Marketing Support Inc.

	Brand Loyalty at 2
	Posted by kfisch under Brands, Mixed Nuts \| June 27th, 2011

I’ve always thought of myself as a fairly savvy shopper. I buy the name brand item, but also am not opposed to the private label brand when the price is right and the quality is good. This holds true for common grocery items like crackers, granola bars, dish soap and diapers, but also clothing…I would never buy a plain white t-shirt or tank top from Banana Republic or J. Crew when I can get 3 for the same cost at Target.

What has been amazing to me is the overwhelming brand loyalty that my 2-1/2 year old son has. No Aldi brand “Whales Cheese Crackers” for him. He refuses to eat them unless they are Pepperidge Farm Goldfish. No Archer Farms fruit strips…he only likes the Gerber fruit strips. And when it comes to his one true obsession…Thomas the Tank Engine…Mom better not try to sneak any non-”Thomas & Friends” branded trains or tracks past him. The sad little Circo train from Target sits untouched in the toy chest along with the Imaginarium engine set he got for Christmas.

The moral of this story…when you can actually get a 2-year-old to eat something and happily entertain himself for extended periods of time, you will buy the name brand item and pay more. It’s worth it’s weight in gold!

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	Advertising Meets Psychology
	Posted by nicholef under Advertising, Mixed Nuts \| June 22nd, 2011

Not only do I like quick facts about advertising, I love cool graphs and charts.
Here’s your daily dose of both. Enjoy.

The Sneaky Psychology of Advertising

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	World Champion Dallas Mavericks, Armand de Brignac Champagne and MSI
	Posted by Troy under Advertising, Brands, Design \| June 21st, 2011

Did you know that the World Champion Dallas Mavericks celebrated with Armand de Brignac Champagne? You may have seen “the ace of spades” or Armand de Brignac champagne in rap videos, print ads, or even out at the club. But, did you know MSI designed the bottle? Not bad huh?

So… if you would like to try a swig, you can pick one up a bottle at Binny’s for a cool $300!! Enjoy kids!

Now more on the Mavs celebration and Armand de Brignac:

The world’s biggest championships call for the world’s best Champagne. From baseball’s World Series to racing’s Grand Prix and now the NBA Championship, victors celebrate with Armand de Brignac. On Sunday night, the Dallas Mavericks did just that, celebrating their first Championship in grand style. Finals MVP Dirk Nowitzki, owner Mark Cuban and the rest of the Mavericks team partied at Miami’s LIV nightclub, where the team ordereed 100 bottles of Armand de Brignac Champagne. Photos and stories from the celebration are everywhere today, including ESPN, The New York Post, Forbes, Yahoo!, The Weekly World News and others, with more still to come!

Please join us in congratulating the Dallas Mavericks on their hard-earned first Championship – and applauding them on their taste in Champagne. Nothing less than the No. 1 Rated Champagne in the World will do for a new World Champion!

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	Most Biased Survey Ever?
	Posted by Brian under Research \| June 17th, 2011

In market research you can always find some bias. However, in a recent survey conducted by the North Korean government to find the world’s happiest nation, the top 5 were (drum roll please):

China
North Korea (really?)
Cuba
Venezuela
Iran

Don’t have access the questionnaire and I don’t know what attributes they used to “rate happiness”, but I have to assume it had a cultural skew. Another interesting note, the U.S. came in dead last.

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	Beyond the MiniBar
	Posted by kfisch under Marketing, Mixed Nuts \| June 2nd, 2011

In my pursuits to keep up on what’s interesting and innovative in the marketing world, I came across a hotel chain that is “literally” changing the in-room and in-restaurant dining experience.

The Morgan Hotel Group, which has hotels in MA, FL, CA, NY and London, is adding an intellectual element to its guest amenities. For example, in your hotel room mini bar, you not only can purchase the expected overpriced liquor bottles and macadamia nuts, but something for the mind, too. For $56 guest can purchase a MiniBar for the Mind which includes a deck of interesting and provocative Conversation Starters, Reading Prescriptions which contain passages designed to evoke moods of relaxation or seduction and a Dreams & Fears Notebook journal and pencil.

Additionally, to help ease the potential awkward business dinner or first date conversations, Morgan’s restaurants offer what they call a Conversation Menu. This entertaining selection of conversation prompts will ensure that table talk moves beyond the domain of the weather and the price of gas. I, for one, can recall a time a two where something like this would have come in mighty handy.

It’s nice to see a hotel chain thinking beyond the minimart and offering new constructive experiences to their guests. Is it worth the money…I’ll let you know next time I travel to MA, FL, CA, NY or London.

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	How Much Impact will Smartphones Have On Market Research?
	Posted by Brian under Marketing, Online Media, Research, interactive \| May 26th, 2011

If Nielsen estimates comes true, by the end of 2011, 50%+ of all mobile phone users will be smart phone users surpassing feature phone ownership for the first time. This means about 142 million smartphone users by the end of 2011.

And according to a recent smartphone survey conducted by Prosper Mobile Insights among smartphone users on their devices, 53% say they use all functions and basically saying…it’s their life.

So it sounds like more people just might want to engage with online surveys on their phone in the very near future vs a laptop – PC or Mac.

Do you agree?

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	First Birthdays
	Posted by jkanable under Mixed Nuts \| May 24th, 2011

So the thing weighing heavily on my mind lately is that my little girl, Elise will be turning one year old in less than a month. It’s hard to believe how quickly that time flew by.

