A Direct Marketing Agency - Helping Brands Acquire and Retain Customers

With the economic turmoil we see today, it makes us step back and question our business choices, especially when it comes to advertising and marketing. I came across a paper from Rodney Polasky, a retired historian and archeologist. He was asked what companies did well during the depression of 1929 and what distinguished those companies from others. He shares how companies like Kellogg’s, Chevy and Procter & Gamble not only survived the great depression, they did well and grew. According to Polasky, “Those companies… continued to act as though there was nothing wrong and that the public had money to spend. In other words, they advertised.” The successful companies remained in the consumer’s eye while others dropped out of site. Consumers and investors put their trust and money with brands that they saw as having “staying power.”

To read his article in its entirety, click here. Rodney Polasky goes by the on-line user ID, digsalot.

On The Move.

As we become a mobile computing society, our buying decisions will be done less and less in a store, from a catalog or even in front of the computer. A survey released earlier this year by the Pew Internet and American Life Project revealed that 62 percent of Americans access mobile data either through a phone or laptop.

Mobile commerce got a boost yesterday when Visa and Google teamed up to provide mobile payment services over one’s cell phone. The initial service will be limited to those who use the TMobile G1 phone and are JPMorgan Chase credit card holders. Plans are under way to expand the user base to other phone services including Nokia and the Apple iPhone. For more details go to the recent story in Business Week.

What does this mean for us in our marketing and advertising efforts? Well, consumers in the near future will be making purchases while commuting on the bus to work or school, while taking a walk during the lunch hour or while sitting in an airline terminal, all on their phone. The cellular marketing channel is going to grow. We should be ready to capture that market by providing content easily viewed over a cellular device, and by collecting customers’ cell numbers just like we collect their e-mail addresses to send regular specials and promotions.

Consumers are doing less and less of their buying in typical brick and mortar stores. The future market is mobile.

How many sheets of paper cross your desk every day for your input and approval? Today you don’t need to use a single sheet of paper to view, correct or approve a print project. It can all be done on-line with the computer you are working on right now.

The move to what is referred to as “soft proofing” not only saves many trees and the energy used to make the paper, it saves time as well. Soft proofing puts the files on your computer desktop immediately as they are ready, and as soon as you add your changes and/or approval, they are back with your agency for the next step.

Below is a demo showing a sample workflow using Kodak's InSite system:

Soft proofing can also include final color proofing. Color calibration of your workstation can allow you to accurately judge color on your own screen, just as we do here in Ovation's digital imaging department.

It costs no more than you are already spending in consumables. The costs of software and implementation are overshadowed by your current costs for the paper and inks that your projects consume every day -- all of which end up in the trash by the time your piece goes to press.

The hardest part is to change how you think about proofing. Thinking of it from a "green" perspective will help: Think what you'll be doing for the forests and landfills by soft proofing.

Who is this omnipotent Nielsen family? They apparently live among us, choosing when and what we will watch. Their choices rarely match mine. I would love to sit them down and explain what shows they should watch and when to turn the channel, and restore proper order to the prime-time continuum.

Instead, Dancing with the Stars once again is the number one show. Dancing with the Stars? Who on earth thinks this show deserves our greatest attention? Definitely not I. I can’t believe it outperformed other Monday night shows like Heroes and Chuck, quality shows which didn’t even make Nielsen’s Top Ten last week. Dancing with the Stars actually made the Top Ten list twice, first place for Monday’s airing and sixth place for the Tuesday “Results” show airing. I guess the Nielsens just can’t get enough of B-rated has-been pseudocelebrities in tights.

There is hope, though: The Nielsen families are ageing, and their time may soon be up. We don’t have to rely on broadcast TV for our video content, unless you really do like Dancing with the Stars. There are many other sources, mostly provided over the Internet, that are replacing traditional television viewership.

Nielsen Research admits this themselves with their plans to integrate TV and Internet measurement. According to Nielsen, they “will establish the media and advertising industries' most comprehensive system for tracking and reporting streaming video and web site usage.” Nielsen is making a push to capture the Internet market as reported by Cnet News.

But it might be Google who actually delivers the tracking and reporting. According to Internet News this week, “The competition between Google and traditional television media isn't just talk anymore. It's on. In a statement e-mailed to InternetNews.com, the company said it is now offering ad-supported embedded video units to AdSense publishers.”

No matter who wins the battle to capture this market, it is the individual who wins. Each consumer is going to get counted, not just the select few Nielsen families. Programming and ad space will be truly customer-controlled and our strategies won’t be based on a few families with questionable taste.

