Fake Ad of the Day

Courtesy of False Advertising.
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37% of Fortune 100 companies disregard Web inquiries

This is very distressing news though not surprising as I am sure many of you have experienced that "email into the ether" feeling when sending to some sites. It really such poor form to offer a means of communications between customer and company and then not properly respond to it.

From B to B:

Bellevue, Wash.--A new study to be released Friday by International Ventures Research Ltd. found that 37% of Fortune 100 companies offered no reply to a general inquiry submitted to their Web sites. The 2002 Online Customer Respect Study of Fortune 100 Companies also found that 45% of the Web sites ask customers to opt out if they don't wish to receive unsolicited e-mails. Additionally, 15% of the sites sell customer data without seeking permission to do so.

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The Pop Up of the Sidewalk?

As reported in this article in the New York Times, the practice of sidewalk art or more precisely, sidewalk advertising seems like it is becoming the pop up of the material world. Yes, we have had outdoor advertising forever and sidewalk ads are nothing new but the acceptability of it seems to be waning.

It's no surprise really. You can't go anywhere without being bombarded with commercial messages anymore. For marketers, it is the eternal need to "cut through the clutter" Every effort is designed to insure that it will be seen by the target audience. The problem is that less and less consideration is being given to the acceptability level of these tactics and the negative effect they can have on the long term relationship with the customer.

I've said this before. Short term gains. Long term losses. It only works for a short period of time.

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Revisited: Apple Not Participating in Macworld Boston

In an earlier post I made about Apple not participating in the Macworld trade show, I was a little flip and quick in saying, "This has to be the single most idiotic decision Apple could make"

Well, John from Inluminent has set me straight with his mention of a post by John Gruber on Daring Fireball.
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