Sam Calagione, the founder and CEO of Dogfish, is an excellent marketer even though I have never seen a commercial, billboard, or paid trending topic by Dogfish Head.  Through Brew Masters (as well as being featured in the documentary “Beer Wars”), Dogfish has the opportunity to share the stories behind their company, their employees, and their brews.   During the shows, Dogfish tells the story of how they’ve grown from a small company into what they are today, hey reinforce their slogan of “Off center brews for off center people,” and they also go in depth about how much of a story each different beer is (A few examples; Using wood from a small wood surf board company, drawing inspiration from music for a new blend of beer, and traveling the world to see how traditional “Chicha” is made).  I’m sure that these stories not only drive sales of the brews they show made on Brew Masters, but also build interest in their other brews, as well as drive customer loyalty as people get to know the stories of the individuals who work at Dogfish Head.

That’s great and all, but what about you?  You may not have a show on Discovery Channel, but you do have stories to tell.  The great thing about technology today is that you CAN share your stories even without a tv show!

Start blogging, interact with your customers – not only on the front lines, but also on Twitter and Facebook, you can even make your own videos that share your stories.  Create a connection with your customers.  Show them that your brand is real people, that you put your heart and soul into your product, and that there is more to your product than a price.  Become a master storyteller of your brand, your people, and your experiences.  We all have these stories and others are interested in them.

It’s been a huge success and people have been flocking to Facebook and Twitter to find out what the next clue is, when it will be announced, and who ended up solving the clue and finding the menu.  I’ve seen similar promotions run at other companies, but never with as much excitement as Canlis has drawn up with this current #CanlisMenus campaign (search for that hashtag in twitter and you’ll see what I’m talking about).  On top of the fans trying to figure out the clue, local newspapers have written about the campaign, radio hosts have been discussing it, there has even been a fan website created where people talk about their hunt for the Canlis menus.

What has made the promotion a success, and what I would recommend to someone else creating a similar campaigns is in the details:

• 1 clue a day (6 days a week)
• Tough to decipher clues (I have been thoroughly stumped by many of them.  Even after using Google I’ve still been wrong.
• One of the owners of Canlis has been by the menu each time to congratulate the winner and update Twitter and Facebook that the menu has in fact been found
• Changing the styles of the clues (some are word plays, some are Seattle specific, some are historical, etc.)
• They have also brought to light much of Seattle’s rich history where people are learning more about their city through the clues.
• The high value of the menus.  A dinner for two at 1960 prices. (I’d estimate the value at $200 as it does not include drinks)
• The fact that the dinner still costs something also adds to the nostaligia of the contest.  It’s not a free dinner, but a $40 dinner for two at this kind of an establishment is an amazing value.

Some people have argued that this promotion won’t help put paying “butts in seats” and that this doesn’t address Canlis’ ideal customers and that it is therefore not a good promotion for such a high value establishment.  Although I can see that point, I believe it is missing the overall point, and that it is being too short sighted.

Canlis has people talking about this.  They’ve created a group of raving fans who are always following Canlis, they’ve received enough publicity to easily cover the costs of this promotion, and they’re also giving back to the local community while connecting people with the roots of the city and the old establishment that they are.  It’s a win, win, win.

I’m not necessarily a fan of the jerseys myself, but I have been intrigued by the newly found revenue stream of teams and leagues, the third jersey.  Teams have found that if they wear a throwback jersey, introduce a new color jersey, or even re-brand their entire uniform that people will buy the jerseys and that these jersey sales are big money. Look at a team like the University of Oregon (Yes, it took alot for me to capitalize that) and the 5 jerseys their football team has worn this year.

However, with the Seahawks wearing the jerseys only once and announcing that they won’t wear them again, this third jersey may have been a Marcus Tubbs sized flop (I’m talking about the fact that we drafted him one pick before Steven Jackson).  Around Seattle there have been billboards, bus ads, newspaper ads, basically a jailhouse blitz of advertising dedicated to these new jerseys.  Without the Hawks wearing the jerseys I’m sure the sales will be drastically falling off and I wonder how long it will be until the only place to find your “Green with envy” jerseys will be the half-off rack.

I don’t have any numbers, but it appears that this third jersey may have been the first major failure in the “buy our new jersey” revenue stream.  I doubt that the amount of money spent on advertisement has even been recouped in the few weeks since the jerseys were worn until today when they are retiring cutting the jerseys.  You also have to consider the amount that Reebok  spent to produce and distribute these jerseys (I wonder if the Hawks have a contract with Reebok into how much they have to wear a third jersey as players cannot change their name or number during the season unless they’re traded).

I’d imagine there were many meetings taking place after practices that involved the football operations saying that they don’t like the look and that the jerseys were bad (They were 0-1 in them) and the marketing department was saying that the team should wear them at least one more game to help recoup the costs.  At the least I’m surprised the fact that the jerseys were being retired came out before Christmas and I’m sure the marketing team is not that pleased with Jim Mora for eating into the “Green for the Holidays” jersey sales.  The advertising push, mixed with selling these jerseys off the sales rack ($25), rather than as one off authentic customized jerseys ($259-$309) is not a winning combination for anyone involved and I’m sure it will cause teams to take a longer time deciding which third/throwback jersey to wear, produce and sell.

