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The life-size cardboard cut-out of Edward stopped me in my tracks as I walked the aisles at Toy Fair in New York this week.  ‘Twilight’ was one of the newer licenses dotting booths at the annual toy industry show.  Mattel has cast the Twilight stars - Edward and Bella - as Barbie dolls.  Mattel also unveiled the newest Barbie career dolls: News Anchor Barbie and Computer Engineer Barbie, as voted by fans and getting good buzz at the show.

Anniversaries were another dominant theme at Toy Fair: Etch a Sketch and Slinky celebrate their 50th and 65th (wow, I’m old!); Hello Kitty is 35; and Hasbro introduced a round Monopoly game board in honor of Monopoly’s 75th.   The makers of Rubik’s Cube (a 360 client), which turns 30 in 2010, have rolled out a campaign to empower America’s youth to solve the cube - check out the Rubik’s Facebook page we just set up for the You Can Do the Cube campaign.  You CAN do it!

Our friends at the Toy Book were offering to tweet show news for exhibitors.  Simply stop by Toy Book’s booth at the Javits with your 140 characters and the editors will tweet it out.  Social media made even easier.  You can read all the tweets from the show at #toyfair.

Looking at the appointment schedules our teams booked up for clients, it was striking just how many more bloggers made it to the show this year.  That added some welcomed immediacy and a real-parent perspective to the Toy Fair news stream.  (Love to read your post if you want to leave a link here.)

And here’s one of my favorite Toy Fair images - one that caught the attention of FOX Busiiness - the New York City skyline sculpted out of Bendaroos (a 360 client):

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Industry Organizations, PR Industry, Retail by LauraTomasetti - 4 Comments →

There’s a lot of confusion about the new rules governing how brands can run contests and sweepstakes on Facebook.  We dug into the rules with help from  360PR friend Susan Getgood, and we’re happy to share our learnings in this post.

Get Your Contest Approved.

The most important thing to know is that all promotions administered on Facebook must be approved in writing by Facebook at least seven days before the start of the contest (advice: try to give two weeks notice to Facebook.)

If you are just promoting your contest, and all the action (entries) take place elswhere, you do NOT need approval from Facebook, but you should also not mention Facebook at all. Our advice is to put a notice on the Tab page announcing the contest that says “this promotion is solely sponsored by (insert your brand or company name here).”

If you are administering the contest on Facebook there are very specific rules and prohibitions including specific language that you must include on the entry form and in the rules. The entry form and official rules must include acknowledgement that Facebook is not involved, a signed release from each entrant, and a company contact for questions from contestants (so Facebook will not be contacted.)  Here are the other important Do’s and Dont’s.

What you CAN’T do

• Run a promo that targets individuals under the age of 18
• Promote gambling, tobacco, firearms, prescription drugs and gasoline
• Offer any of the above as prizes
• Offer dairy as a prize
• Run a sweepstakes that conditions the entry upon purchase or completion of a lengthy task
• You cannot condition entry to the promotion upon taking any action on Facebook, such as updating a status, posting on a profile or page, or uploading a photo (on standard FB areas). Rather, contests must send users to a custom app box in a tab or pop-up window to enter the contest
• Finally, no promotion can use any Facebook messaging mechanism (wall post, chat, message, poke, etc.) to administer the contest or alert winners. Winners must be alerted by email. You can promote the winners on the Facebook wall.

What you CAN do

• Post an announcement about a contests/sweeps on the wall; you just can’t administer it through the wall.
• Administer the contest on your website or on a Facebook tab.
• Run a photo contest in which a user uploads a photo or video through a third-party app to enter the contest.
• You can make being a fan a condition of entering a contest - by not displaying the tab to non-fans, or providing notice that you must be a fan to enter.  BUT, becoming a fan cannot be an automatic mode of entry. That is explicitly prohibited.
• You can instruct visitors to your page to visit the tab/third-party app to enter the promo and they will be prompted for their Facebook account to access the contest. If they don’t have one, they will be prompted to sign up.

Even with the new rules, we’re seeing many fun and engaging brand contests and sweepstakes on Facebook. Here are two examples of brands with great viral mojo doing contests on Facebook (and following the new rules.)

