Archive for September, 2006

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TrumpUniversity.com You’re Fired!

September 24, 2006

Donald Trump The Apprentice?

Apparently Mr. Trump has entrusted the marketing of his brand online to one of the apprentices he fired.

Why?

Over the last several weeks one of my email accounts has been receiving five times more email spam than usual.

Among them, email from Trump University. Not just one. Six in the last ten days.

In “his” email Mr. Trump states, “Trump University is something I’ve thought about for a long time. I didn’t want to put my name on anything having to do with education unless it was going to be the best. So I’ve put together some of the finest instructors in the world, professors from great universities, the finest business schools and also friends of mine from the world of business that have gone through the hard knocks. Some of them aren’t even educated at all. But they’ve gone through these tremendous hard knocks and they’ve gone out and they’ve succeeded.”

Then there is some CYA boiler plate.

“This is a commercial message from Join Trump U. To stop receiving commercial messages promoting Trump University, please visit http://jointrumpuniversity.com/remove. You may also send an unsubscribe request with a copy of this original email to: Join Trump U, 5072 North 300 West, Suite 220, Provo, UT 84604.

“We are Fully Compliant with the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003.”

“You are receiving this message because you have opted in to one of more of our partner sites. If you would like to stop receiving our messages and special offers, please click here to remove your name from our mailing list, or you may write to the address below.”

The address where I have been receiving Trump U email is an address I never use.

I have since went an unsubscribed myself to the Trump University list.

Whether removing my name from their database works on not will remain to be seen.

Does Donald Trump have a brand manager? Who is in charge of his brand management?

Even with the Trump University emails being sent at arms length, hasn’t the Donald Trump brand been sullied with the millions of email spams sent out on his behalf?

Or does this marketing strategy produce results?

If it does work, why then don’t I receive spam emails from other “universities” like the University of Phoenix?

Only time will tell whether the email spam tactic for increasing enrollment from the minds at Trump University was born out of marketing education and experience or not.

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Posted in Brand Management, Brand Manager, Donald Trump, Marketing Education, Marketing Experience, Marketing Online, Marketing Strategy, The Apprentice, Trump U, TrumpUniversity.com, University of Phoenix, You're Fired | Leave a Comment »

Internet Marketing Book by A Guy and His Laptop

September 24, 2006

129 days until the release of my internet marketing book – For Sale By Google.

In late 1999, I was fortunate to recognize the impact internet marketing would ultimately have on the marketing and advertising industries. I decided then to move my firm Advanced Marketing Consultants marketing consulting practice completely online.

I was approached in November of 2005 by John Wiley and Sons to write a book about my online marketing experiences at www.marketingprinciples.com.

Why me? I think Wiley contacted me because my internet marketing strategy has consistently attracted 500,000 unique visitors from around the world to my site annually for each of the last three years. I have generated as many as 4,400 online transactions monthly for myself and clients.

All the while still just a guy and his laptop. Well, some servers too…

Writing a book has proven to be much more difficult than I expected.

However, at this time I wouldn’t trade the opportunity and experience for any other.

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Posted in A Guy And His Laptop, Advanced Marketing Consultants, Advertising, For Sale By Google, Internet Marketing, Internet Marketing Book, Internet Marketing Strategy, Marketing, Marketing Book, Marketing Consulting, Marketing Experience, Online Marketing, Online Marketing Top Tips, Unique Visitors, Writing A Book, www.marketingprinciples.com | Leave a Comment »

Katie Couric and the CBS Nightly News

September 23, 2006

In my previous post, I mentioned how the three television networks are sequencing commercial breaks for their nightly news broadcasts at the same time in their attempt to retain audience attention.

CBS however has taken this strategy to a new level.

How?

Katie Couric.

Although I was aware CBS had hired her for its nightly new broadcast, I hadn’t yet tuned in.

After growing weary of the content coming from the other two channels, I switched to CBS. I was surprised to see Couric sitting on her news desk in a dress. The lights were low and her tones were hushed. At first, I wasn’t sure whether I had entered the right channel number or not!

Then it struck me.

In its efforts to keep from losing any more viewers, CBS has differentiated itself by resorting to seduction to sell their version of the nightly news a la Couric.

I don’t recall watching Walter Chronkite sell the news from atop his desk in a muscle shirt.

Is CBS Naked Nightly News next?

