The Big Fat Marketing Blog

When we were looking to “go Web 2.0″ with the Chief Marketer Network’s Websites back in 2008, the topic of article commenting came up. The team that was assembled had asked if there were any vendors who had a plug-in that would work with our site, or if we should look at some sort of a comment aggregation service to facilitate the process.

My advice then: Don’t go with Topix.com. It’s a cesspool for bottom-feeding Internet trolls who have nothing better to do but cowardly hide behind aliases and leave racist, homophobic, libelous, slanderous, tasteless, classless and downright rude comments on every article it attaches itself to. And apparently the publications that use Topix.com do not have the ability to remove those comments, no mater how much its reputation can be damaged.

Topix.com sunk to a new low this week, giving consumers to self-serve privilege to remove racist, homophobic, libelous, slanderous, tasteless, classless and downright rude comments left about them… for a $19.95 fee. That’s just as disgusting as the trolls who have helped spearhead the death of civility on the Internet. more

I’m the lonely MCM Awards guy, and I’m waiting for your entries. I kind of feel like Charlie Brown, camped out at the mail box, hoping the Little Red-Haired Girl will send him a Valentine.

Maybe I’m just being wishy-washy. I know there were a lot of great catalogs and e-commerce sites that are worthy of getting Gold or Silver in the 2010 MCM Awards. And I’m sure those merchants are just waiting until the last minute to get their entries done.

Some merchants be afraid to enter, thinking they will have to compete against titans like Orvis, L.L. Bean and Harry & David. But we made some changes in categories that we hope help the Daveys of multichannel retail compete with the Goliaths. more

Give Sears an “A” for targeting me with this e-mail based on my zip code, but the offer is a bust… unless they think I’ve wasted precious time at the gym.

Sears says my bra may not fit right. I can register to go to a custom fitting at the Danbury, CT store (about 20 miles from by house, as the bird flies). The problem is, it’s a “girls-only gathering.”

I don’t even wear a “manziere” (or a “bro”). more

Are you ready to be recognized? It’s time to enter your catalogs and Websites in the MCM Awards!

In honor of the 25th Anniversary of the competition, we’ve made significant improvements to the program, including a new digital entry process, revamped categories to level the playing field, enhanced evaluation feedback from the judges, and much more. more

Gillette may be dropping Tiger Woods as a pitchman, but another men’s grooming company says it’s lucky to be gaining from the pro golfer’s recent woes. LoHud.com, the Website of The Journal News, reports that Lucky Tiger grooming products has seen a 20% increase in Internet sales since Woods’ bizarre automobile accident woke the skeletons in his closet. more

Score one for e-commerce over bricks and mortar.

I managed to short out my Samsung BlackJack II PDA last week, getting out of my car and heading into a meeting. I scraped my car keys against the keyboard and after a quick flash, it was history.

So as an AT&T subscriber, I knew I could go online and check out which upgrade I was eligible for, and how much it would cost. Knowing my wife wanted an iPhone for herself, I was fine with the free PDA AT&T offered me: The Nokia E71x. The reviews and ratings were great, and the phone had everything I wanted and needed, but I wanted to physically test it out before I bought it. more