[Read more →]

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Social Media by CindyGordon - 10 Comments →

As I have finally conquered the hundreds of e-mails that awaited my return from a week in Las Vegas at CES, I have a moment to reflect on some of the things that struck me about this tradeshow in particular.  This was the first CES that I have attended (though I had plenty of 360PR vets to show me around), and I can assure all who have not been there that the hype is real.  CES consists of massive show floors that stretch across three different convention halls, hundreds of meeting rooms, and spills out to hotel suites all across the city - it is certainly far too much for one person to take in on their own.

Source: www.pcper.com

TWICE Magazine reported that the attendance of the first two days of CES was 112,515, which broke the forecast for the entire show.  In addition, this number was nearly 15,000 more attendees after two days than the previous year - perhaps a positive sign for 2010.  As a PR guy walking the show floor, it was awesome to see so much energy around some of the coolest products I have ever seen.  Some show product trends included tablets, e-readers, 3-D TV’s, and green tech, but there was certainly enough (something like 20,000 products were launched) to keep any techie salivating for days.

In particular, the media energy caught my attention, possibly because they were out in full force.  I was intrigued by the delight of the editors from Popular Mechanics as they handed out their CES Editor’s Choice Awards on Thursday (which Oregon Scientific, a 360 client, was fortunate enough to win).  It was clear that they were just as excited about the awards as they were handing out as were the companies who accepted them.

I first saw evidence of the media excitement at CES Unveiled, which was an event a couple nights before the start of CES.  I staffed a table at Unveiled and was one of the people that was nearly bowled over by the swarms of media that lined up, patiently waiting to get into the ballroom at the Venetian to see what companies had to offer.  From some of the largest media outlets to the smallest tech product review sites, journalist after journalist stopped at our table with a smile and said, “What’s new?!”  These two words, combined with their visible enthusiasm, exemplified just how jazzed these same people who I pitch all year round were to be at one of the greatest tradeshows in the world.  And I was happy to be there with them.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences by JohnLeRoy - 1 Comment →

Part two of two in our year-end social media recap touches on the more serious side of our evolving online landscape. We hope you enjoy! Let’s get started…

5.  Newspapers Move to Online-Only, Embrace Social Media Back in September, 360PR’s own John LeRoy wrote about the end of the Ann Arbor News’ print publication, and throughout 2009, many newspapers followed suit, moving to publishing their content strictly online and incorporating social media functionality.  Along with the recession came widespread newsroom cuts, and while many papers folded altogether, others can only be found now by visiting the web. Whether you embrace the change or miss the sound of a daily paper landing on your doorstep, the move to online-only is here.

4.  Rise of Mobile Apps If you’re an iPhone lover or a Blackberry devotee, you can’t deny the ease and convenience the downloadable applications that are essential to these smart phones bring.  With the click of a key or the touch of an icon, you can find the nearest gas station, read restaurant recommendations, check out times for movie showings, and much, MUCH more.  Running late for the airport?  There’s an app. that allows you to check the status of your flight. 

3.  Live Stream Presidential Inauguration Not only did 2009 see a new, African-American president in the White House, America saw his inauguration unfold in real-time online.  Courtesy of CNN, those unable to obtain a ticket to the inauguration were able to watch every second from the comfort of their own home.  January 20, 2009 was an extremely historic day in more ways than one.

2.  Moms Online  Nielsen recognized the power of moms’ online presence and released “The Power Mom 50,” 50 of the most influential moms on the ‘net (though Nielsen’s list left off some biggies), and the FTC implemented new rules guiding interactions between brands and bloggers (largely driven by the increase of sponsored content on mom blogs).  Meanwhile, Oprah recognized the importance of moms online when she Skype’d in mom bloggers from across the country in an April episode ‘The Secret Lives of Moms.’ 

1.  Brands and Social Media If you’re a Facebook or Twitter user, you’re likely connected with a few brands online. Jet Blue (@JetBlue,) Comcast (@comcastcares) and Whole Foods (@wholefoods) were among the most followed on Twitter this year.  Top brands on Facebook included Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Disney. But with more brands competing for valuable online space, it will be tricky breaking through the clutter. Starting with a solid fan base will help, but providing the online community with “insider” knowledge and unique insights is what will really make a brand stand out in 2010.

Happy New Year!

