Author Archives: markkolier

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About markkolier

Futurist, entrepreneur, left lane driver, baseball lover

Advertising on the side of the road – the brands change but the song remains the same

This week I drove the 750 miles down Interstate 95 from the New York City area into South Carolina. I like driving and don’t make 11 hour drives with any regularity. Since it’s long the scenery is not always riveting … Continue reading

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Nobody calls anymore – are we less civil?

Remember when it was important to check for messages while you were out of the office for any length of time? I thought of this when I met a friend and business associate of mine recently for lunch and golf. … Continue reading

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Is buying a 3DTV worthwhile?

We have what at the time was a state-of-the art (back in 2001) Sony 42 inch flat screen television. It is a complete monster – heavy, non-internet enabled and with no HDMI cables. The picture quality remains very good (to … Continue reading

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Hey Proflowers – no thanks for the reminder

Good marketers understand the value of a well-timed and relevant reminder email. Reaching a prospect or customer with a value-oriented message when they are considering a purchase decision is crucial to campaign success. I’ve purchased flower bouquets several times over … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Best business practices, Communication, Customer Experiences, Email marketing, Marketing stuff, Personal Privacy | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

5 Things gas stations do to tick me off

With current gas prices in the U.S. averaging just under $4.00/gallon (of course where I live it is more like $4.20) the customer experience of going to the gas station is an already painful one. Many of the nation’s refiners … Continue reading

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Gen Y has it tougher than it’s ever been before

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. Technology was supposed to make things easier and among other things aid in making twenty-something’s (i.e. Gen Y denizens) achieve more, make more money and contribute faster to society. It could be argued … Continue reading

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Having both a digital AND print subscription is best for readers

Enjoy it while you still can since the days of offering a print and digital subscription for the same price are numbered. The main reason is of course that the print subscription is so much more costly to print and … Continue reading

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Will Instagram be the new Napster?

This past Monday Facebook announced it will pay cash and stock totaling one billion dollars for a company that has no revenue model. Instagram has been around for less than 24 months. It has (reportedly) 30 million users who upload … Continue reading

Posted in Advertising, Best business practices, Marketing stuff, Mobile Communication, Social Media, Technology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Would my coaching youth baseball when I don’t have a child in the program be creepy?

My children are all grown up now (meaning they are over eighteen). Accordingly my days and nights as a father are quite a bit different from what they were just ten years ago. This is because I was a dedicated … Continue reading

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Procter and Gamble says no to streaming video

This week Procter & Gamble announced http://bit.ly/I262sG that it would ban employee access to Netflix and Pandora in order to save bandwith at the company headquarters in Cincinnati. My first reaction was that banning internet site access never seems to … Continue reading

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