Marketing and all things related

Marketing Blurb is tired of all the buried treasure promotions this summer. We are still picking sand out from between our toes, and we never did win the Volvo, the Jeep, the Caribbean Vacation, or whatever. So we have no desire to play the Gold Rush reality competition on AOL and CBS. During a seven week run, teams will compete to answer trivia questions and unravel clues hidden throughout AOL and on select CBS prime-time shows. Three finalists have a shot at $ 100,000 in gold. We like the idea of an integrated online and broadcast promotion, and so top advertisers who have signed to sponsor the event. According to MediaWeek, category exclusive sponsors include Best Buy, Chevrolet, Coca-Cola Zero, T-Mobile and Washington Mutual. And we understand that viewers can expect to see more damned product placements on this deal than on the uniform of a NASCAR driver. Register at the AOL Gold Rush website if you must. Maybe the winner should receive AOL itself, or maybe $ 100,000 in crude oil—gold seems passé.

Marketing Blurb loves football as much as the next pundit. We never have time to watch more a handful of games every season, so we make the most of each opportunity. It doesn’t take much to make us happy. Our... Continue Reading

We like brownies more than the next pundit. But we are really fussy, and only eat homemade. So we are not really a candidate for the new brownie dessert offering at Domino’s Pizza called Fudgems. Now get this: “Our market... Continue Reading

Now you might think that one-to-one marketing is a great idea, and in the case of Quiznos, you would be wrong, naturally! Quiznos tried such a promotion via chats rooms and IM. Here’s the pitch. Quiznos meets a prospect one-to-one... Continue Reading

Life Cereal from Quaker Oats, is teaming up with children’s publisher Chooseco to offer an online game and DVD based on the Choose Your Own Adventure book series. The result is The Abominable Snowman, a DVD that allows kids to... Continue Reading

Next time you discover that The Hotel California is booked solid, why not consider La Quinta? Under new management, the hotel chain has grown from 300 to 541 properties since 2004. Based in Irving, TX, La Quinta wants travelers to... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb only eats boring healthy cereal, so we know we are missing out on cool toys free inside the fun junky cereal boxes. And maybe we are missing out big time. We just learned from The Associated Press, that... Continue Reading

Back in April, we told you about Hershey’s Kissables, a new candy-coated version of the classic Hershey’s kiss. This sounded like a fun idea to us, although we seem to have trouble scoring many kisses these days—candy-coated or otherwise. But... Continue Reading

To get you in the mood for football, Newcastle Brown Ale is breaking a new promotion called “The Best of Both Worlds.” The promotion is a sweepstakes offering a grand prize of a home entertainment center with a Philips “50-inch... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb lives romance, so we have little time for romance novels. But the genre is popular, and publisher HarperCollins has decided to cash in on your desires. Their Avon Books romance imprint is planning a contest to promote their... Continue Reading

Okay, so everybody knows Lassie, but we have never heard of Lassie Pet Products. But now we know, because Lassie Pet Products is launching a contest for a new dog to appear on packages of new Lassie Natural Way dog... Continue Reading

By now, you’ve probably stumbled across the Share your Secret campaign sponsored by Procter & Gamble’s Secret Deodorant. In celebration of the 50 year anniversary of the product, women can spill their guts in public—okay, share their secrets online. Here’s... Continue Reading

The housing marketing is beginning to go soft. In many parts of the country, there are three or more months of static inventory of new and existing homes. So increasingly, builders are turning to promotions to move their unsold properties.... Continue Reading

Competition is heating up again in banking rewards programs. Forget the free toaster for opening an account and think airline tickets, Royal Caribbean cruises, Tumi luggage or Compaq laptops for taking out a loan, paying your bills online and writing... Continue Reading

Marketing Blurb often reports on sweepstakes, even though we think they are basically dumb. Sweepstakes do not help brand your product. Rather, sweepstakes dragnet all kinds of lame weenies outside of your target market—people with short attention spans lacking a... Continue Reading

You might be enjoying the peak of summer, but retailers are already thinking back-to-school promotions. And if your agenda includes clothing for school, Kohl’s has got a deal for you. Kohl’s hip house brand Candie's is calling upon a couple... Continue Reading

Let’s say you are a budget hotel chain, and you need to boost booking over the summer. Choice Hotels, parent of Econo Lodge and Rodeway Inns believes they have the answer with their new “What would you do with a... Continue Reading

Summer is finally beastly, and to stay hydrated you need some more that water, you need fuel like a Coldstone Creamery Smoothie. Of course, the smoothie comes with a few extra calories. But now you can down the smoothie and... Continue Reading

Back in April, we told you about the new product line of Snapple White Teas positioned as the “lightest teas on earth.” (We also explained that real men don’t drink tea from a bottle.) And to illustrate just how light... Continue Reading

Look, folks--the buried treasure promotion idea is tired. Marketers should stop burying stuff in the real world or the virtual world, and let consumers do something simple like scratch a game card. But Jeep is obviously not listening to our advice... Continue Reading