Posts Tagged ‘rants’

« Day Olds

StopDaddy: GoDaddy Alternative

Wednesday, January 13th, 2010

GoDaddy’s navigation and site usability is a nightmare. And I grow tired of the constant ‘would-you-like-fries-with-that’ sales approach. Plus, I’m not a big fan of politically conservative corporations.

In 2009, the Go Daddy Group spent $538,000 on lobbying. In 2008, the Group contributed $37,200 to the Republican Party (vs. $250 to the Democratic Party). Source: OpenSecrets.org.

While I’m all for individuals making their own political choices, I do not like paying vendors to use my money to further corporate political agendas.

I’ll keep looking for a truly neutral domain registrar (where’s the Working Assets progressive registrar that donates to nonprofits?). Meanwhile, you can register domain names at my Registry Rocket account (a service of eNom, based locally in Bellevue, Washington).

I recommend purchasing/renewing domains for at least two years to help with search engine optimization.

The Digital Eve listserv recently compiled some other recommended domain registrars – including:  Dotster and Hover.

For information about GoDaddy’s poor customer service, visit nodaddy.com.

Tags: ,
Posted in communications, public relations | Comment »

Imitation – the sincerest form of flattery?

Friday, May 29th, 2009

NW Trail Alliance logo

This week, PUMP (Portland United Mountain Pedalers) unveiled a new name and logo for the mountain bike advocacy organization. The new name, Northwest Trail Alliance, sounds flat and uninspiring compared to PUMP.

The new logo, however, is what’s really unoriginal. When you borrow another organization’s logo, that’s not called rebranding. Let’s call it copybranding.

Seattle’s Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club recently rebranded and chose a controversial name– Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance. Did Kris Schamp (former marketing specialist for Bike Gallery) unconsciously, or consciously, misappropriate the logo (below) that BBTC had used for over ten years?

Backcountry Bicycle Trails Club logo
The recently retired BBTC logo was created by Ross Cattelan, a long-time BBTC supporter and professional graphic designer. After I developed a concept with another designer, Ross added depth to the imagery and he created a new color palette that was used across all BBTC marketing materials (until last year when BBTC evolved to Evergreen).

Legally, Northwest Trail Alliance is not in danger of trademark violation. Its new design deviates significantly enough from the BBTC logo that it is probably not “confusingly similar.”

When determining infringement, the Court considers the following elements:

  1. Strength of the mark
  2. Proximity of the goods
  3. Similarity of the marks
  4. Evidence of actual confusion
  5. Marketing channels used
  6. Type of goods and the degree of care likely to be exercised by the purchaser
  7. Defendant’s intent in selecting the mark
  8. Likelihood of expansion of the product lines

A little market research and common courtesy can help ward off trademark suits.

Tags: , ,
Posted in communications, nonprofit | Comment »

Bank of America(n Drivers)

Wednesday, October 22nd, 2008

I generally don’t expect much customer service from banks. I should expect much less from Bank of America.

My former landlord just sent me a rental deposit refund drawn on his bank, Bank of America. Because the check was made out to me and my girlfriend, who don’t own a joint account, I visited the local West Seattle BOA branch on Alaska to cash the check.

I was informed there would be a $6 “convenience charge” for me to cash the check. That’s not very convenient; that’s outrageous.

Two employees intervened that this fee is typical. Well, it is NOT typical. I called my financial institution, Verity Credit Union, which confirmed that, indeed, they would cash any check drawn from Verity for a non-Verity customer…for NO FEE!

Of course, I was already in a bad mood since the morning-shift teller turned me away at the drive-thru because I was riding a bicycle (the drive-thru opens one hour earlier than the branch, but apparently is open only to car-driving BOA customers). Sorry bicyclists and pedestrians.

Bank of America drives away customers while serving drivers only.

Tags:
Posted in communications | Comment »

Joe Mamma!

Thursday, August 30th, 2007

Another effectively branded Canadian institution, Joe Mamma Bikes & Boards is striving for second place as the worst-bike shop in Ottawa for customer service. Employees at this LBS successfully effect an east-coast ‘boarder’ attitude.

Customer: Do you carry the Ottawa Cycling Map?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Do you know where we could find the Ottawa Cycling Map?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Do you have any mountain bike trail guides for Ottawa?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Customer: Where do mountain bikers ride around Ottawa?
Clerk: Joe Mamma.

Curt answers convey a flippant tone to customers. This nonchalant behavior is rabid among teen- and other inexperienced sales personnel, particularly in the retail sector. Your local bike shop (LBS) included. Use every customer contact as an opportunity to develop rapport by using effective dialog. Ask lots of questions. Dig under the surface to find what the customer really wants.

If you ever need advice about marketing or sales efforts, don’t worry. You’ll never hear a “Joe Mamma” response from me. Meanwhile, for a more motherly experience, check out Maman at the National Gallery of Canada.

Tags: , ,
Posted in communications | Comment »

Ch. de Queue de Ouais de

Sunday, August 26th, 2007

Chemin de queue de ouais de…or, in English, Shoulda Coulda Woulda.

Form follows function. Associated with architecture, ‘form follows function’ states that the shape of a building or object should be based on its intended purpose.

Around Ottawa, including Quebec, French-speaking pedestrians and bicyclists may find streets more navigable than car drivers. Why? Because the street signs in this area are printed so small that you cannot decipher the text in a vehicle until you are upon the road.

Additionally, in Quebec, where 80% of the population speaks French (the official language), street names are printed en francais seulement, n’est-ce pas. Unfortunately, many maps of the area use English or alternate names for the same streets. So a navigator might encounter a road with three names.

The City and Province shoulda and coulda solved this communication issue by 1) providing bi-lingual street signs and maps, 2) increasing the font size of street signs, and/or 3) placing street signs farther in advance of intersecting streets.

Form follows function.

Help visitors contact you by providing readily accessible contact information in all of your marketing collateral, both print and online, n’est-ce pas?

Tags: ,
Posted in communications | Comment »

Selling Ice to Eskimos

Friday, August 24th, 2007

Have you ever heard someone describe a salesman so good he could “sell ice to Eskimos?” Well, that’s not a salesman; that’s a conman.

Marketing means providing solutions to real problems. Anyone who can sell ice to Eskimos is likely morally flexible; a position with the CIA or some other clandestine organization might be more appropriate than sales or marketing.

This week, the Puget Sound Business Journal reported that Talking Rain recently “plunged into the organic water market.” President Doug MacLean thinks “[the market] is huge.”

Now, keep in mind, that only Talking Rain’s natural additives are certified organic. Because, like half way crooks, there’s no such thing as organic H2O. In fact, municipal water supplies are under more stringent water quality regulations than bottled water certification, which is completely voluntary.

The International Bottled Water Association (IBWA) is not just niche marketing to consumers. Like the clean water that runs freely from your tap, IBWA is running a pure con to consumers.

Bottled water is almost completely unregulated. The EPA has no authority over bottled water companies. Doesn’t that make you feel safe?

Facts about bottled water:

Americans drink 26 gallons per person annually
1.5 million barrels of oil consumed annually for packaging

Are you outraged yet? Be bold. Sound off at Grist.

Thanks to my friend Lisa for bringing this greenwashing to the attention of Grist readers.

http://www.grist.org/advice/possessions/2004/05/04/mcrandle-bottled/index.html

Tags: ,
Posted in writing | Comment »

« Day Olds