The Big Fat Marketing Blog

It’s the morning after Promo’s Pro Awards gala in Chicago. And, as often happens, I came away with a sense of wonderment.

There were some very strange trends on view. For starters, marketers are luring consumers into small spaces for, uh, private activities. more

It’s the morning after Promo’s Pro Awards gala in Chicago. And, as often happens, I came away with a sense of wonderment.

There were some very strange trends on view. For starters, marketers are luring consumers into small spaces for, uh, private activities. more

Meijer is a big-box hypermarket with a loyal customer following, plenty of Halloween costume options, and stores around the upper Midwest, but not within Chicago’s friendly confines. To encourage Chicagoans to make a trip to the suburbs and shop a Meijer’s for Halloween, the company did what any sensible marketer would do: It sought to give the citizenry a terminal case of the willies.

The campaign started in mid-October by plastering portions of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and Wrigleyville neighborhoods with posters warning the citizens to be on the lookout for a headless horseman on the night of Oct. 17, offering a mobile shortcode to report sightings and a chance at a $1,000 gift card reward. more

Meijer is a big-box hypermarket with a loyal customer following, plenty of Halloween costume options, and stores around the upper Midwest, but not within Chicago’s friendly confines. To encourage Chicagoans to make a trip to the suburbs and shop a Meijer’s for Halloween, the company did what any sensible marketer would do: It sought to give the citizenry a terminal case of the willies.

The campaign started in mid-October by plastering portions of Chicago’s Michigan Avenue and Wrigleyville neighborhoods with posters warning the citizens to be on the lookout for a headless horseman on the night of Oct. 17, offering a mobile shortcode to report sightings and a chance at a $1,000 gift card reward. more

Perk an extra pot of coffee or set your DVRs, folks, ’cause Turner Classic Movies is screening not one but two Herschell Gordon Lewis classics in the wee hours of Nov. 1.

I realize some of you may be uncultured heathens, so let me give you a quick education. In addition to being a direct marketing copywriting legend, Lewis is also revered as the “godfather of gore,” thanks to his early days as a B-movie director. more

Those who truly understand direct marketing know that sometimes beautiful isn’t best. It doesn’t matter how aesthetically pleasing a campaign is—if it gets results, it’s a winner.

The rest of the world may be catching up to DM. Check out this piece in the New York Times, about the trend to make being “ugly” not so…um, ugly a thing.