I was invited into the program early, before it was open to the public, and for free. Great! I love being an early adopter, I love Starbucks, and I’m not going to lie, I like being “that guy” who the baristas say “Ohh, this is a Gold Card.”

After using the card for a few weeks I wanted to give some early feedback, and maybe some information for anybody that is thinking about buying one when they become available November 4th. Starbucks, if you want to hire me for these insights, feel free. :)

Previously to being invited to join the Starbucks Gold Card program I had been a registered Starbucks Card holder since they started giving you free syrups and milks and had been using a Starbucks Card for much longer than that. In fact I have been using the Ichiro card that came out over three years ago until I got the new, slick looking, Gold Card. All that being said, yes, I go to Starbucks a good amount.

So what does the Starbucks Gold card get you? So far it has gotten me 10% off my drinks and food. They say there will be other benefits given online over time, but I haven’t seen anything in the past few weeks. You get 10% off of other products as well and a free drink on your birthday.

Over the last few weeks I have probably earned 2 free drinks (based on saving 10% a drink). To make things easy, let’s say I buy a grande Americano everyday (which I don’t, although I do buy Americanos not the expensive drinks). That would cost me apx. $890 over the year, and with the Starbucks Gold card I would save apx. $89, or roughly 36 free grande Americanos. That’s quite the savings if you ask me, and for a free card (or even a $25 card) it is well worth it. Factor in buying for other people, snacks, gifts, and you could be making back 10X your investment fairly quickly. Sounds great, it is…but is it could easily be better.

Here are the knocks I have with the card;

1. You don’t get refills, even though it is a registered card.
2. You don’t get free Soy or Syrups, even if you have registered the card.

I guess those are the only two knocks that I have on the Gold card, but trying to be an elite or somewhat exclusive program they should take care of these benefits that they already offer to other “registered” card holders.

What does this mean on your bottom line? If you buy Soy drinks of any size, get coffee refills, or buy tall or short drinks with syrups the registered card, as opposed to the Gold Card, is actually is a better deal.  For me, being an Americano drinker who likes refills it has actually led to me having to carry two Starbucks cards. To save money on the Americano I use the Gold Card, then when it’s time for my refill I use the registered card. You can call me cheap if you’d like, but if you know me you know it comes down to the principal of the program and the benefits.

Why doesn’t Starbucks just let the registered Gold Card members get free syrups, milk upgrades, and of course the refills?  Obviously the Gold Card members are loyal and with the special invites going out Starbucks wants these card carriers them feel valued.  Not taking care off these small details will hurt the overall experience for those who buy the Gold Card and make them question if they should join, or if joining was the right choice.

Overall I love the program, but would love these small changes made.  Not only to save me the hassle and the money but to also make me, as a Gold Card member, feel just that much more exclusive than I was as a regular “registered” Starbucks Card holder.

Brad Steven’s giving Starbucks Ideas a sneak peek

Starbucks finally listened to me!*

Back on December 12 of last yearI wrote a piece in response to an Ad Age article that was sent to me by faithful commenter TD. As I said at the time, I think Starbucks should offer a happy hour. It would help their stock bounce back as it would lure a new audience at a slow time of their business. Simply offer discounted drinks from 5-6:30 to get people to stop by Starbucks rather than a bar to catch up after work and before dinner.

Well, last week “kyle” commented on that post saying that there is a store in Houston that is offering a happy hour of kinds.

“This just in… There is one Starbucks in Houston actually doing a happy hour. I know this to be true, because I work at it. In the Northwest Part of Houston, in the Willowbrook area Starbucks has Happy Hour between 5pm-7pm EVERYDAY (yes Sat and Sun, too). All Frappuccinos are 50% off!
Address 7606 FM 1960W Houston TX 77070″

Luckily, a good friend of mine, and fellow Starbuck’s fan lives in Houston and was able to go check out what “kyle” had reported on this here site. For the full report checkout Lach’s post here. As Lach did some investigative reporting this is brief report on if this was a test market, or what was going on with this new Starbucks happy hour.

“The employees working there said it was this store only, and not a push from corporate. They just printed the signs and started selling half off frapps during happy hour that Monday. They did seem nervous about all my questions, but they should be. The Mother Ship will not be pleased. They run a tight ship and don’t generally give stores flexibility over pricing.”

Well, we’ll see how long THAT happy hour lasts. I doubt that the Starbucks Support Center will be a fan of hearing about a rouge Starbucks offering half price drinks. I bet it’s working out well for “Frap” sales as well as overall store sales, but unless they have phenomenal numbers, I have a feeling this is going to go the way of the Iced Coffee’s in stores.