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Posted in CBS Nightly News, Katie Couric, Naked News, Nightly News | 3 Comments »

ABC, NBC and CBS Nightly News

September 23, 2006

For the last week I have been at my new lake house working on the John Wiley and Sons book For Sale By Google.

My retreat is at Lake Tenkiller in the eastern region of Oklahoma called Green Country. The closest town is Cookson, Oklahoma. The population of Cookson is 1255.

I don’t have cable television or internet service there which helps me focus on writing.

At 5:30 PM each day after writing, I would turn on the television and sample one of its five available local channels.

As an internet consumer, I have become accustomed to controlling how I consume information. If I don’t like something, I move on. I have infinite choice. This isn’t the case with television particularly when you don’t even have cable.

I decided to approach consumption of my three network television news broadcast choices in the same way I consume web news – simultaneously.

Was I in for a surprise…

With the decreasing attention span of the masses quickly approaching ADHD, the three major television networks have begun sequencing commercial breaks for their nightly news broadcasts at the same time.

What a pleasure!

What better way to retain your attention than penalizing you to switch it?

How much longer can network television expect this strategy to last?

Are the only people left watching network news broadcasts also the ones without any other channel choices?

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Posted in ABC Nightly News, CBS Nightly News, Controversial Television Advertising, For Sale By Google, Internet Consumer, John Wiley and Sons, Lake Tenkiller, NBC Nightly News, Network Television, Oklahoma, Television Advertising, Web News | Leave a Comment »

Order Your Electric Car Online

September 13, 2006

UK based GoinGreen is the manufacturer of the world’s best selling electric car – the G-Wiz.

The G-Wiz looks perfect for the UK and European major city markets where fuel costs are high and traffic congestion reduces overall travel speeds.

Goin Green doesn’t have any showrooms. Prospective buyers book a convenient time to meet with representatives to go for a test drive.

Buyers can even customize their car exterior with a digi-wrap leopard print and order their car online.

See a G-Wiz in action on YouTube.

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Posted in Digi-wrap, Electric Car, Electric Car Manufacturer, G-Wiz, Goin Green, GoinGreen, London, Test Drive, YouTube | 1 Comment »

Pump and Dump Stock Promotion Schemes

September 13, 2006

Pink sheet stock promoters have found a new more efficient way for reaching the gullible and greedy – zombie spam.

According to an assistant professor of finance at Purdue Laura L. Frieder and Jonathan L. Zittrain professor of internet governance and regulation at the Oxford Internet Institute, “relationships between spammers and virus authors have caused millions of virus-infected personal computers to be harnessed as ‘zombies’ to send spam further lowering its cost.”

I met professor Zittrain while sailing the Queen Mary 2 from Southhampton to New York in the summer of 2005. I attended his University of Oxford continuing education series along with others including actor Richard Dreyfus. He showed me how to make a free voip phone call from the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean using Skype.

The professors have published a study: Spam Works: Evidence From Stock Touts and Corresponding Market Activity

Next time you receive a hot stock tip in your inbox, thank Bill Gates.


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Posted in Bill Gates, Email Spam, Hot Stock Tip, Inbox, Influence, Influenza, IP Phone, Laura Frieder, Pink Sheet, Pump and Dump, Queen Mary 2, Skype, Spammers, Stock Promoter, Stock Promotion, Stock Schemes, University of Oxford, VOIP Phone, Zombie Spam | Leave a Comment »

Direct Marketing Google Map Mashups

September 13, 2006

Google global search traffic patterns over a twenty four hour period.

Here are three of my favorite resources for making your own Google maps.

Google Maps Mania

Map Builder – build your own maps.

Huge Maps Mapping Programs – great for marketers – types of maps include:

Zip Code Boundaries Maps
Town and City Boundaries Maps
County Boundaries Maps
Core Based Statistical Area Maps
Reverse Geocoding – converts a latitude and longitude coordinate into an address

Geocoding – address conversion into lat and long coordinates

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Posted in Address Conversion, Boundaries Maps, Direct Marketer, Direct Marketing, Geocoding, Google Maps, Google Traffic, Lat and Long, Latitude, Longitude, Map Mashups, Marketer, Search Traffic, Zip Code | 1 Comment »

Bad Word of Mouth

September 10, 2006

Yesterday while relaxing at the beach a young couple and their children sat down next to us.

After settling in, they decided to go for a swim in the Gulf.

Soon after a couple who were walking along the beach approached the father and began pointing toward the water. As the couple walked away, the man told to his young children to get out of the water.

