Happy 125th Birthday, Grandpa

Today would be my paternal grandfather's 125th birthday. Although he died before I was born, I'm learning about his life through genealogical research.

In fact, Internet entrepreneur Paul Allen, who owns a small stake in myfamily.com (parent of Ancestry.com), sees immense industry growth potential as millions of consumers worldwide log on to find their ancestors. Tapping this interest, Ancestry.com, the #1 genealogy Web site, uses the marketing technique of free limited-time trial subscriptions (plus word-of-mouth communication) to attract new members.

A few days ago, my friends Mary and Ray, genealogy enthusiasts of considerable expertise, told me about Ancestry's free trial period. Now I'm happily filling in my family tree with data about relatives going back three and four generations. So birthday greetings, Grandpa, and I'm looking forward to getting to know you.

Sailing and Sales

How many people who follow the America's Cup races are influenced by the brands shown on the yachts' sails? Sponsors often hire "brand counters" such as Arbiter to determine how much media exposure their logos receive during sports events. (For more on sponsors and the America's Cup series, see this New York Times article.)

Without question, the brand logos on the BMW Oracle Racing yacht were highly visible and received prominent media play during the semifinals last week. But does this kind of exposure always result in positive attitudes and associations? When a yacht loses, what are the repercussions for the sponsoring brands? And does significant media exposure during the America's Cup races translate into higher sales for the sponsors?

Intel Likes Light and Skinny

A B2B brand that became known in the consumer world as an "ingredient" brand (remember the "Intel Inside" campaign for its computer chips?), Intel has now made its mark in laptops. Working with Ziba Design, Intel's engineers have created the world's skinniest laptop--not even an inch thick and a featherweight 2.25 pounds, with user-friendly design details that any Mac (or iPod) lover would appreciate. Business Week has a story and slide show about this snazzy laptop, which puts design at center stage as Intel works to combat competition from rival AMD.

E-mail Signoffs as Marketing

Do you add a signature block to the end of every e-mail? If you include more than your name, address, phone/fax, and e-mail, you're using your signoff as a marketing vehicle. (My own signoff includes a link to this blog as well as to my Web site.)

Today's Wall Street Journal has an interesting article about signatures that go way beyond subtle. Here's the subhead on that article: "Re: annoying email sign-offs. Katherine Rosman on packing the 'sig' with graphics, links and logos -- and why it's about to get worse."

I've seen quotes, logos, and links at the end of e-mails, but no photos or video snippets (yet). When does a personalized signoff step over the line from subtle marketing to annoyance? A signoff with bandwidth-hogging animation/video or with sledgehammer political or religious preaching would annoy me, having the opposite effect of what the sender probably intends. Your thoughts?

Marketing Books: Do Quirky Titles Work?

Notice how quirky book titles are becoming more commonplace? In such a crowded marketplace, capturing buyer attention is increasingly difficult--therefore, quirky titles are one way to get a book noticed. But do quirky titles sell books? The answer is: sometimes.

Recently I gave a 5-star Amazon review to Your Gut Is Still Not Smarter than Your Head by Clancy and Krieg, because it's a thoughtful antidote to "blink marketing." The title is definitely quirky but the contents are not; judging by its ranking, Amazon buyers have been adding this book to their shopping carts.

I haven't read the following books but their titles are certainly evocative and intriguing:

• The No-Asshole Rule: Building a Civilized Workplace and Surviving One that Isn't (office politics - I've seen this reviewed in business publications)
• Presentation Skills for Quivering Wrecks (public speaking how-to - I found it posted on Amazon's UK site)
  

I'll add to this list as I come across more books with quirky titles.

Let the People Speak: Customer input

Dell wants to know what you and I and other PC buyers want (and don't want). At Dell IdeaStorm, you can add your thoughts about new features or extras, comment on what others have suggested, and basically help design Dell's new products. The day I visited, one idea (for which I voted) is "To have Firefox pre-installed as default browser." Why not take a moment and tell Dell what you think?

The current BusinessWeek has an excellent story about how Xerox uncovered surprising insights by listening to its customers--before building a prototype. Customer-driven marketing works.

Hello Kitty Goth, Hello Kitty Lolita

Sanrio, which markets the Hello Kitty line, offers the tamest goth/Lolita stuff on the planet. Here are a few of the items, as seen on Amazon UK. These are cell phone/USB key charms, the kind seen dangling from gadgets held by men, women, and children all over Japan. How counterculture can Hello Kitty be? Not!

Take a look at the official Sanrio site for the latest Hello Kitty permutations :)

Update on April 28: BusinessWeek noticed the Goth/Loli phenomenon and reported on how fashion marketers are testing new items on Tokyo's stylish Harajuku teens before ramping up production.

Retail marketing in Japan

Service is alive and well in Japanese department stores, where merchandise is impeccably displayed and priced to reflect the special attention. Behind the scenes, a lot is going on. For example:

• Customers of the Seibu department store in Japan can use their cell phones to check the store's fashion and beauty news, as you can see here.
• Shoppers have lots of payment options at Takashimaya, one of the leading department stores.
• Directions on how to use Mitsukoshi's digital catalogue, which is filled with thousands of items for men, women, children, and home.
• Read the blog from Hankyu department store here.
• At Sogo department store, the information desk staffers really do provide multilingual service with a smile.
  
• Finally, Isetan extends a warm welcome to foreign shoppers here.
  

Captain Santa Revisited

Captain Santa has a longer history than I thought. When singer Bobby Helms released his hit single Jingle Bell Rock in 1957, the B side was Captain Santa Claus and His Reindeer Space Patrol. Here's a link to a website where you can hear the song in all its glory. There's no marketing mystery about why this was the B side . . .

Marketing in Japan

I just got back from Japan, where many ads feature movie stars or other celebrity opinion leaders. Tommy Lee Jones is the face of "Boss" beverages on vending machines all over Tokyo, for example.

Then there's Santa Claus, the brand--instant recognition for the Captain Santa Club, a store in the middle of the busy Hiroshima shopping district. Check out the company's website. The positioning seems to be preppy clothes for active people, or at least those who like to look like they sail or play golf. Now this is one brand name that should get high recall, wouldn't you agree?