL. “However, the rise of consumer mobile devices will have an adverse effect on many new kiosk installations within the next two years.”
“The information kiosks will soon give way to the kiosk in the consumer’s pocket, with many consumers already doing price comparison shopping and reading reviews while at the shelf,” added Buzek. “In addition, what is particularly interesting looking forward is that Apple has patents in loyalty and payment technologies. It is foreseeable that transactions even in the retail environment could be scanned and transacted through the mobile device rather than a stationary self-checkout.”
In the market study, “2010 North American Self-Service Kiosks,” IHL examines the increasing use of six types of self-service kiosks where payment is accepted: self-checkout systems, ticketing kiosks, check-in kiosks, food ordering, postal and other retail kiosks.
The report covers self-service kiosks in the United States and Canada, detailing the number and type of kiosks shipped historically. It also provides forecasts for each type of kiosk, both in terms of units shipped and revenue transacted. In addition, the report highlights best practices and best-in-class machines for each class of kiosk.
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Posted in: Trends in Marketing
July
Sick of All The LeBron James Frenzy?
2010 at 11:29 am Posted by Sherri Sharp
So is Cleveland-based Brokaw Advertising.
Posted in: Marketing Musings
July
Seeing is Believing - Proof to all Designers Who Insist On Using The Smallest Font Possible
2010 at 10:39 am Posted by Sherri Sharp
If I had a dollar for every time I sent a print piece back to the designer with a note to increase the font size...I think I can get behind this initiative.
Writing at the Retail Email blog, Chad White offers some interesting facts about the Baby-Boomer generation. First, by 2015, nearly half of the US population will be age 50 or older (AARP). Second, Boomers currently control over 80% of personal financial assets and account for more than 50% of the country's discretionary spending power (ThirdAge).
According to White, marketers have failed to address a simple issue critical to continued patronage from this growing, affluent audience: readable font sizes. "[They] regularly use small text on their websites and in their emails and other marketing materials," he says, "creating unnecessary legibility issues for some of their most valuable customers."
With this in mind, he has created the acronym-friendly Boomer Legibility Initiative for a New Decade (BLIND). Its mission? To increase font size by one point in 2010, by another in 2015 and by one more in 2020.
"Increasing font sizes is also becoming vital as more email and websites are viewed on mobile devices, which often scale content down, making text even harder to read," he notes at the initiative's LinkedIn page, where he also recommends limiting the use of:
• Reverse type, with a lighter text on a darker background.
• Low-contrast pages, with little difference between colors used for text and background.
• Background images with a text overlay.
"Not considering the needs of Boomers when designing marketing materials means lost revenue for marketers and a poor user experience for many Boomers," he concludes, "not to mention other visually challenged people like myself."
When it comes to selling Boomer customers, the eyes have it.
Posted in: Design That Sells
June
Four Lessons From Posh Real Estate Agents We Can All Use
2010 at 08:26 am Posted by Sherri Sharp
After having seen a few episodes of "Selling New York" on HGTV and drooling over some of the properties, this article by Rohit Bhargava at the Influential Marketing Blog caught my interest. He writes, "If you're not in the market for luxury real estate, there's a good chance you haven't seen the glossy brochures that Christie's Great Estates and Sotheby's International Realty produce for their multimillion-dollar listings. It is a shame that few of us do get to experience this world," writes Rohit Bhargava at the Influential Marketing Blog, "because when it comes to marketing there is a lot that anyone could learn from how luxury [real-estate agents] run their businesses."
Here are a few ways real-estate professionals excel:
• They leverage strong personal brands to build credibility. "Often," Bhargava says, "you see the story of the agent's career and how he or she made it to that point." Agents also discuss personal histories and interests—especially those they share in common with potential clients. "All of this," he continues, "is designed to give you a sense of who they are before you consider working with them."
• They know a thing or two about targeting their audience. If agents in the luxury real-estate market advertise in the wrong place, they know they'll only waste time with unqualified inquiries. "They don't care about reaching millions or even about reaching thousands," notes Bhargava. "They care about reaching the right dozen people, period."
• They create desire with lust-worthy photography. There's no such thing as an amateur snapshot in their marketing collateral: instead, houses are presented as nothing less than a venue for perfect domestic bliss. "The imagery sells the houses," he says, "and encourages you to dream."
The Po!nt: When looking for marketing inspiration, don't limit yourself—you'll find great ideas in what seem to be the most unlikely places.
Posted in: Marketing Musings
June
2010 at 11:04 am Posted by Sherri Sharp
In honor of all of you dads, here's a little something from T•Mobile. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXR_Pqjx9iA
Posted in: Media
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