Reason #1,897 to pay attention to who you’re pitching October 24, 2008
Posted by Wade Rockett in PR.Tags: cnet, PR, publicrelations, rafeneedleman, headdesk, mediarelations, pitch
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This public relations pitch was just posted on a blog:
With this win, NetShelter in the next comScore cycle will likely over take CNET as the #1 property for reaching technology audiences worldwide. Not bad for an 8 year old start up operating on minimal outside funding.
NetShelter has positioned itself as the “media company for the online age” and is functioning more like a traditional media company (but without the whopping overhead of a CNET.) …
The recipient? Rafe Needleman. Of CNET.
D’oh!
(From Rafe’s Pro PR Tips blog)
Magnatune unveils two new subscription plans May 7, 2008
Posted by Wade Rockett in Marketing, Music.Tags: drm, drmfree, magnatune, podsafe, proartist, procustomer, professorarmchair, royaltyfree
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Speaking of music subscription plans, Magnatune - which offers high quality DRM-free music downloads and podsafe licensing - announced two new ways to enjoy their music this morning:
Now available for the very first time, Magnatune Memberships allows you to hear Magnatune music without any announcements or interruptions between songs! Starting at just $9 a month, you can stream over 500 albums and mixes into iTunes or player of your choice. Listen online all day, every day wherever you are. For serious audiophiles, we recommend our Download Membership, an “all you can eat” plan that lets you download any of our music, whenever you like, as many times as you like, and in any format, including CD quality WAVs. BONUS: BOTH PLANS include access to our new two hour, talk-free podcasts.
I checked out the details of the two plans. For $9 a month you can stream the company’s entire catalog of music, and for $18 a month you can download the company’s entire catalog of music. Let me repeat that part: for $18 a month, you can download every album on the site to your computer. (Magnatune only asks that you not strain its servers by using a downloading robot.) You also get access to streaming audio and members-only music podcasts. Under both plans, 50% of your subscription fee goes to the musicians whose songs you downloaded and/or streamed. Pretty sweet.
I do not recognize a single one of the artists listed on the site. But what I do recognize is if I really want to expand my musical horizons, Magnatune is a great way to go - particularly if I want to explore baroque, classical, medieval, and electronic music. And there are some fascinating oddities, such as Professor Armchair and his “demented 19th century children’s music“.
I’ll have to think about whether membership is right for me, or whether I’d prefer to cherry-pick tracks that I like. But I’m really impressed with the company’s pro-customer, pro-artist policies.
Using Twitter to engage customers: Zappos, Southwest, GM April 21, 2008
Posted by Wade Rockett in Marketing, PR.Tags: Armano, GM, Southwest Airlines, Twitter, Zappos
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David Armano, VP of Experience Design with Critical Mass, recently posted a blog entry about how Zappos and Southwest Airlines are using Twitter to interact with consumers. Great stuff:
- In addition to linking to company blog posts and promotions, SouthwestAir (787 followers) sends nice messages to customers who mention Southwest on Twitter, and responds to their suggestions.
- The Twitter account for Zappos (1,974 followers) is used by the CEO, and features daily lightning-quick contests. (Posted on Saturday at 6 PM: “Twitter @zappos with your favorite non-shoe brand that we sell on Zappos before 610 pacific, I will pick a winner to get all 3.”)
- Currently 79 other Zappos employees are posting on Twitter. Zappos displays all of the public Twitter talk about the company on its Web site.
After reading Armano’s post I discovered that GMBlogs also has a Twitter account (288 followers). Like Zappos and Southwest, they’re using it to engage people in conversation: Nearly all of their updates are either open questions for everyone, or public responses to individuals. Even when posting a link to a press release they ask, “What do you think?”
I’m guessing that these companies are using RSS feeds from TweetScan, a Twitter keyword search site, to spot whenever someone mentions them on Twitter and react. For example, here’s a TweetScan search for “Turbo Chicken”.
My Coke Rewards discussions move to new MCR message board August 13, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Loyalty Programs.Tags: My Coke Rewards
comments closed
The conversation about the My Coke Rewards loyalty program has moved from my blog posts to the My Code Mania MCR forums, which are better equipped to handle such things. As a result, I’ve closed the comments on my Coke-related entries.
