Author: "Doctor" Phil Bernstein

Publishers Clearing House Goes Mobile

RRW Consulting’s Direct Marketing Blog alerted me to the fact that Publishers Clearing House is aiming to get into your cell phone. According to Mobile Marketer:

PCH is seeking Apple’s approval for two free, ad-supported apps for the iPhone and iPod touch, which would be distributed via the App Store. PCH has also added social networking feeds to provide tech- and mobile-savvy consumers with updates on games, sweepstakes and other opportunities to win prizes.

While the idea of Ed McMahon texting me (“U R correct, sir!”) fills me with dread, that’s probably not what they have in mind. And as RRW’s Suzanne Obermire points 0ut, ” when PCH decides to use a new channel, it’s probably time for all direct marketers to take note and learn some things.”

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Duncan Interviews Bernstein III

In the third part of our conversation on Marketing in Progress, Brett Duncan and I talk about

  • some advantages to advertising on news/talk radio
  • the place of streaming audio in an advertising campaign
  • and my continuing quest to make blogging pay

If you want to go back to the beginning, all three parts of the Brett Duncan-Phil Bernstein interview are here.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Ex-Radio Salesperson Makes Good

We in the media sales business are not, as a group, the most imaginative of folks. When we change jobs, we either go to a competitor, open an ad agency in our house, or find something else to sell.

My old KPOJ colleague and fellow blogger Randy White has bigger ambitions. He’s out to change the world, one local community at a time.

Enjoy this Oregonian article on his new venture, Bright Neighbor.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

Impressive Use of Twitter

As much as I’ve tried to keep up with the whole social media thing, Twitter is one wrinkle I haven’t figured out yet. I’m on it, am following some people, and have some people following me. But I haven’t found a way to make it a valuable part of my marketing arsenal.

Not yet, anyway.

Which is why I’m awfully impressed today with Peter Shankman. Shankman, among numerous other projects, operates the “Help a Reporter Out” email service, which connects journalists and writers with sources. As I write this, he’s doing an all-day contest on Twitter. The short version is that he’s asking trivia questions on his Twitter feed, and giving away prizes.

Originally, the prizes were things he wanted to clean out of his office. But as it’s developed, he’s hearing from a bunch of companies who are giving him new things to give away.

It costs him a little bit of money for shipping, and the time to come up with the questions, put ’em out on Twitter, and choose the winners. In  return, he’s getting an enormous amount of attention.

So I’m once again thinking about how I can use Twitter to my advantage. Haven’t come up with the answer yet, but the cogitation continues.

How are you using Twitter to help your business? Leave a comment below.

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.

FedEx Wins Some Christmas Day Word-of-Mouth

In my office, our main overnight delivery service until recently was DHL. It was cheaper than FedEx, and reasonably reliable. But the word around the office was always that if you were serious about getting a package to someone overnight, you should spring for FedEx.

DHL is gone now.  On Christmas Day FedEx took a big step in reinforcing its reputation in the consumer’s mind as the most reliable choice overnight delivery. While UPS gave all of its employees the day off, FedEx announced that it would keep all 665 of its Express Centers open on Christmas morning.

A huge portion of the country has experienced really rough weather in the week before Christmas. Heavy snow and ice created havoc in air, rail, and ground transportation. Here in the Pacific Northwest, many roads are still iced over. Some packages — including many holiday presents — just couldn’t be delivered on time.

FedEx understood the disappointment that would cause, and decided to give parents one more chance to put the presents under the tree. This undoubtedly cost them a considerable amount of money, and created inconvenience and hardship for some of their employees. They did it anyway.

So if you were expecting a Christmas present via FedEx, you may be able to get it today. If it’s coming UPS? Sorry, you’ll have to wait until they get back on Friday.

Customers of both companies will remember what happened, and how each company responded to the challenge. So will all the people they talk to, and millions more who hear about it in media reports.

Which company will they choose when it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight?

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Click this link to subscribe to Portland’s Finest Advertising and Marketing Blog.

Request your free copy of Phil Bernstein’s white paper, The Seven Deadly Advertising Mistakes and How to Fix Them here.

Got a question? Call Phil Bernstein at 503-323-6553.