M/A/R/C®
Search the blog:

Archive for November, 2010

« Previous Entries

Are You Ready For Some Football? Join The Week 13 Merrill Dubrow Blog Football Pool

Monday, November 29th, 2010

Ok I am impressed, in fact very impressed! Second week winner and 9th grader Jacob Adler is in the lead with 14 wins this week – yes you heard that right he only got one game wrong! WOW! If the Cardinals win tonight Jacob will win and if the 49ers come out on top then Jacob will be in a 4 way tie with Steve Nash, Marty C and Ginger Blazier. Since 7 weeks in a row have been won by a female it looks like Ginger Blazier has a great chance to win tonight!

THIS WEEK THERE IS A THURSDAY GAME SO THE DEADLINE FOR PICKS WILL BE THURSDAY AT 5:00PM CST!

Reminder we have added a few things for you to follow along and enjoy the fun. We have an updated leader board located on the right side of the main page of the blog that updates every 30 minutes during the games and within that page you can see the results from the prior weeks.

Here is a link to see the scoreboard.

The twelfth week we had 165 participants so the winner will receive $75. Remember the weekly winners will be given a spot in the grand prize pool which will be in week 17. The winners so far are: Gwen has two entries, Sarah Baird, Jacob Adler, Jennifer Acosta, Mike Perdue, Jessica Cons, Patricia Wakim, Amy Sawyer, Stacey Zontini, Susan Hayes and Meg fighting for bragging rights for the next 6 months.

Here is a link for you to do this week’s picks.

Feel free to share the link and have friends, colleagues, relatives, kids and anyone else you want join the pool.

Good luck to all.

REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR THIS WEEK IS THURSDAY AT 5:00 CST!

Posted in Contests, Sports | Post Comments (173) »

Ok Raise Your Hand If You Think Car Rental Prices Are Getting Ridiculous!

Wednesday, November 24th, 2010

Attention business travelers have you noticed the new trend? No I am not talking about all the flight delays and cancellations. This is about when you get to your destination and need to rent a car. Wow the prices have gone up at a ridiculous amount. In many situations a 3 day car rental can be MORE expensive than your plane ticket. Yes shocking but true! There are so many extra fees these days it is almost comical. I love Hertz and their Number 1 gold program but their fees are getting out of control. Here is what I have done to save $$ in the past few months:

  • On a trip to LA I actually took a cab to a local hotel for $25 to rent a car from a Hertz counter. The reason I did this is by renting a car off the airport it saved me over $150 on a 3 day rental.
     
  • Last month in San Diego I changed my Hertz rental a week before and rented from Fox Rent A Car. This was for a two day rental and the savings was over $160. Getting to Fox was the same type of mini bus and the exact amount of time. To me the savings is well worth it.
     
  • Next month I will be using Fox Rent A Car again in Las Vegas and saving $125. Typically Vegas has had very low prices for cars but for some reason that has all changed and now they have followed other cities and their prices are skyrocketing.

Everyone has certain things that bother them and for me it is renting a car at a ridiculous price.  I have no idea why the car rental companies don’t charge a fee for people who have a reservation and don’t show up – perhaps they should and that may help them keep their pricing in line.

  • Have you noticed this trend?
     
  • Does it bother you?
     
  • Any best practices to save money on car rentals?
     
  • Any coupons you could share with all of us?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (12) »

Are You Ready For Some Football? Join The Week 12 Merrill Dubrow Blog Football Pool

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Did you hear the amazing news? I am in 1st place this week after I skillfully picked the winner of the Bears/Dolphins game last night! Of course I am tied with about 100 people – but still I am in 1st place!! Yes week 11 is still going on and there are plenty of games to be played however because of the holiday we are posting early this week to give everyone extra time to get their picks in.

THIS WEEK THERE ARE THREE THURSDAY GAMES SO THE DEADLINE FOR PICKS WILL BE WEDNESDAY AT 5:00PM CST!

Reminder we have added a few things for you to follow along and enjoy the fun. We have an updated leader board located on the right side of the main page of the blog that updates every 30 minutes during the games and within that page you can see the results from the prior weeks.

Here is a link to see the scoreboard.

The eleventh week we had 161 participants so the winner will receive $75. Remember the weekly winners will be given a spot in the grand prize pool which will be in week 17. The winners so far are: Gwen has two entries, Sarah Baird, Jacob Adler, Jennifer Acosta, Mike Perdue, Jessica Cons, Patricia Wakim, Amy Sawyer, Stacey Zontoni and Susan Hayes fighting for bragging rights for the next 6 months.

Here is a link for you to do this week’s picks.

Feel free to share the link and have friends, colleagues, relatives, kids and anyone else you want join the pool.

Good luck to all.

REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR THIS WEEK IS THURSDAY AT 5:00 CST!

Posted in Contests, Sports | Post Comments (172) »

How Do You Feel About Getting Rid Of Your Wallet?