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Media and Press, Social Media by SkyeMcIntyre - No Comments →

In honor of Sesame Street’s 40th anniversary in 2009, I thought I’d cap off the year with the Letter of the Day - make that Letter of the Year.  By my guestimation, the letter E was the hardest working letter in the alphabet in 2009 - used in ads, on packaging and in press releases countless times as marketers described their products as having “eco” qualities or making our lives ”easy,” or used “e” to indicate “electronic.”   No doubt D, G and O ranked high as well, for Digital, Green and Obama.

What were some of the other trends in 2009?  Many of us will remember ‘09 as the year of the budget.  The way we talk to consumers (mass-market consumers anyway) has forever changed.  Features are nice, but price was the deciding factor for most in 2009, and marketers worked hard to cast price in the broader context of “value.”

There’s no arguing with features that don’t cost much, in some cases are free, and make our daily routines easier.  For that reason, 2009 was also the year of the app.  Is there anything we cannot do a little better or faster today without the help of an iPhone (or Blackberry) app?  There’s even a site dedicated to apps for moms, The iPhone Mom.

In 2009, the world - or at least a good 40 million of us - learned to think in headlines, something marketers have always been good at.  Twitter opened the floodgate on one-liners, and personalities like Heather Armstrong (Dooce) and Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh amassed audiences rivaling some magazines and double, triple, ten-fold the readership of many newspapers.

Meanwhile, The New York Times cut nearly 10% of its staff, while several magazines - some still thick with ads like Gourmet and Cookie - turned their last pages.  With traditional media on the run, bloggers took center stage and the FTC took notice, with new rules guiding interactions between marketers and bloggers.  Those who attended the swag-fest that was BlogHer ‘09 welcome the formalized rules, a sign blogs are graduating from their teen years to a more mature media channel.

Perhaps least interesting to me in 2009 were the so-called “news” stories that dominated airwaves (and Twitter and Facebook), like “Balloon Boy” and “Kate and Jon,” so painfully familiar to us they don’t need last names.  Those were two of The Today Show’s “Top 10 stories of 2009″ over the weekend, a list I imagine was developed purely for ratings.  I hope.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Media and Press, Social Media by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

I had the pleasure of moderating an informative panel of leading brands and bloggers in the parenting space at last month’s Marketing 2 Moms conference.  We’ve edited the two-hour session down to a 13-minute podcast, packed with tips and insights – worth a listen as you’re building your 2010 campaigns and considering how to initiate or extend your work with bloggers.

eMarketer reports that there are 34 million moms online and that may very well be a conservative estimate – we’ve seen numbers as high as 40+ million moms online.  And as parenting books such as Child, Wondertime and Cookie have ceased publication, hundreds more mom bloggers have begun posting.  There’s no denying it, blogs are a legitimate part of the mom media mix today – especially if you want to reach the connected, influencer-moms who have the power to word-of-mouth your brand.  But with more bloggers and brands jumping in, the environment is cluttered, and communications needs to be on point to break through and resonate with bloggers and their readers.

Moreover, with the FTC Guides taking effect 12/1, brands need to be diligent with their monitoring – making sure what is played back is accurate and any material relationships are clearly disclosed. We all have lots at stake – brands, bloggers and, most of all, readers.  Here’s what the experts at M2Moms had to say:

“Blogger relations should be about “quality over quantity…what [bloggers] say is more important than the numbers.” – Lesley Hettinger, General Motors Corp

“The intimate conversations are so much more valuable…it’s not about building an army, but an influential group of advisors and advocates…you really have to look at the long tail.” – Jeannine Harvey, PBS

“To me, it’s always about the added value…brands need to be able to provide added value” when working with bloggers and their audiences. – Kristin Brandt, Manic Mommies

“Blogs are such a personal experience for the reader…it’s really important that everything on that page be reflective of who we are.” – Liz Gumbinner, Cool Mom Picks & Blog with Integrity

“We want to get to know moms on a 1:1 basis.  We’re always reading blogs and looking at what bloggers are talking about on Twitter.”  - Marcia Hansen, Allstate Insurance Company

“I feel better about a brand if they have a presence on Twitter.  But the most important thing is to have someone monitoring…you have to have someone interacting with your customers.” – Beth Blecherman, Silicon Valley Moms Group

For more, listen to the M2Moms Brands & Blogs podcast below. A BIG thanks to Kristin Brandt for recording the session and to Susan Getgood for her masterful editing!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Marketing to Moms, Parenting, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

The key take-away for me at this week’s Marketing to Moms conference was about story-telling. Not story-telling by advertisers or PR people - not the campaigns and messages that are pushed out. I’m talking about the stories created by the millions of consumers on YouTube, Facebook and other social sites.

