Marketing

Lecrae’s Unconventional Approach

2024-09-27T21:23:04-05:00October 28th, 2024|Tags: , , |

The music artist, Lecrae, stated in an interview on essence.com that he faced significant challenges in his early years finding any recording companies to sign him. The Christian studios told Lecrae that his music was too edgy, while the secular studios said his music was too Christian.  This drove Lecrae to a more unconventional approach of launching his own business ...

Hidden Fees

2024-08-09T11:12:53-05:00August 26th, 2024|Tags: , , |

If you’ve ever rented a vacation home, you’ve probably experienced the lack of price transparency. You see a reasonable nightly charge, only to discover that as you go through the process, they begin adding hidden service charges and cleaning fees.  Last month, the state of California passed a law that requires more transparency in lodging and restaurant fees. The ...

The Bean Counters Strike Again

2024-08-09T12:43:07-05:00June 25th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Recently, I scheduled a morning meeting at Panera’s restaurant with a vendor. Since I don’t drink coffee, I typically order hot chocolate.  However, the clerk informed me that management recently discontinued serving hot chocolate. As a financial guy, I understand limiting the number of products you serve to enhance profitability.   However, I wonder if management researched the other implications ...

Another Corporate Misstep

2024-03-22T23:12:18-05:00April 12th, 2024|Tags: , , |

After Bud Light’s misstep of spotlighting a transgender spokesperson, you’d think that most corporations would avoid making the same mistake. But recently, Doritos headed down the same path.  Doritos Spain featured a transgender singer who supposedly had made past inflammatory and sexualized comments that were offensive to many Doritos customers. The backlash was swift as many conservative posts called for ...

The Cost of Spontaneous Words

2024-08-09T20:11:27-05:00March 27th, 2024|Tags: , , |

As the world’s richest man, Elon Musk’s tweets are watched closely. Last fall he forwarded someone’s tweet that many claimed was antisemitic. He endorsed the tweet by commenting, “You have said the actual truth.”  Musk only wrote six words, but those words cost his company, X, an estimated $75 million in advertising. Musk eventually apologized, but the cost for ...

Most Trusted Institution: Small Business

2024-03-01T19:44:43-06:00March 12th, 2024|Tags: , , |

Surprisingly, there’s one thing Republicans and Democrats agreed on recently; the impact small businesses have on America. When research firm, Gallup, asked about which institutions have the greatest positive impact on American society, small businesses won hands down.  85% of survey respondents named small business as having the most positive impact on society, beating out churches, the military, and large ...

Black Friday Messaging

2023-11-02T20:57:22-05:00November 24th, 2023|Tags: , , |

In the 1950s, the Philadelphia police referred to the day after Thanksgiving as Black Friday, due to all the people starting their Christmas shopping. A negative day for police, however, became a great day financially for merchants.   Eventually, marketing savvy merchants became concerned about attaching a negative term like Black Friday to their best sales day. These merchants changed the ...

Misusing God’s Name

2023-11-02T20:25:57-05:00November 21st, 2023|Tags: , , |

Many years ago, my old Malibu needed some work. I found a car repair business in a Christian directory that had a fish symbol in their advertisement. I gave them a try.   It was a horrible experience. Their level of incompetence was staggering.  When I challenged the owner, as a fellow Christian, to make it right, the owner laughed and ...

Go to Top