DeLl HapPEnS

I received a Dell freebie today. At first, I thought it might be a part that a co-worker ordered that was sent to my attention by mistake. Then, upon closer examination, it became clear that it was a marketing tactic.... although it was not executed well at all. The teaser text on the outside of the shipping box says "Don't take this personally, but you've got problems." There is also a Dell logo and an Intel logo. When you open the outer box, there is a nicely printed pamphlet, again with the Dell and Intel logos, that promotes Dell products from servers to laptops.... "Take IT problems off your hands with help from Dell and Intel."

Then... the disconnect happens. After you take the pamphlet out, you see this black box that says "Solar Charger" on it. There are no brand names on the front of the black box, so you first assume it is a Dell product. On the back of the box, "Bensussen Deutsch & Assoc. Inc." is printed in small type, so I have to assume they are the manufacturer. The box is clearly not for a resale product, as there is no UPC code and very little "marketing-WOW" text... truthfully... the box graphics (none) and type are pretty bad. (I think "China" when I see it.) Anyway, the box says it's a charger to recharge mobile devices such as iPods, cell phones, PDAs, etc. There is nothing that implies that this little gadget is a freebie to you to "solve the problem" you might face of being stranded in the middle of nowhere with a dead phone or iPod battery.

It's an interesting little gadget and I have yet to charge it up and try it out (...again... I just got it about an hour ago), but I do have to say that as a Marketing professional, this marketing effort was not executed well in connecting the dots. If Dell made the product, then it might be a great way for them to promote it.... again if only they connected the dots. Dell doesn't make it, nor do they instruct the recipient on any call to action. (Marketing 101) Why on Earth would you give away a product, spend money on FedEx freight to a large mailing list, incur labor costs and the costs of printed collateral pieces if you didn't want SOME kind of ROI? Good grief people!

So they give you a pamphlet, which you quickly ignore as you start inquiring about the unidentified gadget "gimmie" inside the box. Even a C-level marketing student could come up with some kind of sticker to put on the black "gimme" box that tied it all together... "At Dell, we provide the IT solutions to your business problems. Here's a gift from us to solve your problems down the road." Get an A-level marketer and it would all have made sense right out of the box! :-)

YAY for freebies... =D

MiGHtiEr ThAn ThOU...

There are manners... and there are bad manners. I work with a co-worker who is in upper management. This individual seems to think that it is perfectly OK to walk away while you are answering a question that THIS person asked! If he/she is going to walk away, they shouldn't speak to anyone. Period. It isn't good etiquette, nor a way to solidify any kind of "team" environment. Rude and frustrating!

I keep saying to myself.... "karma!" :-) I have a big karma payday coming!

PeT PeEVe... Literally!

I drive through a fairly rural area everyday on my way to work. It is so depressing when I see pets that have been killed on the highway because their owners were too lazy or thoughtless to keep them safe. Let this be one person's plea to all the pet owners out there (including myself) to keep your animals SAFE from harm. If you allow them to roam free, YOU are risking their lives! Have some common sense... you took on the responsibility to have this animal, feed this animal and keep it safe. Please be responsible so you AND your pet can live long, healthy, happy lives! :-)

The Cleaning CrEW

I was driving along the highway yesterday on my way to work and I passed by a plain white van parked on the side of the road. The van, surrounded by men wearing day-glo green vests, obviously belonged to some kind of government funded program to clean up the trash on the side of the road. You wouldn't necessarily know this by the lack of a business name/logo on the van, but WHO ELSE cleans up the trash by the side of the highway!?

Anyway, I was surprised that the driver had parked right next to a guard rail which made the van stick out significantly into our lane. Everyone driving in my direction had to swerve around the van, thus ending up in the lane of oncoming traffic! DUH da duh duh duh! Now, had the driver of the van parked 20-30 feet closer OR farther... he would have cleared the end of the guard rail entirely and would have been able to park the van so that it was not impeding in our lane at all. I guess there was just too much trash to pick up RIGHT THERE, huh?

Fast forward to the end of the day... I am driving home along the same route in the reverse direction. I see the big white trash bags filled with debris on the side of the road. As I passed by one of them... I noticed a great deal of trash just a few feet from the nicely tied, white trash bag. It made me question just what the work ethic is like for those folks who are doing that job... although I suppose it isn't that hard to figure out, is it? Would it be that hard to grab another white trash bag and pick up the glass, cans, plastic and paper that was within 3-10 feet of where you placed a full bag of trash? A full bag of trash indicates that you cleaned the area... that things are now right with nature and you've taken care of it. On the contrary, there was trash everywhere.

What was the supervisor doing!? Oh right... he was parking the van next to a guard rail so drivers would focus on the van in their lane and not the leftover trash! :-/