My parents bought a new car this weekend and now, I have a new company to research next time I’m in the market for some new wheels.

Funny how that works, right?

Let’s be honest – as a marketer, you’re about as trustworthy to your customers as that skeevy guy down the street with the hand-painted van that says “Free Candy”. (more…)

This week, Pepsi released its newest invention, and it has nothing to do with clear cola. Dubbed the “social vending machine”, Pepsi’s latest pop machine harkens back to their 1958 slogan, “Be Social, Have a Pespi” by allowing users to buy one for their friends after they buy one for themselves.

It works thanks to the ubiquity of the Internet and Facebook. Pre-purchase a bottle for your friend, then send them an email with a special code, and your friend can go to his local pop machine, enter the code, and voila! –a free Pepsi.
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“You know what consumers really want?” the CEO asks his employees? No one offered an answer.

“Connection!” he says enthusiastically. “Consumers want to connect with our brand on Facebook and Twitter. They want to feel connected and learn about new products and engage with our brand!”
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To be fair, Starbucks doesn’t just sell coffee. They sell an experience. They sell an idea. They sell ambiance.

During the company’s boom years, almost everyone in your office probably came in with a Venti or Grande coffee cup sporting the green siren. But for many, it was more of a fashion statement than a caffeine fix.

Of course, the company made a huge profit being a fashion mocha, er, mecca.
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“All of us are now wrestling with this idea that there are no great middle-class jobs where someone tells you exactly what to do all day.” 

So says uber marketing guru Seth Godin. On Friday, Goden spoke with Kai Ryssdal of Markeplace fame about the flux that our economy has been going through and how every single one of us has to change what we think about our roles in the workplace. 
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Netflix had a dark night last Tuesday, when Facebook premiered its streaming movie service. For 30 Facebook credits (about $3 bucks), Facebook users could “Like” the movie page for The Dark Knight to watch it straight from inside Facebook.

Warner Brothers – who owns the rights to the Batman flick – denied the streaming rights to Netflix and struck an exclusive deal with the social network phenomenon. (more…)