The Gardenburger Mess — How Not to Handle a Crisis

It started last weekend, when small signs at Burgerville outlets notified customers that the chain was temporarily taking Gardenburgers off the menu. The story picked up steam when Burgerville placed a huge order with a small local meatless-patty manufacturer. Now, it’s exploded into public view as grocery giant Fred Meyer announces that it has pulled […]

Not Even Cocktail Napkins Are Safe

It used to be you could escape the outside world by going to the bar. Then somebody put a neon “Budweiser” sign in the window, and another enterprising chap realized that the bathroom walls could be an advertising medium. And now, “Welcome to Napkin Advertising.” So says Nap Ads. The bar owner gets free napkins, […]

A Free Tool to Calculate Your Ad Budget

Courtesy of Roy Williams, The Wizard of Ads. Rather than just taking a set industry percentage or range, this method requires some actual thought, and some research on your part. Here’s the basic point of view: The purpose of advertising is to increase the exposure of a business beyond what’s provided by its physical location. […]

The Line Between Targeted and Creepy

Suzanne Obermire of RRW Consulting has a thoughtful post on the struggle to establish good boundaries in direct marketing. The issue in question is mobile marketing — delivering advertising to cell phones and other mobile devices. When I take off my direct marketing hat and think about mobile marketing from a consumers’ perspective, it can […]