The Story

I saw an amazing Iron Chef last week. The challengers, brothers Kent and Kevin Rathburn (who actually beat Bobby Flay!) where given the task of preparing several gourmet courses made from elk meat. During judging, they were asked to explain why they prepared the meat the way they did. This was their answer:
“All game should […]

Yesterday my local grocery store, Fred Meyer, gave me an interesting idea. The location I shop at is currently being remodeled, and the outside looks pretty ramshackle. At the entrance of the store, there is a sign that says, “Shop with us during our remodel and earn double points” (like most grocers, you […]

Friday, September 19 was national PARK(ing) Day 2008, “a one-day, global event…where artists, activists, and citizens collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spots into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public parks.”
The event started a few years ago in San Francisco by an artist collective group called Rebar, who sought to transform a metered parking space into an […]

A lot of banks offer iPods with new account openings, but TD Banknorth took this strategy a step further. Their agency, VIA, realized that the promotion would make a lot more sense if there was music paired with the iPod giveaway. Enter Pandora, the website that allows users to create their own unique […]

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When I spoke yesterday at the 2008 Forum Partnership Symposium about brand positioning (see part of the presentation above or click here), one of the points I made is that when building a brand position, it’s more effective to focus on being different than being better. In fact, I blogged about […]

What, did you think we wouldn’t remember? Bank marketing and acquisition amore at its finest.
Props to The Financial Brand for posting the original ad.

Well, almost no one. The virtual game, Wallet World, created by Doner, lets players compete for the chance to win from among hundreds of prizes… if they live in the right state. But as it turns out, only residents of seven states and the District of Columbia are eligible to participate. Why […]

Thank you, local Portland Funeral Home, for sending me a solicitation letter asking me to pre-plan my death and buy my future grave site today! Thank you for reminding me that, even though I just turned 31, impending doom is near. Here I was foolishly thinking that my thirties are a great time in life […]

Actually, not so novel. Finland, for example, does not have bank-specific ATMs. In other words, you can walk up to any ATM (Otto) on any street in Helsinki and conduct a transaction without worrying about incurring a fee. The ATMs themselves are all owned by one company, Automatia, and all look exactly […]

Our latest episode of Blow Up Your Marketing is brought to you straight from the 2008 ABA Bank Marketing Conference in Denver, CO. Jeff Stephens and guest Brady Walen from Market Insights chat with attendees to find out what they’ve been learning and what their most important takeaways from the conference have been.

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