Andy Boyer

Month: December 2008

  • Heat Marketing

    It’s rare that a press release about marketing can leave me without a single thing to add.  But, then I find something like this and remember why I read the Drudge Report so often.  Since this is a press release from Yahoo, I’m just going to copy and paste the whole thing.

    In National Advertising First, Stove Top Stuffing Warms Up Chicago Streets This Winter

    Tuesday December 2, 8:07 am ET

    Stove Top Campaign Takes the ‘Bah-Humbug’ Out of Holiday Shopping with Heated Bus Shelters and Delicious Stuffing Samples

    GLENVIEW, Ill., Dec. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — In a national advertising first, Stove Top Stuffing is warming up Chicagoans this December by heating 10 bus shelters throughout the Windy City’s high-traffic commuter and shopping areas to help busy consumers keep cozy throughout the hustle and bustle of the holiday season.

    The month-long campaign represents the first time that heat has been used in bus shelter advertising, and is part of a larger integrated Stove Top campaign to warm up Chicagoans that also includes print ads in more than 50 bus shelters and street sampling of new Stove Top Quick Cups instant stuffing.

    “Stove Top Stuffing is all about warming up families with hot, delicious meals when the temperatures drop, and we wanted a stand-out way to demonstrate this to consumers this holiday season,” said Stove Top Brand Manager Ellen Thompson.

    Warm Up Your Senses

    Now through the end of the month, Chicago residents can enjoy a break from the cold under one of 10 bus shelter locations throughout Chicago, including:

     -- 16 S. Clark Street (Clark Street & Madison Street) -- 197 N. State Street (State Street & Lake Street) -- 300 N. Michigan Avenue (Michigan Avenue & Wacker Place) -- 431 N. Michigan Avenue (Michigan Avenue & Hubbard Street)* -- 757 N. Michigan Avenue (Michigan Avenue & Chicago Street)* -- 538 W. Madison Street (Madison Street & Clinton Street)* -- 1 E. Washington Avenue (Washington Avenue & State Street)* -- 5 N. Michigan Avenue (Michigan Avenue & Madison Street)* -- 221 N. LaSalle Drive (LaSalle Drive & Haddock Place) -- 533 N. Dearborn Street (Dearborn Street & Grand Street) *Stove Top Quick Cups sampling locations

    Spreading the Warmth

    To give on-the-go Chicagoans a taste of a home-cooked family favorite, Stove Top will hand out samples of its new Quick Cups instant stuffing at select heated bus shelters during the first three weeks of December, including Dec. 4-7, Dec. 12-14 and Dec. 19-21. Whether you’re noshing on holiday leftovers or grabbing a quick lunch at the office, each two-serving Quick Cups provides a warm, flavorful addition to any meal. Just add hot water and heat for up to 60 seconds in the microwave.

    To learn more about Stove Top Quick Cups, leftover ideas and quick dinnertime solutions, visithttp://www.stovetop.com.

  • 1st Hand Account From Mumbai

    Last week, you probably heard about the events in Mumbai, but glossed over them due to the hoilday weekend.  On Saturday, I discovered a friend of mine from Manchester Business School is now living in Mumbai.  I asked him to write a little about what happened out there.  Here is his email, unedited:

    Re: Mumbai

    well i am the worst when it comes to writing. i could relate some of the events to you to make up the script:

    around 10.30pm we heard from the news that a place called Leobold cafe & bar had a gang war in which some people were shot. i actually had a friend just opposite that place curious about what had happened and could not figure out much. i heard stories of someone having their bachelor party there before the wedding.

    it was only by 11pm  or so that we started getting news about 3 places and then 5 places that were hit by terrorist attacks. these included this bar, followed by a busy train station, and then these three locations that were under cross fire for 3 days, i.e. Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident Oberoi (two of the most upmarket hotels in the city which is a who’s who regular) and a predominiatly Jewish occupied building.

    In the these three locations, the terrorists entered shooting at random. this followed with taking american, british and irish passport holders as hostage. many visitors from these nations also died in the attack. all these three locations were random killing grounds and under fire.

    A hotel like to Taj could easily accomodate over a 1000 people. We hear from those inside that there were scores of dead bodies left in the hotel and many of them having bombs below them as booby traps. So we really do not know the actual death count but believe it is far above what the media portrays.

    The following day we were hit by some rumours of terrorists in other parts of the city. We do fear though that there may be some of these terrorists that managed to escape and are busy planning something or finding an escape route. It is hard to say what is safe anymore here.

    The government was quite unprepared considering the news shows a lot of the intelligence being made available to the state. the army did play a great role in stopping the series of sad events. it was quite late though. three days of anxiety has for the first time killed the spirit of a city that is known for rebounding back the next day from calamities and terrorism in the past. there is a great sense of unrest in the people now seeking strong action against the culprits and demanding a fair and committed government that really is concerned about its people and not to unkept promises to win their vote banks. most politicians that have tried to politicise this event have been come down hard upon by the media and public alike. 

  • Here’s a Fun Blog

    The Stanwood bureau of AndyBoyer.com once again shows it is worth every dime we are pouring into it.  Garrett and his team bring us “Bend it Like Bennett” a blog written by a fake Clay Bennett. Funny stuff.  And as Garrett reports:

    This cannot be written by an OKC resident.  It has to be a disgruntled Seattle fan.  However, the comments indicate that the people reading it believe it is an OKC fan.  
     
    http://benditlikebennett.blogspot.com/