Bond. James Bond. Since 1956, he has been drinking his famous vodka martinis, shaken not stirred, of course.
But in the upcoming film, Skyfall, Bond, has dropped his favorite libation for a Heineken. The brewer has signed a reported $28 million deal that goes beyond placement. The result is the ad below.
Booze Cupcakes – Yummy!
Prohibition Bakery on the lower eastside of New York City (9 Clinton St) just opened a few weeks ago and is my kind of bakery. They are, according to their website, NYC’s original alcohol cupcake company.
They have a variety of mini cupcakes made with liquor, beer or wine that are just delicious. You taste the alcohol but it is balanced with the rest of the ingredients. Eat enough and you can expect to get a buzz. You may have to show proof of legal drinking age. (For some reason they didn’t ask for mine.)
The store is an entrepreneurial effort by two very smart women, Leslie Feinberg and Brook Siem, with baking, culinary, bartending experience, and with an instinctive understanding of branding and marketing.
Are you ready?
Marketing is Dead – Long Live Marketing
Harvard Business Review blog had an article by Bill Lee, President of the Lee Consulting Group called Marketing is Dead. The thoughts and ideas are worth sharing.
His view of marketing is that the “traditional” definition and tools are no longer totally appropriate to this new environment. Let’s take a look at his evidence, which consists of three areas.
First, as Mr. Lee puts it, the “buyer’s decision journey” has changed from passive information coming to consumers (amidst tens of thousands a day) to interactive information gathering requested by consumers. The traditional journey, which begins with awareness and familiarity, continues, but now those decision steps are based on Internet searches, word-of-mouth, consumer reviews and other people to people efforts.