Last week I questioned whether Black Friday would be a slower-than-usual sale day for the holidays. In looking at the results, it seems it wasn’t slower. According to Business Week, Black Friday retail sales were $10.6 billion, a 3% growth from last year.

The interesting thing is: retailers may not be making any money, in spite of that number. Everyone has been desperately slashing prices in an effort to close the year out with some sales (better than none), so now profits are so tight they squeak, and the only ones that are happy are consumers (go us!).

From what the article said, I gather that people are buying more pragmatic gifts this year. 54.7% of shoppers bought clothes. So while we’re still spending money, we’re staying away from over-the-top extravagant purchases and leaning toward more useful gifts.

Sales continue today on what they’ve dubbed Cyber Monday. Now that shoppers have eked out all the savings from Black Friday, they’re looking for great deals online. This is a smart way for brick-and-mortar retailers to get a little more out of shoppers now that they’re done with the physical store.

I’m thrilled I got a Leapster for my son (regularly $49.99) for $29.98. Shopping in your pjs rocks.

Starbucks recently launched its Starbucks Gold Rewards program, an “exclusive” loyalty program aimed at frequent coffee drinkers. For $25, you can get in the club (isn’t that what it’s all about) and get 10% off your drinks, free wifi and other special offers.

This comes at a time when Starbucks is seeing a decline in sales. Will the new incentive program get people back buying coffee? Some say no; that the program is too complicated. I say, for those people who get their Starbucks fix every day (multiple times a day), the card will be a great success. But these are the people who would buy coffee there anyway.  The Gold Card won’t, in my opinion, stimulate people like me, who just go for an occasional treat. If the card were free, yes,  I would sign up. But paying a premium for the privilege to save money just doesn’t add up, in my book.

What I learned at the recent Loyalty Expo is that to create loyalty you need several ingredients (and none of them are doublenonfatsoy):

1. a real understanding of what your customers want

2. interaction (hmm, sounds like Marketing 2.0)

3. relevance. loyalty and needs change.

4. simplicity

So while Starbucks hits a few of these points, I think there’s still room to grow.

What’s your opinion? Do  you have a Gold card?  Has it made you more loyal to Starbucks?

I think it’s appropriate to write this post today, the traditional beginning of Christmas shopping. Now, I’ve rarely been masochistic enough to get up at the crack of dawn to punch my way to the front of the Elmo doll line, but historically, this has been a tremendous day for shoppers looking to score great deals for the holidays.

This year? Not so much. With the economy down the toilet, retailers started pushing aggressive sales in early November. Stores like Kmart and Kohl’s started sales early, and Kmart even added prize giveaways with Disney to entice shoppers. Seems it’s like pulling teeth to get people to spend money these days.

Wal-Mart is creating Value Bundles of items that sell well to generate more sales. The Nintendo DS can be purchased with games and accessories for $149.

I could be wrong, but if you go out today, the crowds might be a little thinner. You might not break a bone this year.

If you’re sadistic enough to go out on Black Friday, check out this site that lists all the savings.

I’m officially declaring it holiday time, which means I will only check my email every 3 hours instead of every hour. Go enjoy your family and eat good things.

I got an email this morning telling me the ElfYourself campaign that had such phenomenal success last year was back this year. Yay! I had such fun playing with it and blogging about it last year, I was glad to see it return.

Although…I have to wonder. Will OfficeMax have the success it had last year? Can you duplicate a viral marketing campaign? We shall see. I plan to count how many times I get an ElfYourself email from a friend. Not that that will be a true gauge of the campaign’s success, but it will give me something to do.

Ain’t my family cute?

Dawud Miracle, one of my favorite bloggers, recently wrote a post, You Do Know That Social Marketing Isn’t A Fad, Right?

This post got me thinking about how fads come and go. And while certain social networking sites have peaked in popularity and now settled to a lower place on the totem pole, you have to admit, social networking is here to stay. The very way we do marketing has changed. And it is, in fact, all about change. Here are my rules for this new place we’re in:

1. New marketers have to accept that change is part of the new landscape. Twitter and Facebook are hot right now. Get the most out of them, but be prepared to shift gears when that new marketing tool comes out.

2. Change is good. I know, you’re too busy to learn yet another social media app. I feel the same way. But think about this. While right now, the percent of businesses who use social networking is somewhat low, that will change quickly. Even the plumber down the street will have a Facebook profile, so you can’t bury your head in the sand.

