I had quite a few posts at my Brainy Marketing blog at Forbes.com get shared extensively this year – here are 2013′s “biggest hits:”
Starbucks: Loyalty Program Misfire
Starbucks is great at marketing, but they did find a way to really irritate those customers who don’t drink enough coffee to retain their gold status. This post really hit a nerve – it’s closing in on 100,000 views, and the comments show the depth of emotion felt by scorned customers. Is punishment the best way to encourage additional consumption?
Read more: Starbucks: Loyalty Program Misfire
Five Marketing Lessons From Candy Crush Saga
To say the game Candy Crush Saga has become a craze is an understatement. With hundreds of millions of downloads, the “free” game is generating close to a million dollars a day for its developer, King.com. A big key to the game’s popularity is its highly addictive nature. Even if you aren’t in the casual game business, there are some important lessons we can take from its success.
Read more: Five Marketing Lessons From Candy Crush Saga
Did Maker’s Mark Commit Brand Suicide?
For the last few days, the world of whiskey has been buzzing about the decision to cut the proof of Maker’s Mark bourbon from 90 proof to 84 proof. [UPDATE: After several days of public flogging, Maker’s Mark has reversed its decision to water down its signature bourbon.] In an interview, the distillery’s chairman emeritus, Bill Samuels Jr., said that they had erred in their sales forecasts and diluting the bourbon was the best way to meet demand.
Read more: Did Maker’s Mark Commit Brand Suicide?
This Abercrombie & Fitch Blowup Could Be Different
Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch just announced that same-store sales fell 15% in the first quarter and blamed inventory shortages. But, unless you’ve been living in a cave, you know that Abercrombie & Fitch has seen major social media blowback from some old comments made by its CEO, Mike Jeffries. He was quoted as saying, more or less, that he didn’t want overweight, unattractive, or unpopular people wearing his clothes…
Read more: This Abercrombie & Fitch Blowup Could Be Different
The Perverse Brilliance Of Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO
Read more: The Perverse Brilliance of Abercrombie & Fitch’s CEO
Is That Water in My Budweiser?
Read more: Is That Water in My Budweiser?
Yahoo Mail Background Annoys Users, Taxes Brains
Read more: Yahoo Mail Background Annoys Users, Taxes Brains
LinkedIn’s Sneaky Social Engineering
Do you get LinkedIn connection requests from people you have never met or don’t know at all? For me, at least, those kinds of notifications far outnumber requests from people I actually do know well. That may not be surprising – after all, the set of people we know is very small compared to a planet full of strangers…
Read more: LinkedIn’s Sneaky Social Engineering
Starbucks: How NOT To Sell A Coffee Maker
Read more: Starbucks: How NOT To Sell A Coffee Maker
That’s just a small sampling of my 2013 posts at Forbes – see them all at Roger Dooley’s Brainy Marketing.
Original Post: http://www.neurosciencemarketing.com/blog/articles/forbes-popular-2013.htm