Feb 9, 2010
It used to be that a basic $25-a-month phone bill was your main telecommunications expense. But by 2004, the average American spent $770.95 annually on services like cable television, Internet connectivity and video games, according to data from the Census Bureau. By 2008, that number rose to $903, outstripping inflation. By the end of this year, it is expected to have grown to $997.07. Add another $1,000 or more for cellphone service and the average family is spending as much on entertainment over devices as they are on dining out or buying gasoline.
Sep 11, 2009
Simply Better is the title of the marketing book that won the 2005 Berry-AMA Book Prize.
Customers rarely buy a product or service because it offers something unique, say authors Patrick Barwise and Sean Meehan. Consumers want products that are simply better in terms of quality, reliability and value.
Not true. Too many companies focus on trying to make better products when the real advantage is making different products. The current videogame dogfight between Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo illustrates this point.
Aug 28, 2009
Is Kevin Butler the new Mac guy? Actually, Jerry Lambert, the actor who plays Kevin Butler in Sony PlayStation 3 ads breaking this weekend, smacks more of John Hodgman's frumpy PC character than Justin Long's Mac daddy. With bland, cubicled offices as his backdrop, Mr. Lambert, garbed in a Dunder Mifflin-ready shirt and tie, walks and wisecracks as he answers questions one-on-one with fictitious consumers. The new ads from agency Deutsch, Los Angeles, are designed to elicit the same serial attraction that makes consumers anticipate fresh Mac vs. PC ads.
Feb 23, 2009
Sony
makes televisions, video-game machines and movies, but it has always
had a hard time encouraging its various divisions to cross-promote one
another’s products. But the company is taking another stab at cross-promotion. This time it
is in a 14-screen cinema complex that is opening this week at The Oaks
shopping center in this suburb of Los Angeles.
Dec 9, 2008
The video game industry appears to be alone in bucking a retail
recession as consumers turn to fitness workouts, musical jam sessions
and fantasy worlds to take their minds off the credit crunch.
Davis Thinking