3. It’s okay to use old school methods. As long as you mix them up with Marketing 2.0 (email, social networking, blogs). Don’t rely on a single tool to get you through. Create a portfolio of marketing tools.

4. Be aware of your time. My first objection to social media was that it was too time consuming. And it can be. But first of all, don’t let these tools be an excuse to procrastinate from things you really need to be doing. That’s your issue. And second, narrow it down. You don’t have to be on every site out there. See what’s working and what others are using and use no more than 3 tools (I use Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn).

Do you have any rules to add to this list? Let’s hear them!

I was perusing a magazine recently. I think it was Food & Wine (you know, the magazine that makes you feel inferior for not being a gourmet chef?). I glanced at the ad for this coffee maker, and had to blink twice. Was I hallucinating? See for yourself. Notice anything…personalized in the ad??

It might be too small for you to see. But on the Post-It looking part, there’s a note to me! Susan! Telling me where I can buy this product! Down the street!

It was eerie. It’s like they knew…

So, yes, The Marketing Eggspert is impressed with this targeting, which prints the name of the subscriber and the closest retail store for the product. I “eggspect” we’ll be seeing more of this soon.

Have you seen examples of this in your magazines?

Having trouble with your inner control freak when it comes to a social media marketing strategy?

Check out this great post on SIM Spin called 5 Tips to Measure Success in Social Media Marketing. Then read on.

A lot of the people I talk to about social media  want to know how to track it. How can they measure the results? What can we project as far as sales? These are difficult questions to answer. Certainly there are ways to see how much traffic to your site comes from, for example, Twitter, but sometimes it’s hard to pinpoint exactly how well social media is helping you.

I think we need to shift our thinking about marketing results in terms of having absolute control and ability to micromanage the results and just sit back and let it happen. You won’t see results overnight, but if you use social networking sites correctly and participate in the right conversations, you will see a positive change. You will see traffic to your site increase. You will see sales climb. Just relax and let it happen.

Let’s all take a deep breath and let out all those years of being control freaks, of needing to know exactly how everything will pan out. Marketing 2.0 is happening as we speak. There is no precedence set. We are making history with internet marketing and social media. Do you want to go along for the ride or sit this one out and regret it later?

When I recently attended the Loyalty Expo in Orlando, there was a presentation on marketing to millennials. I perked up. Until the speaker classified everyone from the age of 12 to 31. I am 31. And I do not identify myself as a millennial. I learned to type on a typewriter. Texting on a phone is hard from me. I digress.

So, I’m thinking, if this guy thinks I’m a millennial, and markets to me as if I were one, he’s in for trouble. Not to get into semantics, but I classify myself as Generation X (it’s funny; both generations identified teens as apathetic; it’s just that my generation grew out of it). Where Millennials prefer text message marketing and Facebook applications, Generation X reacts better to direct mail and coupons.

And then what about Boomers and seniors? They’re not as connected online, so strategies outside of internet marketing have to be included.

As you can see, every generation (not to mention every person) has its own preferred method of being marketed to. Don’t waste your time trying to lump everyone into one strategy to reach your own goals!

It’s subtle (sometimes), but advertisers are finding new ways to get their products on television and actually have people pay attention.

Sure, we’ve all noticed the strategically placed Coke can in the hand of a sitcom actor. Or the Nikes propped up on the coffee table. Or James Bond’s watch. His car. His computer (James Bond is kind of a brand whore. Don’t tell anyone).

But recently I saw a good example of product placement I wanted to bring up.

Are you a fan of “My Name is Earl?” If not, let me get you up to speed. There are a group of unlikely characters, the majority of whom have redneck tendencies. There’s a plot, and it’s good, but it’s not relevant. What is relevant is how Joy, the epitome of trailer trash (yet still you love her) sees a Kay Jewelers commercial with Jayne Seymour. Joy has to have the Open Heart Necklace Jane is hawking. She begins to hallucinate and see Jane talking to her in her bathroom mirror.

Long story short, Joy does everything she can to get that necklace, and her husband, Darnell, finally gives it to her.

Why am I writing this?

• I fast forward through commercials. I never would have paid attention to a Kay Jewelers commercial.
• It’s a neat product, and I’m more interested as a result of seeing it in one of my favorite shows.
• Jane Seymour makes fun of herself (going from actor to artist to jewelry hawker).
• Kay Jewelers is thinking creatively.

What about you? Have you seen any noteworthy product placements on tv? Tell us about them!