With the increasing amount of user-generated content online, one of the best things brands can do is sit back and take it all in. Then, after looking and listening, figure out how to choreograph the content that’s already out there into a meaningful brand dance - the kind of raucous dance you see at Greek and Jewish weddings.

Coca-Cola is doing it. One of the best, most compelling presentations at M2Moms was by Wendy Clark, SVP of Integrated Marketing at Coca-Cola, who held a can of Diet Coke in her hand from the start to the end of her presentation (maybe not surprising, but as Clark talked about authenticity and brand fans, that Coke can seemed to add even more street cred).

Clark talked about seeking opportunities for collaboration and co-creation, tapping into the people who are telling your story. And that doesn’t mean people have to be literally talking about your brand. More often than not, it’s going to be a story that gets at the essence of what your brand has to offer (healthy living or more family time, for example).

“We need to integrate consumer ideas into the way we’re going to the marketplace, and use digital as an enabler,” said Clark.  She wasn’t talking about the usual consumer research or the traditionally linear process in developing campaigns.  As she talked, she pulled up random search results for “Coke” on Google.

What are people finding when they search for your brand (or a related topic)? How can you contribute to the conversation?  How can you “curate” what’s already there?  “The shift has happened - advertising doesn’t seem to capture what we do any more. We spend a lot of time talking about community marketing,” Clark said.  Marketers need to “be open to a model that bypasses traditional stages.”

Clark shared that her PR team is playing an active role in beating the social media drum at Coca-Cola.  “Our PR team has been our best friend,” she said. At the core, I believe good PR people are about two things: story-telling + relationship-building. We’ve got “the right stuff” for this new social media world. Now, we just need to listen a little more to the stories already being told in order to help write the next chapter for the brands we work with and the communities they want to be part of.

While at M2Moms, I “curated” a panel of brands and bloggers who are working together. Kristin Brandt of Manic Mommies, who was on the panel, was kind enough to record the session and we’ll be posting the audio here next week.  Meantime, you can scan some of the insights and soundbites from this week’s Marketing to Moms conference on Twitter, #m2moms.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Events and Conferences, Food & Beverage PR, Internet, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by LauraTomasetti - 5 Comments →

For the past 48 years, The Hatch Awards, hosted by the Ad Club, have been New England’s premier creative awards show.  Over 1200 entries are reviewed by a dozen judges - high-ranking creative executives from outside the New England area.  Awards are presented across 32 categories including every kind of media possible.

As part of the Ad Club’s PR Committee, 360PR attended the show on Tuesday night…and was blown away (props to Boston University’s drum corps)!

Hatch Awards 2009

I serve on the Ad Club PR Committee and one of the things we try to do is to cast a light on the young, diverse creative ad biz in Boston – the industry has moved well beyond the bygone “Mad Men” era.  This year, we invited some special guests to attend — some leading bloggers from the Boston area.  As we all know, mom bloggers are the movers and shakers of the world — they can topple brands or create success stories in the blink of an eye.  In fact, U.S. moms say 80% of ads miss the mark (via M2Moms).  But experts say that we can improve those results by using social media to create online communities and brand advocates. 

We also set up a hash tag for bloggers and members of the Hatch audience to follow.  Over the course of the evening, there were over 70 Twitter status updates using #AdClub.  The following local bloggers in attendance driving the conversation were:

• Christy Matte, More than Mommy (http://morethanmommy.com/) 
• Nirasha Jaganath, Mommy Niri (http://www.mommyniri.com/) 
• Susan Getgood, Marketing Roadmaps (http://getgood.com/roadmaps/) 
• Jennifer Leal, Savor the Thyme (http://savorthethyme.blogspot.com/) 

Some of the gold bowl recipients were Arnold’s picturesque FootJoy print ads (something any golf fanatic would love) in the Consumer Magazine Spread category, Mullen’s hilarious Boston Bruins national TV spots (my personal favs), and Hill Holliday’s sobering Liberty Mutual TV spots.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Blogger Relations, Boston, Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Marketing to Moms, Social Media by MikeRush - No Comments →

This past weekend, I happened to catch the latest Halloween installment of one of my all-time favorite brand advertisements - - Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. 

