Jenny Craig has just announced their new celebrity spokesperson, and they haven’t disappointed me. But they did throw me for a loop.

Remember a few weeks back, when I wrote about the perceived marketing strategy for the Jenny Craig weight loss centers? At the time, I ruminated over the possibility that the marketing and advertising execs at Jenny Craig were either consciously or unconsciously using personas to drive the success of their celebrity spokespeople campaigns. (To read the original post, traverse…

...continue to read "Jenny Craig Does Me Proud… and Throws Me a Curveball"

With annual revenues for the weight-loss industry estimated at $60 billion a year, competition is fierce. Food-based programs like Nutri-System and Weight Watchers account for hundreds of millions of dollars, so getting the right message across to potential customers is critical.

While other companies have featured real-life success stories in their advertising, Jenny Craig has chosen another route: the celebrity spokesperson. While I’m not a big proponent of celebrities as an effective marketing tool, Jenny Craig has applied the use of…

...continue to read "How Jenny Craig Uses Personas for Successful Marketing"

I go into the garage for a hammer. On my way back into the house, I stop for a cold drink and remember that the kitchen trash needs to be taken out for tomorrow’s collection.

Dropping the can at the curb, I turn and notice that the landscaper forgot to turn on the drip irrigation system, so I trot over and flip the switch. I walk back into the house and realize that I forgot to put the cold bottle of…

...continue to read "Another Reason She May Abandon You: Hormones"

The news that Borders is considering putting itself up for sale should come as no surprise.

Although the company used last week’s announcement that they’re seeking a buyout as an opportunity to blame a tight credit market and competition from discount chains like Wal-Mart, Borders‚ disappointing performance stems from a failure to take e-commerce seriously.

For Borders not to have an exclusive online presence in this day and age boggles the mind. The homepage is a drab catchall for store locations, gift cards, and company…

...continue to read "The Demise of Borders Books: Death by Internet"

I’m old enough to have grown up in the 1960’s, which was a “you-had-to-be-there” era of civic thinking and electrifying ideas. Not since that time have I found myself as excited as I am now over the upcoming presidential election.

I’ve been making donations to all of the major campaigns (Democratic and Republican) in order to see how each system works and talks to me, and while none of them do a bad job, there’s a definite divide between how the…

...continue to read "How Barack’s Strategy Could Help You Win Customers"

Hurrah for Netflix! In a move that I hail with a standing ovation, the company has opened a customer service call desk operation that’s based in the good ol’ U. S. of A. There’s an excellent article in The New York Times with details on the company’s move to ward off hot competition from big guys like Blockbuster. No outsourcing or offshoring; the call center is housed just outside Portland, OR, and is open 24 hours a day.

But here’s the part that disappoints…

...continue to read "Has Netflix Taken a Step Back?"

...continue to read "Carrots Worth Their Weight In Gold"

When Jeffrey Eisenberg sends you an email with “Read This” in the subject heading and nothing in the message but a link, you expect it to be important. And important it was; a post titled “Should Women Be Afraid to Blog?” commenting on Kathy Sierra’s decision to cancel a keynote speech after receiving perceived death threats. I won’t go into details; if you’re interested you’ll find Kathy’s post here (WARNING: disturbing images and language abound).

I don’t know Kathy; I’ve never met her nor…

...continue to read "Women, Blogging, and Boundaries"

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of presenting a seminar on the topic of marketing to women, to the National Association of School Music Dealers. During the segment on the importance of effective websites, a participant raised his hand. “We don’t have e-commerce on our website,” he said. “If we’re not selling online, is it really important to invest in a good website?”

I could have given several answers, but with limited time, I simply presented him with one statistic.…

...continue to read "Are Websites Just for ECommerce?"

John Edwards twitters me nearly every day.

It’s not quite as provocative as it sounds. The John Edwards campaign is working hard to connect and start discussions with people through technology. Whoever is in charge of the Edwards online presidential campaign has a firm grip on the effect of social media and is workin’ it hard.

Visit Edwards’ website and prepare to be amazed. On the home page, there’s a large section titled, “Connect With the Campaign,” which gives visitors a choice of…

...continue to read "Technology and the 2008 Presidential Campaign"