Marketing has changed dramatically from what it once was. One current example is social networking. Sites like MySpace and Facebook drive word-of-mouth like never before. The ‘buzz‘ epidemic is here, even for a little while.

What I find particularly fascinating is the Cory Delaney (Worthington) story. Cory is the 16-year-old who posted an invitation to his house party on MySpace. As a result, 500 people showed up; reeked havoc; and vandalised the neighbourhood. Since the event, Cory has become the guy you love to hate. He’s in the headlines day-in day-out and people are really ripping him to shreds. Funny thing is, he is still in the headlines. People love to read about him even though they call him a menace and arrogant.

It seems to be that the cake is on our own face. Cory has been a real entrepreneur about the whole thing. He’s created enough appeal to attract media attention and he’s capitalising on this. Whether it is the money he makes from media interviews or the job offers he has received as a party promoter. People, even only some, love him.

Be Seen Web Design defines buzz marketing as ‘a low or no cost method of marketing associated with people telling other people telling other people about a company’s products or services’. In this instance Cory is the product. He is and the media are creating enough of a spectacle that people are no-stop talking about it. This can be told by the fact that the news has reached overseas.

I think this is a great example of the buzz marketing we hear so much about nowadays. Sure, it’s a bit of an unorthodox variation but it’s buzz nonetheless. Lets see where it takes him.

Here is something fun, slap some sense into Cory. Look at the extremes people are going to with this.

I remember reading, some time ago about the $3000 car. The notion behind it was to make four-wheels accessible to India’s fast-growing middle class. Some may ask how producing a vehicle at such a price can be sustainable. Well, profit-margins are thin but by shifting sheer numbers - numbers that are adequately supported by Indian’s population, it is quite a sustainable move; well according to the media reports by these car producers.

The way I see it is India has a demand for this car but I don’t know if they have the infrastructure to support it. How do people currently get around in India? Scooters and motorcycles are very popular due to their fuel efficiency and maneuverability in traffic. I would think they are pretty easy to park and store, also. So how will the country cope with a car that is set to ‘revolutionise the market of 1.1 billion people‘? To me, it seems like a situation of buying the vase first and table later.

Where are these cars meant to be parked? How will the roads cope in terms of both congestion and wear? How will the current refueling stations cope? How will the ports cope with bringing in fuel? Are there adequate service centres? I really could go on…

If the nation has, for so long counted on two-wheels as a primary mode of transport how do they all of a sudden cater for four? This is not to mention the already burgeoning environmental aspects.

[Side Note] It’s interesting what people have to say in the comments of the article, ‘$A2800: World’s Cheapest Car’ over at News.com.au. Concerns of how safe the Tata Nano is seems to be the general consensus. Doesn’t seem to be much thought into the safety of a moped though. Additionally, people seem to be critical of the cars chances in making it to Australian roads. Well that’s ok, as I don’t believe there are intentions. It’s built with a purpose and meeting Australia standards is not one of them.

I like this comment; it sums it all up:

“You nitwits are missing the entire point of the car. It is not meant for Aussies or any other western market. It is meant for third world markets where entire families manage to ride a 2 wheel scooter together. For them it is a step up. Safety wise also, it is far better than the scooter though very poor compared to a standard western auto. THINK, RELATE and stop being so ethnocentric. I can’t but shake my head at those who feel that third world populations should be denied products because they pollute. Why don’t you lot sell your cars and trash your air conditioning before you pass judgment?” - Thanks Andy of the USA…

Yaro yesterday posted a blog on his achievements for the year over at Entrepreneur’s Journey.

Some of the highlights:

- Attending the Strategic Profits event in Florida.

- Attending the World Internet Summit in Melbourne.

- Buying his first house and a new car.

- Selling BetterEdit.com for a low-six figure sum.

- Continuing to enlighten, inspire and teach me more about online business and the opportunities it provides.

If you would like to read the blog post, and I highly recommend you do, click here.

This post is the first of three posts Yaro intends to publish on this topic. So add his blog to your RSS reader so you don’t miss out on the others.

Over and out…

P

I do apologise for this not being new content. I haven’t had much time to tap away at the keys, you see. However, I have stumbled across a few really interesting sites and blog posts over the weekend and following, is one of them.

