Atomic Tango

Ooh, Sparkly: Champagne Diamonds and Social Media Hype

December 15th, 2011 · Random Observations

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Practicing Skeptic

Industrial Diamond

An uncut industrial diamond ready for hyping. (photo by Shieldforyoureyes Dave Fischer, via Wikimedia Commons)

When I was fresh out of college, I met this millionaire who made his fortune selling diamond jewelry through supermarket tabloids. You may be wondering, what kind of jewelry sells through the cheesiest rags on the planet — newspapers that you wouldn’t dare use to line a birdcage lest you kill the bird?

That’s a good thing to wonder.

These were genuine diamonds — genuine industrial diamonds, that is, worthless in the general jewelry market. Yet the tabloid readers saw the word “diamond” and their eyes lit up and their mouths watered and their hands reached for the telephone as the words “my precious” escaped from their lips…

[Read more →]

→ No CommentsTags:··········

What’s The Beef? McDonald’s Gets The Customer-Centricity Treatment

December 9th, 2011 · Media Review

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + IMC Instructor + Occasional Burger Customer

McDonald's Double Cheeseburger

Why would anyone be dissatisfied with this? (photo by BrokenSphere via Wikimedia Commons)

So I’m reading IMC The Next Generation by Professor Don E. Schultz, the father of integrated marketing communications. This seminal book offers up brilliant approaches to marketing management (such as value-based customer segmentation and goals-based budgeting) with a large side-order of raw naiveté (the nonsensical customer-centric marketing mix).

But what inspired me to blog is not Schultz’s ivory tower tendencies but his Golden Arches slam on pages 167-168…

“On any given day, 11 percent of McDonald’s customers are dissatisfied. About 70 percent of dissatisfied customers are further dissatisfied with the way their complaint is handled. More than half of all dissatisfied customers visit McDonald’s less frequently as a result and tell as many as ten other people about their unsatisfactory experience… While the company is still a fast-food giant, it loses an estimated $750 million a year as a result of this marcom inconsistency. Even for McDonald’s, that’s a lot of money.”

And that statement is a lot of bull… [Read more →]

→ 7 CommentsTags:·······

You Say You Want A Resolution? 20 Marketing Vows For 2012 – And Beyond

December 5th, 2011 · Atomic Tango News, Manifestos

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Resolutionary Thinker

I felt a great disturbance in the working force, as if millions of marketing voices cried out in terror over what their new year’s resolutions should be. After all, none of us is really gonna lose that weight or write that novel, so we might as well focus on what we do best: make promises about marketing. So without further ado (or adon’ts), here are some suggested marketing new year’s resolutions in a format we business geeks understand – a slideshow…

→ 1 CommentTags:·····

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Bottom Line: Ron Shevlin’s “Snarketing 2.0″

November 19th, 2011 · Media Review

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Fellow Snarketer

Ron Shevlin's "Snarketing Two Dot Oh"

Uncommon sense that's 2.Overdue

Seriously thinking about social media? Then think about it humorously first.

Ron Shevlin has written the definitive primer for anyone considering a social marketing campaign: “Snarketing Two Dot Oh: A Humorous Look At The World Of Marketing In The Age Of Social Media” — a must-read before diving in.

What’s so different and definitive about it? [Read more →]

→ No CommentsTags:·····

Facts About Friction: How To Blow An E-Commerce Opportunity

October 24th, 2011 · Case Studies, Marketing 101

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Guy Who Buys Too Much Stuff for His Cats

They had me at “meow.”
They lost me at “sign up.”

I was flipping through Facebook, unmarking most of the “Top Story” posts (seriously, Zuckerberg, get your algorithm right already). And that’s when it caught my eye — an ad featuring a cat lounging in some Jetsons-age contraption:

Cat Pod Facebook adSince I’m addicted to furry creatures with pointy ears and tuna breath,  I was hooked. Since I also dig on futuristic design, particularly anything with the word “pod” in it, I clicked… [Read more →]

→ 3 CommentsTags:········

All Hail The Early Adopters: 4 Reasons To Thank The Fanatics

October 15th, 2011 · Random Observations

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Moderate Fanboy

It’s predictable: Apple releases a new product, and the devout start camping out at the Temple O’ Jobs to be one of the first to lay their hands upon it.

And just as predictably, people will ridicule these fanatics, usually with aspersions about their sex lives (or lack thereof). Note this tweet from comedian Aisha Tyler…

Aisha Tyler tweet

These same cooler-than-thou critics, though, never mock the thousands of fans who line up for nosebleed seats and overpriced food and even inclement weather at a sporting event, even though the same game is on TV and could end in a depressing way.

Nor do they mock the Hollywood entourages who absolutely MUST see a movie on opening night, even if it’s been ripped by critics and will appear on DVD in three months.

Indeed, I know people who will spend hours in line for a food truck.

So what’s the difference between the Apple fanboys and those who line up early for rock concerts, conventions, sporting events, autographs, theme parks, Black Friday shopping, hot Christmas toys, a new designer line at Target, or some trendy nightclub? [Read more →]

→ 1 CommentTags:····

Q&A: Who comes up with these terms?

October 7th, 2011 · Random Observations

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango LLC + Guy Who Likes to Answer Questions and Question Answers

Your Brain On Drugs

How business terminology is cooked up.

My friend Nina writes…

“I’m reading this article, and I can’t help but wonder: who comes up with the names for various consumer groups, like Millennials or, as in this piece, ‘X-fluents’? How do they gain traction? I think ‘X-fluents’ is stupid. It sounds too much like ‘effluent.’”

My response… [Read more →]

→ No CommentsTags:··

My Favorite Steve Jobs’ Quotation

October 5th, 2011 · Uncategorized

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

- Steve Jobs, 2005

→ No CommentsTags:·

A Heavy Price to Pay: The Netflix Debacle

September 20th, 2011 · Case Studies

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder of Atomic Tango + Netflix Qwikster Netflix Customer

Up In Smoke: Qwikster

What were they smoking?

You’ll find lots of articles and editorials skewering Netflix and its CEO Reed Hastings today, including this one in the L.A. Times, “Once High-Flying Netflix Is Now Stumbling,” which describes all the following events of the past few weeks:

  • Netflix’s 60% price increase
  • the ensuing defection of hundreds-of-thousands of paying customers
  • its subscriber-aggravating loss of the Starz distribution deal
  • the impending future of higher content-licensing costs
  • the entry of other major competitors, such as Amazon
  • Hasting’s mea culpa to subscribers via email
  • his decision to make the DVD business a separate service called Qwikster
  • and the company’s crashing stock price

The key strategic flaw? Not the 60% price increase — Netflix does need to cover its content-licensing costs. The lethal mistake was grossly underpricing its unlimited streaming service in the first place… [Read more →]

→ 1 CommentTags:······

Biz 101: So What Is Marketing, Anyway?

September 19th, 2011 · Marketing 101

by Freddy J. Nager, Professor of Marketing + Founder of Atomic Tango

Romance = Marketing

Consider it an illustrated guide to marketing techniques.

Too many entrepreneurs and CEO’s tell me that they “don’t have money for marketing” or they’re “not ready for marketing yet.” What they’re really saying is that they don’t know what “marketing” means… [Read more →]

→ 4 CommentsTags:···