Seinfeld on Marketing: Yada, Yada

Hello one and all! Welcome once again to another episode of Seinfeld on Marketing. In this episode, we find our hero, Jerry, having a conversation with George and his girlfriend of the moment:

MARCY: You know, a friend of mine thought she got Legionnaires Disease from a hot tub.
GEORGE: Really? What happened?
MARCY: Oh…yada, yada, [...]

Off topic rant: semi-professional rubberneckers

Every time traffic is backed up due to a minor fender bender, I come to the same conclusion - - we need to have a special, separate lane designated for those that feel compelled to gawk with wide-eyed stupidity at the dented doors and fallen fenders of a minor traffic accident so that the rest [...]

The REAL power of a brand

I’ve been on sort of a branding kick lately so here we go….
A brand is a conduit to an expected emotional benefit we seek (to fit “in”, not to look stupid in front of our peers, moments of happiness to share with others, etc.). So the real power of a brand lies in its [...]

Flash insight: “No” thyself

The more you “no” your customers, the more you “no” yourself.

Lame advice: Build brand loyalty

Lame advice: Build loyalty to your brand.
Not exactly. I may commit heresy as a brand/marketing guy, but here goes nothing. People are not loyal to brands. Before you threaten to take away my first born and pour lemon juice in my eyes (ouch!), please hear me out.
A brand is nothing more than a [...]

Want to make a remarkable product? Listen for these 2 things

If you want to make a product that gets talked about, listen up for these 2 things:

“This [blank] makes me so mad!” - Fill in the blank with any product. Some of the best products ever made solve a common frustration (the ones that make you say, “Why didn’t I think of that!”). [...]

Lame advice: spend more on ads

I decided to start another collection of posts inspired by my old landlord. When the toilet wouldn’t flush properly he would say, “You just need to jiggle the handle a little.” (He was also a “master” with duct tape - but that’s a story for another day).
So, without further ado, here is jiggle [...]

One essential ingredient for true word of mouth

Many times when I talk to people about my love for marketing they say, “Oh, advertising is important” or “I wish I was good at sales.”
Advertising and sales are only part of marketing (and if you wait for these post launch activities, you’ve failed).
The best way to get true word of mouth is to infuse [...]

Flash insight: free trials

Free trials:
Without the “right to experience” we are “left to appearance.”

[Note: these "quick thoughts" post are a tribute to two of my favorite marketers - Chris Wilson with "Simple Ideas" and John Moore with "Tasty Nugget."]

Seinfeld on Marketing: Changing the default of customer service

It’s that time again. I think I may have used this video to prove some other point, but I’d like to use it again for something else. In this video, Jerry and Elaine are at Worthy Rent-A-Car (what a great name!) to pick up a car reservation:

How many times have you seen the “supervisor” [...]