Writing on his weblog, "Wouldn't that be ironic? A promotion intended to bring in new customers, actually causes customers to leave," Jodster describes a TD Canada Trust "EasySwitch" promotion that rewards new customers with a free iPod Shuffle. Jodster points out this promotion, like many others, penalizes those who are already customers because they are ineligible for the prize. While these customer base expansion campaigns are common, at times, they can be interpreted as discounting, for no good reason, a person who has been a loyal customer for a long time. Perhaps, marketers in situations like this should consider creating an equally compelling offer for existing customers so they won't leap to the the next best offer that pops up.
Today, Snapple attempted to break the existing Guinness World Record for the "World's Largest Ice Pop" by building a two and a half story, 24-feet tall, 5-feet wide and 5-feet thick, 20-ton kiwi strawberry-flavored, edible Snapple on Ice pop in New York City's Union Square. Unfortunately, it's a bit hot today for anything to stay frozen for long so there's Snapple juice running all over union square north. Reportedly, it stinks to high heaven and the cops have been called in as well as the fire department. The Guiness Book of World Records was there but all they got were pictures of melted Snapple all over the road.
Our man on the street, Bucky Turco, reports "a very angry, but cute promotion girl who was supposed to tell people to 'watch their step' as they cross the Snapple river instead was telling me, 'Cant you ask me before you take my picture.' My response, 'can you not wreck my streets with a big smelly ice dildo?'"
See the insanity here in our photo album of the event.
UPDATE: Brilliance prevails from the mouth of Lauren Radcliffe, Snapple spokeswoman on the scene, who told Newsday, "Maybe we should have done it on New Year's Eve."
And, just so it's clear who reported this story first :-)
To promote is cool, new convertible, the Pontiac Solstice, GM is hosting a concert tonight featuring Citizen Cope, The Vacation and Kinky. An email from someone, obtained by Gawker, promoting the event to a New York media outlet said, "It's a bi-coastal marketing/entertainment program that does include a partnership with Maximonline.com and additional programs on Pontiac.com. The event is in Times Square with a VIP party/homebase set up at The Whiskey Bar in the W Hotel. I can't reveal all of the information at this time, but it is a strong story that would be worth your reporter's time." OK. We'll take your word for it.
If you're interested in the rest of the PR-foolery whereby PR specialist attempts to tease media without giving good reason why media should cover the event, check out the Gawker article.
The Race to the Tour Blog, sponsored by Subaru, is running The Race to The Tour Sweepstakes which offers a chance to win a cycling trip through France, plus blog live about the Tour de France. So all you blogger wannabes, here's your chance. Of course, it would be easier to just start a blog of your own.
Two winners of the contest will get week long, gratis trip to the Tour de France with Trek Tours. Once there, contest winners get a Nokia 6630 phone and a Nokia SU-8W Bluetooth keyboard to do mobile blogging from the Tour de France.
The promotion and blog were created by R/GA.
GoE is North Dakota's blend of ethanol blended fuel. Since ethanol is made from corn, a renewable resource, it's said to be more earth friendly and reduces dependence on foreign oil according to proponents. The high-end blend, called E85, is made from 85% ethanol and is believed to be more economical yet only some newer vehicles can use it.
To promote this the fuel, ad agency Sundog sent a group of guys on a roadtrip around the state to meet-and-greet the residents, educate people on the benefits of ethanol and offer to fill up the tanks of individuals who happen to pull up to GoE pump at the gas station. Their trip is chronicled in a blog and photogallery here.
Animal Magazine publisher Bucky Turco made his way out to the Palms Resort in Las Vegas for the unveiling of the official HBO Entourage suite. Turco reports, "This branded suite on the 51st floor of the Palms boasts a black-jack table, comes pre-stocked with: Absolut and Jack Daniels, Ben Sherman gear, and two Xbox's playable on large flat screen TV's. Additionally whoever checks into the Entourage suite gets keys to a Mercedes M-Class SUV, massages, and a complimentary Motorola razor phone. To kick off the promotion HBO brought in the whole cast and lots of scantily dressed ladies. This ultimate bachelor pad is available for the next 6 months, groupies not included." Check out images from the event here.
To promote the upcoming Disney movie, Chicken Little, Boston-based marketing firm, ALT TERRAIN, enlisted 30 artists/influencers to transform unpainted vinyl Chicken Little characters into anything the artists chose for a bi-coastal gallery show and online auction. The first show was held May 19 at Meltdown in Los Angeles. The second show will be held June 16 at 360 Toy Group in New York. Check out some of the artists' work here.
 Watch Ass, Win Undewear Somehow tying thongs to increased television viewership (oh, wait, that's brilliant!), Oxygen Network has launched The Great American Underwear Giveaway which consists of a video, called "Peeping Thongs," featuring a bunch of girls walking around in public wearing thongs which ride well above the waistline of their purposely low slung pants all to grab the attention of stunned onlookers. Supposedly, there's a male version coming called, Girls Behaving Badly: Revenge of the Boys. Please, God, use your powers to spare the world from images of men prancing around the streets in thongs causing old ladies to have hearts attacks and the rest of us to publicly puke our guts out. We know men didn't wear much back in the day but for the love of Brad Pitt in a Troy skirt, have mercy on our poor souls.
 Worthy of Martha Stewart? While walking to work a few days ago in New York City, one of our informants, while on his way to his favorite coffee shop, Soy Lock Club near Jane and Greenwich, noticed the place had been transformed into something called the Tassimo Bar. After taking a few pictures of the crowd and noting the presence of earpiece-clad production assistants, it became clear this was more than your typical marketing promotion. As it turns out, he was told by one of the less guarded PA's, "This is a segment for the Martha Stewart Apprentice Show." So, it seems, Tassimo will be one of the product placement sponsors for an episode of the show.
As our informant left the "Tassimo Bar," having grabbed his free coffee and macaroon, he noticed a bum walking out with a cup of coffee and snapped a picture capturing the odd juxtaposition of a hipster wannabe promotion with a man that just looking for something to drink. As soon as he took the picture, he was swarmed by a "mob of women with ear pieces," one of which barked, "Sir, I need you to erase that image you just took." It seems the Martha Stewart PA's didn't want their pristine scene tarnished by that of a poor guy just trying to get something to drink. Oh, the horror! The Martha Stewart brand tarnished by a bum. We look forward to the Donald Trump voice over-like disclaimer for this episode which will read, "Despite previous negative publicity, Martha Stewart nor Tassimo harbor any ill will toward the homeless and are pleased to announce the founding of the Martha Stewart/Tassimo homeless coffee fund which will support the caffeine needs of New York's homeless population."
Wallow further in the drama, including images of the PA attempting to block the camera, in this image gallery.
Somehow attempting to relate Internet security with Batman, Symantec has struck a tie-in deal with the producers of the upcoming Batman movie. Perhaps there's a plot tie in but, for us, we agree with flickr user Jagger, Batman was always more about kicking freaked out uber-criminal ass. I mean it's not like Norton Utilities or Symantec AntiVirus really comes to mind here.
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