Friday, November 19th, 2010

Yes life is changing and in some ways very quickly. When I leave for work every morning I think do I have my briefcase, keys, Blackberry and wallet. Soon I will be able to delete one of those things off of my mental checklist.

What is it you ask? My wallet. Yes in our lifetime you will be able to pay with everything with your PDA. I was reading an article where eBay CEO John Donahoe was participating in a PayPal Innovate panel and he said “mobile is the safest way to pay” gesturing with his mobile phone to indicate that this device will soon replace his wallet.

I paused for a minute or so and gave it some thought and couldn’t agree more. Yes most people don’t like change and especially trying to change something that you do and have close to you in my case for over 40 years. Yes I probably will be a little uncomfortable about paying for purchases with my PDA but it will happen, I will adapt, get used to it and probably love it.

I still remember the day I went to the airport with a paperless ticket and how uncomfortable I was with that. Now I go check in with a kiosk and get my ticket, within a few months that will change into going right into the security line and handing the agent my ID and PDA and go on my merry way.

Life is certainly changing and even though some of the stuff is very scary it is also very exciting to be part of it.

What are your thoughts?

  • Are you ready to get rid of your wallet?
     
  • What are your biggest concerns?
     
  • Are you paying for items with your PDA now?

I look forward to hearing from you and hearing your comments.

Posted in Life | Post Comments (7) »

Yes You Are Busy In Fact Very Busy BUT What Do You Try And Read Every Day?

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

I truly believe people are busier than they have ever been. All of us are moving at a high speed and clearly with the way that life is now and in the future that probably won’t change. Things are not only happening quickly but information and tons of it is available 24/7.

With all that said what do you try and read every day?

Before I have you answer that please think about that as you see what I read every day and why:

www.mrweb.com – online daily email with a nice overview of the research industry

www.emarketer.com – really good information with regard to marketing and plenty of stats and graphs!

www.mashable.com – great overview of what is happening in the social networking space

USATODAY – I try and read the newspaper yes I am old school. Most of the time I am reading it while I am on the treadmill

www.adage.com – Recently I have added this daily email. I am still on the fence if it is something that I will continue to read

Ok now your turn:

  • What do you read online?
     
  • What about daily newspapers
     
  • Also what is your home page on your computer?
     
  • I am really looking for a great marketing daily – any ideas?
     
  • Do you go to certain blogs every day?
     
  • Who are you following on twitter that you would recommend?

I look forward to hearing from you and reading your comments.

Posted in Business, Life | Post Comments (5) »

Are You Ready For Some Football? Join The Week 11 Merrill Dubrow Blog Football Pool

Monday, November 15th, 2010

Oh my Cowboys win! Cowboys win! If you are just waking up the Dallas Cowboys beat the NY Giants! Wow! Amazing and no I didn’t predict that upset! There will be NO DRAMA this week. Currently Gwen has 12 correct games which means she only got the Dallas/Giants game wrong or she would have been perfect. She has the Redskins tonight and will win this week regardless of who wins the game tonight! What makes that very special is Gwen is the FIRST two time winner and will have two entries for the grand prize!

THIS WEEK THERE IS A THURSDAY NIGHT GAME SO THE DEADLINE FOR PICKS WILL BE THURSDAY AT 5:00PM CST!

Reminder we have added a few things for you to follow along and enjoy the fun. We have an updated leader board located on the right side of the main page of the blog that updates every 30 minutes during the games and within that page you can see the results from the prior weeks.

Here is a link to see the scoreboard.

The tenth week we had 159 participants so Gwen will receive $75. Remember the weekly winners will be given a spot in the grand prize pool which will be in week 17. Gwen now has two entries and will join Sarah Baird, Jacob Adler, Jennifer Acosta, Mike Perdue, Jessica Cons, Patricia Wakim, Amy Sawyer and Susan Hayes for bragging rights for the next 6 months.

Here is a link for you to do this week’s picks.

Feel free to share the link and have friends, colleagues, relatives, kids and anyone else you want join the pool.

Good luck to all.

REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR THIS WEEK IS THURSDAY AT 5:00 CST!

Posted in Contests, Sports | Post Comments (163) »

Attention Researchers Here Are Some Future Titles Of Researchers

Friday, November 12th, 2010

I love thinking about the future! I really like thinking about things and trying to figure out what will be going on in the research industry in the next 3-4 years. When I do a big smile comes on my face because I not only love the research industry, it is changing very quickly and I am excited because if the research community makes the right moves (a future blog topic for sure) then research will be more prominent in client organizations and much more important than it is today.

I took a few minutes and thought about what are some of the future titles in the research industry. Here is what I came up with:

  • Insight Implementation Officer
     
  • Chief Innovation Officer
     
  • Director of Text Analytics
     
  • Chief Creatologist
     
  • Social Media Director
     
  • Scraping Guru
     
  • Social Networking Maven
     
  • King of Data Mining
     
  • Future Facing Team
     
  • Social Media Specialist

Now your turn:

  • What do you think of my list?
     
