?>
Good News
If you live in or around Georgia, then you are in luck! This week’s Georgia’s Business , a weekly news show on PBS hosted by Richard Warner, features a 30-minute interview with me. The show aired Sunday but will be replayed this Thursday, Feb 15th at 7 pm. In addition it will eventually be available to watch as a streaming video online. And I’ll soon add a clip to our Ries site as well.
In other good PR news. I was also quoted in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and AP last week.
The New York Times: Why bringing back the Taurus name is not going to help Ford. Once a brand has died off the way the Taurus did, it is difficult and really pointless to resurrect it. It is not like bringing back the Mustang. While the Taurus was an enormous cash cow for Ford, people did not have the same overwhelming love for the brand.
The Chicago Tribune: Rise of the NFL and the increase of its female fans. The NFL is one of the truly mass audience events left on television. The NFL has done a good job of balancing the male aggressiveness and power of the game with the female storyline and personalities. More female fans is good for the NFL and advertisers.
Associated Press. The world has lost Anna Nicole and TrimSpa has lost its star endorser. Luckily Anna already helped to build the brand in the mind. And Anna is replaceable unlike Dave Thomas was for Wendy’s.
This Friday don’t miss The View because Kate Atwood, founder of Kate’s Club, a non-profit organization which helps kids grieving the loss of a parent, will be on. This follows an outstanding article that appeared last month in People magazine.
But the biggest news of the day goes to the selection of my book The Origin of Brands which I co-wrote with my partner and father Al Ries by the MarketingProfs Book Club this month. Go here to learn about the segment and how to join the club.
I hope all of you that are fans of The Origin of Brands will participate and for those of you who haven’t picked up the book yet, you will be glad to know there is drawing to win one of 30 free books personally autographed by us. Here is some more information on why you should join the club today: Purpose: The MarketingProfs book club aims to share knowledge and bring marketers together from all over the globe to focus on the latest concepts in marketing. It is where old media (books) meets new media (the Web) meets new best practices–with CK as your Host. Kick-off: Every 2 months a new book is announced through an Author Q&A posted at MarketingProfs and at the MarketingProfs Daily Fix blog. 30 Book Club members will win a free book but an unlimited number of people can take part in the club. Free Books: 30 people will be randomly selected to receive copy of The Origin of Brands personalized and autographed by Al & Laura Ries. A random technology draws the names (akin to a lottery). You need only sign-up or already be a member of the club to be eligible to receive the free books. If you aren’t one of the winners, other than buying the book, participating in the book club is entirely free! Membership: All you need to do is sign-up to be a member. And unlike traditional book clubs which are limited by geography, this book club is truly global. Allowing anyone anywhere to participate when it is convenient for them. Since its launch last month, the club already has 600 members spanning every continent (save Antarctica). Group Review: After reading the book, through an online review area members discuss the book’s themes, ask questions of the authors–and each other–as well as rank the book. Anyone can begin a discussion thread or post a question– it’s all sorts of democratic like that. To learn more about this great segment and how to join in, just go here! Important dates for the Origin of Brands book club segment: Launch: The Origin of Brands book club launches February 13th. Read: The Origin of Brands February 13 to March 19. Group Review: The Origin of Brands group review and discussion will begin on March 20th and will last approximately two weeks. 
The club is a new venture started by the fabulous CK.