Brand Mix

Apparently you, my dear readers, have different and better things to do on the weekend than read my blog. At least that's what the data say. Or perhaps you just aren't interested in the weekly round-up that I've been posting on Saturdays. Let's see which it is. Here's a midweek round-up of weekly things of interest:

1) 10 Promotional Stunts That Horribly Backfired: Yahoo! Finance
From the Cartoon Network bomb scare to KFC running out of chicken in a chicken giveaway, a list of some of the most notable promotional mishaps.

2) Top Ten Branded Social Media Nightmares: Inventorspot (via BrandWeek)
While we're in this mode, how about the top 10 social media snafus? This list features all our favorites including United Airlines and its guitar, Motrin's headache and Domino's unfortunate added ingredients. (Note to self: Top 10 lists are always fun to read--you should do one.)

3) RadioShack Plans Reinvention: BusinessWeek
Lots of commentary, mostly negative, about Radio Shack's plans to refer to itself as The Shack in upcoming marketing promotions. Picked this one from BusinessWeek because it includes a quote from me. For a different take, read Fritinancy's post.

4) Temptation More Powerful Than Individuals Realize: Science Daily
"Whether it's highlighted in major news headlines about Argentinean affairs and Ponzi schemes, or in personal battles with obesity and drug addiction, individuals regularly succumb to greed, lust and self-destructive behaviors." People have much less restraint than they think they do, according to new research from the Kellogg School of Management. I'm tempted to say more but I won't.

5) Measuring Economic Growth from Outer Space: Marginal Revolution
As Tyler Cowen says, Henderson et al. have come up with a clever idea using satellite data on lights at night as a proxy for GDP growth. It's being used to measure things like the impact of changes in agricultural productivity on African city incomes.

6) Instantly Transcribe a Whiteboard with Your Cameraphone: HarvardBusiness
Gina Trapani reports on two new services that capture all your whiteboard brilliance on a cameraphone. Simply snap a pic, send it to Evernote or qipit and get back a transcript. Brilliant!

That's it! Depending on the results of this test, see you same time next week or back on the weekend for more stories from the world of brand strategy. More pontification also available on Twitter (@martinjbishop).