Tom Ruwitch
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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Last month, a networking group that I help manage contacted 18 former members to learn why they quit. Three of the 18 said they quit for no particular reason. They just let their commitment lag. Prompted by the phone call, they committed to resubscribe. Three out of 18. That’s 17 percent. That’s pretty good. Many…
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In early January, when the St. Louis Blues were in the National Hockey League cellar with the fewest points of any team, Interim Head Coach Craig Berube tore the standings from the locker room wall. Yesterday, hours before the Blues clinched the Western Conference championship and punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, a…
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My friend who handles PR for a nonprofit had an annoying mystery to solve. One of her email subscribers complained that she had opted-in but was not receiving emails. Then another complained. Then another. As my friend dug into the problem, she discovered that several people on her list were marked as unsubscribed. But those…
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In 1774, King Frederick II of Prussia was ruling over a land ravaged by famine. He urged farmers to plant potatoes to end the famine. But back then, potatoes were considered livestock feed in Eastern Europe, not suitable for human consumption. So farmers defied the king and didn’t plant them… …until King Frederick changed marketing…
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I was at a concert last night and heard some lyrics that made me think: “That’s a great marketing lesson.” (I couldn’t help it. That’s where my mind goes). Here are those lyrics from an old Kris Kristofferson song called “To Beat the Devil:” If you waste your time a talkingTo the people who don’t…
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