I spent twelve of the best years of my life with Pizza Hut as a member of one of the finest regional marketing teams ever assembled. We were good! Shout outs to some other members of this team including industry leaders like Frank Strangis, Dave Reno, Frank Arnone, and Bob Paine. Under David Novak’s leadership and with the freedom he gave us to “Make It Great” our efforts to build Pizza Hut’s regional franchise flourished. Truth is that “Making It Great” was David Novak’s personal vision long before he caused it to become Pizza Hut’s corporate mission. Continue reading
Last week while I was waiting for an appointment I came across a review of a book titled “The Mobile Mind Shift” on my smartphone. I decided that I wanted that book so I connected with Amazon and ordered it with one click.
Earlier this week my daughter Katherine told my wife that she needed to get some things. My wife asked, “Where would you go to get something like that?” to which Katherine promptly replied, “Online.”
These were just two of hundreds of millions of mobile moments that are occurring across the US every day.
I should have stopped by the restroom before getting onto the plane. By the time we’d boarded, waited for clearance, finally taxied halfway to our destination and taken off I was counting the seconds until the “keep seat belt fastened’ light went off. As soon as it did I jumped from my seat in coach and sprinted up through first class only to be cut off right in front of the lavatory by someone else just as he was cut off by the flight attendant as she entered the lavatory. Continue reading
Sometimes to make a game or activity more fun you can just change the rules. In business when it’s almost impossible to compete in a traditional manner you must change the game by changing the rules. Continue reading
Neither Steve Hyland nor I earned a red cent from the Fridge Pak.
Everyone has rules. They are the fundamental principles that guide us. If you watch NCIS you are aware of Gibb’s Rules. Gibbs is the team leader and members of his team frequently refer to his rules by Rule Number. They rarely if ever quote the rule so the viewer is left trying to determine the actual rule content. Continue reading
My friend Clark asked if I’d seen the new Coca-Cola Sixer 6 pack for cans. It is a slimmed down version of the Fridge Pak. He was aware of my connection to the original Fridge Pak and wanted to make sure I saw this new version. I set out immediately after leaving our meeting to find it and quickly gave it a new home in my refrigerator. Continue reading
It was 1991, well before cell phones had made their debut and the front desk attendant had just given me a pink message slip as I was headed out to dinner. A reporter from the Atlanta Journal Constitution had called and wanted to speak with me. I purposed to call her back first thing in the morning. Continue reading
“We need a go-to-market strategy for our retail channel customers that allows us to leverage our wealth of consumer and shopper behavioral research to their advantage.” My client went on to further clarify the assignment, “We know more about when and why people drink soft beverages and how they shop for them than anyone else. We need to turn this knowledge into a competitive advantage.” Continue reading
After writing about Taco Bell’s assault of the fast food breakfast daypart and McDonald’s response I set out to get some firsthand battlefield exposure. Heading out with my trusted sidekick Joshua, we set our sights on Taco Bell to get our mitts on some Waffle Tacos, from there we’d go thru McDonald’s drive thru to get some free coffee and then home for a food selfie and breakfast. Continue reading
