Consumer-Centric to Egocentric

There's a new restaurant that opened up near where I work. A breath of fresh air, I thought. Had enough of the mamaks and nasi campur.

This restaurant served Western stuff, with bangers & mash, sandwiches and pasta. Sampled some and liked them. They were good, the portion was large and the price was reasonably good.

But yesterday, I ordered a roast beef sandwich and it was half the size it was before, on cheap bread (instead of pannini) and at the same price. Huh?!

Is this how an establishment expects to keep customers?

The Lost Logo - A Review

This book is probably much like Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol....that is, not as exciting as previous outings. But entertaining nonetheless.

In this one, Brown continues his attack on marketing norms with zingers like the chapter where Abby trashed (literally) works done by hired brand consultants, those "fee-padding con artists".

I especially liked the chapter where a Coke executive tried to cut a deal with Magill to include Coke branding in Dan Brown's next book. How utterly uncool it is for brands to latch on to money-making mediums like books, using the most flimsiest of connections and at times, not connection at all! Seems desperate and yet, so very real.

Managing Facebook Fan Page - A 24/7 Job!

Seems like there's no stopping the Facebook juggernaut. While many may complain about privacy issues etc., it doesn't seem to stop others from signing up.

And where the crowd goes, that's where commerce will follow suit.  Almost like locusts....good or bad, however you may see it.

For the past few weeks, I have been observing brands on how they manage their Facebook Fan Pages. To make a long story short, it's not as easy as one thinks and it is definitely, a 24/7 job.

Right now, every brand wants to be like Starbucks on Facebook. Generating more than 13 million fans, it's the envy of the branding world.  For a look at the top 10 brands on Facebook, check out http://www.famecount.com/facebook-rank/Worldwide/all/Brand