As advertisers, with the ability to track more comprehensive data, our research and strategies can target our customers’ individual tastes and desires. We can also choose the most effective vehicles to reach our desired market and it most likely will not be traditional TV broadcasting.

With the Nielsen families out of the way, maybe we can even cancel Dancing with the Stars and give quality television the attention it deserves. Who knows, maybe we can even get Firefly back into production.

Internet Streaming and Interactive Ads

View-on-demand, streaming video made a major debut this fall with all 4 of the major TV broadcast networks. Full episodes of prime time broadcasting are available online, many in high definition resolution.

For the last few years, the television networks have watched their viewership erode because of influences from cable television, Internet and video games. Offering the shows for free on the Internet shortly after they air has brought in a big boost in viewership without siphoning off traditional viewership. This move acknowledges that consumers -- not networks -- have more control over their programming schedules.

Vivi Zigler, Executive Vice President of Digital Entertainment and NBC, said, “With the creation of this new service, we are acknowledging that now, more than ever, viewers want to be in control of how, when and where they consume their favorite entertainment.”

To provide their programming for free the networks are imbedding periodic ads into the stream. ABC has, in my opinion, the strongest on-line advertising strategy of the major networks. During an hour-long show, you view four 30-second commercials from the same sponsor. These aren't spots copied from TV; they're interactive, web presentations. The viewer has the choice to follow links deeper into their sponsor’s product or choose to continue with the television show. Also the brand logo of the sponsor constantly appears outside the video pane.

According to Reuters, 87 percent of streaming TV viewers can recall the advertising sponsors. Only 40% of traditional TV viewers can recall who sponsored their favorite show.

ABC mostly plays national ads, but the hope is to have local advertising based on where the viewer logs in. Based on the high sponsor retention of Internet viewers and the American desire to have our TV for free, it’s time to start working on your interactive Web TV ads.

Halo 3 Jacked Up On Mountain Dew

When I bought the first "Halo" video game, I played all day and night until day break the next day. I stayed awake slamming Diet Cokes. For the upcoming release of Microsoft’s Halo 3, I can stay awake and alert slamming Pepsi Inc.’s limited edition of Mountain Dew, called “Halo 3 Game Fuel.”

This is a product specifically made and marketed to a very targeted market—not just any video gamers, but those who will buy Halo 3 on its release date this August and stay up day and night until we conquer the game. H3GF is being touted as the first soft drink to be created for and co-branded with a video game.

Even though it is a very targeted market, it isn’t a small one. More than 14.7 million units of the previous Halo games have been sold worldwide. Those of us waiting for the third chapter in the game trilogy represent millions--and a lot of buying power.

A Pepsi spokesman told Adage, “Gaming is an important component in the marketing efforts for Mountain Dew. Our goal is to go beyond traditional advertising by creating initiatives that make the brand an integral part of the gaming experience."

"To be able to tie in with 'Halo' is a coup for Mountain Dew," said Mark Allenbach, Director, Interactive Media and Games at Frank N. Magid Associates. "It is considered the killer app for Microsoft, period.”

Pepsi’s targeted promotion to the Halo 3 gamers is a bold move to become part of the gaming experience, not just another choice of soft drink. With so many choices for consumers, as marketers we need to make that connection.

I just bought a Webkinz for my niece’s birthday. A Webkinz is a stuffed animal and the Sims combined.

It is a wonderful example of combining a traditional product with on-line multimedia. Each Webkinz comes with an access code to the on-line Webkinz world. Over a million of these animals sold since it’s launch last year relying mostly on word-of-mouth marketing.

Webkinz is an example of the growing trend to connect products with the interactive and personalized features of the internet. Webkinz takes a basic common product and lets the individual buyer bring it to life. You can and should do the same with your product or service. Even if it is as basic and traditional as a teddy bear you can make a direct and personal connection with your customer.

I've always been a fan of Lego. Not only is it a good product, the company puts those products in front of you in constantly new ways and mediums. I enjoy getting their seasonal catalogs and their DC comic book series. This past month I was blown away with their "New and Improved" Lego Factory.

The site is a perfect application of customization and personalization. From the site the customer can download the free Lego Digital Designer software.

Available for both PC and Mac, the Lego software lets modelers build a virtual model, automatically recording all the pieces used to make it. The customer can view their model from all angles, and when they are happy with it they upload the model and can buy the set of bricks to build the real thing.

