Category Archives: Advertising

Starbucks has already become that 3rd place

Posted on March 14, 2012 by markkolier

It’s generally accepted that for most people, home and work are the first two places. For retail establishments like Starbucks and McDonalds (to name just two), the battle to become the most popular 3rd place is never-ending. I’ve expressed my … Continue reading →

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Zynga and Yelp – did you buy in?

Posted on March 5, 2012 by markkolier

Yelp.com had a very successful IPO last week with shares jumping 64% in the first day of trading last Friday – http://usat.ly/zrYhvu. The offering valued Yelp at $900 million. Yelp.com with 66 million monthly users had 2011 revenue of $83.3 … Continue reading →

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Cutting the cable cord but not the network cord – the crowdsource knows the score

Posted on February 15, 2012 by markkolier

Today (Valentine’s Day 2012) a company called Aereo announced (Barry Diller of IAC did the announcing) in the NY Times Media Decoder blog from Brian Stelter http://nyti.ms/y5uJfZ it will begin offering a new television service that will stream local television … Continue reading →

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Generic brands don’t always mean the lowest price

Posted on February 1, 2012 by markkolier

In the era of stretching a paycheck, generic brands have moved from the fringes to the mainstream. Every day people consider the value of purchasing a ‘non-brand’ when visiting a supermarket, or big box retailer like Costco, Target or Wal-Mart. … Continue reading →

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Burger King is poised to fall to #3

Posted on January 11, 2012 by markkolier

With McDonald’s continuing to reign as the undisputed heavyweight champion of the world when it comes to burgers/QSR’s, the contest between Burger King and Wendy’s for second place has suddenly become more interesting. Wendy’s is about to surpass Burger King … Continue reading →

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The debate on advertising-supported public schools is heating up

Posted on January 9, 2012 by markkolier

Let me start by acknowledging that we have a client who has signed up some prominent school districts around the United States who have agreed to allow outlets like in-school video screens with ads and scoreboard sponsorships (among others) to … Continue reading →

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Sears sags – is anyone really surprised?

Posted on December 28, 2011 by markkolier

As the holiday season scorecards begin to be revealed, Sears, showing its ‘softer side’ as sales were down 5.2% over the eight week holiday period, led by CEO Ed Lampert http://on.wsj.com/ttKCBi reported that it expected to close 100 to 120 … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Customer Experiences, Living in the World Today, Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Ten things about advertising that make me wonder

Posted on December 23, 2011 by markkolier

Stuart Elliot of The New York Times writes the advertising column and periodically has 20 questions about advertising. I decided to come up with a few of my own. 1) Why are there ads in the subway with QR codes … Continue reading →

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Do the Lexus ‘December to remember’ TV spots bother you?

Posted on December 16, 2011 by markkolier

I only ask because they really bother me. As a marketing guy I am well aware of the luxury market and its unique aspects and allure to marketers. Lexus has been running these spots for several years now. Somehow I … Continue reading →

Posted in Advertising, Living in the World Today, Marketing stuff | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments

Western Union hangs on and then some

Posted on December 7, 2011 by markkolier

I heard a radio spot last week from Western Union (WU) regarding singing telegrams. The first thought I had was – Western Union? Is that company still even around? A little research divulged that not only is Western Union still … Continue reading →

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