I found this post on a new blog I have subscribed to, Branding Strategy Insider:

What are the most powerful marketing words in the English language? Since the early 60’s researches in advertising and academia have presented various findings. All agree the power lies in ten to twelve words. Here are the results chronologically:

1961: You, Easy, Money, Save, Love, New, Discovery, Results, Proven, and Guarantee

Source: [Vidette-Messenger (Valparaiso, Ind.), Nov. 1, 1963, p. 4; Lowell (Mass.) Sun, Nov. 4, 1963, p. 5; Northwest Arkansas Times, Nov. 7, 1963, p. 4; etc.]

1970: The 12 most persuasive words in the English language are: you, money, save, new, results, health, easy, safety, love, discovery, proven and guarantee. According to the claim of researchers in the Yale psychology department.

Source: [Fresno (Calif.) Bee Republican, Jan. 20, 1970, p. 7; Yuma (Ariz.) Daily Sun, Jan. 20, 1970, p. B6; Burlington (N.C.) Daily Times-News, Jan. 20, 1970, p. 6A; etc.]

Here’s an Associated Press item from January 1972, in which the list takes on significance by being quoted from the Canadian Consumer Magazine:

The Canadian Consumer Magazine quotes a research report saying that the 12 most persuasive words in the English language are: You, money save, new, results, health, easy, safety, love, discovery, proven and guarantee. Note that the three-letter word “sex”, didn’t make the top 12.

Source: [Gettysburg (Pa.) Times, Jan. 17, 1972, p. 9; Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune, Jan. 31, 1972, p. 12; etc.]

Bill Gold repeated the list in his Washington Post column “The District Line” in July 1978.

In a recent issue, Trends reported that a study by experts had identified the 12 most persuasive words in the English language. They were listed as: “money, save, new, you, results, health, safety, easy, guarantee, discovery, proven and love.” Trends also mentions that public relations people and advertising copy writers are wondering how the study managed to overlook “free,” which along with “new,” was long considered one of “the best-selling words in the language.”

Source: [Washington Post, July 27, 1978, p.12]

Enjoy,

PJG

One of my favourite websites, Valleywag, today commented on Apple’s intention to open an additional 40 stores in 2008. Currently, Apple operates over 200 stores internationally. It’s likely that next years expansion efforts will focus on the international markets. To support this assumption, Apple is in the process of building a flagship store in Sydney.

Ron Johnson, Apple’s Head of Retail recently told the media that there ‘will be a larger number of international stores among the 40 or so that will opening in fiscal 2008′.

As any student would know, Wikipedia is a no-no when it comes to referencing. The fact that the information on Wikipedia is compiled by the general public ensures there will be inconsistencies in its validity. It’s not to say that all that you find on Wikipedia is incorrect, after all, a lot of it is directly quoted from credible references but there certainly are some gaps.

The thing I like most about Wikipedia is the ability to research information in a clear, intuitive manner. But what if you want to use the information in a university assignment? Well there are a few things you can do. I shall go through these in-depth:

(For the purpose of this article, I shall use ‘market segment’ -see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Market_segment- as an example)

References

You will notice at the bottom of the Wikipedia entry, the ‘reference’ section. This contains references that were used in the composition of this entry on market segments. One of the references, for example, is:

Day, G. (1980) “Strategic Market Analysis: Top-down and bottom-up approaches”, working paper #80-105, Marketing Science Institute, Cambridge, Mass. 1980.

My suggestion if you would like to use a reference like this is to first Google it to see if it is available from a free source. In failing this, as a student you may have access to valuable databases of journal articles through your university website.

Also note, some of these references have a link to a PDF file of the listed journal article. This is really handy. Truth is, markers love you to reference academic journal articles!

External Links

One of my favourite parts of the Wikipedia page is the ‘external link’ section down the bottom. Here, you will find a group of links to various related websites. Websites which can of course be referenced. Well, provided they are creditable. An example of one of these links is:

Using market segmentation with digital marketing strategies [HYPERLINK]

Again, these links are generally to sites that have been used to build the Wikipedia entry.

