-
Axe by Unilever
Axe is a very popular brand of men’s deodorant and shower products owned by Unilever. I guarantee that you have seen their television advertisements at some point in time. I choose to look at Axe because I think their marketing, however controversial, is absolutely genius. Picture two men in a bar. Man A is tall, dark, and handsome – the stereotypical “player” who can have any woman he wants. Man B is skinny, untanned, and socially awkward – but in Axe commercials, he is the man who actually does get any woman he wants. Man B is shown using Axe…
-
How well is your Internet working?
“How well is your Internet working?” This is a question I often ask my colleagues. Many of them have both personal and professional websites. Several have blogs. Others have accounts on Myspace. Until I get into the meat of the question, they all assume their web presence is fairly well-defined. “If my clients can find me, then the Internet is working in my favor.” This statement, although seemingly innocuous, is a very dangerous state of mind to have. When you put my name in Google, you get several results. There are a few activists, loan officers, and lawyers. There is…
-
Vocabulary
A lot of people have been looking at my new business card and have been asking what a “perfect customer” is. I figured I should take a moment to explain exactly what I mean and what the tag-line of my card and website, “Who is your perfect customer?” actually means. In marketing, a lot of people just flood information channels with data about their products and various promotion events. The problem is they trade off content for volume and saturate the market with one or two messages that are meant to touch millions of customers at once. Market segmentation can…
-
Blue Oceans
I read an old Harvard Business Review article about “Blue Ocean Strategy” the other day (Blue Ocean Strategy. (2004). Kim, W. C. and Mauborgne, R. Harvard Business Review (October), 77-84.). The article was rather well written, and I have found it very useful in evaluating business opportunities. Saturated markets with intense competition, according to the article, are “red” oceans. Companies in these markets tear at one another like sharks, filling the blood with water. Innovative companies recognize opportunities to create “blue” oceans in similar markets but where there is no competition. In my experience, I have seen at least two…