This is pretty neat already, but Lego takes it a little further. The customer can then customize the box that the kit will come in. The software creates a 3D model of their creation, and then the customer can add a background from a library of pictures available.

The site also lets the customer share their creation with other potential Lego customers. Not only is Lego giving its customers a completely customized and personalized product, but it is adding to Lego's available product line.

Lego is a perfect example of how each one of your customers can have a unique, personal buying experience.

Targeted Direct Mail Marketing

Colleges and universities use direct mail intensively to reach college-bound high school students. Case in point: my daughter. Every other week she gets a brochure from a different college or university. The mailings often sit on the dining room table for days until she reads them. Last week she got a brochure from the “South Harmon Institute of Technology” that got her immediate attention. She announced that she is planning on going to it and so loved the brochure it is getting a prominent display space in her school locker.

The brochure looks like your typical college brochure, but is actually part of a direct marketing campaign by Universal Studios to promote its upcoming movie, “Accepted.” The spoof becomes obvious when you read class descriptions for Beerology 101, Psychology of Body Painting, and Rock Rehearsal 101. The trifold brochure tells about the school’s philosophy and its curriculum and it includes testimonials from students. On the last page it reveals the truth about the brochure with the url, www.acceptedmovie.com.

Movie studios, according to Alloy Media & Marketing, have increased spending 300% in the last three years to reach the teen market. Teens currently make up a $175 billion consumer market with one out of three high school seniors holding a major credit card. They are also considered ellusive even though they are the most public and connected of all the markets. Near 50% own cell phones, they purchase off the web, and they have personal web pages on community websites like MySpace, FaceBook, Bebo, Xanga, and Sconex. They put their lives out there for all to see and some marketers still think they are ellusive.

Traditional direct mail can still work with the young new market but the message must connect with the audience. Broad shotgun campaigns that mail the same piece to every household regardless of who lives aren’t effective and with rising postal rates they aren’t prudent. Direct mail campaigns need to target their audience and tailor the message them. Universal Studios made the connection. They mailed to college-bound teens and connected the concept with their audiences search for the ideal college. The direct mail campaign directs you to an online campaign that also supports the teen community culture by linking to myspace and facebook right on the landing page. One thing Universal missed however was the chance to measure response and see what kind of ROI the mailing got for them. They simply could have provided a unique web address to measure their response rate.

A targeted, one to one, direct mail campaign can effectively connect with your teen market. Teens, who generally receive many emails and text messages, receive very little postal mail. That piece of mail can easily rise about the clutter.

You spend a lot of money on email marketing campaigns and sponsored links, all to drive potential customers to your site.

When a customer finds your homepage, will she find the product she was searching for? If she found your site by searching “pashmini,” does she land on a page with pashmini on it? How many clicks is she away from where you want her to be?

In August 2005, J. Crew purchased a Yahoo! sponsored link to drive women searching for capri pants to their site to clear out summer merchandise.  When potential shoppers clicked on the sponsored link, they were taken to a page showing models wearing many different styles of slacks – but no capris. A tiny search box at the bottom of the page failed to return results for searching on “women’s capri pants”. Meanwhile, a competitor, RoyalRobbins.com, also purchased a sponsored link. Shoppers clicking on their link went straight to a page with three photos of different styles of capris, with “buy” buttons conveniently prominent.

In a retail clothing store, if a customer walks in the door and asks for a specific item, your trained salespeople will direct that shopper immediately to the right rack. Your people won’t give that shopper the chance to do a quick scan of the store and walk back out again. Do the same for your online presence. Direct your adword campaigns specifically to target very specific searches and guide your future customers directly to the products they want.

Don’t leave them standing at the front door.
http://internetretailer.com/article.asp?id=16239

Long, long ago, my children, there was a land where server space was dear, monitors were tiny and the only way to get on the Web was by dialup. In those days of 56K modems and 480 by 640 pixel monitors and walking barefoot in the snow to school both ways uphill were commonplace. Yes, my dears, we had it tough in those days.

Now you young whippersnappers take high-speed broadband for granted. Now server space is measured in terrabytes. You have them fancy flat screen monitors with all that high-fallutin’ 1280 by 1024 pixel screen resolution.

So what’s the problem? Why aren’t the pictures that were good enough for us, good enough for you?

