Another BIG Miss by 7-Eleven's Marketing Deptartment

Does 7-Eleven even have a Marketing Department?

Preface: The reason I Hate 7-Eleven so very much is because I actually love it. 7-Eleven supplies me DAILY with my favorite coffee ever. I easily spend $100 per month at 7-Eleven alone. Therefore, I spend $1200 annually at 7-Eleven... but what I am going to write in this blog-post should earn me a free lifetime supply of coffee (at least).

Now that 7-Eleven has teamed up with popular Japanese character Domo, they are pissing me off even more. Where is the online marketing for this limited time campaign? Did anyone at the corporate offices in Dallas, Texas research Domo before deciding to team up with this cute little mascot of Japanese television?

The campaign involves limited time Domo Coffee Cups, Slurpee cups, straws, brownies, hot dog holders, and so much more. The campaign is getting a huge amount of FREE press online that spreads from Gear Blogs to Foodie blogs to Toy Blogs and much much more...

The biggest factor of this campaign is the Fuji Frost which is the Domo inspired Slurpee which really just Fanta Apple which is ANOTHER big miss....

Slurpees are FAMOUS. It is a WELL BRANDED name. They are the signature drink of 7-Eleven! The Simpsons helped make these deliciously refreshing icy drinks insanely popular... The Simpsons used to be the BIGGEST kids show on TV but the original viewership grew older and surprisingly it seems like the trendy chilly drinks' appeal started to melt.... but WHY!! There is always going to be a market for people who want cold drinks with 65 grams of sugar in it!

So let's do the math.. We have a Insanely popular kids character, Domo and we have a famous icy beverage in a flavor that is sought after far and wide.. This could be HUGE.. however Slurpee.com is broken and there in ZERO functionality. It demands for the user to create a login to its community but times out after 2 mins on the site. SLURPEE FAIL!

The result of this equation is that we have a really great "In-Store Campaign". This campaign does not exist online at all... but the consumer are talking about it on Twitter .. constantly. They are even trying their OWN Guerrilla marketing techniques to promote it AND they have unanswered customer service answers.

NO SURPRISE!!!

How is the average person online supposed to perceive 7-Eleven? I would write about how awful this website is for the user experience, but I get paid to do that for a living...

7-Eleven did you know this is how over 27,000 people see you on Facebook?I wonder what the Legal Department think about this?

Your "Official" Facebook Fanpage doesn't even have any information on the DOMO promotion or a Store Locater link.. If I am on Facebook and want to know what 7-Eleven's current Slurpee flavors are.. I damn right expect to find it!

7-Eleven... Because I love you...
Please get your online act together!!
Bring back the Slurpee ..
and give me free coffee FOREVAH!
Thanks, Stephiji

Going to PubCon Las Vegas 2007!

Recently I have been looking into taking Internet marketing classes at Baruch College, they offer many night classes as part of their Marketing Certification program. It was really affordable, but not something I saw myself being able to commit to at the moment due to after work activities.
I found out about PubCon in Las Vegas and at first thought that I wasn't ready to attend such a grand event. But, why should I think that?? The site, clearly states:

"Who should attend?

If you are involved in the production, marketing, or management of a internet web site - this is a must attend event.

Topic Areas To Be Addressed and Discussed:

* Search Engine Marketing, Optimization, Advertising, and Usage.
* Website Publishing. Technical grit as well as overall management.
* Website, domain, and Ecommerce site management."

During the time of the convention I will be managing 3 websites (2 being E-Commerce)and overseeing the development. I have really learned a lot just through eBooks alone, but of course I'm still a novice. I work side by side now with a development company and they have taught me so much.
I might not write code for my websites, but I have A LOT to do with every little thing. It's become something I have a real passion for and I want to absorb it all! What better way than by just jumping in. I really look forward to this convention being extremely educational as well as a way to meet people who are doing what I want to do.
At first I was a bit intimidated by going to something like this, but having the support of my employer and the drive to learn more has definitely made me very confident that it will be tremendous for me. Also, it will definitely prep me for my Certificate in Internet Marketing.
I'm very excited but also very nervous. This will be my first ever business trip and I will be going alone to Las Vegas for 4 nights! I'm not so much interested in the night life part of it (I know this sounds like a lie), but more interested in waking up by 7:30 to be able to attend all the speeches on topics like: Brand Management, Affiliate Strategies and Content Strategies, Eccomerce and Shopping Cart Optimization, Word of Mouth Marketing, Press and Public Relation Campaigns, Travel Sites, and more...
I booked the Las Vegas Hilton which is a short walk from the Convention Center with hopes of networking with other people who are attending the convention. My plans are not to drink or gamble but to mingle and learn. I look at PubCon as a huge opportunity to learn and create.

In other news, I created a new Facebook group for the web design contest for Ratlot.com. Please Join & Spread the word.