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Archive for October, 2005

Tuesday is the new Wednesday

Oct 25

Posted by Bo in Brilliance in Marketing | No Comments

In the last year, I’ve read several industry case studies and marketing advice columns that suggest which days should have the highest open and click rates for campaigns. The most common recommendation was Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday weren’t far off, though.

For postal bulk mail, the big day of the week is usually Wednesday. That’s when the pile of grocery store flyers typically come, along with the other pamphlets and coupons that I usually toss in the recycling bin by the door on my way inside. For email marketing, it’s looking like Tuesday is rapidly becoming the new Wednesday.

As of 8pm, I have received 11 email advertisements in my inbox today (Tuesday). These messages are not spam, mind you, these are legitimate marketing offers from companies I have business relationships with. Today’s batch includes offers from such companies as Apple’s iTunes, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, and Blockbuster.

Looking at my inbox over the last three weeks, here’s the average of how many legitimate commercial messages I’ve received each weekday:

  • Sunday: 4
  • Monday: 1
  • Tuesday: 10
  • Wednesday: 6
  • Thursday: 3
  • Friday: 1
  • Saturday: 0

That’s an average of 3.5 per day. 2.5 per non-Tuesday. If I were in charge of email marketing at these companies, and I marketed to customers with inboxes like my own, I’d be shooting for any other day of the week. I’d much rather compete with one or two companies than 10.

I know that my single inbox is not a representative sample of the whole, meaning I certainly can’t definitively prove that everyone’s inbox looks like mine … but I wonder how many companies follow the “Tuesday (or Wednesday) is the best day” advice given by these marketing gurus without actually testing it for themselves.

The great beauty of email marketing is that it can be so incredibly targeted. Imagine how much more effective those Blockbuster coupons would’ve been had they arrived on a day I was looking for something to do when I got home, rather than watching Game 3 of the World Series. Heck, they know I’m a single guy in Texas who likes movies about sports. (Had they taken the time and effort to look at their own data.) They should’ve sent me this offer yesterday.

Oh, would you look at that? As I wrote this, email #12 arrived.

Fresh from Austin, Minnesota to you!

Oct 23

Posted by Bo in From the hip | No Comments

So what’s the Spammobile doing in a totally “corporate” area full of office complexes? What are they doing in Texas? Your guess is as good as mine. They’re from Minnesota, maybe they’re just snowbirds trying to escape the cold weather. (Can’t say I blame them!)

Click here to check out other photos I’ve uploaded to my Flickr page.

Have a Spamtastic Day!

Oct 23

Posted by Bo in From the hip | No Comments

Thursday on our lunch break we happened upon “The Spammobile” in a parking lot by our office. So of course, Scott and I had to stop and have our pictures taken with it!

Click here to check out other photos I’ve uploaded to my Flickr page.

1923 was probably a great year for wine … but books?

Oct 19

Posted by Bo in Brilliance in Marketing, Geeky stuff | No Comments

TIME Magazine recently published a list of ALL TIME “100 best English-language novels from 1923 to the present.” There’s some good stuff on there. (I’ve read about 20% of it.)

One thing strikes me as really odd, though:

That pesky 1923-present timeframe. Why 1923? Their own “how we picked the list” page says it’s because that’s the year that TIME Magazine began. Seems a little self-important, doesn’t it? (Not that it would be the first time a magazine’s done that…)

I actually think it’s a really clever marketing gimmick … By my understanding, 1923 also happens to be the earliest year for works published with a copyright notice (that has been renewed) to not be considered part of the public domain. So, most novels published in 1923 or later are still under copyright.

Sounds like a great way for Time Warner to drum up some publicity for all of those books in their portfolio that aren’t named “Harry Potter and the __________” doesn’t it?