What’s In This Issue?
This Week’s Main Stories
Story 01Did Bad SEO Kill Opening Weekend For The New Harley Quinn Film?
Story 02LAX Wants 500 People To Act Their Worst ... To Test A New Terminal
Story 03This Valentine's Day, Brands Are Targeting Single People
Story 04Brandless Struggles and Decides To Shut Down
Story 05A Few Travel Search Websites You Should Be UsingEven More Stories
Did Bad SEO Kill Opening Weekend For The New Harley Quinn Film?
After a disappointing opening weekend, the film previously titled Birds of Prey (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn) has been officially renamed to Harley Quinn: Birds of Prey. Apparently people were so confused by the title that they didn't realize it was the Harley Quinn movie. Marketing is being blamed for the film's slow start, from a confusing title to trailers that played it too safe. The entire story is a reminder of just how powerful a role the storytelling of marketing can play in whether something takes off or not ... and maybe also how easy it is to make marketing the scapegoat when things go badly.
LAX Wants 500 People To Act Their Worst ... To Test A New Terminal
You might be thinking, wait ... some people already act their worst when they are traveling, but LAX is testing their soon to be opened new Terminal by inviting people to be volunteer test subjects/travelers. They will be asked to behave rudely, pretend to have an injury and act out other situations so airport staff can test their readiness. Apparently the opportunity has been so popular they had to shut down the site accepting volunteers.
This Valentine's Day, Brands Are Targeting Single People
Valentine's Day has always been the holiday that makes single people feel a little more alone, but this year several initiatives are working to turn the tables on this tradition. In the UK, an innovative campaign for a non-profit invites people to dine alone in front of a mirror at a restaurant until the mirrors are removed before the final course to reveal someone else also dining alone. Then you can decide to share the check and connect. And in Indonesia, Google launched an entire campaign called Let's Move On to show people how they can put their ex-partners in the past and get on with their lives. Both initiatives offer an interesting and non-obvious insight ... sometimes the best way to stand out on a holiday is by trying to reach the people who are neglected by everyone else.
Brandless Struggles and Decides To Shut Down
Back in 2017, I first wrote about Brandless as a great experiment in whether generic unbranded products might appeal to those frustrated by our consumerist world. The idea, sadly, has failed - mainly due to a combination of quality control and high product + shipping costs. It's also possible that they tackled too wide a range of products initially. Over time I anticipate this will become a case study for other disruptive startups.
A Few Travel Search Websites You Should Be Using
Thanks to a tip from my friend Mitch Joel (you should be listening to his great podcast), I was reading an article that ranked all the flight search engine sites to generate a top ten list. I had not even heard of some of the highly ranked sites (like Momondo and Skiplagged), but have already started using them. If you travel often, you'll probably find these sites as useful as I already have.
