Never a Lack of Ideas

I'm excited to announce that I have accepted a job to lead marketing at Portillo's , a restaurant chain based in Chicago. It's a bit of a homecoming for me — I worked as a cashier at the Portillo's on Rt. 59 in Naperville while on summer and winter breaks in high school and college. Check out the two pictures here: the first is me in my Portillo's uniform when I was 17. The second is me outside the Portillo's in Buena Park, California the day before I accepted the most recent offer. If I had known in that first picture what I know now, I would've shown a little more enthusiasm. I am honored to be the first ever marketing employee at Portillo's. Berkshire Partners recently purchased the company, and along with the existing Portillo's team, they have a great plan for the future. I'm happy to say that we can all expect to receive the same quality service and food from Portillo's going forward. Thank You, Google It's very diff...

Google and the Beanstalk Google recently mailed a letter to small businesses, encouraging them to use Google AdWords to grow their business. The paper on which the letter was printed is embedded with wildfire seeds. The letter's postscript reads: "This card was printed on 100% recycled paper embedded with wildflower seeds. Plant it in a sunny spot with a thin layer of soil, add water, and watch it grow — while you watch your business grow with AdWords." I have planted the card in a pot. Let's see if it grows. Direct Mail is Not Dead Despite what many bloggers might say, direct mail advertising is not dead. This mailing proves that there are still many creative ways to reach customers through the printed page that can't be achieved in another way. It's easy to measure the success of direct mail marketing campaigns, which makes them easy to test. Add This To Your To-Do List If you've never tried a direct mail campaign, it's time to start. Build a list of...

Where Was that Filmed? IMDB should use the Google Maps API to showcase the places movies were filmed or took place. It would be a great additional feature to the site and could even generate revenue for IMDB. Here's how: What if, while looking at information about a specific move on IMDB, you could click to look at a Google map of the places in which that movie was filmed or took place? If the filming location is one that requires tickets to visit, like Alcatraz in San Francisco, the map could link to the location's ticketing website (see my mocked-up screen shot on the right). The location and IMDB could partner together in a profit sharing agreement for all ticket sales that come from IMDB's website. This would be a great way for local businesses to earn foot and web traffic, too. Want to know where the end scene was filmed for The Fugitive? Oh, that was at the Hilton in Chicago — we should go check it out! Add This To Your To-Do List Are there ways in which you can in...

Best Brands in the Land Happy Halloween! In what will hopefully become an annual tradition, I present to you my list of the top ten brands in the United States. To create this list, I relied heavily upon my opinion of the general perception of each brand versus its competitors, and how much of a premium the brand can charge because of that perception. I didn't get hung up on revenue data or market share numbers — I just went with what I see and hear every day and threw in my own opinion from a marketer's point of view. Here's my list, starting with the best brand in the land: Victoria's Secret — The brand became a household name by charging a premium for products that very few people see when worn; and then turned that brand equity into a complete line of clothing. Google — Do you use any other search engine? I'll bet you've even used the word "Google" as a verb. Apple — The iPod, iTunes, and iPhone have defined their categories. Facebook — The d...