  • What new titles have you recently seen or been using at your company?
     
  • What titles do you think we will be using in the next few years?

I look forward to hearing your thoughts and comments.

Posted in Research | Comments Off on Attention Researchers Here Are Some Future Titles Of Researchers

Attention Business Executives Time To Give Out Some FREE Advice!

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

I was reading USA Today the other night (yes while I was working out) and came across a very interesting KIVA/VISA ad. The headline on the ad read:

WHEN SMALL BUSINESSES PROSPER, AMERICA PROSPERS.

I paused for a moment and actually agree with that statement especially in the market research industry. You may ask yourself why? Well when you quickly take a look at the size of the research industry in the United States it is around 9 billion dollars with only a few handful of companies over 100 million in revenue.

With close to 9,000 research companies in the United States that leaves most of them that would qualify as small businesses. So this blog is for those companies – small companies, companies that are very important to this industry.

So today I am asking you to give some advice, your best advice to company owners. That advice is perhaps one or two things that you live by and have worked for you during your career. Since we get over 1500 hits per week and many of the readers are company executives that are trying to make things happen in the most challenging economy perhaps  in their life and I know would appreciate comments on this a very, very important topic.

So let me get the ball rolling:

Here are two tips that I think are critical:

Communicate: I know this might be basic – very basic – but I am still surprised to hear and find out about tons of companies that don’t communicate what is going on with their company. Many companies don’t deliver bad news to their staff and too many times it leaves the staff guessing and that can hurt moral which will in turn hurt client service which will ultimately hurt revenue.

Evaluate your marketing strategy: Times have changed and life isn’t about placing a bunch of marketing ads in industry magazines. It is so much more than that. You need to continue to closely analyze what conferences you are attending, the value of exhibiting, what is your social networking strategy with regard to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – how can I use those very important tools in a marketing function.

Ok your turn (in no particular order):

Steve S, Michael H, Peggy O, Jude O, Amy S, Simon C, Michael M, Michael M (not a typo I know 2 Michael M’s), Jon L, Carla L, Sandy S, Elisa G, Mary W, Merrill S and everyone else who is reading this post……

What is the best advice you would give to other business leaders, and friends in this great research industry?

I look forward to hearing from all of you on this important subject.

Thanks in advance for your help.

Posted in Business | Post Comments (16) »

Are You Ready For Some Football? Join The Week 10 Merrill Dubrow Blog Football Pool

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Ok raise your hand if you predicted the Cleveland Browns would uspet the New England Patriots – considering there were only 10 people in the pool who predicted that most hands including mine aren’t in the air. With one game to go we have a two way tie with 11 wins — they are Stacey Zontini and Bob Graham. If the Bengals win we have 3 people who will join the two way tie.

THIS WEEK THERE IS A THURSDAY NIGHT GAME SO THE DEADLINE FOR PICKS WILL BE THURSDAY AT 5:00PM CST!

Reminder we have added a few things for you to follow along and enjoy the fun. We have an updated leader board located on the right side of the main page of the blog that updates every 30 minutes during the games and within that page you can see the results from the prior weeks.

Here is a link to see the scoreboard.

The ninth week we had 163 participants so the winner this week will receive $75. Remember the weekly winners will be given a spot in the grand prize pool which will be in week 17. That person will join Sarah Baird, Jacob Adler, Jennifer Acosta, Mike Perdue, Jessica Cons, Patricia Wakim, Amy Sawyer, Susan Hayes and Gwen for bragging rights for the next 6 months.

Here is a link for you to do this week’s picks.

Feel free to share the link and have friends, colleagues, relatives, kids and anyone else you want join the pool.

Good luck to all.

REMEMBER THE DEADLINE FOR THIS WEEK IS THURSDAY AT 5:00 CST!

Posted in Contests, Sports | Post Comments (160) »

Can Bloggers Be More Influential Than Friends?

Friday, November 5th, 2010

I just finished reading an article that was published in WOMMA (Word of Mouth Marketing Association) that said bloggers can be more influential than friends. I started to think about it a little bit and realized since I am a blogger and have been for:

  • 223 weeks
     
  • Written over 630 posts
     
  • Received almost 11,000 comments
     
  • From over 1400 people

When I think about that and the subject of this blog I ask myself do I influence people and if so then how?

So I ask you as a blogger:

  • Do I influence you?
     
  • How have I influenced you?
     
  • Did my post make you look at a situation different?
     
  • Are you now going to a restaurant or shopping somewhere different because of something I said?
     
  • Do you have any business advice or takeaways that helped you deal with a situation?
     
  • Have any posts helped you with your career?
     
  • Did you read something that helped you get a new client?

I really look forward to hearing from you with your comments.

Posted in General Comments, Life | Post Comments (1) »

« Previous Entries