What Would an Average Customer Think?

From AdAge:

My reaction to the first line: "Sweet, they're rolling back the price hike." Then: "Wait, they're not rolling it back." Then: "Wait, what? Two companies? I'm so confused."

That was almost exactly my initial reaction to Netlix's announcement, too.

Qwik...what????

From AppleInsider:

Netflix CEO Reed Hastings sent a letter to subscribers on Monday, admitting he "messed up" and announcing that it would spin off its DVD and Blu-ray-based mailing business as a new service dubbed "Qwikster." 

The company's changes come in response to a subscriber backlash that was spurred by higher prices for rentals of physical DVDs. Hastings said the pricing for combined streaming, via Netflix, and mailed rentals, from Qwikster, will remain the same as it is currently.

Too little, too late.  And a stupid name, to boot. Way to go, Netflix.

Circling the RIM, er... Drain

From the LA Times:

Research in Motion announced five new BlackBerry smartphones, the first to run its new BlackBerry 7 mobile OS, on Wednesday in a bid to recapture market share and inject some new excitement into the company's products.

The devices will arrive at an important time for the Canadian company, one of the first to popularize email integration on a phone.

FIVE new phones????!!?? I'm sure THAT won't cause any confusion in the marketplace.

Memo to RIM: simplify. Have you learned nothing on the last three years???

I give RIM two years before they declare bankruptcy.

Kellogg to Brand Corn Flakes with Frickin' LASERs!!!

From Advertising Age:

Kellogg Co. is introducing new technology in the U.K. that allows it to burn its famous signature onto individual cereal flakes by using lasers.

The technology, which was developed in Britain, is being used in a trial to stamp out imitation cereals -- which Kellogg calls "fake flakes" -- by branding Corn Flakes with the company logo.

Helen Lyons, lead food technologist at Kellogg, said in a statement, "There has been an increase in the number of [private labels] trying to capitalize on the popularity of Kellogg's corn flakes. We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else. We're constantly looking at new ways to reaffirm this, and giving our golden flakes of corn an official stamp of approval could be the answer."

Yeah... but it's till just corn flakes! If your corn flakes taste just like your competitors, but they sell theirs at a cheaper price, you've got a problem. There are some things that people just aren't going to pay extra for, and adding expense to your product for additional (unnecessary) branding is a horrible idea. People might pay for a gimmick once, but if it has no bearing on the taste or the quality of the product, they're not going to buy it again.

I can hear Kellogg's market share hitting the floor already.