You Sleep When You Die

Thanks for your questions! Remember, get your questions about advertising, business, the economy and more answered every Wednesday by posting comments to blog posts or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.

I noticed from your recent post you have an eighth grade girl graduating, congratulations!

While reading Business Week, I saw a story about the Silly Bandz founder and thought of you, seeking your sage retail advice. My granddaughter, a bit younger than your graduate, goes crazy for the “bandz.” My question, and that of most (including Silly Bandz owner) is how does an entrepreneur manage such explosive retail growth effectively and build a sustainable brand?

Thanks to @casegilbreath for providing one of this week’s top questions. Remember, get your questions about advertising, business, the economy and more answered every Wednesday by posting comments to blog posts or on Twitter @JZspeaks via #askjz.

Jordan – what are your thoughts on performance marketing, affiliate marketing, CPA advertising?

BP changed its logo to green and yellow in the first quarter of 2001 to emphasize their environmental focus and introduce the new tagline, “beyond petroleum.”

After the events of April 20, BP probably wishes their tagline was, “anything but petroleum,” which is now leaking from the deepest well ever drilled into the Gulf of Mexico and onto the pristine shores of the southeast United States. Meanwhile, BP’s executives continue to bumble and stumble around, looking no better than common criminals.

Have you ever been standing in the freezer section of your local grocery store, trying to decide which brand of ice cream to buy, when someone walks up beside you and starts talking about how much she loves the Friendly’s brand?

Have you ever been sitting at your kid’s little league game and started talking to a nearby parent, only to find out he’s treating his son’s team to White Castle after the game?

Both of these are examples of cleverly placed ‘buzz agents:’ people whose job is to influence your opinion about a particular brand or product, all without your knowledge. If done correctly, buzz agents make potential customers stop and think, “If they’re doing it, maybe I should too.”

Would it piss you off if someone else decided to define what the universal standard of beauty should be? What about if it was a powerful TV network (or two TV networks) forcing that decision on you? It pissed the hell out of us, especially because it involves one of our partners, Lane Bryant.