If you’ve been doing My Coke Rewards for a while you might remember these guys as the folks behind My Coke Mania, which had to shut down a few months ago. Good to see them back in action.
There’s also a My Coke Rewards discussion on ForumUp.
And check out this My Coke Rewards group on Google Groups.
My Coke Rewards customer service numbers:
1-800-438-2653 (8 AM - 5 PM EST)
1-866-674-2653
My Coke Rewards e-prize fulfillment problems:
(you ordered something and it hasn’t arrived)
1-866-218-5697
Thanks to everyone who came by to comment, question, rant, rave, and offer advice and support about the program. Y’all rock.
Marketing definitions August 2, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Marketing, Miscellany.2 comments
This has been making the rounds at work:
Direct Marketing
You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and say, “I’m fantastic in bed.”
Advertising
You’re at a party with a bunch of friends and see a handsome guy. One of your friends goes up to him and pointing at you says, “She’s fantastic in bed.”
Telemarketing
You see a handsome guy at a party. You go up to him and get his telephone number. The next day you call and say, “Hi, I’m fantastic in bed.”
Public Relations
You see a handsome guy at a party. You get up and straighten your dress. You walk up to him and pour him a drink. You say, “May I?” and reach up to straighten his tie, brushing your breast lightly against his arm, and then say, “By the way, I’m fantastic in bed.”
Sales
You see a handsome guy at a party. You talk him into going home with your friend.
Spam
You’re on your way to a party when you realize that there could be handsome men in all these houses you’re passing. So you climb onto the roof of one situated toward the center and shout at the top of your lungs, “I’m fantastic in bed!”
Analyst Relations
You see a handsome guy at a party. A bunch of experts tells him that you’re fantastic in bed, but performance is likely to decline by 50% in 3 years.
Customer Advocacy
A handsome guy sees you at a party. His friends tell him how fantastic you are in bed.
Brand Recognition
You see a handsome guy at a party. He walks up to you and says, “I hear you’re fantastic in bed.”
New Coca-Cola Classic can design June 1, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Marketing.6 comments
The yellow ribbon (which was just wrong) is gone, along with the bubbles and “fizzy” white ribbon. The new design is smooth and crisp, and the word “classic” is in a cool, tasteful little sans-serif font. I approve.
We have a Coke employee! Vanilla Coke coming back, he says. May 7, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Blogging, Loyalty Programs.Tags: My Coke Rewards
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Rockett Science reader eric h has been giving advice to frustrated My Coke Rewards participants in the comments on “You know what? Screw my Coke Rewards Points.” Today, Eric revealed that he is an employee of the Coca-Cola company. Is he for real? Time will tell, although he did drop the insider news that the discontinued Vanilla Coke flavor is coming back next week.
(As I wrote “Is he for real?” I wondered to myself why someone would pose as a Coke employee. But then I remembered that when I signed up for AOL back in the mid-90s I tried to create the user account “ColonelSanders”. I planned to go into chat rooms and try to steer every conversation toward the subject of chicken. Sadly, AOL denied me the user name.)
I’m assuming that the views expressed in Eric’s comments do not necessarily reflect the views of his employer.
Comment madness! May 1, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Blogging, Loyalty Programs, Marketing.Tags: My Coke Rewards
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I can’t decide whether to close the comments (62 so far) on “You know what? Screw my Coke Rewards points” or leave it open and see where it all goes. The insane amount of attention that single post gets is annoying, but it’s also fascinating. My blog is a locus of Coke rage!
As a marketing bastard, would it be wrong of me to deprive Coke of such a wealth of customer feedback? I just wish someone from Coke would join the conversation and start answering these complaints.
Your page views are sad to me. Maybe you like sad things? Look here! April 26, 2007
Posted by Wade Rockett in Advertising, Google, Marketing, Webmastery.2 comments
When I checked the MapStats page for the Redeemer Arts and Music blog, this Google ad appeared in the sidebar:
Yes, I’m dying to see the “Saddest Thing on Internet”. Please Internet, make me sad!
