Marketing in Real Life

My wife and I are seemingly crazy. We still care about buying thoughtful gifts and spend all year building up our pile so that we’re not wed to craziness at the local mall. But we’re clearly not normal. According to recent research conducted by Chadwick Martin Bailey of 1000 consumers 19% of people (25% of males) don’t get started until December rolls around. In fact, when we asked people in October, 12% already knew they would wait until the last minute to buy all of their gifts (17% male, 6% female.) So, as you finish shopping take comfort in knowing you’re not alone. And think of me sitting by the fire with a nice glass of wine. Happy Holidays!

A little different than the custom primary research we normally talk about in this space, but an interesting article in today's USA Today about the impact of the media's negative reports about retailers and the negative impact on their brands. Three excerpts from the article... Retail implosion forecasts typically come from the same handful of retail consulting gadflies — at least one of whom says he makes money when retailers' stock prices fall — and the forecasts are often based on subjective criteria that do not jibe with widely accepted methods of assessing corporate health. "People are really paying attention to these articles, and the effects are extremely damaging," says Tracy Mullin, CEO of the National Retail Federation, which represents most major retailers. The complications of analyzing retailers' financials go beyond just a sound bite. "It is very dangerous to speculate who may or may not be surviving without being inside the circle of knowle...

I'll be honest, I don't get the Black Friday thing. My wife wishes we had been home to go shopping. My sister-in-law and father-in-law were out at 4 AM searching for deals. A worker in New Jersey gets trampled to death. Hmmmm. I have long believed that the media and entertainment are unfairly blamed for negative actions taken by average people (see the letter written to Tipper Gore back in my early youth about music censorship.) I do, however, point the finger at least partially at marketers for the tragedy at Wal-Mart this past week. Every ad is designed to create a first come first serve frenzy, yet people are shocked that a crowd would react as instructed and go charging in to a store as it opens to get the best deal. Perhaps next year retailers could develop a less chaotic way to promote and execute on this key revenue generating day. Now excuse me, but I have cyber-monday deals to find!

I'll be honest, I don't get the Black Friday thing. My wife wishes we had been home to go shopping. My sister-in-law and father-in-law were out at 4 AM searching for deals. A worker in New Jersey gets trampled to death. Hmmmm. I have long believed that the media and entertainment are unfairly blamed for negative actions taken by average people (see the letter written to Tipper Gore back in my early youth about music censorship.) I do, however, point the finger at least partially at marketers for the tragedy at Wal-Mart this past week. Every ad is designed to create a first come first serve frenzy, yet people are shocked that a crowd would react as instructed and go charging in to a store as it opens to get the best deal. Perhaps next year retailers could develop a less chaotic way to promote and execute on this key revenue generating day. Now excuse me, but I have cyber-monday deals to find!

Just had to share the response from a VP of Marketing at retail company when a colleague of mine tried to start a conversation about using Invoke's research methodology. "As it is we do not do any advertising so consumer reaction is moot." I'm sure it came out wrong and I still shop there, but it does explain some things!

Just had to share the response from a VP of Marketing at retail company when a colleague of mine tried to start a conversation about using Invoke's research methodology. "As it is we do not do any advertising so consumer reaction is moot." I'm sure it came out wrong and I still shop there, but it does explain some things!