"...a giveaway of 50,000 samples would require 250 man hours translating to between $15,000 and $20,000 for labor...". One of marketing's oldest and least glamorous practices -- doling out free product -- has come a long way from the gray-haired ladies in the supermarket aisle. No longer the province of marketers who can't afford to buy mass media, deep-pocketed giants from McDonald's to Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Dunkin' Donuts are adopting sampling on a grand scale, turning it into a media event -- and, in some cases, the media buy.
Conversing with consumers and finding out what they think about their brands has become a whole lot easier for marketers because of the web. And whether it's an actual customer-service call or inquiry or responding to a comment on the corporate blog, marketers need to start looking at each interaction as a marketing opportunity. That was one of the main themes that emerged during the "Listenomics: So you want to be a conversational marketer?" panel at the Ad Age Digital Conference
Young adults, 21 to 29 years old, will play a large role in shaping Vietnam’s small but growing retail-banking market. These young consumers are less wary of borrowing, likelier to use remote channels, and more open to foreign banks than are their elders. And on most banking-related issues, the generation gap in preferences and attitudes is larger in Vietnam than in the 11 other Asian markets we examined as part of a study involving about 13,000 urban banking consumers across the continent.1
"Brands should own entertainment rather than rent it," declared Doug Scott, senior partner-executive director of Ogilvy Entertainment, kicking off Advertising Age's second annual Digital Marketing Conference with a mission statement of sorts. Mr. Scott was one of four panelists who spoke with Ad Age's Claude Brodesser-Akner during the Digital Marketing Conference, being held in New York today and tomorrow. The panel explored the changing models for commercial content, both creative and distribution-oriented.
"...a giveaway of 50,000 samples would require 250 man hours translating to between $15,000 and $20,000 for labor...". One of marketing's oldest and least glamorous practices -- doling out free product -- has come a long way from the gray-haired ladies in the supermarket aisle. No longer the province of marketers who can't afford to buy mass media, deep-pocketed giants from McDonald's to Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Dunkin' Donuts are adopting sampling on a grand scale, turning it into a media event -- and, in some cases, the media buy. 
Conversing with consumers and finding out what they think about their brands has become a whole lot easier for marketers because of the web. And whether it's an actual customer-service call or inquiry or responding to a comment on the corporate blog, marketers need to start looking at each interaction as a marketing opportunity. That was one of the main themes that emerged during the "Listenomics: So you want to be a conversational marketer?" panel at the Ad Age Digital Conference 
Young adults, 21 to 29 years old, will play a large role in shaping Vietnam’s small but growing retail-banking market. These young consumers are less wary of borrowing, likelier to use remote channels, and more open to foreign banks than are their elders. And on most banking-related issues, the generation gap in preferences and attitudes is larger in Vietnam than in the 11 other Asian markets we examined as part of a study involving about 13,000 urban banking consumers across the continent.
"Brands should own entertainment rather than rent it," declared Doug Scott, senior partner-executive director of Ogilvy Entertainment, kicking off Advertising Age's second annual Digital Marketing Conference with a mission statement of sorts. Mr. Scott was one of four panelists who spoke with Ad Age's Claude Brodesser-Akner during the Digital Marketing Conference, being held in New York today and tomorrow. The panel explored the changing models for commercial content, both creative and distribution-oriented.