This is exactly what many online retailers are dealing with today: A world that has moved on. The 300 x 300 product pictures that wowed yesterday’s shoppers barely fill an eighth of today’s surfers’ monitors. Too many of our online stores – and, sadly, most of our clients – are basing their standards on yesterday’s Internet. Yesterday’s detailed image is today’s thumbnail. Yesterday’s monitor was filled with only a small image, product description and a “buy” button. Now you can have a 500- to 600-pixel-square image and still have the perceptual size of yesterday’s images. Here is an example of 300 pixel square image:
http://photostudio.ovationadvertising.com/300x300.jpg

And now here it is at just 500 pixels square:
http://photostudio.ovationadvertising.com/500x500.jpg

Technology in the photo studio has moved on, too. The 6-megapixel camera of a couple of years ago is outmoded. Now, with 22-megapixel cameras the standard, you can easily update your website with pictures that will sell.

According to Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies in Silicon Valley, Apple’s recently released iPod nano will be “the hottest product for Christmas.”
http://www.sacbee.com/content/business/story/13533731p-14374294c.html

Apple is already the leader in mp3 players owning 74% of the market and the new nano is expected to capture the Christmas market. Last quarter Apple sold 6.2 million iPods and Apple chairman Steve Jobs predicts they will sell twice as many iPods between now and the end of December.

As in the last few years, consumer electronics, such as digital cameras, DVD players and MP3 players, topped the holiday shopping list of consumers in most major markets. Tickle Me Elmo’s and Cabbage Patch Kids just don’t make the list anymore. Regardless what products get to be branded the “hot Christmas gift”, sales are expected to be down.

In a survey last week by the International Council of Shopping Centers of 1,000 households nationwide, 59 percent said they are reducing their discretionary spending. This list includes items like clothing, shoes, jewelry, consumer electronics, restaurants and spa and beauty services, among other nonessential purchases.

That worries retail analysts such as Britt Beemer of America's Research Group, who noted that luxury spending has been the main driver behind holiday sales for the past three years. "I think it's very possible that, if gas prices stay over $3 [a gallon], we'll see the first negative [change in] retail sales for Christmas since Jimmy Carter was president," Beemer said.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/535/5602410.html

Much of this trend is attributed to hurricane Katrina, rising gas prices and rising interest rates. Regardless the reasons, retailers are already making plans to capture the Christmas consumer market. On Tuesday, Wal-Mart Chief Executive Lee Scott vowed to be "very aggressive" with discounts this season. And other retailers are expected to keep pace and avoid missing out.

If you are one of those retailers, may I suggest stocking up on a bunch of iPod nanos. I know one consumer who plans to buy one--me.
http://www.apple.com/ipodnano/

When we first reported on the new Podcast trend there were an estimated 6 million people listening to the downloaded audio. By the end of 2010, Diffusion Group of Plano predicts that 57 million Americans will be listening to podcasts. That's almost one of every five people in the country.

There is a lot of hope and confidence in this new medium. On August 16, PodShow.com received $8.85 million in strategic investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital and Sherpalo Ventures. Ron Bloom, PodShow.com founder and CEO, said, “PodShow intends to remain the most successful brand in podcasting.” By the way, the other co-founder is Adam Curry who is noted as the father of podcasting.

The medium is growing exponentially but the profits are elusive. And, as we reported on May 9, many blue-chip marketers were sponsoring podcasts and podcasting has gained general acceptance. As pointed out in that posting “ Marketers want to stay current with consumers who stray from traditional media, the so-called early adopters who influence others.” But this group of consumers can easily stay clear of the marketing messages we want them to hear.

According to Glen Emerson Morris of Advertising and Marketing Review, “ RSS (Podcast) users tend to be those who have TIVO and are willing and able to use the latest technology to filter out advertising whenever possible. In some cases, however, advertising can’t be avoided. If the page the RSS headline link opens has ads in addition to images related to the story, like many online newspaper stories do, there’s no easy way to filter out the ads. However, it should be remembered that most MP3 players allow fast forwarding through commercials, much like TIVO systems. Making commercials that people will want to listen to is the best solution.”

What advertising space do you have in your marketing plan? If you are looking for a unique placement of your next ad you might consider what companies like Toyota and Golden Palace Casinos are doing.

This seems to be the year of human billboards. It started in January when Jason Fischer, a web designer in Omaha Nebraska, started a trend getting $37,350.00 for the 30 day use of his head as a human billboard. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=440666 Following his example many copycats followed with auctions on eBay announcing “Your ad here”. The spaces available included shaved heads, feet, faces, bellies, and predictably breasts and butts.

Tattoo advertising is just one part of a growing trend of placing ads everywhere, including the sanitation disk holders in urinals and the bottom of a hole on a golf course, said Jim Ellis, a dean at USC's Marshall School of Business. "It's kind of the ultimate ad — the human body.”