I am intrigued by how some brands are able to run with the one marketing strategy for years and still induce the exact same feeling among some consumers that it did a decade ago.  I can still picture a younger me sitting in front of the TV watching these commercials and wondering, “What kind of bite are they going to take out of the peanut butter cup this time?”  Whether it was the vampire teeth marks or the current Jack-o-Lantern carved out of the peanut butter cup, the Reese’s ads provide a sense of nostalgia for me and, I would imagine, many others.

While the brand has moved away from its catchy 90’s slogan, “There’s no wrong way to eat a Reese’s,” it appears as though the ad execs still see value in the visuals that they used to build brand awareness a decade ago.  As they say, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

Now, Reese’s (which happens to have a really fun website) isn’t the only brand that has come full-circle, back to their roots with a “What’s Old is New Again,” approach to marketing and/or PR.  Just think about perennials like the Budweiser Clydesdales or the Coca-Cola Polar Bears. What other brands have you seen look to the past for a PR/marketing campaign or what brands do you think this strategy might work for?

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Food & Beverage PR by JohnLeRoy - 2 Comments →

It’s September and summer vacation’s clearly over.  Most of us have it engrained from the day we start kindergarten, backpacks on and lunchboxes in hand, that September means business.  This September’s no exception - and we’re thankful for that.

In one week at 360, we’ve had three client events spanning a range of product categories:  an event to introduce Stonyfield Farm’s YoBaby Meals featuring Stonyfield CE-Yo Gary Hirshberg and Boston Mama’s Christine Koh; a car seat safety briefing by Dorel Juvenile Group at the ABC KIDS Expo (#abckids on Twitter); and, a Snuggie fashion show during Fashion Week emceed by Ross “The Intern” Mathews from The Tonight Show.

A model wears one of the new Snuggie designs on the runway during Fall Fashion Week in New York.

We have two more events and multiple tours still to come this month, and we’re just one agency.  Multiply that by hundreds of agencies and brands with launches planned in September.  Imagine being a reporter or blogger on the receiving end of it all?  In fact, we’re hearing from bloggers that they’re being inundated with invitations – increasingly, it’s gotta be something pretty special to pull them out these days.

And at ABC Kids Expo in Las Vegas, editors from the leading parenting books were moving at a rapid clip, covering more ground with fewer staff.  Some were breathless.  It was interesting to see traditional media outnumbered by bloggers, and refreshing to see marketers spending after a cautious start to the year.

If September’s any indication, it’s going to be a noisy fall.  And it seems consumers are finally ready to listen – especially if the price is right!

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, Events and Conferences, Media and Press, PR Industry by LauraTomasetti - No Comments →

The Summer issue of our MomSquad Trendletter is out and I keep meaning to post the link here in case you’re not a Trendletter subscriber.  It’s a particularly good issue if I may say so, with a great line up of content and contributors, including:

• What’s happening with Dad Blogs, a piece contributed by Christy Matte of About.com’s Family Computing blog and her own blog, More Than Mommy;
• Boston Mamas’ Christine Koh’s report from BlogHer with tips for brands interacting with bloggers;
• Going beyond blogs to forums such as the Mom Bloggers Club to reach powerful networks of influencers, by Clarissa Nassar, a.k.a. The Posh Parent; and
• A look at what’s on the mind of PTA moms as back-to-school time approaches, written by PTA Mom Anisa Raoof, editor at Rhode Island-based Kidoinfo.

We’d love your feedback if you get a chance to link over and read the current issue!

Filed under: Blogger Relations, Consumer Marketing, Digital PR, Marketing to Moms, Parenting by LauraTomasetti - 1 Comment →

What would Chuck Norris do?  Or, as many of us at 360PR asked on Friday, how would MC Hammer reinvent something, or Donald Trump improve efficiency?