We are currently in full swing on preparations for her 1^st birthday party. I feel that the first birthday, while insignificant to the child, is very important to not only the parents but the guests as well. Everyone who has been a part of this child’s first year of life, coming together to celebrate. There’s also a lot of pressure on the parents to make this event special. I have been scouring websites, reading up on party planning-heck, it’s been a long time since I threw a party, and NEVER for a child! What do you do during them again? How do you keep everyone entertained, etc.? There will most likely be children of all ages attending this event, how do I ensure THEY are happy and not bored out of their minds watching a one-year-old tear through presents at a snail’s pace?

We have decided to keep it small(ish), at my parent’s house, and with mostly family and just a few friends. Grandma and Grandpa have a pool, so that should keep the kids happy. Plus, a huge fenced-in backyard and TWO bathrooms-this was really a no-brainer. And they offered to host it at their place, which is a huge help!

I’m going to try not to lose my mind over the next several weeks while putting together the details. I’m sure everything will turn out fine and we’ll have a blast. It’s just the leading up to the party that puts me in such a tizzy. Throughout my daughter’s first year, my mothering instincts have taught me to go with the flow and take each day one step at a time. Party-planning should be no different. Elise won’t remember if she had an inflatable bounce house or a piñata, so why should I care? I’m sure we will have many, many demands to meet from the birthday girl in the years yet to come.

The most important thing is that we have a happy, healthy baby who we are gathered to celebrate, and that’s what matters most.

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	Toys From Our Own Backyard
	Posted by Thea under Mixed Nuts \| May 19th, 2011

Almost everyone who grew up here knows that the little red Radio Flyer Wagon from their childhood was made in Chicago.

But did they know Lincoln Logs, Operation, Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots and Beanie Babies started in Chicago as well?

Driving to work yesterday morning, I was surprised to learn just that – and that I can apparently find out a lot more at the Elmhurst Historical Museum (who knew?). “Toys in the Hood” is a new exhibit exploring the incredible role Chicago has played in the evolution of these iconic toys and games.

Check out the story on WBEZ or visit the Elmhurst Historical Museum, 120 E. Park Ave., Elmhurst. Ph: 630-833-1457, Recommended for all ages. Free admission. Hours: Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m.

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	Let’s Get Small: Part 2
	Posted by KevinF under Mixed Nuts \| May 13th, 2011

Follow-up to March 19, 2010 post

Tristan da Cunha is an island located in the south Atlantic ocean and is a little under 38 square miles in size. The island is approximently 1,700 miles to the southwest of South Africa and 2,000 miles the the east of South America. It is considered to be the most remote inhabited place in the world. Current population stands at 264.

If one wishes to travel there, you’ll need to take a 5-6 day boat trip from Cape Town, South Africa. You’ll also need to obtain permission from the Tristan da Chuna Secretary to the Administrator, stating what your purpose for visiting the island is.

Tristan da Chuna official web stie
Tristan da Chuna Wikipedia page

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In 1977 Steve Martin released the comedy album; “Let’s Get Small”. This album featured comedy hits such as: “Ramblin’ Man/Theme from Ramblin’ Man”, “Let’s Get Small”, “Excuse Me”.

In the ’70s Steve Martin hosted Saturday Night Live 8 times. During the 3rd season (1977-1978) he hosted the show twice. However, he did not host the show upon which Elvis Costello received a ban for playing an unscripted song on the night of December 17, 1977 – Martin would go on to host the next episode which aired January 21, 1978.

Costello was invited to perform on the episode after the Sex Pistols were unable to play. Costello’s record label, Columbia, wanted him to play “Less than Zero”, but he wanted to play “Radio, Radio”. After playing the first few bars of “Less than Zero”, Costello stopped the band and said: “I’m sorry, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no reason to do this song here,” he then instructed the band to play “Radio, Radio”

After the performance, Elvis was banned from SNL for 12 years – reappearing on the show in 1989.

Unfortunately, I was unable to find any video footage on the internet to accompany this post. However, it is available for viewing on the SNL 3rd season DVD or on Netflix (Go to Miskel Spillman/Elvis Costello episode in Season 3 of the The 1970s – and its near the end of that episode).

I did find a clip of when Elvis Costello sabotaged the Beasite Boys playing “Sabotage” on the 25th year anniversary show from 1999.

The Beastie Boys just released their 8th full-length studio album titled “Hot Sauce Committee Part Two” on May 3, 2011

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	Royal Wedding Phenomenon
	Posted by kfisch under Marketing, Media, Mixed Nuts \| April 27th, 2011

You’d have to live under a rock to not be aware that Prince William of England is marrying Kate Middleton on Friday, April 29th. Being a romantic, myself, and a sucker for the Royal Family, of course I will be DVR’ing the event and am looking forward to watching it. I still vividly remember watching Prince Charles marry Diana in 1981 with my mom and sister (while my dad rolled his eyes and huffed about how we were delaying leaving the house for Great America and would now be in traffic).

To me, like many, the fascination is watching the reality of every girl’s dream to marry her Prince come true. A concept marketed to us since birth by Disney. But what is surprising to me is all of the peripheral marketing going on by the 3rd parties…Royal wedding party supplies, Kate & William tea bags, a $79 commorative plate, and my favorite — must-have of the season…a $195 Kate doll. It’s amazing what a source of income this wedding is generating for businesses across the world.

This romantic is hoping that the wedding is about more than just a media frenzy and income generator. Hoping is a union between two people that love each other and will have a very happy life together.

Cheers!

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Brand Loyalty at 2

Advertising Meets Psychology

World Champion Dallas Mavericks, Armand de Brignac Champagne and MSI

Most Biased Survey Ever?

Beyond the MiniBar

How Much Impact will Smartphones Have On Market Research?

First Birthdays

Toys From Our Own Backyard

Let’s Get Small: Part 2

Royal Wedding Phenomenon

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