The first “living billboard” was 22 year old Jim Nelson of Illinois, who sold the back of his head to advertise C I Host’s web services in 2003. http://www.send2press.com/PRnetwire/pr_03_1208-cihost.shtml

That same year London based Cunning (formerly Cunning Stunts Communications) launched ForeheADS™, described as "the medium that alleviates student debt whilst bringing a brand's message to the fore". One of their more recent campaigns put 40 students into Times Square the morning of April 7th to announce Toyota’s new Scion tC coupe.
http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=40218

The most notable exploits in human branding are by internet casino GoldenPalace.com. Golden palace has purchase a British woman’s breasts and two pregnant woman’s bellies. Elise Harp, a Roswell, GA model collected $8800 for ad space on her near full term belly.  http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/pregnant03.php

Golden Palace Casino also added to their many eBay purchases the right to change 33-year-old and mother of five Terri Ilagan’s name to GoldenPalace.com for $15,199. She won’t be the only one to be branded with the casino’s name. The casino owns the naming right of triplets due in August.  “One of the children will be named GoldenPalace.com for sure,” said GoldenPalace.com CEO Richard Rowe. “The other two names will be revealed in August when the children are born.
http://www.goldenpalaceevents.com/auctions/triplets01.php

Is it all paying off? For SnoreStop, who won Andrew Fischer’s forehead it has. They have reported in-store sales are up by 50%, and they are now actively looking for the next body space to advertise on. If you are interested you can you could be the next SnoreStop forehead person. Just go to their website for the details or you can simply place an order and get a free temporary tattoo with any order!

Is it correct today to be politically incorrect? Some marketers are being politically incorrect to appeal to the elusive young male market. They are putting aside political correctness and getting notice and increased sales with ad campaigns that are based around sex and “bad-boy” attitude.

I had the arduous task of researching these ad campaigns and have included links to many of the sites. If you go to these sites, you may have to explain to your coworkers and IT staff that what you’re doing is industry research—really!

One of the more recent ad campaigns is from Carl’s Jr. restaurants. Their current television spot of Paris Hilton washing a Bentley in a tight black swimsuit is getting a lot of attention even though the spot has aired in limited markets. Primarily do to television watchdogs including the Parents Television Council that refer to it as “soft-core porn". This label has given the ad even more appeal. If you haven’t seen it yet you can view it at the Carl’s Jr. website. http://www.carlsjr.com/

Carl’s Jr. reported that their May store sales were up 1.5%. CNN Money reported that Carl’s Jr. CEO and President Andrew Puzder “credited the new Spicy Burger advertising featuring Paris Hilton in a skin-tight swimsuit soaping up a Bentley and crawling all over it before taking a big bite out of the burger for driving positive same-store sales at Carl's Jr.”

Carl’s Jr. also relaunched their website on May 19. According to Brad Haley, Carl's Jr. EVP-Marketing, "There will be opportunities to see and do things on the sites that aren't available on traditional fast-food Web sites and, of course, we will be the only source for the 'too hot for TV' version of the Paris Hilton ad," he said.

The homepage resembles a young man’s apartment furnished with a plasma TV playing the Paris Hilton ad as well as ads for computer games and movies. There is a Maxim magazine on the arm of one of the leather chairs featuring the Carl’s Jr. girls. The layout features the scantily clad girls doing old stereotyped “womanly duties” of basic household chores--ironing, vacuuming and cleaning.

Unilever’s Axe deodorant and bath products also take an irreverent approach to political correctness. The campaign concept of the Axe Effect is that Axe body gel and deodorant makes a guy sexually irresistible to women. (A new twist on the concept that mothers have been telling their sons for years--use soap. “Just because you can’t smell yourself doesn’t mean you don’t stink.”)

If a guy can’t find some real women to test their Axe Effect on, Axe also is launching on a “mojo master” game site where men are challenged to test their “mojo” on a number of virtual “perfect babes”.

Why is political incorrectness acceptable now? Marian Salzman, trend spotter at ad agency J. Walter Thompson reported to USA Today in their June 1st report of this trend that "It's exactly two years after the 'metrosexual,' and it's a logical backlash against something that was too extreme. It's not going to be armpits and farts. It's going to be a lot more sensible."

An example of this backlash to the metrosexual male is Levi Jeans’ animated web ad. It features a man who goes through the metrosexual transformation with new fashions, waxing, exfoliating, grande lattes and low carb beers. In the end he needs to uncomplicate his life, sheds everything and finds happiness in his original 501 Levis. You can see the spot at http://www.501uncomplicate.com/.