Our agency participated in a hands-on professional development session on Friday (courtesy of The Loeb Group) that focused on “Tools to Boost Our Individual & Collaborative Creativity” — and there were plenty of tactile toys and doohickeys supplied to prime the pump.

PR practitioners are generally quick, creative thinkers. But foosball tables and yoga balance balls aside, creativity is not simply a byproduct of an office’s environment.

Filed under: 360 Public Relations, Consumer Marketing, PR Industry by MikeRush - 2 Comments →

We just posted a new issue of our MomSquad Trendletter. If you’re still tinkering with your summer marketing plan, there are some great insights gleaned from 360’s MomSquad members. From New England to Georgia, Chicago and out to the West Coast, moms say they’re staying close to home this summer, an opportunity for brands with an angle on backyard fun and budget-friendly activities for the whole family.

“Even though we don’t have any major plans, I’m excited for the summer,” comments Laura Often of North Grafton, Mass. “The summer gives us more options - ice cream runs, the pool, picnics, the beach and just being able to play outside makes the days better.”

Among summer vacation travel trends identified by the 360PR MomSquad:

• Families are planning shorter, drive-to trips.
• Day trips to local attractions - from beaches, parks and museums - top the list of destinations.
• If staying overnight, most will be bunking with family and friends taking advantage of built-in babysitters.
• Those planning a staycation say they’re saving their money now to be able to eat some meals out this summer.
• Top purchases will include GPS systems, grills (and the usual accompaniments) and outdoor toys.

And before they go anywhere, moms will head online.”We make sure to look things up online before going to find any coupons for activities or places to eat,” says Missouri mom Courtney Foster. “You can go on a great vacation and spend about the same you would at home if you plan ahead and look for deals.”

Deal Seeking Mom is one of my personal favorites. For deals on summer groceries, be sure to check out the web site of your local supermarket before hopping in the car. 360 client Stop & Shop posts their weekly circular and other deals online, and our Peapod (grocery delivery) client lets you sort your virtual cart and list for items on sale that you may want to stock up on. (Don’t forget to pick up some Ball jars to store everything!)

“And just because school is out doesn’t mean the learning stops. I try to have some educational aspect of our vacations - I’m looking for ways that my children can have fun and learn something,” says Anita Doberman, a military mom in Georgia.

For more MomSquad summer insights, checkout the Trendletter.

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Marketing to Moms, Parenting, Pitch tips by LauraTomasetti - 1 Comment →

"Give me back that Filet o’ Fish.  Give me that fish!"

The new McDonald’

s commercial is the latest in recent popularity on commercials using a little musical comedy to grab the attention of viewers.

If any of you are like me, you get a kick out of a well put-together musical commercial.  But I’m not talking about the Wrigley’s commercials of old, featuring twins singing “Double your pleasure, double your fun.”

I’m talking about the new wave of hilarious, yet so simple, ads that create quite the buzz on the Internet.  These quick lyrical parodies, such as my new Filet o’

Fish favorite, spread like wildfire online and further prove the importance of web video these days.  And since most of these ads are created for paid TV placements, viral success is frosting on the cake, adding value to these videos that once was not possible.

Here are my Top 5 musical commercial picks from recent memory:

1) McNuggets Rappers

2) FreeCreditReport.com Renaissance Fair

3) iPod Touch

4) Nextel Gets Down

5) E*Trade Singing Baby

What are yours?

Filed under: Consumer Marketing, Social Media by JohnLeRoy - 4 Comments →

We’ve addressed the topic of marketing to men, specifically dads, on the 360PR blog before (see Laura’s blog post “The Dad Factor” ) and, yesterday Advertising Age published a somewhat related article about marketing to men that caught my eye. Not only does the author, Abigail Posner, encourage companies to reach out to this relatively untapped consumer group, but she emphasizes the importance of reaching men especially in a tough economic climate.

Women make 80% of the buying decisions in all homes, so when marketing a product used in the home, it seems logical to stick to the tried and true and reach women. However, Posner argues that “Tough economic times demand innovation to motivate people to buy. And bringing men into the marketing equation doesn’t just give you a larger group of consumers; it means a new set of benefits, a new story to tell and even new product ideas.”

[Read more →]

Filed under: Consumer Marketing by StephanieShih - 1 Comment →