Under the Influence with Terry O'Reilly

While there are many strange products in the world, there are even stranger service companies. This week, we talk about a company that rents wedding guests, a company you can hire to actually cuddle you, and we’ll explore a company that promises to cure your hangover in just a few hours. And if you need an alibi to go with that hangover, there’s a company that markets lies, too. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The most interesting cultural differences aren’t country to country, they are province to province, state to state, and even city to city. This week, we explore how and why people living in different locations buy such vastly different products. British Columbia likes to show off luxury cars, Toronto likes big homes, and New York likes luxury watches. The most pampered pets live in Saskatchewan. Last year, the city that bought the most sex paraphernalia was Victoria, this year it’s a city out east. Join us to find out which one. Live & Let Buy: where you live dictates what you buy. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we explore when a smaller advertiser attacks the weak spot in a bigger advertiser’s marketing. It’s a strategy of brinksmanship, because it means a smaller company not only chooses to attack a larger company, but it attacks the weakness in a bigger company’s strength. It takes surgical precision, but when done well, the smaller advertiser gains market share, while diminishing the bigger company’s reputation at the same time. We’ll talk about how Avis aimed an arrow at Hertz, how Tylenol overtook the much larger Bayer Aspirin, how Scope used a slingshot to battle the Goliath in the mouthwash category, and the amusing story of how a potato chip company battled a competitor by finding the soft spot in its ingredient list. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, we explore the marketing of movie merchandise. From the earliest days of merchandising book characters, to the true beginning of movie merchandising with the birth of Mickey Mouse and the Disney Studio, the marketing of toys and games became a critical strategy for movie and television studios. We chart the milestones in entertainment merchandising, how those milestones became a marketing strategy to build loyal audiences, and how the biggest merchandising breakthrough in a galaxy far, far away changed everything.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we explore words invented by marketers. Many of those words found their way into the dictionary and have become part of our daily language, like “Dependability” and “Halitosis.” While some other familiar words like Retsyn and Fahrvergnugen were around for a short time, then disappeared into the annals of commercial history. We’ll also get to the bottom of Corinthian Leather. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This episode explores how small moves can result in huge business gains. While much of the business world spends its time looking for the big idea, many companies enjoy massive results with tiny moves and subtle tweaks. We’ll look at how a hit movie that was turned down by every studio in town was finally sold thanks to a small change in the way it was pitched, how Obama used a small tactic to beat John McCain, and how broccoli made a small move to become popular during the infamous OJ Simpson trial. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, we look at the consequences when marketing companies lie. From the Volkswagen scandal, to a promotion that brought Hoover to its knees, to a company that promised super-charged sexual enhancement, each was a case of fraud with disastrous repercussions. Join us as we explore what happened, and whether those companies could ever regain the trust of their customers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

This week, the topic is Zombie Brands - products and companies that had a long run of success, then ran into difficulties, and were either shut down or slipped into bankruptcy - only to rise from the dead and exist yet again. We’ll look at an airline grounded 25 years ago that has taken flight again, a retailer that died and came back, a television show that was cancelled then resurrected to become one of the most successful of all time, and an automobile that once ruled the road, was then discontinued, then exhumed. All zombie brands that still roam the earth. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Most products offer customers as many features and benefits as possible in order to lure shoppers toward a purchase. But then there are some companies that offer you less, and profit more. We’ll look at a book company that eliminated their books and made millions, an electronics company that broke all the rules by eliminating the recording function from a tape machine and made history, and how two companies looked at a shoe and made millions by throwing away the laces.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In our first episode of 2016, we look at how the marketing industry created many of our everyday rituals. We don't think twice about having bacon & eggs for breakfast, or taking a coffee break, or using soap to wash our hands. But each of those routine rituals was invented by marketing companies to sell more product. You may even be surprised to learn that when our kids trick or treat has a marketing story behind it. Join us as we explore how these and many more rituals began and how they influence your life.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.