As marketers we should always consider being a little irreverent and incorrect to get the right results.

There's a new book out there that sheds some interesting light on the buying public. “The Mom Factor: What Really Drives Where We Shop, Eat, and Play” by Nora Lee, suggests that even the most manly men of advertising and marketing should consider exercising their maternal side.

According to Lee, if you consider that the nation’s 108 million women are responsible for up to 80% of all consumer spending, and that three-fourths of those women are mothers…well, that's a good percentage of buyers. As Lee states, “It doesn’t take a mathematician to see that moms make well over half of the buying decisions in this country.”

Lee says that even though all moms are not created equal, there are some preferences when it comes to buying behaviors. According to Lee, mothers are looking for the following:

Safety. Lee says, “Moms can see danger around every corner.” Deliver a health or safety benefit and you've made inroads.

Time is money. Mothers never seem to have enough time - it's precious. And a product or service that claims to save time and be more efficient - and really does - is one that gets attention.

Educational opportunities. Just as toys need to be more than fun, so too do other life experiences. Going to a mall? You may make the experience more receptive if there's an exhibit on display. Or instead of just going to any restaurant, how about one that kids can actually see the food being prepared?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0874209447/qid=1116445221/sr=1-15/ref=sr_1_15/104-6720153-0186356?v=glance&s=books

Toy sales are down and the toy industry is reporting diminishing revenues and growing net losses. Mattel Inc, the number one toymaker, reported Friday April 15 that net earnings fell 28% for the first quarter. Mattel attributes it primarily to to declining sales in Barbie dolls.

They are not alone as Hasbro, the number two manufacturer, also reported a 4th quarter shortfall. And Danish toy maker Lego Systems announced that their sales fell 6.8% and as a result suffered a net loss for 2004 of $333 million.

Retailers are also reporting the decline. Toys "R" Us, second largest toy retailer after Wal-Mart, reported sales down 1.4% during the recent holiday season.  As a result, the company announced it was splitting it’s Toys "R" Us chain from it’s profitable Babies "R" Us chain this year. This decision came after the company already closed 102 Kids "R" Us stores.  Before the split could happen Bain Capital and Vornado Realty Trust made an offer to buy the faultering toy company. According to today’s(April 17th) Forbe’s this “likely means the closing of 200 money-losing Toys “R” Us stores nationwide.”

Nooooo! This can’t be happening. We just got a Toys "R" Us in La Crosse and it may be closing! I’ve been doing my part. I just bought a Hasbro laser tag game at Toys “R” Us. It was for my son, of course. But globally, in spite of my efforts, sales of traditional toys have dropped as other parents have purchased consumer electronics like mp3 players and cell phones for their kids. Yeah, a mp3 player might be cool, but it’s not as cool as a Super Soaker Aquapack Devastator Blaster with an external water pack.  Is it?

If you do, you are among 10,000 others who every night at midnight log into Woot.com to buy today’s new Woot (short for Wow! Loot!), or the other 70,000 who visit throughout the day when most of the items are sold out.

Woot is a new model of online marketing. Woot sells only one item each day until that item is sold out. The products are mainly electronic closeouts at bargain-basement prices. One day’s Woot might be an electronic watch; another it may be a Cuisinart coffee maker. Today, it is a plain brown box labeled, “Mystery Brand 5.1 Channel 6pc Speaker Set.” (It sold out before I had a chance to look at it, at 5:00 a.m. Central time.) Each item is described with clear, humorous copy. If you are like me you find yourself going there each day to see what the Woot of the Day is.

Matt Rutledge, Woot’s founder, came up with the idea out of “laziness.” Rutledge said he didn’t want to become an Amazon.com with 50,000 products up for sale at any one time. It is easier to sell one product at a time. Woot started in July of 2004 and in its FAQ sheet it says, “We anticipate profitability by 2043,” Truth is, by the end of 2004, six months later, Woot had nearly $5 million in revenue and was operationally profitable.

Woot’s success is more than its great one-time deals. It is also the community Woot has built. The community boards have an obsessive following. Many posts are in the first minutes after midnight when the new Woot goes up for sale. And there are regular photo contests, with cash prizes, where you can illustrate your newly purchased Woot in your most creative scenario.

You can get your Woot here. For more information on Woot visit these sites:
http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.a...amp;brk=1
http://www.newsobserver.com/24ho…-9873764c.html