What’s The Deal With Rebates? (And How Can Your Business Use ‘Em?)

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director of Atomic Tango LLC

"Let's talk about a sensitive subject: breakage..."

So you finally found that gadget you’ve been dreaming about — you know, the one with the 60″ screen, built-in WiFi, and ability to make a perfect crème brulee at the touch of a button. Better yet, you found it advertised at just the right price… but you didn’t notice the fine print. Only after getting to the store do you notice the word that causes blistering steam to blast out of your ears and nostrils…

How to Win a Price War (Hint: Don’t)

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

"Hmmm... should I move a piece or just eat it?"

“War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Uh-huh
War, huh, yeah
What is it good for
Absolutely nothing
Say it again, y’all…”
– Edwin Starr, “War”

Imagine you’re minding your own business, selling lemonade from your friendly neighborhood stand, when — BAM! — you’re torpedoed by a rival who cuts his lemonade price in half. That bastard! Here you two had settled upon a comfy price point — legally, of course, with no collusion whatsoever — and he had to upset the balance…

Saks and the City: How to Lower Your Standards for Fun and Profit

"That's when he said he was a marketer! Imagine that? A marketer expecting to date me?"

You’ve all seen the standard romantic comedy: the lead character pines for a fantasy ideal — a millionaire, supermodel, quarterback, cheerleader, prince or princess — but in the end, our hopeless romantic finds true love with a best friend, worst enemy, nerd, prostitute, maid or bodyguard. Delusions dispelled, the true lovers lock lips and live happily ever after. Or until Hollywood makes a sequel.

Today, thanks to the recession, many businesses are undergoing the same head-spinning realignment of expectations. Their dream consumers — namely, the filthy rich — are suddenly coming up short. Damn them. So these once discriminating businesses must now pursue less profitable paramours: potential mates who were once considered “beneath them.” Some businesses even undergo extreme makeovers to appeal to the masses. And you know where that could lead…

Want Tail? Watch Your Head: Secrets of Long-Tail Marketing

Customer: Do you have “I Just Called To Say I Love You”?
Barry: Yes.
Customer: Can I have it?
Barry: No.
Customer: Why not?
Barry: Because it’s tacky sentimental crap that’s why. Do we look like a store that would sell that song? Do you even know your daughter, there’s no way she likes that song. Oh I’m sorry, is she in a coma?
– from “High Fidelity,” the movie

A buddy and I were reminiscing about small independent record stores. Remember them? No? Damn youngsters…

PWN Your Competition During Tough Times: How To Leverage The Value of Your Brand

Plus: Why “Price” isn’t Just a Number on a Sticker

Feeling plucky, punk?

Tough times like these separate the plucky from the certifiably pluckless. Plucky companies see economic turmoil as a ripe opportunity to crush weaker competitors. The pluckless see a shrinking economy and resort to shrinkage themselves: they reduce their services and their advertising till they’re but a shriveled ball of what they once were…

“Viral” Does Not Mean “Free”: The Reality Behind The Buzz

Where's that buzz coming from?

I recently had lunch with an entrepreneur to discuss her marketing problems. She had launched her company with a PR campaign, and the initial results were spectacular, with major media coverage and a torrent of traffic to her site… But that torrent dried to a trickle as the press and consumers lost interest. In just a couple of years her company had become “old news.” Since her operations were now sucking up all of her available cash, she wanted a low-cost marketing option, and she called me to discuss this viral marketing thing…

Bankruptcy is the Fashion? Mervyns Fails to Declare its Style

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

As an L.A. based interactive-media guy for the past 14 years, I’m expected to blog about sexy new developments online or in Hollywood, but today I’ve decided to write about Mervyns department store. And, yes, that’s the only time you’ll ever see the words “sexy” and “Mervyns” in the same sentence.

Ah, I see I just lost 98% of this article’s readers — which reflects about the same percentage of consumers who couldn’t care less about the fashion retailer. And that explains why Mervyns recently declared bankruptcy. Since the economy’s been Bushed again, it’s easy to point fingers at macroeconomic issues, and that’s exactly what Mervyns’ management is doing…

Notes on Naming: Don’t Make It Personal

So I’m reading this book that recommends naming your company after yourself to make your brand “authentic.” Hmm… Freddy Nager Productions? Uh, no — sounds like a nightmare on Elm Street.

My personal name issues aside, here’s my advice to all other entrepreneurs: If you plan to remain a small operation (like a law practice), you might consider naming your company after yourself — just might — otherwise, I recommend crafting a name that’s original and creative. Sure, naming a company after yourself is easy, but you’ll get more mileage from an imaginative name — and avoid a few headaches down the road…

Cows and Dogs in a Bear Market: Applying the BCG Matrix to Marketing

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

Mmm, head cheese.

The stock market these days is looking about as appetizing as a plate of warmed-over head cheese. At the same time, the real estate market is making the head cheese look good. So as a result, many businesses are cutting their expenses, particularly in marketing.

Yes, as a devoted reader of this blog, you know they’re making a mistake…

Don’t Believe Everything You Hear: Why Listening to Your Customers can be Hazardous to Your Health

Last week I hit the Digital Media Summit in the coolly atmospheric Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. There I enjoyed several speakers providing intelligent and informed insights into the industry, including Zango’s York Baur, Quarterlife’s Mashall Herskovitz, and my MBA classmate Jake Zim of Safran Digital Group.

But many of the other speakers were so intently spinning facts and sidestepping questions, I thought I was watching a Bush administration press conference…

Marketing During a Recession, Part 3: Time To Pump Up the Volume

When the economy slows to the speed of a three-toed sloth after one too many hash brownies, the knee-jerk reaction by most marketers is to reduce ad expenditures. For some brands, however, a recession presents sweet juicy opportunities that call for increased spending. Really. And no, I’m not hitting on those brownies myself…

This Way To The Egress: The Pros and Con Artists of Marketing

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

“You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you can not fool all of the people all of the time.” — Abraham Lincoln

“There’s an old saying in Tennessee — I know it’s in Texas, probably in Tennessee — that says, fool me once, shame on — shame on you. Fool me — you can’t get fooled again.” — George W. Bush

“Beware of geeks bearing grifts.” — Cool Rules Pronto

Phineas Taylor Barnum was the consummate 19th Century showman and one deceptive bastard…

Marketing During a Recession, Part 2: Honor the Fallen

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

One company’s tumble is another company’s primo opportunity — if that opportunity is approached creatively. Here’s a brilliant example from this week’s business pages…

Marketing During a Recession, Part 1: Pricing

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

When the economy is singing the hardcore blues — kind of like now — many businesses are tempted to lower their prices. My advice? Don’t…

21st Century Identity Crisis: Naming Strategies for the New Marketspace

by Freddy J. Nager, Founder & Fusion Director, Atomic Tango LLC

Who ever imagined that naming a company would become a game of speed and chance?