Tom Ruwitch
A business owner recently asked me to launch an email campaign for her new company. She told me she wanted to “spread the word” about the business. Spread the word. That’s a popular idea. Let’s send some emails to spread the word. Let’s post on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter to spread the word.Let’s buy…
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I love the scene in the Spiderman movie (the first one with Tobey Maguire) when Uncle Ben tells Peter, “With great power comes great responsibility.” That’s true for super heroes. That’s also true for marketers. I’m working on a revised and expanded version of a free resource I created a few years back called “7 Ways…
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Back in the day, when people used to go on vacation, my mom, dad, brother and I packed up the station wagon and drove west in search of a ghost town. Actually, we were headed to some national parks in Wyoming and Montana. But I insisted we detour. The brochure I grabbed at the Stuckey’s…
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Here’s something I wonder during this pandemic: Why is the local news station still broadcasting traffic reports every 30 minutes in the morning? I turn on the news, and there she is, the Traffic Reporter, standing in front of the map with all the highways and byways color coded — green for “all clear,” yellow for “moderate back-ups” and…
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I read about a hotel that promises a “fun, colorful and flavorful” and magical experience. Set to open in August, the hotel began taking reservations online in June. It sold out in two minutes. Introducing The Bell: A Taco Bell Hotel and Resort in Palm Springs, California. The Bell is just a temporary rebranding of…
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I saw something on the TV news this morning that annoyed me. (What else is new?) I’m sharing this with you not to spread the annoyance, but rather to deliver a business lesson. The news headline: The number of asylum-seekers reaching the Mexico-US border has decreased over the last few months. The analysis: Supporters of…
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Yesterday was the 10th anniversary of Michael Jackson’s death. So the TV talking heads spent a bunch of airtime debating whether it’s OK to enjoy the King of Pop’s music. The debate goes like this… On one side are those who cite allegations that Jackson molested children. You can’t separate the art from the artist,…
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Before publishing his first best-seller, Tim Ferriss tested options. He came up with six potential titles. Then he purchased Google Adwords ads — one version for each title — targeting search terms related to the book’s topics. Each ad used the potential book title as the headline and used the book’s tagline for the ad’s…
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A marketing novice wondered whether a direct mail ad he received from a restaurant was any good. He described the ad in an online discussion board and waited for responses. Dozens of people replied with all sorts of marketing advice. Lots of them said they liked the ad. Some asked to see the advertisement so…
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A few months ago, I went to a St. Louis Blues hockey game with my son. He ordered a chicken sandwich from a concession stand run by a local restaurant. The chicken was raw. When we returned the food to the stand and asked for a refund, the woman at the cash register apologized and…
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