What could this couple have said in less than three minutes that caused a family to change their beach plans for the day?

Red Tide.

Yet, if Red Tide was so dangerous why were there other parents and children in the water? Why had our hotel’s managment allowed us to enter the water? Because Red Tide isn’t dangerous to humans unless a person eats seafood infected by it. Apparently these questions were lost on the father.

Granted, Red Tide isn’t the ideal but it isn’t prohibitive.
He simply took the couple’s advice as gospel and scuttled his beach plans for the day based on the unsolicited advice of total strangers.

How often is bad word of mouth spread by unqualifed sources?

What can the business do to combat this form of misinformation?

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Posted in Bad Word of Mouth, Lido Beach, Misinformation, Opinion, Red Tide, Unsolicited Advice, Word of Mouth | 1 Comment »

Word of Mouth Referrals

September 10, 2006

I witnessed firsthand how word of mouth can influence the decision making process.

Yesterday my wife and I happened to be in Sarasota, Florida during the Atlantis Space Shuttle launch. I wasn’t aware of the launch until my wife mentioned it. It was 11:00 EST and we were planning to leave for the day. The shuttle was scheduled to launch at 11:15. She asked if I had read anything about whether the launch had been cancelled or not. I happened to be online and couldn’t find any news about a cancellation.

We turned on the television in our hotel room and discovered the shuttle was due to launch in a matter of minutes.

My wife had lived in St. Petersburg, Florida during the 1970s. She said she had been able to see a Apollo launch from her home at night even though Cape Canaveral was 150 miles from St. Petersburg.

We both thought there was a possibility we could see the launch from the club section of our hotel.

We got our bearings and walked across the hall. We told one of the staff what we were planning to do. She got excited because she had never seen a shuttle launch. She disappeared and within a minute reappeared with two of her coworkers.

All of us then became excited at the thought of seeing something we had never seen before live – albeit from over a 170 miles away – a Space Shuttle launch.

Shortly thereafter the five of us watched the Space Shuttle Atlantis ascend into the sunny Florida sky.

My wife and I may have seen the shuttle launch but the other three surely wouldn’t have had they not been referred to the event by word of mouth.

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Posted in Cape Canaveral, Miles, Referral, Referrals, Referred, Sarasota, Space Shuttle Atlantis, St. Petersburg, Word of Mouth Marketing | Leave a Comment »

Sarasota Ritz Carlton Celebration

September 9, 2006

In the Ted Nicholas book Magic Words Will Bring You Riches, Ted lists a number of practical communication strategies for influencing people. I have tried and proven several of his strategies work and now practice them in my daily life. One strategy he recommends is to mention you are celebrating when making reservations.

My wife and I are are celebrating our 16th wedding anniversary over a four day weekend getaway at the Ritz Carlton in Sarasota, Florida.

My wife booked our trip and per Ted’s recommendation notified the reservations staff of our anniversary celebration plans.

When we got to our club level room, we were surprised to find rose petals spread in the shape of a heart on our bed. If I had only thought of doing this just once over the past sixteen years.

Her mention of our celebration plans have also seemingly been spread to all of the hotel staff. An incredible feat considering the scope and size of this property.

We celebrated our anniversary at the Ritz Carlton Members Beach Club. We were treated to a personalized photograph and frame which included the date of our anniversary. Not once in sixteen years have we ever received a complimentary photograph and frame of a dining experience.

On the second day of our trip, I noticed something which I believe has set our Ritz Carlton experience apart from nearly every other.

Every staff member wears a radio and headset. They communicate with other hotel staff members about our needs and movement throughout the property. They have even went so far as to have the valet bring our car around without our having to ask him to get it. Sounds pretty simple. Yet when you are on the receiving end of this level of personalized attention and service, you realize why the Ritz Carlton brand enjoys the reputation it does.

Isn’t this marketing and marketing communications at its purest? Identify and when possible even anticipate your customers needs and wants while also allocating the resources for their fulfillment.

Next time you are making hotel or dinner reservations let them know you will be celebrating and see if you too have a Ritz Carlton like experience.

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Posted in Brand, Celebrate, Celebrating, Club Level, Communication Strategies, Communication Strategy, Customer Needs, Magic Words That Bring You Riches, Magic Words That Will Bring You Riches, Marketing, Marketing Communications, Ritz Carlton, Sarasota Ritz Carlton, Ted Nicholas, Wedding Anniversary, Weekend Getaway | Leave a Comment »

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