Peter over at PeterThink just has a great customer experience at a new McDonald's in his neighborhood. Everything from the menu to the cleanliness to the salespersons' voice to the wait time was refreshingly excellent. After having such a great experience, Peter thought of an intriguing research methodology that McDonald's managers might employ to gain competitive advantage:
"Oh, and if I were the manager at this McDonalds I'd consider some retail anthropology. Done some gloves and pick carefully through the drive up trash can to see what I might learn about my customers. I'd probably find some bags from competing restaurants. Examining the receipts in these bags would indicate what my customers are ordering at the competition."
--------
Allan Karl, former co-founder of Wirestone, had this to say about the power of weblogs as a form of corporate communications.
"Point is, Weblogs may have succeeded where corporate marketing websites have failed. That is to communicate a voice that is focused, clear and representative of the organization, to establish a relationship with customers that goes beyond the traditional buyer-seller transaction, to consistently update and provide content that is interesting and provides incentives to customers to return on a regular basis and provides added value through a feedback system that is open and unedited where ideas, concepts and opinions are discussed openly and freely."
Full post here.
--------
Beer.com. the beer lovers web site has two spots featuring their beer girls floating around, one of which, amounts to mild, soft porn. Very fun to watch...if you like girls, that is. And beer.
The first features Evelina. The second features Lisa. [via TTR2]
--------
Just as NBC make's it's own radical programming changes (see sidebar for story) for the upcoming Fall season, ABC is making changes as well. Biigest news: The Practice is returning to it's Sunday 10PM timeslot. Here's what will be new:
- Hope and Faith, a comedy starring Kelly Ripa (Live With Regis and Kelly) as a failed soap star who adjusts to small-town life with her sister, played by Faith Ford (Murphy Brown). Ripa will continue to co-host her talk show.
- I'm With Her, a romantic sitcom about a movie star (Teri Polo) who dates a high school teacher. It's from writer Chris Henchy, who is married to Brooke Shields.
- It's All Relative, a comedy about a man from a conservative family engaged to the daughter of gay dads.
- Back to Kansas, a comedy about a shy New Yorker who marries into a large Midwestern family.
- Karen Sisco, a drama starring Carla Gugino (Spy Kids) as a federal marshal in the role originated by Jennifer Lopez in Out of Sight.
- 10-8, a drama about rookie cops training in Los Angeles.
- Threat Matrix, a drama about a homeland security task force.
--------
Battle Mountain, Nevada was named in a humorous Washington Post article as the armpit of America. The town has taken advantage of it's status by erecting a a billboard on I-80 that reads, "Battle Mountain, Voted the Armpit of America by the Washington Post," and "Make Battle Mountain Your Next Pit Stop."
Of course, a marketer had to take advantage of this as well. Old Spice will sponsor the town's now annual "Festival of the Pit" but will, of course, rename the event, "Old Spice's Festival in the Pit."
The town first had the event last year just after being named and had events such as the deodorant toss. Old Spice will now sponsor the event annually.
--------
A study commissioned by the Magazine Publishers of America and conducted by The Hudson River Group. While the study reveled television to more efficient than magazines, it also reached the saturation point much quicker leading to the conclusion that some media dollars might see a better return if shifted into magazines. Read the press release here and topline study results here (pdf).
--------
Five surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on.
The first surgeon says, "I like to operate on accountants, because when you open them up everything inside is numbered."
The second responds; "Yeah, but you should try electricians, everything is colour coded."
The third surgeon says, "No, I really think librarians are the best; everything inside them is in alphabetical order.
The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like construction workers.....those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over at the end, and when the job takes longer than you said it would."
But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong. Ad Agency bosses are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no brains, no balls and no spine, and the head and the arse are interchangeable."
--------
