Exploring the Art & Science of Marketing
Archive for April, 2007
Seth Godin officially coming to Utah
Apr 30th
Seth Godin is officially coming to Utah. I signed up already. Have you?
Cost: $50
Benefit: 3 hours with Seth and 5 copies of is book.
(he usually charges $1250, and you have to go to him).
Seth Godin the Dip in Salt Lake City.
What could Mr. Clean teach me?
In my opinion, Seth understands marketing better than anybody because he knows that marketing is all about people. Period. He always approaches it from the standpoint of human behavior. That’s rare.
If you are in PR, marketing, engineering, human resources, banking, etc…, etc…, etc… you should come hear Seth speak. It may sound trite, but he’s one of the few people out there with the sense to know that your $300 million ad campaign goes down the tubes when one of your airline passengers sees peanut butter on one of the seats.
Everything you do builds a better (or worse) experience for your customers, and he’s one of the few folks who preaches it. Who out there isn’t interested in better pleasing their customers?
A Final Word
You really don’t want to miss this.
iPhone: bang or bust?
Apr 30th
Make your predictions on whether the iPhone (cell phone signal booster) will be a bang or a bust. I think it will be a bang. A hit. A success. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer thinks it will be a bust because most business folks use Microsoft products. He’s either being short-sighted or just trying to be part of the conversation . . . Afterall, look at what happened to the Zune.
My take:
- Apple doesn’t build business devices. Apple builds people/lifestyle devices, and business people end up using them.
- Apple already has major relationships with music and video content providers, and phones aren’t just phones anymore.
- The Treo 700w sucks. Bad. I’m on phone number four since January, and Windows on a phone is buggy like Windows on a computer. Is it really much different on varying models?
- Most newsrooms I’ve been in are stocked with Mac users. Journalists love Macs. You really think Apple’s PR is just “that good?” Not a chance. The iPhone has a ton of media love on the way.
- Verizon just passed at&t (Cingular) in subscribers, and old Ma Bell is the sole iPhone service provider for now. Game on. My prediction is they’ll dump millions into pushing the iPhone because it’s a major differenitiator.
There’s a few thoughts. What’s your take?
Calacanis: Linkbait with a post about linkbait
Apr 27th
What do you think is going to happen when you write a post that ends with “how to get a link from Calacanis.” Oh the irony. Of course people are so excited that he just told them how to get links that they’ll all try not realizing they just got gamed into linking to him. 
. This was very smart.
He wrote a linkbait post about linkbait. He really hates SEO. Is he right? Does he just do it to get links? The links bring traffic. Does he need the SEO, or is it all about the links?
Pink is the new red, and linkbait is the new pagerank. Hmmm….
NBC whores out its name in wake of 33 dead people
Apr 19th
A lot of the news organizations have been recreating the timeline for what happened at Virginia Tech this week. Here’s a new timeline for you.
- Twisted student murders 33 people in cold blood.
- NBC gets an “exclusive” package with photos and videos of the killer.
- NBC “capitalizes” on it and makes sure its logo is on all the photos.
Way to go NBC News! We’re all glad to know it was you and not ABC or CBS that got these “exclusive” photos of a cold-blooded murder. How much money did you make selling these photos?
NFL prospect skipping draft to go fishing with his dad
Apr 19th
NFL.com says the following about draft prospect Joe Thomas who is skipping draft day to go fishing with his old man. (NFL commisioner Roger Goodell even tried to get him to come).
It’s a once-in-a-lifetime trip Thomas will be missing — hanging out in New York, socializing with the stars of tomorrow, being at historic Radio City Music Hall for the draft — but the Wisconsin offensive tackle would rather go fishing.
True, but fishing with his dad on April 28, 2007 is also a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. The best part? Millions of people will hear the message that people really do put family first. Good for him.
p.s. He’s getting drafted anyway. He just won’t be there for all the hoopla.
Come see a Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari F430, Maserati, etc . . .
Apr 18th
UPDATE: This event has been moved to the Rocky Mountain Raceway and will go from 6-8 p.m. this Friday (May 4). This will be much cooler because you can then see many of these cars (Porsche Carrera GT, Ferrari F430, etc…) actually race each other.
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Putting in a plug. My company Decade is running an event where we’ll have around $2 million in cars on display at The Gateway on May 4, 2007. The kids will love it. You will love it. If you’re a car lover, come see the cars while your wife shops. Come see the cars while your husband shops. Heck, just come see the cars.
What Cars will Be there?
- Porsche Carrera GT, MSRP is $440,000. I think last I heard there are only three in Utah and there are only 604 of them in the U.S. Time on 0-62 is 3.9 seconds, and it has a top speed of about 215 mph. I spoke with someone today who said he was doing 60 mph and the back wheels slid sideways about a foot when he hit the gas because it has so much power.
- Ferrari F430 (probably two of them) – MSRP on this car is deceiving because Ferrari suggests a $167,000 to $220,000 pricetag, (the brake upgrade is $20k alone) but the demand drives the price up like real estate. The waiting list for a Ferrari F430 is currently two years, but if you can’t wait, Cars.com has a number of ’07 models for north of $300k.
- Maserati GranSport – This is another Italian born car, and since Maserati is owned by Fiat (parent company of Ferrari), the GranSport actually has the 430 engine inside, but it sits under the hood instead of the trunk. MSRP is more like a peasant’s $120k , but it’s one of my favorites.
That’s a start. I’ll update the list with more in the future.
Event: KimberlySummers.com Road Rally 2007
Date: May 4, 2007 (Friday)
Entrance Fee: VIP pass $10.00 (goes to charity)
Where: The Gateway in Salt Lake City (Charity Car Stroll)
Road Rally Portion 9:00 to 10:00 (Gateway to Snowbird)
VIP Party: 10:00 to 12:30 (Snowbird Cliff Lodge)
Let me know if you’re interested and I’ll get you (and your family) some tickets.
