The world around us

Even though retailers are going whole hog into online marketing, it’s definitely not a sure thing. The recent debacle of Anheuser-Busch’s internet network initiative with Bud.TV show just how tough it can be to make a connection with consumers. According to Babs Rangaiah, the director of media and entertainment at Unilever USA, “As far as creating content for the Web, the Internet has allowed brands to have access to distribution like no other time in history.” While traffic was way below expectations on Bud.TV, with 250,000 visitors in February, 150,000 visitors in March and even fewer visitors in April and May, Anheuser-Busch is still not willing to give up in internet marketing altogether.

Now there are a ton of hotel and airline reservation sites out there, but how do you find the best one? Well, you could do a trial booking and hope for the best or you could browse through and find the ones that come with high recommendations from previous visitors. The second option is definitely better and the one that I use each time I try out a new site. For last minute accommodation, LastMinute.com.au is a travel portal that comes highly recommended by all those who have used their services, which include some of my colleagues.

The site has recently been reworked and now has a great look and a better navigation system, that makes it really easy to find last minute hotels and even cheap flights. I especially like their hotel booking section, which tells you available dates and prices for each date so you can decide your travel dates accordingly. There is also an option to find vacation packages and cheap flights so that you can take care of your entire vacation needs in just one place. Check it out for yourself and you’ll see that this is a different sort of travel booking site.

Although I am brand loyal towards certain products, I too am quite willing to switch brands for several reasons. According to research by TNS Retail Forward, shoppers at supermarkets are not likely to be loyal to any one brand. The study showed that three-quarters of consumers at drug stores and supermarkets would easily switch brands, with the main reason for switching being products that are displayed at eye level and not lower prices. Marketers earlier felt that price would be the main reason for switching brands does not hold true, and instead it could be anything from promotions to packaging to placement and even pressure from family members.

Education is the catalyst in the lives of so many people and it is never been more important than for schools for troubled teens. Private schools are often the best solution for an all round education that emphasize discipline as well as education. Boarding schools are also a great way for students to adjust to a new way of life and not get distracted by things that lead to bad behavior. A good list on Private Schools is located at Education Seek, where you can find private schools for the entire US, sorted by state and city. This National Directory of Private Schools is one of the most comprehensive ones available.

We watched some really interesting movies last week. I enjoyed ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’ and ‘Blood Diamonds’ and found them to be quite thought provoking and similar, in the sense that both movies were about searching for happiness and how money was the catalyst in the lives of the characters. It’s been an interesting run for us, since we’re busy watching as many movies as we can fit into our schedule since we have several left in our movie rental plan. Now we’re down to watching VCDs on the laptop, and once we exhaust our rental plan then we can see some movies from our personal collection, which as also grown to be quite huge itself.