Thanks for the tip kyle and the follow up Lach! Howard, please bring this offer to the masses!

*Starbucks probably did not listen to me in particular.

Gordon Smith who is a Republican Senator from Oregon has recently started his campaign for re-election. I don’t know anything about Smith other than the fact that he is a Republican that somehow got elected in Oregon. So what caught my eye about this campaign, when I don’t even live in Oregon anymore?

Smith, it appears, is campaigning hard for the Oregon Duck fan votes. Look at the image above and to the right. The above image which has a simple logo of Smith’s may catch some people as having a very familiar font. Yes, it’s the exact same font as the Oregon Ducks have been using for a few years. Then in a screen-shot from his tv spot, Smith uses the appealing to hippie colors of green and yellow.

It seems very strange to me that a politician running for office in Oregon would choose to so closely tie himself (at least in appearance) to one of the three major sports teams and two major universities in Oregon. Does he figure he has the more right leaning (not by much) Oregon State vote? Does his campaign manager figure this will be a good way to get a republican voted for by the heavy left leaning Univeristy of Oregon fans, alum, and students? Also, from his wikipedia entry, I learned he is a BYU alum. Not long ago BYU and Oregon almost got into a little bit of a street fight in Las Vegas after Oregon taking exception to BYU performing the Haka at their own event.

What do you guys think? Is this going to work? Will it eliminate Beaver fans (like me, if I were an Oregon voter)? Is it just a play for the Oregon fans, or what?

Article Link

Leave it to Weezer to put together the king of all viral music videos. They took the internets biggest viral videos, added their song and now they have their own viral video. I love that they how they have K-Fed, Miss Teen South Carolina, the Numa Numa guy, changing the words and actions to fit this video. Makes it even better.

[Update] Just found a montage of all of the videos referenced in the video, for those of you not up on your viral videos. Couldn’t embed it, so head over to Valleywag if you want to see it.

http://valleywag.com/393048/weezers-pork-and-beans-deconstructed

Then this coming Thursday is the beginning of March Madness.  The best sporting event of the year that typically does not have Oregon State in it.  With the tournament comes office pools and many many brackets being filled out, distributed, and talked about with almost every person you know.  I have what I think is my final bracket, but with UCLA having two potential game changing injuries, I may have to change it again tomorrow.

As there is a rumor that Starbucks may be unveiling a customer loyalty program tomorrow it got me thinking as to what this program can, will, and should look like.  A free drink every ten drinks?  Doesn’t seem like it’s worth it.  A bonus for auto-filling your Starbucks Card?  Potentially.  More personalized emails, offers, recommendations, etc.  Hopefully.  However, with my regular Starbucks having the occasional trivia games with free drinks (or high-fives), it hit me. 

Starbucks should unveil a nation wide NCAA bracket challenge.  Everyone is getting into it, even John McCain has his bracket, that you can sign up for and win McCain shwag (Sounds exciting).  

Think about it.  Starbucks makes a brackets that you can fill out online, or fill out in person at your local Starbucks.  They then tie each bracket to a registered Starbucks Card holder.  Starbucks is then able to put updates on their chalk boards each morning as to who the leaders at that particular Starbucks are and where they rank in the state or nation (if they are close to the top).  This creates a HUGE connection in the store, between the baristas and customers and even among the customers.  Starbucks offers, a weeks worth (1 a day) of whatever the customers most frequently ordered drink is (as it’s tied to their Starbucks Card) if they win the individual store bracket, maybe a month if they win the state, and a year if they win the whole thing.  A year worth of coffee at say $4 is still only apx $1500.  Not much to create the type of buzz and community that this would bring with it.This would bring people back to either the store or the website, create a bond between a large group of people, and in my opinion would drive up loyalty which in turn drives up sales.  They can then parlay this into other trivia games, fantasy sports leagues, random drawings, etc.

Now THAT is a good customer loyalty program for Starbucks if you ask me.  What do you think?  Am I to wrapped up in these two events?  Is it to crazy of an idea?

Well Southwest has now announced that they will be rolling out full on wifi in their planes, which will be the fastest wifi in the US. Jet Blue has been praised for their wifi, but from all reports I have heard, it’s a very handcuffed wifi that is more frustrating than it is worth. If Southwest rolls out fully functioning wifi there might be a reason for me to start traveling Southwest again, and there is definitely a reason for the productivity ads they have recently been running.

Valleywag story

Dreamhost sent out an email, posted a blog entry, and many other blogs started writing about the mixup. The billing team at Dreamhost has taken a very non-chalant tone in all of their customer contact pieces, and they continued this tone, even in a HUGE mixup that they made. They actually billed $7.5M to customers today, which isn’t bad for a single day of billing I guess.

The honesty and humor was a perfect mix of being up front as well as keeping their same tone to keep me feeling good about hosting my domains with Dreamhost. A great company who I highly recommend… unless they triple bill you.

For a good reach check out their blog entry addressing the issue: Dreamhost Blog- “Um, Whoops”