Category

The World’s Most Expensive Cookie Recipe

How a big name company took a negative false rumor, and turned it in to a positive marketing tool

Have you ever received that chain letter email about Niemen Marcus charging some poor, unknowing woman $250 for their cookie recipe, when the woman understood it to only be $2.50 for the recipe? And the woman was [...]

Interesting Words Said by Interesting Man.

Tuesday I attended an event where Peter Shankman–social media & internet guru (although he hates that word)–spoke about how to successfully utilize social networking for your business. In short, he’s a very smart web guy. The seminar was fresh and inspiring. The audience included reporters and bloggers, as well as many PR and marketing people. [...]

Gourmet Gourmands.

It’s safe to say I’m still pleasantly stuffed from the epicurean adventure that was Chicago Gourmet this past weekend. Writing for a food-marketing agency, not to mention never one to turn down foodstuffs, I went in to the soiree with the confidence I would feel right at home.
But the behemoth bright white tents, the freshly [...]

General Mills Goes Niche

This past month there have been a number of articles about General Mills’ new gluten-free product line. Their Betty Crocker brand is rolling out gluten-free mixes for cookies, brownies and cakes. But, beyond just this brand extension, this news has huge implications for the willingness of big companies to go after small niches and how [...]

Go West! – Random Thoughts About The National Products Expo West

The National Products Expo West held March 6-8 at the Anaheim Convention Center is an interesting amalgam of categories (foods, supplements, cosmetics), products and companies (from small “trying to get their break” companies to international corporations). I heard several people talk about how in the olden days (the nineties perhaps?) the show was less “big [...]

Business Running For Dummies

I saw this comment today in a news feed and the subsequent BusinessWeek Online article I read:
“Small retailers can bolster sales by targeting wealthier shoppers who are less price-sensitive and may pay premiums for better service…”*
In addition to targeting people with more money (as opposed to those bums you usually do business with), [...]