The Spin Within

Ok...so I looked at the pie weights too...

About a month ago, I blogged about the fact that, after clicking through an email regarding a sale on the Kitchenaid Professional 610 Stand Mixer, Williams-Sonoma reached out to me, thanking me for my interest and offering links to more information.  At the time, I was impressed (though mildly freaked out by the “big brother-ness”) that they were tracking their emails so thoroughly as to reach out to people who had shown a particular interest in a product.

Now, a month later, … Continue Reading

If Macy’s isn’t carrying enough of your size, it isn’t for lack of trying.

The department store chain, which has long sought to perfect the art and science of inventory management, plans to install RFID technology at all of its U.S. stores by late 2012. This technology, more cumbersomely known as radio frequency identification technology, will enable Macy’s to track and replenish all products by size, color and style.

RFID involves chips that are inserted into products so that merchants can better track when they enter the back of the store and when … Continue Reading

Why are the Jews not at work today?  It’s Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish New Year that never happens on the same day from year to year.  Confused?  Give me three minutes and let Uncle Jay explain how it works:

Including, now, for your loved ones who have lost their job. With the unemployment rate holding steady at 9 percent, Hallmark says that by issuing these cards, they are simply meeting customer demand.

“They sent us letters. They phoned it in. They asked their retailers, you know, in their neighborhood, where do I find a card that says this?” Hallmark Creative Director Derek McCracken told NPR.

Here’s an example of some of the cards:

“Life isn’t fair.” — “You didn’t cause this. You don’t deserve this. You simply have to … Continue Reading

867-5309, 867-53 oh-nah-eeh-ah-ine.

Anyone of a certain age recalls this infamous phone number from the Tommy Tutone hit of the 1980s, Jenny (867-5309).

One of the lyrics of the song is, You give me something I can hold onto. That’s basically what PR reps are forever saying to their clients. Give us a number we can hold onto. Anyone in the business knows we’re caught in the middle of a challenging numbers game. Reporters demand numbers for their stories, clients are loathe to part with them. How much is a deal worth? How … Continue Reading

You had to know it would only be a matter of time…

Not long after Ben & Jerry’s introduced their newest flavor, Schweddy Balls, there are moms out there demanding a boycott of  the offending flavor.

A few weeks ago, Ben & Jerry’s debuted a limited edition ice cream called Schweddy Balls.  Sound familiar?  Of course it does.  It was inspired by the classic Saturday Night Live skit featuring Alec Baldwin as bakery owner Pete Schweddy who famously tells a pair of mellow radio hosts that “No one can resist my Schweddy Balls.”

I … Continue Reading

The Waltons of our childhood lived as a tight-knit family during the Great Depression in a rambling old house in the middle of rural Virginia. The Waltons of today live as a tight-knit family during the Great Recession in rambling mansions across several states.

Today’s Waltons are, of course, the heirs of Sam Walton, founder of Walmart. And once again they crowd the Forbes 400 List of Richest Americans, with combined wealth approaching $100 billion.

The tired irony is that no one who sprung from the gene pool of Sam Walton, who … Continue Reading

Last year 14,000 computers were logged in to celebrate the Jewish High Holidays with the first and largest contemporary online synagogue, OurJewishCommunity.org. For the upcoming holidays this year, (Rosh Hashanah Sept. 28-29, Yom Kippur Oct. 7-8), thousands more are expected.

For the first time ever, the online congregation will also tweet the High Holiday services. Hundreds of tweets will be sent out from the Twitter accounts of the online congregation (@JewsOnline) and one of its rabbis, Laura Baum (@rabbi), during the evening and morning services. The … Continue Reading

Has Facebook just made it easier for marketers to book face time?

The social network’s latest innovation, to organize all of our vast networks of friends into more management “Smart Lists,” basically does the same kind of segmenting many marketers specialize in when they break large groups of consumers into more targetable categories, by demographics, purchase behaviors, addresses, etc.

Similarly, Facebook will use the colleges, workplaces and geographic locations that we users share on the site to sort our “friends” into groups, according to the Associated Press.

The strategy is designed to help … Continue Reading

Bryan Pearson and Lisa Biank Fasig putting the final touches on The Loyalty Leap

Picture this: A summer cabin, a lake, a boat and a book. Summer vacation? Well, kind of.

This year we at JZMcBride and Associates chose to forgo our summer reading in favor of summer writing. We spent the final months of the season helping our client, Bryan Pearson, write his first book, The Loyalty Leap: Turning Customer Information into Customer … Continue Reading