Buzz Words

An overlooked part of the Wikipedia post is its buzzwords. By reading the entry, you are absorbing these words and discovering the definitions but they are handy for finding suitable references as well.

Lets say you have been reading this article on ‘market segments’ and you discover some information on ‘cluster analysis’. Well, by dropping this term into Google will open up a whole world of other sites that talk about ‘cluster analysis’ - sites that you could reference in your work.

Conclusion

I am sure what I have talked about is old news. But I am also sure many people out there are stuck when it comes to getting the most out of the usability of Wikipedia for research.

How does a sleepover at Ikea sound?

Sounds to me like the adult equivalent of staying a night in the toy store.

Well, as much as this is old news, it is new news to me:

“Later this month (July 2007), Ikea Norway will let shoppers sleep overnight in one of its two Oslo warehouses, an operation that will last a week. “It will be like an alternative hostel,” said company spokesman Frode Ullebust.

“There will be the regular dormitory with lots of beds stacked up together. We will also have a bridal suite, with a round bed and a hanging chandelier, and the luxury suite, where customers can enjoy breakfast in bed,” he said. Family rooms will also be available for parents and children to join into the Ikea fun. None of the guests will be charged for their stay”.

PJG

Boredom and lost productivity in the air will soon be a thing of the past with the introduction of Internet access on aircraft.

TechCrunch said on Thursday that American airline, JetBlue had announced that it would provide services restricted to Yahoo! Mail, Messenger and Wi-Fi enabled BlackBerries to access BB mail and messenger.

However, it has recently came out that American Airlines will start offering complete web-access onboard followed shortly by Virgin America. There is again likely to be a catch; this time not with what you can access but with the cost-of-use. Both airlines, American and Virgin are likely to charge $10 per flight for the privilege to access the Internet in-flight. Personally, I’d pay it, but…

TechCrunch says “…it could be worth a lot more to them to offer it for free, and use it to build brand loyalty”. I agree, especially for airlines trying to win business clientele.

I haven’t heard any news of the Australian airlines - Qantas, Virgin Blue and Qantas-owned JetStar - planning to offer onboard net access. I think it would be a great move for Virgin Blue, seeing they’re increasingly attacking the business segment, to offer it.

If big names mean much in big business then online movie rental service Quickflix must be doing something right.

In just four years it has already acquired a Packer-backed rival, attracted investment from a Murdoch, emerged as Telstra’s main competition, and is playing no small part in helping the internet kill off the video store.

Started with less than half a million dollars, Quickflix now has a market capitalisation of $20 million, a subscriber base of 22,000 and strategic partnerships with some of the biggest names in the retail and entertainment industry.

Read More…

If you’d like to give Quickflix a go yourself (as I have) check out the following link. It’s really worth it; such a good, easy to use, fun service and best of all there is a 14-day FREE trial to start out with:

Get movies in the mail - Try Quickflix FREE

Long has there been a romance of going to the bottle shop; picking out a bottle of wine with some fancifully designed label; consuming its content; and putting out the bottle with the recycling or worse, straight into the trash. These aesthetically pleasing glass bottles were recently challenged by the cleanskin brigade, great, because they do away with all the unnecessary labels and marketing expenditure and carry over a lower price to the consumer.

Other innovations in the wine industry include, of course, the invention of screw-top bottles and synthetic corks. All of this considered, we are still drinking from the bottle. Heavy glass bottles that sure, can be recycled but still require a lot of energy in their production and recycling. There has to be a better, more environmentally friendly way, right?

Tetrapak, the same Swedish company that revolutionised the fruit juice market, have done just that. They have invented a design called tetraprisma which is a multi-layer carton with a screw cap.

An early-adopter of this technology in the Australian wine industry is Andrew Pease Wines which reported the following to SMH about the logistical efficiency of the tetraprisma design:

“A standard six-metre container holds 1176 cases of wine, including 10,584kg of wine and weighing 18,816kg overall. With tetraprisma that same container holds 1575 twelve packs holding 18,900kg of wine for a total overall weight of 19,530k”. “That is substantially more wine for virtually the same weight,” Andrew Peace said to SMH.

To read the entire article, check out this link.