6 days left to file

Skippy hog
After 15 years of trial and error, Cool Cycles ice cream is finally ready for franchise. All corporate profits go to charity-in the time the owner's been working on the concept he's gone from minimum wage to construction mogul, so he doesn't need the money anymore. Yes, there's music. (Seattle/Tacoma News, 4/5/09)

Youtube is good for business
Tell your boss to chill, you're tuning up your brain. A University of Melbourne study found people who use the internet for personal reasons at work are typically 9% more productive, and more focused, than those who refrain from spending time on the internet. It seems people need to zone out now and then to refresh their gray matter. 70% of people who use the internet at work surf on company time. ( source: redorbit.com)

Say aaaaah--for your career counselor
If you have fewer than average taste buds you might become a nurse. More than average and you may be an entrepreneur. A Dutch research firm has discovered a link between buds and natural abilities and preferences in more things than food and drink. Something to do with fetal hormones. Takes the old adage, "you are what you eat" to a whole new level. They're currently figuring out how to use this for market segmentation. (source: Quirks, April 2009)

AP is taking aim at aggregators. They're sick of news feeds like the Drudge Report and search companies like Google that republish their stuff without paying for it, and make money off AP's content through ad sales. Some say it's legal (Google), AP says it's theft, plagiarism, and a disservice to readers who aren't getting their info from the most authoritative source. AP's spokesman called us parasites. Sure wish I had some paying sponsors to cushion the insult. (source: New York Times, 4/6/09)

Cut ad spending, help the competition
A TNS study shows that CPGs that cut spending during our various recessions between 1985 and 2005 lost significant market share to private label immediately and long term. Companies that maintained or hiked spending lost less. (source: Ad Age, 4/6/09)

Groceries R Us
Toys R Us is adding some staples like snacks, baby food, and paper towels to their stores in a section called "R Market." A great mommy time saver or the place where Cheerios go die? (source: In-Store Marketer, 4/7/09)

Smarter car?
No thanks. Autotrader.com reports most of the top 20 new cars viewed on their site are big-engine sedans and trucks. The top 11 on their used car roster are also SUVs and trucks. (source: Marketing Daily, 4/6/09)

B@R bits
- Gen Y is more likely to make impulse purchases at end caps and around the store periphery
- 93% of Boomers prefer product messages to price-point messages when shopping
- Shoppers believe ads targeting them in-store are more effective than ads outside stores (32% to 27%)
- 70% respond to end-aisle signage
- 62% respond to displays
- 55% to shelf strips
- Sale prices motivate shoppers more than "everyday low price" (70% to 47%)
- 65% of shoppers make a list
(source: Miller Zell/Marketing Daily, 4/7/09)

Bye Bye, Bauers
Remember when little Freddie went to his room, and then a year later reappeared as a full-grown man named Rick? Ah the magic of soap operas. Sadly, it was announced this week that after 72 years "Guiding Light" will cease airing this September. It simply doesn't sell enough soap anymore. (source: Chicago Tribune, 4/5/09)

Not worth a damn
The Zimbabwean, a newspaper by and for Zimbabweans in exile, covered this billboard in the UK with real money to make their point. (source: Ad Age, 4/7/09)

Marketing word of the week
Tweetup: Meetups for the textually terse. Ex. DiGiorno is doing several of them to sample their new flatbread crust. (source: Ad Age, 4/9/09)

Trueslant.com
A new "newspaper" model? Combines aggregation and original journalism from people who've been laid off by pubs like The Boston Globe and Time with a very interactive format. Sort of an Etsy for newsies. Could be interesting. (source: Wall Street Journal, 4/9/09)

So long, Atkins
Bread sales up 7% over the past year. Both PB & J up a little more than that. Cheap, filling, loaded with gooey childhood memories. Mmmmm, forget the stock ticker while you're at it-for a few minutes at least. (source: Brandweek, 4/8/09)

Whipple was all wet
According to the Journal of Consumer Research, contrary to industry belief, "Don't squeeze the Charmin" was one of the worst marketing slogans of all time. Their findings show that people who touch merchandise are more likely to buy it and more willing to pay more for it than people who shop hands off. When you touch something, you start to believe you own it. The longer you touch it, the harder it is to give it up, and the more you value it. Even works with tchotchkes like coffee mugs. And if you just imagine you're touching it. Makes the Lexus 48-hour, no-questions-asked test drive sound pretty smart. (source: Time/UWisconsin & roving Nuggets reporter Karrie G. Tx, Karrie

Cookie Puss is 75!
Carvel is celebrating their diamond anniversary, but that's not the interesting part. Did you know that in addition to Fudgie the Whale, gravely voiced Tom Carvelas invented the BOGO coupon, held 540 patents, trademarks, and copyright registrations ranging from product designs to technical methods and equipment, and is considered the father of franchising. Carvel has 500 shops across 25 U.S. states and seven countries. (source: Marketing Daily, 4/8/09)
 

Perspective
The NYTimes asked readers to submit video memories of the Great Depression to complement their own reporting. 13-year-old Sam Crane's grandma started to cry telling him about being hungry as a child (and so did I). But then she sings a polka. Good memories and bad. http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/national/thenewhardtimes/index.html#/hamer